<HTML><PRE>Subj:	Fwd: News 10/21/97 1822 CDT - O'Neil Shot Dead by Police
Date:	97-10-21 20:45:56 EDT
From:	Buni1957
To:	DeeMcA, Love irela, RedAxe66, Browniette
To:	Connemara7, FenianBoyo

In a message dated 97-10-21 19:26:09 EDT, jdooling@worldnet.att.net writes:

>"


-----------------
Forwarded Message: 
Subj:	 News 10/21/97 1822 CDT - O'Neil Shot Dead by Police
Date:	97-10-21 19:26:09 EDT
From:	jdooling@worldnet.att.net (Jay Dooling)
Sender:	owner-ireland_list@email.rutgers.edu
Reply-to:	jdooling@worldnet.att.net
To:	jdooling@worldnet.att.net (Ireland News)


News from the Wire Services Re: Ireland & the Irish

PA 10/21/97 12:36 IRA Suspect Shot Dead As Police Smashed Bombs Plot
PA 10/21/97 12:19 Scenes As President Campaign Spills Into Parliament
PA 10/21/97 11:16 Ship Search `Revealed Cannabis Worth #11m'
PA 10/21/97 10:41 Ahern Renews Call For Bloody Sunday Inquiry
PA 10/21/97 09:24 New Belfast-Dublin Rail Link Opens
PA 10/21/97 08:42 Police Killing Foiled Ira London Blitz, Jury Told

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

	 IRA Suspect Shot Dead As Police Smashed Bombs Plot - C

PA   10/21/97 12:36   

Copyright 1997 PA News

  By Pat Clarke, PA News

   A police marksman shot dead a suspected IRA terrorist - believing 
he faced death himself - as officers thwarted a plot launch a 
"devastating" bombing campaign in London, an Old Bailey court heard 
today.

   Diarmuid O'Neill, 27, was "at the heart of the conspiracy" and a 
vital member of a Provisional IRA active service unit preparing for 
the lorry bomb blitz, said David Waters, prosecuting.

   He was gunned down by the officer - identified only as Kilo - as 
police moved in to arrest him in a hotel room. "All Kilo could see was 
a figure kneeling towards him. He thought he was going to be shot, so 
he fired. He thought he had missed and fired more shots.

   "For the benefit of hindsight, he need not have fired, as no 
firearms were in the room."

   But the officer may have been feeling apprehensive and perhaps 
terrified as he was silhouetted in the light, said Mr Waters.

   The shooting came at the end of a covert surveillance operation had 
been launched by the Metropolitan Police and officers from the 
security services in August last year.

   After six weeks, a decision was taken to move in and arrest 
suspected members of the IRA unit before innocent people might die, 
said the prosecution.

   They had discovered a bomb factory in a safe storage unit in 
Hornsey, north London, containing a mass of explosives and bombing 
making equipment together with three Kalashnikov rifles, two handguns 
and ammunition, the prosecution alleged.

   "What they saw brought matters to a head and prompted the arrests."

   Mr Waters told the jury: "No matter what O'Neill was planning to do 
to others, it is still tragic that he died in such circumstances."

   Four men have denied conspiring to cause explosions between January 
1 and September 24 last year and possessing explosives.

   They are Patrick Kelly, 31, Brian McHugh, 31, James Murphy, 26 and 
Michael Phillips, 22. 

   Firearms officers went to arrest O'Neill at a hotel in Hammersmith, 
west London, where he was staying with two others alleged IRA 
conspirators on September 23 last year, Mr Waters added.

   "Things did not proceed according to plan. The hope was that entry 
could be gained with the assistance of a card key. Sadly, for whatever 
reason, the key did not work. They then tried to remove the lock with 
an enforcer, but it bounced to the side and created a hole in the 
door.

   "Any element of surprise had totally gone."

   The police then fired CS gas into the room through a side window 
and the hole in the door. The CS gas's disabling effect was not 
restricted to the IRA suspects - police were also affected, said Mr 
Waters.

   Kilo had to retreat outside for a gulp of air before returning to 
the room where O'Neill was thought to be with Kelly and McHugh.

