T H E NAI RAC AFFAIR

Mtcheal O Curnneagdln

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THE NAIRAC AFFAIR

CulnneagdlnMfcheil O

First published November 1981

@ Mice5l 6 Cuinneaghain

Furthen copies available fronn:MIEEAL 6 CUINNEAGHAIN,

Tanatallon, Co. Donegal, lreland.

Fublisked bY :-Mtct4EAL c cu,AlNEAGt'tAtN, Tanatallon, co. Donegal, lreland.

PRINTED IN THE PRCII/INCE OF {-Id-STER. 'R'-AND.

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A brief examination of sonre ofNorth l_outh in the period 1g7Othe 2Znd Special Air Servicecaused untold suffering on both

the events in South ArmaEh and- 1977 involving Captain l,.,,lalrac of(SAS) ReEirnent. This Reginrnentsides of the irrsh Border.

The unjust conviction of two young catholic nnen, from sorthArmagh, for murder, bears tesiimony to the evi! infruence of captainNairac and his feilow sAS *"n. Thisevirrpp"r* to have permeatedevery sector of the legal pro"u* North and South.

J

THANKS

Two people who encouraged me in the slow painstaking task ofexposing the injustices in the trial of John Anthony MeCooey andLiam Townson had passed to their eternal reward before this storywas finished. They were Frank Maguire, Mp. who died in March1981, and who helped me in every way open to a Member ofParliament, and my mother, lsobella Cunningham who died in June1981 and who by her prayers and encouragement helped me topersevere when things looked impossible.

Most of those who helped during my research requested thattheir"names should not be published. With the exception of signedstatements I have respected these requests. Toeach and every one Isay:

Go Raibh Mile Mait Agat.

CONTENTS

r)"li Page6

John Anthony McCobey"'Rgply to Mr. Alison, M.p

Background to McCooey,s arrest ;: 15Peter Cleary

The Nairac/Townson episodeThe fatal nightThomas Patrick euinnBirth of a conspiracyArrest and Trial of Liam TownsonThe Heavy Gang ?Mr. Donal CarrollDefence submission over-ruledExamination of RulingTownson's evidenceA Verbal StatementBallistic and Forensic EvidenceThe VerdictExamination of verdict

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INTRODUCTIONDuring research for my book "Monaghan county of lntrigue,,, t

spent some time in the border area between Dundalk and Newry.while there I was told that a young man, Liam Townson, had beenconvicted for the murder of captain Nairac and that he had no partin that deed. I was asked to help clear his good name and promisedto work on his case after publication of the work in hand.

My first research, for the Townson case, was on newspaperreports of his trial, and lmust admit that lhad immediate doubtsabout his innocence. once I began work on the ground, my doubtssoon faded. The ordinary decent peopre of the district in whichTownson was reared and worked soon convinced me of theenormity of the crime committed against him. This crime wascommitted, in the name of the people of lreland, in the Specialcriminal court, Green street, Dublin. Not alone did the rea$significance of the injustice inherent inr Townson's convictionbeconre obvious, but the hidden evil behind the trial of JohnAnthony Mccooey for the Tullyvallen orange Hall rnunders,becarne apparent to rne. Also the unfolding of the intrigue andinjustice in the Mccooey conviction does rnuch to explain andexpose those responsible for the present evil in our land.

The names oi men who signed statennents or alleged statementswhile in police custody, and the names of persons included in thoseatleged staternents, have been omitted and non-de-plumesinserted. ctherwise the extracts used are exact copies of theoriginals.

"Every human being has inalienabte rights that must berespected. Each human community - ethnic, historical,cultural or religious - has rights which rnust be re-spectec" Peace is threatened every time one of theserights is violated. The maral law, guardian of humanrights, protector of the dignity of man, cannot be setaside by any person or group, or by the sfafe itself, forany cause, nat even for security sr in the interesfs of lawand order. The law of God sfands in judgement over all'reasans of Sfate. As long as inlustice exisfs in any of theareas that tauch upon the dignity of the human person,be it in the political, social or economic field, be it in tkecultural or religious sphere, true peace wiil notexisf. Theca{/ses of inequalifies must be identified through acourageous and obiective evaluation, and they must beeliminafed so that every person can develop and grow inthe f ull rneasure of his or her humanity.,'

- Pope John Paul il at Drogheda 2gth September 197g..x;f

JOHN ANTHONy McCOOEY.

D.urilg the autumn of 1g7g I published a book, ,,Monaghan county oflntrigue'i in which t-he emphasis was on events in the plresent troubleshaving a Monaghan flavour.,The last chapter dealt with a County Armaghyouth, John Anthony Mccooey, who had been convicted for the fiveTullyvallen orange Hall murders. Many people I met in Monaghanmentioned his conviction and they were adamant that Mccooey naonothing to do with the event. ncross the Borde, in in" crirv'riri"'"'lrea otcounty Armagh, I was told the same thifg,"no giren detaili of Mccooey,swhereabouts on the fatar night. arr we/e"d;;;;fi of his innoc"n"e.The chapter'on McCooey OiO not go into minute detail but the contentsy.ere such that grave doubt was cast on the evidence presented at his trial.The then Member of parriament for Fermanagh/soutn ryrone, the lateFrank Maguire M.P., made copies of the ooo[ available io gor"rnmentagencies in the hope that the authorities would look into the ma-tter. He wasmet by stoney silence and indifference. ln February 1g80, he sent the lastchapter to the Secretary of State, Mr. Atkins Mp; asXing him to review thesentence on McCooey in the li_ght of the revelations in-tne chapter. lt wassome eight weeks before the Secretary ol State, through nis Minister otState, Mr. Michael Alison, replied. The letter went:_

Minisler oJ State

Frarrk Maguire Esq MPMail StreetI,ISNASTXACo Fernanagh

NORTHERN IRELAND OFFICESTORMONT CASTLE

BELFAST BT4 3STTel. Belfast (oz3z) o3orrTelex 74272

ll April 1!Bo

John Anthony McCooey

0..'l-**kYou wrote to the secretary 'of state on 12 February enclosing a copyof a cirapter from Mr Michael- cunninghamts book "Monaghan, copnty ofIntrigue". The chapter is about the case of Hr John Anthony McCooey,who at the Belfast City Commission on 10 November 19?7 was sentenced"to-life imprisonment for his part il the Tulryvarlen orange Ha11murders. You asked the secretary of state to enquire into thecircr:mstances of that conviction, and. that enquiries shoul-d be mad.einto the particular allegation that Mr rlccooey had. been givenprepared, farse statements to sign. r am sorry that r have notreplied. to your letter before now, but I wanted- to take time to studythe transcri-pt of the judgment given by the trial jud.ge before hepassed sentence.

I note fron the transcript that at the trial, Counsel for the accuseddid not seek to suggest thatthe statements on which the prosecution'scase }argely rested had been made as a result of torture, or inhpmanor d,egrad.ing treatment. Ind.eed. he specifically stated, that no suchallegation was being made, arrd asked no question of any witness; therewas no appeal against arry of the convictions.

rn Mr cunningham's book it is alteged that Mr Mccooey signed. thestatement about the Tu11yva1len Orange Ha11 nurd.ers after a long period.without sleep d.uring whi-ch he was beaten by the police officers corcerned.It is also alleged thd the prisoner d.ecid.ed to cal-l- no witnesses in hisdefence because he feared that anyone who testified on his behalf wouldbe in dan.ger; there is also a claim that l{r McCooey was elsewhere at

the time of the Orange HaIl ki1li:rgs.

rn any crimiaal triar. it is for the d.efence to d.ecide how their sid.eof the case should be conducted.. r am afraid that on the inforuati-onavailabr-e, which amounts to no more than a seri-es of unsubstantiatedallegations in a book written by someone who appea_rs to have ha. nopersonal knowredge of the circumstances, r can find" no grounds on whichthe secretary of state would be justified. in taking any action asregard's argr of Mr Mccooey's convictions or the sentences imposed on him.rf, however' any statement or statements are produced. which support theclai-m that Mr Mccooey was ersewhere 'at-tG tine of the Turlyvallenmurders, f would take steps to have enquiries made. --u

At the end of the chapter on Mr Mccooey,s case }{r cunningham makes someseri-ous allegations about ir-l-treatment of Mr Mccooey at Maze prison,where he is taking part in the protest agai_nst the refusal of specialcatesorv sratus. r am satisfied. that theru i_" oo-t;;;;";;";l.ru" io ,ryof, these complaints.

\wu*)ixu*,lyy!,Mr,J^MTCHAEL ALTSON

Mr Maguire MP passed the reply on to me with a kind offer to give me allpossible assistance in having the truth established and expbsed. Mr.Alison explained. the eight-week {elay was due to his studying thejudgement given by the trial judge. Theie was nothing in the bo6k whichquestioned the judgement as an extract shows. nHis (the Judge's)pronouncements were of a politcal nature, but his judgement, on fireevidence presented, was predictable and in accordance with N.l. law"There was criticism of the manner in which defence performed and of thepolice and prison officials for their ill-treatment bf the prisoner.

