Eoghan Harris & The Grand Old OIRA

national | history and heritage | opinion/analysis Sunday March 11, 2012 13:21 by Ex-Corkman

Eoghan Harris regularly rants about terrorism both real and imaginary. While he still checks under his bed for Trots his main fear is that we are in a Weimar Republic stage and Sinn Fein are on the verge of seizing power. He fails to notice that his beloved Blueshirts are the one party in Ireland with a Fascist past.

Star Commander Harris : Sir Anthony! Theres nae sign of intelligent life!

Now Bomber Harris has sometimes given convoluted explanations on how he moved from being an old guard Stalinist to a Neo-Con (the emphasis being on con) but he has been somewhat reticent to speak about the actions the Official IRA carried out while he was a member of SF, OSF, SFWP and the WP.

To help start off this debate I will itemise some actions of the OIRA. Perhaps Bomber Harris might explain why he didn't condemn these "terrorist" acts at the time?

NB: this not an attack on the OIRA or the memory of Joe McCann, it is intended to expose the hypocrisy of Eoghan Harris.

Anyway here we go:

12 December 1971 John Barnhill (65) Protestant
Status: Civilian Political Activist (CivPA), Killed by: Official Irish Republican Army (OIRA)
Ulster Unionist Stormont Senator. Shot during bomb attack on his home, Brickfield House, near Strabane, County Tyrone.

22 February 1972 Gerry Weston (38) nfNIB
Status: British Army (BA), Killed by: Official Irish Republican Army (OIRA)
Catholic chaplain to British Army. Killed in bomb attack on British Army (BA) base, Aldershot, England.

22 February 1972 Joan Lunn (39) nfNIB
Status: Civilian (Civ), Killed by: Official Irish Republican Army (OIRA)
Killed in bomb attack on British Army (BA) base, Aldershot, England. Civilian employed at the British Army (BA) base.

22 February 1972 Cherie Munton (20) nfNIB
Status: Civilian (Civ), Killed by: Official Irish Republican Army (OIRA)
Killed in bomb attack on British Army (BA) base, Aldershot, England. Civilian employed at the British Army (BA) base.

22 February 1972 Thelma Bosley (44) nfNIB
Status: Civilian (Civ), Killed by: Official Irish Republican Army (OIRA)
Killed in bomb attack on British Army (BA) base, Aldershot, England. Civilian employed at the British Army (BA) base.

22 February 1972 Margaret Grant (32) nfNIB
Status: Civilian (Civ), Killed by: Official Irish Republican Army (OIRA)
Killed in bomb attack on British Army (BA) base, Aldershot, England. Civilian employed at the British Army (BA) base.

22 February 1972 John Haslar (58) nfNIB
Status: Civilian (Civ), Killed by: Official Irish Republican Army (OIRA)
Killed in bomb attack on British Army (BA) base, Aldershot, England. Civilian employed at the British Army (BA) base.

22 February 1972 Jill Mansfield (34) nfNIB
Status: Civilian (Civ), Killed by: Official Irish Republican Army (OIRA)
Killed in bomb attack on British Army (BA) base, Aldershot, England. Civilian employed at the British Army (BA) base.

04 March 1972 Marcus McCausland (39) Catholic
Status: ex-Ulster Defence Regiment (xUDR), Killed by: Official Irish Republican Army (OIRA)
Found shot, by the side of Braehead Road, Derry.

21 May 1972 William Best (19) Catholic
Status: British Army (BA), Killed by: Official Irish Republican Army (OIRA)
On leave. Found shot, William Street, Derry.

This will do for a start. Hopefully Mr Harris will respond.