Latest news with #FrankMurray
Sunday World
17-05-2025
- Politics
- Sunday World
Cop turned writer reveals story of ex-RUC detective's war against the IRA and UVF
Dr William Machett reveals amazing career of policing 'legend' Franck Murray who battled against both sides during the Troubles PACEMAKER BELFAST MAY 1987 JH/MW MONTAGE PIC OF THE 8 IRA MEN WHO WERE SHOT DEAD BY THE SAS AS THEY TRIED TO BLOW UP LOUGHGALL RUC STATION. FROM TOP LEFT-PATRICK McKEARNEY, TONY GORMLEY,JIM LYNAGH, PADDY KELLY. FROM BOTTOM LEFT-DECLAN ARTHURS, GERARD O'CALLAGHAN, SEAMUS DONNELLY AND EUGENE KELLY. 388/87/BW William Matchett who spent over 30 years working as a police officer with the RUC and PSNI mostly in special branch in South Armagh and Tyrone speaks to the Sunday World A top cop's war against IRA and UVF members hiding in plain sight inside the police will be revealed in a new book. The late Detective Chief Superintendent Francis Murray is still held in the highest esteem by his former colleagues who battled terror on the front line of south Armagh. And now his former colleague turned academic and Troubles author Dr William Machett will lift the lid on Frank's amazing career as a senior Catholic police officer serving in the RUC. DCI Frank Murray – Stopping the Serial Killers is in the final stages of completion. And speaking to the Sunday World, Dr Machett told us: 'By any standards, Frank Murray was a remarkable man. But he was also a remarkable police officer who believed the public should be protected against republican and loyalist terrorism. 'Murray's knowledge of the motivation which drove the terrorists was second to none. But he also firmly believed republican and loyalist violence couldn't be defeated by conventional policing methods. Frank Murray 'He developed his own ideas and he believed intelligence-led policing coupled with a greater military muscle than the terrorists could offer would work. And he set about winning over others to his point of view. 'It should never be forgotten, it was Frank Murray who also rooted out anti-Catholic officers and criminal law-breakers inside the RUC. He used his superior intellect to arrest them and see that they were jailed for life.' Dr Machett added: 'Frank Murray masterminded a plan to neutralise the Provisional IRA at Loughgall. It was a dreadful incident and innocent people were also killed, but it led to the IRA eventually calling off its campaign of violence.' On 7 July 1975, Det Sgt Murray – as he was at the time – was one of a number of RUC officers investigating a break-in at Carrick Primary School in Lurgan. Acting on information, he opened a drawer on the headmaster's desk. A booby-trapped bomb immediately detonated, killing Murray's colleague, 26-year-old Constable Andrew Johnston. Both officers took the full force of the blast and Sgt Murray lost an eye, a hand and a leg. Murray had been tricked into opening the drawer by an IRA informant who left Northern Ireland immediately to live out his life in the Republic. Murray was rushed to hospital where he underwent surgery, but wasn't expected to live. Against all odds, he pulled through and despite his horrendous injuries, three years later he returned to policing duties. 'This proves Frank Murray's commitment to the community he served,' said Dr Machett. 'And almost immediately he became known to his police colleagues as 'The Bionic Man' after a popular TV series.' . By this stage, Frank Murray – who died of cancer in 1997 aged 51 – had been posted to the Orange Citadel of Portadown. And it was there he first encountered the loyalist terrorists RJ Kerr and Robin 'The Jackal' Jackson. Robin Jackson UVF killer Jackson – who had led the Miami Showband Massacre – made no secret that he hated Murray with a passion. But Jackson was also terrified of the RUC detective and he avoided him as much as possible. 'Jackson even refused to refer to Frank Murray by his name. He would only called him 'that Big Fenian F***er' or BFF for short, he never called him Frank Murray,' said Dr Machett. aware In 1980, Murray became aware that a number of his officers were members of the mid-Ulster UVF. He recruited the assistance of Kevin Sheehy – another Catholic police officer from Belfast – and together they planned a strategy to bring the terrorist cops to book. Days before Christmas, Murray arrested Sgt Billy McCaughey, a Protestant who had been a member of the Reverend Ian Paisley's Protestant Volunteers. Murray also arrested John Weir, a Monaghan-born member of an RUC Special Patrol Group. 'During a pre-arrest briefing, one officer told Frank Murray he believed the police officers appeared to be sympathetic to the UVF,' said Dr Machett. 'But Frank Murray told the officer, 'They are members of the UVF.' Dr Machett says Murray knew the importance of psychology and knew McCaughey was a heavy drinker. His officers arrived at the McCaughey house just before Christmas. The presents were under the tree and decorations were around the house. 'And after arresting McCaughey, Murray also arrested his parents. This had a devastating effect on McCaughey and he soon confessed to involvement in a string of murders,' said Dr Machett. The author also revealed how Murray outwitted John Weir. 