The chapter on McCooey was written to show how an innocent man wasconvicted for murders and of the type of treatment he received in LongKesh camp. The most strident remark made in Mr. Alison's letter dealt withmy claim that McCooey had been given savage beatings while in prison,

and his "l am satisfied that there is not truth whatever in any of thesecomplaints" demands answering. The hospital records of patients are notavailable to me but I stand over my statement that McCooey was given asavage beating by named prison officers in Long Kesh a few days before aplanned visit to the prison by the Catholic bishop of Derry, Dr. EdwardDaly. Prisoners who saw and heard the beating were afraid that McCooeynt igh! have been fatally injured and requested that Dr. Daly visit McCooey.The Bishop did request a visit to him, but his request was not grantedbecause the victim was at an outside hospital with injuries and was too illfor visitors. On returning to prison from the hospital McCooey filed awritten complaint against named'"screws", and his case was heard by a"visiting committee." They found against McCooey and inflicted furtherpunishment for his "baseless allegations." I stand over my statement offact

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McCooey was the victim of brutal assaults by prison officers -

andhave no fear of the outcome of any enquiry carried out by a group fromoutside the United Kingdom into the entire episode. While this ilt-treatment is serious, it is nothing compared to the conspiracy to pervertthe course of justice so evident right through the entire Mciooey case.ln dismissing the contents of the case made for Mccooey in "Monaghan,county of lntrigue," Mr. Allison wrote "l am afraid tnat on theinformation availab-le, which amounts to no more than a series ofunsubstantiated allegations in a book written by someone who appears tohave no personal knowledge of the circumstances, I can find no groundson which . . . (it) would be justified in taking action . . .". These words werea personal slur on me and gave an insight into the treatment which I mightexpect from the N.l. Office.

REPLY Tg MR. ALISON, M.P.The last few days of August 1975 and the first days of September were,

for the McCooey family circle, days not easily forgotten. Vincent McCooeyof Dromore, Castleblaney, an uncle of Anthony McCooey, suffered a heaitattack on saturday 30th August and was removed to Monaghan CountyHospital. He died the following morning. His remains were held in thehospital pending a decision about a post mortem, and were not removeduntil shortly after six o'clock on Monday evening. Among those present atthe removal was John Anthony McCooey who had driven his widowedmother, sisters and brothers, to the hospital from

.their home on theArmagh-Monaghan border. The evidence given by police officers atMcCooey's trial claimed instead that he was in a Dundalk public house atthe same time on that day. With very little effort the statements whichfollow could have been obtained by McCooey's lawyers, and most of thosewho made the statements were prepared to go to Belfast and testify inperson. Some of them did in fact go but were not called as witnessei Oythe defence.

statement made by Mrs Mary Mccooey, mother of the accused -'_on lvlonday, th.e 1st september 197s, I left home at Drumlougher,

cullyhanna, at about five p.m. The car.was driven by my son Anthiony.Also in the car were the rest of the family. We arrived in Monaghan about Op"m. and went to the county Hospital. Anthony drove th-e car in thecortege from Monaghan to the church in Castleblaney. After leaving thechurch we went home calling lor a short time at ihe wake-houie in

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Dromore. Anthony had some tea and left lor McKeevers of Dorsey aboutI o'clock. Signed Mary McCooey.Statement made by Mrs Mauroen McCooey of Dromore, Casilebtaney,

Co. Monaghan. "l confirm that John Anthony McCooey drove the third cirin the funeral cortege from Monaghan Hospital to St. Mary's Church,castleblaney, for the 7.30 p.m. Mass on Monday 1st september '75."Signed Maureen McOooey (Widow of deceased).

statement of Peter J. carragher of Anamara, cullyhanna, co. Armagh."l was in Castleblaney on Monday 1st September for the arrival of thefuneral of Vincent McCooey of Dromore, Castleblaney. tt was about 7 p.m.when it arrived in Castleblaney and I saw Anthony McOooey beside thehearse and inside in the church". signed Peter J. carragher. 12-6-g0.

Statement of Gene Cumiskey of Monaghan. "lwas present at MonaghanCounty Hospital on Monday 1st September 1975 for the removal oi tneremains of Vincent McOooey of Dromore, Castleblaney. I saw AnthonyMcCooey at the hospital and saw him drive off in the cortege. I also sawhim at the church in Castleblaney when the coffin was being taken into thechurch." Signed Gene Cumisky.

statement made by Brigid Flanagan of Bree, casileblaney, co.Mor,aghan. "on the evening of 1st september 1975 my husband 1pat1,mother and myself attended the funeral of my brother (Vincent McCooey).My husband drove our car to Monaghan County Hospital arriving therebefore 6 p.m.; there I saw Anthony Mccooey among the mourners.We leftthe hospital and followed the coriege to st: Mary'Jchurch, Casfleblaneyfor Mass. About half a mile from the church my husband joined manyrelatives and friends walking after the hearse. I then drove the car theremainder of the way." Signed B. Flanagan.

statement of Patrick J. Flanagan of Bree, casileblaney. "l went to thehospital on Monday 1st September 1975 for the removal of the remains ofmy brother-in-law Vincent McCooey, arriving there before 6 p.m. At thehospital I was beside the motor-hearse when the coffin was put into it.Anthony McCooey was beside me and I asked him how many passengershe had, and he said four or five of themselves. The cortege left soon ittersix, and when it came to 'Blaney it stopped and a large number got out ofthe cars and walked the last half mile or so to the church. After thl prayersI went to the wake-house arriving before eight. Anthony asked me would Ilike a drink or a cup of tea. I asked him to get me tea, which he did. I didnot see him again that night. The house was soon crowded and very warm,so I went out to my car where I fell asleep. My wife wakened mb abouteleven and said it was time to go home. On the way home I observed lightsand helicopters in the sky to my right and I passed a remark that theremust be trouble over there. lt was on'the News the next morning that Iheard why all the activities were going on." signed patrick J. Flanagan.

From these statements it is clearly established that Anthony Mc6ooeywas at the removal of the remains from Monaghan Hospita!. There wassome confusion about the times different mouiners arrived at the wake-house. Some mentioned the priest saying the rosary while others said hesaid Mass. The custom of the arrival of the coffin at the Church of St. Maryin the evening is to say the rosary. on the first Monday of each monththere is also an evening Mass at 7.30 for members of the Sacred HeartConfraternity. On the night in question some mourners, not aware that aMass was to follow, left the church when the priest went into the sacristy

to vest. This explains the arrival of some mourners at the wake-houseshortly after 7.30 p.m.

For the next four hours or so the whereabouts of Anthony McOooeywere not as stated in the "Book of evidence." After leaving the house inDromore he went home where his mother got out of the car. He went toCullyhanna and I take up the statement of Peter Keenan of Cullyhanna,co. Armagh

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"on Monday night the 1st september lgrs t wai in thehouse after coming home from work when Anthony McCooey blew thehorn of his car. I went out and got into the car. we were going toMcKeevers, as we always did on a Monday night, to discuss the weekend.When we arrived at McKeevers it was about 8 p.m.; rnost of the McKeeverswere there. We sat talking about the weekend for a while, and then a gameof football got started in the garden. we all went out and joined in, butAnthony never played football. He stood talking to Peter McKeever at thedoor of the house. They then went into the house, and after a while MrsMcKeever called the rest of us in for tea.

About 1 1.30 p.m. Anthony said he was going to his late uncle's house ashe wanted to make an appearance at the wake-house. Peter McKeever toldus to hold on and hear the Late Night News, which we did. Everyone wasstunned to silence when we heard about the murders in the Orange Hall.The first to speak was Anthony; he said there would be reprisals and itwould be the likes of him anil his mother, living in desolate areas, whowould suffer. After discussing the murders we left McKeevers at 12.05 orso. we expected to be stopped at army or police check-points, but therewere none. we were surprised. He dropped me off at the gate to the house,and went on to the wake-house." Signed peter Keenan.A statement made by Peter McKeever of Drumalt Road, Dorsey,Newtownhamilton, Co. Arrhagh, on behalf of his family supports the onemade by Peter Keenan. "on Monday night 1st september 1g7s AnthonyMccooey and Peter Keenan came to visit my house at g p.m. approx.Present in the house were myself, my wife, my sons patiick, p'eadar,Bernard and Michael, also my married daughter Eileen and her husbandSeamus Traynor of Crossmaglen. The boys were playing football andweight-lifting in the garden. My wife made tea around 11 o-'clock and wetalked about Vincey Mccooey's death (Anthony's uncle). Anthony andPeter Keenan were on their way out when the 11.45 news headlines tbtO otthe Tullyvallen Orange l''lall deaths. They stayed on and talked about thedeaths. Anthony and Peter left about 12.15 a.m." Signed peter McKeever.

After dropping Keenan the accused went to the wake-house, arrivingaround 12.30 and one of the first people he saw was Gabriel McCole-.Gabriel was the son of a member of the Gardai in Castleblaney, andremembers seeing Anthony in the house. Time has eroded some of thedetails of the night but he remains in no doubt that the accused was there.

The widespread belief that Anthony McCooey was and is innocent isheld by more than his Catholic neighbours in the border area in which helived. During my research I visited Billy McBride, a member of the localProtestant community, and he received me most lraciously. He had losthis father-in-law and brother-in-law in the Orange Hall gun -batfle. He hadbeen to the wake house on the Monday night but had left before AnthonyMcCooey had returned. He was aware that Anthony had been at th6removal of the remains from the hospital and wished me every success in

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my efforts to clear Anthony's name and to establish thp truth. I deeplyappreciate his kindness.'ine

statements published in these pages are my answer to Mr. AliseaM.P. I trust that he or his successor in the Northern lreland Otfice will nowhave the courage and integrity to bring to iustice those who socalumniously conspired to have John Anthony McOooey committed toprison.

ln the tight of these disclosures the arrest and changing of McCooeywith the Orange Hall killings takes some explaining. The failure of hisdefence team to present any evidence of their clients whereabouts on thefatal night was; at first sight, strange and possibly :close to crimina!negligence. ln any ordinary Court such a comment would probably bejustified and correct. The case was not heard in an ordinary Court but, in aDiplock Court, where there is one Judge and rto iury.

