Irish history , Irish politics - from today and yesterday : all 32 Counties !
Irish history , Irish politics - from today and yesterday : all 32 Counties !
GOOGLE67e15177ca1e101a.html.
1169 and counting....
Saturday, November 16, 2002
Under the Geneva Convention of 1949,there are 34 categories of war crimes. Article Eight under the Agreement to establish an international war crimes court sets out as a war crime for an occupying power to "transfer,directly or indirectly,parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies, or to deport or transfer all or parts of the population of the occupied country within or outside this territory " .
The British have ,of course, ignored the rules before, and not only in relation to Ireland- before the end of the first'World War', the Indians were promised political progress in return for participation in the war on Britains side ;Gandhi was one of the leading nationalists who supported the British on this basis. The British later renaged on their promise and introduced the repressive 'ROWLATT ACT' which aimed to stamp out the Indian independence movement-in response, Gandhi brought India to a standstill with mass protests . The British responded on April 13 , 1919 , when Brigadier -General Reginald Dyer shot dead some 500 unarmed demonstrators at Amritsar in the Punjab .
The Czech writer, Milan Kundera, stated-- "The struggle of freedom against tyranny is a struggle of memory against forgetting. The people remember their cause is just while their oppressors try to induce them to forget and turn their backs on the struggle".
In this,the British have succeeded in Ireland many times but,as always,not all Irish people have been willing to "forget". And thats how it should always be!
¶ 2:33 PM
Friday, November 15, 2002
On the 12th of January 2000, the Stormont Assembly members voted themselves a generous redundancy package of half their annual salary in the event that the Assembly closes down! The vote, under the 'The Office Holders Bill' , was the third stage(ie third discussion) on the issue-- in December 1999 ,the second 'stage' was held, when the Stormont members practically admitted that the whole show was shaky and took financial preparations to ensure that,no matter how things went,they had a cushion for themselves.
However,being career politicians , they later figured that they had sold themselves short : thus the January 12th 2000 'third stage' ,which agreed that "MLA's(ie the politicians themselves)who were not re-elected in future polls or who chose not to stand would be entitled to a "resettlement allowance"of £19,000 Sterling and a "winding-up allowance" of £11,617 Sterling.
Ex-Ministers,junior ministers and other Office holders would each receive an additional payment equal to a certain per-centage of their then salary ,and also decided that said additional payment will still be paid if a minister,junior minister or other Office holder simply lost their position and were demoted to the level of an ordinary member of the Assembly!
Certain members of the Stormont Assembly claimed they were going in to that institution to 'change/challenge the system' - however,a'good' apple placed in a barrel of bad apples will not arrest the decay but will itself be corrupted.
¶ 6:51 PM
Thursday, November 14, 2002
A poll carried out for the British 'Observer' newspaper late last year(and referred to in 'The Sunday Business Post','Agenda' section,page 2,June 9 last) showed that 57 per cent of the British public wanted the eight and a half million pounds sterling per annum which is presently spent via the 'CIVIL LIST'(the mechanism by which British taxpayers bankroll the extravagances of the Windsor family) reduced to five million pounds sterling or less, while more than a third of those asked thought the payments should be axed completely ! Tony Blair constantly refers to Britain as a "democracy" : here's a test,Tony-- put the so-called 'Royal' family question to the British electorate; after all,its their money.
And speaking of the Windsors...
....it is rumoured that Michael O Kennedy, a one-time high ranking member of the Fianna Fail party(an ex-mimister and cabinet member untill 1992) is in line for an 'Honour' from the English queen in next Januarys 'Honours List' ! Apparently, Mrs. Windsor is of the opinion that (Sir) Michael done a 'splendid' job as Chairperson of the 'British-Irish Parliamentary Body' , a group consisting of Free State and British career politicians which holds meetings to discuss how best to put a gloss on the continuing British claim of jurisdiction over the six north-eastern counties of Ireland. Congratulations, Michael - a sure sign of a job well done....
¶ 7:33 PM
Wednesday, November 13, 2002
In June this year, the DUP's Willie McCrea became the first Unionist Chairperson of Magherafelt District Council in 20 years-thanks to the votes of Provo Councillors! And one of those same Provo Councillors, John Kelly, was elected as his Deputy...
