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‘McGuinness suspect in double police killing’ – Herald
Read more about: Crime, Democracy, Media, Nationalism, Northern Ireland, Sinn Féin, Uncategorized, Who Would lose out 
The Evening Herald has claimed that SF Presidential candidate Martin McGuinness is the main suspect in the murder of two policemen gunned down in an IRA ambush in Derry:
SINN Fein Presidential candidate Martin McGuinness is the main suspect in the brutal murder of two policemen, the Herald can reveal.
Sergeant Peter Gilgunn (26) and Constable David Montgomery (20), were gunned down in an IRA ambush as they travelled in an RUC patrol car in Derry.
They were the first police officers to lose their lives in a terrorist incident in the city for 50 years.
The ambush 40 years ago came just three days before Bloody Sunday sent shockwaves right across the Province.
….
The claims further calls SF’s credibility into question hours before the polls open in the Presidential Election. The revelation comes after McGuiness altered his account of Sean Gallagher’s alleged contacts with businessman and former convicted fuel-smuggler and former tax-evader Hugh Morgan.
They also printed a retraction of their accusation that David Norris was travelling while on disability pay. They have not covered themselves in glory this election; why should we believe them, especially given the muckraking nature of the language in that report?
FT,
Does any of this matter at this stage? Martin McGuinness looks unlikely to be elected as President. If he was, then there would be a massive problem, as various people would come forward to challenge his narrative that he left the IRA after 1974 and ultimately was, in fact, involved in the murder of people, or in ordering or facilitating their murder through his approval, tacit or explicit, of various IRA factions’ military actions after that date. His election would be a disaster for the Irish state. Happily it appears unlikely in any case.
At least so I hope, FT. SF are degrading political discourse ‘down here’, as McGuinness puts it, as they have done in their own statelet.
Good luck to them; and even better luck to the common sense of the Irish people. Hopefully, our own political class will begin to cotten on to themselves as well after this debacle.
At least McGuinness helped scupper the FF candidate’s election hopes. I think it was great to have a trial by Media of the Provo candidate. It’s the closest we’ll get to a Truth and Reconciliation hearing concerning the murderous war in the 6 counties for the foreseeable future!
RTE are calling it for Michael D.
Yes Chestnut. As LBJ said “Let him deny it”. Mud sticks, whether it’s true or not. The media made up their mind at an early stage they were going to have Michael D come what may, and one by one proceeded to assassinate the character of the other candidates. Fair place to the 400,000 Gallagher voters not taken in by the Dublin 4 propaganda-machine.
On the positive side the inquiries/show-trial referendum looks like it could be defeated but it will be close. This is far more important than a relatively powerless figurehead.
FT,
I agree strongly that the inquiries referendum is a grave issue. I voted against the change.
On the presidency, I think Seán Gallagher’s leap from 20 to 40% was astonishing. I haven’t seen or heard any of the broadcast coverage of this election campaign, choosing only to follow the web for written reporting and commentary. So I haven’t experienced the Gallagher likeability or charisma. His election literature delivered to my door was vacuous. I found no reasons to vote for him, and several reasons to not vote for him. In the end I voted 1 to 5 for candidates with previous experience as elected public representatives.
I believe Galagher’s inexperience and political naivety let him down. But hell, he was asking to become president of a country not King of the Jungle or winner of Celebrity Bainisteoir. The electorate should be grateful that the media have done their job well on this cccasion.
“The electorate should be grateful that the media have done their job well on this cccasion.
”
I wouldn’t call Pat Kenny referencing a fake twitter account on Frontline “doing their job well”, Humble Chestnut.
Did it too well, maybe, and McGuinness may have been doing a Dana by using the occasion unfairly and without firm facts, but the substantive point was that Gallagher has failed to convince people that he was just some Forrest Gump characetr who had just kept finding himself in the middle of Fianna Fáil situations.
And in a choice between Forrest Gump and Bilbo Baggins, it’s clear which character is the most enticing. MDH was a most active and innovative Minister for Arts and Culture in his time; here’s hoping he brings the same to his Presidency.