Sinn Féin urge British government to abide by Sean Brown public inquiry order
Sinn Féin has again urged the British government to abide by court rulings ordering a public inquiry into the murder of GAA official Sean Brown in 1997.
A coroner, High Court judge and three judges in the Court of Appeal have all ruled that a public inquiry is the only lawful remedy.
The Irish Government has also backed calls by Mr Brown's family for a public inquiry.
But the British government last week lodged papers seeking the permission of the UK Supreme Court to appeal against an order mandating such an inquiry.
Am uncompleted inquest into his killing by loyalist paramilitaries heard that several British state agents were among 25 people linked by intelligence to the murder.
Speaking after meeting Northern Ireland Secretary of State Hilary Benn in Belfast this morning to discuss legacy issues, Sinn Féin's north Belfast MP John Finucane said the party had criticised the decision to appeal the ruling.
Asked if the Irish Government should make a public inquiry into the killing a "red line" issue in negotiations with the UK about how to deal with the legacy of Northern Ireland's Troubles, Mr Finucane said it was a legal issue, not a political one.
"It's not necessarily about what should be a political red line," he said.
He said: "It's what the courts have said, and the courts have made it very clear that the only vehicle that exists that can provide truth and justice and give Bridie and her family answers is a full public inquiry.
"That was made clear by the Coroner, it was made clear by a High Court judge, it was made clear by the Court of Appeal, and was endorsed also by our Chief Constable.
"So these are people independent of the Brown family who have all made that legal assessment, and I think that's the assessment that should be followed by the British government."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Irish Sun
7 hours ago
- The Irish Sun
Russia's ambassador to the UK ‘blames Britain' for Ukraine's daring drone attack & warns of ‘WWIII risk'
RUSSIA'S ambassador to the UK has blamed Britain for Ukraine's "historic" drone attack - and chillingly warned of World War Three. Moscow diplomat Andrei Kelin said that Ukrainian attacks "are bringing the conflict to a different level of escalation". Advertisement 7 The Russian ambassador to the UK Andrei Kelin who has been in post since November 2019 Credit: The Times 7 Ukraine hit bombers at the Russian Belaya Air Base in Irkutsk 7 Multiple aircraft were set ablaze at Belaya Air Base 7 Over the weekend, Volodymyr Zelensky hailed Ukraine's daring drone blitz on Russian airbases as one for the "history books". It marked Kyiv's longest range operation of the conflict so far with at least 40 aircraft being attacked as part of the expert operation codenamed "Spiderweb". In an embarrassing result for a raging Vladimir Putin 34 per cent of his cruise missile carriers at the targeted airfields were blasted, Zelensky said. A £260million AWACS aircraft and bombers capable of dropping nuclear weapons were also struck. Advertisement read more news Ukraine said the sneak attack was worth $7bn (£5.2bn) in damage to Russia. But Russian ambassador to the UK Kelin warned that Kyiv shouldn't "try to engulf World War Three" in an interview with He also seemingly blamed the UK for potentially providing Ukraine with weaponry that could have been used during the weekend attacks. He said: "[This] kind of attack involves, of course, provision of very high technology, so-called geospaced data, which only can be done by those who have it in possession. Advertisement Most read in The Sun "And this is London and Washington. "I don't believe that America [is involved], that has been denied by President Trump, definitely, but it has not been denied by London. Baby among 5 dead as Putin unleashes strikes on Ukraine hours after revenge vow "We perfectly know how much London is involved, how deeply British forces are involved in working together with Ukraine." US President Donald Trump has spent the past few months since he returned to office trying to balance his relationship with both Moscow and Kyiv. Advertisement In his latest attempt to draw both sides closer to a ceasefire he spoke with Putin over the phone in a 75 minute call . Trump revealed that the despot made it clear he feels he 'will have to respond' to the audacious drone assault. It comes as The Sun laid out the six possible methods Putin may use to respond to the enemy. The tyrant could retaliate with one of his terrifying tactical nukes, launch a deadly 7,600mph missile or even order a renewed 50,000 troop assault to overpower his enemies. Advertisement The Kremlin gave a chilling response earlier today regarding how they may respond. A spokesperson said: "Russian Federation will respond to the attack on airfields when and in the way that the military deems appropriate." And overnight, Vlad already launched his first retaliatory strikes on several residential regions. The worst saw a baby, their mum and grandma all killed due to a Shahed kamikaze drone blast which caused their home to collapse. Advertisement Two others were also found dead in Chernihiv with another 17 seriously wounded in Kharkiv. 7 Ukraine hit bombers at the Russian Belaya Air Base in Irkutsk 7 A satellite picture of the Belaya Airbase shows how a Russian bomber was left smashed to pieces after Ukraine's strikes Credit: AFP 7 Ukraine released photos of the drones in the crates taken from inside Russia Credit: Unpixs Advertisement
Sunday World
9 hours ago
- Sunday World
'Danger to society' who subject ex-partner to ‘reign of terror' is resentenced
