The Irish Independent must be running scared today for the latest piece of ‘reporting’ is so way off their usual garbage that I could not resist a closer inspection. This fantasy piece was headlined ‘Ex-provo accuses Sinn Fein of covering up priest’s abuse’ and the central character is called Brendan Curran.
The failed sniper and former freedom fighter, Brendan Curran
Brendan is a cheeky chapppie (note cheeky smile in photo) who once owned a legal and an illegal rifle and also claims absolutely that he could shoot straight because he was a sniper in the Irish Army, and all before his 18th birthday. Before his 19th birthday he had joined another army, the republican version, and was tried and convicted of trying to kill a British soldier. Apparently he could not shoot straight after all. He served 7 years out of the fifteen and set out to re-invent himself after by piggy backing on his claim to fame as a former freedom fighter. There is only one thing worse than a sniper and that is a failed sniper. Here he got stuck as to what version of himself he should present to the locals, for all politics is local, down at the local council chambers.
Sometimes lies can better serve in the moment before truth catches up later for he has being running a security business for years. I suppose having been a former sniper helps, and that you at least tried to kill one person can't do any harm either. If his claims to fame are to be believed then Simon Cowell bought it and a few more celebrity inclined people, not to mention the organising committee for the Saint Patrick’s parade last Tuesday. He claims also that he was security at Gerry Ryan’s funeral. The ‘why’ is not answered here but maybe someone wanted to steal a cadaver for God knows what purposes.
And if you are getting nowhere riding on the coat tails of the party you are in, then go independent, but not before smearing the party on the way out the door. That is when it is time to blame the dead guy and it was not going to be Gerry Ryan. Brendan's latest ‘explosive’ claim is that a dead priest abused, not just a few, but hundreds of children, was the biggest bullet that he could throw, and a lie, when it comes to the Irish Independent views on Sinn Fein, carries much more weight than any unhelpful truth.
Of course the priest wished to remain anonymous when he was alive and Brendan decided that he still does because we still do not know who he is or that he even exists, and I would wager neither does Brendan. Of course Brendan kept this secret for most of his life and then he found the Lord or courage before finally going to the Police ten years ago after the wilderness ones on the lonely road to sainthood before.
What? Them, the Police, you must be joking!! No, no, Brendan went and told ‘the republican movement.’ I can tell you his ‘bombshell’ statements did not go down well there, like an over ripened banana I expect. And what did they do according to Rambo Curran, they told him it was all a bit negative and would he mind keeping it to himself, and he apparently did. Finally he left Sinn Fein over two years ago, not because of the dead priest and his miss-deeds, but because of isolation and bullying. Even then the priest remained a dead issue until just about yesterday.
Yes, even snipers and security experts get bullied as well as feeling a bit lonely now and again. But if what we know about Brendan so far, he won’t be lonely for long. Even though he still has not gone to the Police yet, and no one expects him to either for wasting police time is a criminal offence; for the rest of us I'm afraid are expendable and have to listen to the clap of thunder whether we like it or not.
His story is sure to getting him some sympathy with his 'new best friends, the SDLP and the Unionists, for he is off to run in the forthcoming Westminster elections. Well, if you can’t beat them you might as well join them I say.
Not wanting in any way to promote the rag mag called the Irish/Sunday Independent, below is the story that they carried about Brendan Curran today. As Ripley would say: “Believe it or believe it not.” It is cutting edge reporting at it's most laughable.
Please note: the use of words like explosive, bombshell, and similar are literally meant to be 'incendiary' to promote subliminal messages to the unguarded
Barry Clifford
___________________________________________
Ex- provo accuses Sinn Fein of covering up abuse
A former leading IRA man, who was a security chief for X Factor boss, Simon Cowell has accused Sinn Fein of helping to cover up the sexual abuse of "hundreds" of schoolboys by a now-deceased priest.
