ONLY IRELAND’S BEST VALUE NEWSPAPER
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
FREE Willie O’Dea mask for every reader Former senior Sinn Fein member ‘not surprised’ but Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness deny claims released in leaked US diplomatic cables
ADAMS KNEW OF £26.5m HEIST BEFORE IT HAPPENED A FORMER active Sinn Fein member has said he is not surprised by the Wikileaks claims that former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern believed Sinn Fein leaders Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness knew about plans for the Northern Bank robbery in 2004.
By Vicky Kavanagh
Our source, who asked not to be named, was an extremely active member during his six-year party allegiance and held a public administrative position for the party. He said “I’m not surprised at all by the Wikileaks claims... of course there’s still close connections with the IRA. It really wouldn’t surprise me if they
(Adams and McGuinness) were members of the IRA military command.” Intercepted cables on Monday revealed that Ahern questioned Adams and McGuinness’s involvement in the bank robbery, but Adams claimed Ahern’s allegation “did not stand up”. Turn to Page 5
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Irish Daily Mail, Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Wright’s often a Venue for violence, says taximan A TAXI driver who frequently By Shane Keegan does his rounds in Swords has spoken about the violence he Three of the guys near the enhas witnessed while he works. trance hopped into my car then This comes in the wake of the so I started to drive off. They most recent victim of a fa- told me that a fight had broken tal stabbing attack in North out and that the girl had got Dublin. glassed in the face by some guy. Tony Kavanagh has been But I never heard anything in driving around the Swords area the news after that night about for seven years and said that he it, I don’t think it was reported. has seen many fights, brawls Loads of stuff happens at the and acts of violence in the club that never gets reported. area, particularly at the Wright When you’re working as a taxi Venue nightclub that the Polish driver, you get to see a lot of man had attended. it and it’s very dodgy. Fights, “I was working on a Saturday drugs, gang stuff... that place isnight back in July when I drove just trouble.” over to The Wright Venue in The man who died after beSwords at around 2am to see ing stabbed several times in the if there was anyone wanting a stomach after a night out withtaxi... When I pulled up outside friends at a nightclub in Swords the club, there was a bit of ac- was a 29-year-old Polish nation going on outside the front tional who has yet to be named. doors with a big group of guys The man, who has been livand girls and bouncers trying to ing in Naas for several years separate everyone. now, became the latest victim of “Next thing I knew, I seen knife crime in Ireland after he (sic) this girl and her face was died in the Mater Hospital afjust cut to ribbons... there was ter being transported from the blood pouring out and her Rotunda Maternity Hospital friends were screaming at these on Sunday afternoon. guys near them. Gardaí are yet unsure as to
where the stabbing took place, but they believe that it occurred in the Fairview area of Drumcondra in north Dublin, where they have sealed off an apartment for forensic examination. Swords itself is known to be a violent area, especially in the hours after pubs and clubs close. Even a local Swords news website acknowledges this fact,saying “the town centre does see a lot of late night violence after pub closing.” This is not the first violent incident that has happened to Polish nationals on the north side of the city. Only 2 months ago, Polish national Lukasz Rzeszutko was viciously beaten to death at the Newtown Industrial Estate in Coolock while he was on his way to work. Ireland has the highest homicide rate of young males in Western Europe, and also has the second highest rate of stabbings. Gardai are appealing to anybody who was in the area or who may have information to contact them.
Pipe bomb at popular Dublin nightclub ‘could have killed clubbers’ A BOMB discovered outside of a popular north Dublin nightclub could have killed or seriously harmed club-goers had it exploded. The device was discovered opposite the Wright Venue nightclub in Swords and had “the means to cause a big explosion and could have caused a lot of harm,” according to an army spokesperson. The pipe bomb was discovered on the rear of a Range Rover whose driver presented himself to Gardai at the scene. He was not the registered owner and Gardai are investigating
By Klara Heron whether it was a targeted attack. The army disposal unit sent a full team to the scene where they carried out a controlled explosion on the bomb and deemed the area safe at 4.45am. They took the vehicle away for technical examination. The bomb itself was an improvised device that had “all the components of a viable device that could have caused a lot of harm had it exploded,” according to an army spokesman. A spokesperson for the Wright Venue club said they
did not make an emergency announcement in the club as most people were already leaving the club when the bomb was found and they didn’t think it had anything to do with them. The army bomb disposal unit are not alluding to whether the bomb was amateur or professional and say they do not want to “tip off ” any potential bombers as to how to make or plant a bomb successfully. In March the army had to carry out a controlled explosion in a Swords estate when Gardai discovered nine pipe bombs in a garden shed.
