Irish Newsbrief, p.m. 4/20/99 Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit News from the Wire Services Re: Ireland & the Irish PA 04/20/99 22:58 Three Held Over Former Loyalist Chief's Murder RT 04/20/99 20:28 Policeman Guilty In Death Of Irish Immigrant AP 04/20/99 18:47 Irish Attorney Murder Probe Urged RT 04/20/99 17:35 N.Irish Protestant Leader Trimble To Meet Pope PR 04/20/99 14:50 Pleasure Break Vacations Offers Fares To Ireland PA 04/20/99 13:33 Irish Minister Orders Shake-Up As Judges Quit PA 04/20/99 10:50 Trimble's Papal Audience Angers Orangemen PA 04/20/99 09:12 Bold Bid To Boost Belfast's Tourist Profile PA 04/20/99 08:44 My Bleak Future, By Departing Irish Judge PA 04/20/99 08:17 Mallon Hits At Agreement `Vandals' RT 04/20/99 07:41 Irish Banks On Top Of Y2K Problem - Central Bank PA 04/20/99 07:32 Irish Gvrnmnt Moves To End Witness Intimidation ****************************** Three Held Over Former Loyalist Chief's Murder PA 04/20/99 22:58 Copyright 1999 PA News By Melissa Kite, PA News Detectives were today questioning three men about the murder of leading Northern Ireland loyalist Frankie Curry. They were held during early morning raids in west Belfast's Shankill Road area yesterday, where Mr Curry was gunned down outside a social club on St Patrick's Day, March 17. Curry, 46, a former Red Hand Commando chief, was chased across waste ground at the back of the club where he had been watching the Cheltenham races and shot several times in the back of the head. His murder was thought to be the result of an internal loyalist dispute. After serving several terms in prison for terrorist crime, he fell out of favour with mainstream loyalism and was expelled from the Red Hand Commando for "treason". A nephew of top loyalist Gusty Spence who announced the 1994 loyalist ceasefire, Curry claimed his life was under threat from elements within loyalism and that he was the victim of a smear campaign. Months before he was killed, Curry claimed he was the victim of claims linking him to the Red Hand Defenders and their murder of an RUC man in a bomb attack on security forces during a loyalist rally in Portadown last August. He had only been released from jail two days before he was killed - he had been serving a short sentence for a motoring offence - and knew he was at risk from loyalist gunmen. ends ****************************** N.Y. Policeman Guilty In Death Of Irish Immigrant RTna 04/20/99 20:28 Copyright 1999 Reuters Ltd NEW YORK (Reuters) - A New York police officer was convicted Tuesday of manslaughter in the shooting death of an Irish immigrant, prosecutors said. After a six-week nonjury trial, police officer Richard Molloy, 33, was found guilty of second-degree manslaughter, or recklessly causing the death of another person, in a case that divided the Irish community in the city's borough of the Bronx. Victim Patrick "Hessy" Phelan was fatally shot in the head on Jan. 21, 1996, in a Bronx apartment rented by Molloy's girlfriend. Phelan, 32, was a former Irish National Liberation Army member who spent 10 years in prison for political crimes in British-ruled Northern Ireland, prosecutors said. Molloy testified that he was off-duty and in the apartment with Phelan when the other man grabbed his gun and shot himself in the head. In convicting Molloy, Acting State Supreme Court Judge Steven Barrett found that the officer's claim that the fatal wound was self-inflicted was not consistent with the forensic evidence. Molloy was sent to jail to await sentencing May 12. He faces up to 15 years in prison. REUTERS ****************************** Irish Attorney Murder Probe Urged APO 04/20/99 18:47 Copyright 1999 The Associated Press By DARLENE SUPERVILLE Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON (AP) -- Recognizing the first anniversary of a Northern Ireland peace agreement, the House paid tribute Tuesday to a slain Irish defense lawyer and condemned all violence committed in violation of the 1998 cease-fire accords. A "sense of the House" resolution, passed 421-2, urges the British government to begin an investigation, independent of the Northern Ireland police force, into the murder of Rosemary Nelson and to issue a detailed, public report. The non-binding measure, which does not go to the Senate, also calls for an independent judicial inquiry into allegations that defense attorneys in Northern Ireland are systematically harassed and intimidated by security forces. Reps. Ron Paul, R-Texas, and John Hostettler, R-Ind., voted