As with the Special Criminal Gourt in Dublin, the Diplock Courts inBelfast were set up by politicians, to get convictions which no jury of[r,lorthern people would countenance. The rules of evidence were alteredio make it virtually impossible to successfully rebut police evidence. lnthe period under review 1976/77 police evidence consisted in the main(800/0) of statements alleged to have been made by the accused while inpolice custody. The alleged statements did not have to be signed in orderto be accepted by the Judge. Defence lawyers were, in most cases,fighting a lost cause, even when their clients were innocent. Bruise marksoi other injuries did not invalidate the police evidence even where therewas proof that the injuries were inflicted by the interrogaters. lt wasnecessary for the defence to prove torture before their case could haveany effect. Torture was considered to be in violation of the EuropeanConvention of Human Rights and as such had some standing in theDiplock Court. Evidence for defence, sometimes up to a dozen witnessesteitifying that the accused was elsewhere at the time of the offence, didnot have the same standing as one unsigned statement alleged to havebeen made while in police custodY.

Given the track record of Diplock Courts the defence strategy otaccepting their client's guilt, as being the lesser of two evils, can beunderstood but not, in my opinion, condoned. The failure to call anyevidence to rebutt the prosecution case and the fail$re to cross examinepolice witnesses may have helped to reduce the sentence from 20 or 30years to one of life, t.e.14/15 years. lt also ensured that McCooey had noright of appeal and that the lying evidence of police officers went into theCourt records unchallenged. Such defence strategy helpt to protect theevil men who have, in Diplock Courts and in lnterrogation Centres,conspired top pervert the course of iustice. Having spoken to men whoshared a cell with McCooey in prison, I am convinced that had the defencelawyers called the psychiatrist, who examined McCooey shortly after hewas remanded to Crumlin Road Prison, he would have cast doubt on thepolice story. Neighbours of the accused, who were present in the Court,could have told of his whereabouts on the night ol Monday 1st September1975. Such a defence might not have succeeded in the Diplock Court butprospects of a successful appeal would have been enhanced. ln theinterests of justice it is imperative that every case be fought to the end andevery shred of evidence be produced and recorded in the Court

transcripts. Only in this way can evils, such as those exposed in this tria!,be publicised and thereby brought to an end. Such a course takes courageand would also test the integrity and ability ol the legal profession.

BACKGROUND TO McCOOEY'S ARRESTCastleblaney has featured prominently in my research and writings, and

it was to this border town that the youths of Keady/Cullyhanna areas wenton Sunday night to dance. There were frequent rows and fights be_tweenthem and-youlnful members of the lrish army based in the town. On thenight of tatn October the fights were more serious and developed into ario,-t. Some gO/4O youths from County Armagh were arrested andremanded on bail to the next sitting of the District Court. The cases wereput back, month after month, at the request of the prosectution. Inbeptember 1975 the District Justice told the prosecuting garda toproduce his evidence or he would dismiss the lot. No evidence wasiorthcoming and all cases, including that of Anthony McCooey, weredismissed.

Later that year McCooey was a passenger in a car which was involved inan accident, and he suffered a fractured skill. He spend several months inhospital and had a steel plate inserted in his head. He certainly had hissnaie of suffering and it came as a great surprise when he was arrestedand charged again with the offences committed in October 1974. The re-opening of tne 1974 cases was announced, at the September 1976 sittingol the District Court, by a garda lnspector. He told the Court that this wasbeing done at the request of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP)and inat those charged in 1974 would be arrested and charged as andwhen they entered the jurisdiction of the Court. So far as I could ascertainAnthony McCooey was the gnly one re-arrested and charged, although Ido not rule out the possibility of one or two others having been charged. !wrote to the gardai seeking information about the number re-arrested, andcharged, as a result of the directive from the DPP. The curt reply speaksfor itself.uea.r 5ir,';Iith rrrfLlrcnce to ;rour -lette:: d.rterl 2Oth October, 1!lB to Gilrd.aSior:h*na. Cas i;i e-;l-;Jr:.ey :'ir,i : o'.u? ii-.t ':er oi 2'1 .10. ?ti to Gard.aSioeh:na, rJ:,.c::iclaiilc:oss, p1-r-:asc notc til:lt t1; is not the prac*;iceto f-.ii:n:-sl: tlrc ini'o:rnation you sr,'ek iD tlre natter.

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Thg timing of the announcement by the Dpp that he wanted thedismissed cases reopened was significint. ln the same ,onih an sASofficer was writing out a version.ot fire shooting of one peiei Cieary inlptil of. that -yeai and the timing of these i*o events has sinisterimplications. The reply from lnspector McMenamin indiiat"a tn"i'ii.rigardai authorities were not prepar-ed to be open and frank about a matterof public conern.. Clearly the gardai, or theii political bosses, flal.ed that

!h9it apparent bi.as might be exposed. Was tirere collusion between theDPP and the British SAS to have McCooey charged and convicted inCastleblaney as a prelude to his arrest ano bonvicii;; da;orence inNorthern lreland in which he had neither act nor iartl-.

Anthony McCooey, like hundreds of other Catholic youths in Northernlreland, had been arrested and questioned on many ociasions by the RUcor the British army..On Sunday Sth December '7d he *"r ,rrejted alongwith two youlg girts by the British. army. He was held overnijnt anoreleased the following day. During his period of detention ne ias notquestioned about the Tullyvallen Oiange'Hall shootings. On the day afterlit release, Tue-sda1r 7th December, tne Casflecliney- cir"uit CourtSession at which Mccooey was to appear, opened. His caie was not hearduntil wednesday 8th and he was found guiliy on two charges. rne .luogeimposed two sii month jail sentences, not t6 be enforced if the accusedentered into bail 19.0" of good bhaviour for two years. This AnthonyItllgCooey readily did and his mother cleared Court costs etc of about 075.Within a week McCooey was arrested in Northern lreland and thisiime hewas.given prepared documents to sign. He was charged ,t

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sp""i"i courtin Newry, and remanded to Crumlin Roao Prison, Selfast. A-plv"ni"trirtwas sent in by McCoo_ey's lawyers and was told by the prison"rinit n" n"obeen abused by the RUC anil that he was particularly afraid oi a namedpoliceman. He also told the psychiatrist that he was given prepareddocuments to sign, and was threaiened with having charg6s of m-urderingthe victims of the Kingsmilrs massacre added, If he Jio noi sign tne"statements." I understand the psychiatrist gave details of tnis ,isit toMcCooeys solicitor.

The "Book ol Evidence", or the presecution case, against Mccooeyconsisted of the signed documents and police observitions about theaccused's demeanour during his interrogation. ln the ligni of thestatements made by people who attended the funeral of Vincen-t McCooeyand those in the houses visited by A.nthony Mccooey on the fatal night,the police case makes strange reading._

Having ascertained that Anthony McCooey had nothing to do with theOrange Hall killings I endeavoured to get details of the pro6ecution case inthe daily newspapers. Dublin newspaper coverage of the trial was reducedto sensationalism and the lrish lndependent's headlines, "Death rode outwith Provo taximan," summed up media coverage and attitudes. Noinformative details of the prosecuiion case were reported so I found itdifficult to ascertain just what evidence had been produced igainstMccooey. Mr. Alison M.p. had thrown out his challenge, ,,prooucd yourevidence", and having done so I sought his help to get tne evidence onyhjgh.McCooey was convicted. I wrote to the hoyat Courts of Justice,Belfast, seeking the Book of Evidence against Mccooey and was informedthat I could not have it. A request to his mother to get a copy of the

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prosecution case from defence solicitor met with a similar fate. Mrs.McCooey went to see the defence solicitor but failed to get thedocuments. Mrs.. Mccooey told me that he said, "lf Mr. cunningnam wantsthe Book of Evidence let him come in himself." I did so and vias told thathe could not le.t me see the papers without written permission from theprisoner. This I accept was correct legal procedure. However as I wasleaving the solicitor's office he told me i was wasting my time on in" caseand added, "l am privy to information not availau6 toyou.', He did notinform me of the nature of the "privy lnformation';. For months Iendeavoured to get a letter from the prison, which would authorise me toget a copy of all documents relating to McCooey's trial from the solicitor,but withottt success. Since the Book of Evidence is not available to me torinspection I can only assume that there is a ,jcover up', on vital informationwhich would pJoye Mccooey innocent. some trree y""r.

"go t wasallowed to read the Book of Evidence in crumlin Road, colitnouse,Belfast, and I write from memory.Police evidence told that Anthony McCooey had been drinking in theEmerald Bar on the afternoon of Monday 1si september tgis. He wasjoined by two brothers "John and willie Micabe", and they stood a round.They asked him if he knew where Tullyvallen Orange Hall was and he toldthem that he did. On being told this John UcCabe told him that his

application, made in July, to join the IRA had been approved and he wasnow a member of that organisation. They had a;ob i6 do at the orangeHall that night but did noi know where it was so he was under orders todrive them there. McCooey told that he had no car and was told not toworry because "We will hijack a van." They continued to drink until aboutseven p.m. when they left the pub and simply hijacked a van. They droveout into the country and got cornbat jackets and guns before going to theorange Hall. Mccooey remained in the ,an while the oth"erc iio tn"shooting and after they returned he drove off. The guns were buried in afield and the van abandoned following which they ran across three fieldsbefore getting into a Mark 3 car and?eturning to a Dundalk pub. Whilethere the news of the deaths in the orange Hall was announced ontelevision and they cheered and drank in -celebration. TherJ *". nomention of how McCooey got horne. One of the interrogating police askedthe names of all the men-wlho took part in the oferation and was told thatfour had been on the job. After some time Mccooey was supposed to havenamed them but the policeman told him that he believed the're were more.McCooey denied this and said that there were only four "That's the truth.,,ffteq further questioning he said to the questionei,,l would o"iitning ,yfucking death warrant if I told you any more." The policeman siggestedthat Mccooey had already done that when he named the ,,Mccabes,,andthat.he might as well b9

.'Hfng lor_a sheep as a lamb." Mccooey inen gotred in the face and said, "peter cleary", and a short time later he wasalleged to have added, "And that fucker will murder no more Orang| cuntsnowl" Another alleged written statement later in this book rettEcts tnesame pattern of foul language.

