micheailin o'cinnsealach (![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} fenian32) wrote,@ 2008-08-09 17:57:00 |
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Irish Republican Information Service (no. 160)
Teach Dáithí Ó Conaill, 223 Parnell Street, Dublin 1, Ireland
Phone: +353-1-872 9747; FAX: +353-1-872 9757; e-mail: saoirse@iol.ie
Date: 8 Lúnasa / August 2008
Internet resources maintained by SAOIRSE-Irish Freedom
http://saoirse.info
In this issue:
1. RSF remember introduction of internment in Antrim, Clare
REPUBLICAN Sinn Féin will mark the anniversary of the reintroduction of internment in 1971 with pickets in Counties Antrim and Clare.
On Saturday, 9th August, a white-line picket will commence on the Falls Road in Belfast at 1:30p.m. A picket will also take place on the Clare Road in Ennis from 2p.m. Until 5p.m. Both pickets are being held in solidarity with Republican prisoners currently incarcerated in Maghaberry Gaol in County Antrim, who are seeking the restoration of political status.
These prisoners engaged in a ten-and-a-half month protest from June 2006. Their protest was suspended following assurances that the outstanding issues would be addressed.
2. Attacks on nationalist homes condemned
IN A statement on August 6 Republican Sinn Féin in Belfast condemned the ongoing attacks on nationalist homes in the Rosapenna street area of north Belfast.
The statement continued: “Families have had to live with a barrage of stones bottles and petrol bomb attacks. In the most recent attack a family of four had a lucky escape. None of these attacks have been highlighted by either nationalist or unionist politicians, who now only find time to squabble over policing and justice matters. “For these families justice is as far away as ever. We in Republican Sinn Féin call on nationalists to remain vigilant.
3. CRJ should disband
THE announcement that Community Restorative Justice is to be funded by the British government shows that these Provisional policemen are now acting in full collaboration with the RUC, Richard Walsh, National Publicity Office for Republican Sinn Féin said on August 5.
“CRJ have been granted funding for schemes in Belfast and Derry City due to their willingness to collaborate openly with the RUC and other agents of English rule in our country,” he said.
“Whilst Republicans have long been aware of these nefarious activities carried out by that organisation, CRJ are now anxious to admit to this publicly. These British-backed schemes have nothing to offer Nationalists and Republicans and should disband.”
4. Google spy vans 'dangerous'
THE incessant photographing of people, their vehicles and property by the Google Corporation is an extreme and dangerous invasion of privacy, Republican Sinn Féin Director of Publicity, Richard Walsh said on August 5
He said: “Vans belonging to this corporation are currently travelling around Ireland, and indeed around the world, photographing everything they pass. Every street and indeed everyone's home will then be accessible to view on the internet.
“Such images being freely available around the world creates a very real risk to the security of individuals. Malicious viewers could use such data to establish weaknesses in people's personal security and identify opportunities to attack their enemies. Needless to say, Google has not sought the permission of anyone to photograph them or their properties, and must be made to destroy this material.”
5. Introduction of state identity cards must be resisted
ON August 6 Republican Sinn Féin National PRO Richard Walsh said that new welfare and travel cards containing photo ID were an attempt by the 26-County State to introduce an identity card through the back-door.
“Such identity cards have already been mooted by the British, with the intention of making them compulsory. The announcement that similar cards will be introduced within the 26-Counties in order to access social security and public services is a clear attempt by the Dublin Administration to introduce a similar measure.
“Identity cards do nothing to improve security and merely increase the intrusion by the State into people's daily lives and aid the development of a surveillance society. Any attempt to introduce a state identity card must be resisted.”
6. RTÉ claims to be national broadcaster disingenuous
RTÉ's decision to suspend their analogue signal without offering digital services within the Occupied Six Counties runs counter to their claims to be the National Broadcaster, Republican Sinn Féin Director of Publicity, Richard Walsh said on August 1.
“RTÉ previously suspended medium wave radio services, which would have left a significant number of people within the Six Counties without access to their radio programmes,” he said.
“Only after a sustained media campaign did RTÉ provide a new FM frequency for Radio 1 in the north-east of the country.
“Once again they are seeking to exclude Irish citizens - and indeed Irish residents - through their proposals both to suspend analogue broadcasts and broadcast digitally exclusively within the 26-Counties. These actions give the lie to their claim to be the National Broadcaster.”
7. MI5 monitoring of Irishmen unsurprising
REPUBLICAN Sinn Féin said on August 1 that MI5 spends the vast majority of its resources monitoring Irishmen and Irishwomen is unsurprising given the history of British intelligence agencies.
Director of Publicity, Richard Walsh, said: “Special Branch was initially established as the Special Irish Branch of the London Metropolitan Police and the British Military Intelligence agency, MI5, was founded by Kerryman, William Melville.
“These agencies are responsible for the incarceration and murders of countless Irish citizens - indeed many of them within their own shores. MI5's presence in Holywood clearly has little to do with monitoring Islamist activity, and is merely a convenient outpost to spy upon the Irish people. Whilst this may have been welcomed by the Provos, true Republicans will do all in their power to ensure that all British activity against Irish citizens and on Irish soil is ended permanently.”
8. Alliance party rejects policing role under SF and DUP proposal
THE Provisionals and the DUP have outlined what they regard as significant progress in the devolution of British policing and justice powers to the Stormont Executive after weeks of stalemate. Peter Robinson and Martin McGuinness have written to the Stormont Assembly committee that oversees the Executive's functions asking it to consider three fresh proposals on which they are now agreed.
In their letter Robinson and McGuinessr propose a combined British policing and justice department under a single minister, elected on a cross-community basis by the Stormont Assembly. They also say neither the DUP nor the Provos would nominate one of their Assembly members for the position.
Such a move would, in theory, leave the nomination open to the Alliance party, the SDLP or the Ulster Unionists. However, the Alliance leader, David Ford, immediately and emphatically rejected all talk of his party considering such an appointment. David Ford's early and vociferous rejection of any talk of an Alliance justice minister surprised sources at Stormont. “The Executive is failing in its duties,” he said. “So Northern Ireland needs a strong and coherent opposition. We are providing that opposition and we will continue to do so.”
He attacked the mandatory four-party coalition, claiming it was mired in a crisis of its own making.
9. Loyalist attack on youth team
IT was reported on July 30 that there had been a sectarian attack on a Dublin soccer club competing in the Milk Cup in Coleraine, Co Derry, a major international youth tournament that has been running since 1983.
Bricks, bottles and beer cans were hurled at a block of flats where Crumlin United's youth team was staying at Cromore Court near a loyalist estate in Coleraine on Monday night. One man was arrested and was being questioned by the RUC/PSNI on July 29.
The players, mostly aged 14 and 15, and their officials were subjected to sectarian taunts by a loyalist gang outside the flats. At least one of the windows was smashed with a large brick during the incident.
Club official Paul Hammond said many of the players were “very frightened” by the incident. He said Crumlin United, previous winners of the cup, were going to remain in the tournament because “football has to be the winner and that's what it's all about”.
Paul Hammond told the BBC that the response from the Milk Cup organisers and other clubs was very positive and supportive.
