If your family enjoys learning about military history, the Imperial War Museum London is an important place to visit. Read my new review to learn about this museum chock full of thoughtful historical artifacts about World War I, World War II, and more modern-day conflicts.
Imperial War Museum (London)
By Craig Murray On 26 May, the Imperial War Museum (IWM) will be opening its brand-new exhibition Northern Ireland: Living with the ‘Troubles’. Exhibiting the ‘Troubles’ is an important, yet difficult challenge. Perhaps more so for the Imperial War Museum (IWM than museums in Northern Ireland, where the contested histories of the conflict are […]
Exhibiting the ‘Troubles’: Northern Ireland: Living with the Troubles at the Imperial War Museum, London.
A thunderous Ian Paisley addressed a pro-Brexit rally in Westminster’s Parliament Square telling the crowd “you are red, you are white, you are dynamite”.
Speaking from the stage at the mass open air rally in London on Friday evening DUP MP Ian Paisley roared his thanks to the thousands who had marched to support Brexit.
He said they would “never, never” wear the withdrawal agreement on their sleeves.
WATCH | @IanPaisleyuk addresses the Brexit rally in Parliament Sq this afternoon:
“Ahead of us stands the sunny uplands of Freedom! Do not let any government put upon you a Withdrawal Agreement that cuts our great nation in two. Thank you for standing with the Ulster people!” 🇬🇧 pic.twitter.com/G0i23a1jilendpPlaceholder— Leave.EU (@LeaveEUOfficial) March 29, 2019
After the Government’s latest defeat the DUP’s deputy leader Nigel Dodds said he would rather remain in the EU than back Theresa May’s deal. He did however, say he would prefer Brexit to be delivered.
Read More
Better to remain in EU than back Withdrawal Agreement, says DUP’s Dodds
Brexit set for long delay after MPs turn down Withdrawal Agreement
Spotting an Ulster flag in the huge crowd, the North Antrim MP roared: “You are red, you are white – you are dynamite” as the thousands sounded their approval.
“It’s great to see you in Parliament Square,” he went on.
“Ladies and gentlemen, there is a good story recounted in the good book. It says the wise build their house upon a rock. I am glad today we are standing with the rock of the British people against the sinking sand of the withdrawal agreement that we will never, never wear on our people.”
Calling Mrs May’s Irish backstop plan ‘the backstab’, the North Antrim MP told the crowd: “Your journey here has been long.
“It has faced many twists and turns. There will be more agonising days and steps ahead. But ahead of us stands the sunny uplands of freedom.
“And they will never take our freedom.
“Do not let any government ever put upon you a withdrawal agreement that cuts our great nation in two. The backstop.. the backstab that ruins our country.
“And thank you to the English, the Scots and the Welsh for standing with the Ulster people.
“We say thank you! Thank you! Thank you!”
With many thanks to the: Belfast Telegraph for the original story
The family of a London teenager fear she may have been taken by a gang after she disappeared days before Christmas.
Andrea Bardas, 16, has not been seen by her family since December 21 – when she went to school in the morning and didn’t come back.
Andrea’s step-dad, Philip, told My London that he and her mum are desperately trying to find her – with her mum up in Manchester handing out “1,000 leaflets”.
He said: “She is a 16-year-old girl who has a happy family home and nothing to worry about in life other than the usual things a 16-year-old might be concerned with.
“Christmas was two days of her parents sleeping in our lounge close to the front door in the hope that she would come back home.
“We have never left the house empty at any time [so someone is there if she comes homes] and just want her to return safely.”
Andrea went to school on Friday, December 21 and left her house at 7.30am. She was supposed to be home by 1pm that day.
But it got to 4pm and her family saw she had left her mobile phone at home.
Philip’s worst fear is that Andrea has been taken in by a so-called “out of town” gang. Such gangs can use young and vulnerable people to help with their drug dealing networks across county lines.
“I think that’s what may have happened,” he said.
“It all stems from social media. When they [young people] have social media at that age that is the catalyst for things like this.
“We have been astounded by the social media activity of children today. Hundreds of pointless Snapchats, Instagrams. Most with what can honestly be said as useless and bad meanings.”
Philip said they take her phone away at 10pm and give it back to her for school, while at weekends she is never away from the house for more than a few hours during the day.
“She is a lovely daughter and has an incredible future ahead of her and we are so worried about her having been drawn into another world until this week we did not know existed,” he said.
Police are in close contact with the family and Philip says they have been great, but now the family needs the wider public’s help to keep an eye out.
If Andrea is reading this, she can text or call charity Missing People on 116 000 for free at any time of the day or night.
If you see her or know anything about her whereabouts, let police know on 101 or contact Missing People on 116 000.
With many thanks to the: Daily Mirror for the original story
Two men who worked in Harrods are facing jail after they admitted attacking a homeless man in Trafalgar Square who later died.
Desmond O’Beirne, 51, was filmed running away from agency workers Lucas Antunes and Luis Abella near the National Gallery on 3 June 2017 before he was floored with a single punch.
He died from a head injury six months later.