   Police had managed to open the door a few inches. Kilo had 
screamed: "Show me your hands." "He did this because a colleague had 
seen someone inside and shouted out `He is kneeling down at the back 
of the room'. Kilo shouted again `Show me your hands'."

   Mr Waters said a strong element of fear was present. Officers had 
not known there were no firearms in  the room.

   "All they were concerned with was the arrest of suspected 
terrorists and they had every reason to think they were probably armed 
and likely to use them against officers."

   He alleged from what police knew they were dealing with trained and 
well prepared terrorists. Officers also knew that secret recordings of 
conversations between O'Neill and Kelly contained words expressing the 
intention of shooting and killing any police from whom they feared 
apprehension, alleged the prosecution.

   They had also been shown a video of the entry into the safe storage 
unit where the explosives, guns and ammunition were discovered.

   The room was "dark and the hallway lit and Kilo was standing in the 
light, perhaps a silhouetted target in his mind at least".

   Mr Waters warned the jury: "However sad the loss of O'Neill's life 
is - and it is - whether Kilo panicked or not, do not let it deflect 
you from the main issue in this case.

   "Were these defendants part of an active service unit planning to 
bomb targets in the London area? The shooting of O'Neill cannot affect 
the truth or otherwise of that issue one way or another." Mr Waters 
alleged that the IRA team planned to leave the bombs on a lorry or 
lorries for whatever parts of London chosen.

   They would not explode until the time-delay mechanism expired. By 
that time those responsible "would be well away from the area and safe 
in sharp contrast to members of the public who may have been in the 
area of the lorries", Mr Waters said.

   The unit had access to many tons of explosives in the storage unit, 
he said.

   By the time they were arrested - on September 23 last year - their 
plans were well advanced, he alleged. Four large wooden crates were 
packed with explosives and booster tubes containing high performance 
detonator cord. All that was required to make the explode were 
detonators and timing units, according to the prosecution.

   They were waiting in the same storage area. So were 100 bags of 
improvised explosive "waiting no doubt to be converted into further 
bombs".

   He alleged that O'Neill had been responsible for hiring a safe 
store at Hornsey, north London, where the explosive mixture of 
ammonium nitrate and sugar - disguised in bags of compost - was 
delivered. Murphy lived in Chelsea, London and was a personal friend 
of O'Neill, said Mr Waters.

   Murphy came from an Irish background, but was born in London and 
worked as an assistant groundsman at a school in Shepherd's Bush.

   Phillips lived in Crawley, Sussex, in a house shared with work 
colleagues and friends, and worked as a mechanical aircraft engineer.

   He came from Belfast and had previous experience in engineering, 
including electronics training "which may have been of assistance to 
the project you are investigating", Mr Waters told the jury.

   Kelly was born in Birmingham and had lived in London for a period. 
Last year both he and McHugh needed a base in London to be in touch 
with the others, he went on.

   McHugh was the unit commander - he was in London by August and was 
seen with Kelly on a security camera at Hammersmith Broadway station 
in west London on 11 August, Mr Waters said.

   The following day, the Metropolitan Police and officers from the 
security services set up a massive surveillance operation.

   It was code-named Operation Tinnitus - the name was randomly 
selected from a police computer - and ran for the next six weeks.

   "The surveillance of five men over a long period requires a vast 
number of officers - some on mobile surveillance, some on foot, some 
at observation points," Mr Waters said.

   "They used video cameras and on occasions, traffic cameras which 
may have recorded movements. Surveillance of this type was extremely 
difficult to carry out without attracting attention.

   "It becomes even more difficult when those being observed are 
surveillance-sensitive. The active service unit was very sensitive to 
the possibility of being observed."

   The trial was adjourned until tomorrow.

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

	 Angry Scenes As President Campaign Spills Into Parliam

PA   10/21/97 12:19   

Copyright 1997 PA News

  By Chris Parkin, PA News

   Ireland's increasingly bitter presidential election campaign 
spilled over into the Dublin parliament today when Irish Prime 
Minister Bertie Ahern and opposition leader John Bruton were involved 
in heated exchanges.