against it. Nelson, a Roman Catholic and frequent critic of the Protestant- dominated police force, the Royal Ulster Constabulary, was killed by a car bomb on March 15. She testified last September in Washington before the House International Relations international operations and human rights subcommittee about efforts, allegedly by the police force, to harass and intimidate her. "The British government needs to act decisively and remove any and all doubt about the investigation into Rosemary Nelson's murder," said Rep. Christopher Smith, R-N.J., sponsor of the resolution. The measure also urges adoption a United Nations special recommendation for a separate inquiry into the 1989 killing of defense attorney Patrick Finucane. A second measure, passed by voice vote, recognizes the historical significance of the agreement that leaders of Northern Ireland's major political parties signed last year on Good Friday to end the violence that has killed thousands since 1969. The Senate approved the nonbinding resolution last month. Talks to implement the peace agreement are to resume next week. "We cannot sit idly by while the peace process in Northern Ireland comes to a halt," said Rep. Joseph Crowley, D-N.Y., the sponsor. ------ The bills are H.Res. 128 and H.Con.Res. 54. ****************************** N.Irish Protestant Leader Trimble To Meet Pope RTna 04/20/99 17:35 Copyright 1999 Reuters Ltd BELFAST (Reuters) - Northern Ireland's First Minister David Trimble, who represents the pro-British Protestant majority, said Tuesday he expects to meet Pope John Paul II during a visit to Rome this week. In a move likely to enrage some Protestant hard-liners in the British province, Trimble will be the first leader of the Protestant Ulster Unionist Party to meet the pope. Trimble will meet Pope John Paul at the Vatican along with several other Nobel Peace Prize Laureates who have been invited by former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev to attend a two-day seminar on Kosovo in Rome. Trimble will be joined by moderate Roman Catholic politician John Hume, with whom he won last year's Nobel award. He said he hoped to be able to brief the Pope on the Northern Ireland peace talks, which are deadlocked over how to disarm guerrilla groups. "Insofar as the opportunity arises I will brief him on political progress here and our continuing efforts to implement all aspects of the Belfast agreement," Trimble said. The seminar itself will focus on the crisis in Kosovo. "I consider both the timing and the location appropriate in the light of the crisis facing Europe today," Trimble said, defending his decision to meet the head of the Catholic Church who is reviled by many hard-line Protestants. Trimble was criticized for attending a Catholic service in Donegal last August for victims of the Omagh bombing, the worst atrocity in Northern Ireland's 30-year sectarian war. In September 1997 Trimble broke another Protestant taboo by meeting Archbishop Sean Brady, leader of the Roman Catholic Church in Ireland. REUTERS ****************************** Pleasure Break Vacations Offers Fares To Ireland ... PR 04/20/99 14:50 Pleasure Break Vacations Offers Fares to Ireland Starting from $249 ROLLING MEADOWS, Ill., April 20 /PRNewswire/ -- Customers who want to book a summer trek through Ireland will be savin' o' the green when they take advantage of a fare sale from Pleasure Break Vacations or book online at http://www.pleasurebreak.com Pleasure Break Vacations has announced sale fares to Ireland from Chicago for travelers who purchase tickets by April 27. The sale fares are available to Shannon and Dublin from Chicago starting from $249 (one way outbound fares to Shannon based on round trip travel). The sale fares are valid for select departures between June 3 and Sept. 18, 1999. Customers who book their Ireland vacation on Pleasure Break Vacations' Web site will save an additional $20 per person on air- only vacations or $50 per person on air/hotel vacations (for six or more nights). Pleasure Break Vacations offers roundtrip airfare on American Trans Air from Midway direct to Dublin and Shannon from June to September 1999. In addition to flights, Pleasure Break Vacations offers fully escorted motorcoach tours of the Emerald Isle, hotel accommodations, rental cars and a comprehensive Ireland Bed & Breakfast program. Flights will operate from Chicago to Dublin June 3 through Sept. 18 with return flights from Dublin to Chicago June 4 to Sept. 24. Shannon flights will depart