Tag: West Belfast

John Herron set for Australia as midfielder speaks of regret over Larne exit after ‘pro-IRA’ shirt controversy.

http://seachranaidhe-irishandproud.blogspot.com/2022/09/john-herron-set-for-australia-as.html

BELFAST CELTIC

‘ANNUAL AMNESIA’ | ‘The annual outrage over the band’s chorus raised some serious questions about sectarianism’’.

http://seachranaidhe-irishandproud.blogspot.com/2022/08/annual-amnesiathe-annual-outrage-over.html

Don’t try & tell me he doesn’t know the significance of that badge while patrolling in an area like West Belfast. He knows exactly what he’s doing. PSNI/RUC

Six arrested as police use stun grenades at home in west Belfast.

http://seachranaidhe-irishandproud.blogspot.com/2022/08/six-arrested-as-police-use-stun.html

Take a look at this post… ‘Larne FC suspends player ‘with immediate effect’ for wearing top that appears to show pro-IRA slogan’.

http://seachranaidhe-irishandproud.blogspot.com/2022/08/larne-fc-suspends-player-with-immediate.html

Ex-Celtic star John Herron SUSPENDED after wearing ‘pro IRA t-shirt’ in a ‘celebration of terrorism’

FORMER Celtic midfielder John Herron has been suspended by his current club Larne and is at the centre of an investigation by the Irish FA after he was seen wearing an alleged ‘pro-IRA t-shirt.’ Larne FC have taken the action after an image appeared on social media appearing to show the former Scotland under-21 international wearing the item. The image was circulated on social media Herron made two first team appearances for Celtic Herron, 28, came through the youth ranks at Celtic and broke into the first team picture during the 2012/13 season. He made two league appearances for the Hoops before moving on to Blackpool in 2015. After spells at Dunfermline and Raith, Herron headed to Glentoran in 2018 before joining fellow NIFL Premiership side Larne two years ago where he’s been a key part of the team. An image surfaced on social media last night that has courted controversy. [read-more title=”READ MORE FOOTBALL” article_ids=”0,7979495″ shortcode_id=”1d8db111-3489-4c1d-9a20-8c0a8cfbd99c” /] The picture allegedly shows Herron wearing a t-shirt which carries pro-IRA words. It appears to refer to lyrics of a Wolfe Tones song called “Celtic Symphony,” which say: “Ooh ah up the Ra, say ooh ah up the Ra.” ‘Ra’ is often used as a shortened term for ‘IRA’. Before Larne made the decision, Herron was blasted by the MP for North Down, Stephen Farry. [article-rail-section title=”Most read in Football” posts_category=”3″ posts_number=”6″ query_type=”popular” /] The Alliance Party Deputy Leader posted on Twitter: “The picture of Larne FC player, John Herron, wearing a pro-IRA tee-shirt on social media is sickening. “There must be zero tolerance of the celebration of terrorism, whether that is Republican or Loyalist. “The club and IFA need to investigate and take appropriate action.” SunSport approached Larne FC and the Irish FA for comment following the circulation of the image. This morning, Larne announced they had taken the decision to suspend Herron with immediate effect. The club said: “Following the circulation of an image online yesterday evening, Larne Football Club can confirm John Herron has been suspended with immediate effect. “For the period of his suspension, John will not represent the club in fixtures at any level. An investigation into this incident is now underway. “We have shown that we are an inclusive football club for all, demonstrated not only in words but also by our extensive work in the local community. “There is no room for behaviour which falls outside of this ethos and we fully expect members, players and anyone associated with the club to reflect these standards at all times. [read-more title=”Read More on The Sun” article_ids=”9317817,9318568″ shortcode_id=”b78de065-779f-492c-a048-36e56368fa13″ /] “We will be making no further comment until the investigation has been completed.” An Irish FA spokesperson said: “We are aware of the image that is being circulated and can confirm that the matter will be investigated accordingly by the association.” Keep up to date with ALL the latest news and transfers at the Scottish Sun football page

Ex-Celtic star John Herron SUSPENDED after wearing ‘pro IRA t-shirt’ in a ‘celebration of terrorism’

Irish language rappers ‘Kneecap’ unveil mural of burning PSNI/RUC Land Rover in West Belfast.

http://seachranaidhe-irishandproud.blogspot.com/2022/08/irish-language-rappers-kneecap-unveil.html

Teen under threat after getting better of UDA in fight

A schoolboy who got the better of a UDA during a fight has been threatened with a punishment beating

A schoolboy who got the better of a UDA man during a fight has been threatened with a punishment beating.

