UPDATE - News from Ireland - 10 June 1999 Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit ---------------------------------------------- UPDATE - The email news service from RTE Online ---------------------------------------------- 10 June 1999 17:40 with Donnacha DeLong ON RTE UPDATE TODAY --------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Man held in connection with fatal Limerick shooting 2. Taylor says Unionists willing to see Agreement fail 3. London High Court told Bloody Sunday soldiers still risk reprisal attacks 4. Meehan said he was probably in father's yard at time of Guerin murder 5. Suspect device found outside Armagh home 6. Missing 14-year-old found safe and well 7. Report shows Ireland is behind UK in Internet usage 8. #100,000 worth of cannabis seized in Dublin 9. Remains of whale found beached on Kerry strand 10. Government launches #4m plan to end young homelessness plus Business News and Ireland's Weather MAN HELD IN CONNECTION WITH FATAL LIMERICK SHOOTING --------------------------------------------------------------- A 52-year-old man is still being questioned by Gardam in Limerick, following the fatal shooting of a 25-year-old man at his home outside the city last night. The dead man has been named as Barry O'Connell, who was single. Gardam will be seeking the advise of the Director of Public Prosecutions' office later today, to determine the course of the murder investigation. Shortly after nine o'clock last night, Gardam were called to a house on a quiet country road at Clyduff, Lisnagry, which is about four miles outside Limerick City. A 25-year-old man was found lying unconscious in the back yard of the house. He had a number of gunshot wounds to his body. The man was taken to Limerick's Regional hospital, but he was announced dead on arrival. A shotgun was recovered at the house. It is believed the dead man's two sisters and father were in the house at the time. Gardam began a murder investigation and their early inquiries reveal that the shooting occurred after a row at the house. http://www.rte.ie/news/1999/0610/1News/1News2A.ram TAYLOR SAYS UNIONISTS WILLING TO SEE AGREEMENT FAIL --------------------------------------------------------------- The Ulster Unionist Deputy Leader has claimed that his party would be prepared to see the Good Friday Agreement fail, if the IRA refused to start handing over their weapons. As the British and Irish governments prepared a fresh attempt to resolve the row over decommissioning following the European Elections, John Taylor claimed that his party would not serve on a power-sharing executive with Sinn Fiin if the IRA remained fully armed. He was immediately condemned by the Sinn Fiin President, Gerry Adams, who accused the Strangford MP of attempting to rewrite the Agreement and to bully the governments and other parties who had signed up to the peace deal. Speaking in London, Mr. Taylor told American students from Syracuse University that the only obstacle to Sinn Fiin being in government was the refusal of the IRA to decommission its arms. He argued that no democracy in the world would agree to a government where some of the ministers belonged to a party with a private army. He added that parties like the SDLP could avoid the collapse of the Good ay Agreement if they were prepared to expel Sinn Fiin if no IRA arms were handed over. Mr. Adams said there could be no caving in to Unionist bully-boy tactics and efforts to turn the clock back. He said that Unionist intransigence and British policy had blocked progress for almost the entire century. He said that the British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, must stand up to the Unionist veto and ensure that British policy was now fixed firmly on achieving fundamental change and equality and the implementation of the Agreement. LONDON HIGH COURT TOLD BLOODY SUNDAY SOLDIERS STILL RISK REPRISAL ATTACKS --------------------------------------------------------------- The High Court in London has been told that the soldiers who fired their weapons on Bloody Sunday still risk reprisal attacks and that their identities should not be revealed. Seventeen soldiers went to court today to overturn a ruling by the chairman of the inquiry into the 1972 killings that their names should be published when they give evidence to the tribunal. Lord Saville has decided that former soldiers, who will be giving evidence to his Bloody Sunday inquiry, should be identified by name when doing so and should not remain anonymous. The soldiers all fired live rounds on Bloody Sunday. Today, the seventeen men asked the High Court in London to overturn Lord Saville's ruling. Their barrister, Sydney Kentridge QC, told the three judges that the British security services had assessed the risk against the men as moderate. Moderate risk, Mr. Kentridge explained, was half way up a six-point scale of risk assessment. Michael Mansfield QC, who is representing the families of the Bloody Sunday victims, told that the court a sustained newspaper campaign in Britain aimed at preventing the former soldiers being named in public was impeding justice. The judges say they will examine the newspaper articles later for possible contempt of court. Sixteen of the seventeen soldiers represented today have now retired. All but three of them were members of the Parachute Regiment. Their case continues tomorrow. MEEHAN SAID HE WAS PROBABLY IN FATHER'S YARD AT TIME OF GUERIN MURDER --------------------------------------------------------------- The Special Criminal Court has been told that Brian Meehan, the second man to stand trial for the murder of Veronica Guerin, told Gardam that he was probably in his father's yard, at Pimlico in Dublin, on the day Ms. Guerin was shot dead. 23-year-old Brian Meehan, with an address at Stanoway Road, Kimmage in Dublin, denies a charge of murdering the journalist, as well as a number of drugs and firearms charges. The