
News from the Wire Services Re: Ireland & the Irish

RT 10/20/97 16:08 First Irish Case Against Tobacco Industry Starts
RT 10/20/97 15:17 Unionists Walk Out Of Session Of N Irish Talks
PA 10/20/97 14:09 7 Years For Man Who Paid #5 To Children He Abused
PA 10/20/97 12:55 Irish Pledge On Constitution To End Peace Talk
PA 10/20/97 12:50 Dana Attacks `Unseemly' Presidential Campaigns
PA 10/20/97 12:36 Clashes At Army Killing Inquest
PA 10/20/97 09:11 I'm No Sinn Finn Supporter, Says McAleese
RT 10/20/97 08:54 Review/Film: 'This Is The Sea' A Triumph
PA 10/20/97 08:36 Alderdice Urges Presidential Candidate To Stand Down
PA 10/20/97 08:26 Parades Commission To Meet Garvaghy Road Residents

                 ******************************

		First Irish Case Against Tobacco Industry Starts

RTw  10/20/97 16:08   

Copyright 1997 Reuters Ltd
 
    By Nicholas Winning

     DUBLIN, Oct 20 (Reuters) - Ireland is set to be the next country 
to stage a major legal challenge to the tobacco industry as two long-
term smokers begin a damages case against subsidiaries of three 
multinational companies.

     Dublin-based lawyer Peter McDonnell said he had launched 
proceedings in Dublin's High Court on behalf of Susan Riley, 42, and 
Anne Maloney, 43, who have both been smoking since they were children.

     McDonnell said the claims were as a direct result of 
groundbreaking litigation in the United States where two states have 
secured billions of dollars from the tobacco industry to pay for the 
medical costs of tobacco-related diseases, and where a $368.5 billion 
national settlement is pending.

     McDonnell said he had another 70 possible clients, 20 percent of 
them acting on behalf of dead relatives.

     "This is the start of the war, today was only the declaration of 
intent," McDonnell said last Friday, adding that the American cases 
would open up similar claims across the world.

     The two women were seeking unlimited compensation for serious 
personal injury, medical treatment to date and in the future, and loss 
of earnings. McDonnell said they stood to make between 100,000 and one 
million Irish pounds ($150,000-$1.5 million) if they won.

     Maloney was suing tobacco companies P.J. Caroll and Gallaher 
(Dublin) Ltd, and Benson and Hedges in London, while Riley was taking 
on P.J. Caroll and Player & Wills (Ireland) Ltd, McDonnell said.

     Gallaher (Dublin) Ltd. and Benson and Hedges are owned by British 
cigarette maker Gallaher Plc (GLH.L) while Player and Wills are owned 
by the Britain's Imperial Tobacco (IMT.L).

     P.J. Caroll is wholly owned by Rothmans International Ltd, which 
is in turn 60 percent owned by Swiss firm Richemont AG (RIFZ.S) and 40 
percent by South African Rembrandt Group Ltd (RMTJ.J).

     McDonnell said the information revealed and precedents set in the 
American cases had opened the doors for the Irish claims. They would 
also open the floodgates to claims worldwide, he said.

     In one such case, the chief executive of Philip Morris Cos Inc 
(MO.N), makers of the Marlboro brand, acknowledged in August that it 
was possible that 100,000 people a year died from smoking.

     Riley told Irish broadcaster RTE that when she started smoking at 
the age of 10, the tobacco companies did not warn her about the damage 
they were doing to her health.

     "The message I got in my teens was that if anything 
happened...Take a cigarette it will calm you down, it's good for you," 
Riley said. "I never knew smoking was bad for me."

     She said she felt sick all the time, and that her children had 
hardly seen her when they were young because she spent so much time in 
hospital.

     McDonnell said he could not comment in detail on the state of 
health of his two clients save to say that Maloney was incapacitated 
and wheelchair-bound and breathed through a tube to an oxygen tank.

     Riley told RTE she had 11 blood clots on her lungs and two on her 
stomach.

     "I have tried everything to stop, I've tried a patch, 
acupuncture, I've been hypnotised," Riley said. "It hasn't worked."

     Tobacco companies routinely claim in their defence that smokers 
use cigarettes as a matter of personal choice.