Crumlin United and another Dublin club, Cherry Orchard, moved to new accommodation as a result of the attack. The RUC/PSNI said it was investigating the incident.
10. Six arrested in connection with Paul Quinn murder
SIX men were arrested on July 29 in separate “targeted” operations by the 26-County police and the British Colonial police in connection with last October's murder of Paul Quinn from Cullyhanna in south Armagh.
Three of the men were being questioned in Monaghan and Carrickmacross Garda stations while the three men arrested in the Cullyhanna area by the RUC/PSNI were being questioned at Antrim station. The three arrested in Monaghan were released on July 31. Three men arrested in the Six Counties on July 31 were also released at the weekend. Two other men had earlier been arrested and later released by the RUC/PSNI.
Well-placed local sources said one of the men arrested by the RUC/PSNI was a senior Provisional figure in south Armagh, who had served time as a political prisoner. They said one of the other men was viewed as a “minor to mid-ranking” Provo who had “connections to both 9Provisional) Sinn Féin and the {Provisional] IRA”.
Members of the Quinn Support Group in south Armagh welcomed the arrests. Stephen Quinn, father of the murdered Paul Quinn, hoped that future developments in the investigation would lead to convictions of those who had killed his 21-year-old son last October.
The operations were carried out in the Cullyhanna and Crossmaglen areas of south Armagh and, it is understood, in the general Monaghan area. Paul Quinn was beaten to death in a barn in Co Monaghan by a gang of up to 15 people last October after he reportedly fell foul of the Provisionals in south Armagh.
The Quinn family and support group have consistently claimed that members of the Provisionals were involved.
Jim McAllister of the Quinn Support Group also hoped the arrests marked progress in the investigation. “We don't in any way see this as the end of the game. We see this as the opening of another avenue of the investigation,” he said.
A further arrest was made in the inquiry into the murder of Paul Quinn in Co Monaghan last year. A spokesperson for the RUC/PSNI said one man was arrested and two properties were searched in south Armagh yesterday morning in what he described as the third phase of the investigation into Paul Quinn's death.
A total of 11 people have been arrested in the past week in connection with Paul Quinn's murder.
An inquest into his death was opened in Dundalk last month but was adjourned due to the ongoing investigations.
11. McKevitt loses Supreme Court appeal
ON July 30 Michael McKevitt lost an appeal in Dublin against his conviction for directing terrorism. McKevitt, 54, from Blackrock County Louth, is serving 20 years.
He lost his action at the Supreme Court in which he claimed his trial was unfair. McKevitt claimed he did not get a fair trial because his team had not been supplied with all information relating to key witness, FBI agent David Rupert.
His lawyers claimed during the appeal that Rupert had been investigated for fraud in 1974 and 1994 which led to him becoming an informer for the FBI.
However, five Supreme Court judges ruled the conviction was safe and dismissed the appeal.
McKevitt was jailed by the Special Criminal Court in August 2003 for organising terrorist activities for the Real IRA. The Court of Criminal Appeal upheld his conviction and McKevitt went to the Supreme Court.
His lawyers argued the Irish judiciary failed to have an appropriate system in place to disclose documents relating to prosecution witness David Rupert. In its ruling, the Supreme Court found the prosecution depended to an overwhelming extent on the evidence of Rupert who had been employed by both the FBI and the British security services.
The court heard that he had a somewhat “shady reputation”, but Mr Justice Hugh Geoghegan said “the fact that Mr Rupert may or may not have had a shady background and the fact that as a paid agent he might be suspect as a witness, at any rate are neither here nor there”.
However, it was found that the prosecution's obligations of disclosure had been fulfilled because 'all reasonable efforts' had been made in good faith to secure documentation. It also found that the Special Criminal Court believed David Rupert, and that finding could not be interfered with.
12. Two Provo politicians attacked over bonfire
TWO Provisional politicians were attacked by a group of young nationalists in Ballymena, Co Antrim, on July 31 in a row over a bonfire.
North Antrim Stormont Assembly member Dáithí McKay and councillor Pádraig McShane said they were assaulted while supporting residents in the nationalist Dunclug Estate who had called for the removal of materials gathered for a bonfire in the area commemorating the introduction of internment without-trial by the British in 1971.
McKay said he and McShane were attacked by a man and struck several times. They were in the estate “in opposition to criminal and antisocial elements who are using this bonfire as a cover for other activities”.
A BBC camera crew was in the estate at the time and captured the attack on film, which showed one man throwing punches and kicks at McKay.
McKay and McShane were allegedly attacked after they left the home of a local community worker, who also opposed the bonfire. His home was attacked by up to 20 stone-throwing youths on July 30.
13. Pride marchers mock anti-gay DUP Stormont Minister
DEMOCRATIC Unionist MP Iris Robinson who believes homosexuality can be cured by psychiatry, made a ‘guest’ appearance at the annual Gay Pride parade in Belfast on August 2.
The Strangford MP appeared in the 'guise' of several marchers wearing Iris Robinson masks in what turned out to be the largest Pride rally in the Six Counties for years.
One float called the ‘Iris Mobile’ joined the procession through Belfast city centre with a giant papier-mâché image of Robinson on the front. The parade took place in a city labelled the most homophobic in Ireland.
Organisers claimed the large turn-out was in response to the controversy stirred up by the DUP MP, who recently also likened gay sex to child abuse. Her remarks prompted one organisation to become the first Christian gay group to march in the Belfast parade.
Changing Attitude Ireland, a new organisation representing gay Christians throughout Ireland, said they had decided to join Pride in response to Robinson’s remarks. “This is the first time our banner has been displayed at Pride in Belfast because it was important to increase our visibility and to show people that there are alternative Christian views than those espoused by Iris Robinson,” said a retired Church of Ireland minister, the Rev Mervyn Kingston.
He said there was growing support within the Church of Ireland for equality for gay people inside the Anglican Communion.
In June, Robinson told a local radio that homosexuality was “disgusting, loathsome, nauseating, wicked and vile”. The wife of Stormont First Minister, Peter Robinson, also claimed psychological counselling could “cure” gay people. Her comments led to calls by other members of the Stormont Assembly for her to be removed as chair of the Stormont health committee.
There were two counter-demonstrations organised by Protestant fundamentalist groups including members of the Rev Ian Paisley's Free Presbyterian Church. They had taken out a full-page ad in a local newspaper on August 1 denouncing homosexuality and calling on born-again Christians to turn up at their protests.
There were, however, no prominent DUP politicians at either demonstration.
14. DUP creationists challenge evolution
A SENIOR DUP Assemblyman has pressed for creationism to be taught alongside evolution in classrooms across the Six Counties, it was reported on August 7.
Mervyn Storey, who chairs the Stormont education committee, said his “ideal” would be the removal of evolutionary teaching from the curriculum altogether.
“This is not about removing anything from the classroom, although that would probably be the ideal for me, but this is about us having equality of access to other views as to how the world came into existence and that I think is a very, very important issue for many parents in Northern Ireland.”
This is the latest in a number of interventions by Storey on the issue. Despite numerous requests, the DUP has declined to comment on the matter.
