DUP MP Iris Robinson is apparently insulted that local broadcaster, UTV, have a policy of permitting presenters to wear poppies from November 2nd- 11th. Clearly, Iris doesn’t think this is a long enough period of time- and she knows who to blame:
“(UTV stated] they had to be careful not to offend anyone. Of course for ‘anyone’ read ‘republicans’.”
The DUP MP declared that this was a “sop to sectarianism and bigotry”, and that it shows UTV are “unable to provide objective leadership” on the issue (I bet you could guess what that ‘objective leadership’ would look like…)
I make this the third public statement by senior DUP representatives regarding local broadcasters in recent weeks: The party condemned the BBC for broadcasting the Long Kesh Great Escape documentary (‘Breakout’) and recently demanded that BBC and UTV broadcast the British Forces parade live this Sunday.
The first images of the Ghost of Mirach taken by the Galaxy Evolution Explorer hinted at a surrounding ultraviolet-bright extended structure. Subsequent, longer exposure observations indeed show that the lenticular galaxy is surrounded by a clumpy, never-before-seen ring of stars.
What is this mysterious ultraviolet ring doing around an otherwise nondescript lenticular galaxy? As it turns out, previous imaging with the National Science Foundation’s Very Large Array radio telescope in New Mexico had discovered a gaseous ring of hydrogen that matches the ultraviolet ring observed by the Galaxy Evolution Explorer. The authors of this Very Large Array study attributed the gas ring to a violent collision between NGC 404 and a small neighboring galaxy 900 million years ago.
The ultraviolet observations demonstrate that, when the hydrogen from the collision settled into the plane of the lenticular galaxy, stars began to form in a ghostly ring. Young, relatively hot stars forming in stellar clusters sprinkled throughout NGC 404’s ring give off the ultraviolet light that the Galaxy Evolution Explorer was able to see.
“Before the Galaxy Evolution Explorer image, NGC 404 was thought to contain only very old and evolved red stars distributed in a smooth elliptical shape, suggesting a galaxy well into its old age and no longer evolving significantly,” said Mark Seibert of the Observatories of the Carnegie Institution of Washington in Pasadena, Calif. “Now we see it has come back to life, to grow once again.”
“The Ghost of Mirach has been lucky enough to get a new lease on life through the rejuvenating, chance merger with its dwarf companion,” added Thilker.
Worth welcoming back Joanne who is assiduously following and mapping the abortion debate on her re-opened blog: Journalesque... More women into politics please… If you know of any we’re consistently missing, let us know!?
The first homecoming parade took place in Ballymena this evening. The RIR will be granted the freedom of Larne tomorrow and then the Belfast parade will take place on Sunday. I heard earlier today that of the 280 or so Armed Forces personnel parading on Sunday 23% (approximately 65) will be from the Republic of Ireland.
I’m something of a blogging nomad these days, between Brassneck, Comment is Free and, too occasionally, Irish Election, it’s hard to figure which way’s up some days. But I’ve got another home coming up over at the Matt Wardman Wire, but in this case it will be a weekly online column called Gearbox, and which I’ll be sharing with Mark Pack of Lib Dem Voice and Head of Innovations at that party. The idea is to dig down underneath the way politics is done. I’ll be crossposting the column to Brassneck every fortnight. You can pick up an RSS feed of most of my output from here.
The following is an entirely personal set of musings about Poppy day and Remembrance etc. I know some people find some of my blogs at times too personal but I wanted to do this one: if you do not like it just move on to the next blog. It is poppy time again and I am back to wearing a poppy and yet feeling a bit uncomfortable about it. My discomfort exists at a number of levels:
Firstly I do not want to offend anyone by wearing a poppy. I am aware that there are some people who find a poppy offensive: they may have good or bad reasons for disliking poppies. One can argue that they celebrate militarism and glory in what were actually awful events. I am not trying to celebrate militarism: I am trying to remember the sacrifice and death of the world wars by wearing it. I feel that I am remembering the young Germans who died in the First World War as well: they were not very different to my ancestors who fought on the British side. I even feel that I am remembering the Germans of the Second War as well. Just because the Nazi regime was itself evil does not mean that they were themselves all committing evil by fighting for their country: most had little choice. As such I know why I wear the poppy but clearly I cannot explain that to everyone I see in the street.
I also do not want to be seen as being critical of those who are not wearing a poppy. I remember an elder in our church apologising as he was reading the announcements on Remembrance Sunday but had forgotten his poppy. Not wearing a poppy: be it through forgetfulness, the thing dropping off or refusal to wear one should not be something to be ashamed of. I often wonder if there are a vast pile of poppies in Westminster so all the politicians can pick one up before going on television.
Poppies are sometimes used as a badge of Prodishness: I well remember Queen’s at poppy time and the instant badge of identity which the poppy implied: just as in a way Ash Wednesday provided an alternative badge. I do not really like the way a poppy tends to imply support for one side in Northern Ireland and indeed may be seen as implying a particular political position: one which I of course support. I happen to support hardline unionism and also happen to wear a poppy. I do not wear a poppy in order to demonstrate my unionism. Again I cannot explain that to everyone I meet.
So why do I continue to wear a poppy? Well because at the end of the day I want to remember and mark what happened in the world wars and indeed in the wars before and since: most of all I want to remember the people who fought, suffered and died, especially the ones I knew:
My grandfather who was ground crew for the RAF, my step grandfather who was a navigator on Wellingtons. Most of all I remember my father in law.
Elenwe’s dad was a lovely, frustrating, irritating old man. When I first met him he was a fit 84 year old. He did not talk much about his experiences but from what he did tell us he joined the army in 1939 to see the world more than from any great sense of patriotic duty. He was trained initially at Catterick before being sent to Singapore to the garrison there as a motorbike despatch rider. The defence of Singapore was very poorly organised and the British should have been able to put up a vastly better military response. They completely failed to appreciate that the Japanese would come down the Malaysian peninsula on the roads the British had made rather than mount a sea borne invasion. In addition they betrayed arrogance and were dismissive of the Japanese soldiers fighting abilities. Churchill was obsessed with the war in Europe and would not spare troops and most importantly equipment to mount a proper defence.
