77 year old man arrested in connection with mcconville murder

cruais

Just proves you are never too old to escape justice.

Www.breakingnews.ie/ireland/psni-police-arrest-elderly-man-in-mcconville-murder-case-625370.html

*not too sure why link isnt working.

sillyoulfool

cruais wrote: »

Just proves you are never too old to escape justice.

Www.breakingnews.ie/ireland/psni-police-arrest-elderly-man-in-mcconville-murder-case-625370.html

*not too sure why link isnt working.

Jesús, I didn't realise Gerry Adams was that age!

The Backwards Man

He probably has a letter anyway, all the oul hands seem to have them.

Red Kev

I can only hope that he sings like a canary and has a few more of the guilty ones convicted.

Over 3,000 murders and with all respect to the others it still goes down as one of the more horrific acts of savagery that happened during the conflict.

Banjo String

cruais wrote: »

Just proves you are never too old to escape justice.

Www.breakingnews.ie/ireland/psni-police-arrest-elderly-man-in-mcconville-murder-case-625370.html

*not too sure why link isnt working.

Personally, I'd wait until they've been found guilty /charged. Jumping the gun?

celticcrash

sillyoulfool wrote: »

Jesús, I didn't realise Gerry Adams was that age!

Are you Enda Kenny?

131spanner

Whether the man played a part in it or not, hopefully the arrest is the first step towards finding the answers that the family have had to wait 40 years for.

urabell

If she was a single man passing information on about the IRA then nobody would care

/unpopularopinion

The Backwards Man

urabell wrote: »

If she was a single man passing information on about the IRA then nobody would care

/unpopularopinion

Those of us that despise the IRA and their political wing would care.

SEPT 23 1989

will he have immunity from actual prosecution?

Fred Swanson

This post has been deleted.

keeponhurling

SEPT 23 1989 wrote: »

will he have immunity from actual prosecution?

I would assume so as it was provo authorised, and they have complied with the good friday agreement?
not entirely sure though.

Femme_Fatale

urabell wrote: »

If she was a single man passing information on about the IRA then nobody would care

/unpopularopinion

"Nobody" would care? Speak for yourself.

anncoates

Probably hoping that busting the monkey takes attention from the organ grinder.

urabell

Femme_Fatale wrote: »

"Nobody" would care? Speak for yourself.

It just absolutely would not be given the same level of public attention and coverage in the media 40 years later

maguic24

cruais wrote: »

Just proves you are never too old to escape justice.

Www.breakingnews.ie/ireland/psni-police-arrest-elderly-man-in-mcconville-murder-case-625370.html

*not too sure why link isnt working.

Justice in Ireland, any more jokes?

cruais

maguic24 wrote: »

Justice in Ireland, any more jokes?

I wont be giving up my day job anytime soon

goose2005

urabell wrote: »

If she was a single man passing information on about the IRA then nobody would care

/unpopularopinion

she wasn't passing on information.

However, it's a bit hypocritical all this outrage considering that in a few weeks we'll be honouring the brave Volunteers of 1916-22, who were certainly not averse to shooting anyone on the slightest suspicion that they were passing on information to the British. How many other Jean McConvilles were there in the good old days?

Karl Stein

goose2005 wrote: »

she wasn't passing on information.

How do you know? Be specific.

However, it's a bit hypocritical all this outrage considering that in a few weeks we'll be honouring the brave Volunteers of 1916-22, who were certainly not averse to shooting anyone on the slightest suspicion that they were passing on information to the British.

What's hypocritical is the condemning of the Volunteers while ignoring the inherent violence of the British Empire.

Menas

No chance of a conviction in my opinion.
There is no forensic evidence linking him to the crime and I reckon he was arrested on the foot of some info passed to police by an unofficial source.
That or some 40 year old circumstantial evidence.
If the old codger does not confess there will not be enough to try him, never mind convict him.

Femme_Fatale

urabell wrote: »

It just absolutely would not be given the same level of public attention and coverage in the media 40 years later

And that's your main gripe. Stay classeh.