A statement from the Stormont Department of Education said that its policy is based on recommendations made by the Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment (CCEA) and that there must be a distinction made between “the evidence-based approach to scientific theories and knowledge in science lessons, and exploring other beliefs about how the world came into existence”. Mervyn Storey has also weighed in to the ongoing dispute regarding the age of the Giant's Causeway, Co Antrim.
Storey, among others, has called for the proposed visitors' centre to display not just accepted geological data, but also the creationist argument that the distinctive rock formation is only 6,000 years old. “The problem to date has been that we only have a narrow interpretation from an evolutionary point of view as to how these particular stones were formed,” he said last year.
His comments follow other controversies involving senior DUP figures and “faith issues” in the Six-County politics. Last month, Strangford MP Iris Robinson faced widespread criticism for her description of homosexuality as an “abomination”. She further asserted that “it is the duty of government to uphold God's law”.
15. US Congressmen support Long Kesh escapee
HAVING spent six months in a Texas immigration jail, and with a key August court date with an unsympathetic judge looming, it seemed the circumstances in which in Pól Brennan has been battling against deportation from the U.S. couldn't get any worse.
Then Hurricane Dolly slammed into the Lone Star State, sending the Long Kesh prison escapee on new odyssey that landed him in 23-hour solitary confinement in New Mexico, just weeks after his first months long solitary stint in Texas ended when a US immigration official decided his “security threat” classification was inappropriate.
Hundreds of immigration detainees were evacuated from the Port Isabel Detention Center in Los Fresnos, Texas the day before Dolly's July 23 arrival. Speaking to the Irish Echo newspapar via phone from the Otero County Detention Centre in Chaparral, New Mexico, Brennan said that he and another prisoner, who also had an escape history, were put in a special mini-van with blacked-out windows for the 14-hour trip to the new jail.
Pól Brennan's legs were shackled and he had to sit on a metal bench with no cushion for the entire 925 mile journey. He blames extreme temperature fluctuations inside the van – which alternately left him severely chilled from air conditioning, and then sweating profusely from high heat – for making him very sick en route. “I was sore and in a sorry state when I arrived here,” he told the Echo “It was very stressful.”
Pól Brennan is currently only allowed out of his cell one hour daily for exercise while meals are delivered under his door. ICE public affairs spokeswoman, Leticia Zamarripa, said that Pól Brennan was placed in solitary for “security reasons”, but that his case was being reviewed and he could be returned to dormitory-style lock up in the future.
Pól Brennan was among 38 IRA prisoners who escaped from Long Kesh prison in September 1983. Entering the U.S. months later, he lived under an alias in the San Francisco Bay area until arrested by the FBI in January 1993.
In 2000, in the wake of the Stormont Agreement, Britain dropped its extradition request. US authorities then authorised Pól Brennan to work as a carpenter in the San Francisco Bay area while awaiting a rulings on his political asylum case, and deportation proceedings against him for entering the country illegally.
On January 27, he was detained a Texas immigration checkpoint because his U.S.-issued work permit had expired. Pól Brennan had applied for renewal, but had not yet received an updated permit.
Pól Brennan twice honoured bond terms when released in the 1990s during British extradition proceedings. However, the judge in his current case, has denied him bail because he deems the Belfast native a flight risk and a danger to society. On July 29, three Congressmen, Peter King (RNY), Richard Neal (D- MA) and Jim Walsh (R-NY), sent a letter to U.S. Department of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff calling for Brennan to be granted bail.
“Mr. Brennan's continued detention without bond appears to serve no end that is consistent with the interest of the United States to foster a lasting peace in Northern Ireland,” the letter reads. “With his marriage to a United States citizen and provisions in the law to waive his prior unlawful presence in the U.S., Mr. Brennan ought to be granted the opportunity to contest the charge of removal with the privilege of release on bond. His continued detention is not justified for the security of the United States, or its people, nor is he a flight risk.”
In a phone interview with the Irish Echo on July 28, King, a former chairman of the House of Representatives Homeland Security Committee, was asked if he thought Brennan should ultimately be allowed to stay in the US.
“Yes I do. My understanding is the only problem with that is that he didn't file (the work permit renewal form) on time,” said Congressman King. “As I understand it, he was living here legally and then there was a paperwork error. And whether it was his fault or the government's fault, the fact is, as I understand it, there was no malice, there was no attempt not to file it. So if they are the facts, then he should stay.”
Joanna Volz, Pól Brennan's American wife of 19 years, said that she doesn't disagree with the decision to evacuate a facility in the path of a hurricane. But her husband's relocation to New Mexico means that visiting her husband will be next to impossible.
“I was seeing him every Saturday for either a half-hour or an hour,” said Volz. “Now that is no longer possible. The new prison is in the middle of nowhere. It would be a two-day drive each way for me to see him.”
Pól Brennan's next scheduled court appearance is on August 12. However, given that the Texas courtroom where judge overseeing his case normally presides was damaged by Hurricane Dolly, those proceedings could be pushed back several weeks, or even months.
16. ICTU and SIPTU set to lodge new wage claims
PRIVATE SECTOR trade unions have said they are working on the assumption they are no longer involved in a process to negotiate a new national pay deal and will now begin lodging wage claims with individual companies.
Chairman of the private sector committee of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) Jerry Shanahan said the question of whether the 26-County administration issued an invitation for further talks was “a moot point”.
Speaking after the committee adopted new guidelines for unions in lodging pay claims with employers, Jerry Shanahan said the talk’s process was not adjourned but had collapsed last weekend.
“There would not be any point in bringing us back on the basis of where we finished on the last day. Something would have to change. The question of whether an invitation issues is a moot point at this stage. There is nothing that has created an environment where an invitation would be positively looked at this stage,” he said.
Jerry Shanahan said the pay deals for many thousands of workers had either expired or would run out over the coming weeks and months. “Workers expect us to lodge claims. Inflation has not stopped, price rises have not stopped,” he said.
Shanahan said the 26-County administration had also contributed to the breakdown in the pay talks. He said it had not brought forward measures sought by the unions on collective bargaining, agency workers and pensions: “If they had made substantial proposals in those areas, it would have coloured the thinking of unions on the pay side.”
Jerry Shanahan said that, following the breakdown of the national talks, unions had been waiting for the committee to produce guidelines on lodging claims.
Under the guidelines, unions are to seek flat-rate increases of €30 per week for low-paid workers and rises that match inflation - about 5 per cent - for those above this threshold. Unions will look for further rises in profitable companies.
Jerry Shanahan said members and their representatives would decide which companies could pay increases and what alternative strategies had to be adopted in cases where the firm was facing difficulties or job security issues. “At the end of the day, responsibility will rest with the members. They will make the final decisions,” he said.
Jack O'Connor, president of SIPTU, said the claims lodged in the coming days and weeks would have to be those of the members as reflected by their elected representatives in the workplace. He said the question of whether this would result in industrial disputes was in the hands of employers.
The ICTU committee also predicted inflation for the year would be higher than the 4.3 per cent 26-County Department of Finance forecast. “The only realistic forecast is that, for 2008 as a whole, the consumer price index will average… 5 per cent,” it said in a statement.
17. Severely handicapped man left on Cork hospital trolley for 30 hours
A SEVERELY handicapped man who cannot walk or talk spent 30 hours on a trolley at Cork University Hospital (CUH) waiting for a bed and leaving his sisters to care for him in full view of other patients, it was claimed on July 27.
