THE BOUNDARY COMMISSION , 1921-1925 .......
A British 'sleight-of-hand' which caused a mutiny within British forces in Ireland.......

....... in December 1925 , the 'A' and 'C' Special Constabulary had 'rebelled' and taken hostages - their own Officers ! They were dealing with (or trying to !) the Stormont 'Minister for Home Affairs' , a 'Sir' Richard Dawson Bates , a solicitor by profession , who was also the then Secretary of the 'Ulster Unionist Council' (1905-1921). He was known as a 'hard-man' .......


'Sir' Richard Dawson Bates 'made his name' (or added to it !) in 1921 , when he ordered the RIC to close-down the Offices of Tyrone County Council as said institution had declared its allegiance to the rebel Dail Eireann (32 County body) !

On 6th December that year (ie 1921) , 'Sir' Bates seen to it that a 'Local Government (Emergency Powers) Bill' was passed into 'law' ; this new 'law' stated - " The Ministry , in the event of any of the local authorities refusing to function or refusing to carry out the duties imposed on them under the Local Government Acts , can dissolve such authority and in its place appoint a Commission to carry on the duties of such authority . "

However , 15 days later (ie on the 21st December 1921) Fermanagh County Council followed the lead set by its counterpart in Tyrone : the following statement was issued by Fermanagh Officials -

- " We , the County Council of Fermanagh , in view of the expressed desire of a large majority of people in this county , do not recognise the partition parliament in Belfast and do hereby direct our Secretary to hold no further communications with either Belfast or British Local Government Departments , and we pledge our allegiance to Dail Eireann . "

Short , sharp , and to the point . And it was (rightly) seen by 'Sir' Richard Dawson Bates as a direct challenge to his 'authority' ; 'Sir' Bates ordered the RIC to ready themselves immediately .......

(MORE LATER).


THE POLITICS OF H-BLOCK .......
By Vincent Browne .

From 'MAGILL' magazine , December 1980 , pages 26 and 27 .
Re-published here in 10 parts .
(8 of 10).

The reaction of the southern political establishment to the H-Block protest is all the more surprising given the fact that the political prisoners in Portlaoise enjoy virtually all the 'privileges' being demanded by the H-Block men .

The Portlaoise political prisoners wear their own clothes , they enjoy free association among themselves and they are segregated from the other prisoners in the jail . They have special recreational and educational facilities and there is a prison shop where they can purchase food and cigarettes .

They have their own jail organisation - their Officer Commanding negotiates on behalf of the prisoners with the prison authorities and they hold classes and lectures on a wide variety of issues , including political subjects . For instance , one of the classes currently being held is on the origins of the war ie the war in the North of Ireland.......

(MORE LATER).


NORAID'S UNTOLD MILLIONS .......

Irish-Americans have long had complex and contradictory relations with Ireland and the 'Irish Question' . On Saint Patrick's Day , all the ambiguities are apparent .
This year (ie 1987) , on Saint Patrick's Day , the latest book by Irish writer , Jack Holland was published in New York , exploring the tangled web of links between Irish-Americans and the Irish in Ireland , the IRA and the Irish government .

' The American Connection ' describes the activities of leading Irish-American politicians , of romanticising writers and of gun-runners .
In this edited extract , the author tells how Noraid was set up and how it has resisted pressures to disclose all the sources and uses of its funds .
First published in 'MAGILL' magazine , April 1987 .
Re-published here in 31 parts .
[31 of 31].

But NORAID spokesmen have consistently denied that their organisation is providing the funds for IRA weapons ; Martin Galvin is categorical -

- " It matters to me very strongly that when I say this money goes to dependents that it does so - I don't want to deceive people , " he affirmed in 1985 , " but morally I support the IRA's struggle . "

The spokesman for NORAID in San Francisco , Seamus Gibney , told the 'Los Angeles Times' newspaper -

- " We can't prove the money does'nt go for guns . But the British government never offers proof when it says that it does . "

[END of ' NORAID'S UNTOLD MILLIONS .......'].
(Tomorrow - ' De Valera and the American connection' - from 'NOW' magazine , 1989 .)

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¶ 7:30 AM

  THE BOUNDARY COMMISSION , 1921-1925 .......
A British 'sleight-of-hand' which caused a mutiny within British forces in Ireland.......

