victims

Twentieth anniversary of Teebane

Turgon on January 17, 2012, 3:40 pm

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Almost any date in Northern Ireland is the anniversary of a death from the Troubles. Often the less iconic are forgotten about. As such marking one event may be unfair to the relatives of the less well known about deaths. Sometimes, however, the anniversary is such that is should be marked. This is the 20th anniversary of the Teebane murders. 20 years ago this evening a group of workmen were returning home from working on Lisanelly army base in Omagh: …

Victims and the redress of historic grievance: shall we forbid them, or not?

Mick Fealty on January 10, 2012, 10:58 am

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A sharp observation from Malachi O’Doherty in yesterday’s Belfast Telegraph that the past is becoming more not less livid, put me in mind of a line from the King James Bible (Luke 18:16), “suffer little children to come unto me” followed by the less familiar “and forbid them not”. With new campaigns springing up it seems that the demand for redress for past injustices is transferring through the generations: The eloquence and passion of the grandchildren of the McGurk family, the …

Unionists highlight Troubles border murders

Turgon on November 19, 2011, 7:42 pm

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The Belfast Telegraph is reporting that at the meeting of government ministers from Northern Ireland and the RoI in Armagh, Arlene Kelly and Danny Kennedy presented Enda Kenny with details of more than 150 republican murders in border areas during the Troubles. They have called on the RoI government to apologise for the fact that the IRA killers were able to escape across the border following these murders. Mrs. Kelly said: …that they should remind the Irish Government of today …

Healing Through Remembering (new chair Dawn Purvis) refused PEACE III Funding

Turgon on August 13, 2011, 12:10 pm

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When Dawn Purvis was defeated at the Stormont elections, a number of commentators on slugger including myself predicted that she would end up with a job in the quango / do-gooder industry. Indeed I suggested that far from helping those whom she claimed to represent (working class unionists in East Belfast) her time especially since she left the PUP had been more directed towards increasing her profile amongst what are sometimes known as the liberal dissidents. Many members of the …

Victims and Guilt: a Kafkaesque proposition

Turgon on June 8, 2011, 9:37 pm

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In Northern Ireland we are all victims. Unfortunately many people do not feel that they are victims not having suffered during the Troubles. As such it is necessary for peace processors to help us all understand our victimhood. This can be difficult because there are many stubborn cases of people who feel they are not victims. These unfortunate souls must not be neglected by peace processors. Indeed as we are all getting older it is vital that no one is …

Thoughts on Victims, the past and the future of the past

Turgon on June 3, 2011, 11:34 am

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The furore over Mary McArdle’s appointment as special advisor to the new Culture Minister Caral Ni Chuilin is showing no sign of going away. As Pete mentioned below McArdle has made a comment in the Andersonstown News expressing regret that Mary Travers was killed: regret but no apology and certainly no repentance which would as Jim Allister and others have pointed out, have to mean naming the other members of her murder gang: something her oath to the overall murder …

A calculated insult to victims

Turgon on May 25, 2011, 10:50 pm

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Anne Travers the sister of Mary Travers who was murdered by the IRA outside St. Bridget’s Church on Derryvolgie made a telling intervention in April this year. On that occasion she demolished Pat Cusick of Sinn Fein on RTE’s Liveline (covered by Mick here). Then she was polite, controlled and brilliant as an advocate for victims. Today she has again made her point in the same quiet, powerful and eloquent fashion. This time it was following the news that one …

Giving advice to the government … the Commission for Victims and Survivors

Alan Meban (Alan in Belfast) on July 21, 2010, 10:34 pm

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As Pete pointed out last night, the NIO published its summary of organisation and individual responses to the Eames Bradley report the Recommendations of the Consultative Group on the Past, which also referenced the submission from the Commissioners for Victims and Survivors (CVS) that deliberately missed the NIO’s consultation deadline but was instead submitted at the end of June. [Updated – The CVS report got a mention on Slugger on its publication at the end of June.] In many ways, …

Delay no longer: face up to the Past

Brian Walker on July 2, 2010, 11:51 am

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While unsurprisingly more tentative, it is some kind of vindication that the Victims Commissioners’ report isn’t so very different from the rejected efforts of Eames- Bradley. True, it drops the wretched recognition payments in favour of victims’ needs assessments and suggests a timetable for what it quaintly calls a ” design process” to be completed by autumn of next year. The Executive parties mustn’t be let near the process they say. This is a task for the two governments consulting civil society …

David Simpson calls for investigation into RoI involvement in Troubles

Turgon on June 21, 2010, 1:04 pm

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David Simpson is reported in Saturday’s News Letter calling for a Saville style commission to look into the role of the RoI in the Troubles and specifically the arming, training, sheltering etc. of the IRA. Simpson points out that: “The claim has always been made that since it was the state that was involved in the events of Bloody Sunday that made it different and necessitated the obtaining of the truth and justified the massive expenditure.” He draws the parallel …