This was the only evidence presented by the prosecution in relation toMcCooey's involvement in the Orange Hajl riilihgs and in relation to hismembership of the lRA. The evidence was withou'i doubt talse, anO bearsout the version of events as given by McCooey to the psychiairist sent in1t7

by defence lawyers. ln his talk with the psychiatrist, Mr. McCooey had toldof being beaten, being denied sleep and that he had been given prepareddocuments to sign. He had signed them to avoid further torture. Thelanguage used in these false documents was designed to create thegreatest possible propaganda effect against the Provisionals and againstPeter Cleary in particular. The manner in which Cleary's name wasdragged out, in the carefully prepared documents, set him apart from theother men named therein.

PETER CLEARYPeter cleary had been dead some eight months when Mccooey was

given the false documents to sign -

documents which had been preparedby a member or members of the British "security forces". The writers ofthe documents had some particular reason for naming Peter Cleary and itmay have been guilt and /or tear which motivated him and his aides.Evidence given at the inquest intp Peter Cleary's death suggested that theman responsible for the false statement was probably Captain Nairac.

Peter cleary was shot in April 1976, yet there had been no inquest up tothe time Anthony McCoo-ey signed the false statements. The followingmonth the County Armagh Coroner decided to go ahead with the inquesf,which returned an open verdict. Evidence was given by severa! membersof the SAS but the officer who fired the fatal shots did not appear in Courtin person. A statement, said to have been made by him, was read to theinquest jury. ln it the officer, who was identified as soldier "A", told that hewas a Commissioned Officer in the 22nd Special Air Service, and that hewas stationed at Bessbrook. Captain Nairac was a Commissioned Officerin that Regiment and he was also stationed at Bessbrook. People presentwhen Peter Cleary was arrested did not know the identity of the Officerwho had arrested him but they now assure me that the man was Nairac.Following Nairac's abduction in May '77 his photograph was flashed onT.V. screens and he was at once recognised as being the man who abusedand arrested Cleary. Evidence given at the inquest establishes that theman who arrested Cleary also shot him. without doubt that man wasNairac.

"soldier A" told the inquest of the preparations he made to mount theexercise which resulted in Cleary's arrest. He told of Cleary attempting toavoid arrest and of his capturing him thus: "l tackled him round the neckand threw him to the ground, where I frisked him for weapons. Noticingthat he was fairly heavy, I got hold of him and forced him against the wailof the house. . I then took this man by the arm, which I noticedwas fairly strong, around the corner to another building. I took him inside -

I ordered the man to strip, then I searched him and his clothing.--I arresled him saying 'As a member of Her Majesty's Forces, t

arrest yoU', whilst touching him on the shouldgr.---------. I radioed base torequest that a Helicopter be placed on immediate standby." Therefollowed much detail of how the SAS men brought the prisonerto a field atwhich the Puma Helicopter was to pick them up. A second Helicopter, aScout, fitted with searchlights, was also present to assist in the operation.While awaiting the arrival of the Helicopters, the prisoner was forced to lie

down on the ground. As the Helicopters approached, the officer orderedCleary to stand up and he did so some six feet from a high wall. Thestatement continued: "l was standing with the butt of my Self LoadingRifle (SLR) in the armpit. The rnuzzle was pointing at Cteary and woulihave been about four or six feet from him" My SLR was loaded with amagazine containing eighteen rounds of 7.62 tsall Ammunition and wascocked. -----. As the Puma started to close in, but before the searchlightswere turned on, Cleary hurled himself at rne. t was aware of his arrnsstretched in front of him dir.ected towards rny throat. This was anunprovoked attack. lt was dark, the rnoon still being obscured by thecloud. I was alone with a known IRA man who had justattempted to escapethirty minutes earlier. I believed him to be a ki!!er, who might he heavierand stronger than I was and who would not hesitate to kill rne and makehis escape through one of the gaps in the wat!, and then across the border,30.metres away. As he lunged at rne, my instinctive training as an sASsoldier took over; I released the safety catch on my sLR-and startedshooting, and continued to fire until the danger to my life was past, andthat was when Cleary was on the ground. I 'had no chince to warn him. --

There had been no time to call out to the other members of thepatrol --------'." Details of the rernoval of cleary's body and the arrlva! ofthe Helicopter in Bessbrook completed the statement.There was no date on the copy of this statement which i got frorn theCoroner for Armagh via the Northern lreland Court Service, O-ut it appearsto have been written on or about 12th September 1976. !n the light'of this

staternent, the autopsy findings of the Assistant State Pathologist for N.l.make interesting reading.

LN.1,

fiili-ptlllrlir S U{IYiRSfTI_OIr BELFASI]TOIIIHERN IIIts AND OFi;ICE

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-tbe autopeqT ftntllnga ofP5IER JOSqFE CLE.INT

The nan waa healt\y. fhere rrag uo ratural ilteeaee to cauee or aooeleratedeathrDeath rlae ilue to gunshot rounils of the chestr Ihnee bullets batt entgrealthe leFt sirle of the froat of the ohest r.il bad. Ilaase: backra:ds to nake theirexlts_on the back, tno ou the left arecl one oa the rlgbt. In thetr course tbey

causeat lacei'atl.on of the aorte anrd each lnry antl fra.oturea of one right a;rdfive left rlbg. lbeeE lnJuriea uoulil haw cansEil hls raplct ilsath.The 1lUurieg rer.E of a typs causetl by bulleta of higb yg]e6r{}r- Tbere ras

nothlng to tn&lcete that a.r5r of the bulletg b""A beoa flreil at close ran6e.

18

Tbe path of two of the bullets rnas rou:b\r horizoutal\r ba,okuar{e yhilsttbe path ol the bullet, nlrioh batl entered closs- to the centro of the 6hest, wasbackrarde and sllgbt\r dornrrards wlth e ttevi.atlon to the ri6bt.lbreelona on the face vere :probab\r causeil when he eollapsad.o They wer.e

of tr.trrlal lratur.e anil. plrysrt no part 1r. the fatal outooae.

-

The rePort of the Forenslc Soienoa taboratorl, ebcL-g tbet at the tlne ofhts deatb therc rBs no aloohol ln thq boqr.

The pathologist, Dr. Press, reported that "There was nothing to indicatethat any of the bullets had been fired from close range." Forensic testsconfirmed this opinion. The statement written by Soldier "A" indicatedthat Cleary was only 4/6 feet from him belore he made the lunge withoutstretched hands directed at his throat. The lunge, if made at all, wouldhave reduced the distance between the men to a foot or so and theoutstretched hands would have been even closer to the gun. lf the handswere directed at Soldier "A's" throat they would have been in the trajectoryof the bullets. Neither hands nor arms were struck by the bullets ind notrace of gun powder was found during forensic tests on the long-sleevedpullover worn by the deceased. These revelations cast grave OorJOt on thestory told by the Commissioned Officer of the 22nd Special Air Serviceunder the nom-de-plume "soldier A."

.

Dr. Press gave as his opinion that the injuries to cleary's face, twoabrasions, 12 mm and 8 mm, on the left upper eyelid, an abrasion 2 mm indiameter, on the front of the right cheek and a similar abrasion on the f rontof the chin, were caused when Cleary collapsed after being shot. Evidencegiven at the trial of a British soldier following the murder dt Jofrn Boyle, ina County Antrim graveyard, suggested that a high velocity bullef firedfrom thirty yards would, if striking a man on theihest, knock him overbackwards. The three bullets which struck Peter Cleary would have had asimilar effect had he been standing at the time of impact. lnjuries in thatevent, if any, would have been to the back of his head. The spot where theshooting took place was in a grass field so it would be doubtful if anyinjuries occurred on his collapse. The injuries were much more likely t6have been inflicted when Cleary was taken into the second house for strip-searching belore he was arrested. Blood-stains on the floor and damagedfurniture in that house indicated a strdggle, and people who saw thecorpse were shocked at the injuries and discolouration. ln addition to theinjuries mentioned, the deceased's right collar bone was also broken. Thepathologist offered no explaination as to how this injury was received.when cleary was taken from the house to the landing-pad he was notwalking but was dragged with his head hanging at a strange angle. Thosepresent feared that his neck was broken at this time, but I could find nosupporting evidence.

)ii

rl

Peter ClearY

21

The finding of one of the bullets in the ground close to the bloodindicated that it had struck the victim when he was close to the ground.The blood, which was only five feet from the wall, indicated that Clearyhad not in fact lunged forward to attack "Soldier A". All in all there must begrave doubts about the alleged written statement made by this SASofficer.

One thing which cannot be doubted is that the scales of justice werecertainly loaded against Peter Cleary and John Anthony McOooey.