Chicago from June 4 to Sept. 10 with return flights June 5 to Sept. 18. Travelers may also choose Pleasure Break Vacations convenient option of flying into Shannon and returning from Dublin, or vice-versa, at no additional cost. Pleasure Break Vacations offers customers convenient, one-stop vacation shopping that includes roundtrip air, hotel accommodations, sightseeing and other services. For vacation planning and reservations, visit Pleasure Break Vacations at http://www.pleasurebreak.com . Information and reservations also are available from travel agents or from Pleasure Break Vacations at 888-448-3427, extension 6842. Custom group programs are also available by calling 800-766-5432. Pleasure Break Vacations is a major air consolidator and vacation company affiliated with The Mark Travel Corporation/Funjet Vacations in Milwaukee and is a member of the USTOA $1 Million Consumer Protection Plan, ASTA TOP operator program, and is a founding member to the US Air Consolidators Association (USACA). SOURCE The Mark Travel Corporation -0- 4/20/99 /CONTACT: Jackie Costa, Public Relations of The Mark Travel Corporation, 414-934-1153, for Pleasure Break Vacations/ /Web site: http://www.pleasurebreak.com/ CO: Pleasure Break Vacations; Mark Travel Corporation; American Trans Air ST: Illinois, Chicago, Ireland IN: LEI SU: Copyright 1999 PR Newswire. All rights reserved ****************************** Irish Minister Orders Shake-Up As Judges Quit PA 04/20/99 13:33 Copyright 1999 PA News By Chris Parkin, PA News Irish Justice Minister John O'Donoghue tonight outlined new court procedures aimed at ending the kind of row that has led to the resignation of two top judges and a senior court official. The minister made a statement in the Dail following the departure of Supreme Court judge Mr Justice Hugh O'Flaherty, the High Court's Mr Justice Cyril Kelly and Circuit Court Dublin County registrar Michael Quinlan over the handling of a drink- driving case. All three were targeted for strong criticism last week by Chief Justice Liam Hamilton in a report he presented to the Irish government on the case of Dublin architect Philip Sheedy, who was jailed for four years in 1997 after an accident that caused the death of a young mother. Sheedy was freed after one year by Mr Justice Kelly after Mr Justice O'Flaherty had been approached by a friend of the jailed man and contacted the registrar. Sheedy later returned to jail voluntarily after a judicial review overturned his sentence-cut, and is currently bidding to appeal against the severity of the sentence originally imposed. Mr Justice O'Flaherty resigned last Saturday, and Mr Justice Kelly and Mr Quinlan quit today. All insisted they had done nothing wrong. If the judges had not resigned, the Irish government of premier Bertie Ahern could have been forced to take action under the terms of Ireland's written constitution to remove them through an unprecedented parliamentary impeachment move. The resignations - seen as inevitable in the light of the Chief Justice's report - were welcomed by both government and opposition parties in Dublin as heading off a potential constitutional crisis. Tonight Mr O'Donoghue signalled "far-reaching recommendations for change" including proposals about the duties of court staff, judicial conduct and ethics and the method of listing court cases. He pledged: "I am determined that the lessons we have learned from recent events will be taken fully on board and that confidence in the judicial system will be fully restored. "I am also determined that in the interests of the public we serve, we will not have to go through events like those of recent days again." :: The future prospects of the three men forced to resign as a result of the Sheedy affair were uncertain tonight. Mr O'Donoghue stressed that there was no suggestion that any of the three had been motivated by personal gain or reward. He said 61-year-old Mr O'Flaherty would get an annual pension of IR 40,000, Mr Kelly, 50, one of IR 30,000, and Mr Quinlan, 45, IR 15,000. In an emotion-charged move earlier, Mr Justice Kelly read a statement at the front door of his Dublin home, highlighting his "devastating personal tragedy and public humiliation" and pointing to his "bleak future". ****************************** Trimble's Papal Audience Angers Orangemen PA 04/20/99 10:50 Copyright 1999 PA News By Melissa Kite, PA News Hardline Orangemen today turned their back on David Trimble after he confirmed that he is to become the first Ulster Unionist