     McDonnell has urged the Irish government to give aid to the two 
claimants in their case but there has been no word from the government 
as yet.
  REUTERS

                 ******************************

		 Unionists Walk Out Of Session Of N Irish Talks

RTw  10/20/97 15:17   

Copyright 1997 Reuters Ltd
 
    By Martin Cowley

     BELFAST, Oct 20 (Reuters) - Protestant Unionists stormed out of a 
session of Northern Ireland peace talks on Monday in a row over 
Ireland's claims to the disputed British province.

     The Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), which speaks for the majority of 
Protestants who form 60 percent of the Northern Irish population, 
signalled that the walkout was temporary and challenged Dublin to 
renounce its claims.

     UUP leader David Trimble told reporters: "We are pausing to 
reflect. We would like to see the Irish government clarifying its 
position but we are not erecting preconditions."

     The row, in the second week of all-party talks sponsored by 
Britain and Ireland, erupted over comments that Trimble said were made 
by new Irish Foreign Affairs Minister David Andrews.

     Trimble quoted Andrews, who took over the job last week, as 
saying that Dublin would not consider changing its constitution until 
Northern Ireland's feuding political factions had agreed a package to 
end years of conflict.

     Unionists want Dublin to renounce a clause in its constitution 
claiming jurisdiction over the whole island of Ireland either 
immediately or as part of an overall package aimed at cementing 
British rule.

     Trimble said the Irish government must set out its views in 
writing. "There is doubt as to what their position is," he said.

     "My colleagues heard a completely negative attitude being 
announced by Andrews in the talks this morning that he was not going 
to have any tinkering with it (the constitution), that nothing would 
be done until all their demands had been satisfied in a so-called 
final settlement."

     As the row brewed, Ireland moved to cool passions. Andrews told 
reporters that the issue could be discussed during the round table 
talks.

     In a separate statement, Andrews said that all sides at the talks 
were aiming to get an overall agreement and everything was on the 
table.

     "As the negotiations progress, we will discuss proposals for 
change in the Irish constitution as part both of balanced 
constitutional change and of an overall agreement. This is a shared 
position with the British government," he said.

     The negotiations are aimed at ending almost three decades of 
tension between Protestants who want to stay British and Catholics who 
want an All-Ireland state.

     Britain and Ireland say that rule from London will not be changed 
without the consent of a majority in the province.

                 ******************************

	 Seven Years For Man Who Paid #5 To Children He Abused

PA   10/20/97 14:09   

Copyright 1997 PA News

  There was uproar in a courtroom today after a 46-year-old self-
confessed paedophile was jailed for seven years and told he will be 
under police supervision for the rest of his life.

   Relatives of his seven schoolgirl victims cursed father-of-four 
Robert James McCurrie from Carlow Street, Belfast, who pleaded guilty 
to 20 sex offences, including the unlawful carnal knowledge of one 
teenage girl.

   One distraught mother, shouted that she hoped he would "rot in 
hell" and had to be restrained by friends from attempting to get at 
McCurrie in the dock of Belfast Crown Court.

   Earlier, Judge David Smyth called for an increase from two to 10 
years the maximum sentence for gross indecency.

   Prosecutor John Orr QC said McCurrie paid the girls, the youngest 
of whom was only nine,  5 to abuse them. He also paid another 
schoolgirl  20 to have sex with him.

   In all McCurrie admitted nine charges of gross indecency, five of 
indecent assault, committed between April and August last year, and 
four indecent assaults and two of unlawful carnal knowledge dating 
back to between November 1992 and November 1994.

   The court heard that his perverted activities came to light in 
August last year when two of his young victims, now aged 11 and 12, 
went to police.

   The 11-year-old told detectives McCurrie paid them  5 to sexually 
abuse them and that she had been present when similar assaults were 
carried out on five other youngsters.

   Two other victims said McCurrie played pornographic films while he 
abused them. Mr Orr revealed that when police raided his home they 
found 78 video tapes.

   He added that the eldest victim told police McCurrie first began to 
abuse her when she was 13 and later paid her  20 after having sex with 
her.

   Defence lawyer Taylor Campbell said McCurrie would be under police 
supervision for the rest of his life after coming out of jail.