Carden wall beside which Peter Cleary was done to death

THE NAIRAC / TOWNSON EPISODE

The joint Brltish arnny/RU0 base at Bessbrook in South Armagh was thecentre frorn which the false statsrnents, resulting in the trial andconviction of Anthony McCooey, emanated. Evidence given at the inquestinto the death of Peter Cleary established that the soldiers responsible forhls death were stationed at this base and that they were members of theSAS. Evidence given at the trial, in Dublirr, of Liam Townson for themurder of Captain Nairac, established that the Captain was based atBessbrook. Clearly the base was the headquarters for SAS operations inSouth Armagh and across the Border in Nonth Louth and SouthMonaghan. The donninant officer there was, without doubt, Captaln Nairacof the 22nd SAS Hegirnent and Ml 6. Before dealing with the death ofCaptain Nairac and the resultant tria! of Liarn Townson for that deed, it iswell to give a few details of the a!'ea, which has been portrayed in recentyears by British propagandists, as bandit country. I see it in a differentlight.

The South Armagh/North !-outh area has had, for centuries, a traditionof loyalty to Faith and Fatherland. lt was to this area that ArchbishopPlunkett fled, when hunted by the British and their native lrish allies, in theperiod 1670/1680. Today sorne three hundred years later, that sarne spiritof loyalty to Church anrd Country is the hallmark of the area. The freedomstruggle of the young men of South Armagh, in the ten years 1970/1980,has been portrayed, by British progagandists and their native lrish allies,as terrorisnr. Unfortunately some Catholic bishops have helped in thispropaganda campaign by describing these young patriots as "Men ofviolence." lrish television viewers had another example of suchdistortion when an interviewer suggested to a Catholic bishop thatinstitutional violence had played a part in the present troubles. The bishopdescribed such talk as rubbish and vile propaganda.

History is generally written by those who wln wars and not by peopleoppressed by conquest. The oppressed tell their version in ballad andfolklore, which do not appear in history books. So also in the presentstruggle, the reality of the suffering of the oppressed is obscured and theworld given a false picture of the situation. A ready example of this falseimage occurred on Sunday 12th October 1975. On that day ArchbishopOliver Plunkett was cannonised a Saint in Rome and the impressiveceremonies made it a wonderful day for those lrish Catholics privileged tobe present. On the same day in South Armagh thousands of Catholicsgoing to Mass had to run the gauntlet of British army road blocks. Manywere held until Mass was over and the reality for them was a lar cry fromthe glory of the ceremonies in Rome. Attitudes had not changed all thatmuch in the 300 years since the Saint's mardyrdom.

The introduction to the Mass Hymal for the cannonisation ceremoniestold of the Saint's early letters written after his arrival in his See. lt toldthat the Archbishop "Was determined to stay with his people, ministeringto them as a bishop should, avoiding all involvement in political matters."There was surely a message in these few words lor the present daybishops of IRELAND.

22 23

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Danny Kelly's first statement told of evsnts at tha Three $teps and tl'laths had been in the front soat of the Cortlna frorn the pub to Ravensdaleand that Nairac had been questioned on tho journey. -- "ldon't rernemberthe man giving any straight answers. ------. They took hinn -- into the fleld.At this stago I noticed Gerry Murphy and E 3/oung boy called Quinn pull upin a car. 'Bell'then told and 'Srnith' to go to a pub in Dundalk and get LiamTownson. I don't knovti the name of the pub but it is on the bridge as yotrturn into Dundalk. lt was 12 or 12.30 a.m. Once the car stopped I got out-- and saw Townson standing at the door of the pub. hNe was on his own.

Townson then came and got into the back seat of the ca!,. We droveback to the spot where we had dropped 'Bell'o 'Allen', and the man off."Tl're staternent went on to tell that Quinn and tulr.rrphy were in the field withthe other two and Nairac close to the wall beside the bridge. He told of thericochet bullet hitting Allen, and of the group moving up to the middle ofthe field and told 'Smith'to take the Gortina off the road. Smith went awayin the car. There was no mention of Nalrac being shot.

ln a second statement nnade within an hour of finishing the first one,Kelly gave a completely different version of events following the pickingup of Townson. -- "When we lifted Townson in Dundalk we headed backtowards the Border. l'm not sure whether we turned off the main road tothe left or to the right bnt we stopped outside another pub on the roadside.Townson told us to do this. He got out of the car and was away about tenminutes when Mickey McKay and another fella Owen Nixon drove up inMcKay's Volkswagen car. They didn't stop but they slowed up beside usand I could see thern by the light outside the pub. They went past andturned and came back again. They didn't stop this time either but theyslowed down a bit. About ten minutes after they passed, Townson ca!.neback and got into the cat." He then told that Townson had fired a shotbecause he thought the gun was jamrning. "l looked round and saw a shortgun !n hls hand". His accbunt of events in the field was sornewhat sirnilarto that of Quinn up to the point where the group rnoved across the field.-- "About half way up the field the man seemed to collapse and was lyingon the ground. I was about 4 or 5 yards away and I heard him ask for apriest. He asked at least twice. Townson said he would get a priest, andcarne and whisperod to 'Allen'. Allen went over to the man.still lying in thelield and said, 'l'trn a priest" Tell nne who you a!.e", -- They took hirn furtherinto the field 'Bel!' on one side and Townson on the other. He was on hisfeet. Townson was clicking the gun and 'Bell'was holding the man. 'Bell'let the nnan go and liftod a stick about four feet long and as thick as yourarrn and hit the man over the head with it. He hit hirn a second time and thernan went down. Townson was standing in front of him. Everyone exceptTownson started walking to the gate. I heard one shot. I turned round andthe nnan was lying in the field -----".

The alterations in the second statement defy rational explaination andthe clainn that Townson was standing alone at the door of the Fub whenKelly got out of the car reads false. The return journey, as told in thesecond version, told that Kelly did not know whether the car had turned tothe left or right frorn the rnain road to reacl, Hughes' Pub. This does notseern to be the truth and puts a serious doubt absut the alleged drive toDundalk. The statennent made no rnention of the route used for thejourney frorn l'lughes to Flavensdale Park. According to t!"le second

7475

statement, Liam Townson was not in the Cortina when the car driven byMcKay passed on its way to the Fairways Hotel. McKay and his passenger,Nixon, were arrested after Kelly, Quinn and Murphy had completed theirstatements. The statements signed by these last two men to be arrestedcomplicated matters even mora. McKay told that he had been in the Threesteps and had been driven home, by Marie Murphy, to get his father's car.He returned to The Three Steps and got petrol before departing withNixon for a dance in the Fairways Hotel, Dundalk.

He described the journey, "l drove along the Drumintee/Jonesboro roadand turned right at Drumintee Chapel on to the Carrick Broad Roadtowards Hughes' pub. There was a car coming towards me from Dundalkand it turned right at Hughes'pub. I followed this car and discovered it wasthe cortina driven by smith. I passed this car and put on my hazardwarning lights and stopped. The Cortina pulled alongside me. Smith wasdriving and there was a grey haired fellow in the front passenger seat.There was someone in the back but ! couldn't see who it was. ----. I droveoff and went to a dance in Dundalk."

Nixon gave a different account of the journey and events at Hughes'."---- \ile headed for Dundalk. The road we took was by the Gap of theNorth by Boyle's shop and out at Hughes' Pub. we stopped at thecrossroads at Hughes' pub, we overtook a bronze Cortina which wasgoing slowly. There rnust have been about five men in this car. ThisCortina then passed us and pulled up along side us. The Cortina wasdriven by Smith, Liam Townson was sitting in the front passenger seat.lthinkBel|wasinthebackbecauselthinklheardhisvoice.then drove straight to the Fairways Hotel outside Dundatk."

These two accounts differ on such matters as the number of men in theCortina. One said there were three and the other five; Nixon said thatTownson was in the front seat and McKay did not know the man in thatseat. Kelly had told that Townson was away when the two passed on theirway to the dance and that he, Kelly, had been in the front seat at all times.The police did suggest to both Nixon and McKay that Townson was in theCortina and this probably explains Nixon's reference to Townson.

sean Murphy, one of the members of the band which was playing in theThree steps on saturday 14th May 1977, told of events in the b-ar thatnight. "At about 11.15 p.m. when he (Nairac) was coming out of the tollethe asked me if a Belfast man could sing a song. I told him to write it downon a piece of paper. He said, 'No', that I was just to call it out. He gave hisname as Danny McElean. He went back and stood at the bar and a shorttime later Charlie called out his name, saying that there was a specialrequest for a men the whole way from Belfast called Danny McElean. Thlsman spoke with a Belfast accent and came up and sang two Flepublicansongs. One was the'Broad tslack Brimmer'and l'm not sure what the othersong was. This man was able to tell us the key he wanted to sing in and hewas quite a good singer. When he finished singing he went back to the barand joined the same people. we finished playing about 11.35 p.rn. andstarted to pack up. This man was still at the bar becat"lse when ! was takingoff my guitar I hit him on the head with it and r aporogised to hirn. ----;'

This statement indicated that Nairac did not leave the bar until after1 1.35, and that it was probably 11.4A/11.45 before he was bundled into theCortina car and driven across the Border. The journey to Ravensdale park

and the entry into the field there would have taken some 10115 minutes.Some time later Smith and Kelly left the field to go and collect a rnan atanother venue. Was that venue Dundalk or Hughes' Pub? Had the venuebeen Dundalk as indicated in Kelly's statements the journey would havetaken about twenty minutes. lnspector Courtney told the Judges in theDublin Te'iaN that the journey from the field to Dundalk took him twentyminutes. lt would have taken some time to locate the man who was wantedout at Flavensdale Park and the journey out to Hughes Pub would havetaken some ten rninutes. Thus, without taking into consideration the twostops at the Garda checkpoint at the Lidsoo Arms, it would have been12.30 a"rn. before the Cortina arrived at Hughes'. Michael McKay andNixon passed l-lughes' on their way to Dundalk at midnight or very shortlyafterwards so it would have been impossible for the Cortina to have beenin Dundalk and back out at midnight. The probability was that the Cortinawent direct from Ravensdale Park to Hughes' and picked up a man andgun there, or, in a nearby house. This would explain the lailure of theGardai to produce evidence of the Cortina passing through the l-isdoocheckpoint or any evidence from the barman in the Cabin lnn Pub inDundalk which would indicate that he had admitted Kelly to his prennisesafter closing time.

