Special Branch intimidate musician

kerry | rights, freedoms and repression | press release Saturday August 23, 2003 13:32 by Ailín

An All Ireland champion bagpipe player was warned by the police not to perform at a Republican Sinn Fein commemoration, the North Kerry branch of the organisation claimed today.

RSF spokesman John O'Shea from Ballylongford said that the piper had agreed to play at the annual Shortis and Scanlan commemoration in Ballybunion on 17th August last.

"However when the parade was about to assemble, and the man did not appear apologies were received," said Mr. O'Shea. "The piper had been visited earlier by the Special Branch police and their action intimidated him.

"We in RSF are used to this type of harassment from the political police but when they target members of the public hired to play at public engagements marking historic events then the line has to be drawn by all right thinking people.

"There can be no excuse for the police acting in this manner, tantamount to what would happen in Nazi Germany - the erosion of civil liberties is taking place by stealth and it is time that those concerned with human rights and fundamental freedoms examined the conduct of the political police.

"We in Republican Sinn Féin would like to apologise to all those people, locals and tourists, who attended the commemoration for the absence of the piper - this was due to police intimidation and harassment of an award winning bagpiper.

"We are now lodging a formal complaint with the Council for Civil Liberties - there can be no excuse for harassing people attending a commemoration for men who gave their lives in the cause of Irish freedom."