DINNY LACEY , 1890 - 1923 ; IRA GUERRILLA FIGHTER .


....... 6th December 1921 ; the 'Treaty of Surrender' is signed in Downing Street , London . The IRA splits . A few men left Dinny Lacey's IRA Flying Column , but the majority stayed true .......


The 3rd Tipperary Brigade IRA , with Dinny Lacey in command , hit hard ; in the months following the December 1921 sell-out , Lacey's Unit raided the Free State Barracks in Clonmel , County Tipperary , and removed all the equipment (weapons , ammunition etc) they wanted , with the result that they were now 'kitted-out' even better than before .

Dinny Lacey and his men controlled the North Munster area to such a degree that it was practically a 'no-go' zone for the Free Staters , and stayed that way for most of 1922 . Also , during that same year , the townlands around Carrick-on-Suir (outside Clonmel , County Tipperary) were controlled by Dinny Lacey's Unit until December(1922) when the Free State Army forced them out .

The Free State Administration in Dublin's Leinster House had had enough ; they sent a force of approximately one-thousand Free State troops into the area where Dinny Lacey and the 3rd Tipperary Brigade operated from , under orders to hunt the IRA Unit down ....... (MORE LATER).




WHERE MOUNTAINY MEN HAVE SOWN :

war and peace in rebel Cork ,
in the turbulent years 1916-21.

By Micheal O'Suilleabhain : published 1965.

A QUIET PERIOD.......

".......We all lined up in the pub to taste the whiskey that cures influenza . After the first sip , we looked at each other . Then Eamon , having tasted the 'magic brew' , made a noise ......."



" " DAMMIT ! " " DAMMIT ! " , Eamon said again , as he placed his glass sharply on the bar , " who put the whiskey in the water ? " So saying , he turned and walked out the door . Smothering laughter as best they could , all hurriedly replaced their glasses on the counter and followed suit . In the open they gave vent to their feelings . It was some time since they had indulged in a hearty laugh . Now they had the opportunity . The weakest stuff they had ever tasted , 'aqua pura' almost , had proved a better tonic than the most potent !

The holidays over , I returned to Rockwell College . Here , so far , we had seen no sign of the influenza . Within a fortnight it had a firm grip on the place . It was milder than the earlier form of the epidemic , but it caused the death of one student . With a few others , I managed to keep on my feet and we were allowed home . It was near the beginning of March when we were recalled again . Since we had lost a good deal of time we were granted no Easter holidays and we worked on to examination time at the beginning of June . Meanwhile , events of great political importance had happened .

The greatest event was the assembling of the First Dail Eireann or Irish Parliament , on 21st January 1919 . Sinn Fein had contested the General Election on an abstention from Westminster policy and a guarantee to set up our own assembly ......." (MORE LATER).



FERDINAND and IMELDA MARCOS ;

A specially-blended , gold-scented lifestyle in the PHILIPPINES .

(From a 'Hot Press' magazine article by Gordon Thomas , 1988 .)

(6 of 12).



Imelda Marcos had 550 black bras - Cory Aquino has had them all counted - 200 boxes of stockings and 300 boxes of girdles (all made in Manchester , England) . In a corner of Imelda's bedroom is a pile of 400 cartons containing over 2,500 handbags . They were specially made for her by 'Gucci' and other designers . Some have never been used . They are valued at £937,000 .

To pay for these excesses , Imelda Marcos used the Philippines National Bank as if it were her personal charge account . Imelda had once lived on the breadline herself . She was raised in a garage in Manila , where she and her mother slept on planks balanced on milk crates . They relied on the charity of a Catholic foundation to survive ........ (MORE LATER).

---

¶ 8:37 AM

  DINNY LACEY , 1890 - 1923 ; IRA GUERRILLA FIGHTER .


.......as Officer Commanding of the IRA's 3rd Tipperary Brigade No. 1 Flying Column , Dinny Lacey took the fight to the British.......



He knew the countryside extremely well and had learned much from Sean Treacy - he hit and disappeared ; three Brit soldiers killed and five wounded at Thomastown (October 1920), two RIC men killed and two wounded at Lisnagaul (November 1920).

He was also known to be tough with his own men , and did not suffer fools , but never asked anything of them which he was not willing to do himself .