'Having extracted a confession from McCaughey, Frank Murray allowed McCaughey to speak to John Weir to explain why he made a confession which named him. 'Despite both being police officers, Weir and McCaughey had no proper understanding of the law. They were unaware a co-accused isn't allowed to testify against an accomplice. And as a result, they both made full confessions and they were sent to jail for a long time,' said Dr Machett. In the late 1980s, the IRA stepped up its campaign and it was enjoying great success against the security forces. In a six-month period in 1987, it carried out 22 attacks with considerable loss of life. And yet in the same time period, the IRA only lost three members and two of them were accidents. When the IRA blew up an elderly judge and his wife on their way back to Northern Ireland, it began to look as though the IRA was winning. Following an attack on the RUC at Dungannon on May 7, Chief Constable Jack Hermon said the response would be 'tougher, different and sharper'. By this time, Murray was Detective Superintendent in charge of the RUCs Special Branch. The attack at Dungannon was an attempt on his life. Through one of his sources, Murray discovered the IRA planned to attack the RUC station in Loughgall, Co Armagh, where the Orange Order had been founded. Murray threw all of his resources into planning a counter-attack and he enlisted the SAS. At 7.20pm on 8 May 1987, a digger driven by the IRA with a bomb in its bucket smashed through the gate of Loughgall RUC station. A van carrying heavily armed IRA men followed. All eight IRA men died as state forces fired 1,200 rounds. 'We didn't know it at the time, but Loughgall was the beginning of the end of the IRA campaign. And in the new book,' said Dr Machett. 'In policing terms, Frank Murray was indeed a legend.'
Irish Times
29-04-2025
- Health
- Irish Times
Should plans to put cancer warning labels on alcohol go ahead? A doctor and a wine expert debate
Frank Murray: Yes. As a liver specialist, I have seen first hand the catastrophic harms of alcohol Alcoholic drinks should carry a warning label because these labels speak a plain truth: alcohol causes enormous amounts of illness and death in Ireland. As a liver specialist, I have seen at first hand the catastrophic harms of alcohol on individuals. Alcohol is a silent killer. Unfortunately, the vast majority of patients with alcohol-related cirrhosis only come to healthcare when their liver disease is irreversible and will lead to their death. Death from liver failure often occurs after many prolonged hospital and ICU admissions, and involves real suffering. It was witnessing this that led me – alongside many of my medical colleagues – to become involved in advocating to reduce alcohol consumption and its harmful consequences. We are passionately committed to the introduction of alcohol health warning labelling in May 2026. READ MORE Alcohol kills four people a day in Ireland, and causes more than 200 types of illness and injury, including seven types of common fatal cancers, foetal alcohol spectrum disorder and fatal liver diseases. These clear, evidence-based facts are the subjects of the alcohol warning labels. Citizens have a right to know the inherent risk and be warned, while Government and producers have a responsibility to inform them. Most Irish citizens do not know or understand the risks of alcohol consumption. In recognising this lack of knowledge, and the public health objective to reduce alcohol consumption and harms, the Public Health (Alcohol) Act (PHAA) was passed unanimously by Oireachtas in 2018. This included provisions to place alcohol health warning labels on all alcohol products sold in Ireland. The issue was thoroughly examined and approved after 1,000 days of debate. Against the enormous harms of alcohol, the suggestion recently from a senior Government minister, Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe, that the introduction of Ireland's regulations on health information and warning labelling of alcohol products should be 're-examined' amid concerns about tariffs is shocking and disturbing. Why has it taken so long for alcohol products to carry health warnings? The answer is the inappropriate influence of the alcohol industry Ireland's labelling regulations are a health measure and must be understood in the context of the burden that alcohol places on individuals, families, the health service and our wider society. Attempting to link global trading uncertainty as a result of US tariffs to the issue of alcohol health-warning labelling designed to protect our citizens' health is disingenuous. Labelling measures apply only to alcohol products sold in Ireland and have no impact on alcohol exports. As stated by the World Health Organisation and others, the alcohol industry cannot have a direct role in formulating and implementing public health policy. The alcohol industry is alarmed that these labels will reduce alcohol sales and their profits, precisely because the product will state the truth of the risks of alcohol consumption. With all of these proven harms from alcohol in mind, the real question to be asked is why has it taken so long for alcohol products to carry health warnings? The answer to this is the inappropriate influence of the alcohol industry. The