Graham Dempsey (33) from Cork city is physically handicapped, suffers from MS and scoliosis (curvature of the back) and needs full-time care. He became ill at a respite centre on July 25 and was taken to the hospital for treatment for vomiting and dehydration.
His older sister, Betty O'Regan, said he presented at the hospital at 9.30am on July 25 and still had not received a bed when they decided to bring him home at 3pm on July 26. Betty O'Regan said she was “appalled” by the failure of staff to respond to her brother's urgent needs. “My father calls people like Graham ‘the forgotten people’. He was vomiting all the time and he was eventually put on a trolley, but someone like Graham can't stay on a trolley for long because of the scoliosis in his back.
“Graham can't go up to the bathroom so he wears nappies all the time. The staff just left him in the wet nappy. His nappy was soaking and we wanted a bed so we could change him in privacy.
“We didn't want a private room or an en suite - just somewhere where we could change his nappy without other patients around us.”
Betty O'Regan said her brother was finally given a drip while on a trolley at 9pm on July 25. She said she begged staff to find a bed for her brother as his scoliosis meant he was in considerable pain on the trolley.
As the evening progressed, Betty O'Regan said her brother had a number of “fit-like” episodes because of the stress. Betty O'Regan spent the night in her brother's wheelchair while her sister Anita had not even a chair to sit on.
At lunchtime on July 26 Graham Dempsey's condition had improved somewhat. However, he was still weak and had a high temperature. Hospital staff reportedly informed Betty O'Regan that her brother would have to spend at least another day on a trolley. Betty O'Regan and her sister made the decision to bring him home despite his “sky-high temperature”.
A spokeswoman for the HSE South speaking on July 27: “CUH regrets that the family was unhappy with the treatment they received. Every effort is made to ensure that patients are treated with the dignity and courtesy they are entitled to.
“The patient was discharged from hospital on Saturday morning and hospital staff are available to directly liaise with the family to address their concerns.”
18. Cork Gaeltacht honours revered composer Ó Riada
A LIFE-size statue of composer Seán Ó Riada was unveiled in Cúil Aodha, in the Cork Gaeltacht, on August 3. Rachel Ní Riada, a daughter, represented the family alongside six of her siblings and 18 of Ó Riada's grandchildren.
Ó Riada was perhaps the single most influential figure in the renaissance of traditional Irish music from the 1960s, through his participation in Ceoltóirí Cualann, his compositions, musical arrangements, his writings and his broadcasts on the topic.
Speaking before the statue was officially unveiled opposite St Gobnait's Church in Cúil Aodha, Rachel Ní Riada said her late mother and father would have been delighted with the honour.
“We really appreciate it. The organising committee approached us a few months ago and it took off very quickly. We are thrilled.”
The unveiling was preceded by a Mass at 2pm at St Gobnait's Church which was attended by, amongst others, the surviving members of Ceoltóiri Cualann, a group founded by Ó Riada. Those present included former group member and singer Seán Ó Sé.
One of the organisers of the event, Eoin Ó Súilleabháin, said locals were pleased to honour one of Irish music's biggest influences. “People have been thinking about something like this for years but nobody took the initiative of actually doing anything until less than a year ago.
“We picked this weekend because it would have been his [Ó Riada's] birthday and members of Ceoltóiri Cualann always come to the town at this time.”
The statue of Ó Riada is the work of sculptor Mike Kenny from Castleisland, Co Kerry.
It portrays Ó Riada playing the organ and is located in the grounds of St Gobnait's, where one of his most enduring compositions - the Ó Riada Mass - is still sung every Sunday by a choir led by his son Peadar.
The unveiling was followed by a performance by the surviving members of Ceoltóirí Cualann.
Ó Riada is perhaps best remembered as being the first to blend Irish traditional music with its classical counterpart, most notably in the music which he produced for the film Mise Éire.
He was born John Reidy on August 1st, 1931, in Cork. His parents, John and Julia Reidy (née Creedon) brought young John back to their home in Adare, Co Limerick, where he remained until he transferred to St Finbarr's College, Farranferris, in 1943.
Reidy subsequently attended University College Cork where he met his future wife, Ruth Coughlan. The pair married on September 1st, 1953.
Ó Riada's first venture into professional employment was with RTÉ, where he was appointed assistant director of music.
He later became director of music at the Abbey Theatre. A passionate interest in the Irish language emerged and he first began signing his name as Seán Ó Riada on Abbey compositions in 1955. This signalled a new phase in Ó Riada's personal development, one which saw him become immersed in the traditional Irish way of life.
He was appointed lecturer in music at UCC and he and his family moved to Cúil Aodha in 1963.
He died on October 3rd, 1971, aged 40, in King's College Hospital, London, following a heart attack.
19. Anti-blood sports council criticises IFA over seminar
THE Irish Council Against Blood Sports criticised the Irish Farmers Association (IFA) on July 30 for endorsing what the council claims is a pro-hunting seminar which it says demonises animal protection groups. Aideen Yourell of the Irish Council Against Blood Sports said the seminar was clearly designed to garner support for hunting.
“The cynical attempt to rope businesses into supporting hunting… I'm surprised that the IFA is lending their support to this, I would have thought there were far more important issues facing Irish farming,” she said.
Aideen Yourell said that, contrary to Duffy's claims, groups opposed to hunting had widespread support in the community. The conference was a “fear-mongering” exercise, she said and accusations of intimidation had been “hyped-up” by Duffy.
The seminar, Consumer Intimidation, the Vegan/Animal Rights Agenda, has been organised by Gavin Duffy of the Hunting Association of Ireland, in response to what he says are increasingly intimidatory protests by animal rights activists.
IFA president Pádraig Walshe and Irish Farmers Journal editor Matt Dempsey addressed the seminar in Dublin on August 8 in addition to the keynote speaker Lt Col Dennis J Foster, described by Gavin Duffy as the world's leading authority on the animal rights movement.
Meat and poultry processors, restaurateurs, abattoir owners, fur sellers, race course managers, pharmaceutical companies and circuses are among the groups invited to attend.
20. Tibetans in Ireland fear Tibet plight will worsen
FEARS that the situation in Tibet would worsen after the Beijing Olympics were expressed by members of the Tibetan community in Ireland on August 5.
About a dozen Tibetan exiles protested outside the Chinese embassy in Dublin ahead of the opening of the Games on Friday.
Draped in Tibetan flags, they sang the national anthem and chanted “we want a free Tibet”.
They called on the Chinese government to stop its crackdown on Tibetan protesters and demanded that thousands of arrested protesters be released.
“The worst is still to come after the Olympics when attention of world moves away from China,” Namgyal Damdul, chairperson of the Tibetan Community in Ireland, said.
“We fear the worst might happen to those in prisons and they might be given the death penalty,” he said. “We are urging all governments around the world to press China to release all these prisoners.”
Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism Martin Cullen is in Beijing and is due to attend the Games on Friday. The group called on Minister Cullen to put pressure on the Chinese leadership regarding Tibet.
Last month a spokesperson for the department said Martin Cullen would attend the opening ceremony on the basis that issues surrounding human rights and Tibet had improved and had reached resolution.
