Wednesday, March 23, 2005
The Monaghan Bomb - Chapter 6
The Monaghan attack was carried out exclusively by Armagh loyalists working under the direction of Billy Hanna in Lurgan and included UVF and UDA men.They fouled up the operation and scored an own goal by planting the bomb outside a Protestant pub, killing four Protestants. (from page 115)
Taken from page 125:
"In 1992, during research for this book, I interviewed a number of Gardai who had worked on the Monaghan bomb investigation at the time.They provided me (Joe Tierney speaking here) with the names of Stewart Young, head of the UVF's second battallion in mid-Ulster, Nicko Jackson, UDA commander in Portadown who today lives in a council flat in Portadown spending much of his time in the local pubs and Cha Gilmore, who was not a serious player on the paramilitary scene.Others involved were Ross Hearst from South Armagh, Sammy Whitten from Portadown and Nelson Young, Stewart's brother.Young, Nicko and Cha were the principal suspects who had been involved in stealing the car and planting the bomb.They also provided the name of the farmer who organised the farm haggart in which to store the bomb as well as the owner and driver of the getaway car.They received part of their information from senior RUC officers in Portadown (the remaining intelligence they received from local loyalist informers on the border) with whom they had been liaising on such matters over a long number of years.They were 100 per cent satisfied their information was correct."
Joe Tierney goes on to say that the Gardai also gave him the name of the principle RUC officer who supplied the intelligence.He was reluctant to talk to Joe but after much persuasion he agreed.He seemed extremely nervous to Joe and his hands and lips trembled.He said to Joe that Young and Nicko had planted the bomb and Charlie had helped steal the car.
From page 125:
"A number of days before the bombing, Billy Hanna had visited a pub in Portadown to put the final touches to the operation.The bomb had been assembled by members of the British Army in a vacant house in a housing estate in the Edgarstown area of Portadown.The house had later been pulled down to make way for new housing.The British soldiers did not travel down to Monaghan and had nothing further to do with the bombing after they made the bomb, the RUC officer said."
From page 126:
"From exhaustive research I carried out in the Portadown area since 1992, I established that none of the Monaghan suspects were ever interviewed about the bombing.For a number of years during the 1970s, Stewart Young worked as an agent for the RUC - even while active as a killer terrorist - and was controlled by senior RUC officers within the county Armagh area.
For the Gardai the Monaghan investigation on the ground was led by Detective Sgt. Colm Browne, who almost single-handedly broke the entire story.He personally inteviewed almost all of the witnesses, including the loyalist informers who provided him with the vital information which allowed him to piece together almost the entire picture.He also visited and interviewed RUC officers in the North but he was not aware at that stage of the British Army's involvement.Nor was he aware that the RUC were withholding crucial pieces of the jigsaw for their own personal reasons.
At the end of the investigation it was Browne who wrote the comprehensive report on the Monaghan attack, which was passed by his boss Chief Supt John Paul McMahon to Garda H.Q. in Dublin.When I (Joe speaking here) spoke to Browne during research for this book he refused to cooperate.He is not a lover of the media."
Isn't this just absolutely extraordinary?Joe Tierney has named the men directly involved in the Monaghan bomb, men who were never even interviewed about the bomb, and he has also uncovered proof of British involvement in the making of the bomb.Joe Tierney is letting the truth be known and letting the Irish public know what happened.
Taken from page 125:
"In 1992, during research for this book, I interviewed a number of Gardai who had worked on the Monaghan bomb investigation at the time.They provided me (Joe Tierney speaking here) with the names of Stewart Young, head of the UVF's second battallion in mid-Ulster, Nicko Jackson, UDA commander in Portadown who today lives in a council flat in Portadown spending much of his time in the local pubs and Cha Gilmore, who was not a serious player on the paramilitary scene.Others involved were Ross Hearst from South Armagh, Sammy Whitten from Portadown and Nelson Young, Stewart's brother.Young, Nicko and Cha were the principal suspects who had been involved in stealing the car and planting the bomb.They also provided the name of the farmer who organised the farm haggart in which to store the bomb as well as the owner and driver of the getaway car.They received part of their information from senior RUC officers in Portadown (the remaining intelligence they received from local loyalist informers on the border) with whom they had been liaising on such matters over a long number of years.They were 100 per cent satisfied their information was correct."
Joe Tierney goes on to say that the Gardai also gave him the name of the principle RUC officer who supplied the intelligence.He was reluctant to talk to Joe but after much persuasion he agreed.He seemed extremely nervous to Joe and his hands and lips trembled.He said to Joe that Young and Nicko had planted the bomb and Charlie had helped steal the car.
From page 125:
"A number of days before the bombing, Billy Hanna had visited a pub in Portadown to put the final touches to the operation.The bomb had been assembled by members of the British Army in a vacant house in a housing estate in the Edgarstown area of Portadown.The house had later been pulled down to make way for new housing.The British soldiers did not travel down to Monaghan and had nothing further to do with the bombing after they made the bomb, the RUC officer said."
From page 126:
"From exhaustive research I carried out in the Portadown area since 1992, I established that none of the Monaghan suspects were ever interviewed about the bombing.For a number of years during the 1970s, Stewart Young worked as an agent for the RUC - even while active as a killer terrorist - and was controlled by senior RUC officers within the county Armagh area.
For the Gardai the Monaghan investigation on the ground was led by Detective Sgt. Colm Browne, who almost single-handedly broke the entire story.He personally inteviewed almost all of the witnesses, including the loyalist informers who provided him with the vital information which allowed him to piece together almost the entire picture.He also visited and interviewed RUC officers in the North but he was not aware at that stage of the British Army's involvement.Nor was he aware that the RUC were withholding crucial pieces of the jigsaw for their own personal reasons.
At the end of the investigation it was Browne who wrote the comprehensive report on the Monaghan attack, which was passed by his boss Chief Supt John Paul McMahon to Garda H.Q. in Dublin.When I (Joe speaking here) spoke to Browne during research for this book he refused to cooperate.He is not a lover of the media."
Isn't this just absolutely extraordinary?Joe Tierney has named the men directly involved in the Monaghan bomb, men who were never even interviewed about the bomb, and he has also uncovered proof of British involvement in the making of the bomb.Joe Tierney is letting the truth be known and letting the Irish public know what happened.
# posted by United Irelander @ 3:56 AM 
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