Anyhow this is not a history lesson. Elenwe’s dad had no involvement in fighting, the closest he got was that he always claimed his deafness in later life was related to being near the 15” sea guns when they were being fired (as opposed to great old age which seemed the more likely explanation). He was captured along with all the others and sent north, not to the camp on the River Kwai, but to a camp building the railway to it. He recounted having a pint of milk stolen on the journey which greatly annoyed him, little realising what lay in store for him. The work in the camp was extremely heavy, the food abysmal in both quantity and quality. The guards (who were themselves treated pretty badly) beat them regularly. A favourite form of torture involved pouring large quantities of water into the prisoners’ mouths and then repeatedly kicking them in the stomach. The thing he complained about most though was the time a soldier used a sword to behead a dog: funny what people take exception to. He recounted that the local people, little better treated than them tried to help the prisoners.
So many people died that the guards knew the last post from it having been played so frequently. Elenwe’s dad got some sort of tropical ulcer and was in what passed for the camp hospital. After he recovered, the doctors kept him as an orderly in the hospital which saved him some of the ill treatment. Later he worked in the cook house making food for the Japanese soldiers which got him slightly more and slightly better food as sometimes they let the cooks have a bit of the guards’ food. I asked him once about his faith in that place and he simply said that he trusted God to keep him safe.
Eventually after 3 ½ years they heard rumours that the British and Indian forces were advancing towards them. This might well have resulted in them being killed by their captors. However, the nuclear bombs and Japan’s surrender intervened. He said that one day the Japanese commander simply told them that Japan had surrendered. In some camps a Union flag was found and run up but I think little changed and they essentially all sat about and waited to see what would happen. After a few weeks the British duly arrived.
The most seriously unwell were airlifted in a series of hops back to Britain (usually via India). The healthier ones like Elenwe’s dad were sent to the sea and back on ships. He said that this helped him adjust a bit to freedom. So eventually they arrived at Southampton and he was demobilised and sent back to Northern Ireland. He used to recount how eventually he arrived at Clones on the train and then had to walk home as they were too busy on the farm to collect him. Then he restarted the life of a Fermanagh farmer who did nothing terribly strange and finally married at the age of about 50. All I can say is that I am extremely grateful that we were (to quote the Bible) able to show him his children’s children.
So I am in no way trying to force anyone to wear a poppy but that is why I wear mine.
One good rule of thumb in politics is never, never lose your rag with a television interviewer: unless, that is, you have the chutzpah (Paisley), or the brass neck (Adams) to get away with it. All our politicians have done it. So it’s probably no surprise that last night, Peter Robinson seemed to lose his temper several times under a combative flurry of questions from Noel Thompson on Hearts and Minds concerning the continuing deadlock over the devolution of policing and justice.
Yet it’s also clear from this hastily assembled transcript, why he might be feeling testy with a mainstream media that has, thus far, rarely bothered to scratch beneath the surface of a major issue that’s slowly strangling government in Northern Ireland:
Robinson: We have a moral duty, a legal duty and a political duty to do the work that we pledged to do. That is what we should be doing now.
Thompson: You also have a duty to agree an agenda for Executive meetings. You and Martin McGuinness are the co chairs of the Executive Committee. It is your responsibility in the statue to agree an agenda. It’s not enough for you to say come along and talk about whatever you want to talk about. It hs to be agreed before the meeting begins.
Robinson: Well you mustn’t have been following the discussion on this issue. An Executive takes place on the basis of papers that are presented to the Office of First and Deputy First Ministers from Ministers out in each of the Departments. There are almost thirty Ministerial papers that I have cleared. I’m prepared to accept any of those on the agenda. Martin McGuinness himself has cleared a dozen of those papers, and I have said “We have both agreed on these twelve papers, lets have them on the agenda, but he refuses to do that. On that basis I said well look, let’s have an open agenda. I said let even just deal with the one big issue that facing our community, the financial crisis let have that one the agenda, they refuse that as well. Don’t blame me if you want to take it out, and you’re entitled to take it out on politicians, but take it out on the wrong ones.
Thompson: But the problem is not what you will agree to talk to them about but what you won’t agree to talk about. It’s not enough for you say come along and well talk about what you want to talk about. You should be both be going in with papers, position papers, negotiation positions to thrash this out once and for all. But that’s just not happening.
Robinson: What issue do you want me to thrash out at the Executive?
Thompson: Devolution of Policing and Justice.
Robinson: That’s not a Executive matter, it’s a political matter! It’s not a function of the Executive. It hasn’t been devolved, therefore the Executive doesn’t have any say in it.
Thompson: Ah, but you have to agree to the devolution of it.
Robinson: Not at the Executive we don’t.
Thompson: Well where are you going to agree to it then.
Robinson: Hold on a second. Try and do it within the law as the law stands. It is not an Executive matter. It is not an issue to be discussed by the Executive. It is a matter to be discussed between the parties.
Thompson: Okay, so when are you going to do that?
Robinson: I’ve been doing it for months now and indeed making progress on it for months now. I haven’t been reluctant to deal with any of the outstanding issues. Not just the one that happens to be of interest to Sinn Fein, but there happen to be issues that are of interest to the Unionist people as a whole.
Thompson: This is the crucial one; would you agree that?
Robinson: No, I don’t agree this.
Thompson: In terms of moving everything forward, this is what is stopping it.
Robinson: Right, if I say I am doing nothing until we resolve one of the issues on my agenda, does that become the crucial one? It is vital that we resolve all the issues that are outstanding, not just the one that Sinn Fein decides should be taken before all others. If we allow that to happen then we will have threats every day of existence of the Executive and the Assembly.
Thompson: But it is the one you are putting to the bottom of the list. It is not something that is in your gift. It is part of the St Andrews Agreement.
Robinson: What is part of the St Andrews Agreement?
Thompson: The devolution of Policing and Justice.
Robinson:: And so are all the other issues that I’ve mentioned. All of these issues have to be dealt with and I want to deal with them. It doesn’t mean that one has to be taken out of sinc with the others. It doesn’t mean that one has to take a greater priority than all the others. But I have said publicly that I want to see the devolution of policing and justice, but they must be devolved in the right manner, in the right way. with the right structures and with the right people who can get the confidence of the community in charge of them.
