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Unionist politician claims Boston College tapes will implicate senior IRA figures

Gregory Campbell welcomes US Appeal court decision

PATRICK COUNIHAN,

IrishCentral.com Staff Writer

Published Sunday, July 8, 2012, 8:26 AM

Updated Sunday, July 8, 2012, 8:26 AM

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Boston College

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A leading Ulster politician has claimed senior IRA members could be implicated in the Boston Tapes case.

East Londonderry MP Gregory Campbell made the claim after a US court ordered Boston College to hand over top secret interviews with convicted Old Bailey car bomber Dolours Price.

The College must now present police with the recordings by its researchers of oral history project talks with Price.

The British government wants the tapes and will now have access to them after an appeals court in the US rejected an effort to stop their release.

Campbell said: “This is a step closer to establishing if there is information in the tapes that might be of assistance to the authorities in
Northern Ireland.

“This could lead to the investigation of many senior personnel within the IRA and other groups about matters they were involved in, and if that is the case it would be welcome.”

Price, her sister Marian, and current Sinn Fein politician Gerry Kelly, a former junior Minister in Belfast, were arrested for a 1973 bombing of the Old Bailey in London.

The explosion injured more than 200 people while reports claim it likely caused another person’s death of heart failure.

The Price sisters and Kelly were convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment, but later released.

The 1st US Circuit Court of Appeals ruling ensures that the interview with Dolours Price will be handed over to police next month.

The Boston College in Massachusetts is still attempting to quash a broader order for other materials from its project.

Belfast Project participants have argued that the interviews were intended to remain confidential until their deaths.

Ulster police investigating the 1972 killing of Belfast mother of ten Jean McConville by the IRA have demanded the recordings.

Boston College did not appeal against a district court order last year to turn over the Price interviews.

However project director Ed Moloney and former IRA member Anthony McIntyre launched personal appeals which have now been turned down.

Nster.com

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seanomelb | Jul 11, 2012, 08:11 PM EDT

Seamus60 your are to focused on the one point and keep on repeating the same old line.Now look at what you've done.You have dragged pork pie fallser out of the woodwork with his self taught blarney.

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FallsRNat | Jul 11, 2012, 06:26 PM EDT

who cares what the brits, irish, yanks or anybody else cares about Mrs McConville's murder, the only people that matter are her family & they quite rightly what closure & justice after all these years, if a PIRA member recorded on the Boston tapes that they drove her to her execution & somehow expected that these tapes cannot be used in a legal system, then they are more deluded then ever. If Adams is innocent, then he has nothing to worry about, he could even sue the PIRA member in civil court for defamation of character, let's have the tapes released & sent back so the McConville's can have closure

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Kilsally | Jul 10, 2012, 11:29 AM EDT

The tapes were requested by the PSNI - policing is a wholly devolved issue and the responsibility of the Justice Minister in the Northern Ireland Assembly which is currently the cross community Alliance Party leader David Ford, born and bred in Northern Ireland.

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seamus60 | Jul 10, 2012, 11:22 AM EDT

Seano. You`re believing all the blarney about the brits trying to destroy Adams and SF. Why would they ? Give us one good reason. They are now keeping the croppy boys down better that the orange could ever have. At a fraction of the cost into the bargain. They have had option after option to take Adams and Mc Guinness out of the equation and instead allowed them to retain position, whilst everyone else went to prison. They have even ignored publicity gifts such as Gerrys knowledge of his peado brother. The bigger picture is invoking the status quo, SF, the DUP and the brits are happy as pigs in shxt. These files were of concern because should they be followed by more disclosure from very relevant people, the game would be up. The brits and DUP would then have to deal with a new entity, one that may not be as easy to do business with.Still waiting for SF to call protesters on to the streets on behalf of the latest Irish Republican (Martin Corey) to have his human rights abused in such a blatant fashion. Thats right they don`t do things like that anymore DO THEY ???? In view of the fact its the same human rights abuse as has been here for decades, we can only assume they are poacher turned Gamekeeper. Ruling by fooling. And plenty of yous to fool.