When the 'Treaty of Surrender' was signed at Downing Street in London on 6th December 1921 , Dinny Lacey and his men were living 'on the run' ; a handful of his Unit left , two or three of whom joined the Free State Army , with the same number of men just going home . The majority of the IRA Flying Column stayed true , and carried on with the fight for a 32 County Socialist Irish Republic and , as with their fight against the Brits , they did'nt wait to be attacked - they took the fight to the Free Staters ....... (MORE LATER).



WHERE MOUNTAINY MEN HAVE SOWN :

war and peace in rebel Cork ,
in the turbulent years 1916-21.

By Micheal O'Suilleabhain : published 1965.

A QUIET PERIOD.......

".......On the way home from a funeral , a group of IRA Volunteers and some friends of theirs stopped-off in a pub which was said to sell a 'special' whiskey which cured influenza . One of the Volunteers , Eamon , was the only one of the group to have tasted whiskey before ......."


" Having once discovered the characteristics of anything , there was little danger that Eamon would keep the knowledge to himself . In other words , he was very outspoken . The publican busied himself with spigot and measure , and soon a row of glasses was ranged along the bar . An oldish man of the neighbours took his glass and , raising it , said " Slainte ! "

Every man grasped his drink and repeated " Slainte ! " All , excepting Eamon , tasted it and lowered their glasses at once . Eyes were cautiously turned right or left , and then slowly left or right . Most of the Volunteers looked puzzled and they tasted again . They had expected that at least it would make them cough . The older men regarded each other , some with a sorrowful look , some with a grim smile . It was their unspoken verdict .

But what would Eamon's verdict be ? Would he accuse the publican directly of putting water in the whiskey ? A loud exclamation focused all eyes on Eamon . He also had tasted ......." (MORE LATER).



FERDINAND and IMELDA MARCOS ;

A specially-blended , gold-scented lifestyle in the PHILIPPINES .

(From a 'Hot Press' magazine article by Gordon Thomas , 1988 .)

(5 of 12).


Cory Aquino has insisted that the palace must remain exactly as it was on that February night two years ago when Marcos and his wife fled for their lives - an extraordinary combination of priceless European antiques and plastic dimestore trash .

There are medieval cabinets from Bavaria , each hand-carved and painted , filled with buttons saying 'Marcos For President'. There is a Renaissance credenza , valued at £590,000 , whose top is covered with packets of pop-corn at 10p a packet . A Cartier jewel box is stuffed with junk jewellery . Outfits created by Emmanuel Ungaro for Imelda are crammed alongside a thousand pairs of her undies .......

(MORE LATER).

---

¶ 7:29 AM

  DINNY LACEY , 1890 - 1923 ; IRA GUERRILLA FIGHTER .


....... In 1914 , at twenty-four years young , Dinny Lacey was sworn in to The Irish Republican Brotherhood by Sean Treacy .......



It was Dinny Lacey , Sean Treacy and Dan Breen that organised a much-feared Unit in Tipperary which sought-out the enemy ; Dinny Lacey , in particular , was known to be deeply angry that the 1916 Rising had not taken hold in the rest of the country as much as it had in Dublin . He wanted confrontation with the British , and had no time for 'letting things lie'-- he was in good company !

The Tipperary area was well-organised from an Irish Republican point-of-view ; the IRA were so strong in the area that they were able to set-up and run two small ammunition factories - one each in Knockharding and Shrough . Dinny Lacey was appointed 'Officer Commanding' of the 3rd Tipperary Brigade No. 1 Flying Column , which controlled the South Munster area - it was Sean Treacy's position , but he had been shot dead by the Brits in Dublin .

Dinny Lacey and his ' Flying Column' IRA Unit were relentless in their pursuit of the British ....... (MORE LATER).




WHERE MOUNTAINY MEN HAVE SOWN :

war and peace in rebel Cork ,
in the turbulent years 1916-21.

By Micheal O'Suilleabhain : published 1965.

A QUIET PERIOD.......

".......the influenza epidemic was killing people in the country ; many 'cures' were proposed - one of them was whiskey ......."


" I have authority of rumour that at least one publican , entirely devoted to the health and welfare of the general public , evolved a laborious scientific process to ensure that each and every member of his increasing clientele would have at least some small percentage of his life-saving aqua vitae .