If she was a widowed father who then left behind orphaned kids there would be the same attention and coverage.

newbie2013

Who honestly gives a ****! I know I don't. First of all, she was a tout in one of the worst periods in our countries history. Secondly, it was a long long time ago and the book on that case should be closed! This murder is just getting used for political gain all these years after it, even Stevie wonder could see this. Wake up and put the past behind us because it's the only way this country can move forward IMO

newbie2013

Femme_Fatale wrote: »

And that's your main gripe. Stay classeh.

If she was a widowed father who then left behind orphaned kids there would be the same attention and coverage.

NO CHANCE!

Joan Burtons Sexy Knickers

Didn't take the 'RA supporters long to come out from under their rocks to defend the indefensible.

mrsbyrne

newbie2013 wrote: »

Who honestly gives a ****! I know I don't. First of all, she was a tout in one of the worst periods in our countries history. Secondly, it was a long long time ago and the book on that case should be closed! This murder is just getting used for political gain all these years after it, even Stevie wonder could see this. Wake up and put the past behind us because it's the only way this country can move forward IMO

Nuala O'Loan says she wasn't a tout.
I'd like to see you say that to Mrs McConvilles 9 surviving children.

jane82

If this chap is the ira man people seem to believe he will sit staring at the wall until they have to let him go.
Unless he confesses he walks.
I highly doubt any justice will be done here as much as it saddens me to say so.
For all we know he was seen in the vicinity by some other 77 year old.

Dyr

Trigger Happy wrote: »

No chance of a conviction in my opinion.
There is no forensic evidence linking him to the crime and I reckon he was arrested on the foot of some info passed to police by an unofficial source.
That or some 40 year old circumstantial evidence.
If the old codger does not confess there will not be enough to try him, never mind convict him.

who wants a conviction? its coming up to election time, so the jean mcconville case needs to be trotted out again, same way the hyde park arrest fiasco was trotted out to bury the haas proposals.

Nodin

SEPT 23 1989 wrote: »

will he have immunity from actual prosecution?

If he doesn't, the most he'll face is two years.

newbie2013

mrsbyrne wrote: »

Nuala O'Loan says she wasn't a tout.
I'd like to see you say that to Mrs McConvilles 9 surviving children.

So you tell me why she was killed then.

mrsbyrne

newbie2013 wrote: »

So you tell me why she was killed then.

First of all Mrs O'Loan says she was not a tout.
http://www.policeombudsman.org/modules/investigation_reports/index.cfm/reportId/164
And if you don't mind, I'll take her word over that of the cowardly brain dead scumbags who abducted her. Almost 20 thugs men and women,a drunken lynch mob, frothing at the mouth.
What were they afraid of ? That the 6 year old twins would kick them in the shins?
Mrs McConville committed the ultimate crime of being a blow in, and a Protestant blow in at that in the cesspit of gossip and idle chit chat that was Divis Flats.
I hope she has haunted them all, in the dead of night, especially as they grow old and vulnerable, and that they close their eyes at night and see her miserable hungry frightened children's faces as they hauled their mother down the stairs.
I hope that they and their supporters rot in hell.

Femme_Fatale

newbie2013 wrote: »

Who honestly gives a ****! I know I don't.

To answer your question, loads of people do. And you not giving a **** doesn't change that.

it was a long long time ago and the book on that case should be closed!... Wake up and put the past behind us because it's the only way this country can move forward IMO

Would you say the same about Bloody Sunday? I hope not.

newbie2013 wrote: »

NO CHANCE!

Why? "Because I think so" isn't an answer.

anncoates

newbie2013 wrote: »

Who honestly gives a ****! I know I don't. First of all, she was a tout in one of the worst periods in our countries history. Secondly, it was a long long time ago and the book on that case should be closed! This murder is just getting used for political gain all these years after it, even Stevie wonder could see this. Wake up and put the past behind us because it's the only way this country can move forward IMO

Does that include the tribunal industry 'moving forward' from murders by the Brits?

keeponhurling

As mentioned, they are clearly not going to get a conviction over 40 years later, even if they do have the right person (realistically, they probably don't). I'd be sceptical of "new information" coming to light 42 years after the event.
The timing is also very suspicious, what with the pressure Peter Robinson is coming under from the "on-the-run" thing.
Clearly they just want to send out a message that they are still chasing up things from decades ago, particularly on the republican side of things.
The McConville killing/disappearance is high-profile enough that if they announce an arrest, it will be reported widely in the media.

