Personages Add Names to ‘Clear Kelly’ Campaign

To the Editor:

The Republican Movement's chief negotiator, Martin McGuinness, MP, MLA, added his name to a list of Sinn Fein activists, including several TDs, to an international petition aimed at 'clearing' the name of a scapegoated Irish army captain, the late James Kelly, who with former Taoiseach Charles J. Haughey, Neil Blaney TD, Belfast Defense Committee chairman, John Kelly, a former Sinn Fein MLA, and a Belgium-based businessman, Albert Lynux, were co-accused, and all acquitted, in the 1970 Arms Trial. 

The petition, addressed to An Taoiseach, Mr. Bertie Ahern TD, and cabinet colleagues, has already attracted over one thousand signatures from a broad spectrum of people, on the left, on the right and others who could be described as centrists, or middle-of- the-roaders.

Two high-profile Irish-American columnists, Michael J. Cummings and Patrick Hurley, publicly declared supporters for the return of President George W. Bush to the White House, have also signed the petition. Cummings has been active in Irish American organizations for 30 years, was a member of the AOH's National Board, serving as its press secretary for 11 years. 

He was also a member of Noraid's national board and its public relations officer from 1988-1995. Since then he has been a pivotal figure within the Irish American Unity Conference. He is well known as a commentator on Irish American issues on US, Irish and British TV and radio, as well as the Catholic print media, worldwide.

Patrick Hurley has become a central supporter of the Capt. Kelly Justice 
Campaign on a global basis. With Cummings he has publicly campaigned and written in support of George Bush. Hurley in 1986 was a co-founder of the Irish Immigration Reform Movement, which went on to secure green cards for literally thousands of Irish illegal aliens then in the USA. Originally from Skibbereen in West Cork, he is the incoming president of the County Cork Association in New York, which is one of the most active organizations in the Irish American community.

Not one to mince his words, in the current issue of The Blanket, an on-line Irish republican journal of protest and dissent, Hurley wrote:

"For a nation that is in the grips of a gargantuan struggle with Islamo 
fascism, it would be criminally negligent and grossly irresponsible to put a whining, indecisive, defeatist in the office of commander in chief. It would be an odious betrayal of our nation and everything for which it stands."

Patrick Hurley, is the president of the Regular Republican Club 30th Ad, in the Irish American neighborhoods of Woodside, Sunnyside and Maspeth, in the borough of Queens, New York City. He a member of the Queens County Executive of the Republican Party and is active on several Irish-related issues.

A short-list of others who have signed the international petition follows:

Politicians (List- incomplete)

Finian Mc Grath TD, Ind.: Niall Blaney TD, IFF: Harry Blaney Snr.: Cllor. Liam Blaney: Joe Costello TD, Labour: Waheed Alli, House of Lords: Ken Livingstone, Mayor of London: Tony Benn, former Labour M.P: Derry-born, Sen. Mary Kathleen O'Doherty King, Trinidad & Tabago: Ruairi Quinn, TD, Labour: Liz McManus, & Mary Upton, Labour TDs, Ivana Bacik, Reid Professor of Law, Trinity College, Dublin and Labour candidate for the European Parliament: Caoimhghin O' Caoláin TD. Sinn Fein Dail leader, Leinster House: Michael D. Higgins, Labour TD, Kevin McNamara MP: Aengus O' Snodaigh TD, Dublin Sinn Fein: Seán Crowe TD, Dublin Sinn Fein: Martin Ferris TD, Sinn Fein, Co. Kerry: Arthur Morgan TD, Sinn Fein, Co. Louth: Cllr. Dermot Lacey & Cllr. Mary Freehill, both ex-Lord Mayors of Dublin.

"What an extraordinary story of injustice. I would be proud for you to add my name to the petition" - Tony Benn, London.

"We cannot erase the past but that should not prevent our striving for 
Justice for those whose reputation has been cruelly besmirched. Capt. Kelly deserves justice, even if he cannot be here to see it". - Kevin McNamara, House of Commons.

