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Dolours Price is an open door, but two different governments are still hammering at the unobstructed doorway with a battering ram. "Open up!" they scream. The door just stands there, open. They go at it with the battering ram some more, grunting and sweating. They will not give up until the open door is opened. And somehow they aren't kidding.

Acting on a request from the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI), relayed under the terms of a mutual legal assistance treaty by the government of the U.K., the U.S. Attorney's Office in Boston is working to obtain a set of recorded interviews between academic researchers and former IRA members. Each interview, commissioned and held by Boston College, was supposed to be treated as confidential until the death of the interviewee.

The PSNI is pursuing information regarding the 1972 kidnapping and murder of Jean McConville, a Belfast widow killed as a suspected British Army informer. Chasing that narrative in deadly earnest, federal lawyers have insisted throughout a long court battle that they are assisting in a murder investigation. Secrets will be uncovered. Killers will be marched into court. Justice will no longer be denied.

Journalists covering the case have adopted this very same line, interviewing one of McConville's daughters on the solemn premise that the family is searching for the truth about what happened to their mother.

But they already know what happened to their mother, and so do the police. You can join in the secret club: the answers are available from Amazon.com, and can be delivered to your front door with next-day delivery. The secret of Jean McConville's death is, at this point, the least secret secret in the history of secrets.

Yet the absurdity continues.

The first sign that the PSNI was up to something strange and ridiculous came with the first two sets of subpoenas, which sought materials from interviews with two former IRA members, Brendan Hughes and Dolours Price. But Hughes was dead, and his interviews were no longer embargoed. They had been used in a book and a film.. The PSNI and the U.S. Attorney's Office needed a subpoena the same way you need a court order to go to the public library and check out a copy of To Kill a Mockingbird.

Or they could have just watched the Brendan Hughes interviews on YouTube, but never mind: there was super secret international sleuthing to be done, and Google is really complicated.

While Boston College promptly handed over copies of the no-longer-confidential Brendan Hughes interviews, a pair of court challenges have so far prevented the U.S. government from obtaining the tapes of the Dolours Price interviews, as well as several others related to a second set of subpoenas. But the battle in court drives on, and appears to be nearing its end in the United States. (A separate legal challenge is underway in Belfast.) Soon, it appears, prosecutors in Boston will get their hands on Price's tapes, and we'll at long last know what happened to Jean McConville. Which we already know, because of the published books and the feature-length documentary that you can stream over the Internet.

Finally, though, the last week has brought the full absurdity of the alleged murder investigation fully into the light. In a series of newspaper and television interviews, Price has said -- absolutely plainly, in unembarrassed and detailed statements -- that she participated in the kidnapping and murder of Jean McConville, and did so under orders from Gerry Adams. Admitting that she joined a conspiracy to commit kidnapping and murder in two jurisdictions -- the IRA took McConville from her home in Belfast, drove her south across the border, and killed her on a beach in the Republic of Ireland -- Price faced immediate and devastating legal consequences: She finished her tea and went to bed. The police in the South have not arrested her; the police in the North do not appear to have sought her arrest and extradition. She said she did it, loudly and in public, and nothing happened.

But we must have Dolours Price's secret interview tapes, so we can get to the bottom of Jean McConville's murder and bring her killers to justice.

Next they'll subpoena a candy wrapper so they can find out the ingredients.

Chris Bray: Next They'll Subpoena a Candy Wrapper

Dolours Price is an open door, but two different governments are still hammering at the unobstructed doorway with a battering ram. "Open up!" they scream. The door just stands there, open. They go at it with the battering ram some more, grunting and sweating. They will not give up until the open door is opened. And somehow they aren't kidding.

Acting on a request from the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI), relayed under the terms of a mutual legal assistance treaty by the government of the U.K., the U.S. Attorney's Office in Boston is working to obtain a set of recorded interviews between academic researchers and former IRA members. Each interview, commissioned and held by Boston College, was supposed to be treated as confidential until the death of the interviewee.

