Post by Ayres on Sept 14, 2005 20:45:38 GMT -5
THE owner of a nationalist-owned Belfast bar targeted in a series of loyalist attacks challenged 26-County president Mary McAleese to use her influence with the pro British Ulster Defence Association to bring their campaign against his business to an end.
Since opening in 1997 the Motte 'n' Bailey pub and restaurant in Dunmurry, on the outskirts of south Belfast, has been targeted by the UDA in a series of violent attacks. In the most recent attack on August 24 damage was done to the exterior of the bar after a loyalist paint bomb attack. In a letter, the bar's owner Joe McGlone threw a direct challenge down to Mary McAleese to help bring the attacks to an end. McAleese and her husband Martin are known to share a close personal relationship with the UDA's commander in south Belfast Jackie McDonald.
In the past McDonald, a convicted extortionist, has enjoyed a round of golf with the her husband Martin in the exclusive K Club in Co Kildare. The UDA man also attended McAleese's inauguration in Dublin last November.
Joe McGlone said he has no doubt the UDA have been behind a string of attacks on his family run business which was forced to close for six months in 1999 because of the frequency of incidents.
"It's well documented that the president and her husband have a close relationship with Jackie McDonald. I would encourage them to use any influence they have with him to bring the attacks on my business to an end. I have no doubt they have been carried out by the UDA and he is the UDA brigadier in south Belfast. Nothing happens in this area without his authority or knowledge.
"In recent years Jackie McDonald has mixed with the elite in Irish society, he attended the president's inauguration and played golf at the K club with her husband. They wouldn't let me put my nose through the door of that place. He can go to these places and attend these events while my pub, which sits in his patch, continues to be attacked."
The Belfast businessman also said that lampposts around his bar have been decked in loyalist flags.
"Last week all the flags in Dunmurry were taken down except the ones around my bar. It's not the average Protestant that wants me out of Dunmurry, it's the UDA. I want to make it clear that I have never approached Mr McDonald or his organisation about this and I never intend to."
It is understood a prominent human rights organisation has attempted to bring the attacks on Joe McGlone's business to a halt with no success.
Since opening in 1997 the Motte 'n' Bailey pub and restaurant in Dunmurry, on the outskirts of south Belfast, has been targeted by the UDA in a series of violent attacks. In the most recent attack on August 24 damage was done to the exterior of the bar after a loyalist paint bomb attack. In a letter, the bar's owner Joe McGlone threw a direct challenge down to Mary McAleese to help bring the attacks to an end. McAleese and her husband Martin are known to share a close personal relationship with the UDA's commander in south Belfast Jackie McDonald.
In the past McDonald, a convicted extortionist, has enjoyed a round of golf with the her husband Martin in the exclusive K Club in Co Kildare. The UDA man also attended McAleese's inauguration in Dublin last November.
Joe McGlone said he has no doubt the UDA have been behind a string of attacks on his family run business which was forced to close for six months in 1999 because of the frequency of incidents.
"It's well documented that the president and her husband have a close relationship with Jackie McDonald. I would encourage them to use any influence they have with him to bring the attacks on my business to an end. I have no doubt they have been carried out by the UDA and he is the UDA brigadier in south Belfast. Nothing happens in this area without his authority or knowledge.
"In recent years Jackie McDonald has mixed with the elite in Irish society, he attended the president's inauguration and played golf at the K club with her husband. They wouldn't let me put my nose through the door of that place. He can go to these places and attend these events while my pub, which sits in his patch, continues to be attacked."
The Belfast businessman also said that lampposts around his bar have been decked in loyalist flags.
"Last week all the flags in Dunmurry were taken down except the ones around my bar. It's not the average Protestant that wants me out of Dunmurry, it's the UDA. I want to make it clear that I have never approached Mr McDonald or his organisation about this and I never intend to."
It is understood a prominent human rights organisation has attempted to bring the attacks on Joe McGlone's business to a halt with no success.
