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BreakingNews.ie
3 hours ago
- General
- BreakingNews.ie
Two pensioners (70s) granted leave to appeal extradition over RUC officer murder
Two men in their 70s have been granted leave to appeal their court-ordered extradition to the North, where they are wanted to face charges relating to the murder of an RUC officer nearly 50 years ago. At the High Court on Wednesday, Mr Justice Patrick McGrath ruled that while authorities there have offered a detailed explanation for the delay in seeking the surrender of John Edward McNicholl (73) and Seamus Christopher O'Kane (74), this was not complete and there have been some "lengthy periods of inaction". Advertisement He found that these were cases where an important point of law arises and it was desirable they be brought before the Court of Appeal. Mr McNicholl, of Newmills, Letterkenny, Co Donegal, and Mr O'Kane, of Scalestown, Dunshaughlin, Co Meath, are wanted in the North. They face charges arising from an investigation into the murder of 25-year-old Constable Robert John McPherson in Co Derry on July 26th, 1975, and the attempted murder of a second constable. Robert John McPherson Mr McNicholl is charged with murdering Constable McPherson and attempted murder while Mr O'Kane is charged with possession of firearms, including an RUC-issued firearm taken during the ambush on Constable McPherson. Both men escaped from the Maze Prison in a dramatic tunnelling breakout in May 1976 before they could be put on trial. Advertisement Mr O'Kane has been living openly in the Meath area for almost five decades while Mr McNicholl, who was deported from the United States, has been here since 2003. In March of this year, Mr Justice McGrath said there was no evidence to suggest that Mr McNicholl and Mr O'Kane would not receive a fair trial in Northern Ireland, as he ruled that a delay in serving warrants on the respondents was not grounds for refusing their surrender to the north. When the matter came back before the court today, Mr Justice McGrath said that the respondents were seeking leave to appeal his previous decision to order their surrender. He said that in the case of Mr O'Kane, 48 years have passed since these alleged offences and the respondent had queried the absence of an explanation for inaction by the authorities in the North. Mr Justice McGrath said that Mr O'Kane had also raised the fact that when a previous application was made in 1977/78 for the respondent's surrender, he had been charged with certain offences that were not included in this application. Advertisement The judge said that the case of Mr McNicholl was somewhat similar, with the respondent pointing out there had been a delay of 48 years and again questioning the degree of action or inaction by the Northern Irish authorities. Mr Justice McGrath said that the State had submitted it is well established law that a delay is not a standalone ground to refuse the surrender of an accused person. He noted that the State had outlined that the court had previously considered all the factors and decided that an abuse of process did not arise. He said that a very long time has passed, but in both cases it was true to say that a detailed explanation had been offered by Northern Irish authorities for the passage of time. However, Mr Justice McGrath said this was not a complete explanation and there had been some lengthy periods of inaction by the authorities. Advertisement In both cases, the two men were living openly in the State and were available to answer an application for their surrender. Mr Justice McGrath said that in the matter of Mr O'Kane, he believed that this was a case where a point of law of importance arose, so it was desirable that a case should be brought to the Court of Appeal. The judge said that he was somewhat less certain in the case of Mr McNicholl, however he ruled that he would certify that one question in his case would go to the Court of Appeal. Mr Justice McGrath said that he proposed the questions would be whether the lapse of time of 48 years amounted to an abuse of process, and whether the omission by the issuing state to seek the surrender for all offences which the accused was at that time charged with constituted an abuse of process. Advertisement The legal team for each accused man was told that they would be given time to consider the wording of these questions and the matter was adjourned to Thursday, with the two remanded on continuing bail. Warrants for the arrest of both men were issued following a request by the Northern Ireland authorities last year as part of an ongoing investigation into Constable McPherson's murder. Constable McPherson was from Leck, outside Coleraine in Co Derry. He was shot dead in an INLA ambush in Dungiven Main Street around midday. He was hit by a single shot when he and a colleague were ambushed as they investigated a report of a suspect car. His fellow officer was hit multiple times but survived. Both Mr McNicholl and Mr O'Kane face four charges relating to the possession of explosives and firearms on February 16th, 1976 at Garvagh, Co Derry. The court heard that an RUC-issued firearm retrieved at that location had been taken during the ambush on Constable McPherson. Ireland Two men (70s) who escaped from Maze Prison to be e... Read More At a previous hearing of the High Court Detective Garda Tony Keane of the Garda Extradition Unit said that following a search of the premises at Garvagh in 1976, the RUC recovered two electric detonators, two improvised pressure mat switches, two Walther pistols, one Browning pistol, a 0.22 rifle, a Remington shotgun and 104 rounds of ammunition. Detective Keane said the warrant issued by the Northern Irish authorities states that Mr O'Kane and two other males were found hiding in an upstairs bedroom in the property and were arrested. The warrant continues that Mr O'Kane was interviewed on February 17th, 1976, where he made a full admission to possessing the explosive substances, firearms and ammunition recovered from the property at Brockaghboy in Garvagh. The extradition warrant relating to Mr O'Kane states that on May 5th, 1976, he and others escaped from custody at the Maze prison in Northern Ireland prior to a decision being made to prosecute him for the four offences.