The Council meeting where the dirty wheelin'-and-a-dealin' was done took place on Tuesday night,June 11 this year . In that same week,the Provos issued a statement to the media in which they described Willie McCrea as " one of the most biliously sectarian politicians in the Six Counties...it would be hard to find a Unionist politician less well-disposed to nationalists and republicans(see ap/rn 13-6-02) " -- yet, days previously,they voted for him as Chairperson !! What a tangled web we weave....
Quick note- Mayor Maskey laid a laurel wreath at the Cenotaph at Belfast City Hall on July 1 last "in memory of and tribute to all the men who made the supreme sacrifice at the Battle of the Somme and during the First World War"(see ap/rn,27-6-02).Can a man serve two masters?
¶ 6:06 PM
Tuesday, November 12, 2002
Unfortunately ,I missed the party in Belfast City Hall on Monday November 4 last , organised and hosted by Provo SF Mayor Alex Maskey-and perhaps it's just as well....
....the reception was held for the 'Royal British Legion' !
Maskey,who did'nt wear a poppy(this time) was praised for holding the event by Brigadier David Strudley of the Legion . For those of you that did'nt know - Pearse and the other men and women of 1916 were in the GPO setting up a branch of the Legion when someone,somewhere,got their wires crossed and...well, you know the rest -all a terrible mishap,you know!
Seriously-The British 'Royal Legion' in Ireland should be tolerated by Republicans , but should not be supported or encouraged by us: tolerance does not mean the acceptance of the other persons point of view ,merely accepting that he/she has the right to hold that point of view.
¶ 8:43 PM
1169 And Counting....... An award-nominated Irish blog on Irish history and Irish politics - from today and yesterday : all 32 Counties ! Updated a number of times each week . (Mirror site here)
Included in the Archives of ' 1169 And Counting.....' is the following (use the ' GOOGLE SEARCHBOX ' , bottom of site , if ya really must read-up on these pieces! ) -* The British 'Military Service (No. 2) Bill 1918' - Irishmen to fight for England . * Dinny Lacey , 1890 - 1923 ; IRA Guerrilla . * ' Leo ' of 'The Nation' ; John Keegan Casey , 1846 - 1870 . * Dorothy Macardle - Irish Republican , Historian and Novelist : 1889 - 1958 . * Molly O'Reilly - GPO , 1916 . * Liam Lynch , IRA leader ; The Fermoy Attack , 1919 . * P.J. Smyth and the Tasmania Escape , 1853 . * Michael Scanlon - Poet and Fenian . * 1920 : Canon Magner , Cork , and the Black and Tans . * James Clarence Mangan : 1803 - 1849 . * James 'Skin-the-Goat' Fitzharris . * Fr. Luke Wadding , Author and Irish Republican . * Dr. William Walsh , Archbishop of Dublin - and Irish Republican . * Patrick O'Donoghue and 'The Irish Exile' Irish Republican newspaper , Australia . * Peter O'Neill Crowley ; Cork Fenian , killed by the British in Tipperary , 1867 . * Joseph Malone , Hunger-Striker , 1941 . * Richard Dalton Williams ; 'Shamrock' of 'The Nation' newspaper . * Tim Coughlan - IRA Volunteer , 1906 - 1928 : Shot Dead By IRA Informer , or Free State Agents ...? * Joseph Denieffe , 1833 - 1910 ; IRB Founder . * Jackie Griffith , 1921 - 1943 ; A Staunch Irish Republican . * Richie Goss , 1915 - 1941 ; A Revolutionary Irishman . * American Fenians - their plan to raid the Chester Castle Military Arsenal in England , 1867 . * Attempted Tunnel Escape From Cork Jail , 1940 . * The B-Specials , 1920 - 1970 . * 13 Hours In New Ross , Wexford - 5th June 1798 . * The First Irish Republican Newspaper - 'The Northern Star' , 1792 - 1797 . * Donegal 1861 ; Evictions under 'Deasy's