Irish newsbriefs 4/26 AM Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit News from the Wire Services Re: Ireland & the Irish PA 04/26/99 05:46 Irish Sinead PA 04/26/99 05:34 Senator Who Brokered Peace Deal Still Hopeful PA 04/26/99 05:33 Ammunition Found In Moorland Search PA 04/26/99 04:16 Bank Workers Seek #2,000 Millennium Bonus PA 04/26/99 03:38 Scaffolders' Strike Threatens Investment Claim PA 04/26/99 03:29 Teenager's Killing Not Sectarian, Say Police PA 04/26/99 03:06 Bomb Attacks On Homes ****************************** Irish Sinead PA 04/26/99 05:46 Copyright 1999 PA News MEM TO CSEs: Note use of strong language in pars 16 and 21 `I'M SORRY FOR RIPPING UP POPE PICTURE,' SAYS MOTHER SINEAD By Chris Parkin, PA News Sinead O'Connor, Ireland's first female pop-star Roman Catholic priest, today apologised for once ripping up a portrait of the Pope. The controversial singer became Mother Bernadette Mary at a ceremony staged by the breakaway Latin Tridentine church in the south of France shrine centre of Lourdes last week. She spoke out as a new row developed over O'Connor's donation of IR 150,000 to Bishop Michael Cox, who ordained her, as "an act of charity" to set up a healing centre for members of Ireland's travelling community in Co Offaly. Another dissident bishop, Pat Buckley, called the donation "disturbing" and said there was a question of whether simony -- the act of purchasing a sacrament -- had taken place. O'Connor, still in Lourdes -- and whose new status is not recognised by the Catholic Church -- retorted in an Irish radio interview: "It would be a lie to say I bought my priesthood. That's an inaccurate distortion. "This man would not have ordained me for any money if he had not known I had a true vocation. "I made a donation not to Michael, but to the healing centre he has set up. In my life God has given me massive resources, amounts of money I would never use in my entire lifetime, so why should it not be used to make money to help the travelling people of Ireland." The 32-year-old singer had earlier told PA News the experience of being ordained into the priesthood made her "indescribably happy" adding: "I'll never feel sad again." Although the Catholic Church does not officially recognise women priests, O'Connor now claims that she has the authority to say Mass, baptise and administer last rites. As well as carrying out her religious duties, she will continue in the music business but under her new name, Mother Bernadette Mary, after the peasant girl whose visions of the Virgin Mary at Lourdes made the town famous. And she said from now on she would wear priests' clothing every day - a clerical shirt and dog collar. She also revealed her plans to buy a house in Lourdes and study there with Bishop Cox for at least six weeks before starting her religious duties. O'Connor said today: "I have said about four masses so far. I dedicated my first one to Pat Buckley, and those who might have a problem with this. "Anyone who knows me, knows that what I have done makes perfect sense for me. I adore God and believe very much in the power of prayer." She added: "I think it is very wonderful of me that I have been prepared to do this, so as to give publicity to the Catholic church -- not to myself. "I don't need any publicity -- if I fart I get it." The pop star, who tore up the Pope's picture on American TV, said of that incident: "I do apologise for that. I am sorry I did that, it was a disrespectful thing to do. "I have never even met the Pope. I am sure he is a lovely man. It was more an expression of frustration." O'Connor says the ordination came at "a convenient time" after a recent bitter custody battle with her estranged husband, John Waters, for their three-year-old daughter, Roisin, which she says left her physically and emotionally exhausted. Explaining her decision to become a priest, O'Connor said: "There are some people who are going to be for it and some against but that's OK. It's going to happen because that's what God wants," she said. "People at first will think I'm taking the piss and that's OK, that's natural. But at the end of the day, I can't really be too bothered about what people think. "It's a question of me living it, not saying it. My desire is to help people I identify with: the desolate, those in trouble or who need loving. "In general, I think the reaction will be 50-50. Younger people will think it's a very good thing. Older people will think I'm being disrespectful but there's nothing I can do to make them change their mind other than carrying out my duties as a priest and I think I'll make a very good one." :: A Dublin bookmaker today opened a book on the chances of O'Connor reaching number one spot in the Roman Catholic church following