The PSNI is pursuing information regarding the 1972 kidnapping and murder of Jean McConville, a Belfast widow killed as a suspected British Army informer. Chasing that narrative in deadly earnest, federal lawyers have insisted throughout a long court battle that they are assisting in a murder investigation. Secrets will be uncovered. Killers will be marched into court. Justice will no longer be denied.

Journalists covering the case have adopted this very same line, interviewing one of McConville's daughters on the solemn premise that the family is searching for the truth about what happened to their mother.

But they already know what happened to their mother, and so do the police. You can join in the secret club: the answers are available from Amazon.com, and can be delivered to your front door with next-day delivery. The secret of Jean McConville's death is, at this point, the least secret secret in the history of secrets.

Yet the absurdity continues.

The first sign that the PSNI was up to something strange and ridiculous came with the first two sets of subpoenas, which sought materials from interviews with two former IRA members, Brendan Hughes and Dolours Price. But Hughes was dead, and his interviews were no longer embargoed. They had been used in a book and a film.. The PSNI and the U.S. Attorney's Office needed a subpoena the same way you need a court order to go to the public library and check out a copy of To Kill a Mockingbird.

Or they could have just watched the Brendan Hughes interviews on YouTube, but never mind: there was super secret international sleuthing to be done, and Google is really complicated.

While Boston College promptly handed over copies of the no-longer-confidential Brendan Hughes interviews, a pair of court challenges have so far prevented the U.S. government from obtaining the tapes of the Dolours Price interviews, as well as several others related to a second set of subpoenas. But the battle in court drives on, and appears to be nearing its end in the United States. (A separate legal challenge is underway in Belfast.) Soon, it appears, prosecutors in Boston will get their hands on Price's tapes, and we'll at long last know what happened to Jean McConville. Which we already know, because of the published books and the feature-length documentary that you can stream over the Internet.

Finally, though, the last week has brought the full absurdity of the alleged murder investigation fully into the light. In a series of newspaper and television interviews, Price has said -- absolutely plainly, in unembarrassed and detailed statements -- that she participated in the kidnapping and murder of Jean McConville, and did so under orders from Gerry Adams. Admitting that she joined a conspiracy to commit kidnapping and murder in two jurisdictions -- the IRA took McConville from her home in Belfast, drove her south across the border, and killed her on a beach in the Republic of Ireland -- Price faced immediate and devastating legal consequences: She finished her tea and went to bed. The police in the South have not arrested her; the police in the North do not appear to have sought her arrest and extradition. She said she did it, loudly and in public, and nothing happened.

But we must have Dolours Price's secret interview tapes, so we can get to the bottom of Jean McConville's murder and bring her killers to justice.

Next they'll subpoena a candy wrapper so they can find out the ingredients.

Boston College Subpoena

10 comments:

  1. marty9:36 PM, October 03, 2012

    They better be careful,them candy wrappers can be sticky.

    ReplyDelete
  2. michaelhenry12:31 PM, October 04, 2012

    Reading about court action or watching a film about it can never explain the boredom about it-any wonder its a money game-a lawyer will fight ok if the price is right
    but most of them know the law and with the law being a ass that life-style suits them to make their living out of it-Any wonder John Grisham has to spruce up his storys to make them more dramatic- [don't laugh ] about 20 years ago i got a letter saying that i had to go to omagh court to do jury duty- about 100 of us went each day but i never actually got picked myself to be on a jury-a form has to be filled in and one of the Questions was what nationality are you-i put down Irish and still would maintain thats why i was never picked- there is a lot of waste around and inside court-

    ReplyDelete
  3. chris2:11 AM, October 05, 2012

    The Boston College event is an RUC/PSNI assault on Irish-America through our own Hillary, Holder and Boston College itself. They're showing us in the clearest possible way that they, the British-led mass murderers, abetted by our own pols, are in charge. The war is over, the disputed 6-counties, betrayed by Adams/McGuinness,' are now British. This is just the mop-up.