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seanomelb | Jul 09, 2012, 08:05 PM EDT

Love it Ireland North truth with a touch of cynicism. The big picture is to destroy Adams and Sinn Fein before they become to popular,the cunning little imperialists. Seamus60 you've got to rise above your self pity and see the big picture.It's not about McConville it is using the incident to denigrate Adams.The British couldn't give a dam about McConville and maybe we'll find out the reasons for her demise.IT reminds of the Christopher Black affair(1981).

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seamus60 | Jul 09, 2012, 06:16 PM EDT

aloistmartin. Theres only ever going to be 2 victims of these tapes being returned. Lets not forget they were here for long enough and the brits were`nt interested in them till they went stateside. Victim no one, the Mc Conville family again, in the belief that something will come of the tapes in relation to Jean (rip). Not a snowballs chance in hell, just more turmoil for the family. Victim number two, Journalism and the history books. Any ex-combatant who may have been considering putting the record straight will have a good long think about it. Not only here but as it is also big news in the USA, soldiers returning from places of war, where war crimes are rife. Goverments will go to great extremes to ensure history is potrayed as to their preferance. Had this been dealt with at home there wouldn`t have been 1% of the fuss.

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seamus60 | Jul 09, 2012, 05:44 PM EDT

seanomelb. Shaking in their boots, do ya think. With what they`ve got on Adams and Mc Guiness. LOL

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YoungPike | Jul 09, 2012, 12:23 PM EDT

I'm heartily sick of reading all this Brit-bashing. They're our closest allies and most of us prefer them to the Yanks!

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IrelandNorth | Jul 09, 2012, 07:16 AM EDT

"Oh what wicked webs we weave. When we practice to deceive!" Alas! In the dark cerebral recesses of your average British imperialist, (who arouses to fantasies fo empire again), any and every preliminary manoeuvre towards the independence of her first and last colony is a felony of astronomical proportions. Like crusaders of old, the armchair generals in the Home Counties of old Anglo-Saxonia can't fathom the polite declining by Caitlín Ní Houilahán of their grandiose offer to defile her, purloin her verdant pasturlands, and cannon fodderise her menfolk in their globalised military midadventurisms. Shure an' faith an' Gemorragh, 'tis pretty special that you be to attract dubious affections such as that.

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johnymac60 | Jul 08, 2012, 08:51 PM EDT

Sorry, don't understand the significance of this piece. "Senior Unionist Pol says he favors the Union with Great Britain, and does not want to share power with nationalists." would seem to be a headline of equal import. has he seen/heard the tapes? Why exactly would we care about the opinion of some one stating the obvious? Particularly when the person self-describes as a "Unionist Politician"? Seriously?

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seanomelb | Jul 08, 2012, 05:57 PM EDT

As Sinn Fein become more popular the Brits increase their anti nationalist campaign.They are afraid of a possible Sinn Fein majority both sides of the so called border.

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aloistmartin | Jul 08, 2012, 04:41 PM EDT

Ireland has become Soft of The Good Life, brought about though the Spreading of Double Cream, on British Tea and Bisquits ! Can Unification be only a little Blackcurrant Jelly away ?

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Cranleigh | Jul 08, 2012, 01:45 PM EDT

Unless the allegations can be corroborated with independent forensic evidence, I see little prospect of convictions. It's more a PR problem for the leadership who have clearly passed their sell-by date, north and south. The other southern parties must be hoping that the IRA end of SF/IRA stay in power because otherwise nobody but Fine Gael would be in a position to compete with them down there at the moment.

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RichardP | Jul 08, 2012, 12:16 PM EDT

Nitpicking perhaps Patrick, but they were not as you state 'Ulster police', they were the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC)and I have never heard of anyone referring to them as Ulster police. No need for me to go into the geo-political boundaries of Ulster and of Northern Ireland I presume. Many Unionists and Loyalists loved them, calling them 'Our Police'; Most Nationalists and Republicans took a diametrically opposed view and their nefarious activities against the latter communities are well documented.

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