Archive for the ‘Child Abuse’ Category
Belfast Child Abuse Scandal : KINCORA MONSTER DENIED ALL WHEN CONFRONTED BY AUTHOR IN THIS EXTRACT FROM HIS NEW BOOK, KINCORA: BRITAIN’S SHAME
Child Abuse remains a major crime problem in Ireland, on both sides of the border. Veteran reporter Chris Moore has worked tirelessly researching the issue, and fighting state censorship.
Governments running the two bits of Ireland must stop pocketing knowledge of abuse, and then using the information for political intelligence purposes, and protecting powerful wealthy criminals.
The building at the centre of the scandal was demolished three years ago, but the cover up of the crimes committed behind its walls continues.
Suzanne Breen, Journalist, Belfast
It is long past the time that the full truth was told about what happened in the house of horrors.
McGrath denied his sins to the end – one of his last interviews
Chris Moore, Sunday Life, May 18th, 2025
Source : “McGrath Denied His Sins to the End” Kincora Monster Denied All
KINCORA MONSTER DENIED ALL WHEN CONFRONTED BY AUTHOR IN THIS EXTRACT FROM HIS NEW BOOK, KINCORA: BRITAIN’S SHAME
I parked in the forecourt of a neighbourhood shop with the intention of asking if anyone could direct me to McGrath’s home.
I presented a few items for payment, casually asking the shopkeeper if she could point me in the direction of his house.
Politely, but firmly, she declined, saying that as far as she and others in the village were concerned, ‘Billy’ McGrath was a friendly man who said he had been badly wronged in the courts and pestered by reporters.
“I suppose you are one of them,” she said bluntly. I owned up and then respectfully suggested that the evidence that convicted him indicated that, far from being wronged, McGrath had actually got off very lightly.
Collecting my change, I headed out to the car to consider my next move. I could do the door-to-door routine, but the attitude of the shopkeeper suggested I would receive little cooperation. Then, an elderly man approached, wearing a cardigan, dark trousers and slippers, so obviously he had not travelled too far.
I got out of the car and watched as he moved towards the shop. There is a God, I thought. Gingerly I edged around the car, proffering my hand as he reached me.
He accepted, we shook and I announced myself as “Chris Moore from the BBC”. McGrath smiled wryly and told me he had nothing to say.
Read the rest of this entry »‘I was raped by Mountbatten in Kincora at 11; he wasn’t a lord… to me he was king of the paedophiles’ – Journalist Chris Moore makes sensational new allegations in a new book
Chris Moore from Belfast is no ordinary journalist.
He has worked for decades on the Kincora child abuse scandal. After extensive new research he makes credible allegations about the British royal family’s Lord Mountbatten (killed by an August 1979 IRA bomb in the western Irish county of Sligo) and a wide-ranging British state cover-up.
A new book brings the story up-to-date.
Link :
Readers are recommended to go and see the film “Lost Boys” whenever they get the chance – despite the British State’s efforts to kill the story, aided and abetted by the Irish police force, An Gárda Síochána (Guardians of the Peace).
All of this is grim reading.
Awkward Child Abuse Questions for New Conservative Pope Leo XIV (Robert Prevost) Savaged by Donald Trump’s MAGA Attack Dogs
A Cardinal born in the USA city of Chicago 69 years ago – Robert Prevost – will in future be called Pope Leo XIV.
No surprise – child abuse allegations lurk – let’s see
The child abuse connection with Pope Leo XIV is probably the same as all top leaders of the Catholic Church. He wasn’t interested when the news started to break, he moved the rapists to a new parish or new job, while remaining indifferent to the victims.
Pope Francis’ small reforms like allowing communion to LGBT or divorced and remarried people seem likely to be accepted as a modernisation.
Let’s wait and see.
Here is an extract from an Irish Times report “The cardinal, who is a member of the Order of St Augustine, resembles Francis in his commitment to the poor and migrants. Often described as reserved and discreet, Prevost will depart stylistically from Francis. His supporters say he will most likely continue the consultative process started by Francis to invite laypeople to meet with bishops.
It is unclear whether he will be as open to LGBTQ+ Catholics as Francis was. Although he has not said much recently, in a 2012 address to bishops, he lamented that Western news media and popular culture fostered “sympathy for beliefs and practices that are at odds with the Gospel”. He cited the “homosexual lifestyle” and “alternative families comprised of same-sex partners and their adopted children.”
Rev Michele Falcone (46), a priest in the Order of St. Augustine previously led by Prevost, described his mentor and friend as the “dignified middle of the road” to the New York Times earlier this week.
“He does not have excesses,” Fr Falcone said of Prevost. “Blessing babies, yes. Taking them in his arms, no.”
“I know that Bob believes that everybody has a right and a duty to express themselves in the church,” said Rev Mark R Francis, a former classmate of Prevost who runs the American arm of the Clerics of St Viator, a religious order.