A spokesman for the department said the suspension would give them “time to assess the impact of recent changes in the financial and property markets”. “The minister continues to affirm the importance of the Workplace 2010 principles, and the NICS remains committed to creating a modern, flexible working environment that will enable the delivery of better public services,” he said. The department said that both bidders were in agreement with the move.
The BBC is a disgrace. Forcing Brand out because The Daily Mail and The Sun complained, ONE WEEK AFTER the original broadcast. I listened to it. It’s stupid and crude but funny in places. Just like Brand and Ross. Sachs’ agent only complained AFTER the Mail on Sunday told her about the call.
- Ulster’s Doomed believes a significant bit of news has been buried and suspects there might be an announcement on P & J on 5th November. Mind you judging by Peter Robinson’s demeanour on Hearts and Minds last night, I can’t see it…
- Checkov reckons Tom Elliot is right to point out that Gordon Brown is on shaky ground calling for a greater emphasis on Britishness, given his government’s record on constitutional reform...
We are told about the centrality of financial market and institutional stability to the well-being of our economy. This is true, however much one might wish that we lived in a different economic context. And so when said financial market and institutions encounter near-catastrophic difficulties every sinew of the state is stretched to support them. To the point where guarantees that might potentially bankrupt the state are given - and for an example of how eventual bankruptcy might operate in future look at the plight of plucky little Iceland, learning the hard way that rhetoric about independence only goes so far in this world, particularly when allied with a peculiarly smug self-satisfaction centred on financial acumen
...if the MSM Final Push to Victory, among other factors, really does help produce a big Obama closing surge, that could (perversely!) tip the ticket-splitters’ lever against Franken, Martin, etc., no?
Making a complete break from Brand/Ross, why is it that our writers dwell so much and so successfully on the Greek classics? Thirty to forty years ago the poets took refuge in lyricism, in the personal and in the deep roots of pre-history. More recently writers have been delving into the fundamental themes of epic tragedy to find more public resonance and depth. They’re all different but their personal background is very relevant. Much of the original inspirations have Yeats in common, I guess. The US poet Robert Pinsky boldly pegs Heaney’s The Cure of Troy to contemporary troubled politics and you can see why, in the dramatic poem’s best known lines.
The innocent in gaols
beat on their bars together.
A hunger-striker’s father
stands in the graveyard dumb.
The police widow in veils
faints at the funeral home.
History says, Don’t hope
on this side of the grave.
But then, once in a lifetime
the longed for tidal wave
of justice can rise up,
and hope and history rhyme.
Tom Paulin went further than any of the others setting his version of Sophocles’ Antigone The Riot Act for Field Day in 1985 in our own place. Both Owen McCafferty and Frank McGuiness have Sophocles running at the Waterfront in Belfast and the National in London respectively.
You can see the appeal of classics to the intensity of our political themes. This review from the US Ivy League college Bryn Mawr of the contemporary place of Greek drama in our modern pulls the theme together nicely.
Paulin clearly intended his audiences to react sympathetically to Antigone while seeing Creon as a politically corrupt figure; just as The Island was crafted as an indictment of apartheid, so The Riot Act aimed to bolster the republican cause in Northern Ireland (and to counter a widely circulated Unionist interpretation of Sophocles’ tragedy that unequivocally favored Creon). Their highly politicized approaches to adapting Antigone contrast with the more subtle efforts of Heaney and McGuiness. Both of these playwrights acknowledge the impact of violence in Northern Ireland, the Balkans, and elsewhere on their conceptions of Philoctetes’ and Electra’s situations. Yet, in Heaney’s words, The Cure at Troy portrays Philoctetes as “an aspect of every intransigence” and “a manifestation of the swank of victimhood” rather than a “trimly allegorical representation of hardline Unionism” (Heaney, 175); McGuiness similarly insists that his version of Electra is not a “veiled metaphor for the civil war in the North of Ireland” (Long, 268). Instead, the paralyzing grief of his Electra is meant to offer a general “warning against mourning too much…”
Looking back at his endeavor in The Riot Act, Paulin concedes the limitations of readings and productions that simply make Antigone a martyr of righteous resistance while failing to “take on the complexity of Creon’s actions” His remarks, when considered together with the observations of the other three artists, give us much food for thought about how modern versions of ancient dramas (whether translations, adaptations, “tranlocations,” or something else) may and may not provide prisms for viewing the world in which we live and for understanding how its problems might be ameliorated. This topic is provocatively taken up by Seamus Deane (“Field Day’s Greeks (and Russians),” 148-64) who respectfully critiques Paulin’s effort in The Riot Act, arguing that Sophocles’ complex treatment of Creon makes Antigone at best an awkward and imperfect vehicle for the political message that Paulin and his associates in Field Day wanted to conveyŔ
1. John Gaw, Greenisland, County Antrim: Sentenced to 10 years in March 1977 for possession of arms and training UVF East Antrim members. Involved in 76-day UVF trial which ended with 27 men receiving a total of 700 years plus eight “Lifes” for UVF activity.
2. 3. 4. Ronald Gibson, Mark Mam and Kenneth Spence, Newtonabbey: Fined £50 each in February 1979 for breaking into and desecrating local Star of the Sea Catholic Church.
5. James Gilles, Belfast: Jailed for four years in May 1975 for illegal possession of a firearm.
6. Thomas Gruers, Magherafelt: Fined £50 in February 1981 for firing shots from a Walther pistol during a fracas - apparently between nationalists and unionists - in Portrush.
7. Louis Hathaway, Gilford: County Down, fined £100 in August 1979 for possession of a loaded pistol while drunk near an anti-internment protest.
8. Raymond Higgins, Belfast: Jailed for two years in March 1981 for illegal possession of a firearm and attempted rape.
9. Henry William Hutchins, Limavady: Jailed for five years in March 1975 for armed robbery. A known member of the UDA.
10. Geoffery Edwards, Armagh: Charged in December 1983 with the murder of Sinn Féin election worker Peter Corrigan, plus four attempted murders, including that of Seamus Grew (subsequently shot dead by the RUC).