Act'. * 1971 Prison Break ; 'Kangaroo's' in the Six Counties ! * Sunday , 26th July 1914 - On The Dublin Quays : British Soldiers Open Fire . * Stormont 'Talking-Shop' ; Not A New Failure : Belfast May 1998 - Dublin July 1917 . * A Rebel Priest - Fr. James O'Coigly ; 1762 - 1798 . * Irish Republican Law And Order ; The Court System , 1920 - 1922 . * British Propaganda , 1921 - Royal Irish Constabulary 'Newspaper' . * Patrick Egan - Founder of 'The Land League' , 1841 - 1919 . * Arthur O'Connor - United Irishman And General-Of-Division In Napoleon's Army , 1760 - 1852 . * Pat and Harry Loughnane , Galway - Tortured To Death By The Black And Tans , 1920 . * The Irish-American 'GROWL' : The 'AARIR' , 1920 - 1926 . * 'The Irish People' ; An Irish Rebel Newspaper , 1863 - 1865 . * William Putnam McCabe , 1775 - 1821 : A Determined Irish Rebel . * William Rooney , 1872 - 1901 : Poet And Journalist . * Joseph Brennan , 1828 - 1857 : 'Young Irelander' Leader . * John Sadleir and William Keogh - 19th Century Irish Turncoats . * July 15th , 1976 ; IRA Prisoners Escape From Dublin's 'Special Court' . * July - December 1921 : Revenge Attacks On Irish Republicans During The 'Truce' . * Philip Grey , 1827 - 1857 : An Irish Military Man . * Martin McDermott , 1823 - 1905 : Young Irelander . * Working Within British 'Law' With A Vow NOT To Use Force Against The British : Daniel O'Connell , 1843 - The Provisionals , 1994 To Date . * 'Tan War' Irish Republican Newspaper - 'An tOglach' , 1918 - 1921 . * July 29th , 1848 - RIC , Firearms , Pikes ; And Five Children . * Ireland , January 15th , 1920 - Elections . * 'The Press' Newspaper : October 1797-March 1798 ; Too Radical For The Radicals .... ? PLEASE NOTE -DO , by all means , feel free to copy or quote from ' 1169... ' if you want to : provided you credit the site ( other than that : do as the sign says! ) - Thanks , Sharon .
* The Boundary Commission , 1921 - 1925 : A British 'sleight-of-hand' which caused a mutiny within British forces in Ireland . * Murder Most Foul : Theobald Wolfe Tone - born June 20th , 1763 ~ died ....... ? * Five days in an IRA Training Camp....... * Censorship - Section 31 of The Broadcasting Act . * The RUC's 'paid perjurer' strategy . * To Westminster And Back - Gerry Fitt . * The GAA And The Hunger-Strikers. * The Long Kesh Escape - Sunday 25th September 1983 . * Fire And Brimstone : The DUP and Civil War ... (from 1985). * Politicos And Paramilitaries : Loyalists prepare for a strike ...(from 1986). * Preparing The Defence Of Ulster (sic) Loyalism - from 1984 . * Chaos In The Gardai - from 1986. * The Inevitability Of Sectarian Collison - George Seawright (DUP) interview , from May 1984 . * The IRA Has To Do What The IRA Has To Do - Danny Morrison (SF) interview , from September 1984 . * 17 Victims Of British Justice - from 1984. * The Interrogation Of Stephen Moore - from 1986. * A Gay View On Kincora - from 1984 . * Hunger-Striking Against Show-Trials -from 1986 . * The Sea Green Incorruptible - Seamus Mallon (SDLP) in Westminster : from 1986. * Na Fianna Eireann - from 'IRIS' magazine , 1981 . * Fianna Fail And The IRA Connection - from 'New Hibernia' magazine , Dec/Jan 1986/1987. * UDR's Rotten Apples - from 'The Phoenix' magazine , March 1984 . * 23 Days In Hell:The Story Of The O'Grady Kidnap - from 'Magill' magazine , May 1988 . * A History of Armagh Jail - from 'Women Behind The Wire' , 1984. * In The Shadow Of A Gunman : Sinn Fein The Workers Party - from 'Magill' magazine , 1982. * "Don't Let Them Break You , Love ... " : Strip-Searches in Armagh Jail - from 'Women Behind The Wire' magazine , 