'Border Fox' O'Hare abducted and beaten up, gardai suspect 

 

Gardai are probing whether terror boss Dessie 'Border Fox' O'Hare was kidnapped and given a severe beating in an incident in north Dublin.

O'Hare told officers he was struck by a black jeep that hit him after it mounted a footpath in Clontarf yesterday -- but no one witnessed the incident, which is said to have happened at the junction of Seafield Road East and Seafield Avenue at around 5.30pm yesterday,

O'Hare is in the Mater Hospital today where he is being treated for a broken shoulder, broken nose and cuts to his face.

A source explained: "There is a possibility that no hit-and-run happened and that in fact O'Hare was kidnapped and given a hiding.

"At first, he claimed he was hit by a dark Ford Transit van driven by a male driver and he did not see what direction it went in after hitting him.

"He told gardai he was on the way to meet a fella and gave them that person's name but follow-up inquiries showed there was no one of that name living in the area.

"And last night in hospital he claimed he could remember nothing of the incident."

O'Hare is regularly spotted in the Clontarf area, which is the base of one of the convicted terrorist's closest pals, Eamon Kelly from nearby Furry Park Road, Killester.

Sources believe O'Hare may "seek revenge" against those involved in the attack on him.

The former INLA boss is one of Ireland's most feared crime figures and was last photographed when he attended the funeral of Eamon Kelly's wife, Ann, at St Brigid's Church, Killester.

O'Hare has become very close to Kelly -- who survived a Real IRA assassination attempt last year -- after previously being friendly with slain gang boss Martin, 'Marlo' Hyland, who was shot dead in December 2006.

O'Hare and Kelly have been spotted with each other in pubs in Clontarf. O'Hare also has links to the arson suspect who gardai believe is responsible for the murder of tragic Mari Connolly (5) in Boyle, Co Roscommon, in the early hours of Monday morning.

Dubbed the Border Fox, O'Hare was released from prison in April 2006 after serving 19 years for kidnapping and has lived in Dublin since then.

He was released under the Good Friday Agreement after being given a 40-year sentence for kidnapping and mutilating Dublin dentist John O'Grady in 1987. During the kidnapping, a section of two of Dr O'Grady's fingers were hacked off by O'Hare using a hammer and chisel.

jailed

Gardai rescued Dr O'Grady, but O'Hare escaped. He was eventually caught after a shoot-out in Co Kilkenny. He was jailed for 40 years and in 2000 began a legal challenge to force the State to release him under the Good Friday Agreement.

He claimed that he had reformed, taken up yoga and attended the Glencree Centre for Reconciliation in Co Wicklow, under the supervision of prison officers.

O'Hare, originally from Co Armagh, is the last of the State's inmates to have qualified for early release under the terms of the agreement. He was in the IRA before joining the INLA. and rising to become its leader.

How Apprentice star Joanne battled back after death crash 

A gutsy young entrepreneur who has overcome incredible challenges in her personal life is now hoping to wow Bill Cullen in the boardroom.

Tough-talking Donegal woman Joanne Sweeney-Burke became a single mother at just 17 when her first love was killed in a car crash.

Her daughter Sophie was just five months old when her dad, Henry Cullen, was killed along with two friends in 1996.

The businesswoman brought up her daughter alone and still managed to graduate from NUIG with a degree before achieving a research Masters in journalism

Suffer

And despite finding love again with her husband Tom -- Joanne has been dealt another blow when he began to suffer with health issues.

Joanne's life was turned upside down back in 1996 when the car crash killed Sophie's father. A source said: "He was killed along with two other guys in the car. She was there that night, and was going to go into the car, but she was waiting for her boyfriend to leave the two guys home and then she'd go home with him.

"They'd been together for a couple of years and he was her first big love."

"Sophie was born in September and she then went back to school to do her Leaving Cert the next September. And in college she had friends helping her and watching Sophie. They babysat for her.

"It probably did change her. It was a tough time for her," the source added.

Joanne made her TV debut on Monday night as a candidate on the Apprentice where the project manager on her team, Zest, commended her -- in front of Bill Cullen -- for her sales skills.

Owner of a multimedia agency Media Box, Joanne worked on local radio in Donegal before landing a job as CEO in the Letterkenny Chamber of Commerce, which locals say she "turned around."

Friends in Donegal say she was forced to grow up very quickly as a teenager, and even now she has been a support to her husband Tom, who has had health issues over the past year.

The close source added: "Tom has been in hospital a couple of times last year but he's not too bad now.

"They've been together 10 or 11 years, and met when they were both in Galway."

Attitude

One former colleague told the Herald: "What she had to surmount between the time she was 16 and 21 I'd say her attitude is, if I can get over that, I can get over anything. She worked her ass off."

"She went to college and brought Sophie with her. When other students were drinking and out on the town, she was in lectures the next day with Sophie on the seat beside her.

"She took her baby with her when she was two years old to university, whereas most people would say I can't do both.

"When Henry died she was literally left a single mum."

Tom and Joanne's child Bobby was born on the same day as Sophie, September 14, which her family says is one of the many coincidences in Joanne's life.

Browne reveals McGuinness still in the IRA three years ago

EMBATTLED presidential candidate Martin McGuinness came under intense scrutiny last night over his IRA past when Vincent Browne produced eight books with alleged evidence that Mr McGuinness was in the IRA long after 1974.

Mr Browne dealt a body blow towards the end of the debate -- accusing the Sinn Fein man of lying about his membership of the terrorist organisation.

"I have reported from Northern Ireland during my time as a journalist, justice ministers have said it, authors have said it, the gardai have said it, I know you were a member of the IRA, Martin, how can we all be so wrong?

"If people believe you are lying about this, how do they know you won't lie about a lot of things when you are elected President?" he asked.

Mr McGuinness hit back, again claiming that the Irish people were not bothered about his association with the IRA.

"I am not telling lies about a substantive issue in my life," he told the interviewer.

Mr Browne retorted: "I know you are a member of the IRA Martin (I have been told) by several people including people who are very close to you, they spoke about you being a senior member of the IRA three, four, five years ago."

And the intense rivalry between the former IRA chief and Fine Gael's Gay Mitchell played out in heated exchanges.

The MEP was at times quick-witted in his attempts to put down Mr McGuinness. "I also accept that Martin McGuinness contributed to the Peace Process, listen we wouldn't have had the problem without them," he said.

He also sarcastically urged Mr McGuinness to "stop shouting" when making his points.

Speaking to the Herald after the debate, Mr McGuinness accused Fine Gael of a strategy to damage his campaign.

"I think all they're doing is damaging themselves. We had these ridiculous statements that if I was elected President of Ireland that that would be a disincentive for multinationals in the United States," he said.

"On the very day my candidacy was announced I was on Wall Street talking to executives on the New York Stock exchange."