   Passing sentence, Judge Smyth said he would got 10 years if he had 
not pleaded guilty and he saved his young victims from giving 
evidence.

                 ******************************

	 Irish Pledge On Constitution In Move To End Peace Talk

PA   10/20/97 12:55   

Copyright 1997 PA News

  By Deric Henderson, PA News

   The Irish government will discuss changes to its constitution as 
part of an overall settlement in Northern Ireland, foreign affairs 
minister David Andrews said today.

   Just hours after Ulster Unionists walked out of the North-South 
strand of the Belfast peace talks over words in the Irish constitution 
which claim jurisdiction over the whole island, Mr Andrews moved to 
try and stop a new rift developing between the two sides.

   Unionist leader David Trimble and his negotiating team had demanded 
a written guarantee that proposed changes to the Republic's 
constitution will be up for discussion at Stormont ahead of any final 
agreement .

   Unionists fear debate on two offending Articles could be sidelined, 
but Mr Andrews made it clear his government is prepared to discuss 
change in the substantive negotiations.

   He said his government was deeply aware of the sincerely held views 
of the Unionist community on the Articles which, he said, were also 
significant for the identity of the nationalist community.

   The Dublin minister said: "I have no illusions about the complexity 
and the difficulty of meeting the challenges, including that of 
finding a balanced constitutional accommodation.

   "But that is the challenge and that is the responsibility that has 
been given to all of us. The Irish government will not be found 
wanting in meeting this challenge and this responsibility. Mr Trimble 
said his party would prefer the matter was dealt with in advance of an 
overall political settlement.

   He said: "We felt we had to mark the seriousness of the situation 
by withdrawing for consideration and reflection. It's not a matter of 
withdrawing from the talks process."

   Meanwhile his party confirmed it will not negotiate Northern 
Ireland's future within the UK. In a submission to the Stormont 
process the Unionists said it was clear there was no majority consent 
for change.

   It added: "The Ulster Unionist Party will not enter discussions on 
any matter that would, in its opinion, dilute or diminish Northern 
Ireland's constitutional position within the union, nor is it mandated 
to so do."

                 ******************************

		 Dana Attacks `Unseemly' Presidential Campaigns

PA   10/20/97 12:50   

Copyright 1997 PA News

  By Chris Parkin, PA News

   Irish presidential hopeful Dana tonight hit out at "unseemly" 
campaigning for the October 30 poll.

   The singer, contesting the presidency as an independent using her 
married name of Rosemary Scallon, commented after another day of 
exchanges between party machines sponsoring most of her rivals.

   Controversy again centred on allegations in leaked Dublin 
government documents that front runner nominee Mary McAleese 
sympathised with the views of the IRA's Sinn Fein allies.

   Belfast-based law professor Ms McAleese repeated her denial of any 
Sinn Fein links, but not before a Northern Ireland political leader - 
the Alliance Party's Lord Alderdice - had called for her withdrawal 
from the presidential race.

   The bickering, together with fresh charges and counter-suggestions 
of dirty tricks being used to undermine candidates, co-incided with 
the opening of top-level police investigation of leaks also said to be 
endangering the Northern Ireland peace process.

   Ms McAleese insisted: "I am not and have never been a member of 
Sinn Fein and I am opposed to the use of violence."

   Prime Minister Bertie Ahern said Lord Alderdice's call on Ms 
McAleese to pull out of the election was "disappointing".

   He added: "Mary McAleese should be praised for efforts to bring 
about peace."

   Speaking in Co Donegal, Dana claimed the campaign was being used as 
a political football by the big government and opposition parties.

   She urged the main groups to "allow this to become a properly-run 
campaign, where the people decide who is going to be president".

   "The current very unseemly position is damaging the whole 
campaign."

   Dublin bookies tonight reported continuing big bets on Dana's 
election prospects, and cut her odds to 25-1, from 50-1 last week.

   Ms McAleese remained the 2-1 on favourite, with the effect of the 
latest leak allegations still to be fully gauged. Fine Gael opposition 
party runner Mary Banotti was rated at 7-4 by bookmaker Paddy Power, 
with left-wing backed one-time favourite Adi Roche and sole male Derek 
Nally, also an independent, the joint outsiders at 40-1.