While praised in Peru for supporting Venezuelan immigrants and visiting far-flung communities, the cardinal has drawn criticism over his dealings with priests accused of sexual abuse.
One woman in Chiclayo, who said she and two other women were sexually abused by two priests as girls long before Prevost was bishop, accused him of mishandling an investigation and of not stopping one of the priests from celebrating Mass.
Jeffrey Donaldson Abuse Case : Journalist Sam McBride highlights a key fact
Political journalist Sam McBride points out :
“It has been widely reported that Sir Jeffrey Donaldson said in a letter to the DUP that he will strenuously contest the serious charges against him. However, he has said nothing yet in public. Now we know when he will have to enter a plea: September 10.”
A Stormont law said it’s a criminal offence to say “Jimmy Savile was a paedophile” – Judge ruled this is perverse, Minister Naomi Long launches appeal
On the face of it this is political loony-land – and so much for the liberal reputation of Alliance Party leader Naomi Long, currently trying to take the East Belfast Westminster seat of DUP leader Gavin Robinson – the result will be known in the early hours of Friday July 5.
Political Journalist Sam McBride explains the background in two articles below.
One correspondent asked McBride a relevant question, straining to give Long the benefit of the doubt :
Read the rest of this entry »Birds of a Feather Flock Together – Vladimir Putin, Donald Trump, Nigel Farage and Sammy Wilson MP (DUP, East Antrim)
There is more to this story than initially meets the eye. Much capitalist development is based on Ethnic Cleansing of original populations and the plantation of new non-indigenous populations – it happened in the United States of America (USA) and Australia – naming just two. It did not happen so brutally in Ireland – but British imperialism made a significant effort.
Links :
Plantation of Ulster
Ethnic Cleansing of Ireland – Wikipedia
The Northern province of Ulster was “planted” in the 1600’s, but the native Irish were not completely exterminated. Waves of native Irish emigrated – especially in the 19th century after a misnamed Famine (in reality a “Great Hunger” caused by British Imperialist Policy) drove millions of the native Irish to the four corners of the globe. These emigrants kept alive the idea of Irish freedom, and played a significant role in every attempt to rid Ireland of British rule.
The stubborn Irish “national question” remains on today’s agenda because of the 1922 Anglo-Irish Treaty which divided Ireland into 2 sectarian states. A key feature of extreme Irish Unionism is identification with plantation/ethnic cleansing forms of capitalism – and that goes a long way towards explaining Irish far-right Unionist sympathy for the present day attempted ethnic cleansing of Palestine and Ukraine. We should situate recent pro-Putin and anti-Ukraine statements by the British far-right politician Nigel Farage and Sammy Wilson within this framework :
Link :
The Russian imperialist occupation of Crimea, Luhansk and Donetsk is ethnic cleansing capitalism in action – accompanied by child stealing and abuse similar to the behaviour of the Catholic Church in the 26 county bit of Ireland from the 1930’s to the 1990’s.
An excellent Ukrainian blog, Ukr-Taz, covers the story of Putin’s ethnic cleansing dreams in Ukraine, and Donald Trump’s enthusiastic support :
Trump on Putin’s “dream”
29 06 2024
For all that can be said about Thursday’s debate between Joe Biden and Donald Trump — including about the former’s dismal performance and about the boundless creativity of Trump’s fabrications on almost every topic under the sun — Trump’s curious note about Putin’s “dream” stood out to me:
Read the rest of this entry »Robert Ballagh’s “The Thirtieth of January”: A Bloody Sunday Painting and the Troubles in the Two Bits of Ireland
In this interview the artist Robert Ballagh discusses the painting “The Thirtieth of January”, depicting Bloody Sunday in Derry in 1972. The conversation provides valuable insights into Ballagh’s personal experiences and artistic process, shedding light on the political and social context of the time.
The interview provides a unique insight into the historical and cultural significance of the painting.
Critical issues related to the Irish government’s response to the conflict, the impact of the Bloody Sunday event, and the broader social and political implications are highlighted. Ballagh’s commentary on the role of the Irish government, the impact on nationalist communities, and the establishment of the Special Criminal Court adds depth to the discussion.
Bloody Sunday Painting – the Thirtieth of January – Robert Ballagh
Thursday, January 20 2022. John Meehan interviews the artist Robert Ballagh in Number Five Arbour Hill.
We are talking about Robert’s painting : The Thirtieth of January, a representation of Bloody Sunday in Derry, January 30 1972.
John Meehan :
Why did you zone in on Derry’s Bloody Sunday , and put so much effort into making this painting? What makes it different from so many other big events during “The Troubles” in the north of Ireland, which lasted for 30 years, from 1968 to 1998?