   At one stage the Dail had to be adjourned by Speaker Seamus 
Pattison to allow tempers to cool. Behind the rowing was the leaking 
of a series of official government documents, mainly relating to Mary 
McAleese, the Ahern administration's candidate for the presidency - 
but also involving what ministers have seen as a threat to the 
Northern Ireland peace process.

   Mr Bruton interpreted a comment by the premier as an accusation 
that he had been caught up in the leaking of papers from the 
government's Foreign Affairs Department suggesting Ms McAleese might 
have sympathies for Sinn Fein, the IRA's political wing.

   But when he was asked for a statement of apology in the Dail, Mr 
Ahern declared: "I have noted what Mr Bruton has said, and he is 
incorrect. There are no grounds for me to withdraw anything."

   The prime minister also denied suggesting that any members of Mr 
Bruton's staff had been behind the leaks. He insisted: "I am making no 
accusation whatsoever."

   But he said he would be replying to a letter sent to him about the 
affair by Mr Bruton, his predecessor as head of government.

   At Mr Ahern's directive, Irish police have launched a top level 
investigation of the leaks, one of which involved a sensitive report - 
not published by the Dublin newspaper that received it from an 
anonymous source - on discussions between British and Irish officials 
about the Ulster peace process.

   Detectives have started interviewing a number of senior officials 
and politicians about the leaks. :: Belfast-based law professor Ms 
McAleese remains favourite to win the October 30 presidential 
election, despite claims - strenuously refuted by the candidate - of 
her Sinn Fein links, according to Dublin bookmakers.

   Dublin bookie Paddy Power said the odds on victory for the 
government nominee had hardened to 5-2 on. Next best-favoured was the 
Fine Gael opposition party's Mary Banotti, at 15-8.

   Dana, Rosemary Scallon, winner of the 1970 Eurovision Song Contest, 
was quoted at 33-1, with sole male candidate Derek Nally and one-time 
favourite Adi Roche both listed as 50-1 outsiders.

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

		   Ship Search `Revealed Cannabis Worth #11m'

PA   10/21/97 11:16   

Copyright 1997 PA News

  By Brendan Berry, PA News

   Royal Navy and Customs teams found cannabis resin worth more than  
11 million when they boarded a South American-registered vessel in the 
Irish Sea, a court was told today.

   The vessel, the Cam Scout, which had a crew of seven, was secretly 
tracked as she voyaged from Morocco with a three-tonne consignment of 
drugs for sale in either Britain or the Irish Republic.

   An international smuggling gang refitted the 200-tonne ship in the 
style of an oil rig support vessel for a journey which took it from 
Holland to North Africa via Spain, Swansea Crown Court as told.

   But the 100 bales of cannabis never reached their destination after 
two Customs cutters arrested the ship in international waters in St 
George' Channel between Wales and Ireland.

   Five Italians, a Frenchman and a Briton all deny being concerned in 
the illegal importation of drugs in December last year.

   "These men were involved in highly valuable and illicit trafficking 
in drugs on the high seas," Mr Christopher Pitchford QC, prosecuting, 
told the court.

   "It is inconceivable that any of them did not realise what they 
were doing.

   "The stakes were far too high to leave anyone in ignorance of the 
purposes of the journey. There was no cargo aboard the Cam Scout other 
than three tonnes of cannabis resin."

   The jury was told that armed Royal Navy personnel first boarded the 
Cam Scout to secure the defendants as a precaution. Customs men then 
got aboard to search the vessel and sail it under arrest to Milford 
Haven, Pembrokeshire.

   No weapons were found aboard, said Mr Pitchford.

   Cam Scout was boarded about three miles outside Irish territorial 
waters. Permission to stop the Belize-registered ship under the Vienna 
Convention agreement had already been obtained from that country's 
government in South America. 

   Cam Scout, built in 1964, was sold in June 1996 by a Dutch owner 
for 78,000 US dollars to an Italian-based firm called Bringman Ltd. It 
was not known whether the company was genuine, the court was told. 

   The ship travelled from Holland to the Mediterranean, crewed by 
three of the defendants.

   They were joined by others when it docked at Valencia in Spain for 
"repair work".