!n an effort to get some explanation for the very obvious contradictionsin the various Northern statements I visited most of the homes of the mencharged. ln all cases the parents claimed that their sons had been abusedby named RUC men, and that the statements had been challenged andrefuted by the defendants during the Belfast trial. Michael McKay andOwen Nixon who were not included in the murder charge have out ofprison for some time and told me of the events of Saturday 14th May 1977.They assured me that they had reached the public house known asHughes' or Annie's before tyvelve o'clock and that they were stopped at agardai checkpoint beside the Lisdoo Arms as they entered Dundalk. Thedelay at the checkpoint was in excess of five minutes even thoughMcKay's car was not searched. The presence of this checkpoint became,for nne, the most crucial factor in determinining the credibility and veracityol the "Canavan File" and the statements attributed to Danny Kelly.

The failure of Kelly to mention the checkpoint puts a question markagainst his claim to have gone into Dundalk on that night. His story thatTownson was standing alone at the door of the public house, as you turninto Dundalk at the bridge, failed to tell whether the door was open orclosed. He did not tell which door Townson was standing at. Had he goneto Dundalk, as claimed, the two stops at the garda checkpoint would haveadded about fifteen minutes to the journey from Ravensdale Park toHughes' pub via Dundalk. These details make a mockery of his story thathe was at Hughes'ten minutes before'McKay and Nixon passed on theirway to the dance in the Fairways Hotel. The story about going intoDundalk becomes less credible with each examination and the probableexplanation was that the Cortina did not go into Dundalk but went toHughes' to collect a senior member of the Provisionals there, or in anearby house. This would give credence to Kelly's claim that he was atHughes' ten minutes before McKay and Nixon went past the Pub.Significantly the account given by Detective lnspector Courtney andSergeant Canavan as per the "Canavan File" repeats these errors and

7677

omissions. The claim that Townson had fired a shot out of the car was alsocontained in both the "File" and Kelly's second statement, and is bestexamined in the light of evidence givefi in Belfast by Detective GardaMichael Niland, Ballistics Section, Garda Technical Bureau, Dublin.

tsALLISTIC AND FORENSIC EVIDENCE(BELFAST TRrAL)Niland told the Belfast Court of his finding (18th May 1977) blood on the

wall of the bridge in the field behind Ravensdale forest at four positionsfairly close together and some 37 to 41 inches from the ground. He told oftrampled grass and bloodstains on the soil in the same location, and offinding hair similar to Nairac's on the wall in the grass. He gave details offinding lead from a .32 bullet on the wall of the bridge, and of SergeantCorrigan giving him a round of 9 mm ammunition in good condition and around at .32 ammunition with a number of intermingled firing marks on itsprimer. Up to May 28th no blood was found at any other location in thefield at Ravensdale. On that day a garda found what he thought wereblood-stains on grass and soii at another location, and the following daythe same garda found a 9 mm bullet at the same spot. Detective Nilandagain visited the field and having described this new area as Scene 2 said-- "l saw in two areas on the ground and grass what appeared to be blood.I removed a sample from both these areas, one of which was composed ofsoil and a small stone, and the other a small piece of stick and grass".No measurements were given which might help to determine the size ofthe blood stains or of the quality of blood present" There was no mentionof the grass being trampled and no hair was found at this Scene 2. Theabsence of these signs was surprising, as it was in this area that Nairacwas supposed to have been shot. The details of the amount of blood at thescene of Peter Cleary's murder were described by Constable Poots at aninquest in Armagh and are worth repeating for comparrison purposes.Poots told of finding a poo! of blood 18 inches by 24 inches and of a smearof blood on the grass and soil for 75 feet. The absence of a pool ofcongealed blood, of blood-stained hairs, and any trampling of grass castsgrave doubts about the story that Niarac had.been shot in the Ravensdalefield. Surely if he had been shot some cong6aled blood would have beenfound? Some hair with skin and blood attached? Some small signs ofdrainage from the head wound containing matter from the general brainarea?

The credibility of the story told in the Dublin Court took a further knockin Belfast where John Donovan and Dr. McOlean of the Forensicdepartments in Dublin and Belfast gave their evidence. John Donovanindicated his failure to find Liam Townson's fingerprints on either Nairac'sgun or the .32 and also of a similar failure in relation to the ammunition andplastic bags in which these items were found. No trace of lead or powderindicating that he had been in contact with firearms were found on hisclothes. Dr. McClean told of examining the Cortina said to have been usedin the kidnapping, and of having found hairs similar to Nairac's on thefloor in the back. He did not find Liam Townson's fingerprints on thevehicle. There was no forensic evidence ol any sort found, North or South,linking Townson with the Nairac altair.

On !\stonday 30th May 1977 the gardai carne into possession of Nairac's9 rnm pistol and also the gun they claimed had been used to shoot Nairac,a .32 revolver. The pistol was in good working order but the rovolver had afaulty flring nnechanism which resulteci in it failing at times to strike tfieprimer properly. The gardai also found a nun"rber of bullets in a plasticbag, and included in the find were 22 rounds of .32 calibre. ln addition tolive rounds tl'le!'e were two ernpty shelts which had been fired from the.32revolver" The fact that only two empty shells were found was surprisingbecause three shots had allegedly been f!red from the .32. The first wasallegedly fired out of the car, the second at the hurnp-backed brldge andthe third across the field in Ravensdale. Unlike a pistol the .32 revolverdoes not eject the spent shell automatically after firing. The weapon mustbe broken and the spent shells ennptiad out - a deliberate act. Both the"Canavan File" and the second statement signed by Kelly rnentioned ashot being fired from the.32 on the iourney fronn Hughes'Pub,toFlavensdale, but rnade no reference to a spent cartridge being removedfrom the gun. There was evidence produced in Court which proved that abullet fronn the .32 had been fired at the hurnp-backed bridge. In thesecond statement signed by Quinn he told of Belt telling him on Sunday"That he had accidentally shot Allen in the side the previous night". Thisclearly indicated, if true, that it was Bell and not Townson who had had the.32 revolver. There remains grave doubt about the third shot tired acrossthe field and thus further shadows fall on the "Canavan File". There werequestion marks about all aspects of the gardai evidence and it is doubtfulwhether in ordinary circurnstances such a case would have been left to ajuny to decide. There can be no doubt that what verdict would have beenreturned if a judge decided to let such a case proceed.

The special criminal court is not an ordinary court, and was set up in1971 by the Lynch Fiannan Fail Government in order to get convictionswhich an lrish jury would not countenance. The judges of the SpecialCriminal Court were and are selected by the Governrnent of the day to thisend. ln the Townson trial, one of the three judges, Judge O'Connor, paidlittle attention to the proceedings, and appeared to sleep on a regularbasis. The defendant's father, a man of honour and intregrlty, told me ofthis judge's behaviour, as did others present at the trial. Judge o'Connorlater died in his sleep to add credence to these clhirns. The apparent biasof all three Judges was obvious right through the "trial" and in thevERDlcr which was given at 3.45 p.m. on Tuesday Bth Novernber 1g77.

THE VERDICTPRESIDENT:- on the night of the 14th of May 1977 captain Robert

Nairac lett Bessbrook Mlll, Bessbrook, County Armagh, at about g.2s p.nn.He was !ast seen by Captain David Allan Collett, an Operations Officer,and he, captain Nairac, was then dressed in civilian clothes and wasdriving a red Dolomite car, Registration No. CIB 42s9. Captain Nairacmade a radio signal to Captain Collett at 9.58 p.m. That was the lastcommunication received from Captain Nairac. He did not return toBarracks. At about 't a.m. the following rnorning a search was initiated.captain collett has given evidence oia searctr uy one hundred (100)Constables, supported by one hundred and fifty(ls0) Military personneifrom Armagh, with negative results. No direct evidence was tendered by

78 79

the Prosecution as to searches within this jurisdiction, but it is clear, fromparts of the evidence, that a search which included the use of dogs anddivers, was undertaken in this jurisdiction.

This is a murder charge. Neither Captain Nairac not his body has beenfound. Mr. Macdonald has submitted that in the absence of a body theCourt can be satisfied that, by circumstancial evidence or by admissions,that the death took place and, further, that the death was caused bymurder. He relies on the lrish authorities - the Attorney General -V-Edwards, 1935 lrish Reports; theAttorney General -V- Ball '70, lrish LawTimes Report; Attorney General -V- Kirwan, 1943, lrish Reports; and ThePeople -V- Thomp, 1954, lrish Reports. We accept the principleenunciated in those cases as substantiating Mr. Macdonald's submissions,and adopt them.

