Issue 067, Saoirse : Irish Freedom (November, 1992)

              uimh 67 samhain - november 1992 40p usa 24 per year 397.486 unemployed a winter of discontent is in prospect with the under lying jobless figures continuing to rise in october despite a drop in the official figures north and south both administrations continue to believe like british chancellor norman lamont that high unemployment is a price worth paying for low inflation ! british frame saoirse worker the circulation manager of this paper saoirse - irish freedom michael hegarty was arrested by british crown forces in co armagh on october 16 and taken to gough barracks interrogation centre in armagh the next day he was charged with possession of information which could be useful to terrorists and remanded in custody to crumlin road jail a man arrested with him was released michael hegarty a native of clare castle co clare is a former goalkeeper with the co clare senior hurling team michael hegarty s duties in connection in connection with an article about with saoirse in addition to circulation loyalist death squad killings in the ar and distribution included gathering local magh area which he was writing for this reports and material for articles the paper see the triangle of death on page documents found in his possession were 7 inside republican sih fein poblachuktt 88ii ard-fheis 1992 1917 - 1992 comdradh 75 bliain mar eagras poblachtach celebrating 75 years as a republican organisation eamon de vajera sean 6 ceauaigh sceilg brian chiggins fr michael otianagan charies murphy margaret buckle patrick mat logan uachtarajn i presidents 1917-26 tomas6dnbbghaib 1926-31 patrick mac logan 1931-33 toinas mac giolla 1933-35 ruainobrfdaigfc 1935-37 centd adams 1937-50 diithi 6 conafll cathuoirteach > 1950-53 raairi 6 bracbigh t953-54i 1954-61 1962-70 1970-83 1983-36 1986-87 agus ruin na hard-fheise 14 - 15 samhain 1992 ostan an spa leamhcan co atha cliath • picket at british embassy dublin on october 23 to protest at arrest of saoirse worker michael hegarty his arrest and charging is a blow delib erately aimed and struck at this repub lican newspaper it is an extension of a campaign of harassment of saoirse workers a previous circulation manager bob murray of belfast had been harried and hounded on the roads and arrested and held in armagh also such activity by british forces in ireland is an invasion of the press and it will be instructive to see if michael hegarty will be subjected to internment by remand by being held for years before the transparent case against him is proceeded with refused lord justice murray refused bail in the case on monday october 26 the same judge released on bail the previous thursday a 23-year-old ex-udr soldier who is accused of copying the names addresses and car registration numbers of republicans in the south down area from his official udr notebook and pass ing them on to the uvf loyalist death squad a lawyer for the british authorities told the court that rodney davis from ringhaddy avenue newtownabbey had admitted the offence and that he had been charged with recording inform ation useful to terrorists and also with • michael hegarty on remand in crumlin road jail possessing a shotgun at a special court the previous saturday he was released on bail after the ruc told lord justice murray that they did not believe that he was a member of any illegal organisation the flimsy charge against michael hegarty could be constructed easily from any material for newspaper articles per taining to life in the six occupied count ies hundreds of journalists priests or researchers could be similarly charged with this evidence saoirse will continue to be published and circulated and will maintain its political comment ary in opposition to the present talks which are based on the continuation of british rule in the six counties