   In late November, Cam Scout left Valencia to rendezvous with a 
smaller fishing vessel off the coast of Morocco. It was there that 
Frenchman Jean Villegas, of Paris, came aboard with the consignment of 
cannabis, the court was told.

   Questioned by Customs men, Villegas was the only defendant to admit 
he knew the purpose of the journey, said Mr Pitchford.

   Also before the court are the ship's captain Renaldo Colonna, and 
fellow Italians Luca Carpinetti, Guiseppe Morena, Alessandro Simonini 
and Paolo Sorrentino.

   The accused Briton, Lawton Loraine, gave his address as Fulham 
Road, London.

   A team of interpreters is translating court proceedings into 
Italian.

   The case is expected to last up to eight weeks. After being 
arrested Colonna and some of his crew used a cover story that they 
believed they were taking a consignment of 1,500 boxes of cigarettes 
to Ireland, Mr Pitchford told the jury.

   Colonna who denied knowledge of the cannabis claimed he was being 
paid 80 million Italian lira ( 32,000) to offload the cigarettes onto 
two boats about 10 miles off the Irish coast.

   Two passports were found together with around  5,000 in Italian, 
Spanish and Dutch currency in the cabin belonging to Loraine, the 
British defendant, the court was told. 

   Describing himself as an artist, Loraine told Customs men he had 
nothing to do with any plans to smuggle drugs.

   The trial was adjourned until tomorrow.

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

		  Ahern Renews Call For Bloody Sunday Inquiry

PA   10/21/97 10:41   

Copyright 1997 PA News

  By Chris Parkin, PA News

   Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern today repeated his goverment's 
demand for a new independent investigation of Londonderry's Bloody 
Sunday 25 years ago.

   He also looked forward to a response "within a matter of weeks" 
from London to Irish representations on the incident in which 14 
civilians were shot dead by British soldiers during a civil rights 
rally.

   Mr Ahern, dealing with Northern Ireland questions in the Dublin 
parliament, said he had raised Bloody Sunday at a meeting with Prime 
Minister Tony Blair during a European summit in Strasbourg this month.

   He reported: "I am satisfied the British government response will 
be forthcoming soon."

   Mr Ahern called for Britain's Widgery report on the killings, which 
cleared the Army of blame, to be "repudiated, and the truth of Bloody 
Sunday to be clearly established."

   Democratic Left opposition party leader Proinsias De Rossa said the 
United Nations, or another international body, should probe the 
killings.

   Mr Ahern replied: "I do believe there should be an independent 
inquiry. The new information that has been put together requires the 
matter to be dealt with in that way. We will wait and see what the 
British government assessment of these matters is."

   The Bloody Sunday controversy re-emerged earlier this year after 
new claims were made about the events that day.

   Dublin has presented collated evidence to Britain and Mr Ahern last 
week had the latest in a series of meetings with relatives of those 
who died.

   The relatives have indicated that they will not be satisfied with a 
British apology for what happened and plan to step up pressure for a 
full new inquiry if that move is not authorised by the British 
government.

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

		   New Belfast-Dublin Rail Link Opens

PA   10/21/97 09:24   

Copyright 1997 PA News

  By Chris Parkin, PA News

   A new Dublin-Belfast fast rail link was formally inaugurated today 
at a ceremony in the Irish Republic's borderside town of Dundalk, 
County Louth.

   The  130 million project, largely funded by the European Union, 
will cut the 100-mile journey time between the two Irish cities from 
two hours to 105 minutes, and operate up to eight cross-border 
services in both directions each day.

   The Dundalk opening, marking the 50th anniversary of the first 
Dublin-Belfast rail connection, was attended by Irish Public 
Enterprise Minister Mary O'Rourke and her Northern Ireland Office 
opposite number, Lord Dubbs.

   Mrs O'Rourke said the venture, involving the Irish Rail and 
Northern Ireland Railways companies, would help to develop commercial 
and social links both between Dublin and Belfast and the intermediate 
areas.

   The development was "a classic example of cross-border co-
operation, with no hidden agenda", she said.