Irish Daily Mail, Tuesday, December 14, 2010
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War of words erupts over O’Connor’s ‘intentional’ number giveaway Trade union defend release of private phone numbers for Government ministers Dermot Ahern ‘surprised’ at Jack O’Connor’s refusal to apologise over numbers handout But Joan Burton received ‘vulgar’ messages By Klara Heron SIPTU say they fully intended to release the phone numbers of as many Government politicians as possible in an effort lobby against the minimum wage cuts. On Friday SIPTU’s President Jack O’Connor sent over 24,000 members a clear message as he asked them to take the mobile numbers and “text them as soon as possible”. The newsletter contained 82 mobile phone numbers and called for SIPTU members to “use their initiative” and text politicians with the
message that the minimum wage needs to be protected. Frank Connolly of SIPTU’s communications department said SIPTU will not apologise for sending out the numbers. “These mobile phones are paid for by the taxpayer and the numbers are already in public circulation,” he said, “they are not private lines, the public pay for them.” A spokesperson for Minister for Justice Dermot Ahern, expressed their surprise that SIPTU President Jack O’Connor has refused to apologise for the newsletter. However, SIPTU are standing firm still, and say they want
Mr Ahern to apologise for the state of this country. Mr Connolly went on to
‘This guy will be getting a massive pension next year when he retires...’
slam the Minister in a damning indictment, stating “This guy will be getting a massive pension next year when he retires...it’s the cabinet who are responsible for the destruction of this country and this economy.”
Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan was one of the people on the list and his office would not give any comment, they believed that it had been done in error, which was the line of Jack O’Connor on Sunday. He said the he had authorised the lobby campaign but the mobile numbers were published in error. However SIPTU have now confirmed that last Tuesday they sent out an initiative to its members to gather as many politicians’ numbers as possible and then published them in their newsletter on Friday. A spokesperson for Joan
Burton has said that she received messages that were “vulgar, abusive and ignorant” and she thinks this form of lobbying was totally inappropriate. “Her mobile phone is for personal use, for family and friends and she makes herself widely available to the public anyway,” her spokesperson said. “If it happened to Jack O’Connor he probably wouldn’t be too pleased either,” she said. Others on the list included Tanaiste Mary Coughlan and Mary Harney as well as Labour Party leader Eamon Gilmore.
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Irish Daily Mail, Tuesday, December 14, 2010
O Snodaigh: Government banking on there being ‘no fight left’ in public A Sinn Fein TD has said the government are relying on the public “not having any fight left in them” in order to secure the European Union/International Monetary Fund rescue deal. Aengus O Snodaigh, who last week took part in an overnight vigil at Dail Eireann to protest against the 2011 budget and the rescue package, has urged people to continue taking to the streets to prove the Government wrong. “I think people have been browbeaten for some time and that the establishment parties will be banking on the public not having fight in them,” said the Sinn Fein TD for Dublin South Central. But O Snodaigh admitted that the best oppurtunity to protest against the current Government would come in the upcoming general election. “There is a general election coming and the election is the
By David Clarke ultimate opportunity for the people to protest and using their vote they will protest in massive numbers.” “The public have an opportunity to be made aware of and to critically assess each party’s distinct approach to the economy. I think Sinn Fein represents the real alternative because we alone did not sign up to the programme of cuts to achieve the budget deficit reduction within the absolutely incredible timeframe of 2014.” O Snodaigh last week took part in a vigil outside Dail Eireann protesting against the recent cutbacks and the budget that was attended by over 30 people. The Sinn Fein TD has called for cross-party co-operation in continuing the fight. “We always invited broad participation in our campaign-
ing initiatives. I would say that it’s too important for shallow point scoring. However it is about party politics.” “The people of Ireland are rejecting this Government but they are also rejecting the candidates they see as representing the alternative Government. We have seen that Eamon Gilmore and the Labour Party will not lead the next Government as people no longer see the Labour Party as representing an alternative viewpoint after they propped up Fine Gael’s policies.” The vigil had been intended to take place for up to 24 hours but had to be cut short in the early hours of the morning due to health and safety reasons caused by adverse weather conditions.
