Paisley comments too hot for the Irish Times

Our previous post had noted that the RTE website had omitted the specific details of allegations that Ian Paisley had made about the security arrangements for President Mary McAleese's visits to Northern Ireland, and her apparent refusal to visit police stations in Northern Ireland. But we thought it would be interesting to see whether Monday's papers offer a complete account. Amazingly, in at least one case, they do not -- and someone at the Irish Times seems to have gone to the trouble of editing out the offending parts of Paisley's speech.

Here's the sequence: The front page story (subs. maybe req'd) is essentially the same as RTE's Sunday story; it quotes Paisley's unscripted remark ("I don't like the President of the Irish Republic ... because she is dishonest") and notes Bertie Ahern's expression of regret. But the other comments are only noted in passing:

He further accused her of breaching diplomatic protocol and of being hostile to the PSNI.

Now here's where things get strange. Inside the paper, there is an article "Leader's address (edited):" You'll search it in vain for the comments that their own front page story had referred to. Compare it to the actual transcript given by the DUP:

In the DUP version -- Bertie Ahern, your writ does not run here in loyal Ulster.

We want accountable structures, and friendly, not threatening, relations with our neighbour. The Irish Government must stop insisting that Sinn Fein is fit for government here but not acceptable in Dublin. The message to Dublin must be if the IRA is not acceptable to you they cannot be forced on us. The message must be crystal clear. The IRA must be packed off for good.

The President of the Irish Republic who refuses to enter a police station in Northern Ireland should respect the police of Northern Ireland. She should only enter Northern Ireland under the same terms as every other visiting head of state and she should cease attacking Northern Ireland. To those who say we will not work with our Roman Catholic fellow-countrymen, let me say that we will work with all democrats, regardless of where they come from, but we will have no truck with those who pursue terror and criminality.

In the Irish Times version -- Bertie Ahern, your writ does not run here in loyal Ulster. Any man that talks to Sinn Féin or the Dublin government about the internal affairs of Northern Ireland is a traitor. What is ours we hold: not an inch, no surrender. To those who say we will not work with our Roman Catholic fellow countrymen, let me say that we will work with all democrats, regardless of where they come from, but we will have no truck with those who pursue terror and criminality.

The sequencing is off, which maybe simply reflect Paisley's improvisation, but the serious point is that someone went to the trouble of removing the claims about McAleese's visits from the speech. To top it off, the paper does offer colour commentary on those sections, by Gerry Moriarty (subs. req'd):

Dr Paisley's off-the-wall remarks about President McAleese might have exacerbated that sense of dejection. Dr Paisley does not like her, questions her integrity and reckons she hates the North. It was fairly barmy stuff and if any Southern politician made a similar remark about the queen of England there would be an almighty row.

It would be a more informed row if the paper was actually telling readers what he said. It looks like the Irish meeja have some hurdles to cross before we even start discussing their policy on Danish cartoons.

UPDATE: More links on Paisley's speech, though not on the McAleese angle, from Slugger O'Toole.

And the Irish Independent does report the comments, in a story by Gene McKenna:

"Do you know she refuses to change her car when she comes up into this province in any police station? She has said she will not enter any police station in Northern Ireland," he added.

So why is this straightforward accusation, straightforwardly reported by the Indo, getting such a run-around from RTE and the Irish Times?

[Nothing about the allegations either on Monday's RTE News at One (segment begins at about the 20 minute mark).]