Irish Times
6 days ago
- Business
- Irish Times
‘The Japanese want to see you have the attention to detail, customer service and quality they expect. You have to deliver'
At 7.55am most weekday mornings, about 60 staff at the Seating Matters' manufacturing facility in Limavady , Co Derry meet for 45 minutes with the family owners and management. The factory makes therapeutic seating for people with disabilities. It's part training session to sharpen skills and knowledge, and partly a platform for both sides to air any issues from the previous day. 'We'll maybe watch a video of a John Deere factory, or read a chapter of a book, or talk about a quote and then we'll spend 20 or 30 minutes on improvements. 'So what bugged you yesterday? Well go and fix it.' We're empowering people to fix the problems,' says Martin Tierney, managing director of Seating Matters , who co-owns the wider Tierco Healthcare Group with his brothers Jonathan and Ryan. The idea was borrowed from Toyota , the Japanese motor giant. Unhappy with its own 'chaotic' manufacturing systems, in 2017 the Tierney brothers spent a week with Toyota, meeting suppliers and experiencing first hand the Japanese philosophy of Kaizen, where employees work together to achieve regular, incremental improvements to manufacturing processes. READ MORE 'What we discovered is that this deep culture of respect that they have in Japanese society. Toyota has taken that into the company and said that if we deeply respect our colleagues, it would give them a lovely working environment. If our colleagues deeply respect the product, the product will get out on time. If we respect the customer, we wouldn't waste the customers money,' Tierney says. [ Ireland to explore new markets in Asia and Canada as part of urgent response to US tariffs Opens in new window ] About half of the employees at the Limavady plant have since visited Japan to experience Kaizen for themselves. 'It's transformed how we operate,' says Tierney, who is speaking to The Irish Times in Tokyo, where he is one of 140 Irish business leaders in Japan this week as part of a CEO retreat organised by the EY Entrepreneur of the Year (EOY) programme. Tierney has been shortlisted in the international category of this year's EOY awards. This is Tierney's fifth visit to Japan in as many years, for a company firmly in growth mode. The Tierco group, of which Seating Matters is one of three units, has completed five acquisitions in the past 18 months, roughly doubling its annual revenues to £16 million (€19 million), and bringing its headcount to 130. David Corcoran, Soltec; Caitriona Ryan, Institute of Dermatologists; Donnchadh Campbell, Europlan Group; Áine Kennedy, The Smooth Company; Laura Dowling, FabU; and Derek Foley Butler, GRID Finance at Tokyo's Tsukiji Fish Market on the Irish Japan visit. Photograph: Naoise Culhane Tierney is a convert to the Toyota approach to business. 'If we cut the 45 minutes of training in the morning, the standard will just drop and drop,' he says. Ireland and Japan are similar in many ways. Both are island nations, with few natural resources and a big regional neighbour on their doorstep. They also happen to share the United States as their largest trading partner. But in terms of land mass, Japan is roughly five times the size of Ireland, with a population of more than 124 million squeezed into just 30 per cent of its footprint due to its mountainous topography. Its population is forecast to reduce by 35 million by 2050 due to a chronically low birth rate. There are more cats and dogs than babies in Japan and more adult nappies are sold than for babies. In economic terms, Japan has essentially flatlined since the mid 1990s; the country has been replaced by China as the economic powerhouse of the Asia-Pacific region. And while the greater Toyko area is the world's most populous metropolitan district, with more than 40 million people, economic activity outside the capital can be low, with depopulation a common feature in rural Japan. All that said, Japan is the world's fourth biggest economy, renowned for its quality manufacturing and operational excellence, if a little slow on the move – the EOY entrepreneurs heard how it can take up to three years to get a stock market IPO over the line, and they don't even use lawyers for the listing documents. The rail system in Tokyo has 48 operators, 158 lines and more than 2,200 stations. The 23 busiest train stations in the world are Japanese, yet the average delay on its famed