1984. * Where Sinn Fein Stands - Caretaker Executive statement , January 1970 . * Fr. Denis Faul : A Conniving , Treacherous Man... - from November 1981 . * The 1985 Anglo-Irish Agreement (Hillsborough Treaty) : The Shadow Of The Gunmen - from 'MAGILL' magazine , November 1985. * Entering Leinster House - A Veteran Speaks : statement from Comdt. General Thomas Maguire , 22nd October 1986 . * Informers : The RUC's Psychological War - from March 1983 . * Dublin Council of Trade Unions : Heroic Dublin! - from February 1986 . * Bloody Sunday - from 'Magill' magazine , February 1998 . * Butchers Dozen - Bloody Sunday poem . * The Unbroken Links In The Irish Republican Chain - By Martin Calligan . * 1913 : 75 Years After the Lock-Out ; from 1988. * Plus Ca Change : Haughey and Parnell - from 'MAGILL' magazine , 1998 . * Fianna Fail - The Mask Of De Valera : from 1989 . * The Simple Truth About The Irish Sugar Industry : from 1989 . * All At S.E.A. -A 'skit' on the 'Single European Act' - from 1987 . * Billy Wright , Loyalist Volunteer Force - from 1998 . * Liam Mellows And The Irish Civil War - from 1983 . * On The Take ! - Corrupt politics in the Free State . From 1988 . * The Extradition Sell-Out : from 1987 . * Sean O'Callaghan , Informer - from 1998 . * MacGiollas Guerrillas : The Workers Party and the OIRA - from 1987 . * Garda Gunfire : Who To Believe ? - from 1987. * Orange Judge Executed - from March 1983 . * The 26 Counties : A State But Not A Nation - from 1983. * Eoghan Harris : Out Of The Shadows - from 1997. * Eoghan Harris : Pillars of Society - from 1985. * "We Are All Part Of The Same Struggle" - by Margaret Ward : from 1983. * Republicans And Youth , by Jack Madden : from 'IRIS' magazine , 1983. * Shane Ross : Playing The Orange Card : from 'PHOENIX' magazine , 1984. * The Roman Reich : from 'In Dublin' magazine , October 1987. * The Right To Silence : from 'In Dublin' magazine , February 1987 . * The Rules Of Engagement - Inside The 'Peace' Talks : from 'Magill' magazine , 1997 . * Shoot-to-kill-The Unchanging Face Of Repression : from 'IRIS' magazine , 1983 . * Paddy Cooney's Army : from 'The Phoenix' magazine , 1984 . * The Kerry Garda Crisis : from 'The Phoenix' magazine , 1985. * The Quality of Justice is Strained : from 'New Hibernia' magazine , April 1987. * A Hard 'Oul Station - Life on the Streets : from 'New Hibernia' magazine , March 1987 . * More Questions Than Answers - Death In a Garda Station : from 'In Dublin' magazine , 1987. * Vincent Browne - Pillars Of Society : from 'The Phoenix' magazine , February 1985 . * The Wallace and Holroyd File : from 'New Hibernia' magazine , April 1987 . * The Strange State Killing of Maurice O'Neill : from 'Magill' magazine , 1999 . * The Heavy Hand of The Law : from 'Magill' magazine , 2003. * Lotteries And Other Hold-Ups : from 'New Hibernia' magazine , April 1987 . * The Younger Breed - Tony Gregory : from 'The Phoenix' magazine , February 1985 . * Passports , Please ! : from 'Magill' magazine , March 1999 . * Pillars Of Society - Michael O' Leary : from 'The Phoenix' magazine , April 1986. * Empires Of Dust - The British 'Empire' : from 'Magill' magazine , March 2003 . * Guns to Bread And Butter - The Officials : from 'Fortnight' magazine , October 1983 . * Disarming Martin - McGuinness Interview : from 'Magill' magazine , March 1999 . * The Seeds Of Another Bitter Harvest : from 'Fortnight' magazine , October 1983 . * Beyond Breakouts And Supergrasses : from 'Fortnight' magazine , October 1983 . * Veteran Irish Republican , Lily Moffatt , interviewed : from 'IRIS' magazine , 1982 . * The Provos At The Ballot Box : from 