Smithwick Tribunal – Slugger O'Toole

“The truth remains that Adams will only reveal his past if it suits his own agenda.”

Pete Baker on December 31, 2017, 3:44 pm

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We might never know the truth about the suggestion that Gerry Adams was responsible, directly or indirectly, for setting up the Provisional IRA’s East Tyrone Brigade for ambush as they tried to blow up a police station in Loughgall in May 1987. Sinn Féin have dismissed the claims as “utter nonsense”, and some of the usual suspects have busied themselves playing the man – and/or the media. Meanwhile, Ed Moloney provides some useful background, and reproduces the chapter in his book ‘A Secret …

Smithwick debate: “it calls into question Sinn Féin’s professed commitment to open and transparent truth-telling”

Mick Fealty on January 22, 2014, 4:20 pm

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A minor detail from yesterday’s debate on the Smithwick Tribunal worth rescuing from the NI’s political press spike. It’s the SDLP’s Patsy McGlone speaking in favour of his party’s amendment (defeated BTW) : Sinn Féin is alone in its denial of the findings of the Smithwick tribunal, but that denial echoes the denials of those who have rejected findings of collusion in the North by elements of the RUC, the UDR, and the British Army and its agencies. There are many victims of collusion, …

Smithwick: “the evidence keeps pointing back to the desire of the IRA to acquire information as to how the British Security Services had gotten advance warning of the IRA ambush on Loughgall Police Station…”

Pete Baker on December 5, 2013, 6:34 pm

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As the findings of the Smithwick Tribunal report [RTÉ-hosted 22mb pdf] continue to be digested, it’s worth recalling the reported concerns of “members of the PIRA” in May last year. The Smithwick Tribunal is becoming a “significant issue” among republicans who are concerned it is uncovering information on past murders, the tribunal has been told. According to a précis of intelligence information gleaned by the PSNI within the last year, and aired at the tribunal this morning, “members of the PIRA are …

Judge Smithwick finds there was indirect evidence of collusion between Garda(i) and the IRA

Mick Fealty on December 3, 2013, 8:08 pm

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So, Judge Smithwick resisted any political pressures to wind up his inquiry early. The BBC provide a summary of his conclusions: Collusion: Peter Smithwick said that while there had been no “smoking gun” he was “satisfied” that there had been collusion by one or more Garda officers in the murders Former garda sergeant Owen Corrigan: “I also find that what may have started out as a professional relationship with subversives for the legitimate purpose of intelligence-gathering ultimately developed into a …

Smithwick Tribunal: “members of the PIRA are anxious the tribunal complete its work as soon as possible…”

Pete Baker on May 1, 2012, 2:34 pm

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Here’s a snippet of interest from the Irish Times’ report on the latest evidence to the Smithwick Tribunal. From the Irish Times report The Smithwick Tribunal is becoming a “significant issue” among republicans who are concerned it is uncovering information on past murders, the tribunal has been told. According to a précis of intelligence information gleaned by the PSNI within the last year, and aired at the tribunal this morning, “members of the PIRA are anxious the tribunal complete its …

Last week at Smithwick: nothing to see here

Turgon on April 29, 2012, 2:59 pm

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The revelations last week from the Smithwick Enquiry that Martin McGuinness allegedly authorised the murders of Chief Supt Harry Breen and Supt Bob Buchanan as well as the use of human proxy bombs have made few enough political waves. In most western democratic societies the claim in a judicial setting that the Deputy First Minister was involved in such heinous crimes would be a scandal: here it was little more than a ripple. There are a number of possible reasons …

Smithwick and the murky outline of British counterinsurgency tactics…

Mick Fealty on January 11, 2012, 1:18 pm

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As Brian Rowan said on Sunday Sequence last Sunday, the British counterinsurgency campaign was a dirty war. Richard Dowling reinforces that view, though also points out that it is and never was as black or white as we are often led to believe by some of the chief protagonists. In the case of British Peter Keeley (aka Kevin Fulton), he notes: In later years he worked for CID and the customs service. He told his handlers about planned IRA operations …

“Maybe your client is understating his importance.”

Pete Baker on December 16, 2011, 7:49 pm

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Yesterday Dublin High Court rejected an application by Freddie Scappaticci, who denies he was a British army agent within the Provisional IRA known as “Stakeknife”, for a judicial review of the Smithwick Tribunal’s decision to allow witness Kevin Fulton to give evidence from behind a screen – and for a halt in the hearing of that evidence until the matter was resolved to Scappaticci’s satisfaction. Today, the Smithwick Tribunal continued to hear evidence from Kevin Fulton – a former British army agent also known as …

Former Assistant Garda Commissioner Kevin Carty fails to turn up at Smithwick Tribunal. Again.

Pete Baker on November 25, 2011, 8:13 pm

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The latest updates on proceedings at the Smithwick Tribunal in the BBC and the RTÉ reports both lead with news that the tribunal is to relocate to the Special Criminal Court for Monday’s appearance by convicted Real IRA leader Michael McKevitt. But the bulk of both reports concern the [repeated] non-appearance of former Assistant Garda Commissioner Kevin Carty. As the BBC report notes Kevin Carty assisted in an internal garda probe conducted in the days after the murders, into what garda officers or …

Judge Smithwick: “I therefore anticipate that I will be able to submit my final report by the end of May 2012.”

