We look at the stories that were making the headlines in the Andersonstown News this week in 1985...
Editorial
IT’S quite possible that Cathal Daly’s reign as Bishop of Down and Connor will be remembered in years to come for nothing more edifying than the Fr Pat Buckley affair, because this confrontation between the curate and the bishop is developing into one of those incidents which reaches the history books.
It's quite evident that Fr Buckley was sacked, and no amount of double-talk from the Catholic church's public relations office in Dublin can change that fact.
It's also evident that he was sacked because, as the Yanks would put it "he was shooting his mouth off", and in the Catholic Church – as in all powerful institutions in this world – no-one shoots his mouth off in public except the chief.
To be fair to the bishop, we don't think that it was Fr Buckley's attacks on the bishop himself which led to his being sacked, but the fact that he bracketed his fellow priests as being something less than courageous in tackling the many problems faced by the Catholic population in the Six Counties today.
It is understandable that the bishop would have to take some action to defend the integrity of the priests of the diocese if he thought they were being maligned. But to sack the culprit and say that he was being removed from his job because his term of office was up, was not only ridiculous but it verged on the dishonest and we expect more than that from a spiritual body like the Catholic Church.
Fr Buckley rubbed a lot of people up the wrong way, and maybe he shot his mouth off a bit too often. But much of what he said made sense and his genuine concern demanded that he receive a Christian hearing and a civilised response instead of a crack of the crosier.
Barricade goes up in Moyard Housing protest
ANGRY Moyard residents barricaded off Moyard Parade on Monday and Tuesday of this week in order to bring construction work in the area to a halt.
Their action followed a series of protests at the disruption and inconvenience being caused to local people.
Protest organiser Davy Wilson said the workmen had broken a barrier wall which had been built to prevent flooding from the mountain and the Rocky Dam.
Mr Wilson, who lives at Moyard Crescent, says homes in the area are now under threat of flooding again.
"Yesterday a load of hardcore was dumped on a rubbish tip in this area. As a result, the rats were hopping all over the place," he said.
Residents of Moyard also claim the area is being used as a dumping ground by contractors involved in refurbishing and environmental work in New Barnsley.
Executive officials met with local people on Tuesday morning, but failed to resolve the situation.
Mr Wilson said the barricades would remain until the area was cleaned up and levelled off.
Little Miss O'Hare, Solo Dancing at a function the Mac Airt Centre, Short Strand, in aid of Naiscoll Mhic Airt and the Tennents’ Association
Amnesty hear about horrors of strip-searching
A HIGH-POWERED delegation from Amnesty International has been on an unpublicised visit to the Six Counties during the week to investigate a wide range of pressing civil liberties issues, including strip-searching, plastic bullets and ill-treatment at Castlereagh.
Their arrival coincides with growing concern about heavy-handed tactics at both Castlereagh and Gough Barracks.
On Wednesday of this week, the Amnesty representatives met with former prisoners at Armagh who had been subjected to the controversial strip-searches. The previous day they travelled to South Armagh to interview relatives of prisoners in Portlaoise Jail – where until recently all visits had been closed and strip-searching a regular occurrence.
During their visit they also met with local men who had recently been arrested and detained in Castlereagh for seven days. Reports received by groups such as the Association for Legal Justice reveal a sinister increase in the number of prisoners at Castlereagh who have received beatings during interrogation sessions.
Relatives of prisoners convicted and who are being held on the word of 'supergrasses' also put their case to the Amnesty officials. It is expected that the evidence presented to Amnesty by the different groups and individuals plus a dossier from the Association for Legal Justice, will be used to put pressure on the British Government.
Meanwhile, on Wednesday afternoon four of Ireland's leading trade unionists visited prisoners at Armagh Jail in order to find out more about strip-searching. Among the trade union representatives was Andersonstown woman Noirin Greene, who is now a member of the Executive Committee of the ITGWU. The other trade unionists were Matt Merrigan, Inez Me Cormack and Michael Brennan.