leader in history to meet the Pope. The Northern Ireland First Minister said he intended to brief Pope John Paul II on the political situation in Northern Ireland when he visits the Vatican this week. Loyalists in Portadown, the heart of Mr Trimble's constituency, said the visit proved he could no longer claim to represent them. "It's ironic to think he can go and meet the Pope but he can't come near his own constituency without an armed guard," said Portadown Orangeman David Jones. "People here no longer feel he represents them or loyalism in any way. I think people would be only too glad if he went over and stayed with the Pope." As an Orangeman, Mr Trimble is expected to shun all displays of Roman Catholicism and avoid any action which would lend credence to the religion. Last year, the Order threatened to have Ulster Unionist Party chairman Dennis Rogan disciplined for attending the Catholic funeral mass of three young boys killed in the Omagh bomb. Describing the meeting as a "courtesy call", Mr Trimble confirmed it is to go ahead either tomorrow or Thursday when he takes time out from a two-day conference of Nobel Peace Laureates, organised by former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev. He was to have been accompanied by SDLP leader and fellow Nobel Laureate John Hume, but a spokesman for Mr Hume said he would not be going. Mr Trimble said the aim of the Rome conference was to consider how to overcome ongoing conflicts in Europe and to encourage the humanitarian effort in Kosovo. "Europe and the UN need to develop effective international means to protect the rights of persons and peoples," he said in a statement. "This I hope will be the issue that my fellow Nobel Peace Prize Laureates will reflect on and I hope through these reflections to encourage the humanitarian efforts being undertaken in the Kosovo area. "In the course of the Rome meeting there will be a courtesy call by the participants on His Holiness Pope John Paul II. "Insofar as the opportunity arises I will brief him on political progress here and our continuing efforts to implement all aspects of the Belfast Agreement and so persuade those seeking to enter the democratic process to show clearly that terrorism is being left behind for good." ****************************** Bold Bid To Boost Belfast's Tourist Profile PA 04/20/99 09:12 Copyright 1999 PA News By Ian Graham, PA News A bold initiative to boost Belfast's fortunes by attracting more business and leisure tourism was launched in the city today. Some 3.5 million is to be spent over the next three years in a public-private partnership to put the Northern Ireland capital on top of the "must visit" list of cities around the world. Belfast City Council, the Northern Ireland Tourist Board and those in the private sector set to benefit from increased tourism - such as hoteliers - have joined forces to establish the Belfast Visitor & Convention Bureau which will go all out to sell the city. Gareth White, chief executive of the Bureau, said Belfast was known throughout the world. But he added: "In many ways Belfast is Ireland's best kept secret. It's one of the great cities of Europe waiting to be discovered." Speaking at a conference in Belfast City Hall, Mr White said Belfast was now in competition with other cities including Dublin, Glasgow and European capitals for visitors - research showed tourists were visiting cities rather than countries. With 2,500 quality hotel beds in the city by the Millennium and top quality conference facilities already opened, the city plans to target both the business conference market and the urban tourist. Roy Bailie, chairman of the Northern Ireland Tourist Board, said Belfast should be sold as a venue for weekend city breaks. Local people went to New York for a long weekend, Americans should be encouraged to make the trip reverse trip. But Mr Bailie sounded a note of caution as Northern Ireland's past continued to dog its future. Tourism had the potential to create 20,000 jobs across the province, he said, but added: "We need political progress, we need a total cessation of violence and we need a resolution of the marching situation which falls right in the middle of the key holiday period." Belfast City Council is putting up the lion's share of the annual cost of funding the Bureau - providing 700,000 in the first year - and Margaret Clarke, chairman of the council's Tourism and Promotion of Belfast Sub-Committee, said it was the boldest attempt yet to promote tourism in the