11. Mervyn Joseph Faloon, Tandragree: Sentenced to five years in February 1978 for shooting into the catholic Obins Street enclave in Portadown on July 12 1977.
12. Samuel Farrell, Enniskillen: Sentenced to 18 months in November 1977 for bombing a dance hall in Donegal in 1974.
13. William Ferris, Belfast: Suspended sentence in February 1974 for possessing a shotgun and ammunition in suspicious circumstances.
14. James Gallagher, Belfast: Six months suspended in February 1974 for possession of firearms in suspicious circumstances.
15. William Gallagher, Belfast: Sentenced to 10 years in April 1979 for five armed robberies. Known to be a member of the UVF.
16. Robert Joseph Gamble, Belfast: Sentenced to five years in February 1972 for bombing Lisburn Council offices. Fellow bomber killed in the operation. Known to be a member of the UVF.
17. Samuel Cookey, Belfast: Sentenced to life in March 1977 for possession of a home-made machine gun, sawn-off shotgun, 10 short-arms, an SLR and 3,089 rounds of ammunition. Member of UVF.
18. Basil Corbett, Fermanagh: Sentenced to two years in March 1983 for 15 sectarian offences, including issuing death threats to local catholics.
19. George Henderson Corry, Portadown: Fined £50 in June 1975 for being drunk in charge of a gun.
20. Trevor Craig, Antrim: Suspended sentence in June 1978 for attempted armed robbery.
21. Raymond Crainey, Armagh: Jailed for six months in March 1973 for illegal possession of a pistol and firing it while drunk.
22. Thomas Crossey, Lisburn: Jailed for 18 months in June 1973 for possessing a loaded pistol in suspicious circumstances.
23. 24. Ivan Dalgleish and Thomas Canavan, Belfast: Each jailed for nine years in March 1974 for bombing a catholic-owned pub in County Down.
25. Michael Doherty, Belfast: Sentenced to four years in February 1984 for illegal possession of three rifles, a silencer, six magazines and 101 rounds of ammunition.
26. John Best, Belfast: Sentenced to two years in February 1978 for assembling a bomb for the UDA.
27. Desmond William Boyd, Strabane: Fined £20 in April 1978 for firing off a machine-gun while drunk and off duty.
28. William John Cahoon, Belfast: Fined £125 in December 1983 for reckless driving. Allegedly tried to run down two youths from the Ardoyne area.
29. Harold Cardwell, Carrickfergus: Jailed for 18 months in January 1976 for illegal possession of a shotgun. UVF connections.
30. 31. Samuel Carson, Bangor and Noel Moore Boyd, Belfast: Jailed for 15 and 12 years respectively in October 1976 for bombing an Irish pub in Kilburn, London.
32. Barry Clarke, Fivemiletown: Convicted of attempted armed robbery. Suspended sentence in February 1981.
33. Kenneth John Cockrane, Magherafelt: Fined £100 in August 1983 for possession of loaded firearm, drunkeness and assault.
34. Gerald Atkinson, Magherafelt: Sent to Borstal in March 1974 for the attempted bombing of a catholic church.
35. John Alexander Aughey, Belfast: Fined £100 for illegal possession of ammunition in May 1976.
36. David Frederick Beck, Belfast: Sentenced to five years in February 1975 for armed intimidation of catholics during the UWC strike.
37. Edward McIlwaine, Belfast: Sentenced to 15 years in February 1979 for kidnapping, assault and possession with intent. One of the infamous Shankill Butchers, it was not until after their conviction that the UDR membership of McIlwaine was made public.
38. Alasdair McKendry, Ballymena: Charged in August 1983 with armed robbery, illegal possession of arms and UVF membership.
39. William McVeigh, 7th Battalion UDR HQ: Jailed for three years in October 1973 for possession of a revolver in suspicious circumstances.
40. Edgar Meehan, Castlederg: Sentenced (in Dublin) to six months in March 1976 for illegal possession of a sub-machine gun and 35 rounds of ammunition in County Donegal.
41. 42. 43. 44. Ronnie Nelson, ‘Billy’ Yearl, Sammy Anderson and Billy McCleanaghan, Cookstown-Maghera: Sentenced to 10 years each in April 1978 for ‘robbing’ 320 guns, 9,500 rounds of assorted ammunition, grenades and a rocket from Magherafelt UDR armoury, plus robbery and sectarian arson attacks. Also known to be members of the UDA.
45. Henry McConnell, Belfast: Fined £65 in April 1975 for possession of ammunition in suspicious circumstances.
46. Joseph Dennis McConville, Annaghmore, County Armagh: Jailed for two years in September 1976 for theft of ammunition from a British Ministry of Defence firing range.
47. Henry McCosh, Belfast: Sentenced to six months (suspended) in February 1974 for possession of a revolver and more than 200 rounds of ammunition in suspicious circumstances.
48. 49. 50. 51. Roderick Shane McDowell and Raymond Thomas Crozier: Jailed for 35 years in October 1976 for the Miami Showband massacre. Two other UDR men, Wesley Sommerville and Harris Boyle, blew themselves up in the same incident. All four were also members of the UVF.
52. Joseph McGranaghan, Belfast: Jailed for two years in April 1974 for possession of a revolver (previously ‘stolen’ from an RUC man) in suspicious circumstances.
53. James McGucken, Coagh, County Tyrone: Fined £100 in December 1976 for assaulting a local catholic.
54. Richard Long, Comber, County Down: Sentenced to life in May 1977 for conspiracy to kill catholics.
55. Trevor Lyle: Jailed for one month (suspended for two years) for illegal possession of firearms in June 1976. Charge reduced from attempted murder.
56. Jeffrey Lynn, Tobermore, County Derry: Jailed for six months in September 1976 for handling stolen property. Originally charged with the September 1975 armed robbery of Knockloughrim Post Office - prosecution witness, William Millar, subsequently murdered by fellow members of Lynn’s ‘5th Batt. UDR’.
57. William McClanaghan, South Derry: Sentenced to eight years in May 1978 for bombing a catholic-owned shop in Ballinascreen.
