Fr.
Sean Mc Manus ( center) with
two Witnesses at Hearing :
Ciaran Mc Airt( left) and
John Teggart. Ciaran
testified on behalf of the
victims of Mc Gurk Bar
bombing and John on behalf
of the Ballymurphy Massacre
Committee.
Capitol
Hill—Wednesday, March 16,
2011--- Irish-Americans
welcome this Congressional
Hearing on Northern
Ireland: “Northern Ireland:
Why Justice in Individual
Cases Matters” before
the U.S. Commission
on Security and
Cooperation in Europe
(commonly known as The
Helsinki Commission) Chaired
by Congressman Chris Smith
(R-NJ).
“ This will be the twelfth
hearing Congressman Chris
Smith (R-NJ) has held on
human rights in Northern
Ireland. Nobody has ever
come near that
remarkable record in the
entire history of the U.S.
Congress”, said Fr. Sean Mc
Manus, president of the
Capitol Hill-based Irish
National Caucus.
Fr. Mc Manus – who has been
pushing Hearings on Northern
Ireland for almost 40 years
– added:“ And to think
that under Speakers Tip
O’Neill and Tom Foley --
and others -- all
human rights hearings on
Northern Ireland were once
shamefully banned -- from
1974 to 1995”.
“ I greatly welcome this
Hearing”, Fr. Mc Manus
continued. “ It is
so wonderful to see the Ballymurphy
Massacre Committee and the
families of the Mc Gurk Bar
bombing getting to
bring their case before the
U.S Congress. I am
sorry that my good fried,
Raymond Mc Cord, the
Belfast Protestant who has
waged a heroic battle for
justice, was unable to
travel”.
Then referring to the other
case before the Committee,
Fr. Mc Manus explained : “
The Pat Finucane case has
long been of the highest
concern to Irish-Americans.
Solidarity with Mrs.
Finucane and her family is
an enduring Irish-American
value and a top priority”.
Returning to the excellent
record of Congressman Smith,
Fr. Mc Manus said: “ In my
just released Memoirs,
My American Struggle for
Justice in Northern
Ireland”(Collins Press,
Cork), I write this about
him: “[In January 1995]
Congressman Chris Smith of
New Jersey, became Chairman
of the Human Rights
Subcommittee. He would go on
to hold eleven hearings on
the Pat Finucane case and
other human rights issues.
Chris is the quintessential
good guy – dedicated,
courageous, and committed to
human rights everywhere”(page
240). [The book is now
available at (British
)Amazon .co.uk and soon will
be available at
Amazon.com
“ Incidentally”, Fr. Mc
Manus concluded, “ at the
last moment I was able to
get a photo of the Ballymurphy
Massacre Committee included
my Memoirs, which further
illustrates just
how important I regard this
case”.
