     IRISH NEWS ROUND-UP
     Weekend 25/26/27 October, 1997
     

1.   Loyalist feud blamed for car bomb death
2.   McAleese gains from leaks controversy
3.   Dispute over commemoration of victims

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     FEATURES
     
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4.   Irish Political Prisoners -- update
5.   History: Curragh prison escape - 25 years on
6.   History: Remember Orr

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*** NOTE: There will be no separate bulletin for Monday 27 October
    due to the long October Bank Holiday weekend
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>>>> Loyalist feud blamed for car bomb death


A man killed on Saturday by a booby trap bomb near his home in
the north is believed to have been the victim of a turf-war
between rival loyalist death-squad organisations.

Although there has been no claim of responsibility for the
attack, the loyalist housing estate where the attack took place
has been the scene of tension between rival loyalist groups.

Earlier this week, a collective loyalist umbrella group known as
the "Combined Loyalist Military Command" (CLMC) collapsed amid
increasing antagonism among loyalists across the Six Counties.

Glen Greer died after the device exploded under the seat of his
Vauxhall Cavalier in Bangor, Co Down in the estate where he
lived. The victim had just driven off at Drumhirk Drive in the
town's loyalist Kilcooley estate when the booby trap went off,
blowing apart the front of the car as and starting a fire.

Meanwhiler, the Loyalist Volunteer Force, a splinter group,
warned a small number of Irish civil servants working in the Six
Counties they had 48 hours to resign "or become legitimate
targets".

After Saturday's warning, efforts were underway to increase the
security of officials working at the Anglo-Irish Secretariat in
Maryfield, on the outskirts of Belfast.   This is the
administrative body of British and Irish civil servants set up
following the signing of the Anglo-Irish Agreement in 1985.

Loyalists are becoming increasingly active despite a nominal
ceasefire. Last week, preparations by loyalist paramilitaries for
an assasination attempt against party President Gerry Adams in
West Belfast were interrupted by Sinn Fein security men.
Nationalists have been asked to remain vigilant following the
incident which occurred during a book launch at Sinn Fein's
bookshop on the Falls Road.


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>>>> McAleese gains from leaks controversy


Opinion polls published over the weekend have shown that northern
nationalist Professor Mary McAleese has gained most from the
recent controversy over her attitude towards Sinn Fein and is
now set to win Thursday's Presidential election.

A carefully engineered leak and subsequent anti-nationalist
attacks on the government candidate have backfired badly on the
Fine Gael party and their allies in the Irish media. Fine Gael
leader John Bruton has seen his approval rating plummet by 17
points, while first-preference support for McAleese has increased
by seven points to 45% in what is a clear setback for the
reactionary neo-unionist agenda.

The Queen's University Pro-Vice Chancellor and law professor is
now expected to win by 57% to 43% over Fine Gael's Mary Banotti
after roughly half of voters' second preferences transfer to her
in the predicted second count.   Banotti is currently on 32%
after a six-point increase in her first preference support.

McAleese said this weekend she was "heartened" by the opinion
polls, while Banotti insisted today she can still make up the
ground and win on Thursday.

The controversy began with the leak of secret Irish government
documents to two Sunday newspapers last week, allegedly by senior
figures within the previous Fine Gael-led administration.  But
the notes of conversations by an Irish civil servant revealed
little more than McAleese's role as a mediator in a peace
initiative to bring about a restoration of the IRA's ceasefire.

In the old-fashioned McCarthyite manner, media commentators
supporting Fine Gael tried to 'smear' McAleese with suggestions
that she was secretly "pushing a Sinn Fein agenda". These were
quickly refuted by McAleese and, according to the poll published
today, dismissed by the Irish electorate who responded only with
a wave of antipathy toward Bruton and increased support for both
Sinn Fein and McAleese.