bullet train is just 12 seconds. Japan is also a hotbed for innovation by many top consumer brands. There are more than five million vending machines in Japan, with Coca-Cola operating a fifth of them, while Nestle has launched more than 300 flavours of the KitKat snack bar in the market. Convenience retailing is huge in the country – founded in the US, the huge 7-Eleven chain now has Japanese owners. Many of the Irish entrepreneurs in Japan this week are eyeing the market for growth. Pat Rigney is co-founder of The Shed Distillery in Co Leitrim, which produces the award-winning Drumshanbo Gunpowder Irish gin, Irish whiskey and vodka products. With uncertainty in its key US market caused by Donald Trump's constant U-turns on tariffs, Rigney is increasingly looking east to open up new markets and travelled out in advance of the EOY group (as a former finalist and therefore a member of its alumni community) to scope out the Japanese market for his premium gin. 'This retreat was an opportunity to spend some time here to see how we can crack the market,' he says. 'We know that Japanese consumers are buying our brands in travel retail [duty free shops at airports], and we came out to try and build local relationships in order to build a strategy to enter the market. Pat Rigney, co-founder of The Shed Distillery in Drumshanbo, Leitrim 'We met a number of people, we visited stores and we're at the point now that we feel confident that the brand will work here. So we need to find a partner who believes in the brand as much as we do and then get up and running.' He notes that the company is already selling into the region, in Vietnam, China, Cambodia, Thailand and Singapore. Japan is a market where you have to play the long game, says Pat Ryan, vice-president of the Ireland Japan Chamber of Commerce , whose membership comprises about 40 Japanese companies that are investing in Ireland and Enterprise Ireland clients in the market (50 have a presence on the ground in Japan). 'I would estimate it takes about twice as long as any other market to get your first customer established,' he says. 'You have to have people on the ground and it's all about building trust and relationships. You can't do that by just flying in and out. 'To open the doors, the Japanese want to see that you have the attention to detail, the customer service and the quality that they expect. If you're successful, you'll get very long-term contracts but it can take two to three years to prove that you're in the market for the long term. You need to follow up on anything you promise ... you have to deliver. It's an exciting market.' On Wednesday, Ireland's ambassador, Damien Cole, addressed the EOY group at Ireland House, the newly built modern embassy building in Tokyo that opened last month and also houses the IDA, Bord Bia and Enterprise Ireland, following a €23 million investment by the Government. He noted that the two-way trade between Ireland and Japan amounts to €21 billion. This trade in goods and services has doubled over the past decade, with about 70 per cent of that figure flowing Ireland's way. It's amazing that there are more than 100 Irish entrepreneurs in Japan this week to try and bring some of the learnings home because we have to improve, and learning from Japan is the best way to do it — Martin Tierney IDA Ireland has operated in Japan since 1972 and has 44 clients, with 60 operations in Ireland employing more than 8,000 people across the pharma, medical devices, technology, semiconductor, green engineering and financial services sectors. 'Our business model is to continuously engage with the clients, building and deepening relationships, to demonstrate our commitment to Japan, educating them on the opportunities Ireland has to offer,' says Derek Fitzgerald, Japan director for the IDA. 'We also hold a number of events and seminars … for example, we plan to launch Ireland's new semiconductor strategy here later in the year. We are a small team, only two in business development, so working closely with Enterprise Ireland and the embassy is important.' To boost our visibility in Japan, Ireland has taken a pavilion on a prominent pitch at Expo 2025, which is being hosted in Osaka and is expected to attract 28 million visitors between April and October. 