58. William McComb, Banbridge: Jailed for 10 years in November 1976 for possession with intent and armed robbery on behalf of the UVF.
59. David Laffin, Belfast: Sent to Borstal in March 1976 for possession of a sub-machine gun and 760 rounds of ammunition in suspicious circumstances. The gun had been ‘stolen’ from Portadown UDR armoury in 1973.
60. 61. 62. 63. 64. 65. 66. Neil Lattimer, William Roleston, David Ian McMullan, James Hegan, Winston Allen, Noel Bell and Colin Warton: Charged in December 1983 with the murder of Adrian Carroll in Armagh. All based at Drumadd Barracks, Armagh.
67. Thomas Leonard, County Tyrone: Sentenced to life in October 1975 for the machine-gun murder of James and Mary Devlin at Edendork, Tyrone, in 1974. He was later given concurrent sentences for a series of other offences.
68. Alister Roger Lockhart, Armagh: Jailed for 10 years in May 1975 for a car bombing in Armagh, illegal possession of firearms and other offences. A known member of the UVF.
69. Samuel James Logan: Appears to have been the first UDR man to appear on a charge in a court. From Derry, he was convicted in September 1971 for illegal possession of a pistol.
70. Thomas Irvine, Belfast: Jailed for five years in February 1976 for illegal possession of a firearm. Known member of the UDA.
71. Alexander Irwin, Armagh: Jailed for three years in November 1975 for possession of bomb-making equipment. Known member of the UVF.
72. Glynn Jones, Belfast: Sentenced to six months in February 1973 for illegal possession of ammunition.
73. Derek Kennedy, Armagh: Jailed for 18 months (suspended) in November 1976 for setting fire to a catholic school and a methodist church.
74. William Frederick Kennedy, Belfast: Fined £50 in January 1977 for being drunk in charge of a loaded pistol. He had wounded a companion while toying with the weapon in a pub.
75. Derek Hugh Kinkaid, Belfast: Jailed for eight years in December 1974 for armed robbery of a post office. Known to have UDA connections.
76. John Thompson: Jailed for three years at Belfast Crown Court in May 1974 for the manslaughter of Phillip Lowrey.
77. Gerald Todd, Belfast: Sentenced to one year (suspended) in January 1973 for the illegal possession of a sub-machine gun.
78. Denis George Warton, Loughgilly, County Armagh: Jailed for six months in September 1977 for armed robbery.
79. Patricia Shirley Whyte, Limavady: Charged in February 1984 with the attempted murder of a local woman in the same month.
80. William Michael Workman, Islandmagee, County Antrim: Sentenced to five years in March 1977 for possession of a sub-machine gun and three other guns. Known to be the ‘Training Officer’ of the East Antrim UVF.
81. Kenneth Young, Portadown: Sentenced to five years in February 1978 for shooting up the catholic Obins Street area of Portadown on July 12 1977.
82. Brian Roberts: Sentenced to life in January 1983 for killing Liam Canning at Alliance Avenue on August 9, 1981. The killing was claimed at the time by the ‘Ulster Freedom Fighters’ (UFF).
83. Thomas Simpson, Belfast: Jailed for 18 months in April 1976 for illegal possession of two rifles and 40 rounds of ammunition. Known to be a member of the UVF.
84. William Smith, Belfast: Sentenced to nine months (suspended) for illegal possession in March 1973.
85. David Stone, South Derry: Jailed for 12 months in February 1974 for using a gun to intimidate a woman into withholding from the RUC the names of people involved in an assault.
86. Laurence Tate, Moygashel, County Tyrone: Jailed for 12 years in December 1975 for bombing a catholic-owned pub in Dungannon.
87. Malcolm Nesbitt, Belfast: Sentenced to three years in October 1977 for armed robbery.
88. Albert Maurice Parkhill, Coleraine: Suspended sentence in February 1978 for the ‘robbery’ of six rifles from UDR armoury and membership of UVF.
89. William Ramsey, Belfast: Five years in February 1975 for armed intimidation of catholics during the UWC strike.
90. 91. 91. 92. Ben Redfern, John Little, Samuel Hunter Davidson and Gregory Allen, South Derry: All sentenced to life in January 1979 for sectarian murder. Redfern for the murders of John Bolton, James Chivers and Joseph McAuley; the others for the murders of Bolton and McAuley. Other concurrent sentences for robbery, arson etc.
93. Steven Fletcher: While the killing of human rights solicitor Pat Finucane has highlighted the role of RUC Special Branch, the one point that has been largely overlooked is that Steven Fletcher, who served in the UDR, was convicted of supplying the weapon used by Finucane’s killers. Fletcher is said to have ‘stolen’ the pistol from Palace Barracks in Holywood, County Down.
94. Robin Jackson: Jackson’s reputation as the chief executioner in the North’s notorious “murder triangle” dates from his first arrest in October 1973, when the widow of a catholic factory worker called Patrick Campbell picked him out of an RUC line-up in Banbridge, Co Down.
Mrs Campbell answered the door when UDR and UVF member Jackson, and an accomplice, came calling. She had ample time to study both men’s faces before summoning her husband, who was at once cut down in a hail of bullets and died on his own doorstep.
On her evidence, Jackson was later charged with murder but two months after his first remand in custody he was mysteriously released when the DPP decided not to proceed against him.
Jackson’s next public appearance was in the dock at Belfast Crown Court in January, 1981, when with two other unionist gangsters, he was sentenced to seven years for possession of arms and ammunition. By then, his name was a by-word for murder.
The producers of Yorkshire Television’s `The Forgotten Massacre’, a documentary broadcast in 1992, belatedly identified Jackson as a key member of the unionist death squad whose bombing raids on Dublin and Monaghan 18 years earlier had slaughtered 33 people. Although their evidence against him included eight hours of taped testimony from one of The Jackal’s principal accomplices, the British law of libel is such that the station dared not name him. Fourteen months after the Dublin bombing, Jackson led the UDR/UVF team which ambushed the Miami Showband, on their way home from a gig.