Robert Ballagh
Well, it’s a long time ago now 50 years, but I have to say that it had an enormous effect on me, and I don’t think I’m alone with that historical experience. I suppose one thing I should say, I was only thinking about this, and I haven’t said anything about this experience to others. I’m a Dubliner. I’ve lived all my life in Dublin. But unlike most Dubliners – it wasn’t by design – I had an extraordinary rich knowledge of the North of Ireland, before the conflict began. Because I was a professional musician in a showband. We used to play at least once or twice a week in the north. So I was in every town village or city in the north that had a ballroom or ballrooms. And so I experienced the reality of life in that society, and became very aware of the sectarian differences, shall we say – the nature of the society, which people didn’t appreciate at all. I tell one very short story to illustrate that. We played fairly regularly in one of the very popular ballrooms in Belfast : Romano’s in Queen Street. We developed quite a following! In the show business vernacular the word groupie was used. These girls used follow us, they came down to Dublin once or twice to hear us. And we were playing one night in Romano’s.
After the dance, they came up and we’re talking to us. They asked “When are you playing again in Belfast?”.
I remember saying “Oh, I think we’re here next week.”
“Oh, really?”
“Yeah – we’re playing in a ballroom called the Astor” which I knew was in Smithfield.
And they said, “Oh, we can’t go there.” And I said, “Why?” – because it was a public ballroom. It wasn’t attached to any organization or anything. It was a public ballroom.
They said, “Oh, no, that’s a taig hall”
And it was the first time I realized, and we realized, that our fan base in Belfast was Protestant.
Saving Sodomy from Ulster – Public professions of Christianity frequently mask horrible crimes
Slugger O’Toole is a politically liberal site based in the 6 county bit of Ireland. One of its writers observes :
One of the great lessons in life is that the more someone publicly professes to be a ‘Christian,’ the more unchristian their private life is.
Years ago, I met one of the leading figures in the Save Ulster From Sodomy Campaign. I have a surprisingly good gaydar for a straight guy, and it was pinging off the chart. This guy had spent much of the 70s and 80s persecuting gays while himself being as gay as Eurovision. I felt sorry for him; he was a product of his upbringing. To live your life as a lie and with such self-loathing must be very tiring on the soul.
https://sluggerotoole.com/2024/03/30/public-morality-private-hypocrisy/
The Save Ulster from Sodomy campaign was a vicious anti-gay operation run by the Democratic Unionist party (DUP) and the Reverend Ian Paisley’s Free Presbyterian church. Paisley, a busy man, was leader of the DUP, and moderator of his church.
An effective counter-campaign, Save Sodomy from Ulster, was the brainchild of Tarlach Mac Niallais. Link : CoVid-19 Has Taken Tarlach Mac Niallais From Us in New York – A Courageous Fighter from North Belfast who “Saved Sodomy from Ulster”
In Ireland, Christianity took over public life after the partition settlement of 1922. The Catholic Church controlled key parts of the state in the 26 county southern bit. In the North the Orange State was a Protestant State for a Protestant People.
Read the rest of this entry »Piety and Politics of the Democratic Unionist party in the Six County bit of Ireland – with the fall of Sir Jeffrey Donaldson “It feels like the end of days now”
In his final public sighting as DUP leader, Sir Jeffrey Donaldson was at Stormont for a Christian Easter service.
It was Wednesday evening and there was a feel-good sense in Parliament Buildings. The DUP and Sinn Fein had been working together harmoniously for eight weeks, and now politicians were coming together for an uplifting ecumenical concert.
With Donaldson in the audience, prayers were said for political leaders, and at the end the relaxed DUP leader went to have his photo taken with Eurovision winner Dana, who was singing at the event.
Sir Jeffrey Donaldson MP and his wife Eleanor are scheduled to appear in court on April 24 in connection with serious criminal charges (described below). In the next weeks and months we will see how this story unfolds. The context is important – what effect will this have on the the Democratic Unionist party (DUP) which Mr Donaldson led until Good Friday 2024?
In a context where extreme right forces are on the march in most parts of the world, it is useful to add some Irish cross-border detail to Jeffrey Donaldson’s “final public sighting as DUP leader”. Sir Jeffrey was pleased to pose for a photo with Eurovision winner Dana (Rosemary Scallon) who attempted (and failed) to revive the religious far-right in the 26 County bit of Ireland. In the late 1990’s Scallon had some brief electoral success in a Presidential election, and won a European Parliament seat. However by 2011 Scallon’s political green-devil comet crashed and burned. The extremist Catholic far-right had become deeply unpopular. Most people in Ireland had turned against the Catholic Church, deeply implicated in a succession of child abuse scandals and hatred of pro-feminist causes such as the legalisation of abortion , divorce, same-sex marriage, contraception and gay rights. Shrewder right -wing politicians such as Fine Gael Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Enda Kenny saw the writing on the wall ; In the Dáil (parliament) this leader of the Dublin government stated that the Vatican was responsible for the “torture” of Irish children.
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Tomás Ó Flatharta 