eyes of the world are on Ireland and our introduction of alcohol health warning and nutrition labelling in May next year. Delaying their operation would be seen as a victory for 'Big Alcohol' over citizens' rights and their health, and damage Ireland's reputation. Prof Frank Murray MD FRCPI is a consultant hepatologist in Dublin, chair of Alcohol Action Ireland and past president of the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland (RCPI) Jean Smullen: No. Current labelling regulations will place a big burden on small retailers On May 26th next year Ireland will become the first country in the world to introduce on label health warnings in relation to the sale and consumption of alcohol. Section 12 of The Public Health (Alcohol) (Labelling) Regulations 2023 was signed into law by Stephen Donnelly, then minister for health, following the dismissal of many objections. The law provides that the labels of alcohol products will have to state the calorie content and grams of alcohol in the product. Retailers will also need to ensure that every container that contains alcohol they have for sale carries a specified health message printed in red against a white background: 'drinking alcohol causes liver disease' and 'there is a direct link between alcohol and fatal cancers'. Drinking Alcohol There can be no doubting the good intentions of the former minister in introducing these new regulations, which aim to educate consumers on the dangers of excessive alcohol consumption and to provide calorie information. However, as is often the case in Ireland, the impact on small businesses in meeting the requirements of the new regulations was not fully examined before their introduction. These will place a significant burden on small retailers and hospitality businesses already facing an uncertain future from the US tariffs and a looming global recession. These unintended consequences must be recognised by the Government. They can be addressed in a way which will allow the policy to achieve the desired effect. EU Law requires the nutritional information to be displayed on a wine label per 100ml from the 2024 vintage onwards, alongside a QR code linking to the ingredients. Our new regulations will require the same information to be presented per container, without any reference to the unit of measure. We feel that this goes against the spirit of the legislation by causing confusion rather than clarity. The priority should be to provide clear information to guide consumers in their choice. In a clear case of the left hand not knowing what the right hand is doing, it is introducing a policy that will further squeeze a sector already hanging by a thread Unlike beers and spirits, the nutritional values on wines change with every vintage, meaning that each wine and each vintage has a unique label. A simple calculation would estimate that more than a quarter of a million different labels would be needed to be produced, putting undue pressure on small independent retailers, restaurants and distributors. As importers and distributors of wines, we have actively engaged with our suppliers regarding the implementation of the health warning. The new regulations stipulate that the label must be in landscape format. In some cases, we are having difficulty fitting the PHAA-mandated warning along with other regulatory information on to the label. Given the cost and complication of complying with the legislation, many small wine producers, and even some larger ones, have decided to leave the Irish market. This will reduce competition and leave many smaller Irish wine importers fighting for their survival. We could overcome this if the information could be displayed in portrait or landscape formats. Portrait format would display the same information with the same overall label size, achieving the same desired effect, but in a format that works with more bottle's shapes and label formats. Logistics aside, we also need to ask if this is the right time to introduce these new regulations. CSO data points to sharp falls in overseas visitors – 30 per cent down in January and February compared to the same months last year – raising fears that Irish industries reliant on tourism are facing a sharp downturn. US president Donald Trump 's tariff policy may yet lead to a global economic downturn, if not an outright recession. We are already seeing market instability, disrupted supply chains and increased costs for businesses. The Government, in keeping the 9 per cent VAT rate, has recognised the need to support the hospitality sector. But now, in a clear case of the left hand not knowing what the right hand is doing, it is introducing a policy that will further squeeze a sector already hanging by a thread. In the context of the emerging crisis of US tariffs and the pressure that this brings for businesses large and small, if Government wants to focus on doing everything possible for competitiveness and avoiding unnecessary regulatory burdens, then it needs to defer the proposed alcohol labelling regulations. Jean Smullen WSET Dip has worked in the wine industry in Ireland for 34 years and is administrator for the Irish Association of Wine Suppliers (IAWS), an association representing independent wine importing companies in Ireland
