Today The Pensive Quill features a letter from guest writer Martin Galvin which was carried in this week's Irish News. It addresses issues in the political court trial of the republican Gerry McGeough
A chara
An “unjustifiable killing” is murder or manslaughter. Untruths stated under oath to cover-up crimes constitute perjury and perverting justice. Cameron shows no inclination to charge anyone of any rank with committing or commanding “unjustified and unjustifiable” Bloody Sunday murders, or for perjury before Widgery or Saville.
Shortly after Gerry McGeough is said to have joined the IRA, twelve year Majella O’Hare was shot as she walked to confession. British troopers swore the child was killed while they returned IRA fire. A Royal Marine was acquitted and sent back to patrol. Now the British admit that tales of an IRA sniper were made up. No one was charged with perjury or perverting justice.
Nora McCabe’s family, backed by Relatives for Justice, fought a heroic legal battle seeking charges against RUC members for her murder and for perjury during the cover-up which followed. RUC members swore they fired the fatal plastic bullet in response to rioting, burning vehicles and petrol bombers. Film taken by a television crew showed none of it was true.
A crown judge said too much time had passed and any charges would be a clear abuse of process. The same judge applied different rules to Gerry McGeough, for an incident four weeks earlier.
Gerry McGeough, over fifty, married, with four young children, was jailed for joining the IRA at seventeen, and in his early twenties, taking part in an IRA ambush. Senior IRA members, who vetted him or the operation, may now be part of the Stormont Administration.
He was not charged by extradition warrant during his years in a notorious German bunker prison, or later imprisonment in America, or when he returned to Tyrone. He was arrested in March 2007, outside the polling centre where his votes were tallied in a case which brought new meaning to ‘political policing’.
Gerry McGeough campaigned as an Independent Republican, contending that the name of the crown constabulary had changed, but its role in enforcing British rule and injustice had not. Now, four years later, despite a new compromised justice ministry, constabulary boards and partnerships, two heart attacks, abuse of process applications, and evidentiary weaknesses, that Diplock court prosecution ended in a verdict which seems to have proven McGeough’s point more eloquently than his words.
Sincerely,
MARTIN GALVIN
gerry mcgeough was supposed to chair next weeks st patricks day
ReplyDeleteparade in tyrone- unless he gets
bail or escapes he will be unable to attend
the organizer's of this parade can
be contacted on facebook
[ la fheile patricks cookstown ]
maybe helen or anyone can get in contact to see if anything can be said at this event about gerry
notice that AM is on the friends list- you get about
Michaelhenry,
ReplyDeleteI too hope he attends the parade. I am glad that you would like it to happen as well. But as you know if he did escape Sinn Fein would call on people to give information to the PSNI regarding his whereabouts so that he could be returned to jail. So not everybody in your party would share your view on the matter which is unfortunate. You can't be comfortable with that situation?
AM-
ReplyDeletedon't know any political person who is happy about all there partys
policy's- i can't speak for others but i would not contact the police
on this matter
The A.O.H which gerry mcgeough is the leader of in tyrone also supports the p.s.n.i- but im sure none of them would want to see gerry arrested
Notice the irp's are making a come-back at this years elections on
may 5- i don't think there candidate's have been made public yet
Mickeyboy you will be summomsed to Sevastopol st where you will be immersed in intevsive re education,showing support for those outside the pale is a no no mo cara, for f##k sake youll be organising white line pickets for Hazel Stewart next,
ReplyDeleteAnd Iris Robinson is to escape prosecution. What a farce. Gerry was born on the wrong side of the tracks
ReplyDeleteMackers,
ReplyDeleteNot too much of an outcry over Iris?
She was sent to exile for a while at the exhuberant cost to the tax-payer.
Her equally lying rat of a husband has also made an amazing recovery, they all live in fight another day in Stormont.
More scandal up there, than the West Wing could ever muster and that's only Adams.
Maybe that's why they voted him in down South, Big Shady.
Nuala,
ReplyDelete‘Not too much of an outcry over Iris?’
She got away with it. The same leniency was not extended to Gerry McGeough.