The abortive ambush by anti-nationalists in the 26 Counties found
support only in a bizarre attack on McAleese by self-styled
unionist 'moderate' Lord Alderdice of the north's Alliance Party.
 Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams said last week that, had he a
vote, his first preference would go to McAleese, while
nationalist and unionist MPs alike have today  expressed support
for the North Belfast woman. South Down nationalist MP Eddie
McGrady of the SDLP said today that she "fully and ably reflects
the aspirations and methods of moderate republicans," while
Ulster Unionist MP John Taylor said she was "a most able person"
despite their disagreements on politics and religion.

The Sinn Fein 'smear' campaign was an apparent attempt to emulate
the 'Presidential tapes' scandal that doomed the campaign of
Fianna Fail candidate Brian Lenihan in 1990. On that occasion,
Labour Party nominee Mary Robinson won a narrow victory after
Lenihan's denials of improperly trying to influence the then
President were contradicted by a recorded interview made some
years earlier.

The polls have also highlighted the continuing dramatic collapse
in support for Adi Roche, the nominee of the Labour party,
Democratic Left and the Greens.  Roche is now the first choice of
less than 10% of those surveyed.

In other findings, Sinn Fein has increased its core support and
is now the fourth-placed party in terms of popular support in the
26 Counties, according to the survey by the extreme unionist
Sunday Independent newspaper.

Despite the heritage of decades of anti-Republican censorship and
McCarthyite marginalisation,  Sinn Fein has now moved ahead of
Democratic Left, the Green Party, the Progressive Democrats and
the Worker's Party, and is now in fourth place behind Fianna
Fail, Fine Gael and Labour.

Criticising the neo-unionist and partitionist agenda which
inspired the leak, Adams said: "In the past censorship and
revisionism made their task a relatively easy one.

"Negative campaigning, misrepresentation, disinformation and
campaigns of McCarthyism are the easy option.  Now much more is
demanded of them. Are they up to the challenge?"


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>>>> Dispute over commemoration of victims


The British government is to set up a commission to examine how
to commemorate victims of the conflict in the north of Ireland.

But the decision to set up a commission under Sir Kenneth
Bloomfield, the former head of the British government's civil
service in Ireland, is already surrounded by controversy,.

The erection of a memorial to those who have died during the past
28 years was always bound to incur difficulties, with unionists
already lobbying for the exclusion from the monument of IRA
Volunteers and a list of other victims.

Sinn Fein has  said that any planned memorial must be inclusive.
"No one has a monopoly on suffering. The memorial must be
all-inclusive. Rather than becoming a divisive issue, it should
in fact assist the process of reconciliation and healing," a
spokesman said.

He added that the party had no problem in remembering British
soldiers, RUC officers and loyalist paramilitaries who had been
killed and expected unionists and the British government to
respond similarly regarding the republican dead.

The commission is expected to shortly begin a long period of
consultation with welfare groups, the churches, the political
parties, and the relatives of those killed and injured.



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     FEATURES
     
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>>>> Irish Political Prisoners -- update



* There are approximately 385 Irish political prisoners in jails
in England and Ireland.

* Over 60 are serving life.

* Approximately 80 are serving 20 years or more.



IRISH PRISONERS IN ENGLAND


* There are 26 Irish political prisoners held in gaol in England.

* Five prisoners -- Vincent Donnelly, Eddie Butler, Joe O'Connell,
Hugh Doherty, Harry Duggan -- have served over 21 years. Vincent
Donnelly will enter his 23rd year of imprisonment next May. The
others will enter their 23rd year on 12 December of this year.

* Six remand prisoners are currently in SSUs. The use of SSUs has
been condemned by human rights bodies and medical experts. These
prisoners are regularly strip-searched.

* Irish political prisoners in England are denied compassionate
parole.

* All are seeking transfer to Ireland. The British Home Office
continues to stall on repatriation/transfer despite legislation
being in place to facilitate this.

* Relatives of Irish prisoners who make the expensive and arduous
journey to England for visits continue to be harassed under the
PTA and still occasionally find that the prisoner has been
'ghosted', moved overnight to another prison without warning to
either the prisoner or family.

* Elderly and infirm relatives are unable to travel to England.



REPUBLICAN WOMEN PRISONERS

* The NIO operates a policy of discrimination against women
prisoners.

