No money for guns, say N.Z. Irish

Press, 7 September 1976, Page 2

No money for guns, say N.Z. Irish

PA ' Auckland New Zealand, it seems, is a fruitful source of financial aid for at least the benevolent wings of the two warring factions in Northern Ireland. The militant Provisional wing of the Irish Republican Army has received $60,000 from New Zealand, according to MIS, the British security service

The Security Intelligence Service in New Zealand has been asked to investigate possible sources of this money. However, Mr A. Byrne, secretary of the Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association in New Zealand, denied yesterday that the $22,000 his organisation had sent to Ireland since 1971 had gone to the “men of violence.”

The money was sent out through the Reserve Bank, he said. “I never question N.I.C.R.A. in detail about the money, because they’re involved in a life and death struggle. But they assure me the funds are audited by reputable accountants.” The money was used to pay for lawyers for people being harrassed and arrested by the Army, and for relief work, said Mr Byrne.

In any case, Ireland did not need more weapons; there were more than 100,000 registered legally there, “There’s so many, they could start exporting them.” He said that the S.I.S. should also investigate the Orange Lodge in New Zealand. “Recently, one of the principals of the Orange Order in Ireland was on television here, thanking his brethren for the money and support they had received from New Zealand and Australia.” Replying to this insinuation yesterday, Mr R. Warnock, grand secretary of the Grand Orange Lodge of New Zealand, said that all the money sent from New Zealand went to the benevolent fund of the Grand Orange Lodge of Ireland. A two-year lodge campaign to send funds ended in April More than $5OO had come from the Auckland area, with the New Zeal?” J total in the "thousands”. “They pay it out to families who have been bombed out, or had husbands killed,” he said. “None would go for guns.” Mr Warnock said more money was sent through a Hawkes Bay organisation, the Royal Black Preceptory. New Zealand Catholics also send money to Father Raymond Murray, the prison chaplain at Armagh gaol, a prolific author about Irish politics. His brother, Father Patrick Murray, is national chairman of N.I.C.R.A. and parish priest at Fairfield, Hamilton.

Other executive members include Mrs Elizabeth O’Neil (president), Mr Paddy Lenaghan, (vice-president), who is president of the Auctdand Waterside Workers’ Union, and Mr K. Ryan, an Auckland lawyer. Money is raised through rnontly advertisements in the Catholic newspaper, “Zealandia,” and occasionally the "Tablet”.