Namgyal Damdul said there was no resolution and that this statement did not match the facts.
ENDS
Teach Dáithí Ó Conaill, 223 Parnell Street, Dublin 1, Ireland
Phone: +353-1-872 9747; FAX: +353-1-872 9757; e-mail: saoirse@iol.ie
Date: 8 Lúnasa / August 2008
Internet resources maintained by SAOIRSE-Irish Freedom
http://saoirse.info
In this issue:1. RSF remember introduction of internment in Antrim, Clare
REPUBLICAN Sinn Féin will mark the anniversary of the reintroduction of internment in 1971 with pickets in Counties Antrim and Clare.
On Saturday, 9th August, a white-line picket will commence on the Falls Road in Belfast at 1:30p.m. A picket will also take place on the Clare Road in Ennis from 2p.m. Until 5p.m. Both pickets are being held in solidarity with Republican prisoners currently incarcerated in Maghaberry Gaol in County Antrim, who are seeking the restoration of political status.
These prisoners engaged in a ten-and-a-half month protest from June 2006. Their protest was suspended following assurances that the outstanding issues would be addressed.
2. Attacks on nationalist homes condemned
IN A statement on August 6 Republican Sinn Féin in Belfast condemned the ongoing attacks on nationalist homes in the Rosapenna street area of north Belfast.
The statement continued: “Families have had to live with a barrage of stones bottles and petrol bomb attacks. In the most recent attack a family of four had a lucky escape. None of these attacks have been highlighted by either nationalist or unionist politicians, who now only find time to squabble over policing and justice matters. “For these families justice is as far away as ever. We in Republican Sinn Féin call on nationalists to remain vigilant.
3. CRJ should disband
THE announcement that Community Restorative Justice is to be funded by the British government shows that these Provisional policemen are now acting in full collaboration with the RUC, Richard Walsh, National Publicity Office for Republican Sinn Féin said on August 5.
“CRJ have been granted funding for schemes in Belfast and Derry City due to their willingness to collaborate openly with the RUC and other agents of English rule in our country,” he said.
“Whilst Republicans have long been aware of these nefarious activities carried out by that organisation, CRJ are now anxious to admit to this publicly. These British-backed schemes have nothing to offer Nationalists and Republicans and should disband.”
4. Google spy vans 'dangerous'
THE incessant photographing of people, their vehicles and property by the Google Corporation is an extreme and dangerous invasion of privacy, Republican Sinn Féin Director of Publicity, Richard Walsh said on August 5
He said: “Vans belonging to this corporation are currently travelling around Ireland, and indeed around the world, photographing everything they pass. Every street and indeed everyone's home will then be accessible to view on the internet.
“Such images being freely available around the world creates a very real risk to the security of individuals. Malicious viewers could use such data to establish weaknesses in people's personal security and identify opportunities to attack their enemies. Needless to say, Google has not sought the permission of anyone to photograph them or their properties, and must be made to destroy this material.”
5. Introduction of state identity cards must be resisted
ON August 6 Republican Sinn Féin National PRO Richard Walsh said that new welfare and travel cards containing photo ID were an attempt by the 26-County State to introduce an identity card through the back-door.
“Such identity cards have already been mooted by the British, with the intention of making them compulsory. The announcement that similar cards will be introduced within the 26-Counties in order to access social security and public services is a clear attempt by the Dublin Administration to introduce a similar measure.
“Identity cards do nothing to improve security and merely increase the intrusion by the State into people's daily lives and aid the development of a surveillance society. Any attempt to introduce a state identity card must be resisted.”
6. RTÉ claims to be national broadcaster disingenuous
RTÉ's decision to suspend their analogue signal without offering digital services within the Occupied Six Counties runs counter to their claims to be the National Broadcaster, Republican Sinn Féin Director of Publicity, Richard Walsh said on August 1.
“RTÉ previously suspended medium wave radio services, which would have left a significant number of people within the Six Counties without access to their radio programmes,” he said.
“Only after a sustained media campaign did RTÉ provide a new FM frequency for Radio 1 in the north-east of the country.
“Once again they are seeking to exclude Irish citizens - and indeed Irish residents - through their proposals both to suspend analogue broadcasts and broadcast digitally exclusively within the 26-Counties. These actions give the lie to their claim to be the National Broadcaster.”
7. MI5 monitoring of Irishmen unsurprising
REPUBLICAN Sinn Féin said on August 1 that MI5 spends the vast majority of its resources monitoring Irishmen and Irishwomen is unsurprising given the history of British intelligence agencies.
Director of Publicity, Richard Walsh, said: “Special Branch was initially established as the Special Irish Branch of the London Metropolitan Police and the British Military Intelligence agency, MI5, was founded by Kerryman, William Melville.
“These agencies are responsible for the incarceration and murders of countless Irish citizens - indeed many of them within their own shores. MI5's presence in Holywood clearly has little to do with monitoring Islamist activity, and is merely a convenient outpost to spy upon the Irish people. Whilst this may have been welcomed by the Provos, true Republicans will do all in their power to ensure that all British activity against Irish citizens and on Irish soil is ended permanently.”
8. Alliance party rejects policing role under SF and DUP proposal
THE Provisionals and the DUP have outlined what they regard as significant progress in the devolution of British policing and justice powers to the Stormont Executive after weeks of stalemate. Peter Robinson and Martin McGuinness have written to the Stormont Assembly committee that oversees the Executive's functions asking it to consider three fresh proposals on which they are now agreed.
In their letter Robinson and McGuinessr propose a combined British policing and justice department under a single minister, elected on a cross-community basis by the Stormont Assembly. They also say neither the DUP nor the Provos would nominate one of their Assembly members for the position.
Such a move would, in theory, leave the nomination open to the Alliance party, the SDLP or the Ulster Unionists. However, the Alliance leader, David Ford, immediately and emphatically rejected all talk of his party considering such an appointment. David Ford's early and vociferous rejection of any talk of an Alliance justice minister surprised sources at Stormont. “The Executive is failing in its duties,” he said. “So Northern Ireland needs a strong and coherent opposition. We are providing that opposition and we will continue to do so.”
He attacked the mandatory four-party coalition, claiming it was mired in a crisis of its own making.
9. Loyalist attack on youth team
IT was reported on July 30 that there had been a sectarian attack on a Dublin soccer club competing in the Milk Cup in Coleraine, Co Derry, a major international youth tournament that has been running since 1983.
Bricks, bottles and beer cans were hurled at a block of flats where Crumlin United's youth team was staying at Cromore Court near a loyalist estate in Coleraine on Monday night. One man was arrested and was being questioned by the RUC/PSNI on July 29.
The players, mostly aged 14 and 15, and their officials were subjected to sectarian taunts by a loyalist gang outside the flats. At least one of the windows was smashed with a large brick during the incident.
Club official Paul Hammond said many of the players were “very frightened” by the incident. He said Crumlin United, previous winners of the cup, were going to remain in the tournament because “football has to be the winner and that's what it's all about”.
Paul Hammond told the BBC that the response from the Milk Cup organisers and other clubs was very positive and supportive.
Crumlin United and another Dublin club, Cherry Orchard, moved to new accommodation as a result of the attack. The RUC/PSNI said it was investigating the incident.