                 ******************************

			Clashes At Army Killing Inquest

PA   10/20/97 12:36   

Copyright 1997 PA News

  George Jackson, Londonderry, ordered by Ian Graham Belfast

   Scuffles broke out at an inquest today on an Irish National 
Liberation Army member shot dead by undercover soldiers seven years 
ago.

   People in the public gallery in Londonderry clashed with police 
when RUC officers put up a screen to prevent the public and reporters 
seeing soldiers involved in the operation that ended in the death of 
Alex Patterson.

    Several police officers drew their batons and about 12 people were 
removed from the courtroom.

   One man, who was struck several times, was handcuffed and taken 
into custody.

    Father of four Mr Patterson, 31, was shot dead after an INLA gun 
attack on the home of an Ulster Defence Regiment soldier at Victoria 
Bridge, Co Tyrone, on November 12, 1990.

   Coroner Ronnie O'Doherty granted a written request from Defence 
Secretary George Robertson to apply a Public Interest Immunity 
Certificate to the hearing to protect the identities of the special 
unit soldiers.

   A statement from "Soldier D", who fired the fatal shot, was read by 
a senior police officer who investigated the shooting.

   The coroner asked if Soldier D was aware of the time and location 
of theinquest. The RUC officer said he believed D was, but the soldier 
was not present.

   Pathologist Dr Jack Craine said Mr Patterson died when a high 
velocity bullet entered his left nostril and exited behind his left 
ear.

   A statement by Soldier D was read out by Detective Superintendent 
John Middlemass.

   D was one of ten soldiers who took part in a surveillance operation 
in the grounds of, and inside, a bungalow at Victoria Bridge. They had 
been briefed to expect a terrorist incident, the statement said.

   Shots were fired at the house from the back of a passing car. 
Several soldiers returned fire and ran after the car. Soldier D said 
that as a comrade, Soldier F, stood behind the car, he saw a man 
inside the vehicle pointing his arms towards F.

   "I saw a figure inside the car moving his arms forward.

   "I believed my life and the lives of my colleagues were in danger, 
so I fired a single shot at the figure and saw the figure fall," 
Soldier D said in his statement.

   Another soldier, A ,said the saw a person wearing a balaclava fire 
a machine gun at the bungalow from the car as it drove by. He and 
other soldiers returned fire and ran after the car.

   He saw a movement in the car and heard a soldier discharge one 
shot.

   The inquest continues.

                 ******************************

		I'm No Sinn Finn Supporter, Says McAleese

PA   10/20/97 09:11   

Copyright 1997 PA News

   By Chris Parkin, PA News

   The front-runner in the Irish presidential election, Mary McAleese, 
today insisted she had no connection with the IRA's political arm, 
Sinn Fein.

   She made the declaration after Northern Ireland's Alliance Party 
leader Lord Alderdice called on her to withdraw from the October 30 
poll because of potential damage to the Ulster peace process.

   Belfast-based law professor Ms McAleese, who has the backing of 
both parties in Dublin's coalition government, spoke out on continuing 
speculation about her Sinn Fein links less than 24 hours after 
refusing to make further comment about them.

   She broke her silence at a campaign news conference in the Aran 
Islands, off Co Galway, to assert: "I am not and I have never been a 
supporter of Sinn Fein, and I am strongly opposed to the use of 
violence.

   "The fact that I talked to Sinn Fein does not make me a member or a 
supporter - any more than talking to Her Majesty The Queen made me a 
Unionist."

   Of Lord Alderdice's call for her to pull out of the election, Ms 
McAleese said: "I did not hear his statement and would be reluctant to 
comment on it, except I wonder if he has a fix on exactly what is 
going on.

   Reacting to leaks of Dublin  government documents about her 
political position and issues involving the peace process, Ms McAleese 
said those responsible had no conscience.

   "Clearly, somebody mischievously has put, or attempted to put, 
those documents into the public arena with a view to damaging the 
peace process."

   Senior Irish cabinet minister Dermot Ahern said Lord Alderdice's 
call for the withdrawal of Ms McAleese was "very disappointing and 
naive.

   "In effect he has played into the hands of the malicious leakers. I 
am totally astounded."

