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Sons of Ulster Flute Band, Glasgow’s
response to gutter news reporting.
Now that the 12th July celebrations have successfully came to a conclusion,
and the “Sons of Ulster flute band Glasgow” have honoured all their
engagements with equal success, we will now take this opportunity to respond
to recent publications in several issues of the Andersonstown News and its
Pan-National sister paper The Irish News regarding the article of 7/7/07
claiming that a bannerette carried in the Whiterock Orange parade showing a
picture of a deceased UVF man, was in breach of the Parade Commissions
determination. That itself is a falsehood. The memorial in question is not
and should not be deemed as a paramilitary trapping. The bannerette is part
and parcel of the bands uniform not because Noel Kinner killed Mr McLaughlin
all those years ago, but born out of a longstanding friendship and of respect
and esteem in which he was held by the band members, before and after Noel’s
court convictions. The band understands and regrets the tragedy that befelled
the McLaughlin family, but we also recognise that it
was a tragedy also for the very young family that Noel Kinner left behind.
Therefore we regard the Kinner family and the McLaughlin family as, in the
IRA’s own words, victims of the conflict and or casualties of war!
Regarding the allegations made by Mr Sean Murray that this band carried the
bannerette deliberately to annoy and offend Mrs McLaughlin and her family is a
complete and ridiculous lie! And as for shouting sectarian insults and
offending the residents, more lies! This band in fact, in order not to offend
the residents, and with its usual dignified manner, restricted its music to
hymns only throughout that contentious part of the parade. It is the bands
view that any offence cause to Mrs McLaughlin was in fact caused by Sean
Murray and co. We do not believe that, that old lady was on the Springfield
Road that day. We certainly don’t believe that she made her way from her home
in Andersonstown, a considerable distance from the Springfield Road parade, in
order to be offended by our bannerette. Who then, caused so
much offence to Mrs McLaughlin? The answer is simple. It is, as we’ve
stated, Mr Sean Murray and the residents of the Springfield Road. How could
anyone, or any group, stoop so low as to force an old lady and her family to
relive the tragedy that occurred 27 years ago, perhaps when that entire family
were learning to live with it and trying to get on with a normal life. The
Irish News, at the behest of our friend Mr Murray, actually printed extracts
submitted my him, but that paper was, as normal, publishing its usual biased
and one-sided publishing. However, the Andersonstown News went much further
than this by producing a photo of the bannerette to Mrs McLaughlin in order to
get a reaction from her to the Whiterock Orange parade. This was really
"gutter press tactics".
Now lets just look at the background of Sean “Spike” Murray. He is a high
ranking Officer in the P.I.R.A and we emphasise the word “is” as the P.I.R.A
still exists, contrary to what the Sinn Fein leadership would like
us all to believe. Spike himself received a 12 year prison sentence on
“explosives” charges. Remember “explosives” charges! Explosives were the
worst kind of indiscriminate weapons used by the IRA. Bombs and explosives
were detonated in Belfast and throughout Ulster and killed many innocent
people of all religious persuasions, who were unfortunate enough to be in the
“wrong place at the wrong time”. But as we’ve already stated, the IRA
including Sean Murray put that down to what they term as “Casualties of War”
or “Victims of the Conflict”. What Mr Murray and co seem to forget is, the
things they are alleging we did on Whiterock Saturday are the very things that
the IRA and their supporters do when they hold their parades, and carry
banners and depictions of their so-called heroes. It is doubtful if a route
could be found in Belfast where the IRA have not killed and where the families
of these people still live, and have to live with the offensive honouring of
the people who did the killing. And that includes in Nationalist areas!
The S.O.U.F.B Glasgow, have come to the obvious conclusion that this whole
farce is another example of Sean Murray’s, the Springfield residents and the
Pan-National newspapers nit-picking and zero tolerance of anything Protestant,
Unionist, Loyalist or Orange.
Copies of this response have been e-mailed to the papers concerned.
S.O.U.F.B Glasgow
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