Religious (List-incomplete)

Fr. Des Wilson, Belfast: Fr. Oliver Kelly, Co. Cavan &: Fr. Martin Kelly, Co. Down (younger brothers of Capt. Jim Kelly): Fr. Robert J. Doherty, Celtic Cross Awards Society, Boston, USA: Fr. Joe McVeigh, Co. Fermanagh: Fr. Brendan Forde, OFM, Dublin: Sister Kathleen Pritchard, Harare, Zimbabwe, C. Africa: Sister Mary Fahy, Presentation Sisters, Co. Cavan.

"I worked with the man, he was my Boss. I Loved him as a Soldier loves his Comrades. R.I.P" - Ex-Cpl. Anthony Delaney, 5th. Battalion, Dublin

Others include: Dr. Raymond McClean, civil rights' veteran, former Mayor of Derry: Paddy (Bogside) Doherty, civil rights' veteran, chair- Derry Citizens' Defense Committee: John Kelly, former MLA, civil rights' veteran, chair-Belfast Citizens' Defense Committee: Tim Pat Coogan, author, commentator and historian: James Crossan, President, Derry Division #1 and several other officials of the AOH, at home and abroad.

"This man is the Irish Dreyfus. His name should be cleared" - Tim Pat 
Coogan, Glengeary, Co. Dublin.

*Contact Details:
* CKJCampaign e-mail address: oct5th_vets68@hotmail.com - Extra campaign promotion cards, paper petitions and/or periodic updates available on request from this 1968 civil rights veterans' network or below address.

* CKJC Secretary, c/o O'Dochartaigh Ho., Derry City BT48 7HR
(Phone calls only after 6 PM- Irish Time): +44-028-71-286359

* CKJCampaign - main web site - www.captainkelly.org

The campaign's website address is www. captainkelly.org

Fionnbarra O' Dochartaigh
Co-founder, Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association
Manager, CKJCampaign
Derry, Northern Ireland

To the Editor:

PSNI Use of CS Gas Condemned in North Belfast

The Irish Republican Socialist Party condemns outright the tactics employed by the RUC/PSNI against the working class, Catholic residents of the Westland Road and surrounding areas last night (Nov, 8), who were responding to the threat of loyalist violence that was brought to their homes.

Shortly after 2 a.m., the residents of the Catholic Westland Gardens were met with the sectarian hatred of the loyalist supporters of the UDA 'K' Coy faction that controls the loyalist Westland estate. This area, although witnessing some of the most serious violence in North Belfast has remained relatively calm in the last year. IRSP member Cathal O'Cleirigh claims that the use of CS gas by the PSNI was unwarranted and completely unjustifiable.

"It has emerged that in the early hours of this morning a Catholic
family who were returning home from a night out with friends, stumbled across two loyalists from the lower Westland estate, who were tampering with a car belonging to their friend across the street from
them.

"When confronted, the two loyalist supporters of the infamous UDA 'K' Coy claimed that they were from Ardoyne and were there to take the car away. The two made fast their getaway and upon further inspection it was discovered that the car had had its tires slashed."

O'Cleirigh went on to add, "Things remained quiet for a short
while, but was later flared by the involvement of large crowds from
the loyalist estate. The residents kept vigil from the safety of their
own street. After a while the PSNI responded to the incident that had
since died down and after calm had been restored.

"The response from the PSNI was totally unwarranted and unjustifiable. They toppled around the corner of Westland Gardens where some female residents were standing and proceeded to alight from the landrover.

"Residents from the street claimed that they produced CS gas canisters and began shouting at them. They were calling the residents 'bastards' repeatedly. At this they began to fire the CS gas at the female
residents.

"This only goes to prove that we, the working classes of this island
have no acceptable police force. There is no change to the tactics
used by the unionist controlled RUC of the past and that which we have witnessed here by the PSNI in Westland Gardens. The only thing to have changed is the name."

Peter Urban
Irish Republican Socialist Party
http://www.irsm.org/irsm.html