Brendan Curran, a former Irish Army-trained sniper - who was jailed aged 18 in 1973 for 15 years for attempting to murder a British soldier - made the sensational claims as he announced his resignation from Newry and Mourne District Council at a meeting last week.
Mr Curran said he was prevented 10 years ago from exposing the allegations by a leading well-known Sinn Fein figure.
Speaking to the Sunday Independent after the tumultuous council meeting, Mr Curran said: "This priest is dead now, but he was in every school in the Newry area for years and abused children in every one of them. People have been coming forward."
"I raised it with the Republican movement 10 years ago and was told to drop it; it was a negative story, to drop it; it was a negative issue."
Mr Curran added: "The leadership was aware of this being raised."
Mr Curran's fellow councillors were completely taken aback by his bombshell statement.
Witnesses told the Sunday Independent that rival SDLP and Unionist politicians applauded Mr Curran after he finished speaking.
Local UKIP councillor, Henry Reilly, wrote on his Facebook page minutes after the meeting: "Absolutely incredible scenes in the Council Chamber tonight - Cllr Brendan Curran announced his resignation and made very damaging allegations against former Sinn Fein colleagues. He alleged that he had advised Sinn Fein of a paedophile priest who had abused 100's of children in Newry and was instructed not to disclose this information. He alleged that local republicans referred to murdered Mum of 10 Jean McConville as an executed Tout. It was an extraordinary event and the allegations will be very damaging for Sinn Fein."
Mr Reilly was unavailable to comment further when contacted by the Sunday Independent.
However, a source close to the ex-Ulster Unionist said: "We saw it. It was unreal, boy. We've never witnessed anything like it, in all our lives."
The day after the council meeting, Mr Curran told the local Newry Reporter newspaper that he was forced to "drop the issue".
He did not state if he had been personally threatened after making his explosive claims, or who told him to "drop" the matter.
Mr Curran told the newspaper that the local Sinn Fein community had been dominated by a "small, domineering clique who try to remove opposition by gang mentality".
Sinn Fein told the local paper: "If Brendan Curran or anyone else has any information regarding sexual abuse, past or present, they have a responsibility to bring this to either the PSNI or An Garda Siochana."
Sinn Fein did not respond to specific queries from this newspaper relating to Mr Curran's claims at the time of going to print.
The Police Service of Northern Ireland this weekend confirmed it would investigate Mr Curran's claims.
Chief superintendent George Clarke told the Sunday Independent: "We cannot comment on individual cases. However, we will treat all allegations seriously and investigate them fully. We would encourage anyone with allegations to come forward and contact police."
Mr Curran represented Sinn Fein for 30 years on the Newry council before he left the party in 2013 after complaining of "isolation and bullying".
He had been synonymous with the Provisional IRA and the Sinn Fein leadership of Gerry Adams for decades.
However, the former Sinn Fein councillor is now considering contesting the forthcoming Westminster election.
His main rival is expected to be former All-Ireland-winning footballer Justin McNulty, who is standing on the SDLP ticket in Newry and Armagh.
The ex-Provo boasts openly of his IRA connections on his Facebook page, on which he says he studied at the "Long Kesh Univeristy [sic] of Freedom".
After his release from jail in 1980, Mr Curran moved into politics for the party, and in the 1990s, headed up the party's move into the security industry.
In the recent past, he has been a certified bodyguard for the X Factor's Simon Cowell, Amanda Holden, Ant and Dec and David Walliams, and Boyzone's Ronan Keating and other top celebrities, setting up his own Pro-Tec Safety and Events Company Ltd.
Since his move into the security business, Mr Curran has provided security to some of the biggest artists in the movie and music world and is pictured on his Facebook page astride a massive, stg£30k Harley-Davidson. In 2010, he was pictured acting as glamour model Jordan's bodyguard during a book signing at Eason's in Belfast. The ex-IRA man also provided security at the 2010 funeral of the late RTE presenter Gerry Ryan.
His security firm also helped to marshall the St Patrick's Day parade in Dublin last Tuesday.
Michael Browne
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