10. Six arrested in connection with Paul Quinn murder
SIX men were arrested on July 29 in separate “targeted” operations by the 26-County police and the British Colonial police in connection with last October's murder of Paul Quinn from Cullyhanna in south Armagh.
Three of the men were being questioned in Monaghan and Carrickmacross Garda stations while the three men arrested in the Cullyhanna area by the RUC/PSNI were being questioned at Antrim station. The three arrested in Monaghan were released on July 31. Three men arrested in the Six Counties on July 31 were also released at the weekend. Two other men had earlier been arrested and later released by the RUC/PSNI.
Well-placed local sources said one of the men arrested by the RUC/PSNI was a senior Provisional figure in south Armagh, who had served time as a political prisoner. They said one of the other men was viewed as a “minor to mid-ranking” Provo who had “connections to both 9Provisional) Sinn Féin and the {Provisional] IRA”.
Members of the Quinn Support Group in south Armagh welcomed the arrests. Stephen Quinn, father of the murdered Paul Quinn, hoped that future developments in the investigation would lead to convictions of those who had killed his 21-year-old son last October.
The operations were carried out in the Cullyhanna and Crossmaglen areas of south Armagh and, it is understood, in the general Monaghan area. Paul Quinn was beaten to death in a barn in Co Monaghan by a gang of up to 15 people last October after he reportedly fell foul of the Provisionals in south Armagh.
The Quinn family and support group have consistently claimed that members of the Provisionals were involved.
Jim McAllister of the Quinn Support Group also hoped the arrests marked progress in the investigation. “We don't in any way see this as the end of the game. We see this as the opening of another avenue of the investigation,” he said.
A further arrest was made in the inquiry into the murder of Paul Quinn in Co Monaghan last year. A spokesperson for the RUC/PSNI said one man was arrested and two properties were searched in south Armagh yesterday morning in what he described as the third phase of the investigation into Paul Quinn's death.
A total of 11 people have been arrested in the past week in connection with Paul Quinn's murder.
An inquest into his death was opened in Dundalk last month but was adjourned due to the ongoing investigations.
11. McKevitt loses Supreme Court appeal
ON July 30 Michael McKevitt lost an appeal in Dublin against his conviction for directing terrorism. McKevitt, 54, from Blackrock County Louth, is serving 20 years.
He lost his action at the Supreme Court in which he claimed his trial was unfair. McKevitt claimed he did not get a fair trial because his team had not been supplied with all information relating to key witness, FBI agent David Rupert.
His lawyers claimed during the appeal that Rupert had been investigated for fraud in 1974 and 1994 which led to him becoming an informer for the FBI.
However, five Supreme Court judges ruled the conviction was safe and dismissed the appeal.
McKevitt was jailed by the Special Criminal Court in August 2003 for organising terrorist activities for the Real IRA. The Court of Criminal Appeal upheld his conviction and McKevitt went to the Supreme Court.
His lawyers argued the Irish judiciary failed to have an appropriate system in place to disclose documents relating to prosecution witness David Rupert. In its ruling, the Supreme Court found the prosecution depended to an overwhelming extent on the evidence of Rupert who had been employed by both the FBI and the British security services.
The court heard that he had a somewhat “shady reputation”, but Mr Justice Hugh Geoghegan said “the fact that Mr Rupert may or may not have had a shady background and the fact that as a paid agent he might be suspect as a witness, at any rate are neither here nor there”.
However, it was found that the prosecution's obligations of disclosure had been fulfilled because 'all reasonable efforts' had been made in good faith to secure documentation. It also found that the Special Criminal Court believed David Rupert, and that finding could not be interfered with.
12. Two Provo politicians attacked over bonfire
TWO Provisional politicians were attacked by a group of young nationalists in Ballymena, Co Antrim, on July 31 in a row over a bonfire.
North Antrim Stormont Assembly member Dáithí McKay and councillor Pádraig McShane said they were assaulted while supporting residents in the nationalist Dunclug Estate who had called for the removal of materials gathered for a bonfire in the area commemorating the introduction of internment without-trial by the British in 1971.
McKay said he and McShane were attacked by a man and struck several times. They were in the estate “in opposition to criminal and antisocial elements who are using this bonfire as a cover for other activities”.
A BBC camera crew was in the estate at the time and captured the attack on film, which showed one man throwing punches and kicks at McKay.
McKay and McShane were allegedly attacked after they left the home of a local community worker, who also opposed the bonfire. His home was attacked by up to 20 stone-throwing youths on July 30.
13. Pride marchers mock anti-gay DUP Stormont Minister
DEMOCRATIC Unionist MP Iris Robinson who believes homosexuality can be cured by psychiatry, made a ‘guest’ appearance at the annual Gay Pride parade in Belfast on August 2.
The Strangford MP appeared in the 'guise' of several marchers wearing Iris Robinson masks in what turned out to be the largest Pride rally in the Six Counties for years.
One float called the ‘Iris Mobile’ joined the procession through Belfast city centre with a giant papier-mâché image of Robinson on the front. The parade took place in a city labelled the most homophobic in Ireland.
Organisers claimed the large turn-out was in response to the controversy stirred up by the DUP MP, who recently also likened gay sex to child abuse. Her remarks prompted one organisation to become the first Christian gay group to march in the Belfast parade.
Changing Attitude Ireland, a new organisation representing gay Christians throughout Ireland, said they had decided to join Pride in response to Robinson’s remarks. “This is the first time our banner has been displayed at Pride in Belfast because it was important to increase our visibility and to show people that there are alternative Christian views than those espoused by Iris Robinson,” said a retired Church of Ireland minister, the Rev Mervyn Kingston.
He said there was growing support within the Church of Ireland for equality for gay people inside the Anglican Communion.
In June, Robinson told a local radio that homosexuality was “disgusting, loathsome, nauseating, wicked and vile”. The wife of Stormont First Minister, Peter Robinson, also claimed psychological counselling could “cure” gay people. Her comments led to calls by other members of the Stormont Assembly for her to be removed as chair of the Stormont health committee.
There were two counter-demonstrations organised by Protestant fundamentalist groups including members of the Rev Ian Paisley's Free Presbyterian Church. They had taken out a full-page ad in a local newspaper on August 1 denouncing homosexuality and calling on born-again Christians to turn up at their protests.
There were, however, no prominent DUP politicians at either demonstration.
14. DUP creationists challenge evolution
A SENIOR DUP Assemblyman has pressed for creationism to be taught alongside evolution in classrooms across the Six Counties, it was reported on August 7.
Mervyn Storey, who chairs the Stormont education committee, said his “ideal” would be the removal of evolutionary teaching from the curriculum altogether.
“This is not about removing anything from the classroom, although that would probably be the ideal for me, but this is about us having equality of access to other views as to how the world came into existence and that I think is a very, very important issue for many parents in Northern Ireland.”
This is the latest in a number of interventions by Storey on the issue. Despite numerous requests, the DUP has declined to comment on the matter.
A statement from the Stormont Department of Education said that its policy is based on recommendations made by the Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment (CCEA) and that there must be a distinction made between “the evidence-based approach to scientific theories and knowledge in science lessons, and exploring other beliefs about how the world came into existence”. Mervyn Storey has also weighed in to the ongoing dispute regarding the age of the Giant's Causeway, Co Antrim.