court was also told how Charles Bowden, his brother Michael and his girlfriend, Juliette Bacon, were arrested at their home after Gardam found cash and airline tickets. SUSPECT DEVICE FOUND OUTSIDE ARMAGH HOME --------------------------------------------------------------- A controlled explosion has been carried out in County Armagh, on a suspect device found outside a house at Knockamell Park this morning. Nearby houses and two schools have been evacuated. The device was discovered shortly after 7am at Knockamell Park. It is believed the device may have been a pipe bomb of a type used in recent attacks by loyalist paramilitaries. In a separate incident, the RUC evacuated an area in Portadown, County Armagh, after a suspect device was discovered at the front door of a house at Granville Road. However following an examination by British army bomb experts it was declared to have been a hoax. Police began a search around half past eleven, last night, after a telephone warning was received. Meanwhile, a 35-year-old man is due before Craigavon Magistrates Court this morning charged with possession of explosives in suspicious circumstances. It is understood that the charges relate to the discovery of pipe bombs and ammunition during a police search in Lurgan on Tuesday. MISSING 14-YEAR-OLD FOUND SAFE AND WELL --------------------------------------------------------------- Karen Finn, the Kildare teenager who had been missing since Monday night after she got off a train at Heuston Station in Dublin, has been found safe and well. Gardam say that the fourteen-year-old, who has severe hearing difficulties and cannot speak, was found safe and well in the City centre and is currently at Pearse Street Garda Station. She is expected to be re-united with her parents shortly. http://www.rte.ie/news/1999/0610/morningireland/morningireland7A.ram http://www.rte.ie/news/1999/0610/1News/1News3A.ram REPORT SHOWS IRELAND IS BEHIND UK IN INTERNET USAGE --------------------------------------------------------------- According to a new report from the technology research company, Amarach, Ireland is a year behind Britain in the development of the electronic marketplace. The report shows that significantly fewer Irish adults are using the internet compared to Britain. Research from Amarach shows that only 15 per cent of Irish adults use the net at home, in Britain that figure is 23 per cent. The findings also indicate that Irish surfers are not too keen on net shopping. Yesterday, Ocean Telecommunications announced that it will offer free access to the Internet. Ocean, the joint venture company of British Telecom and the ESB, said its new net service will be available to all, not just its own customers. Currently it costs around #120 per year for access to the net. Ocean expects the free access to cost it around #3million in year one and according to the chief executive of the company, George McGrath, it is targeting to have some 30 per cent of the internet market after this period. #100,000 WORTH OF CANNABIS SEIZED IN DUBLIN --------------------------------------------------------------- Gardam recovered cannabis with an estimated street value of a hundred thousand pounds following a surveillance operation in west Dublin last night. It's understood the drugs were seized as they were being transferred from a car to another vehicle in the Clondalkin area. In a follow-up search of a house in Tallaght, a firearm, cash and a quantity of Ecstasy, were recovered. Three men were arrested. REMAINS OF WHALE FOUND BEACHED ON KERRY STRAND --------------------------------------------------------------- The remains of a 45-foot whale has been beached at Ballyquinn strand near Brandon pier in Castlegregory, County Kerry. It is estimated the whale has been dead for at least a week and a half. Members of the department of marine biology in UCC are at the scene in an attempt to identify the species of whale. It has lost it colour and is now white, and it's lower jaw is missing. Locals are reporting a very strong smell from the carcass. Valentia Radio had issued a warning to fishing boats yesterday of debris in the water, which in hindsight was probably the whale. GOVERNMENT LAUNCHES #4M PLAN TO END YOUNG HOMELESSNESS --------------------------------------------------------------- The government has new plans to help homeless young people. Four million pounds has been earmarked for the initiative, which, it is hoped, will also involve the private sector. The Minister with responsibility for young people, Junior Minister at the Department of Health and Children, Frank Fahey, has said that putting an end to homelessness among young people will be one of Ireland's significant Millennium projects. http://www.rte.ie/news/1999/0610/morningireland/morningireland4A.ram BUSINESS NEWS --------------------------------------------------------------- On the currency markets the euro traded at US$1.04, AUS$1.58, 124.50 yen and 65 pence sterling. The Irish punt traded at US$1.33, AUS$2.01, 158.08 yen and 82 pence sterling. (The euro is permanently valued at 0.78 Irish punts.) The ISEQ Index meanwhile closed down 79.01 points at 4928.66 IRELAND'S WEATHER --------------------------------------------------------------- It will continue to be dry this evening and tonight with some sunny or clear spells (mainly in the Southwest and West), but with most places rather cloudy. Lowest temperatures: 6 to 10 Celsius (42.8 to 50 Fahrenheit). It will be a dry day tomorrow, with a good deal of cloud likely across the country, but with some sunshine breaking through in places. This could happen anywhere, but the West and Southwest probably stand the best chance. Highest Temperatures: 14 to 18 Celsius (57.2 to 64.4 Fahrenheit). ---------------------------------------------- UPDATE is a free 7-days a week service from RTE bringing you the latest news from Ireland. 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