Scott Donegan pleaded guilty at Ennis Circuit Court to the false imprisonment of an ex-partner during a four-hour ordeal at his home on November 9, 2022. The Court of Appeal has ruled that a sentence of eight years and seven months was not unduly lenient for a 'danger to society' who inflicted 'a reign of terror' on his former partner and threatened to stab a man to death. However, the court ruled that the cumulative sentences imposed on Scott Donegan (39) could not stand due to how they were structured by the sentencing judge, and he was resentenced today. Donegan, of Knockmore, Kilmilhil, Co Clare, pleaded guilty at Ennis Circuit Court to the false imprisonment of an ex-partner during a four-hour ordeal at his home on November 9, 2022. He also pleaded guilty to producing a knife at the same address on the same date contrary to Section 11 of the Offensive Weapons and Firearms Act. Detective Garda Donal Corkery told the Ennis court that Donegan took the mobile phone off the woman and forced her to sit in a chair 'where she was frozen out of fear due to the aggressive behaviour of Mr Donegan'. Scott Donegan News in 90 Seconds - 5th June 2025 Det Corkery stated that Donegan ran at the woman with a knife and put her in fear. The detective said Donegan then grabbed the woman by the throat and squeezed her windpipe. He said that Donegan told her that he had a Glock handgun and a shotgun. Det Corkery said that four of Donegan's previous convictions were for assault against three ex-partners when Donegan went under the name of Paul McMenamy. This incident was committed while Donegan was on bail for a separate matter, relating to a charge of making threats to kill on April 19, 2021, when he verbally abused a man and threatened to stab him to death. The total sentence imposed for all offences at the Circuit Criminal Court in Ennis in September 2023 was eight years and seven months, with the final nine months suspended. Judge Francis Comerford imposed 20 months for the offence of making threats to kill, with this sentence made consecutive to a sentence of 83 months for the false imprisonment and the production of a knife. The Director of Public Prosecutions appealed this sentence, saying it was unduly lenient. In delivering judgement today, Mr Justice John Edwards said the court did not fault the sentencing judge for regarding the false imprisonment offence as being the most serious offence, as the judge had carefully assessed the respondent's culpability in a careful and rigorous manner. He said the sentencing judge was right in regarding the production of a knife as being an aggravating factor, as was the respondent's previous record. However, Mr Justice Edwards went on to say: 'The sentencing judge was significantly in error in how he structured his sentence.' He said it was clear that, where an offender is being sentenced for an offence committed while on bail, the sentence imposed should be made consecutive to the sentence imposed for the previous offence. Mr Justice Edwards said that the sentencing judge was required to make the sentences for false imprisonment and the production of a knife consecutive to any sentence imposed for the offence involving threats to kill. However, the sentencing judge had instead made the sentence for threats to kill consecutive to the other sentences. He said that while the court found that the sentencing judge's failure to apply the statute correctly made no practical difference to the overall sentence, the sentences could not stand as presently structured. He added that it did not follow, however, that the court regarded the overall sentence as unduly lenient. Quashing the original sentence and moving on to resentencing, Mr Justice Edwards said that for the offence of making threats to kill, the court would nominate a headline sentence of 25 months and discount five months to reflect mitigation, leaving 20 months. For the false imprisonment and the production of a knife, which were committed while the respondent was on bail, the court nominated a headline sentence of 10 years and five months and three years and four months, respectively. Having considered mitigating factors, he reduced the sentences to six years and eleven months and 25 months respectively, to run concurrently. Mr Justice Edwards said this was to be consecutive to the 20 months for the offence of making threats to kill. Mr Justice Edwards said the court would suspend the final nine months, making a cumulative sentence of seven years and ten months to be served. Conditions of the suspended portion of the sentence are that Donegan is to keep the peace for three years post release, have no contact with the injured parties, and submit to supervision by the probation services. In her victim impact statement, the Co Clare woman told the court that Scott Donegan 'is a danger to society, and he has scarred and damaged me for life'. The woman said that Donegan imposed 'a reign of terror' on her during the four-hour ordeal despite her begging him to stop. She said: 'I believed that I would be killed by him and never see my children or family again.'
RTÉ News
9 hours ago
- RTÉ News
WWI letters and medals found in house in Tipperary
A collection of letters and medals from a soldier serving on the Front Line during World War I have been discovered in a house in Tipperary. They were found during a clear out of a house in Thurles. Denis Kenny and his family were recently clearing out the house of his late mother when they discovered a small box containing letters, cards and medals. The memorabilia are of his late grand uncle James Maher - or Jem - who served with the Royal Field Artillery Regiment of the British Army in WWI. James joined the war effort in 1915 at age 28. The box contains letters he wrote to his family at home in Thurles and details the living conditions of the soldiers on the front. In one of the letters, he expresses his hope for an end to the war and flags their preparations for an upcoming battle. This is understood to be a reference to the battle of Passchendaele or the third battle of Ypres, which resulted in over 900,000 casualties. James was among the casualties. He died on 11 August 1917 and is buried in the War Cemetery in Ypres. While James served in the British Army, his sister Josephine was a member of Cumann na mBan in Thurles, fighting against British rule in Ireland. Denis said the letters give a fascinating picture of family life in Ireland at a difficult time. "It's an unusual tale. Some people chose to fight with the British Army in Europe and my grand uncle Jem was one of those, while his sister Josephine at home fought against British rule in Ireland. "Their relationship didn't seem to be affected by this - going by their correspondence in the letters. But I wonder how their relationship would have panned out if he had returned alive from the war." The letters and war medals could have been thrown out accidentally during the house clear out, but Denis said that the family are very relieved to have found them and are now making plans to have them conserved.
