2 | December 12, 2015 The Irish Post

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NEWS 2-11 COMMENT&OPINION 12-14 RÍ-RÁ 15-26 SPORT 32-40The pretence that bombing only kills bad guys is a fictionPage 13

Jack back Unstoppable showman Jack L on being born to sing Pages 20-21

Jimmy Dunne: The greatest Irish striker you never knewPage 36

Tree-mendous! How one Irish-run pub has gone all out for ChristmasPage 4

Fighting racism changed my life — the story of a Dublin woman’s battle against apartheid Pages 6-7

Irish PostTHE

BY NEMESHA BALASUNDARAM

POLICE investigating the actions of a military unit alleged to have shot unarmed civilians in the North of Ireland in the 1970s have appealed for informa-tion into a number of shootings, includ-ing two fatal incidents.

The investigation is being carried out in relation to the activities of the Military Reaction Force (MRF), a British army unit that operated in Belfast.

Detectives from the PSNI’s Legacy Investi­gation Branch are appealing for information concerning 18 incidents that took place between April and September 1972.

In total, 17 people were injured, including two fatalities.

Detective Chief Inspector Peter Montgomery, from Legacy Investigation Branch, explained: “We know these events took place a long time ago and we know they took place during one of the worst years of the Troubles when many shootings occurred but we believe there are people out there who can help us progress this investigation and we are appealing to them to contact us.”

Two years ago, a BBC documentary repor­ted that the British army ran an undercover unit that operated an authorised ‘shoot­to­kill’ policy during the Troubles in Belfast.

Members of the Military Reaction Force (MRF) told BBC Panorama programme Brit-ain’s Secret Terror Force that they targeted an unspecified number of IRA members regard­less of whether or not they were armed.

Several former members of the force were interviewed by reporter John Ware about their involvement in the unit, which was com­manded at brigadier level.

“We were not there to act like an army unit, we were there to act like a terror group,” said one former soldier. “We were there in a position to go after the IRA and kill them when we found them.”

The 40 members of the unit were specifi­cally chosen from within the British Army who operated in west Belfast between 1971

and 1973.It is not known exactly how many people

were shot by the MRF; all of the MRF’s re­cords were destroyed.

The documentary referenced the killing of Patrick McVeigh (pictured), a father of six children and a member of the Catholic Ex­ Servicemen’s Club.

The soldiers told Panorama they agreed to be interviewed because they believe their role in the fight against the IRA has not been acknowledged.

BRITISH solicitor and human rights activist Gareth Peirce was among those honoured at the highest level in Ireland this week.

Joining the Birmingham Six campaigner in receiving the Presidential Distinguished Ser-vice Award for 2015 was Fr Brendan McBride of the Irish Immigration and Pastoral Center in San Francisco and

businessman and Chair of Con-cern Worldwide Tom Moran.

The achievements of British-based businessmen Charles Handy and Niall Fitzgerald were also celebrat-ed at Áras an Uachtaráin.

The awards, now in their fourth year, honour the work of exceptional people who con-tribute to Ireland and Irish communities abroad.

Nominations are made by Irish communities overseas through Ireland’s embassy network.

Also among those who re-ceived awards from President Higgins this week were Peru-vian writer Mario Vargas Llo-sa; Japan-based priest Fr Donal Doyle; Kenyan-based health campaigner Sr Miriam Duggan as well as academic

and Chair of New York’s 2016 Commemorations Committee Maureen Murphy.

Actor Gabriel Byrne, who could not be in attendance on the evening, was also honoured.

“These awards reflect the re-markable and wide-ranging contribution of Irish people abroad to their Diaspora com-munities,” Diaspora Minister Jimmy Deenihan said.

Back: Fr. Brendan McBride, Taoiseach Enda Kenny, Foreign Affairs Minister Charles Flanagan, Diaspora Minister Jimmy Deenihan and Tom Moran. Front: Gareth Peirce, Fr. Donal Doyle, Maureen Murphy, Sabina Higgins, President Michael D Higgins, Sr. Dr Miriam Duggan, Charles Handy, Niall FitzGerald, and Mario Vargas Llosa