Antunes pleaded guilty to manslaughter and Abella admitted attempted assault.
Antunes was extradited from the United States to face the manslaughter charge.
Mr O’Beirne, who was homeless, had asked the pair for a cigarette.
When they said no, he allegedly threatened to “shank” them.
But in CCTV footage, Mr O’Beirne was moving away from the pair when Antunes, 21, floored him with a punch in the head, and Abella, 22, appeared to kick him.
A spokeswoman for Harrods said the pair were not staff but worked for a company which did in-store demonstrations.
Mr O’Beirne died on December 20 last year.
Antunes, of Tottenham, north London, pleaded guilty at the Old Bailey to manslaughter earlier this month.
His co-defendant Abella, from Lambeth, south London, previously pleaded not guilty to manslaughter. He admitted attempted assault occasioning actual bodily harm on Friday.
The pair will be sentenced at the Old Bailey on 8 February.
Earlier this year, police offered £20,000 to anyone who could help them track down the culprits.
Mr O’Beirne’s sister, Vivienne Folan, previously said she was “devastated” by the loss of her “larger than life” brother.
With many thanks to: BBC England for the original story.
More on this story Man extradited after manslaughter charge over fatal Trafalgar Square attack 27 September 2018 Man charged with manslaughter over fatal street attack 24 September 2018 HM Courts & Tribunals Service – GOV.UK
A video showing Britain First’s deputy leader making a statement while sitting in the Lord Mayor’s chair is being investigated by Belfast City Council.
The video of Jayda Fransen, in which she wears council robes, was posted on the far-right group’s Facebook page.
Ms Fransen’s visit to City Hall was facilitated by independent unionist councillor Jolene Bunting.
The DUP and Alliance Party have criticised Ms Bunting for abusing her position as a councillor.
Earlier, Ms Fransen was told she would face trial for charges connected with alleged hate speeches in the city.
The 31 year old, from Anerly, London, denies the charges.
In the video, Ms Fransen said she was facing several charges and thanked people who had supported her in the ongoing case.
Ms Bunting told BBC News NI that the video was not meant to be malicious and that it was filmed “on the spur of the moment”.
Jolene Bunting said she did not believe either she or Ms Fransen had done anything wrong
She said she suggested they film a video in the real Lord Mayor’s chair after Ms Fransen and other guests said they wanted to film at a replica chair in a tourist attraction at City Hall.
“I didn’t think anything of it all. We went up and I did what I usually do with anyone who comes into City Hall, I offered if they would like to put the robes on.”
She added that reaction to the video was “a bit ridiculous”.
“I don’t know if there’s maybe an issue with the videoing in the council chamber but I know that I have taken many of my family members and my friends into the chamber.
“I think this is about demonising Jayda Fransen and demonising Britain First as a political party so they don’t have the opportunity to run in Northern Ireland.”
“Gross abuse”
Ms Bunting added that she would co-operate with any inquiry by the council but that “I don’t believe I did anything wrong tonight and I don’t believe Jayda did either”.
Alliance Party councillor Sian O’Neill said Ms Bunting had brought “shame on herself and the council”.
“This video disrespects an office which all parties on the council have sought to undertake in as an inclusive a manner as possible.
“It is an abuse, by Councillor Bunting, of her privilege to access the robes, the chamber and the Lord Mayor’s chair to create a false perception of a link between the council and Britain First.”
“As members of council, we can bring people into City Hall and show them around,” said the DUP representative.
“But there’s protocols about any filming being done in City Hall, especially in the council chamber.
“So to bring Jayda Fransen into the chamber, to put a councillor’s robe on her, to place her in the Lord Mayor’s chair and have her talking about her court case – this is a gross abuse of Belfast City Council, of our City Hall, of the post of Lord Mayor and its not something that we and the people of Belfast want to be associated with.”
Belfast City Council said it was “aware of the video post and is currently looking into the circumstances”.
“The usual procedures for those wishing to film or use council premises were not followed,” it said.
“We received no request nor were we made aware of these plans.”
With many thanks to: BBCNI for the origional story
At the time of his death, Thomas or ‘Tommy’ Murphy, a popular young uilleann-piper, was one of a number of young men active with the local IRA company, a unit made up of men from the Deansgrange, Cornelscourt, Cabinteely and Foxrock districts. By the summer of 1921, several of it’s members had been forced ‘on the run’ and began operating as a full-time ‘flying column’, sleeping rough in stables and sheds and harassing crown forces at any opportunity that presented itself.
Attacks on the local RIC barracks at Cabinteely were numerous. In the dead of night, Volunteers, acting under cover of darkness, would make their way to the village, where they would creep along the empty streets, taking up positions before subjecting the barracks to a sustained attack using rifles and home-made bombs. Just weeks before his death, Thomas Murphy, dressed in a chauffeur’s uniform in order to give the appearance of a British officer, had driven a car at top speed past the barracks while the car’s other two occupants lobbed bombs at the Black and Tan sentries posted outside.