'That's an important opportunity to raise our profile here,' Cole says. In terms of distance, the CEO retreat was the longest one undertaken so far by the Irish EOY awards programme, which began in 1998. The itinerary included a visit to the Tokyo Stock Exchange, a trip to the business school at Hitotsubashi University, one of Japan's oldest third-level institutions, and sessions at the headquarters of Softbank, the Japanese investment giant that in 2023 paid €473 million to buy a controlling stake in Barry Napier's Cubic Telecom . Irish delegates visit Hitotsubashi University business school in Tokyo. Photograph: Naoise Culhane Napier spent time with the group. They also had presentations or speeches from executives at Sony Honda Mobility, Yamaha Motor Company, Enterprise Ireland and others. EY managing partner Frank O'Keeffe said there was 'never a better time' from a geopolitical perspective for the Irish entrepreneurs to travel to Japan to explore the market. 'The heartbeat of our economy and our employment is indigenous entrepreneurs and we have to foster that relationship. Ireland Inc needs entrepreneurship because it helps to diversify our economy and we should support them to internationalise their businesses,' he says. Kildare-based Rye River Brewing is one of the biggest independent beers makers in Ireland, with revenues of €10 million forecast for this year. Tom Cronin, the company's chief executive and a former EOY finalist, used the trip to explore the possibility of distributing its beers into Japan. German brewer Warsteiner is a minority shareholder in Rye River and Cronin hopes to piggy back on its distribution network to get some of its '30 unique recipes' into Japan. 'Asia is the largest beer consumption market in the world and Japan is the 10th largest beer market in the world. It's dominated by four large players but there has been a massive growth of independent breweries [to more than 800] over the past decade or so,' he says. They are in a city with 40 million [people] beside Mount Fuji, which is their sacred mountain and I was able to tell them that I'm in a town of 6,000 near Westport, beside our sacred mountain [Croagh Patrick] — Harry Hughes, Portwest 'It's a crowded space but it's a growing category and we will certainly look to bring in our brands in quarter four of this year. I had a very good meeting with a distributor here and, while I'm here, I'm actively trying to do something. 'This will not be a massive volume play initially. It's more about pushing out the brand and growing out export reach. Exports are 50 per cent of volume; it's substantial for us.' Harry Hughes, is a director of family-owned Portwest, a Mayo-based maker of protective clothing and workplace equipment. He was chosen as Entrepreneur of the Year in 2017 and is chair of this year's EOY judging panel. He used the trip as an opportunity to meet executives at Midori Anzen, the largest workwear company in Japan. 'They are in a city with 40 million [people] beside Mount Fuji, which is their sacred mountain and I was able to tell them that I'm in a town of 6,000 near Westport, beside our sacred mountain [Croagh Patrick]. 'It was a courtesy call and what I wanted to achieve was to see if we could do a swap of junior managers where three or four of theirs would visit us for a month and ours would go to them. It would be an interesting experience for our management team and they seem open to the idea.' Tierney believes Irish manufacturers can learn a lot from their Japanese peers, and that the market can be a fruitful trading ground for others. 'It's amazing that there are more than 100 Irish entrepreneurs in Japan this week to try and bring some of the learnings home because we have to improve, and learning from Japan is the best way to do it. I feel a debt of gratitude to Japan for teaching us how to make our company better.'
BBC News
20-05-2025
- BBC News
The GAA Social The life & legacy of Sean Brown. Explained by his daughter Clare and 87-year-old wife Bridie.
In 1997, less than a year before the Good Friday Agreement, Sean Brown was locking the gates of Bellaghy GAA club. He was abducted and killed by loyalists, his body dumped beside his burnt out Ford Sierra. 28 years later, the Brown family continue to search for answers. Bridie Brown lost her husband, she also lost her son Damian. The entire Brown family were flanked by 10,000 people in the Co Derry village recently, and their search for 'what' and 'why' continues. But who was Sean Brown? What was he like? Why was he so important to the broad Bellaghy community, a friend of Seamus Heaney and how has the family moved on? This podcast talks to his daughter Clare and his wife Bridie. It is, a powerful listen.