her ordination as a priest. Bookie Paddy Power quoted 10,000-1 against O'Connor being the next Pope. ****************************** Senator Who Brokered Peace Deal Still Hopeful PA 04/26/99 05:34 Copyright 1999 PA News By Dan McGinn, PA News The US politician who helped Northern Ireland's parties broker the Good Friday Agreement was hopeful today that they will still set up the province's new power sharing executive. As pro-Agreement parties gathered at Stormont for crucial talks aimed at breaking the stalemate over paramilitary weapons, Senator George Mitchell predicted they would find a way through. The former Senator, who chaired multi-party talks last year, said the parties were "going through one of those difficult periods" and would face "tough days ahead, this year and next". He added: "I think they'll get through it, because the opponents of the agreement have tried and failed to bring it down ...the future of this agreement is in the hands of those who support it. "It would be a supreme irony and an almost unbelievable tragedy for the agreement now to fail because the supporters of the agreement couldn't agree among themselves on its implementation." The 65-year-old former talks chairman told the Chicago Tribune the chances of a breakthrough at Stormont were "reasonably good". Senator Mitchell urged the people of the province never to forget their bloody past, but also to focus on a better future. "I trust and believe in these political leaders. They are in a tough spot. They have conflicting demands made upon them by their constituencies. "That's true of elected leaders in every democratic society. They've got to find a way through it," he said. Northern Ireland's parties return to the talks table with Sinn Fein and the Ulster Unionists still at loggerheads over whether the IRA and other paramilitary groups should start handing over weapons. An initiative by SDLP leader John Hume requiring Sinn Fein to exclude itself from government if the IRA returned to war was rejected at the weekend by unionists. Ulster Unionist deputy leader John Taylor said the plan did not address the arms issue. However, Sinn Fein chief negotiator Martin McGuinness said Mr Hume's formula had the "potential ... to break the crisis." Tony Blair and Irish Premier Bertie Ahern remain on standby to join the multi-party discussions later this week if there are signs of progress at Stormont. ---- Ulster Unionist senior negotiator Michael McGimpsey insisted his party had not formally rejected Mr Hume's plan. On BBC Radio Ulster, the South Belfast Assemblyman said the Ulster Unionists would examine the SDLP leader's proposal closely at the round-table talks before giving an official response. However, from what he had heard, it seemed to be an attempt to rewrite the Good Friday Agreement, he said. "I have not seen the formula as yet. I look forward to doing that this morning and we will discuss it. "All I know about it is ... it asks for a commitment for non- violence. I must point out that we already have that in the Agreement and it provides for exclusion. "We already have that under the agreement, except this time it is a DIY-exclusion - in other words, a self-exclusion - and it seems to me that takes us back to rewriting the Agreement and there would be an obvious difficulty there," said Mr McGimpsey. Northern Ireland Secretary Mo Mowlam met a delegation from the Alliance Party today in a bid to assess the current political situation at Stormont. Alliance leader Sean Neeson said that it was clear from their discussions that the current round of talks would only have a life span of two weeks before the European election campaign. And he urged the leadership of the Ulster Unionist Party and Sinn Fein to take part in direct talks to break the logjam over paramilitary weapons. "I said to the Secretary of State this morning I think in reality for this process to move in a serious mode we have only got two weeks," he said. He added that he believed that the two Prime Ministers would not be returning to the talks table until next week. ****************************** Ammunition Found In Moorland Search PA 04/26/99 05:33 Copyright 1999 PA News By Chris Parkin, PA News Irish police today uncovered more than 1,500 rounds of rifle ammunition during a planned search operation. The ammunition had been hidden in a box on moorland near Tralee, Co Kerry. The search was started after a tip-off, security sources said. ****************************** Bank Workers Seek #2,000 Millennium Bonus PA 04/26/99 04:16 Copyright 1999 PA News By Chris Parkin, PA News Irish bank employees are seeking at least IR 2,000 each for working over the millennium holiday. The pay demand has been proposed by the Irish Officials Association trade