In reality, if there is no hope of a conviction, it's just a waste of PSNI resources for political reasons. Especially when there is real and current crime taking place every day that they could be focusing on.
Must be demoralising for the police officers - "forget making the comunity safer today, lets use you to follow up a 42-year old investigation that nothing will ever come from. Find somebody, arrest them for questioning, release statement to media to show we are busy, then release him"

Late justice hopefully.

Dyr

mrsbyrne wrote: »

. Almost 20 thugs men and women,a drunken lynch mob, frothing at the mouth.
What were they afraid of ? That the 6 year old twins would kick them in the shins?

Did nuala oloan tell you they were drunk and frothing at the mouth?

some amount of mouth frothing going on in your posts in annyways

anncoates

keeponhurling wrote: »

In reality, if there is no hope of a conviction, it's just a waste of PSNI resources for political reasons.

Do you think the retrospective Finnucane or Bloody Sunday inquiries should have been scrapped for the same reason?

Or is it just embarrassing Provo murders that everybody is supposed to "get over"?

humanji

Folks, stop with the petty swipes, the "I hate the brits, so I'm going to bitch about them instead" mentality, the "I hate the RA, so I'm going to bitch about them" mentality and the trolling.

Putin

Due to the level of British state collusion, nobody will be be ever brought to justice for the murder of innocents like Pat Finucane or Rosemary Nelson. Yet this same state will pursue those involved in the McConville murder. Hypocritical much?

Dyr

Putin wrote: »

Due to the level of British state collusion, nobody will be be ever brought to justice for the murder of innocents like Pat Finucane or Rosemary Nelson.

Who?

Putin

Bambi wrote: »

Who?

Yes they were once a very popular band, but maybe you should take it to the music forum.

keeponhurling

anncoates wrote: »

Do you think the retrospective Finnucane or Bloody Sunday inquiries should have been scrapped for the same reason?

Or is it just embarrassing Provo murders that everybody is supposed to "get over"?

I'm not telling anybody to "get over" anything. Not sure why you put those in quotation marks, is it a quote from somewhere?

I do think they were different as they were inquiries, not police investigations.
Inquiries are legal people questioning everybody and trying to get to the root of what happened, or give an opinion on what happened in probability. Being found guilty or probably guilty by an inquiry is not a criminal conviction.
If anything emerges that could implicate somebody and lead to a conviction, then this should be passed to the police.

I think an inquiry into the McConville killing may be a good idea, if the politicians agree to it.
(Though in my opinion, setting up a truth commission would be better, as it may throw up information on all killings.
Most likely verdict of a McConville inquiry would be "We believe the IRA did it, we're not sure who exasctly or where the body is, maybe somewhere along the border")

The issue now is the police investigating the McConville incident, a criminal investigation, and making what I assume is a token arrest, 42 years later.

If they actually catch the people behind it and get convictions, then I will stand corrected, and commend them for their perseverence in enforcing justice.

Dyr

Putin wrote: »

Yes they were once a very popular band, but maybe you should take it to the music forum.

its just that all my information on these matters comes from posters in AH who are passionate about the killing of civvies up in the north.

Strangely though I've never seen them mention these names

Fratton Fred

Putin wrote: »

Due to the level of British state collusion, nobody will be be ever brought to justice for the murder of innocents like Pat Finucane or Rosemary Nelson. Yet this same state will pursue those involved in the McConville murder. Hypocritical much?

According to Lord Gerry of Adams, there is no hierarchy of victims.

anncoates

Putin wrote: »

Due to the level of British state collusion, nobody will be be ever brought to justice for the murder of innocents like Pat Finucane or Rosemary Nelson. Yet this same state will pursue those involved in the McConville murder. Hypocritical much?

Ironically, it's the same as the state getting away with their part in collusion murders. The person(s) responsible for authorizing the death of McConville are now untouchable establishment figures themselves.