The 16-year-old from west Belfast said he was warned to leave an estate immediately after an altercation in Finaghy on Friday evening.

The PSNI called to the youth’s house in Twinbrook on Sunday to say he was under threat from loyalist paramilitaries.

The schoolboy was punched in the face during the incident on Benmore Drive, but he fought back and knocked his attacker to the ground.

“Straight away I started hitting him back,” he said.


“The man that hit me then fell to the floor, got up, stumbled out of the garden and got a cloth for his face. Then he said, ‘You better get out of this estate. You don’t know who you’re messing with’.”

During the police visit on Sunday the teenager was told that “paramilitaries want to carry out some form of punishment attack” following the altercation off Finaghy Road South.

In a further incident on the same street that police believe was connected to the fight, a woman was assaulted in her home by a gang claiming to be from the UDA.

The threat was delivered hours after that attack.

The youth said it all began when one of his friends picked up a scooter that was lying in the street and “started driving it”.


“They drove it about 10 yards down the street when this wee lad, who was about a first year, said, ‘That’s my scooter’, so we gave it him back and thought nothing of it,” he told the Andersonstown News.

“We got into my friend’s garden and this white Seat Leon pulled up. Two men jumped out and started shouting and screaming. They started threatening us, saying, ‘We’re going to break your legs’.

“I told him to f*** off and then he walked into the garden and hit me a dig. Straight away I started hitting him back.

“His friend tried to hit me when I had my back turned, but my friend restrained him.”

The teenagers were subjected to sectarian abuse during the incident. The second assailant also hit the youth in question.


A gang claiming to be from the UDA later visited the property where the fight took place and attacked the woman occupier after she refused to hand over the teenagers who had been attacked two days earlier.

A PSNI spokesman said inquiries were ongoing. “A 40-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of assault and released, pending a report to the Public Prosecution Service,” they added.

With many thanks to the: Belfast Telegraph and Claire McNeilly for the original story

Follow these links to find out more: https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=3390996374313446&id=100002093504519 

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Daughter of IRA woman murdered with her sister in 1971 to launch legal action against attorney general

Margaret Kennedy holds photographs of her mother Maura Meehan and aunt Dorothy Maguire who were shot dead in West Belfast in 1971. Picture by Mal McCann

THE daughter of an IRA woman killed along with her sister almost 50 years ago is set to launch legal action against the attorney general after a new inquest was refused.

Mother-of-four Maura Meehan (31) died along with her sister Dorothy Maguire when British soldiers opened fire on a car in which they were passengers in West Belfast in October 1971. Both women were members of Cumann na mBan, the female wing of the IRA. The army claimed a gun had been pointed from the back of the car although this was disputed by the women’s families and eye witnesses. 

Legal action has already been launched against the British army in relation to the death and relatives asked former attorney general John Larkin to order a new inquest. That request was refused earlier this year. Ms Meehan’s daughter Margaret Kennedy, who was nine when her mother was murdered, has now launched legal action against the attorney general, a role now held by Brenda King. 