Browbeaten: Sinn Fein TD Aengus O Snodaigh
Journalist stands by claim that Ryan cocaine addiction was ‘no secret’ By Paddy Hanlon JOE JACKSON has stood by his allegations that Gerry Ryan’s cocaine use was no secret within RTÉ. He also claims the last time that he saw the famed presenter it was “evident he was still on it”. The journalist sensationally wrote that Ryan’s coke habit was an open secret in his column for the Sunday Independent. Jackson even recounted that the first time they ever spoke cocaine entered the conversation. Speaking on RTÉ Radio 1 this afternoon he defended his position, “some people are criticising me for speaking out about this, but the reason I am is because my dad died in similar circumstances and I probably better understand what his
family is going through than others”. He added that he interviewed Mark Cagney when he began his career in 2fm during the eighties. He saw the way Cagney developed a fast cocaine habit and that “the same may have applied to Gerry”. “When he was doing radio during the day and discos at night he would take the coke to keep going.” Jackson didn’t comment on any suppliers but pointed the finger inside the studios, “there may be people in here that know. People that know Gerry personally, better than I did, have gone quiet since the inquest while they were very vocal after he died”.
Irish Daily Mail, Tuesday, December 14, 2010
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Adams knew of £26.5m Northern Bank heist plan Continued from Page 1
But our source stated “There might not have been enough [proof ] to hang them, but there was enough to attach them to it.” He added “You hear a lot of things in this circle.. a lot of it isn’t true you know, just waffle... but some of it hits a little too close to home and then suddenly the conversation topic is dropped.” Adams and McGuinness have both denied the claims that they had knowledge of the bank robbery and Mr Adams blamed Fianna Fail’s electoral ambition for what he described as a smear. “We publicly and privately challenged Bertie Ahern to produce evidence to support his allegations. He didn’t. We told him they were groundless and untrue,” it said. “It was and is our view that this had more to do with the electoral rivalries between Sinn Fein and Fianna Fail” the pair’s joint statement said. When Adams was asked if he had managed to convince Ahern that he had no involvement in the robbery, Adams replied “. “You’ll have to ask him. Bertie has a very peculiar relationship with the banks which is now a matter of public history, but
this was part of an ongoing smear”. Our source said “I’m not sure if it’s part of a smear campaign... Maybe it is. But there’s a lot of skeletons that could come tumbling out of that closet if allegations against them keep up.” Gerry Adams is due to stand in the Louth constituency in the next general election and he said he would leave it to the ‘good sense’ of the electorate to make up their minds. The Northern Bank robbery took place in December 2004 and remains one of the biggest bank heists to happen in the country. A group of armed men posing as PSNI officers held two bank officials, Chris Ward and Kevin McMullan’s families hostage and forced the men help them obtain £26.5 million. £10 million of uncirculated notes were included in the haul and following the raid, Northern Bank recalled £300 million of bank-notes to be reissued in a bid to catch the gang involved in the robbery. Rumours immediately began to circulate that the Provisional IRA and Sinn Fein were heavily involved in the raid, despite statements from the political party that they had no
knowledge about the robbery. £50,000 from the robbery was later recovered at Newforge Country Club in Belfast. Over 5 people were charged in connection with the heist, including Chris Ward, but the only person ever convicted in relation to the incident was financial adviser Ted Cunningham who was found guilty of laundering over £3 million from the Northern Bank robbery.