BreakingNews.ie
19-05-2025
- Politics
- BreakingNews.ie
Public inquiry only current way to deliver truth to Sean Brown's family
A public inquiry is currently the only way to deliver a human rights-compliant investigation into the murder of GAA official Sean Brown, the Tánaiste has insisted. Simon Harris reiterated his support for the Brown family on a visit to Belfast on Monday. Advertisement Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn has applied for a Supreme Court appeal on judicial rulings in Belfast that compel him to establish a public inquiry into the 1997 murder by loyalist paramilitaries. People in the town of Bellaghy, Co Derry, which came to a standstill on Friday night as they took part in a march in support of the family of Sean Brown (Rebecca Black/PA) Mr Brown, 61, the then chairman of Wolfe Tones GAA Club in the Co Derry town of Bellaghy, was ambushed, kidnapped and murdered as he locked the gates of the club in May 1997. No-one has ever been convicted of his killing. Preliminary inquest proceedings last year heard that in excess of 25 people had been linked by intelligence to the murder, including several state agents. Advertisement It had also been alleged in court that surveillance of a suspect in the murder was temporarily stopped on the evening of the killing, only to resume again the following morning. This year Appeal Court judges in Belfast affirmed an earlier NI High Court ruling compelling the Government to hold a public inquiry. However, Mr Benn is attempting to take the case onward for further appeal at the Supreme Court, insisting the case involves a key constitutional principle of who should order public inquiries, the Government or the judiciary. Mr Harris met with members of the Brown family, including Mr Brown's 87-year-old widow Bridie, in Dublin last week. Advertisement After meeting with political leaders at Stormont to discuss legacy issues, the Tánaiste made clear he supported the family's call for a public inquiry. 'That's been the long-established position of the Irish government, and it remains the position of the Irish government,' he said. 'I want the Brown family to have a mechanism that has never been provided to them, which has to be Article Two (of the European Convention on Human Rights) compliant in terms of human rights and international law. 'I met the Brown family last week, and I was really, really taken by the huge level of pain and suffering, and the lack of answers that they are going on, that is continuing to this very day. Advertisement 'A public inquiry is currently the only mechanism for it that is Article Two compliant.' Asked about the potential Supreme Court appeal, Mr Harris added: 'My view in relation to the killing of Sean Brown is very clear. People in the town of Bellaghy, Co Derry, during a march in support of the family of Sean Brown (Rebecca Black/PA) 'I want the family to have truth and justice that has been denied to them to date, and I want them to have it in a way that is Article Two compliant. 'I supported their calls for an inquiry. Advertisement 'I don't want to comment on any ongoing legal processes out of respect to the different roles that I and the British Government have, but I very much support the Brown family.' Bellaghy came to a standstill on Friday evening as thousands of people showed their support for the Brown family's call for a public inquiry. People travelled from across the island of Ireland, including as far away as Co Kerry, to take part in a Walk For Truth event from St Mary's Church through the town to the home of Bellaghy Wolfe Tones club. Those in attendance included First Minister Michelle O'Neill, Sinn Féin president Mary Lou McDonald, SDLP MLAs Patsy McGlone and Justin McNulty and GAA president Jarlath Burns. Many wore GAA shirts from their home clubs or counties as they showed solidarity with the Brown family. There was a spontaneous round of applause for Mr Brown's family who led the procession as it reached the town centre.
BreakingNews.ie
16-05-2025
- Politics
- BreakingNews.ie
Crowd backs calls for public inquiry into 1997 murder of GAA official
The home town of a GAA official murdered almost 30 years ago came to a standstill on Friday evening as thousands showed their support for his family's call for a public inquiry. It comes after the UK Government confirmed that it will seek to appeal to the Supreme Court over a court ruling that ordered it to hold a public inquiry into the killing of Sean Brown. Advertisement Mr Brown's family met Tánaiste Simon Harris earlier this week as part of their campaign to see a public inquiry heard. Friday evening saw people travel from across Ireland, including as far away as Co Kerry, to Bellaghy to take part in a Walk For Truth event from St Mary's Church through the town to the home of Bellaghy Wolfe Tones GAC. Tánaiste Simon Harris (left) speaking to Sean Brown's widow Bridie Brown (second right) and daughters Clare Loughlan (centre) and Siobhan Brown (right) (Niall Carson/PA) Many wore GAA shirts from their home clubs or counties as they showed solidarity with the Brown family. There was a spontaneous round of applause for Mr Brown's family who led the procession as it reached the town centre. Advertisement Mr Brown, 61, the then-chairman of the club in the Co Derry town, was ambushed, kidnapped and murdered by loyalist paramilitaries as he locked the gates of the club in May 1997. No one has ever been convicted of his killing. A march in support of the family of Sean Brown (Rebecca Black/PA) Preliminary inquest proceedings last year heard that in excess of 25 people had been linked by intelligence to the murder, including several state agents. It had also been alleged in court that surveillance of a suspect in the murder was temporarily stopped on the evening of the killing, only to resume again the following morning. Advertisement Appeal Court judges in Belfast affirmed an earlier High Court ruling compelling the Government to hold a public inquiry. It said the failure to hold such an inquiry was unlawful. However, Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn says the case involves a key constitutional principle of who should order public inquiries, the Government or the judiciary.
