Thursday 20 December 2012

Something for a Fianna Fail politician to do

Eamon O'Cuiv, the Fianna Fail TD for Galway West and a former Fianna Fail government minister, met last week in Dublin with the parents of two men convicted of the murder of the murder of PSNI officer Stephen Carroll in March 2009.

The two men, Brendan McConville and John Paul Wootton, were convicted of taking part in the Continuity IRA sniper attack in which the police officer was shot dead.  McConville was sentenced to a minimum of 25 years and Wootton to a minimum of 14 years.

McConville and Wootton are appealing their convictions and at the meeting with their parents O'Cuiv said that he would attend their appeal as an observer.  'As I did before with other cases it is my intention to attend the appeal hearing as an observer.'

The murder of Stephen Carroll took place in Northern Ireland, the trial was held in a Northern Ireland court and those who were convicted are from Northern Ireland.  He is a politician in the Irish Republic, not Northern Ireland, and would be better to focus on issues in his own country. 

Moreover, if he wants something to take an interest in, perhaps I could suggest the role of certain Fianna Fail politicians in the formation and arming of the Provisional IRA in 1969.  O'Cuiv is a leading figure in Fianna Fail and indeed at one time time he was deputy leader of the party.  He would therefore be well placed to demand a full investigation into what members of his own party were up to at that time.
 
The Arms Trial in Dublin was a farce and the truth has yet to be told.  So if Eamon O'Cuiv is interested in truth, there is a good place to start.

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