Evidence has been given that Captain Nairac's car was seen at g a.m.on the morning of the 1Sth of May on the forecourt of the "Three Stepslnn" at Drumintee, County Armagh. Around it were scattered bloodstains,a broken car mirror, a bunch of keys and a number of coins. DetectiveSergeant McCann examined the ground around the car, gave evidencethat what he saw made him form the opinion that a struggle had takenplace in the neighbourhood. As a result of information received, GardaDurkin, on the afternoon of the 18th May, 1977, went to a field beside theFlurry River in Ravensdale Park, County Louth, and found bloodstains ona bridge, coins, and. over an area the grass had been trampled on. On thesame day Supt. Farrelly visited the same scene at Ravensdale and foundbloodstains on the grass and on the stones; that the grass had beentrampled on and evidence of a struggle having taken place there.

On Saturday,. the 28th of May the accused was arrested by SergeantTiernan under the Emergency Powers Act, 1970, Section 2, and brought toDundalk Garda Station. From his arrival at Dundalk Garda Station until3.15 p.m. on Monday the 30th May the accused was interrogated by Gardaofficers on several occasions, and made exculpatory statements. At 3.15on the same day, that is Monday, the 30th, lnspector Courtneycommenced an interview with the accused. At 3.20 he was joined bySergeant Cahavan. After some preliminary conversation the accusedmade what we have already held to be and which, having re-considered,we still hold to be, a voluntary statement. Detective Sergeant Canavan toldthe accused that he and the lnspector were making inquiries into thedeath of Captain Nairac and that it was believed that the accused couldassist them. The accused said he could not: the accused said that fivefellows were charged with this and he knew them, even if he knew nothingabout them.

The accused further asked - "How tong will I get for th!s." SergeantCanavan said "l do not know" and the lnspector said - "l do not know".This question was repeated a number of times. The accused then said "lwil! tell you the truth" and at this stage he was cautioned by SergeantCanavan in the terms "You are not obliged to say anything and whateveryoLr say will be taken down in writing and may be given in evidence".Sergeant Canavan asked the accused if he urnderstood the caution and theaccused said he did. The accused then said - "l shot the British Captain:he never told us anything. He was a great soldier. I was drinking inLeonard's pub. Danny Kelly came in and told me to get a bit of hardware,

that there was a job to be done.We went out the road in Kevin Smith's car.we went to an old ruined house; I got my gun, a .82 revolver there. wewent out to the bridge on the side road in Ravensdale. I fired a shot on theway out to test it. They were all there when I got there. I don't think youngtulcKay was there. ! had a lot of drink taken. I asked the Captain wno n6was. He said he was a "stickie." I asked him who he knew and he saidSeamus Murphy from Dromintee. I told him ! did not believe him, that hewas a British soldier and I had to kilt him. I hit him on the head with mytist and with the butt of my gun also. The captain said 'lf you are going t6kill me, can I have a priest'. He was in a bad state. I aimed at his nead. Ionly put one into him. The gun misfired a few times. I left the body thereand wc went home across the fields".

ilir. McEntee questions the time or times at which the statement wasmade. We appreciate that this is a very important matter. Some conflict asto the actual and precise time when the voluntary part of the statementwas made appears from the evidence of the 2 officers involved. tnspectorcourtney said such statement was completed by the accused atapproximately 3.50 p.m., whereas Detective Sergeant Canavan said thatthe statement only commence at 3.50 p.m., and that it was completedwithin 3 or 4 minutes. We are satisfied beyond reasonable doubt, 6n theevidence, notwithstanding the slight discrepancies indicated, that thernaking of this voluntary statement was completed before 4 p.m.

Mr. McEntee has urged that Detective Sergeant Canavan should not beaccepted as a credible witness by reason ol the fact that there was a timealteration in his notes of the interview. Originally the Sergeant records thatthe interview commenced at 3.50 p.ffi., which he subsequenily altered to3.2O p.m. Originally the Sergeant had recorded, immediately following theentry about the commencement of the interview, that the inculpato.y p"rtof the interview . . . of the Statement . . . commenced about i.so p.m. towhich time the Sergeant still adheres to. The Sergeant gave evidence,which we accept, that immediately he made the second entiy of 3.s0 p.m. -that is the time when the inculpatory statement was made - he realised thatthe first entry was an error, and ho changed the'3.50'where it appears firstin the notes, to'3.20'. we accept this alteration was made out atthe sametime he was making his notes. we accept his perlecily innocentexplanation and are quite satisfied that the Sergeant made no alterationsin his notebook for ulterior purposes. We further accept the Sergeant'sevidence, that the interview commonced at 3.20 and the inculpatory partwas made in or about 3.50 p.m.

It was further alleged, as a matter of credibility ol Sergeant Canavan,that the letter on the sketch ffiap, not in evidence on the main issue, but inevidence on the matter of credibility, was lorged by Sergeant Canavan.This we reject. ln view of the condition of the accused at 7.45 p.m. we donot think that tho volunteered statement made by him is of any, save voryslight, evidential value. We do not intend to take it into corisideration.

we return to the verbat statement made to lnspector courtney andSergeant Canavan. The Court has given caroful consideratioh to tnepossible constructions of it, urged by Mr. McEntee. The Court is satisfied,beyond reasonabte doubt, that rha only possible and correctinterpretation is that the accused shot and killed Captain Nairac. This wasmurder.

81

Accordingly it is the duty of the Court - since we have no discretlog'! insentence - to sentence you to Penal Servitude for !ife:'

EXAM!NATION OF VERDICTThe verdict sf the Court and the apparent desire to convict the accused

was in keeping with the tradltion of Special Courts in ireland. Every wordspoken by the accused in his defence was brushed aside as being untrue.The only true word he spoke, according to the judgement, were thoseattributed to hinn in the "Canavan File". The accused denled on oathhaving used these words. The most crucial decision by the Judges wasthein e'uiing that Nairac was dead, despite the absence of his corfse, andthat his death had occurred in the field at Ravensdale. They accepted theprinciples enunciated in three earlier cases, and used the judgement !nthose cases to justify their assertion and judgernent that Nairac had beenshot in Flavensdalg. ln rny opinion this decision was bad in Law and unjustto the accused. There was a clear clash of eviclence in reiation to theevents wltich had occurred in the Ftavensdale field on the night ofSaturday 14th May'1977. Townson clairned he was not in the field, whilethe gardai said he was, and that Nairac had been shot at a point so'.nedistance from the hurnp-backed bridge. No forensie evidence of any sortwas produced to support the gardai assertions. ln the ahsence of suchevidence the possibility of Nairac having been killed [n the field wasgreatly reduced. ln the three cases used by the Jr-rdges, as a precedent fontheir decisisrr to accept hlairac's death, there was not the sannepreservation of the scesre of the alleged crime as at Flavensdale. The lFtAclaim to have assassinated Narac contained no reference to his havingbeen shot in the Ravensdale field. All indications pointed to his havin$been brought to a house, some rniles away, and subjected to prolongedinterrogation there before he was shot, some twenty four hours afteihewas abducted. His body in all probability lies buried among the people,whorn he had worked against as an sAS officer and Ml 6 agent.

The dismissal of the evidence givern by solicitor, Oona[ Carioli, was inthe same ta'aditions of the Court and contrasted with the leniency towardsbreaches of Judges' Rules and constitutional Rights by the gardai.Alterations in vital notes made by an experienced detective guard weredescribed as "perfectly innocent" by the thnee judges. lt speaks poorly forthe gardai that sr.lch carelessness should be present in the work of anexperienced sergeant. Clearly al$ witnesses were not equal in this andother Specia! Criminal Court trials, and the defence preparation foE, thecase helps conf[rm this assertion"

At a defence conference held to decide on the best line of defence,lawyors we!'e told that "Jlm McAtrdlo"o then living !n a flat in Dundalk, wasprepared to go the tl'le Court and testify that he had da'iven Liam Townsonotlt to Proleek on the night of Saturday 14th May 1977 at abogt '! a.nr. Onbeing told that "McArdlc" had been imprisoned in Nonthern !neland duringthe nineteen-fifties, for republicar"s offences, the alwyers expressed theopinion that the lqdges of tho Speciat criminal Court wouid probabxydisrniss "McArdlc'i" evidenca as being untrue because of hls republlcan

hackground. The also leared that pressure would be exerted on-'filc{rdb't" employers to dispence with his services il he gave evidence att$.'s trial. As ,.illcAidle" held a responsible and well-pald position theydacidsd not to avail of his offer to give evidence. There have been manycasas of gardai pressure to have mon, who gave evidence fOr defence insfimrilar potitical trials, sackod by their employers or of their applying otherprassures to secure the sarne end.

!t was possible that defence were unduly influential by the clarity withwfeicir deience solicitor, Dona! Carroll, recollected the phone calls whichhs nnade on Sunday 29th and Monday 30th May 1977 to Dundalk GardaStation. The clear violation of the accus6d's constitutional rights, implicitin his falture to be granted permission to visit fris client, was sufficient irtdefence opinion ts have the case against Townson dismissed by theCourt.

