Catholic priest's involvement in bombing covered up by British deep state

[Jan Klimkowski]

It's already unravelling.

The Guardian is reading from the wrong intelligence legend. :vollkommenauf:

My emphasis below in bold:

Claudy bombings: Father Chesney, the 'Provo Priest'

Witnesses recall colourful character of Father James Chesney, 'Derry's answer to Bonnie and Clyde' and main suspect for Claudy attacks

24 August 2010

Father James Chesney was as unlikely a character to fit the stereotype of a brooding terrorist as might be imagined. A charismatic clergyman who raced around the country lanes of Derry in his sports car, he was, according to contemporaries, convivial, considerate and deeply involved in the life of the local community.

When suspicions about his role first emerged publicly, back in 2002, former local MP and civil rights activist Ivan Cooper recalled his first meeting with the priest who, on that occasion, was accompanied by his wealthy aunt and uncle, Willie and Betty Noon.

It was the early 1970s, some time before the Claudy bombings. "They arrived at my house in a bright red Mercedes," Cooper remembered. "She was dripping with furs and waving a long cigarette holder. Later, I was invited to their house for what they called 'soirees'. There was always a fair sprinkling of priests, including their nephew, Father Jim Chesney, who was curate at Cullion, near the village of Desertmartin.

"The Noons had no children; Father Chesney was like a son to them. He was in his late 30s, 6ft tall, dark and strikingly handsome, an extremely magnetic and engaging man. He was a familiar sight, haring along the country roads in his sportscar, and always managed to look sophisticated, even though he always wore his clerical garb.

"He was polite and articulate and I was not aware his political views were very different from his aunt and uncle's until some time later when I went to a meeting of his parishioners where he asked some pointedly republican questions but in a subtle and courteous way.

"At the time, many priests were very active in running large social events, but Father Chesney was in a different league. He organised big dances and massive bingo events, where all the little towns and villages round about could join in by radio link for what were huge prizes in those days."

Some suspicions were aroused before he was disciplined and moved across the border. Father Chesney's parishioners began to point out the alarming regularity with which these events would be robbed. They suspected the takings were going straight to the Provisional IRA's coffers, with the priest's connivance.

Cooper eventually became convinced of Chesney's republican sympathies. "It became obvious that Father Chesney was Derry's answer to Bonnie and Clyde," he said.

It was Chesney's outrage at the shooting dead of 13 civil rights marchers by the Parachute Regiment in Derry on Bloody Sunday in January 1972 that is thought to have converted his republican activism into paramilitary commitment. He had become, as he was later described, a "Provo Priest".

The precise sequence of events that led up to the Claudy bombs is not detailed in the police ombudsman's report but an anonymous letter sent by a "Father Liam" in 2002, which triggered the investigation, hints at reasons for the carnage.

Father Liam, who has never been identified, said he had met Chesney at a house in Malin Head, County Donegal, in late 1972, when the County Derry curate broke down and confessed his role in the bombings.

"We talked long into the evenings about the situation in the north and then, one evening, [James] broke down in a flood of tears and said he had a terrible story to tell," one of the anonymous letters revealed.

"He said that he was horrified at the injustices done to the Catholic people and decided to do something for the people. He became a member of the IRA and was soon in charge of a small number of volunteers."

Chesney was ordered to place bombs in Claudy to relieve pressure on the IRA brigade in Derry following the breakdown of the 1972 ceasefire. According to this second-hand account, Chesney stressed he had wanted to give advance warnings of the Claudy bombs so that the streets could be cleared.

But when they stopped at nearby Dungiven the IRA men could not find a telephone box in working order. "This horrible affair has been with me now for 30 years and it has been hanging over me like a black cloud," Father Liam allegedly wrote. He added: "I must talk to someone in authority before I die. I am an old man now and I must meet my maker with a clear conscience. The souls of the deceased are crying out not for vengeance but for justice."

Chesney had been moved to Bellaghy, Co Derry, in the same month as the Claudy bombings and in the following year, 1973, he was sent to Raphoe over the border in County Donegal.

He was later despatched to more remote Malin Head, also in Donegal. He died of cancer in March 1980, aged 46. The "Provo Priest" was questioned three times by successive bishops of Derry about his role but always denied participating in the Claudy attack. In 2002, the Bishop of Derry, Dr Seamus Hegarty, said: "It is a matter of public record that Father Chesney was a priest of good standing in the Diocese of Derry."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2010/aug/24...er-chesney

So, The Guardian uses the unidentified "Father Liam" to paint its picture of the "Provo Priest".

But the ombudsman report states that the "Father Liam" letter is almost certainly a fake:

4.38 The ‘Father Liam’ Letter
4.39 On 19 September 2002, shortly after the PSNI commenced a Review of the
original police investigation, the Police Ombudsman was forwarded a letter
which had been received by a public representative.
4.40 The letter, dated 7 September 2002, purported to be from an individual
identifying himself as ‘Father Liam’.
4.41 It was typed with the originating address given simply as ‘England’. The
postmark on the envelope was illegible.
4.42 The author stated that he was a Catholic Priest who had originated from
Northern Ireland and who was working in a parish in England. He stated that
he had attended Maynooth Seminary with Father Chesney.
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4.43 The letter described a meeting with Father Chesney in Malin Head, Donegal;
‘At the end of the summer of 1972 I was up in Malin Head. I met a changed
man. We talked long into the evenings about the situation in the north and
then one evening John broke down in a flood of tears and said he had a
terrible story to tell. I listened in silence to what he had to say and now
recount as well as I can what he told me.
John said he was horrified at the injustices done to the Catholic people and
decided to do something for the people, he became a member of the IRA and
was soon in charge of a small number of volunteers. His unit was ordered
from Derry City to plant bombs in Claudy to ease the pressure on the IRA in
the City and to [sic] they planted the bombs, it was their intention to phone a
warning as they passed through Dungiven on the way home but found that all
telephones were out of order. When he heard of what happened in Claudy
he was horrified.
Shortly after Claudy he got word from a friend in Derry City that the police
were onto him and with the help of a senior police officer and the Bishop he
got a posting to Malin Head. He named the police officer but I forget the
name but I think it was Lennon or something like that.’
4.44 The letter concluded;
‘I most earnestly appeal to you as a public representative to make a
complaint to the Ombudsman in Belfast so that this awful deed is properly
investigated. If you do this and the papers print that the Ombudsman is
investigating Claudy then I am prepared to reveal myself and fully co-operate
in the investigation. I will tell all that I know of the IRA murders in Claudy.’
4.45 On Monday 23 September 2002 the Police Ombudsman issued a press
appeal for the author of the letter to come forward. The appeal asked that
the person make himself known so that an interview could be arranged.
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4.46 The Police Ombudsman’s press release was widely reported in the media but
the author of the letter did not come forward. Further enquiries were
undertaken but proved unsuccessful in identifying the author.
4.47 The PSNI also undertook enquiries to establish the identity of the author of
the letter. An examination by the Forensic Science Agency in Northern
Ireland for indentation/overwriting, fingerprints and DNA was unsuccessful in
identifying the person.
4.48 The Police Ombudsman has concluded that the letter was unlikely to have
been from a Catholic Priest. The letter contained significant errors including
the description of Father Chesney’s forename as ‘John’ when he was known
as James or Jim. It also stated that Father Chesney was posted to Malin
Head in the summer of 1972, which is incorrect. It was also established that
at the time the letter was written no priest from Northern Ireland, then serving
in England, had attended Maynooth Seminary at the same time as Father
Chesney.

http://www.policeombudsman.org/Publicati...Claudy.pdf