union as part of a bid to ensure its members will "queue up" to be at work at the start of the new century. It is expected to spark a rash of similar moves by Irish trade unions whose members face working over the New Year. Ciaran Ryan, the bank union's general secretary, said today: "We are talking about a four-day weekend, working out at about IR 70 an hour. It's not a huge amount, given the figures we have heard bandied about in respect of the millennium. "It will be absolutely essential for the key people to be in attendance at that particular time to ensure the computer programmes are in place and operating, and in case of any emergencies." Mr Ryan denied his organisation was holding the Irish banks to ransom over the possible Millennium Bug menace to computer systems. He maintained: "We are talking here about an industry that made profits of 1.5 billion last year. We are talking peanuts here about a relatively small number of staff. "We are not holding anyone to ransom. My advice to the banks is - get the terms right, so right that people are queuing up to do it." ****************************** Scaffolders' Strike Threatens Investment Claim PA 04/26/99 03:38 Copyright 1999 PA News By Chris Parkin, PA News Ireland's building trade chiefs warned today that a three-week- old unofficial strike by scaffolding workers was beginning to threaten substantial inward investment in the country. The stoppage - over a demand for hourly pay rises of more than 100% - is "seriously eroding Ireland's competitiveness internationally", said the Irish Construction Industry Federation. Involving 800 scaffolders, it has coincided with the biggest building surge in Irish history, generated by the Celtic Tiger booming economy. CIF director general Liam Kelleher spoke out as large advertisements from his organisation, warning of the results of the strike, appeared in Ireland's national newspapers. He said there was "well-based evidence" that substantial projects, involving hundreds of millions of pounds, were being re- assessed by international investors. The claim was rejected as "alarmist, and guaranteed to inflame" by a spokesman for the striking scaffolders. Pickets operated at some high-profile building sites in and around Dublin have led to the laying off of other workers not directly involved in the dispute. Today's advertisements maintained: "Some scaffolders are engaged in intimidation, abuse and acts of public disorder. "They are preventing materials being delivered to construction sites and putting the jobs of fellow workers at risk." ****************************** Teenager's Killing Not Sectarian, Say Police PA 04/26/99 03:29 Copyright 1999 PA News By Melissa Kite, PA News Detectives investigating the murder in Northern Ireland of a teenager whose body was found in a shallow grave said today they do not believe the killing was sectarian. The body of 18-year-old Jonathan Cairns was discovered in isolated Loughamore Forest, five miles from his home in the village of Ballykelly, in Co Londonderry. He was found dead hours after he was reported missing yesterday morning after a Saturday night out. During an initial search, the teenager's bloodstained clothes were discovered at Glasvey special school, which remained closed to pupils today. As the search widened, detectives found the makeshift grave in the forest. RUC Assistant Chief Constable Alan McQuillan said a motive for the murder had not yet been established. "We are pursuing all lines of inquiry at this stage. We have nothing to suggest it is sectarian and we are keeping an open mind as to what the motive might be," he said. The area around the grave and the young man's home remained sealed off for examination by forensic experts. Police left the body undisturbed overnight until it could be officially identified. ****************************** Bomb Attacks On Homes PA 04/26/99 03:06 Copyright 1999 PA News By Melissa Kite, PA News Police were today investigating a string of bomb attacks on homes in Belfast. A woman and her 14-year-old son escaped uninjured when a grenade was thrown at their home in Mill Avenue, in the Ligoniel area of north Belfast. Slates were blown off the roof of the house in the explosion shortly before midnight. Another woman and her friend escaped when two homes came under petrol bomb attack in Millfort Avenue, Dunmurry, in south Belfast. The property and a neighbouring unoccupied house suffered scorch damage. A motive for the attacks was not yet clear and a number of items were taken away for forensic examination, an RUC spokesman 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/ ================================================================= 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-04.26.99-13:37:10-6401