city. ****************************** My Bleak Future, By Departing Irish Judge PA 04/20/99 08:44 Copyright 1999 PA News By Chris Parkin, PA News The latest judge to resign over the Irish courts' handling of a drink-driving case today spoke of the "bleak future" confronting him. The former Mr Justice Cyril Kelly also talked of his "devastating personal tragedy and public humiliation" when he read a prepared statement, standing beside his wife Patricia outside the family home in Dublin a short time after formally quitting the Irish High Court. He was the second senior judge to resign in the wake of a row over the case of Dublin architect Philip Sheedy, 31, who was freed by Mr Justice Kelly after serving one year of a four-year jail term imposed in 1997 for a drink-drive accident in which a young mother died. Last Saturday Supreme Court judge Mr Justice Hugh O'Flaherty resigned after admitting he had acted unwisely by contacting a court official after being approached by a friend of the jailed man. And today Michael Quinlan, the Dublin County registrar of the Irish Circuit Court, also stepped down because of the Sheedy fall- out. In a hard-hitting report on the case last week, Irish Chief Justice Liam Hamilton said Mr Justice Kelly had not acted in a matter befitting a judge and criticised Mr Justice O'Flaherty's "inappropriate" actions. Ironically, Sheedy, the man at the centre of the row - who returned voluntarily to jail after his sentence reduction was overruled - today heard that his official bid to appeal against the severity of the four-year term had been adjourned until Monday. Northern Ireland-born Mr Justice Kelly was near to tears as he read a personal statement at the door of his house in Dublin's Sandymount suburb. He maintained that his decision in the Sheedy case had been just - and made without "any inappropriate influence or improper motive". The ex-judge made it clear that the Irish government - who last week expressed serious concern about the affair - had requested his resignation. "I have, in consequence, written to the President of Ireland tendering to her my resignation as a judge of the High Court. "My resignation is a devastating personal tragedy for me and my family. "Many people at the time they retire take that opportunity to voice their hopes and options for the future. "From where I am understanding my future is indeed bleak." Mr Kelly pointedly referred to the family of Mrs Anne Ryan, the woman who died in the 1997 road accident. "My prayers at this time are especially with those persons who are directly connected with the particular case. In the clamour and noise of this controversy, sight should not be lost of their continuing suffering." He concluded by saying: "If the fact of my departure promotes confidence in the administration of justice, I am glad for that. "I wish the courts well. My earnest wish is that this public humiliation can now be relegated to our private family grief." :: Irish Justice Minister John O'Donoghue was making a parliamentary statement about the Sheedy case later today after cabinet consideration of the affair and its implications. ****************************** Mallon Hits At Agreement `Vandals' PA 04/20/99 08:17 Copyright 1999 PA News By Rosie Cowan, PA News Sinn Fein and the Ulster Unionists were today accused of holding the other parties to ransom while they vandalised the Northern Ireland peace process. Deputy First Minister, Seamus Mallon, said the British and Irish governments must make it clear that these two parties must compromise in order to implement the Good Friday Agreement. "I am concerned and angry that that which belongs to the people of Ireland is being vandalised by two of the parties for their own political reasons", said Mr Mallon. "It's a matter of the Ulster Unionists and Sinn Fein deciding whether they want to hold on to the political process or whether they want to hold on to their pre-condition on the one hand or adherence to non-decommissioning on the other. "We are being held to raansom by the positions of two political parties. "Sooner or later the rest of the political parties and the two governments have got either to move them from those positions or face up to the fact that because of this issue that those two parties will have been allowed to bring this Agreement to an end." The SDLP deputy leader said the process must not be parked and that talking would continue in Downing Street next week. He said there was a strong will among the parties and the two governments