Storey, among others, has called for the proposed visitors' centre to display not just accepted geological data, but also the creationist argument that the distinctive rock formation is only 6,000 years old. “The problem to date has been that we only have a narrow interpretation from an evolutionary point of view as to how these particular stones were formed,” he said last year.
His comments follow other controversies involving senior DUP figures and “faith issues” in the Six-County politics. Last month, Strangford MP Iris Robinson faced widespread criticism for her description of homosexuality as an “abomination”. She further asserted that “it is the duty of government to uphold God's law”.
15. US Congressmen support Long Kesh escapee
HAVING spent six months in a Texas immigration jail, and with a key August court date with an unsympathetic judge looming, it seemed the circumstances in which in Pól Brennan has been battling against deportation from the U.S. couldn't get any worse.
Then Hurricane Dolly slammed into the Lone Star State, sending the Long Kesh prison escapee on new odyssey that landed him in 23-hour solitary confinement in New Mexico, just weeks after his first months long solitary stint in Texas ended when a US immigration official decided his “security threat” classification was inappropriate.
Hundreds of immigration detainees were evacuated from the Port Isabel Detention Center in Los Fresnos, Texas the day before Dolly's July 23 arrival. Speaking to the Irish Echo newspapar via phone from the Otero County Detention Centre in Chaparral, New Mexico, Brennan said that he and another prisoner, who also had an escape history, were put in a special mini-van with blacked-out windows for the 14-hour trip to the new jail.
Pól Brennan's legs were shackled and he had to sit on a metal bench with no cushion for the entire 925 mile journey. He blames extreme temperature fluctuations inside the van – which alternately left him severely chilled from air conditioning, and then sweating profusely from high heat – for making him very sick en route. “I was sore and in a sorry state when I arrived here,” he told the Echo “It was very stressful.”
Pól Brennan is currently only allowed out of his cell one hour daily for exercise while meals are delivered under his door. ICE public affairs spokeswoman, Leticia Zamarripa, said that Pól Brennan was placed in solitary for “security reasons”, but that his case was being reviewed and he could be returned to dormitory-style lock up in the future.
Pól Brennan was among 38 IRA prisoners who escaped from Long Kesh prison in September 1983. Entering the U.S. months later, he lived under an alias in the San Francisco Bay area until arrested by the FBI in January 1993.
In 2000, in the wake of the Stormont Agreement, Britain dropped its extradition request. US authorities then authorised Pól Brennan to work as a carpenter in the San Francisco Bay area while awaiting a rulings on his political asylum case, and deportation proceedings against him for entering the country illegally.
On January 27, he was detained a Texas immigration checkpoint because his U.S.-issued work permit had expired. Pól Brennan had applied for renewal, but had not yet received an updated permit.
Pól Brennan twice honoured bond terms when released in the 1990s during British extradition proceedings. However, the judge in his current case, has denied him bail because he deems the Belfast native a flight risk and a danger to society. On July 29, three Congressmen, Peter King (RNY), Richard Neal (D- MA) and Jim Walsh (R-NY), sent a letter to U.S. Department of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff calling for Brennan to be granted bail.
“Mr. Brennan's continued detention without bond appears to serve no end that is consistent with the interest of the United States to foster a lasting peace in Northern Ireland,” the letter reads. “With his marriage to a United States citizen and provisions in the law to waive his prior unlawful presence in the U.S., Mr. Brennan ought to be granted the opportunity to contest the charge of removal with the privilege of release on bond. His continued detention is not justified for the security of the United States, or its people, nor is he a flight risk.”
In a phone interview with the Irish Echo on July 28, King, a former chairman of the House of Representatives Homeland Security Committee, was asked if he thought Brennan should ultimately be allowed to stay in the US.
“Yes I do. My understanding is the only problem with that is that he didn't file (the work permit renewal form) on time,” said Congressman King. “As I understand it, he was living here legally and then there was a paperwork error. And whether it was his fault or the government's fault, the fact is, as I understand it, there was no malice, there was no attempt not to file it. So if they are the facts, then he should stay.”
Joanna Volz, Pól Brennan's American wife of 19 years, said that she doesn't disagree with the decision to evacuate a facility in the path of a hurricane. But her husband's relocation to New Mexico means that visiting her husband will be next to impossible.
“I was seeing him every Saturday for either a half-hour or an hour,” said Volz. “Now that is no longer possible. The new prison is in the middle of nowhere. It would be a two-day drive each way for me to see him.”
Pól Brennan's next scheduled court appearance is on August 12. However, given that the Texas courtroom where judge overseeing his case normally presides was damaged by Hurricane Dolly, those proceedings could be pushed back several weeks, or even months.
16. ICTU and SIPTU set to lodge new wage claims
PRIVATE SECTOR trade unions have said they are working on the assumption they are no longer involved in a process to negotiate a new national pay deal and will now begin lodging wage claims with individual companies.
Chairman of the private sector committee of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) Jerry Shanahan said the question of whether the 26-County administration issued an invitation for further talks was “a moot point”.
Speaking after the committee adopted new guidelines for unions in lodging pay claims with employers, Jerry Shanahan said the talk’s process was not adjourned but had collapsed last weekend.
“There would not be any point in bringing us back on the basis of where we finished on the last day. Something would have to change. The question of whether an invitation issues is a moot point at this stage. There is nothing that has created an environment where an invitation would be positively looked at this stage,” he said.
Jerry Shanahan said the pay deals for many thousands of workers had either expired or would run out over the coming weeks and months. “Workers expect us to lodge claims. Inflation has not stopped, price rises have not stopped,” he said.
Shanahan said the 26-County administration had also contributed to the breakdown in the pay talks. He said it had not brought forward measures sought by the unions on collective bargaining, agency workers and pensions: “If they had made substantial proposals in those areas, it would have coloured the thinking of unions on the pay side.”
Jerry Shanahan said that, following the breakdown of the national talks, unions had been waiting for the committee to produce guidelines on lodging claims.
Under the guidelines, unions are to seek flat-rate increases of €30 per week for low-paid workers and rises that match inflation - about 5 per cent - for those above this threshold. Unions will look for further rises in profitable companies.
Jerry Shanahan said members and their representatives would decide which companies could pay increases and what alternative strategies had to be adopted in cases where the firm was facing difficulties or job security issues. “At the end of the day, responsibility will rest with the members. They will make the final decisions,” he said.
Jack O'Connor, president of SIPTU, said the claims lodged in the coming days and weeks would have to be those of the members as reflected by their elected representatives in the workplace. He said the question of whether this would result in industrial disputes was in the hands of employers.
The ICTU committee also predicted inflation for the year would be higher than the 4.3 per cent 26-County Department of Finance forecast. “The only realistic forecast is that, for 2008 as a whole, the consumer price index will average… 5 per cent,” it said in a statement.
17. Severely handicapped man left on Cork hospital trolley for 30 hours
A SEVERELY handicapped man who cannot walk or talk spent 30 hours on a trolley at Cork University Hospital (CUH) waiting for a bed and leaving his sisters to care for him in full view of other patients, it was claimed on July 27.