Peirce among Presidential Award winners

PSNI investigate alleged Troubles shootings by covert British Army unit

Incidents currently under investigation by the PSNIThe fatal shooting of 44-year-old Patrick McVeigh and shootings of four other men, aged 18, 25, 26 and 41, in the Riverdale Park area of West Belfast on May 12, 1972The fatal shooting of 18-year-old Daniel Rooney and shooting of a 18 year old man in the St James Crescent area of West Belfast on September 26, 1972The shooting of two brothers, aged 19 and 30, in the Whiterock Road area of West Belfast, at approximately 8am on April 15, 1972The shooting of an 18-year-old man in the Glen Road area of West Belfast at approximately 9pm on May 6, 1972The shooting of a 15-year-old boy outside a disco at Oliver Plunkett School, Glen Road, Belfast, at approximately 11:50pm on May 7, 1972The shooting of an 18-year-old man in the Slievegallion area of West Belfast at

approximately 11:30pm on May 12, 1972The shooting at a 34-year-old man in the Silvio Street area of North Belfast at approximately 12:20pm on May 26, 1972The shooting of four men, aged 18, 19, 21 and 28, in the Glen Road area of West Belfast, at approximately midday, on June 22, 1972An incident during which a white Austin Morris vehicle, VRM COI8368, was shot at by a male who got out of what is believed to have been a stalled vehicle in the Kashmir Road area of West Belfast at approximately 2pm on May 9, 1972

n Anyone with information regarding these incidents sjould contact the PSNI on 028 92589128 or email onLIBEnquiries@psni.pnn.police.uk

Sister Rita to the rescue for poorContinued from page 1

With plentiful resources and services on offer at the centre, Sister Rita explained that every individual seeking their help is assessed based on their benefit and employment documents when the food bank is open every Wednesday and Thursday.

The former social worker believes that in the current eco­nomic climate, the key factor to improving the lives of helpless families in Collyhurst is for the Government to create more jobs in the area.

“I’m supported by a team of volunteers, and together we’re a mighty force, we do all that we can for the people. The reason people come to the food bank is because they have concerns and problems to begin with,” she said. “We help them to sort their prob­lems out and make sure that they have enough money coming in to keep the children fed.”

Sister Rita recently met with Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Iain Duncan Smith, in London to request that benefits of the centre’s regulars do not continue to get cut.

“He was very receptive, and he’s trialling a scheme on a Thursday after our job club,” she said. “We have senior staff from Job Centre plus, so if you’re sanctioned, they can unsanction you. If that works, he’s going to trial it elsewhere.”

Sister Rita left her hometown in Ireland at the age of 17 for Britain where she joined the Sisters of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, a convent originally started in her home county by Nano Nagle in 1775.

The nun first arrived in Colly­hurst in 1961, and returned to the area nine years ago where she took up her role at The Lally Centre.

During her 50 years serving the community, she has faced many challenges, the biggest of which she describes as “apathy.”

“That’s definitely the toughest challenge,” she added. “The world is so thick there, you’re at it and you don’t seem to get anywhere.

“We’ll always have the poor, Jesus told us that, in preparation for us to know we’ll never have utopia here on earth. So, we need to be realistic. Debt, relationship problems, illness, lack of money, lack of employment will always be the same problems turning over generation to generation.”

But, in her opinion, the com­munity atmosphere at the centre is one of its greatest assets.

“Community is so thin on the ground today, that when I hear laughter and camaraderie just outside of my window, it’s music to my ears,” she said.

After serving the vulnerable for five decades, Sister Rita said that it’s her faith that drives her to continue her work.

She hopes that the BBC se­ries will be a chance for view­ers to see what the church does for the poor and to break down

religious barriers.“It’s important to see what the

church does for the community today, to show what they do for the people,” she said. “There is some detachment about the estab­lished church as people probably don’t know what the church does today.

“It’s an opportunity to show how necessary it is and also the lifestyle of a religious sister. It shows how we can all work together to achieve the greater good.”

Lord Mayor of Manchester Councillor Paul Murphy praised Sister Rita for the work that she does in helping those in need, but he suspects that with Govern­ment cuts in cities in northern England such as Manchester, the social problems are set to worsen.

Speaking to The Irish Post he said: “The work she does is essen­tial, what you see is her standing up for people, people trust her. I

suspect though that the problems are to get worse, it’s particularly worrying with the amendments to housing benefits.

“With that and the numerous health problems that people here are experiencing, it’s a major concern. Sister Rita plays a crucial role though in advising people to get flu jabs amongst other things.”

Whilst this year was a momen­tous one for Sister Rita as she marked her golden jubilee, she is confident that 2016 will be an important year for the centre.

The Lalley Centre has secured a large plot of land from Man­chester City Council that will be cultivated and used to g row fruit and vegetables for the food bank, in co­ordination with environ­mental regeneration charity, Groundwork.

She is hopeful that this could lead to the launch of a series of social enterprises that could combat the city’s poverty problems. n Sister Rita to the Rescue is on BBC One at 9.15am until Friday, December 11

TRUSTED: Manchester’s Sister Rita Lee