Tramps Like Us

mrsbyrne wrote: »

First of all Mrs O'Loan says she was not a tout.
http://www.policeombudsman.org/modules/investigation_reports/index.cfm/reportId/164
And if you don't mind, I'll take her word over that of the cowardly brain dead scumbags who abducted her. Almost 20 thugs men and women,a drunken lynch mob, frothing at the mouth.
What were they afraid of ? That the 6 year old twins would kick them in the shins?
Mrs McConville committed the ultimate crime of being a blow in, and a Protestant blow in at that in the cesspit of gossip and idle chit chat that was Divis Flats.
I hope she has haunted them all, in the dead of night, especially as they grow old and vulnerable, and that they close their eyes at night and see her miserable hungry frightened children's faces as they hauled their mother down the stairs.
I hope that they and their supporters rot in hell.

She was not a blow in, at least one of her kids was in the IRA and was in Long Kesh when she was killed.

mrsbyrne

Tramps Like Us wrote: »

She was not a blow in, at least one of her kids was in the IRA and was in Long Kesh when she was killed.

She was originally a Protestant fom East Belfast, brought to live in Divis Flats.
if thats not a blow-in then tell me what is?
Oh! one of her kids was in Long kesh, oh well, perfect justification for what happened her then:pac:
She wasnt killed, she was abducted and murdered by the IRA.
Cats are "killed" by cars.

Tramps Like Us

mrsbyrne wrote: »

She was originally a Protestant fom East Belfast, brought to live in Divis Flats.
if thats not a blow-in then tell me what is?
Oh! one of her kids was in Long kesh, oh well, perfect justification for what happened her then:pac:
She wasnt killed, she was abducted and murdered by the IRA.
Cats are "killed" by cars.

Not at all.

If you know anything about Divis flats or communities like that you'd realize that the parents and relations of what were termed "POWs" were well respected and certainly were not ostracized from the community. In fact the community she was ostracized from was the one she grew up in in East Belfast, after she got married and converted to catholicism the family were intimidated out of there so they moved to Divis.

Over the years there have been various reasons given why she was murdered, from patently false claims that she was seen aiding a dying British soldier (no British soldier was killed or even injured in the Divis area in the timeframe) to the one you are giving, which basically says that it was a sectarian murder.

I don't find your reasoning in any way plausible given that at least one of her children were in the IRA and one was in Long Kesh at the time.

The most plausible explanation is that she was reported stuff to the British army/RUC or at least was suspected of doing so with good reason. The IRA were not in the habit of killing the mothers of IRA prisoners for no reason. I find it curious that this suggestion infuriates people who loath the IRA, surely it makes her more of a hero in their eyes?

Many of these people are also adamant that Gerry Adams was involved, yet the basis for these claims is what people like Brendan Hughes and Dolores Price said - but they were even more adamant that she was an "informer". You can't have it both ways.

In any case it was a horrible event and the IRA shouldnt have done it, it just seems to me that people are intent on scoring political points off the back of this tragedy by embellishing the story and ommiting facts which take away from their desired narrative.

Given your emotional posting it seems you have no interest in a discussion about the tragedy - I posted mainly for the benefit of onlookers

golfball37

The man who started the war of Independence Dan Breen murdered a widower father of 7 for no reason at all. He is a hero in Ireland, Collins had women shot also a hero.

The same people who say Adams was behind this killing also say a British Army Radio transmitter was found in her apartment. If they are telling thetruth about the first part then surely you have to believe the second part?

I have no reason to believe she wasn't an informer and unfortunately there's always only going to be one outcome as there was 50 years previous in the amnesia ridden South.

The disappearring of her body however was an act of base despicability. Noboby deserved that.

mrsbyrne

How do you explain Nuala O'Loans report then? I presume you've read it, I've posted a link to it. Sorry I get emotional over the thought of 6 year old twins watching their mother being dragged away by a lynch mob, there's obviously something wrong with me.

Santa Cruz

Does it ring a Bell with anyone after 40 years?

oppenheimer1

The Backwards Man wrote: »

Those of us that despise the IRA and their political wing would care.

Without looking it up can you name any males that were suspected informants that meet the sharp end of IRA justice?