The brief encounter at
the EC election count in the RDS in 1989 between Charlie Haughey and Sticky supremo
Seán Garland took on an
eeerie relevance again this week in the aftermath of the
McCracken Tribunal where Charlie gave a new meaning to the phrase
``lying-in-state''. Garland was not in the dock this week but he
was the star of Prionsias De Rossa vs Independent Newspapers III
(This Time it's Personal) which is now showing in the High Court.
Unlike Haughey Garland did not lie in person but was only accused
of lying by his former comrade De Rossa. De Rossa, of course, has
never been known to utter the tiniest fib.
When the Sinn Féin delegation walked into Stormont on Monday
morning, Bob McCartney walked out. In his ire McCartney may have
consoled himself that a few days before, he had helped the hoped
revival of the anti-republican front Families Against
Intimidation and Terror (FAIT).
During his recent US tour fiasco MI5 agent Sean O'Callaghan tried
to set up Friends of Peace in Ireland, a network of like-minded
pro-Brits including the Peace Train and New Dialogue (the British
split from the Dublin-based New Consensus) and FAIT. Nothing has
been heard of the group since but now FAIT has McCartney, a
wealthy barrister who recently won a substantial sum in libel
damage from the Irish Times, to thank for a shot in the arm. He
revealed last week that he donated £10,000 to FAIT, which,
despite the fact that it has received British government funding,
constantly whinges about lack of money. A FAIT worse than debt?
The British Royal Navy recently visited San Francisco where they
were met by protesters from Irish Northern Aid and the Roisín
McAliskey Justice Group. They protested at the presence of the
HMS Norfolk as part of a two-month long series of events to
promote trade with Britain. ``In general the events were poorly
attended and failed to attract much attention'' says our San
Franciscan correspondent. Not surprising really, considering that
it included such things as a ``workshop on preparing tea and
crumpets''.
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