Former IRA Man Charged in Philly

By Georgina Brennan

ON Monday, July 19, former IRA member Joseph Black, 47, who has been detained in a federal detention center in Philadelphia since Wednesday, July 7, will appear in court on two charges of fraud. 

On his way to his 23-year-old niece Erin’s wedding Black, accompanied by his wife Geraldine, 46, and three children, Claire, Bronagh and Colm, came off his British Airways flight from London to Philadelphia and prepared to take the remaining leg of the journey, a short flight to Pittsburgh. 

“That’s it, we’ve got them all,” he heard someone say. But before he could complete his journey, he was pulled away from his family and into an interview room.

The Joint Terrorism Task Force, which says it was alerted to Black’s presence on the flight, had been waiting to interview Black when he landed. 

“We got down the ramp and there were policemen there. They just asked us to show our passes,” said Geraldine Black. “We showed our boarding passes. One of the policemen said, ‘We have information that your husband served time.’ I said, ‘Yes, 28 years ago.’” 

Told to complete her journey, Geraldine asked if she could leave some money for her husband when a member of the force asked her how long she was staying.

When she answered that the family had booked return flights in two weeks she was shocked at the reply. “There’s no need, you will be home long before your husband,” Geraldine says they told her.

On his immigration form, when Black was asked had he ever been arrested or convicted for an offense or crime involving moral turpitude, or involved in terrorist activities, he answered no, the task force told the Associated Press. Geraldine told her family that in fact, she had filled out the form and all the forms, ticking no to everything.

Black admitted in his interview that he was arrested in Ireland in 1977 for shooting someone in the knee and for being a member of the IRA, serving three years in Long Kesh. He insisted that he no longer held any affiliation to the IRA.

Speaking to the Irish Voice, Black’s brother-in-law Sean McClory, who had been waiting to pick the Blacks up in Pittsburgh, lamented the fact that Black’s arrest had put not just Black but the whole family in danger. 

“Joe has a business in Belfast, home remodeling that depends on his ability to travel across all communities. Geraldine is a nurse in the city and his eldest son Paul volunteers in a veterinary clinic in Lisburn. 

“Already Paul has been intimidated in Belfast because the story of Joe’s arrest made headlines as early as last Friday. His arrest and detention has had a life threatening effect on the family,” he told the Irish Voice.

Represented by Don McElhatton, Black is reportedly anxious, worried about his fate and his family. His family are staying with the McClorys, and have tried to get the Irish government to intervene. 

The Irish Consulate in New York has contacted the detention facility. They can, however, only make sure Black is treated well. He has to await court on Monday to find out his fate. 

The arrest and detention of Black has caused outrage in the Irish American community. The Irish American Unity Conference have denounced the treatment of Black and called on the American government to release him and issue an apology.

“Joseph Black is not a threat to America and should be released immediately,” IAUC president Judge Andrew Somers told the Irish Voice.