Had "Jlnn tlcArdle" given evidence l'le would have told the Courtsornething on the following lines. "On Saturday 14th frday 19771 called outto Fagant of Froleek at about 7.30 p.rn. and about an hour later left formundaln with Liam Townson. I let Townson off at the bridge and wentback by mry flat in Church Street; some time after nine I went to theDundal'k bar where ! remained unti! closing time. I a'eturned to the flat aftertwelve and soon after this Liam Townson came in. Fle was much the worsefor drink so ! rnade him tea and drove hlm out horne. We left the flat about'l a.m. and on the way out ioined a queue of cars at a garda checkpointbeside the Lisdoo Arms. A lorry rnoved from the queue to the controlpoint, and whatever happened tfre gardai gave the vehicle one hell of asearching. There was what appeared to be a long delay, byt, in allprobabilily, it was not more than five minutes. During this delay the queuegrew and the gardai waved a number of cars through without stopping{fiern" fifly car was one gf those let through. On reaching Fagan's I sawTownson safely up the stairs and as there was nobody ,p in the house Iwant straight home. On the return iourney I was again stopped at theLisdoo checkpoint and was asked to open the boot and bonnet of my car. Idid so and the gardai, after taking details lrom my driving licence searchedhoth these compartments and the inside of the car. lt was about half pastone when I arrived back at the flat."

This straight forward account was given to me by McArdle and the koy{actor in reaching a conclusion on its authenticity was the presence orabsence of a gardai checkpoint at the Lisdoo Arms. His account of thetrorry being detained and the nature of the search carried out on his car ontho return journey, add to its credibility. Such detail was missing from theCanayan tile and the Kelly statements and there is not doubt that theprasence of the gardai checkpoint can be established. These details helpto astablish Liam Townson's innocence as distinct from a not guiltyverdict whith the defence appeared to seek. A not guilty verdict does notnecsssarily establish an accused persons innocence. ln preparing thisanalysis of the Nairac Affair the availability of all nine Northern statementswas a vital factor. I have no doubt that had Mr. McEntee been in a positionto usa them he would have established a clear conspiracy to pervert thecourse of justice by lnspector Courtney, Sergeant Canavan and many oltl'Ie other guards who had given evidence in the case. Counsel would havebeen in a position to establish, under cross-examination, that the bulk of

aq 83

bo:cc.\(U* oca-\o-kisdo.Pc?:(.)\:c/)t *'-E lsb

6. As with all other statennents the "Canavan File" did not tell where thebody was or how it was disposedof. lf these men knew anything aboutthe shooting of Nairac and the buria! of his body it is inconceivable thatsome one of them would not have told about it. The credibility ofthe "F!le" took further knocks when it failed to rnention by whom andhow the guns and ame'nunition were rennoved from the field.

Each examinatlon of the "File" confirms it as a shal[ow, false, document.[t fails to stand up to reasoned argunnent and it exposes the tricks of thetrade as praotlsed by Courtney and Canavan. As with so many cases inwhich these officers we!'e engaged, the crucial admission of guilt wasallegedly rnade when the suspect was being questioned by one or other ofthe Big Two. As in other cases the Big Two decided not to record theadrnission, but passed over that task to rnore junior men who wereallegedly known by the victirn. On this occasion even the cagey andexperienoed Big Two erred when they named Guard Crowe as one of themen to record the admission. A visit by a Catholic priest, requested by theprisonen's mother without consulting her son, was skiltully exploited byInspector Courtney to create the innpression of gui!t. The widespreadptib!ication of the accused's alleged request for a priest so that he couldmake a "proper Confession" indicated that this line of pub!iclty wasetfective. The same approach was used by gardai who interrogated a rnanin [-itford, Co. Donega!. This rnan, whorn I believe to be innocent of al!charges preferred against hirn, is now serving a prison terrn. The use ofSacramental Confession as a prosecutiors ploy has not been condernnedby any lrish Bishop or Priest. For nny part, as a Catholic, the sooner thisabnoxious practice ends the better.

The two trials covered in this book illustrate the nniscarriage of justlcewl'tich can oocur when the rights of ordinary citizens ane brushed aside bypoliticians and when excessive power is given to judges -- judges who, inthe first place, were politica! appointees thennselves. Elecause of thepolitical nature of the Special Crirnina! and Diplock Courts {their basiefunction appears to be the crushing of lrish Nationalism) police engagecfin these Courts appear to be above the law and irnrnune frorn proseautionand conviction. Crirnes cornmitted at the tirne of lnternrnent (1971), by theFIUC, (crimes which were conflrrned by the European Court) have notresulted in a single prosecution on conviction. In a like manner crimescornmitted by the Garda "Heavy Squad" in the SoutlT have goneunpunished.

On the few occasions with British terrorists and their UVF allies havebeen convicted [n the Speciai Criminal Court they have beegl giverrsentences which were only a fe"aotion of that given to Republicans, ol'Northerrr Catholics, for simllar offences. The scanda[ of the case of GuardCrinnion, who so|d rnost seoret information to a British spy and whoneslsted arrest by produeing a gun, is a ready example of the doublestandards of sentencing. Both the spy, Wymann, and Grinnion walked outof the Specia! Crinrina! Court frse men. The trial of the eight $AS men,arrested close to the spot where Searnus Ludlow had been rnurdered fourdays earlier, was another exarnple of double standards. The SAS nnen,dnessed in'civllian clothes, carried an assortrnent *f weapons whichineluded, sub-machine guns, pistols, e p[Irlp action st"lot gun, knivss, etc.The pistols were the sanne calibre as the one used to rnurden Searnus

[-udlow, but they were not tested to ascertain il they had been used in thatcrime. The cars in which they travelled were not given forensic tests to seeif they had been used to transport Ludlow's body afier he was kiNled. Thecasa against the SAS men was put back,'and when they eventually stoodtrlal they waro lst off with fines. The Court took on an eppoarance of a"l-aurol and $-{ardy" comedy farce when a British Embassy official arrivedwith bottles o{ whiskey to colobrate tho occasion. Some of the SAS menhad been involvod [n t!'le kidnapping of Sean McKonna in Gounty Louthand in ths a!'rost snd killing of Peter Cleary. ,Afterwards somo of thesesarna SAS rnen took Bart in the storming of the Eranian Ernbassy inLondon, when m6n, wl'lo had alroady surrendered, wore gunned down.

The assassination of the tsritish Ambassador to Dublin, Mr. Ewart Biggs,appsars to have boen the Provisional lFlA roply to the murdor of FeterCleary and othor SAS atrocities. Mr. Ewart Blggs had, in his younger days,been attached to tsritish lntelligence, and had taken part in subvarsivowork ln Africa. The Provisionals, by assassinating the Annbassador,pinpointed the British Ernbassy as being the nerve csntre for the SAScarnpaign south of the Border. The presence of members of the Northernlreland Otflco Staff in the Arnbassadors residence, on the day theArnbassador died, added weight to this viewpoint. The release of the spyWyman and Crinnon, the light sentencos passed on the eight SAS menand tha whiskey in Court comedy, further conlirmed the influence of theEmbassy in the lrish legal set up.

ln '!975 a Dutch lndustrialist was kidnapped and held prisoner for 38days. There was an irnrnediate public outcry -- rightly so -- and the culpritswere sentenced to longthy jail terms. Churchmen of all ranks anddenorninations jolned in the chorus of condemnation. Some of these menworo asked to help sxposo the evils in the convictions in the two casesnnontioned in this Book, which, in reality, amount to nothing less thanState kidnapping. These twb kidnap victims have been held prisoner, notjust 38 days, but nearly five years. The response of the senior churchmenhas been a deafening silence and in this they are in the good company ofthe controllers of Radio Telefis Eireann and the lrish newspapors. The factthat the two trials covered in this book were allowed to pass without asingle adverse comment in the media speaks for itself. Despite this silencethe TRUTH will Gome out and those responsible for its supression wi!! beexposed.

The injustices exposed in this book add a practical dimension to thewords spoken, by Pope John Paul ll, in Drogheda. They are worthrepeating:

"Every human being has inalienable rights that must be respected. Eachhuman community - ethnic, historical, cultural or religious - has rightswhich must be respected. Peace is threatened every time one of theserights is violated. The moral law, guardian of human rights, protector ofthe dignity of man, cannot be set aside by an person or group, or by theState itself, for any cause, not even for security or in the interests of lawand order. The law of God stands in Judgement over all reasons of State.As long as injustices exist in any of the areas that touch upon the dignityof the human person, be it in the political, social or economic field, be it inthe cultural or religious sphere, true peace will not exist. The caurer ollnequalltler murt be ldentlllcd through ! couregoour rnd oblecilveevaluatlon, and they mutl be ellmlnatcd ro that eyery pcrron can developand grow ln lhe lull mearure ol hlr or hcr humanlty."

8786

THE TULLYVALLENORANCE HALL CASE

onMondaylstSeptemberlgT5,therewasameetingofthelocalLodgemembers in Tulryriirl" Or""g" rr"ri''i'L'0"'

ot "itniO

men'entered the

Hall and "n "*.nal..;; "l

grlf]:"- i"',|*.J. Rue ot the oransemen' weregunned to oeatrrln.JonJof the ;;iJ;,, was,

by "tt

,""o,nts, seriously

inju red. No r""oi;i;"fi;ra-mi*tarl;;"rp ctaimeo responsibilitv for

the

attack.onSunday24thAugustlgT5,.twosupporterso-tjneDerryCountyGaelic

footba, team, ;ifii* iror. th; Alii;eland. semi-final in Dublin' were

stopped at a aritlsil;;; roao ntocruno taken f rom in"ii""n and murdered'

rhe army unrt in question o"rong;j i; i;" Y':::::i:T;:,::1'il:T;'i'1:: ffi % ) : : # "ffi# ii:: i r ,JJl ffi l;i';I .ti[: :"1"m:;,i

".* on tne oransL Hallwas 1Sl::,""1i::ilffi'i"i"tthesetwomen and'

*ffin:::gi*f:r*m:ll;:$1$:["J:ti: i""n on"'sed w 'ih 'iheOrange Hall deaths'

88