* Facilities available to women fall far short of those available
to male prisoners in either Maghaberry or Long Kesh.

* Restrictive conditions in the women's prison, which male
prisoners are no longer subjected to, include lock-ups, limited
association and exercise periods, confined exercise space and
restrictive access to telephones.

* Women POWs leaving or returning to the jail continue to be
strip-searched.

* Since 1982 over 4000 strip-searches have been carried out on a
female POW population which has never exceeded 32 women.

* Strip-searching has been condemned by many human rights bodies
including Amnesty International and the National Council for
Civil Liberties.



OVER 60 REPUBLICAN PRISONERS ARE SERVING LIFE

* Lifers in the Six Counties serve, on average, 17-20 years.

* Three Republican prisoners sentenced in England to life
imprisonment have been set 'whole life' tariffs. While the courts
have rescinded two of these, one man is still subject to a 'whole
life' tariff. Whole life tariffs should be scrapped.

* British army private Ian Thain, sentenced to life, was released
after two years. British paratrooper Lee Clegg, sentence to life,
was released after two and a half years, reinstated in his
regiment and promoted.

* 60% of the current Republican prisoner population have already
served twice the time Lee Clegg spent in prison.

* The average length of sentence being served by republican
prisoners is a little over 18 years.

* Lifers are considered for release by an anonymous Review Board.

* They are denied legal representation at such review hearings.

* They are denied access to secret reports, compiled by unnamed
prison staff, which are the basis for Review Board decisions to
recommend release or not.

* They are offered no explanation for a decision not to recommend
release.

* They cannot challenge any such decision.



PORTLAOISE

* Four prisoners in Portlaoise Prison are serving 40 year
sentences. Three have served 13 years and one has served 17
years.

* Sean Kinsella was rearrested in March of this year after having
served 21 years in an English jail and he is now in Portlaoise,
from where he escaped in 1974.



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>>>> History: Curragh prison escape - 25 years on



--------- 25 years ago on the 25th of October 1972, seven men
tunnelled their way from the cells of the Curragh prison camp. 
The following is an interview with one of those escapees - James
Hazlett.  He was interviewed by his son Seamus in February 1997.
---------


What were you convicted of and for how long were you sentenced?

I was arrested on the 14th. of May, 1971 in connection with an
armed robbery on a gun shop in Tullamore, Co. Offaly.  I was
detained in Mountjoy Jail for six months.  I was tried after this
period in a court which I failed to recognise, and the jury
failed to reach a verdict .  I was re-tried six weeks later and
convicted on the word of a so-called fingerprint expert.  I was
one of the first ever to be convicted in a 26 county court in
this phase of armed struggle.  I was sentenced to six years penal
servitude.  The next day I was sent to Port Laoise Prison.


Was your time in jail harsh?  If so how badly were you treated?

On arrival to Port Laoise I was strip searched, and thrown into a
cold shower.  My clothes were confiscated and I was presented
with a convicts uniform which I refused to wear as I was a
political prisoner.  The screws failed to recognise my status.  I
was locked up in a cell and thrown a blanket which I wore for
three months.  I was subjected to strip searches and cell
searches weekly.  Because I refused to wear a convicts uniform,
visits were prohibited.


Describe your time on hunger strike and explain what your protest
was about.

As time went on, two other volunteers arrived in Port Laoise for
possession of weapons.  They were subjected to the same harsh
treatment.  We decided among ourselves to go on hunger strike for
political status.  As a result of the hunger strike ten of us
were transferred to the Curragh Camp or more better known as "The
Glasshouse" where we joined another twenty comrades.  My 21 days
of hunger strike ended after the transfer as we were given our
political status.


How long were you in jail before you escaped?

I spent between May and December of 1971 in Mountjoy, between
December 1971 and May of 1972 in Port Laoise, and between May and
October of 1972 in the Curragh.  A total of 18 months before I
escaped.


How did you come to be involved in the escape?