    Doubt it? See how fast charges are being laid against the known and named British perpetrators of essentially all of the bloodiest atrocities: Bloody Sunday, the Dublin/Monaghan bombings, the McGurke Pub bombing/shooting, the Ballymurphy massacre, the Omagh bombing, the Miami Showband massacre

    ReplyDelete
  4. marty3:17 PM, October 05, 2012

    Mickeybroy the reason they wouldnt let you do jury service was the pointy hat and the white robe were a give away

    ReplyDelete
  5. Dixie8:07 PM, October 05, 2012

    Marty the reason they wouldn't let mickyhenry do jury duty was because he was the Accused at the time.

    He's a Shinner they tend to walk into things they know nothing about.

    ReplyDelete
  6. itsjustmacker9:46 PM, October 05, 2012

    Marty , Dixie.

    Im trying to fathom michaelhenry's thoughts , but I find it impossible. Here's one for you michaelhenry, I applied for jury service for the Birmingham six stitched up trial, because I knew without a doubt they were innocent, and, the reason is, I lived with them in Ballsal Heath Birmingham. we all went out for a few pints, just like normal mates do, nothing political was ever mentioned , except on one occasion , a guy offered me a fight , he called me a fenian bastard, his name was dinger Bell, he got what he wanted, we accepted him as a friend , Knowing he was a protestant. He overstepped the line by saying that. but, they, the loyalists have got what they wanted SF on puppet strings, and , its about time , You , michaelhenry realised that fact, They are so corrupt, they would even drop you in the shit to save themselves.

    ReplyDelete
  7. michaelhenry10:50 PM, October 05, 2012

    I see Laurel and Hardy are trying to make a comeback on the Quill- no acting required-they are the best comedy act in bite arse politics-
    Marty and Dixie-still black and white during peoples colourful living-

    ReplyDelete
  8. itsjustmacker11:30 PM, October 05, 2012

    Michaelhenry.

    Marty and Dixie-still black and white during peoples colourful living-

    Could you explain Colourful Living Please?.

    The only colour I can think of is Red, The blood of ten Brave men who paid the ultimate price for there comrades and country to be free, also, those brave volunteers as well, also the volunteers whose bombs were compromised and went off prematurely, Handled by scap donaldson and Co . get your blinkers of fella.
    The party won't last forever, now, think about that. what goes around comes around, but you have britain on your side, I bet that makes you real proud to be under the foreign monarch, born of the czars and Prince Philip of Natzi origin, they very same families who exported out potaoes whilst millions were left starving to death during the famin. "ffs", you know what that means, now, reverse it and tell me what it means!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Dixie12:25 AM, October 06, 2012

    Britain will only look after the shinners until they serve their purpose. In between they will continue to expose the odd tout or two - give a few shocks here and there - to let those higher up know what will happen if they don't continue to toe the line.

    The thing is, SF hasn't just hidden touts to worry about. They have the true story of the Hunger Strikes, the protection of rapists and paedophiles ect, for example why did the RUC never act on Liam Adams when given the chance. Given the chance to expose the leader's brother for the rapist he was and they did nothing....

    Or did they?

    Knowing the Brits sometime in the future all the dirt will come out.

    Having seen the Jimmy Saville case, Adams and McGuinness must be shitting themselves wondering will their dirty laundry be aired once they kick the bucket.

    ReplyDelete
  10. marty9:19 AM, October 06, 2012

    Mickeybroy you should get a manager instead of handling yourself! the colourfull existence you rave on about is just the tint of rose coloured glasses that quisling $inn £ein would have us all wear,luckily some of us have had the whit to remove them and see the colour of things as they really are and that mo cara is as they say orange .with shades of red ,white and blue thrown in , the only green is the green of envy that Martybroy and your cronies show when they see how subdued Pete the punt has critics.

    ReplyDelete

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