Sinn Féin demand Maghaberry prisoners be treated with respect

Sinn Féin Assembly Member Mickey Brady MLA has called on the prison authorities to treat Republican prisoners in Maghaberry prison with respect and dignity.
Mickey Brady stated:
“Regardless of why anyone is in prison they are entitled to be treated with respect and dignity. It is clear that the regime in place for republican prisoners in Maghaberry falls well short of this.
“Prisoners should not be held in 23 hour lock up, they should not have been denied the right to wear Easter Lilly’s and the decision to remove 28 men to the punishment blocks as a result of the weekends protest is wrong and counterproductive.
“There is a widely held belief that many of the problems in Maghaberry are directly linked to a POA which is still firmly wedded to the past. The Prison Service is one of those institutions that have to date escaped widespread scrutiny and much needed reform. This needs to be a priority for a new Justice Minister.”

Easter Events in Newry 2010

Wednesday 31st March - "From proclamation to present day" Talk hosted by Sinn Féin National Chairperson Declan Kearney will take place in Newry Arts centre at 7.30pm sharp everyone welcome.

Friday 2nd April - Republican Tour of Newry hosted by lifelong Republican Micky Collins will leave from the Sinn Féin Centre at 1pm.

Saturday 3rd April - Ceremonial event by Republican Youth re-enacting the reading of the Proclamation will take place on the steps of Newry Town Hall followed by Republican tour of Newry.

Easter Sunday 4th April - Assemble at 12 noon at Sinn Féin centre for annual parade to St Mary's Cemetery (Main Speaker Conor Murphy MP MLA).
Easter Sunday Lunch in Bellinis Newry at 2pm tickets available from office at £10 for adults, £5 for children followed by Republican Talent Contest.
Easter Sunday Night Irish Ballad Night in Nan Rices commencing at 7.30pm.

Easter Monday Night 5th April - Irish Ballad Night in McCoys Bar commencing at 9.00pm

Everyone welcome to come along and partake in any of the above events.

Important Passport Information

Please read statement below in relation to Irish passport applications:

Ó Caoláin advises holiday travellers to get passports in order now Sinn Féin Dáil Leader Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin TD has advised those who are planning to travel abroad on summer holidays to ensure now that their passports are in order. This warning comes at a time of growing industrial action in the public service, including the Passport Office. The Cavan-Monaghan Deputy said, “Because of the work-to-rule in the public service, passports are taking longer than usual to be processed and consequently a significant backlog is developing. The Fianna Fáil-Green Party Government’s intransigence in refusing to reverse the cuts to low-paid public sector wages means that the industrial action is likely to continue for the foreseeable future. “I have already been contacted by constituents who have had to cancel travel plans because their passports were not ready in time. However, staff in the Passport Office are currently refusing to deal with elected representatives, regardless of their politics and where they stand on the issues involved. With the summer holidays approaching there are likely to be many more people affected. The ten-day turnaround offered under the Passport Express service is no longer guaranteed. Therefore, anyone planning to travel abroad this summer should check now to make sure their passports are in order. If a passport needs renewing this should be done at the earliest opportunity possible.” Deputy Ó Caoláin concluded by reminding travellers that some countries require passports to be valid for at least six months after the intended date of departure and that this should be taken into account when considering whether a passport needs to be renewed. ENDS

Cowardly Attack

Sinn Fein councillor Marian Mathers has condemned yesterday's attack on a motorist who stopped his car on the Camlough Road to answer a phone call. The man's car was attacked by up to three men in their late teens with stones and bottles. When the man got out of the car he was assaulted by one of the men while another one tried unsuccessfully to steal the car keys from the ignition. Speaking about the incident last night Cllr Mathers stated;
"On behalf of myself and Sinn Féin I want to strongly condemn this cowardly attack and attempted car hijacking. The thugs responsible for this attack must be brought before the courts. I would call on anyone who has any information about this incident to come forward, there should be no hiding place for those responsible. This type of activity brings a bad name to this estate where many people have worked hard to redevelope the area and make it a safe an enjoyable place to live. There have been a number of incidents over the past few weeks whereby so called joy riders have returned. The PSNI must be more pro active to ensure that these anti social elements are removed from society before some one is killed."

Writing on the Wall???

I read recently that Dominic Bradley has been chosen to stand for the Stoop Down Low Party in the upcoming Westminster election in Newry/Armagh. This aptly named party who congratulated the hated RUC on the execution of Derrybeg man Colm Marks some years ago.

The Hughes Grant Watters cumann is looking forward to this election as we have no doubt that the people of Newry/Armagh will send a clear message to Dominic and his cheerleaders.

Conor Murphy has shown clear leadership down through the years unlike Dominic who appears to be at odds with himself especially on the education issue. Sinn Féin continues to grow from strength to strength and they are the party that people are putting their trust in.

Maybe Dominic sees the writing on the wall for his assembly seat and is hoping against all odds that he can retreat to London to hide from the real issues in this constituency just as his former leader has clearly done. Time will tell.

Clanrye Park

A number of concerns from residents of Clanrye Park and Helens Terrace raised a number of issues with members of the Hughes Grant Watters cumann lately. The issues ranged from a general clean up of the area to traffic calming measures. The cumann was also to the fore dealing with elderly people from the area who had recently been broken into.

Coming out of the recent meeting was a committment from the council to reduce the size of the wall around Clanrye Park which will allow motorists and residents to be able to see oncoming traffic on Pig Hall Lonan. As well as this the council have agreed to carry out a major clean up of Clanrye Park which will greatly enhance the whole area.

McGuinness welcomes agreement

Speaking at Hillsborough this morning at the announcement of a deal on the transfer of policing and justice powers from London to the North of Ireland Sinn Féin MP and Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness said: “Cuirim fáilte roimh an Taoiseach, Príomh Aire na Breataine agus na páirtí uilig. “I am very pleased that we have concluded this agreement with the DUP. As everyone knows this has been a difficult negotiation. This is hardly a surprise given the reality that I am an Irish Republican and others here have a completely different view. I believe in a united Ireland. They want to maintain the union with England. “This should not mean that we are incapable of respecting each other, of treating one another as equals and proceeding on the basis of partnership, respect, fairness and equality. I am utterly determined to continue to work in good faith and with a good heart with my unionist colleagues. I want to work in harmony with Peter Robinson for the good of the entire community. “That is what Sinn Féin is about. We signed up for agreements on Good Friday and at St. Andrews and here today. We proceed on the basis of implementing these commitments. “We have agreed that the transfer of policing and justice powers to our power sharing government will happen on April 12th. We have agreed and put in place a process which will see the powers which oversee parades transfer to our administration before the end of this year. “We have agreed a process to progress the rights of Irish Language speakers and North/South aspects of the St. Andrews Agreement. Sinn Féin are in these political institutions to deliver for everyone. That’s what Sinn Féin Ministers and MLAs are here to do. I am a Minister for all citizens. “We are also agreed on the need to deliver for our community, it is what they expect. There are families and children living in poverty; elderly people feeling vulnerable and in fear. There are young families burdened by massive mortgages and in fear of losing their homes; people without jobs. “Our government needs to reach out to these people. It needs to deliver. We need to confront and defeat all kinds of hatred. With determined and courageous leadership we must continue to lead that shrinking minority out of the trenches of the past. In this I am confident we can be assured of the support of the vast majority of our people. We need to make life better for all our children and grandchildren. “That is what this agreement must mean in practice. Fully functioning political institutions operated for the people in true partnership and equality. Let us now all face into the future with confidence in ourselves and in the people who elect us.”