Graham Dempsey (33) from Cork city is physically handicapped, suffers from MS and scoliosis (curvature of the back) and needs full-time care. He became ill at a respite centre on July 25 and was taken to the hospital for treatment for vomiting and dehydration.
His older sister, Betty O'Regan, said he presented at the hospital at 9.30am on July 25 and still had not received a bed when they decided to bring him home at 3pm on July 26. Betty O'Regan said she was “appalled” by the failure of staff to respond to her brother's urgent needs. “My father calls people like Graham ‘the forgotten people’. He was vomiting all the time and he was eventually put on a trolley, but someone like Graham can't stay on a trolley for long because of the scoliosis in his back.
“Graham can't go up to the bathroom so he wears nappies all the time. The staff just left him in the wet nappy. His nappy was soaking and we wanted a bed so we could change him in privacy.
“We didn't want a private room or an en suite - just somewhere where we could change his nappy without other patients around us.”
Betty O'Regan said her brother was finally given a drip while on a trolley at 9pm on July 25. She said she begged staff to find a bed for her brother as his scoliosis meant he was in considerable pain on the trolley.
As the evening progressed, Betty O'Regan said her brother had a number of “fit-like” episodes because of the stress. Betty O'Regan spent the night in her brother's wheelchair while her sister Anita had not even a chair to sit on.
At lunchtime on July 26 Graham Dempsey's condition had improved somewhat. However, he was still weak and had a high temperature. Hospital staff reportedly informed Betty O'Regan that her brother would have to spend at least another day on a trolley. Betty O'Regan and her sister made the decision to bring him home despite his “sky-high temperature”.
A spokeswoman for the HSE South speaking on July 27: “CUH regrets that the family was unhappy with the treatment they received. Every effort is made to ensure that patients are treated with the dignity and courtesy they are entitled to.
“The patient was discharged from hospital on Saturday morning and hospital staff are available to directly liaise with the family to address their concerns.”
18. Cork Gaeltacht honours revered composer Ó Riada
A LIFE-size statue of composer Seán Ó Riada was unveiled in Cúil Aodha, in the Cork Gaeltacht, on August 3. Rachel Ní Riada, a daughter, represented the family alongside six of her siblings and 18 of Ó Riada's grandchildren.
Ó Riada was perhaps the single most influential figure in the renaissance of traditional Irish music from the 1960s, through his participation in Ceoltóirí Cualann, his compositions, musical arrangements, his writings and his broadcasts on the topic.
Speaking before the statue was officially unveiled opposite St Gobnait's Church in Cúil Aodha, Rachel Ní Riada said her late mother and father would have been delighted with the honour.
“We really appreciate it. The organising committee approached us a few months ago and it took off very quickly. We are thrilled.”
The unveiling was preceded by a Mass at 2pm at St Gobnait's Church which was attended by, amongst others, the surviving members of Ceoltóiri Cualann, a group founded by Ó Riada. Those present included former group member and singer Seán Ó Sé.
One of the organisers of the event, Eoin Ó Súilleabháin, said locals were pleased to honour one of Irish music's biggest influences. “People have been thinking about something like this for years but nobody took the initiative of actually doing anything until less than a year ago.
“We picked this weekend because it would have been his [Ó Riada's] birthday and members of Ceoltóiri Cualann always come to the town at this time.”
The statue of Ó Riada is the work of sculptor Mike Kenny from Castleisland, Co Kerry.
It portrays Ó Riada playing the organ and is located in the grounds of St Gobnait's, where one of his most enduring compositions - the Ó Riada Mass - is still sung every Sunday by a choir led by his son Peadar.
The unveiling was followed by a performance by the surviving members of Ceoltóirí Cualann.
Ó Riada is perhaps best remembered as being the first to blend Irish traditional music with its classical counterpart, most notably in the music which he produced for the film Mise Éire.
He was born John Reidy on August 1st, 1931, in Cork. His parents, John and Julia Reidy (née Creedon) brought young John back to their home in Adare, Co Limerick, where he remained until he transferred to St Finbarr's College, Farranferris, in 1943.
Reidy subsequently attended University College Cork where he met his future wife, Ruth Coughlan. The pair married on September 1st, 1953.
Ó Riada's first venture into professional employment was with RTÉ, where he was appointed assistant director of music.
He later became director of music at the Abbey Theatre. A passionate interest in the Irish language emerged and he first began signing his name as Seán Ó Riada on Abbey compositions in 1955. This signalled a new phase in Ó Riada's personal development, one which saw him become immersed in the traditional Irish way of life.
He was appointed lecturer in music at UCC and he and his family moved to Cúil Aodha in 1963.
He died on October 3rd, 1971, aged 40, in King's College Hospital, London, following a heart attack.
19. Anti-blood sports council criticises IFA over seminar
THE Irish Council Against Blood Sports criticised the Irish Farmers Association (IFA) on July 30 for endorsing what the council claims is a pro-hunting seminar which it says demonises animal protection groups. Aideen Yourell of the Irish Council Against Blood Sports said the seminar was clearly designed to garner support for hunting.
“The cynical attempt to rope businesses into supporting hunting… I'm surprised that the IFA is lending their support to this, I would have thought there were far more important issues facing Irish farming,” she said.
Aideen Yourell said that, contrary to Duffy's claims, groups opposed to hunting had widespread support in the community. The conference was a “fear-mongering” exercise, she said and accusations of intimidation had been “hyped-up” by Duffy.
The seminar, Consumer Intimidation, the Vegan/Animal Rights Agenda, has been organised by Gavin Duffy of the Hunting Association of Ireland, in response to what he says are increasingly intimidatory protests by animal rights activists.
IFA president Pádraig Walshe and Irish Farmers Journal editor Matt Dempsey addressed the seminar in Dublin on August 8 in addition to the keynote speaker Lt Col Dennis J Foster, described by Gavin Duffy as the world's leading authority on the animal rights movement.
Meat and poultry processors, restaurateurs, abattoir owners, fur sellers, race course managers, pharmaceutical companies and circuses are among the groups invited to attend.
20. Tibetans in Ireland fear Tibet plight will worsen
FEARS that the situation in Tibet would worsen after the Beijing Olympics were expressed by members of the Tibetan community in Ireland on August 5.
About a dozen Tibetan exiles protested outside the Chinese embassy in Dublin ahead of the opening of the Games on Friday.
Draped in Tibetan flags, they sang the national anthem and chanted “we want a free Tibet”.
They called on the Chinese government to stop its crackdown on Tibetan protesters and demanded that thousands of arrested protesters be released.
“The worst is still to come after the Olympics when attention of world moves away from China,” Namgyal Damdul, chairperson of the Tibetan Community in Ireland, said.
“We fear the worst might happen to those in prisons and they might be given the death penalty,” he said. “We are urging all governments around the world to press China to release all these prisoners.”
Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism Martin Cullen is in Beijing and is due to attend the Games on Friday. The group called on Minister Cullen to put pressure on the Chinese leadership regarding Tibet.
Last month a spokesperson for the department said Martin Cullen would attend the opening ceremony on the basis that issues surrounding human rights and Tibet had improved and had reached resolution.
Namgyal Damdul said there was no resolution and that this statement did not match the facts.
ENDS
