Breaking News.ie
01/07/2008 - 12:33:20

A Northern Ireland man arrested as part of a Garda Special Branch investigation into INLA activity in Dublin has had his bail application adjourned for a third time as the defence was not ready to proceed.

Peter Mullen, solicitor for Declan Duffy, asked the Special Criminal Court for a short adjournment to allow the defence to obtain proofs in relation to Mr Duffy's surety.

Mr Duffy was earlier charged at a special sitting of the Special Criminal Court with membership of the terrorist organisation.

Mr Duffy, a 34-year-old native of Armagh City, with an address at Hanover St West, Dublin 8 was charged with membership of an illegal organisation styling itself the Irish National Liberation Army, otherwise the INLA on June 22.

Michael O'Donovan, solicitor for the State told the court this morning that the garda who would set forth the State's objections to bail would not be available until after next Tuesday.

Mr Justice Paul Butler told Mr Mullen that the earliest available date was Wednesday July 9 and remanded Mr Duffy in custody until that date.

Detective Sergeant Marilyn Brosnan, of the Special Detective Unit, Harcourt Square, gave evidence last week of arresting Duffy in Blackrock.

She said that when cautioned Duffy replied: "I am not a member of any illegal organisation.''

AMEL BRAHMI in Belfast
Irish Times
Wed, Jul 02, 2008

THE SINN Féin Lord Mayor of Belfast laid a laurel wreath yesterday at the war memorial of the Belfast City Hall, to remember the unionists and nationalists soldiers who fall at the Battle of the Somme in 1916.

Tom Hartley, accompanied by some of his councillors, observed a short silence at the cenotaph, in a separate ceremony held at 9am.

Two hours later the official ceremony took place with the arrival of the 2nd Battalion of the Royal Irish Regiment followed by representatives of the DUP, the Orange Order, and war veterans who placed the poppy wreaths at the memorial.

Mr Hartley, the second Sinn Féin mayor to commemorate the deaths of soldiers from the 16th (Irish) division, said he understood that many from the nationalist tradition have felt “alienated” from the commemoration because of the British symbolism involved.

“But Irish soldiers from Belfast were engaged in the British Ulster Division and it is important that the nationalist community is able to remember and engage with this,” he added.

DUP Environment Minister Sammy Wilson deplored the fact that the sacrifice of these soldiers had been ignored and added he was happy that the Battle of the Somme was now seen as part of both communities’ shared history.

“The sacrifice was ignored not only in Northern Ireland but also with the Irish Government. Here we have focused on the 36th (unionist) division but in Ireland they didn’t want to acknowledge the 16th division,” he added.

The battle of the Somme that raged from July 1st 1916 until November 1916 saw the deaths of 10,000 soldiers from the Ulster and Irish divisions.

Nearly half of them – 45 per cent – were from the 16th (Irish) Division. They had joined the battle in September 1916 to support the 36th (Ulster) Division.

Londonderry Sentinel
02 July 2008

SECTARIANISM and segregation remain prevalent in some of Londonderry's most deprived areas, new research has indicated.

"The Facts, Fears and Feelings" project explored the impact of sectarianism in everyday life for more than 100 young people, aged 16-35, in both Derry and Belfast.

The research involved young people in the Fountain and Creggan areas of the city.

Through their involvement in the study, some of the young people went on to develop the ‘Cut It Out! Stand Together Against Sectarianism’ campaign.

This unique initiative involved the distribution of over 3,000 badges and ads on over 50 cross-town buses in Belfast and Derry, asking people to take a stand against sectarianism.

Dr Rosellen Roche, a social anthropologist from Queen’s School of History and Anthropology, conducted the research and headed the project.

Dr Roche said: “The young people involved, who are mostly out-of-school, seeking work and attempting to gain qualifications, represent a contingent that can often be ignored in research.

“This study does not claim to represent feelings in Northern Ireland as a whole, nor does it present a ‘cure’ for sectarianism and segregation.

“It does, however, illustrate how personalised sectarianism can be, how it can seep down through generations and how young people, like those involved in this project, are grappling with it in contemporary, post-Agreement Northern Ireland.”

Among the key findings were the impact of social isolation and the influence of families.

“Almost two thirds of the young people we worked with were so isolated from the other community that they actually felt completely untouched by sectarianism,” said Dr. Roche

“They live in a kind of 'cocoon' within their own communities, with little reason for mixing or mingling across the divide.”

“One third of participants talked openly about their parents or grandparents having negative views of the other community.

“They often excused this on the basis that they consider their elders to be victims of conflict, who are therefore entitled to be prejudiced.”

Dr Roche said the findings now presented a number of challenges.

“As academics, policy makers, volunteers and political leaders, it is our job to listen to the young people, to gage what really should be done and to help to put community mechanisms in place that will mix young people consistently across the divide," she said

News Letter
02 July 2008

FERMANAGH: Police in Fermanagh have revealed that the Real IRA has claimed it tried to attack a police patrol on the Fermanagh-Monaghan border area last Monday.

A PSNI spokesman said that a report was made to a local newspaper in Ferrmanagh and the caller claimed a coffee jar bomb had been thrown at a patrol car near Wattlebridge.

“We have no first hand knowledge of any attack. However, we thought it would be prudent to warn the public and let people know about this claim, which we have been unable to substantiate,” he said.

BBC
2 July 2008

An 18-year-old woman has been charged with perverting the course of justice in relation to the murder of Emmett Shiels in Derry last week.

She will appear at the city's magistrates court on Thursday morning.

Meanwhile, officers investigating Mr Shiels' death have been given more time to question three male youths aged 16, 17 and 18.

A 16 year-old-girl was arrested in Derry in connection with the killing on Wednesday evening.

Mr Shiels, from Tyrconnell Street in the Bogside, was shot in the Bligh's Lane area at about 0045 BST on Tuesday June 24.

He was driving a pizza delivery van when he was caught up in a confrontation with a group of masked gunmen.

Up to 1,000 people attended a vigil in memory of Mr Sheils.
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