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

	   Police Killing Foiled Ira London Blitz, Jury Told

PA   10/21/97 08:42   

Copyright 1997 PA News

  By Pat Clarke, PA News

   An IRA plot to launch a "devastating" bombing campaign in London 
last year was foiled by police who shot dead a vital member of the 
terrorist team and arrested others, the Old Bailey heard today.

   Diarmuid O'Neill, 27, was "at the heart of the conspiracy" and 
belonged to a Provisional IRA active service unit in London preparing 
for the blitz, said David Waters, prosecuting.

   "The method to be employed was for the bombs to be left on a lorry 
or lorries for whatever parts of London chosen," the jury heard.

   The bombs would not explode until the time-delay mechanism expired. 
By that time those responsible "would be well away from the area and 
safe in sharp contrast to members of the public who may have been in 
the area of the lorries," Mr. Waters said.

   The unit had access to many tons of explosives and were using a 
secure storage unit in north London as a bombs factory, he said.

   By the time they were arrested - on September 23 last year - their 
plans were well advanced, he alleged. Four large wooden crates were 
packed with explosives and booster tubes containing high performance 
detonator cord. All that was required to make the explode were 
detonators and timing units, according to the prosecution.

   They were waiting in the same storage area. So were 100 bags of 
improvised explosive "waiting no doubt to be converted into further 
bombs".

   Four men have denied conspiring to cause explosions between 1 
January and 24 September last year and possessing explosives.

   They are Patrick Kelly, 31, Brian McHugh, 31, James Murphy, 26 and 
Michael Phillips, 22. 

   A fifth man, Diarmuid O'Neill "was you may conclude, at the heart 
of the conspiracy - a vital member of a Provisional IRA active service 
unit," Mr  Walters told the jury.

   "He is not on trial because when the defendants were arrested, 
sadly, he was shot by those seeking to make the arrest and he died 
shortly afterwards."

   He alleged that O'Neill was responsible for hiring a safe store at 
Hornsey, north London, where the explosive mixture of ammonium nitrate 
and sugar - disguised in bags of compost - was delivered. Murphy lived 
in Chelsea, London and was a personal friend of O'Neill, said Mr 
Waters.

   Murphy came from an Irish background, but was born in London and 
worked as an assistant groundsman at a school in Shepherd's Bush.

   Phillips lived in Crawley, Sussex, in a house shared with work 
colleagues and friends, and worked as a mechanical aircraft engineer.

   He came from Belfast and had previous experience in engineering, 
including electronics training "which may have been of assistance to 
the project you are investigating", Mr Waters told the jury.

   Kelly was born in Birmingham and had lived in London for a period. 
Last year both he and McHugh needed a base in London to be in touch 
with the others, he went on.

   McHugh was the unit commander -- he was in London by August and was 
seen with Kelly on a security camera at Hammersmith Broadway station 
in west London on 11 August, Mr Waters said.

   The following day, the Metropolitan Police and officers from the 
security services set up a massive surveillance operation.

   It was code-named Operation Tinnitus -- the name was randomly 
selected from a police computer -- and ran for the next six weeks.

   "The surveillance of five men over a long period requires a vast 
number of officers -- some on mobile surveillance, some on foot, some 
at observation points," Mr Waters said.

   "They used video cameras and on occasions, traffic cameras which 
may have recorded movements. They used 100 cameras."

   Surveillance of this type was extremely difficult to carry out 
without attracting attention.

   "It becomes even more difficult when those being observed are 
surveillance-sensitive. The active service unit was very sensitive to 
the possibility of being observed."

   They used code-names for places they met. If two met in a park a 
third would loiter to check if they were being watched. They often 
retraced their steps, making it very difficult for people watching 
them, he said.

   "Police and the security services were employed all the training 
and expertise at their disposal. Some were obvious and others more 
sophisticated."

   They had two purposes -- to discover what the men were up to and to 
gather evidence.

   They got numbers of telephones and pagers. Cars and premises were 
secretly entered, and listening devices were planted, he said.
 

-------
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/
-------------
<FONT  COLOR="#0f0f0f" BACK="#fffffe" SIZE=3>

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