IRISH-AMERICANS WELCOME CONGRESSIONAL HEARING

Posted By: March 09, 2014

CAPITOL HILL. Sunday, March 9, 2014 — Irish-Americans greatly welcome the Congressional Hearing: “The Northern Ireland Peace Process Today: Attempting to Deal with the Past” before the House Subcommittee on Human Rights, Tuesday. March 11, 2014. (See Witnesses below).

Fr. Sean Mc Manus, president of the Capitol Hill-based Irish National Caucus, explained: ” This will be the fifteenth Congressional Hearing on Northern Ireland that Congressman Chris Smith (R-NJ) will have held — a feat unequaled in the history of the U.S. Congress.  As I say in my Memoirs, My American Struggle for Justice in Northern Ireland, Congressman Smith is the human rights champion in the Congress. His Irish record is unsurpassed. ” (page 275)

Fr. Mc Manus reflected on the bad old days when human rights Hearings on Northern Ireland were banned: ” To cover up for the British Government, Hearings were banned from 1974 to 1995 — and banned with the collaboration of the Irish Government and big Irish Catholic names in the House and Senate. It was a shameful, disgraceful period in Irish-American history. But, thank God, a great Jewish-American came to our rescue. When the splendid Congressman Ben Gilman (R-NY) became Chairman of the House International Relations Committee, he immediately announced that he was going to  give ‘Fr. Mc Manus his long sought prize: a Congressional Hearing …’ ( ibid. page 275 ). Congressman Smith simultaneously became Chairman of the subcommittee on Human Rights, and the rest is history… .

Two Republican leaders saved the honor and integrity of the U.S. Congress by refusing to go along with the cover up imposed by famous Irish Catholic Democrats Tip O’Neill and Teddy Kennedy. That is something the Irish in Ireland should be more aware of since the Irish media insists in giving the impression that the Irish-charge in Congress was led by Democrats. Sadly and shamefully, the big Irish Catholic names were complicit in a corrupt cover-up — using the power of Congress to cover up British government murder, injustice and anti-Catholic oppression in Northern Ireland.”

END

Witnesses at Hearing :The Honorable Richard N. Haass;

Ms. Geraldine Finucane; Mr. Eugene Devlin, Victim of the Military Reaction Force; Ms. Julia Hall, Expert on Criminal Justice and Counter-Terrorism in Europe, Amnesty International: Baroness Nuala O’Loan , Appearing via videoconference.