                 ******************************

		Review/Film: 'This Is The Sea' A Triumph

RTve 10/20/97 08:54   

Copyright 1997 Reuters Ltd
 
    This Is the Sea (Irish, romantic drama, color, no rating, 1:44)
     By Daniel M. Kimmel

     BOSTON (Variety) - This "Romeo and Juliet" story set in Northern 
Ireland is a winner. Well-known thesps Richard Harris, Gabriel Byrne 
and John Lynch provide some marquee value, but newcomers Samantha 
Morton and Ross McDade carry the day.     Writer-director Mary 
McGuckian has a firm sense of place and time (Northern Ireland after 
the 1994 cease-fire) but concentrates on individual characters rather 
than converting them into walking symbols. With proper handling this 
could find some arthouse success.

     Hazel (Morton) is newly baptized into a small Protestant sect at 
film's start. Subsequently accompanying her quirky neighbor (Harris) 
to a farm show in nearby Belfast, she meets Malachy (McDade), a 
Catholic. Budding romance is threatened on both sides. While Malachy's 
brother Padhar (Lynch) approves, Padhar's pal Rohan (Byrne) -- a 
leader in the militant underground -- does not.

     In fact, he's not only eager to prevent Padhar from walking away 
from the cause, but he wants Malachy recruited into it. Meanwhile, 
Hazel's obsessive brother Jef (Marc O'Shea) spies on her clandestine 
meetings, reporting back to their uptight mother (Dearbhla Molloy), 
who decrees Hazel a "whore." Much trouble ensues before cautiously 
upbeat ending.

     Pic works because of strength of material and surprising depth of 
cast. Film turns on the young romantic leads, and McGuckian scores 
with the film debuts of Morton and McDade. Byrne and Harris bring the 
right mixture of humor and creepiness to their performances, making it 
difficult to be certain just where their characters stand.

     There really isn't a bad performance in the lot. Several in small 
roles, including Ian McElhinney as Hazel's quietly supportive father, 
Stella McCusker as Malachy's life-affirming mother and Des McAleer as 
a cynically observant member of the Royal Ulster Constabulary, are 
standouts. Director McGuckian has a nice turn in the role of Padhar's 
girlfriend.

     One drawback for U.S. release will be the music. Though the song 
score utilizes music well known to Irish audiences, scenes of the 
Waterboys and Brian Kennedy in performance slow down the action, and 
may not resonate with Stateside viewers. (The film's title comes from 
the title song of the Waterboys' 1985 album.)

     McGuckian easily handles shifts of mood from comic to tragic, 
deftly avoiding situations that have turned into cliches from overuse. 
Her background includes work with filmmaker Jim Sheridan, whom she 
repays with a small role as a station keeper in the film. Tech credits 
are crisp, and location work in Belfast offers viewers a different 
take on a cityscape usually depicted as war-torn rubble.
    
     Hazel Stokes ......... Samantha Morton
     Malachy McAliskey .... Ross McDade
     Old Man Jacobs ....... Richard Harris
     Rohan ................ Gabriel Byrne
     Padhar McAliskey ..... John Lynch
     Ma Stokes ............ Dearbhla Molloy
     Da Stokes ............ Ian McElhinney
     Jef Stokes ........... Marc O'Shea
     Ma McAliskey ......... Stella McCusker
     Cathy ................ Mary McGuckian
     Inspector Wilson ..... Des McAleer
    
     A First Look Pictures-Overseas Film Group presentation of a 
Pembridge production. Produced by Michael Garland. Executive producer, 
Cameron McCracken. Co-producer, Judy Counihan.

     Directed, written by Mary McGuckian. Camera (Technicolor, 
Panavision), Des Whelan; editor, Kant Pan; music, Mike Scott, the 
Waterboys, Brian Kennedy; production design, Claire Kenny; art 
direction, David Butterworth; costume design, John Rocha, Odette 
Rocha; sound (Dolby), Phil Croal; assistant director, Ian Madden, Nick 
Laws; casting, John and Ros Hubbard. Reviewed at Landmark Theatres 
Kendall Square Cinemas, Cambridge, Mass., Sept. 15, 1997. (In Boston 
Film Festival.)

