IRSP slam republican 'feud' bid Via NY Transfer News * All the News That Doesn't Fit source - Danielle Ni Dhighe Derry Journal - 14 May 2002 IRSP slam republican 'feud' bid The IRSP in Strabane yesterday claimed that an alleged 'dirty tricks' campaign was being mounted to try and provoke a bloody feud between the IRA and INLA. Eddie McGarrigle, a spokesperson for the INLA's political wing, slammed a scathing report in a Sunday newspaper which made a number of serious allegations against the organisation. The article claimed that an "INLA boss" in Strabane was heading for a holiday in Spain paid for with the proceeds of armed robberies and drug dealing. The newspaper quoted republican sources as claiming the trip was being funded from the proceeds of a recent robbery at the town's Safeway supermarket. While the article did not name the individual, Mr. McGarrigle said the IRSP believed the story was an attempt to "smear" prominent party member Willie Gallagher. Mr. McGarrigle said: "Basically they are saying it is coming from pro- republican sources. We believe the same people were responsible for burning our cars, four cars were burned in six months. "We believe the people responsible for all the dirty tricks and black propaganda against Willie Gallagher are doing it to try and engage the INLA in some type of response. "We believe the people responsible for burning our cars and planting stories are working for the police." Mr. McGarrigle claimed: "We believe they are working at the behest of Special Branch in an attempt to start a shooting match between republicans in the town. "There is a lot of anger among IRSP members but we are calling for cool heads and for people to be honest." Mr. McGarrigle said that Willie Gallagher was a full-time worker with the ex-prisoners' group, Teach na Failte, and was involved in programmes run in conjunction with the Glenree Reconciliation Centre in Wicklow. Rejecting suggestions that members of the Republican Socialist Movement were involved in the drugs scene, Mr. McGarrigle said: "We have always passed on any information we get regarding drugs to the Strabane Drugs and Alcohol Project. "We would call on anybody in the town who knows anything about drugs, in particular the Strabane Drugs and Alcohol Project, to make a public statement on whether they believe the INLA or IRSP are in any way involved in the drugs scene." Ongoing mediation meetings have been taking place in an effort to diffuse tension between the Provisional IRA and INLA in Strabane. ================================================================= 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-05.18.02-22:01:07-16142