On this particular evening , a group of IRA Volunteers and neighbours , on their way home from a funeral , stopped outside his premises . They were tired , and weary from want of sleep . They decided to try some tonic to keep up their spirits . One of the neighbours spoke to the Volunteers : " I know ye do not take strong drink , lads , but by all accounts the whiskey here will do ye no harm . "

All entered the pub and stood alongside the bar . Soon it transpired that there was no other drink in the house but whiskey . After a little discussion , everyone , teetotallers and all , decided to sample the elixir . Standing at the bar , midway in the line of men , was a Volunteer whose Christian name was Eamon . He had already tasted whiskey , a few times , just enough to know what it should taste like ......." (MORE LATER).



FERDINAND and IMELDA MARCOS ;

A specially-blended , gold-scented lifestyle in the PHILIPPINES .

(From a 'Hot Press' magazine article by Gordon Thomas , 1988 .)

(4 of 12).



Exiled now (ie 1988) in Hawaii - though with untold millions of pounds stashed in Swiss bank accounts - the couple continue to plot and scheme to return to Malacanang , their palace . They actually believe they will do so ; that there is a growing ground-swell of Filippinos who would like them back .

Which may explain why President Cory Aquino has ordered that Malacanang should at last be opened to the public -- to show Filippinos how , as they struggled to live on an average annual income of £100 a year , Imelda Marcos spent that much a minute ! For instance , on specially-blended perfumes from Dior and Roches , which she ordered in two-litre bottles ....

Each bottle cost £40,000 ; there are 97 on display in her bedroom ....... (MORE LATER).

---

¶ 7:19 AM

  DINNY LACEY , 1890 - 1923 ; IRA GUERRILLA FIGHTER .



In the small town of Attybrack , near Annacarty , in County Tipperary , a child born in the year 1890 was to know of no other way of life except that of with a gun in both hands .......

At about twenty-three years young , Dinny Lacey joined the 'Irish Volunteers' and met , amongst others , Sean Treacy (six years later [ie 1919] that same man , Sean Treacy , was one of the two IRA leaders [the other being Dan Breen] that shot two RIC men dead in Soloheadbeg in County Tipperary - the IRA wanted the quantity of gelignite which the British 'policemen' were guarding . Sean Treacy was himself shot dead in Dublin's Talbot Street on 15th October 1920 , by a British intelligence officer named Price).

It was through Sean Treacy that Dinny Lacey was sworn in to The Irish Republican Brotherhood (in 1914) ....... (MORE LATER).




WHERE MOUNTAINY MEN HAVE SOWN :

war and peace in rebel Cork ,
in the turbulent years 1916-21.

By Micheal O'Suilleabhain : published 1965.

A QUIET PERIOD.......

"....... I was home from Rockwell College for the Christmas holidays when the results of the 1918 Election became known . I felt safe there from the influenza which was on the rampage through Europe ....... "


" But the influenza had killed a few of the Volunteers in our district . The Volunteers and Cumann na mBan had helped the people immensely . Where an entire household became ill , or were otherwise handicapped , units from each organisation took over the duties of nursing , heating and food supply until the family was on its feet again .

Their fearless and efficient assistance won the hearts of people hitherto bitterly opposed to them . Undoubtedly they saved many lives , and where necessary they helped to coffin and bury the dead . I heard the tale of disaster with regret , since all the victims were my neighbours and comrades . To cheer me up , other contemporary incidents were related .

During the epidemic , many remedies and medicines were tested and suggested . Whether or not it was suggested by the medical profession , or at a meeting of shareholders , I cannot tell , but whiskey proved , if not an effective , at least a popular and palatable medicine ! Nor have I any evidence to show that even a single dealer , licensed or otherwise , audibly expressed the opinion that it was worthless ......." (MORE LATER).




FERDINAND and IMELDA MARCOS ;

A specially-blended , gold-scented lifestyle in the PHILIPPINES .

(From a 'Hot Press' magazine article by Gordon Thomas , 1988 .)

(3 of 12).



Until today (ie 1988) the private tastes and whims of the couple have remained a matter for speculation . But the truth is more mind-boggling than any gossip . The couple were not only public monsters , pillaging everything , and from everybody , they could . They were also house devils , living out a rancid fantasy life together .

" They hated each other , fighting like tigers . It was money and greed that glued them together , " said their former butler , Mike Pedrosa , " she would chase him up and down stairs until he locked himself in his quarters - screaming for his doctors to sedate her . "

In the palace basement was a private hospital where both Imelda and her husband were often treated until they calmed down . It had six doctors and twelve nurses on round-the-clock duty . The cost of running the clinic came to over £1 Million Punts (one-and-a-quarter million Euros approximately) a year ....... (MORE LATER).

---

¶ 7:44 AM