'Magill' magazine , June 1983 . * Sporting Nationalism - The Political Origins Of The GAA : from 'IRIS' magazine , November 1982 . * A People's Army - Women Volunteers In The IRA : from 'IRIS' magazine , November 1982 . * "Comrades , Brothers and Sisters" - Michael O' Riordan , Irish Communist : from 'MAGILL' magazine , June 1983 . * The Seeds Of A Police State : from 'Magill' magazine , September 1983 . * New Departures For Sinn Fein ? : from 'Gralton' magazine , Aug/Sept 1983 . * The World According To Gerry Adams : from 'In Dublin' magazine , August 1985 . * The Accusing Finger Of Raymond Gilmour : from 'Magill' magazine , August 1983 . * A Segregated Jail : from 'Iris' magazine , November 1982 . * Which Way Forward In The Free State ? : from 'Iris' magazine , November 1983 . * Troublesome Business - The British Labour Party And The 'Irish Question' : from 'Iris' magazine , November 1982 . * Glossary Of The Left In Ireland : from 'Gralton' magazine,August/September 1983 . * Young Bloods : Clare Daly - from 'Phoenix' magazine , September 2003 . * Derry : A City Besieged - from 'Fortnight' magazine , 1983 . * Death And Mystery ; John O'Shea , Kerry - from 'Magill' magazine , 2003 . * A Rough Beast ; Charles Haughey - from 'In Dublin' magazine , 1987 . * Out Of The Women's Ghetto - from 'Fortnight' magazine , October 1983 . * A Day At The Rent Court - from 'Gralton' magazine , 1983 . * 'The United Irishman' newspaper , January 1958 . * Sounding off : Comrades And Calculators - from 'Gralton' magazine, August/September 1983. * Crisis, What Crisis? - from 'IN DUBLIN' magazine, 'Election Special' , 1987. * The Prisons Of The Past - from 'MAGILL' magazine August 2003 . * Taking It Handy - from 'In Dublin' magazine Election Special, 1987. * Public Inquiry Into Our Greatest Scandal- from 'MAGILL' magazine, June 1998. * John Dunster At Windscale - from 'MAGILL' magazine , March 1986. * Nicky Kelly : High Court Judgement - from 'MAGILL' magazine , February 1986. * Henry Doherty Is 44 Days On Hunger Strike - from 'MAGILL' magazine , March 1986 . * Kerry Death Mystery - from 'The Phoenix' magazine ,January 2003. * Street Talk : Tony Gregory - from 'USI NEWS' magazine , February 1989. * A Question Of Liberation - from 'IRIS' magazine , November 1983 . * Republican Evictions - from 'MAGILL' magazine , June 1998 . * The Left Behind : The Labour Party - from 'In Dublin' magazine , 1987 . * Economy In Crisis : An Historical Perspective - from 'IRIS' magazine , 1982. * Divis Flats: Building Towards A Demolition Campaign - from 'IRIS' magazine , November 1983. * Prisoners Rights - The Mark Of A Civilised Society : from 'Fourthwrite' magazine, Autumn 2003. * Robert Emmet - The Darling Of Erin : from ''Fourthwrite' magazine, Autumn 2003. * A Portrait Of Ireland - from 'Republican Bulletin/Iris Na Poblachta' , November 1986. * The Eamonn Byrne Case - from 'Phoenix' magazine , 1983 . * King Of The Yuppie Heartland - from 'In Dublin' Election Special magazine,1987. * Toxic Waste In Kill , County Kildare - from 'The Phoenix' magazine , May 1983. * The Politics Of Repression - from 'IRIS' magazine, 1982. * The Catholic Hierarchy : Propping-Up The Orange State - from 'IRIS' magazine , 1983. * Ballymurphy Interview - from 'IRIS' magazine , July/August 1982. * Republican Mourners Defeat RUC - from 'IRIS' magazine , October 1987. * Operational Comments Of A British Army Officer - from 'IRIS' magazine , October 1987. * Ernie O'Malley : Soldier Of Oglaigh na hEireann - from 'IRIS' magazine , July 1983. * Sixty Years Of Repression : An Outline History Of The RUC - from 'IRIS' magazine , July/August 1982.