Maura Meehan, one of two women who died in a shooting incident involving a British Army patrol in the Lower Falls area of Belfast, N Ireland. She was aged 31 years and married with 3 children. The woman who died with her was her sister, Dorothy Maguire, 19 years, single. Both were Roman Catholic and from West Belfast. It later emerged that they were members of Cumann na mBan, the Women’s IRA, and were the first members of that organisation to die in the Troubles. The soldiers claimed that a gun was pointed at them from the car. It later transpired the women were sounding the car horn to warn of the presence of soldiers. 197110230424MM1
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Forensic reports from the time claimed Ms Meehan had lead on both hands “consistent with discharge residues due to firing a weapon”. However, reports carried out by Ms Kennedy’s legal team, KRW Law, cast doubt on the original findings, saying it did not “provide any salient evidence to conclude that Mrs Meehan had fired a gun”. The review added that the original report failed to consider other sources “as an explanation for the presence of lead on swabs taken from her hands”.

Dorothy Maguire, 19 years, single, one of two women who died in shooting incident involving a British Army patrol in the Lower Falls area of Belfast, N Ireland. The other woman was her married sister, Maura Meehan, of Brantry Street, Belfast. They were both members of Cumann na mBan, the Women’s IRA, and were the first members of that organisation to die in the Troubles. The soldiers claimed that a gun was pointed at them from the car. It later transpired the women were sounding the car horn to warn local people of the presence of soldiers. 197110230424DM1
Copyright Image from Victor Patterson, 54 Dorchester Park, Belfast, UK, BT9 6RJ
Tel: +44 28 9066 1296
Mob: +44 7802 353836
Voicemail +44 20 8816 7153
Skype: victorpattersonbelfast
Email: victorpatterson@me.com
Email: victorpatterson@ireland.com (back-up)
IMPORTANT: If you wish to use this image or any other of my images please go to http://www.victorpatterson.com and click on the Terms & Conditions. Then contact me by email or phone with the reference number(s) of the image(s) concerned.

Solicitor Kevin Winters said: “Expectations and hopes were raised on the part of the family when new forensic evidence came to light but unfortunately the new attorney general didn’t feel it was sufficient to warrant a new inquest.” Mr Winters said it was a “particularly heinous case” and that the legal action has been launched to “try and gain some measure of accountability to what happened”. “Its a case where that is long overdue and yet again another family are left with no option but to take legal action to try and get some semblance of justice,” he said.

With many thanks to: The Irish News and Connla Young for the original story –c.young@irishnews.com

Mass murderer Michael Stone unfairly punished, Court of Appeal hears!

MILLTOWN Cemetery bomber Michael Stone is being unfairly punished by having to remain in prison until 2024, the Court of Appeal heard yesterday, Monday June 1st 2020.

Michael Stone UFF/UDA and DUP mass murderer of Catholics in a sectarian murder spree in 1988. Where he was sentenced to 30 years

Lawyers for the former loyalist paramilitary argued that six years he spent out on licence should count towards the 30-year tariff he received for waging a sectarian murder campaign. Stone (64), pictured above, is seeking to overturn a ruling which means he still has serve another four years behind bars. He was freed early under the Good Friday Agreement in 2000, but was returned to prison in 2006 for attempting to murder Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness at Stormont. In January 2019 the High Court held that the Department of Justice had wrongly determined Stone is eligible for potential release on parole. According to that ruling he must remain behind bars until July 2024 at the earliest. The finding came in a legal challenge mounted by the sister of one of Stone’s victims.

Michael Stone pictured here on his release under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement in 2000

Deborah McGuinness’s brother, Thomas McErlean, was murdered with fellow mourners John Murray and Kevin Brady in the hand grenade attack on an IRA funeral at Milltown Cemetery in West Belfast in March 1988. In 2013 Stone was told that must serve the rest of the 30-year tariff of his life sentence. His case was then referred to Parole Commissioners on the basis that he had completed that minimum term. However, Ms McGuinness claimed the Department unlawfully included the six years he spent out on licence before the Belfast attack on Stormont. The High Court backed her case. Appealing that ruling, counsel for Stone argued that those six years should count. David Scoffield QC said: “When someone is released on licence their sentence continues to tick by.” But according to Roman Lavery QC, for Ms McGuinness, public confidence in sentencing arrangements would be undermined if Stone spent less than 30 years in jail. Judgment was reserved.

With many thanks to the Irish News for the original story 

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