....... December 1925 : Westminster decided to get rid of the (5 year-old) 'A' and 'C' Special Constabulary , but to hold on to the 'B' Specials ; 'Sir' James Craig (Stormont 'Prime Minister') was given £1,200,000 to 'buy' them off and , on 10th December 1925 , the 'A' and 'C' men were offered two months pay each - the offer got a bad re-action .......


When the 'A' and 'C' Special Constabulary realised that they were to lose their jobs , on the mouth of Christmas (10th December 1925) and with unemployment running at over 20 per cent , whereas the 'B' Specials were to be kept on , discontent in the ranks grew . The 'A' and 'C' Specials held meetings between themselves and , on 14th December 1925 , they mutinied !

'A' and 'C' members in Derry 'arrested' their own Officers (!), as they did in Ballycastle - two days later (ie on 16th December 1925) a demand from the 'A' and 'C' 'rebels' (!) was handed over to 'Sir' Richard Dawson Bates , the Stormont 'Minister for Home Affairs' , a solicitor by trade , who was also Secretary of the 'Ulster Unionist Council' , a position he had held since 1905 . 'Tangent' here , re 'Sir' Bates -

- ... the man 'made his name' in 1921 when , at 44 years of age , he ordered the RIC to close down the Offices of Tyrone County Council - 'Sir' Bates did'nt like the way they were doing their business .......

(MORE LATER).


THE POLITICS OF H-BLOCK .......
By Vincent Browne .

From 'MAGILL' magazine , December 1980 , pages 26 and 27 .
Re-published here in 10 parts .
(7 of 10).

The Provisional IRA leadership on the outside has been apprehensive about this protest for a long time and were fervently opposed to the hunger-strike . Contrary to the frequently asserted belief , the Provo leadership have always tried to dampen down prison protests for these have consequences to the conduct of the military campaign which are entirely unpredictable and , in any event , often conflict with the immediate strategic plans of the IRA Headquarters Staff .

They have been more apprehensive about this present protest and hunger-strike than ever before , recognising that if the protest fades out or is beaten , then the 'loss of face' for the Republican Movement as a whole is almost catastrophic .

They have of course attempted to 'steer' its course - for instance , it was the IRA leadership which managed to hold off the hunger-strike until October 27th and they have had a say on which prisoners were to join the strike , but in no sense could the Provisional IRA leadership be accused of cynically exploting the situation in H-Block for its own advantage .......

(MORE LATER).


NORAID'S UNTOLD MILLIONS .......

Irish-Americans have long had complex and contradictory relations with Ireland and the 'Irish Question' . On Saint Patrick's Day , all the ambiguities are apparent .
This year (ie 1987) , on Saint Patrick's Day , the latest book by Irish writer , Jack Holland was published in New York , exploring the tangled web of links between Irish-Americans and the Irish in Ireland , the IRA and the Irish government .

' The American Connection ' describes the activities of leading Irish-American politicians , of romanticising writers and of gun-runners .
In this edited extract , the author tells how Noraid was set up and how it has resisted pressures to disclose all the sources and uses of its funds .
First published in 'MAGILL' magazine , April 1987 .
Re-published here in 31 parts .
(30 of 31).

The traumatic months of the hunger strikes fused Irish-American emotional sympathy with the IRA's struggle against Britain in the North of Ireland . NORAID went through a resurgence that saw an immediate increase in the number of members . Martin Galvin claims that from that time onward NORAID has been able to raise about $150,000 every six months , double or triple what it was collecting in the years before the protest .

He also notes that now , for the first time , the number of American-born NORAID members exceeds those of Irish origin . The organisation keeps no recruitment figures , so it is not known exactly how many people are involved .

Of its founding members , only Michael Flannery is still alive . He remains steadfast in his identification with the IRA , even when they carry out attacks , such as that outside Harrods department store in London , in which innocent people die . His attitude is -

- " I wait to hear what the IRA have to say . When it happens in London it's good propaganda . I've no qualms when they take the war to England . Innocent people get killed in all wars . ......"

(MORE LATER).

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¶ 7:57 AM

  THE BOUNDARY COMMISSION , 1921-1925 .......
A British 'sleight-of-hand' which caused a mutiny within British forces in Ireland.......