Major Colin Wallace, one of the principal Deception Planners employed in the Information Policy Unit at the British army’s General Headquarters in Lisburn during the formative years of Jackson’s career said: “Everything people have whispered about Robin Jackson for years was perfectly true. He was a hired gun. A professional assassin. He was responsible for more deaths in the North than any other person I knew. The Jackal killed people for a living. The State not only knew that he was doing it. Its servants encouraged him to kill its political opponents and protected him.”
By the mid-1980s Jackson, under the title ‘the Jackal’, regularly featured in newspaper stories which reported his alleged role in a number of killings. Among his last victims were reported to have been three Catholics, Eileen Duffy, Catriona Rennie, Brian Frizzell, shot at a mobile shop in Craigavon in 1991 and brothers Gerard and Rory Cairns of the Bleary, County Armagh murdered at their home in October 1993. After that, his UVF mantle was said to have passed on to Billy Wright, the unionist known as ‘King Rat’.
95. William Thompson, RIR, Hamiltonsbawn, County Armagh: Convicted of possessing weapons belonging to unionist paramilitaries. When the RUC raided Thompson’s home they found material produced by the neo-Nazi Combat 18 group. When originally arrested, Thompson was questioned about the 1999 killing of Lurgan human rights solicitor Rosemary Nelson. Thompson, who joined the UDR in 1989, and transferred across into the RIR, was said to be a close associate of LVF leaders Billy Wright and Mark Fulton.
96. In 1990, after large amounts of security files were passed to loyalists, John Stevens, who later headed the Metropolitan Police, launched the first of three inquiries into collusion with unionist death squads. Ten members of the UDR were charged as a result of the probe.
97. Jason Chittick: The RIR member appeared at Craigavon magistrates court charged, along with two others, with the murder of 17-year-old Lurgan schoolboy Gavin Malcolm in 1994.
98. Neil Irwin: The RIR member pleaded guilty in Belfast’s Crown Court in 1995 to involvement in five murder conspiracies and to aiding unionist death squads.
99. In June 2000, following a formal investigation the British government announced that no action would be taken against a British army officer who unfurled an Orange Order flag while a regimental photograph was being taken. The photograph, picturing a major of the 8th battalion RIR and 60 uniformed Royal Irish Regiment members with an Orange Order banner, was taken on July 12 1999, shortly after the Orange Order’s annual Drumcree parade. The RIR men were holding a pro-Orange Order banner, which read: “Drumcree: Here we stand, we can do no other. For religious and civil liberty.”
100. Jonathon Russell, RIR, Woodland Manor, Portadown: was given an 18-month suspended sentence in 2002 for involvement in rioting at Drumcree.
Gerrie Snyam has amazing figures of 5-16 currently as he’s ripped through Ireland’s batting line up with the new ball. Namibia were all out for 250 earlier this morning - looks a long way off currently. UpdateIt appears Ireland’s innings has been declared closed on 195-9, Cusack unbeaten on 95 - one assumes to enable Ireland’s attack to have 2 bites with the new ball. Reminds me of Atherton declaring with Hick in the 90s at Sydney… look what happened to him.Update Just goes to show why Trent Johnston skippers this team and not me as Peter Connell removes both openers in the 2nd over. Namibia effectively 68-2. Update Cricinfo were a bit slow in showing that Rankin was out and Ireland had been dismissed for 195 with Cusack stranded rather than chopped off on 95. Ireland conceded a lead of 55 on 1st innings before Connell got a couple of lbw decisions late in the day to keep Ireland in the hunt. Namibia have a lead of 69 at stumps and you would have to say they are favourites at this point to carry off the title.
Accepting the tensions and controversy caused by their application to march through the streets of Belfast, the MoD have made a series of last minute alterations to their plans for Sunday.
The Army has announced a number of changes to the Belfast Homecoming parade - there will be no fly-past, no weapons carried and a special order been issued to those participating in the Belfast and other homecoming parades. UPDATE More links here. UPDATE 2 Changes to the protest plan. It will now leave from Dunville Park in west Belfast not a city centre venue and proceed along the Grosvenor road until it reaches Fisherwick Place (ie Jury’s hotel). This reduces many of the potential issues within the city centre itself. Certainly shows more practical sense than the Parades Commission proposals.
LAST week the Andytown News ran a leader strongly urging nationalists not to take part in a demonstration against the army’s homecoming parade. In case you’ve forgotten, the head was ‘It didn’t work for Paisley, and it isn’t going to work for us today’. But yesterday’s front page headline read: See you on Sunday. Last week, the ATN was all about defusing tension, today it’s about ratcheting things up. Over its six pages of coverage yesterday - seven articles, one opinion piece and all four letters in Mala Poist - not one single voice backed last week’s Andytown News editorial. Surely it wasn’t leaned on - again?
The justification for the change in heart was helpfully provided by some local squaddies posing with guns and a Northern Ireland flag with the loyalist slogan ‘No Surrender’ on it. Not smart, not unusual, but very convenient. There are many more things provocative to republicanism than photos on a website, no matter how offensive, stupid or sectarian they may be.
As for balance, not a single non-republican (nor even SDLP) voice heard. The exception was shit-stirring loyalist Willie Frazer’s, who’s hardly representative of normality, and was raising the temperature on the loyalist side.
Completely absent was any voice of moderation. Willie was the only person to deviate from the new editorial line the newspaper now shares with Sinn Fein.
It is hard to believe one soldier’s Bebo site caused the change in heart, so has the paper bowed to popular pressure or caved in to the Sinn Fein line again? The former is perhaps understandable - a local paper wouldn’t survive by alienating readers - but past form doesn’t preclude the latter.
Remember the great Squinter climbdown? This latest U-turn reminds me of it. A lot. There seems little point in the paper expressing views if they are going to be thrown away within days. The point of a newspaper’s leader column is to lead opinion, not slavishly follow it. The ATN has now, twice this year, buckled and ran away from defending its own stance.
The weather has been bad over the last week, but you’ll never see the wind change direction quite so quickly as it does in the ATN.
Sinn Fein’s position over the home coming parade has been analysed and discussed in withering, nay tedious, detail. In the absence of much else happening politically it has been the most interesting (and hence, the most over covered) event recently; apart of course from various BBC presenters and their behaviour. In the absence of much else to talk about and since I have not blogged for a while (due to a computer fatality) I thought I might add my tuppence worth.