On arrival to the Curragh, escaping was a priority.  I heard a
rumour that escape plans were in progress.  The Free-State forces
also heard of the plans.  As a result they brought in carpenters
to remove floor boards in cells at random.  When we discovered
the empty space which lay under these floor boards, the escape
plans began to evolve.


How did you escape?

The original plan was to dig down underneath the foundations and
tunnel all the way to the perimeter wall, but as time went by,
adverse weather conditions were a threat to this plan.  It was
now decided to bring the tunnel up in the middle of the yard.
Seven of us successfully escaped through this tunnel and scaled a
20 feet wall by means of a rope ladder.


How many other people did you escape with?

I escaped with six other people.  Another four of my comrades
were apprehended in the yard by an armed Free State soldier.


Describe the events of the escape.

The escape was originally planned for Saturday night the 28th. of
October 1972 but had to be abandoned at the last minute because
of the untimely arrival of a sentry on the wall.  A meeting was
called the next morning by our O.C. and it was agreed that too
much effort had been put into the escape so we decided to escape
after 4 o'clock tea that evening regardless of the consequences.


Describe what happened after the escape

The seven of us split up into two groups after our successful
scaling of the wall.  My two comrades and I travelled on foot
from dusk that night until dawn the next morning when we took
cover during daybreak in a haybarn approximately thirty miles
from the Curragh.  We set off again that evening. We made contact
with a sympathiser and we stayed in his house for two weeks.  We
were then contacted by an O.C. and we were all sent to different
counties where we took up active service on the run.


How was life on the run?

Life on the run was tough.  You were on active service and always
on alert for your own safety and security.  Two of my fellow
escapees have been killed on active service since.  At several
times over the years I would be tipped off at 3 or 4 o'clock in
the morning that raids by security forces were imminent.  I
always managed to escape and was never apprehended on the run.
However many years later I was subsequently arrested under 'The
Prevention of Terrorism Act' in Liverpool and I was sent back to
Ireland.


Do you have any regrets?

No.  I knew at the time of joining that at all times I would
remain loyal and committed to the movement as my aim was to see
complete disengagement of British forces from this island.

In terms of the current political situation, what do you think
will be the outcome?

As far as I am concerned the only language the British
understands is that coming from the barrel of a gun.  However I
am open to persuasion that a united Ireland can be achieved by
peaceful means.


Do you think a United Ireland is still achievable?

Yes.  As long as the Republican Movement has Volunteers willing
to fight, the goal of a united Ireland will always remain
achievable.


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>>>> History: Remember Orr


-----------------------------------------

    Aengus O'Snodaigh concludes his series of
    articles marking the 200th anniversary of the judicial murder of
    United Irish leader William Orr by describing his trial and
    execution. 

-----------------------------------------

   "I am no traitor! I die a persecuted man, for a persecuted
   country."


   Last words of William Orr

-----------------------------------------


On the morning of 18 September 12 male jurours were sworn in. Two
witnesses were announced to appear against the 31-year-old
defendant; they were John Lindsay and Hugh Wheatley.

Crowds of supporters, well-wishers, crown conspirators and
military packed the Carrickfergus Courthouse that morning. They
heard Wheatley swear on oath that while in fear of his life and
under threat Orr administered on him an oath:

"In the awful presence of God, I..................., do
voluntarily declare that I will persevere in endeavouring to form
a brotherhood of affection among Irishmen of every religious
persuasion, and that I will also persevere in my endeavoures to
obtain an equal, full, and adequate representation of all the
people of Ireland.

"I do declare that neither hopes, fears, rewards, or punishments
shall ever induce me directly, or indirectly, to inform, or give
evidence against any member, or members, of this or similar
societies, for any act or expression of theirs done or made
individually or collectively, in or out of this society, in
persuance of the spirit of this obligation."

John Philpot Curran cross-examined him on his character before
John Lindsay was called. He only went as far as staing that he
was in the room while the oath was administered.

Despite the Crown knowing the names of all those who were in
attendance on the night in question none had been 'persuaded' to
turn King's evidence. Regretfully they couldn't appear for the
Defence, for to do so would implicate them and leave them open to
capital conviction.