On May 13th, local Volunteer Charles ‘Rodney’ Murphy (no relation) of Deansgrange, scaled a tree in the Brennanstown Road area, using his elevated position overlooking the barracks to snipe at two Black and Tans tending to the gardens in the yard out back. Constable Albert Edward Skeats, a Black and Tan recruit from London, was hit behind the ear and rushed to a hospital in the city, where he lay critically ill. He eventually succumbed to his injuries on May 28th. The night after his death, a party of Tans and RIC returning to their barracks were ambushed at Monaloe cross-roads by Volunteers Jackie Nolan, John Merriman and Billy Fitzgibbon. During a brisk gunfight, one constable was wounded before the Volunteers made their escape across fields.
With one of their number dead and another now seriously injured, tensions inside Cabinteely barracks had reached boiling point. Just before three o’clock in the morning, a party of five Tans, faces blackened with shoe polish, made their way along Brennanstown Road to Foxrock, where they stopped at ‘The Hotel’, a large tenement building that once stood in the centre of the village. It was here that Volunteer Thomas Murphy resided along with his widowed mother and four sisters. As the building was home to several families, the front door was left open, enabling the Tans to make their way inside unnoticed. They then quietly made their way to Thomas’ room before bursting through his bedroom door, waking the startled man from his sleep. One of the intruders asked if he was Thomas Murphy, and when he replied that he was, a shot was fired, hitting the young man through his head, the bullet passing through the wall into the adjacent room. As the intruders left, Thomas’ mother and sisters rushed into the room to find their son in a collapsed state. Despite the best efforts of a local doctor, Thomas died where he lay several hours later.
On June 1st, Thomas’ remains were buried at Deansgrange Cemetery following a military enquiry. In a large funeral cortege, members of the Dublin and South Eastern Railway Company, where Thomas worked as a porter, marched in a body after the hearse. Numerous wreaths were placed over the coffin, which was wrapped in a tricolour flag. Thomas’ IRA comrades supplied a guard of honour and firing party. Three volleys of shots were fired as the coffin was lowered into the grave, before men and arms managed to get safely out of the cemetery through a cordon of British military.
With many thanks to: Sean Larkin, South Derry.
With many thanks to: Jim Lane, Ann Connolly.
Pat Finucane (1949 – 1989)
The widow of solicitor Pat Finucane is to take her legal fight for a public inquiry into his murder to the UK’s supreme court.
Senior judges in Belfast today refused Geraldine Finucane leave to appeal their decision that the British government was entitled to deny her such a tribunal.
But it now clears the way for the family to petition directly for a hearing in London.
Mrs Finucane’s legal representatives later confirmed their intention to continue their challenge to judicial findings that former prime minister David Cameron had acted lawfully.
They are expected to argue that the case raises legal points of general public importance.
Mr Finucane, 39, was shot dead by loyalist paramilitaries in front of his wife and three children at their north Belfast home in February 1989.
His family has campaigned for a full examination of alleged security force collusion with the killers.
In 2011 Mr Cameron decided against ordering a public inquiry, and instead commissioned QC Sir Desmond de Silva to review all documents relating to the case and produce a narrative of what happened.
Sir Desmond’s report confirmed agents of the state were involved in the murder and that it should have been prevented.
He also linked the military’s Force Research Unit because one of its agents was involved in selecting targets.
However, the report concluded there had been no overarching state conspiracy.
The Finucane family rejected the findings as a whitewash and accused the government of unlawfully reneging on previous commitments.
Pledges to set up such a tribunal, based on the recommendation of retired Canadian judge Peter Cory, were made by a former Labour government in 2004 and reaffirmed in the following years, it was contended.
In 2015 a judge backed the government’s case that shifting public interest issues were enough to override Mrs Finucane’s expectation.
Appealing that verdict, her lawyers argued that a full public inquiry was necessary to examine an alleged abuse of power for which no-one in authority has been brought to account.
They argued that the murdered solicitor was the victim of an army-run death squad normally associated with Latin American dictatorships.
Counsel for Mrs Finucane claimed her husband’s killing was due to covert, state-sponsored terrorism and represents a “horror story” for the British Government.
Only Ken Barrett, the loyalist gunman and “UDA puppet” convicted of the killing, has been held responsible, it was contended.
But last month the Court of Appeal rejected the Finucane family’s case, including allegations that the government staged an elaborate sham process before announcing its predetermined decision.
Judges agreed that the murdered solicitor’s widow had received a clear and unambiguous promise that any recommended inquiry would be held.
However, they concluded that other issues, including political developments in Northern Ireland and the potential cost of a lengthy process, were enough to frustrate her legitimate expectation.
Mrs Finucane’s legal team returned to the court today to apply for leave to appeal the decision to the Supreme Court.
They again raised points about her legitimate expectation and rights under European law.
Despite those submissions, Lord Justice Gillen ruled there was no conflicting legal issues that warranted giving permission.
He said: “We are therefore going to follow the practice of this court and leave the matter to the UK Supreme Court to decide if they are going to grant leave on this matter.”
Later, Mrs Finucane’s solicitor, Peter Madden, confirmed plans to lodge an application in London next week.
With many thanks to: Madden and Finucane Solicitors.
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