The most surprising thing about the controversy has been the fact that people seem surprised that Sinn Fein has done this. What do people really expect of them? Suggestions that we should have moved beyond events like this are naïve in the extreme. Sinn Fein is of course a political party. It also more than that; it is a part of a “movement.” Things like “movements” need to do stuff like protesting and furthermore to protest against the home coming parade makes perfect sense from their position.
To object to the parade has many very positive aspects for SF: It allows them to antagonise the overwhelming majority of the unionist community yet pretend to allay themselves with the broader progressive left, many of whom oppose the war in Iraq. Conflating the war in Iraq which was controversial from its inception with the war in Afghanistan is of course an extremely common tendency and one by no means limited to SF. It is, however, worth remembering that very few voices were raised against toppling the beheading, limb amputating, and women suppressing Taliban as compared to the opposition to the invasion of the WMD-less Iraq (a secular nasty dictatorship which just happened to be run by a Muslim).
Attacking the army either physically or otherwise has of course always been very popular with republicans. The fact that the overwhelming majority of these soldiers are actually from Northern Ireland and are probably mostly Protestants allows that perfect combination for republicans of sectarian Prod bashing hiding behind opposition to the British army (how many times have we seen that, especially 21 years ago, with particularly brutal results). The fact that a significant number of the soldiers are not actually Protestants can of course be ignored, as can the fact that large numbers of these supposed imperialist aggressors are actually doctors and nurses who have been looking after the sick from all sides and none in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Whilst SF will claim to the “progressive left” that the opposition to the home coming parade is opposition to one of the most unpopular wars since Vietnam, they may well paint a different picture to their Irish American supporters (best not to do things a bit like the Phelps), just as they have painted a very different picture here. Adams is not alone in majoring on the unacceptability to republicans of the British army in the troubles and again conflating the two issues is as easy for republicans as it is useful for their aims.
In addition the rally and protest will give the republican base something fun to do on a boring November Sunday, especially one near the hated Remembrance Day. Keeping the grass roots happy and involved and making sure that they do not feel that the republican movement has lost its way has always seemed to be an overridingly important aim for Sinn Fein. The protest will be a most effective way of doing this and will demonstrate that it is not just éirígí and such like who are still interested in these sorts of protests. In this it is of course a bit like Martina Anderson and her “Standing up for Derry” earlier in the year. Like that episode it is also gaining additional public attention for one of Sinn Fein’s younger rising stars, in this case Paul Maskey, who seems to be the lead person for this latest episode.
This protest also has similarities with another Martina Anderson fronted episode: Unionist Engagement. Like the late lamented Unionist Engagement, this episode can be presented in a relatively favourable light to some liberals and those outside Northern Ireland. Just like unionist engagement, however, it is an event planned to antagonise unionists who have unsurprisingly risen to the bait: not to do so would have been completely impossible. Republicans can then play the injured party and denounce unionists for opposing their freedom of speech. The storm of protest about SF’s plans from practically all sections of unionism and from many outside it simply helps the republicans in this game. At the event itself, if there is any violence SF can denounce unionist aggression and no doubt police brutality. Even if there are no problems there will undoubtedly be claims of “intimidation” of various sorts. If republicans cause any trouble their actions can of course be explained as “provoked”, if they cause none it will demonstrate their “reasonableness” in the face of provocation.
Again like unionist engagement any opposition to or concern about the parade from any unionists or others can be presented as showing how supposedly divided unionists are, how bigoted those taking part in the homecoming parade and their supporters are and hence, how completely reasonable SF are in protesting. The suggestion by a Presbyterian minister who was with the forces that a service would have been more appropriate fits perfectly with the divided unionists narrative and chimes with Adams’s supposed “reasonableness” in suggesting something other than a parade.
The only surprising thing in all this is the surprise and anger from many that SF are doing what they are doing. Some might like to believe that SF have “had manners put on them” and are now “house trained” or have “moved on.” Episodes such as this merely show that SF are as clever as they have always been and are still hold to exactly the same world view. After Sunday, however, I am sure there will be a bit of denouncing and complaining from the likes of the DUP, along with the suggestion that SF are now reduced to only being able to complain and cause minor trouble like this; such is the completeness of the supposed DUP victory scored at St. Andrews. That of course fits perfectly with the DUP’s narrative.
The Northern Ireland Social Development Minister, the SDLP’s Margaret Ritchie, recently published a draft Equality Impact Assessment for further consultation.. And, on Hearts and Minds, Julia Paul reported on the complicated political and social dynamic involved in the already lengthy consultation on development plans for the Crumlin Road Gaol/Girdwood Park area of North Belfast. Further complicated, it could be argued, by the involvement of the PPR Project. Also contributing to the report - the DUP, Sinn Féin, and Robin Wilson.
Two former SF Cllrs, Martin Connolly of Newry and Mourne Council and Barry Monteith of Dungannon District Council, have declared their support for the éirígí protest over the British military parade in Belfast.
And bizarrely it seems three Republican SF cumann in East Tyrone have left that organisation after the party refused to accept local groups being named after IRA volunteers killed at Loughgall (no link of worth as yet for this).
3 wickets in 2 overs in the last half hour of the day put the gloss on a fine performance in the field by Ireland as Namibia reached 241-9 at stumps on the first day of the ICC Intercontinental Cup Final. Peter Connell was the pick of the bowlers with a return of 4-51 while the main Namibian resistance came in a stand of 91 for the 6th wicket between Louis Burger and Bjorn Kotze.
Namibia made a solid start after winning the toss and electing to bat. They had reached 36 by the 14th over without serious alarm before Boyd Rankin and Trent Johnston removed the openers. Andre Botha and Johnston then turned the screw before lunch bowling tight line and length and restricting Namibia to 65-2 at the break. Soon after lunch a Connell inspired middle order collapse reduced Namibia from 81-2 to 119-6 and left the innings teetering before Burger and Kotze steadied the ship. The pair batted doggedly through the rest of the afternoon session and then after tea to get to within 6 overs of the close when Rankin trapped Kotze leg before. Connell got rid of 9 & 10 in quick succession in the following over and it appeared that the Irish openers would have an awkward couple of overs to face at the end of the day before some old fashioned number 11 batting from Kola Burger (including 16 off the penultimate over by Connell) ensured Namibia would bat into day 2.