Pete Baker on October 10, 2011, 2:27 pm

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Having expressed his concern at the 30 November ‘deadline’ initially imposed by the Irish Government, Judge Peter Smithwick has now formally requested a 6 month extension for the tribunal he chairs. From the Irish Times report The tribunal, now six years in existence, began its public hearings only in June this year. Judge Smithwick stated in his letter that since the public hearings had begun, a number of people previously unknown to the tribunal had come forward with potentially important information, …

Martin McGuinness: “the past is a very, very dark place for everybody.”

Pete Baker on September 29, 2011, 6:17 pm

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In response to a challenge to appear in front of the Smithwick Tribunal, Sinn Féin’s candidate in the Irish Presidential election, Martin McGuinness, MP, MLA, has said that he has “no problem at all attending the tribunal”. But he added that he has “no direct knowledge of the circumstances surrounding” the murder of Chief Superintendent Harry Breen and Superintendent Bob Buchanan. Earlier today, Martin McGuinness said he could not recall the incident Peter Murtagh wrote about in today’s Irish Times, threatened Frank Hegarty’s family with recounting his …

Judge Smithwick: “I take a very, very strong view if he doesn’t [appear].”

Pete Baker on September 2, 2011, 10:59 pm

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The Irish government’s deadline target date for the Smithwick tribunal’s final report is unlikely to be met if former assistant Garda commissioners ignore the tribunal. From the RTÉ report Senior Counsel for the tribunal, Mary Laverty, said she was at a loss to explain why Mr Carty had not turned up. She said she was aware that he was working in Vienna, but the letters had been signed for with the same name and signature. Judge Smithwick said he was …

Judge Smithwick: “I think this was singularly ill-advised.”

Pete Baker on June 30, 2011, 8:34 pm

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I had mentioned the apparent disagreement between the chair of the Smithwick Tribunal, Judge Smithwick, and the Irish Justice Minister, Alan Shatter, over the latter’s proposed ‘deadline’, of 30 November, for the Tribunal’s final report. And in correspondence from the time, just released to the Oireachtas along with the Tribunal’s interim report [pdf file], Judge Smithwick made clear the extent of his disagreement. Judge Smithwick wrote to the Minister accusing him of a “wholly inappropriate” attempt to “interfere with the independence” of the inquiry. He …

Smithwick Tribunal: Former Provisional IRA leaders met Tribunal’s legal team “in recent weeks”

Pete Baker on June 7, 2011, 5:12 pm

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The BBC reports that, at today’s public hearing, the Smithwick Tribunal was told that its legal team had held “a face-to face meeting with three former members of the Provisional IRA in recent weeks.” From the BBC report It was told the three former IRA leaders, one of whom had a command role in the attack, had met the tribunal. Their evidence will be presented to the inquiry shortly. The tribunal was told the IRA members gave detailed accounts and replied to questions from the inquiry …

Smithwick Tribunal: “It is understood the tribunal chairman is concerned about the deadline”

Pete Baker on May 31, 2011, 9:55 pm

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According to the Irish Justice Minister, Alan Shatter, speaking to the BBC on Thursday – about the Irish Government setting the Smithwick Tribunal a ‘deadline’ of 30 November for its final report. [Irish Justice Minister Alan] Shatter said the November deadline was not set in stone. “We’ve been informed by the tribunal chairman that he believes the tribunal will be in a position to do that, but should it emerge that there’s a difficulty in that regard, of course, we’ll revisit the matter,” he …

“The motion secondly envisages the Dail asking the tribunal to complete its work by 30 November”

Pete Baker on May 26, 2011, 1:58 pm

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With Mick’s recent post in mind, it’s worth noting that the Irish Government is asking the Smithwick Tribunal to deliver its final report by 30 November this year. As Harry McGee notes in the Irish Times The inquiry was established in 2005 to investigate if there was Garda collusion in the IRA murder of two senior RUC officers, Chief Supt Harry Breen and Supt Robert Buchanan, who were ambushed by the IRA near the Border at Jonesboro, Co Armagh, in …

Scappaticci granted legal representation at Smithwick Tribunal

Pete Baker on May 18, 2011, 1:48 pm

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The Smithwick Tribunal may have opened in 2006, but the public hearings are only to begin in June this year. The tribunal’s terms of reference are Tribunal of Inquiry into suggestions that members of An Garda Síochána or other employees of the State colluded in the fatal shootings of RUC Chief Superintendent Harry Breen and RUC Superintendent Robert Buchanan on the 20th March, 1989. And the Tribunal’s rules of procedure adds a interpretation of those terms 9. The Tribunal’s Terms …

“Is Scappaticci getting to that time of life when he wants to talk about his role in the conflict…”

Pete Baker on March 30, 2011, 3:08 pm

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In the Belfast Telegraph, Alan Murray asks some pertinent questions ahead of the Smithwick Tribunal’s public hearing stage. From the Belfast Telegraph article What Hurst [‘Martin Ingram’] has told Judge Smithwick so far about Stakeknife’s role along the border and whether it has relevance to his tribunal we are not allowed to know. What we do know is that the Ministry of Defence does not want Hurst to talk about Stakeknife, either publicly or privately, which puts its lawyers on a collision-course …