....... having spent the previous two years dealing with the new Free Staters in the 26-County State , the Brits had them well-sussed ; Westminster realised that it had no need for the 40,000-strong 'Special Constabulary' force in the Six Counties of Ireland it was (and still is) occupying - the Staters were now known to be no threat to the British-enforced 'border' . 'Sir' James Craig (Stormont 'Prime Minister') was called to Westminster to discuss the proposed redundancies .......


Westminster offered the approximately 40,000-strong 'Special Constabulary' organisation a few bob to 'go away' (!) - £1,200,000 was put on the table , provided most of them agreed to disband (similar to what is happening today , with the PIRA - buying them out with a 'bank-load' of money ...) . 'Sir' James Craig , up to then a great friend and supporter of the Specials , stated that they would have to go : on 10th December 1925 , Craig told the 'A' and 'C' Specials that they were out of work and offered each man two months pay . End of announcement !

The 'B' Specials were to be kept - indeed , it was only in 1969 that that gang of thugs 'disbanded' (ie changed uniform into that of the 'Ulster Defence Regiment' (UDR) and carried-on with their mis-deeds) . It was actually in September 1969 that the (British) 'Cameron Commission' described the 'B' Specials as " a partisan and paramilitary force... " , while the October 1969 'Hunt Report' recommended that the 'B' Specials be disbanded .

However - the 'A' and 'C' Specials were not happy with the ".. disband ..." Order from their old friend , 'Sir' James Craig .......

(MORE LATER).


THE POLITICS OF H-BLOCK .......
By Vincent Browne .

From 'MAGILL' magazine , December 1980 , pages 26 and 27 .
Re-published here in 10 parts .
(6 of 10).

Brendan Hughes , 32 years of age , had been on the Belfast Brigade Staff of the Provisional IRA prior to his capture in 1974 , and was now able to provide the young inexperienced prisoners with the kind of hard determined leadership which their protest campaign had lacked previously . The young prisoners had been pressing for some considerable time for a hunger strike in order to bring their protest to a head . Brendan Hughes had the maturity to resist this pressure , knowing that without adequate support from the outside there would be needless and wasteful deaths .

He went along with the various attempts that were being made for mediation , through Cardinal O Fiaich and Bishop Daly and others but eventually saw that there was no option but to accede to the demand for a hunger strike .

The prison authorities , recognising the pivotal role Brendan Hughes was playing in the unfolding protest , split up the protesting prisoners into different sections of the prison ; therefore , Hughes could no longer effectively act as overall Officer Commanding but his influence was nonetheless decisive .......

(MORE LATER).


NORAID'S UNTOLD MILLIONS .......

Irish-Americans have long had complex and contradictory relations with Ireland and the 'Irish Question' . On Saint Patrick's Day , all the ambiguities are apparent .
This year (ie 1987) , on Saint Patrick's Day , the latest book by Irish writer , Jack Holland was published in New York , exploring the tangled web of links between Irish-Americans and the Irish in Ireland , the IRA and the Irish government .

' The American Connection ' describes the activities of leading Irish-American politicians , of romanticising writers and of gun-runners .
In this edited extract , the author tells how Noraid was set up and how it has resisted pressures to disclose all the sources and uses of its funds .
First published in 'MAGILL' magazine , April 1987 .
Re-published here in 31 parts .
(29 of 31).

In November 1985 , Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams ('1169...' Comment - Adams is now President of a Leinster House-registered political party , 'Provisional Sinn Fein' ) made a speech at Sinn Fein's Ard Fheis that was run in full in 'An Phoblacht' : that speech strongly identified the IRA's struggle with that of third-world liberation struggles , and berated Ronald Reagan , Margaret Thatcher and the Dublin Government .

Soon after the beginning of his address , Adams went on the attack -

- " It is no accident that the Dublin government finds common ground with Thatcher and Reagan in their attitude to liberation struggles . Dublin's attitude on these issues is but an extension of its attitude to the British presence in this country . The natural and logical place for Ireland is alongside the Palestinians , the Chileans , Salvadorans , and Nicaraguans . "

The approximately ninty paragraphs of the address also dealt with Sinn Fein's role in fighting various social evils like drug abuse in Ireland , and its support for social reforms such as divorce . A week later , 'The Irish People' newspaper ran an excerpted version of Gerry Adams' speech , some seventy-six paragraphs in length .

Among the most prominent omissions were the remarks by Adams quoted above , the appeal of Sinn Fein as a radical alternative , and the section on social reform .......

(MORE LATER).

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¶ 7:25 AM