Honours definitely to Ireland today after losing the toss. We’ll only know how good the Namibian total is after Ireland have had a bat on this track and the African’s strength lies in their bowling but I have a feeling if Simmons and Porterfield had been offered this match situation after the toss, they’d have taken it.
...writing an open letter to the Prime Minister, in which the policies of a democratically-elected government making law through the legitimate processes of a representative Parliament are compared to those of Nazi Germany, is not remotely acceptable.
Following up on Andrew’s post yesterday, it has always frustrated me that the Life and Times survey has consistently produced more benign and consensual results than are translated into politics. If behaviour reflected the results, NI tensions would have eased much faster - just think of this week - and Sluggerees would all be competing for the Nobel Peace Prize. Is society still in the grip of an wholly unrepresentative minority, certainly much less than 30% hardliners on both sides? If so, how can we give greater voice to the majority? Before we get on to that, the survey results prompt various questions: One, is the methodology flawed?.
Is the methodology flawed?. Unlikely, after so much experience and peer scrutiny. Worrying though that while “ the… Survey involved 1179 face-to-face interviews with adults aged 18 years or over…the number of respondents has been reduced from 1800 as in previous years due to problems in securing funding for the survey… ( bad mistake to skimp funding)
People give politically correct answers i.e. the answers they think the questioners require.
During the Troubles this seems to have been a feature, but with more regular polling today it should have been much reduced.
Other polls are held under hotter conditions – i.e. coming up to an election, or on a hot topic that divides the community. The L&T survey is more reflective.
The political system – STV, power sharing is loaded in favour of division. Well, STV is imperfectly proportionate and as Wilson and Wilford argue, AV+ might compel greater consensus but that doesn’t seem like the whole answer.
If translated into behaviour, just about all the results would mean a Slugger of sweetness and light – or at least a Slugger even more untypical of society. Among results:
%
Political party preferences
Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) 20
Sinn Féin 14
Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) 18
Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) 20
Alliance 8
Other party (please specify 2
None of these 15
If response to NIRELND2 is not ‘To remain part of the United Kingdom’ …
If the majority of people in Northern Ireland never voted to become part of a United Ireland do you think you …
Would find this almost impossible to accept 4
Would not like it, but could live with it if you had to, 34
or, would happily accept the wishes of the majority? 58
Don’t know 4
What if you were watching the local TV news around November time and two of the news presenters were wearing poppies. How uneasy would this make you feel?
Very 1
A bit 4
Not at all 94
Don’t know 0
This selection is typical of the consensual nature of the responses. Yes they are unionist-angled but as this represents a status quo majority however you measure it, I thought it was interesting to see how that majority was standing up. Nationalist-angled answers are equally consensual as you can see.
We have our fair share of sockpuppets on Slugger. But Tory Troll thinks he’s spotted Andrew Gilligan, late of the BBC, more latterly buster-in-chief of the former Mayor of London Ken Livingston at the Evening Standard, on various blogs and adopting various sockpuppetity guises…
Right kicking off, Cian makes a nomination for Distraction of the Month Award to go to Conor Lenihan, Finna Fail’s Minister of State for calling Fine Gael’s enterprise spokesman Leo Varadkar a fascist. You guys never heard of Mike Godwin’s law? Cite it next time Leo, and then get back to the very point the perpetrator is clearly trying to avoid!!
- Niall who also posts at Irish Election has a beautifully reasoned argument on the Education cuts flowing from the budget:
Few in the OECD spend less on their children’s education. The department of education pays for salaries, while parents, teachers and boards of managements are left to fundraise in order to pay for luxuries like electricity and water. Parents pay for books and uniforms and school building projects spend decades awaiting department approval. When you take these facts into consideration, it’s hardly surprising that salaries take up most of the budget. The government refuses to pay for almost everything else.
- Across the channel, Danny Finkelstein comments on Nigel Lawson’s argument against ‘punk tax cutting’, that is:
cut taxes immediately whatever the economic circumstances, sacrifice any other policy objectives to tax cutting at all times, and treat the announcement of future big tax cuts as the only ideological test that matter - now has on the debate on the right. The real view of Margaret Thatcher’s Chancellors - genuine tax cutters - was always more sophisticated.
Image credit: NASA, ESA, and M. Livio (STScI). After a brief hiatus caused by an electronic failure, the Hubble space telescope is back online. And they’ve released the accompanying image to celebrate - ESA are happy too.. The next servicing mission has, however, been delayed while a new back-up system is checked. Meanwhile, also in the telescope category, comes this image [see below fold] from the Galaxy Evolution Explorer telescope - the Ghost of Mirach revealed.
The first homecoming parade took place in Ballymena this evening. The RIR will be granted the freedom of Larne tomorrow and then the Belfast parade will take place on Sunday. I heard earlier today that of the 280 or so Armed Forces personnel parading on Sunday 23% (approximately 65) will be from the Republic of Ireland.
LAST week the Andytown News ran a leader strongly urging nationalists not to take part in a demonstration against the army’s homecoming parade. In case you’ve forgotten, the head was ‘It didn’t work for Paisley, and it isn’t going to work for us today’. But yesterday’s front page headline read: See you on Sunday. Last week, the ATN was all about defusing tension, today it’s about ratcheting things up. Over its six pages of coverage yesterday - seven articles, one opinion piece and all four letters in Mala Poist - not one single voice backed last week’s Andytown News editorial. Surely it wasn’t leaned on - again?
Over at Brassneck I’ve argued that what stands out from the Brand/Ross affair is the vacuity of the gesture:; and by implication the vacuity of much of the protest. It’s partly a long term cultural problem of rampant Modernist philistinism, and partly political. So far as the latter is concerned, Paulie reckons the BBC’s critics are only too well aware of the underlying issues of ownership and power, whilst the Left is left (illiterately) scrabbling in the dark. Here’s Enemies of Reason on why some people hate the BBC...