     Reuters/Variety

                 ******************************

	  Alderdice Urges Presidential Candidate To Stand Down

PA   10/20/97 08:36   

Copyright 1997 PA News

  By Deric Henderson, PA News

   University lecturer Mary McAleese, the woman set to become the 
Republic's next president, should stand down, Dr John Alderdice leader 
of non-sectarian Alliance Party said today.

   He claimed: "She made it clear she wanted to be a bridge in the 
peace process but she is in danger of becoming a wedge."

   Damaging allegations of pushing a Sinn Fein agenda today left Prof 
McAleese under new pressure, but she is still favourite to win the 
election on October 30.

   However Dr Alderdice attending the peace talks in Belfast today 
said leaks about Prof McAleese had created a lack of trust and her 
continued candidature was now a problem.

   Dr Alderdice said: "If she wants to be elected it would not be seen 
as a positive contribution to the peace process.

   "It has created a degree of turmoil in the Republic. It is a 
distraction." Dr Alderdice said Prof McAleese, a lawyer at Queen's 
University, Belfast and who is from Rosstrevor, Co Down, should 
seriously consider her future.

   He said: "In the interests of the peace process it would be better 
if she withdrew. I think she seriously needs to consider standing down 
and it would be best if she did so."

   Meanwhile members of the last Irish government have been accused of 
orchestrating a smear campaign against Prof McAleese.

   Sinn Fein's chief negotiator Martin McGuinness claimed anti-
Republican and anti-Nationalist elements were also undermining key 
figures in the Northern Ireland peace process.

   Mr McGuinness said: "We think some very sinister forces are behind 
all this. I have an open mind ... but I think there are people who 
were part of the previous government who are now leading the charge in 
attacking the key players in the peace process."
----- 

   The Republic's Foreign Affairs Minister, David Andrews, said the 
Alliance Party leader should not have become involved.

   "His intervention is unwise, unhelpful and unacceptable. Mary 
McAleese has played an honourable part in advancing the peace 
process."

                 ******************************

	   Parades Commission To Meet Garvaghy Road Residents

PA   10/20/97 08:26   

Copyright 1997 PA News

  By Ian Graham, PA News

   The Parades Commission in Northern Ireland today agreed to meet 
members of the nationalist residents group in Portadown's Garvaghy 
Road which last week called for their resignation.

   Commission chairman Alastair Graham accused the Garvaghy Road 
Residents' Coalition -- and other groups which joined their call for 
the resignation of his five-member board -- of "a litany of 
inaccuracies" in their statement.

   Mr Graham said he had taken the unusual step of publishing a letter 
to the Garvaghy Road group because of the high level of publicity 
surrounding the statement calling for the Commission's resignation.

   He said the Commission regretted that its discussion of the request 
for a meeting had been overshadowed by the resignation call -- then 
singled out the inaccuracies he said had been made.

   He denied as "patently untrue" a claim that he had spent the day of 
the controversial Drumcree Orange Order Parade along the Garvaghy Road 
last July with Orangemen.

   Mr Graham further rejected a claim that he had been present at 
meetings between the Government and the Ulster Unionist Party aimed at 
finding ways of encouraging the party to remain in the multi-party 
talks.

   And he said the residents groups' claim that they saw no evidence 
of "independence or transparency" in the Commission's deliberations 
during the summer gave the "very misleading impression" the body had 
been performing the role of making determinations on parades.

   On Friday, Ulster Secretary Mo Mowlam announced legislation to give 
the Commission powers to make legally binding decisions on parades 
from next summer.

   Mr Graham said anything the body had done last summer had been 
restricted to facilitating better understanding of the parades issue 
and supporting activity aimed at achieving local agreement on 
contentious parades.

   He said that in spite of the inaccuracies he would meet the 
residents group next month. But the meeting would be to look to the 
future not dwell on past events.

   Next week the Commission publishes three consultation documents 
including a Code of Conduct for the organisers and participants in 
parades, draft Guidelines explaining how the Commission will make 
decisions and Procedural Rules describing how the Commission will 
operate.
 
-------
Jay Dooling (jdooling@worldnet.att.net)
Irish Aires - 90.1FM KPFT in Houston
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/Irish_Aires/homepage.htm
Dooling & Mabe, CPA 
http://www.doolingmabe-cpa.com/
-------------
