Fellow Protestant Back Mc Cord

Fellow Protestant Backs Mc Cord
Gives Full Backing to Capitol Hill Visit

Capitol Hill. Tuesday, April 15, 2009 ----- Well in advance of Raymond Mc Cord’s dramatic visit to Capitol Hill, his visit has received strong backing from fellow Protestant and fellow victim’s campaigner, Paul Mc Ilwaine.

Mr. Mc Cord’s visit to Washington (May 3 to 14) is being sponsored by the Capitol Hill-based Irish National Caucus.

Mc Ilwaine’s son, David, was murdered by Loyalists in 20000. One of the first persons to contact him and to offer solidarity was Raymond Mc Cord, whose own son was murdered in 1997.

Mr. Mc Ilwaine has issued a two -page testimony bearing witness to the integrity of Raymond Mc Cord, pointing out that Mc Cord’s long struggle has had “influence on the judicial system and policing in Northern Ireland”.

Mc Ilwiane also says he was let down by Unionist politicians,” It must be noted that of the 9 years I have known Raymond, the lack of support to both of us from the Unionist politicians has been abysmal. They have consistently buried their heads in the sand and have chosen to ignore the facts.

Despite promises of meetings with Ian Paisley Jr. on at least 6 occasions, he has failed to keep one promise. Indeed, at the last policing board meeting when asked to raise questions about known loyalist killers being paid to work on police premises, he said he would not raise that question ever. He is just one of a long list of unionists i.e. Jeffrey Donaldson, Nigel Dodds and, not least, Peter Robinson.

Raymond McCord and I are both Protestants from the Unionist community. We both sought help from the Unionist politicians. To say we were let down would be a gross understatement. The Unionist politicians in this country should hang their heads in shame and are not fit to walk the streets of Northern Ireland”.

Fr. Sean Mc Manus explained that McIlwaines’s testimony is being hand-delivered to key Members of Congress today. “I think Paul Mc Ilwaine and Raymond Mc Cord are two Protestant heroes, brave Ulstermen with whom I’m proud to associate. True reconciliation is Protestants and Catholics not just coming together, but coming together to work for justice”.
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Testimony of Paul Mc Ilwaine

April 9, 2009
Email: pmcilwaine04@aol.co.uk

I am writing this to describe and emphasize the importance of Raymond McCord’s influence on the judicial system and policing in Northern Ireland.

Raymond McCord is a close personal friend of mine and has been instrumental and invaluable in regards to the campaign surrounding the murder of my son, David.

David was murdered on the 19th of February 2000, along with another young teenager, Andrew Robb. Within the first weeks after the two murders, Raymond McCord, unknown to me at the time, other than through media coverage, contacted me and gave me vital information in regards to a number of individuals involved in these two murders.

Police Cover-Up

This information was passed on to the police. Their response was to disregard anything Raymond said as of no significance. Much to my shame, I disregarded Raymond’s advice and took the advice of the police authorities.

One of the names Raymond gave me was that of Mark Haddock. It has since emerged that this man was a paid agent of the State, allowed to carry out murders with the full knowledge of the security forces. These revelations were substantiated by the Chief Constable Sir Hugh Orde and uncovered by Nula O Loan, the then Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland. Not only that, they were also acknowledged by the then British Prime Minister, Tony Blair.

Mark Haddock’s significance in my son’s case was that he was questioned 12 times by the intelligence service within the police. Despite this, the police stated that he was not involved in the case, in anyway.

Haddock’s Role

Haddocks, first involvement in murder goes back to 1993. When he murdered Catholic taxi driver Sharon McKenna, a 27-year-old mother, who was in a Protestant friend’s house on a Good Samaritan visit when he shot her in the back with a shot -gun, and as she lay on the ground shot her again and again. The next day he went to his agent handlers within the police force and admitted his role as one of the murderers. Instead of being arrested and charged with this brutal murder he was given a pay raise and financial assistance to go on a foreign holiday. This murder and the subsequent murder of Raymond’s son went unpunished, and to this day no one has been brought before the court in regards to these.

Let Down By Unionist Politicians

It must be noted that of the 9 years I have known Raymond, the lack of support to both of us from the Unionist politicians has been abysmal. They have consistently buried their heads in the sand and have chosen to ignore the facts.

Despite promises of meetings with Ian Paisley Jr. on at least 6 occasions, he has failed to keep one promise. Indeed, at the last policing board meeting when asked to raise questions about known loyalist killers being paid to work on police premises, he said he would not raise that question ever. He is just one of a long list of unionists i.e. Jeffrey Donaldson, Nigel Dodds and, not least, Peter Robinson

Raymond McCord and I are both Protestants from the Unionist community. We both sought help from the Unionist politicians. To say we were let down would be a gross understatement. The Unionist politicians in this country should hang their heads in shame and are not fit to walk the streets of Northern Ireland.

The Measure Of The Man

Raymond McCord has fought with paramilitaries most of his life. He has single-handedly changed the judicial system in Northern Ireland for a great many years to come. He has dedicated his time and efforts to helping anyone and everyone who asks for assistance, regardless of their religion or their background. I have close personal knowledge of some of those who have asked for his help. In fact, one person, an elderly woman asked for help in regards to the controversial killing of her son -- admitting that her son was a UVF loyalist killer himself. And without giving it a thought, he agreed. This is the type of man he is.

Over a great many years a number of killers have been allowed to operate with impunity and rewarded with large amounts of cash with the full knowledge of the higher authorities within the security forces and the British government. When Police Ombudsman, Nula O’Loan, exposed these actions, as a direct result of Raymond McCord’s complaints, it changed completely the way the security forces in this country were allowed to operate.

To many Raymond McCord, on the surface, would seem to be a rough and ready character. But my experience is that he is a honorable and dedicated father, who hasn’t been allowed to grieve and has been denied justice. In the past few months eleven men were arrested and charged and await trial for the murder of Tommy English. This was also as a direct result of Raymond McCord’s campaign.

As has been the case with too many others in this country, if you don’t seek justice yourself you will find it very difficult to get any. I will always be grateful for the help he has given me and he will always remain a friend.

Fr. Sean Mc Manus
President
Irish National Caucus
Capitol Hill
PO BOX 15128
Washington, DC 20003-0849
Tel. 202-544-0568
Fax 202-488-7537
sean@irishnationalcaucus.org