to make the peace process succeed. ****************************** Irish Banks On Top Of Y2K Problem - Central Bank RTw 04/20/99 07:41 Copyright 1999 Reuters Ltd DUBLIN, April 20 (Reuters) - Ireland's financial institutions appear unlikely to face any major problems at the changeover to the next millennium but should not be complacent, the Irish Central Bank said on Tuesday. The central bank, which has been monitoring financial institutions' efforts to cope with potential year 2000 computer problems, said banks were well advanced in work to cope with any possible disruption. "The monitoring programme undertaken to date has shown that these preparations are well underway," Mary O'Dea, manager of the central bank's supervision department, told a Year 2000 conference sponsored by the IBEC employers' federation. The year 2000 problem, known as Y2K for short, arises because many older computers allocated only two digits for the year in a date. Unless computers are repaired, year 2000 may be read as 1900, causing computers to crash or make mistakes. O'Dea said there was a very high awareness among banks about the Y2K problem. But she warned that institutions should not become complacent, saying the central bank was particularly concerned about contingency planning for circumstances beyond banks' control, and arrangements for the millennium weekend. O'Dea said there was a possible danger that some financial services entities may regard the introduction of the euro in January 1999 as a test run for the Year 2000 but warned that this was dangerous because the Y2K problem was far wider and could hit all aspects of an institution's operations. She said the central bank was currently talking to retail banks about the extended Christmas and New Year holiday leading to heavy demand for banknotes. She said adequate reserve stocks of currency would be available to meet any increased demand and keep automatic teller machines working. Separately, officials from state-owned Telecom Eireann and Dublin Corporation said they did not anticipate major problems with communications or Dublin's traffic systems, water and sewerage services from the Y2K changeover and that system overhauls were well under way. ****************************** Irish Government Moves To End Witness Intimidation PA 04/20/99 07:32 Copyright 1999 PA News By Ruth O'Reilly, PA News The Irish government today announced new measures to protect witnesses and jurors in criminal trials. It follows several cases of intimidation which have threatened to bring down some of the country's most high-profile trials, including that over the IRA murder of police officer Jerry McCabe. Amendments to the Criminal Justice Bill currently going through parliament in Dublin will make it an offence to threaten witnesses, jurors or police informants - - and their families -- and introduce a maximum penalty of 10 years in jail. Frightened witnesses will also be able to avoid appearing in court under the proposals, which will allow testimonies to be taken through a live television link. The Bill also aims to provide greater security for people recruited to the Witness Protection Programme by outlawing attempts to track them down or establish their new identity. Announcing the measures, Justice Minister John O'Donoghue said they constituted a "very significant improvement" to the protection of those participating in the criminal justice system. Since the start of the year there has been growing alarm about intimidation in the Irish Republic's terrorist and gangland cases. Murder charges against four men accused of the IRA killing of Garda McCabe in Adare, County Limerick, nearly three years ago were withdrawn after a key witness refused to testify. The four -- among them Brixton prison escaper Pearse McAuley -- admitted manslaughter and were jailed for between 10 and 14 years. The case of murdered crime journalist Veronica Guerin has also been in the spotlight, with the alleged former gangster who turned State's witness against the men accused of her murder being threatened -- along with members of his family. ------- 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/ ------------- ================================================================= NY Transfer News Collective * A Service of Blythe Systems Since 1985 - Information for the Rest of Us 339 Lafayette St., New York, NY 10012 http://www.blythe.org e-mail: nyt@blythe.org ================================================================= nytire-04.24.99-12:53:30-11290