When time came for the Defence case they began by saying that Orr
was wrongly charged under the Insurrection Act and not with High
Treason. This was done in order to afford him less opportunity to
defend himself than if the more serious charge had been put,
which was warranted if the Crown evidence were accepted.

Both judges understood this manouvre and thus over-ruled it, thus
preventing Orr from being called to the witness box to give an
account of himself. The Defence was left with one witness to
contradict Whealtey -- Charles MacLaverty -- only to be
contradicted in turn by a Sergeant Millar and Reverend Foot
Marshell.

The jury retired for the night. At six in the morning after
badgering from the judge and retiring twice more to a guilty or
not guilty verdict, Orr was pronounced guilty; but with a
recommendation of mercy.

The next day, before sentence was passed on Orr, his Defence team
made the startling announcement that two jurors had sworn
affidavits stating that on the night they retired to consider the
veredict "a considerable quantity of spirituous liquour was
conveyed into the jury-room and drunk by the jury, many of whom
were greatly intoxicated, and threatened the two jurors who made
the affidvait, and who admitted themselves also to have been in a
state of intoxication, to prosecute them as United Irishmen if
they did not concur in a verdict of guilty; and that at length,
worn by fatigue and drink, and subdued by menaces, they did,
contrary to their judgement, concur in that verdict."

Another juror swore he was misled regarding the outcome in the
event of a guilty verdict. Curran called for a mistrial, saying
that a verdict so obtained might disgrace the administration of
the law. The court refused the application and subsequent moves
by many to quash the sentence came to nought and Lord Yelverton
made his pronouncement with crocodile tears flowing:

"You are to be taken to the place from when you came, from there
to the common place of execution, the gallows, there to be hung
by the neck until you are dead."

Orr's speech from the dock was short and to the point, stating
the conviction was "a falsehood" and "that the evidence against
me was grossly and wickedly perjured".

While Orr awaited his execution, many made representations to the
authorities seeking a reprieve. While this was being done others
sought to blacken Orr's name by publishing 'confessions'
purportedly made by him, while others again sought from him a
confession in return for clemency.

On the morning of 14 October William Orr was taken from his cell
in Carrickfergus Jail and placed in a carriage to be brought to
the Gallows Green under strong military guard. A letter from
Carrickfergus that day describes the scene:

"The inhabitants of this town, man, woman, and child, quit the
place this day, rather than be present at the execution of their
hapless countryman, William Orr... The military who attended the
execution consisted of several thousand men, horse and foot, with
cannon, and a company of artillery -- the whole forming a hollow
square.

"To these William Orr read his dying declaration, with a clear,
strong, manly tone of voice -- and his deportment was firm,
unshaken and impressive, to the last instant of his existence."

In his declaration, copies of which were distributed nationwide
despite the threat of death for possession of them, Orr stated:

"If to have loved my country, to have known its wrongs, to have
felt the injuries of the persecuted Catholics, and to have united
with them and all other religious persuasions in the most orderly
and least sanquinary means of procuring redress; -- if these be
felonies, then I am a felon, but not otherwise."

As he stepped to the scaffold he uttered his final defiant words
at his executioners.

"I am no traitor. I die a persecuted man, for a persecuted
country."

His body was cut down from the gallows, and despite attempts by
his friends to revive him the hangman had done his work
completely and as his masters desired. His body was then placed
on a cart bedded with straw and a start made for its long trip
home. It first went to Ballynure where Orr was waked overnight
before heading to Templepatrick. So great were the crowds paying
respects that several attempts by the military to disperse the
funeral procession failed.

William Orr's trial and execution became a public symbol of
repression and "Remember Orr" became the battlecry of United
Irishmen everywhere.

United Irish leader, farmer and family man William Orr was
judicially murdered 200 years ago, on 14 October 1797.



References

F.J. Biggar, Remember Orr (Dublin 1906) 
M. Elliot, Partners in Revolution: The United Irishmen and France 
(London 1982) 
B. O'Higgins, Orr and Emmet -- Wolfe Tone Annual 1953 (Dublin)


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