Wednesday, January 24, 2007

THE SEEDS OF A POLICE STATE .......
There is substantial evidence that a major crime was perpetrated within the Garda Siochana five years ago .
The evidence for this crime has certainly been available to senior Gardai ever since then , but no enquiry whatsoever has taken place , let alone any Garda being disciplined in connection with that crime .
By Vincent Browne and Derek Dunne .
From 'MAGILL' magazine , September 1983 .

Amongst the Gardai involved in the course of the Sallins mail train robbery trial were :

Garda Noel Ryan / Garda Philip Bowe / Sergeant John M. Freeman / Garda James Galvin / Superintendent Patrick Casey / Detective Garda Thomas Fitzgerald / Detective Garda O. Fitzsimons / Detective Inspector John Murphy / Garda Noel McGuire / Garda Joseph Calnan / Detective Sergeant P.F. Cleary / Detective Sergeant Joseph Collins / Detective Sergeant John J. McGroarty / Detective Garda Michael Mullen /

Detective Garda Patrick Waters / Detective Inspector James McPartland / Detective Garda Fintan Dunne / Detective Sergeant Patrick Byrne / Detective Garda Patrick Looby / Garda George Callanan / Garda Francis King / Garda Eric Lynch / Sergeant M. Purtill / Sergeant Carey / Detective Garda John Jordan / Garda John Hyland / Garda Patrick J. Delaney / Garda Joseph Callanan / Garda Alphonsus King / Ex-Superintendent Patrick Flaherty /
(MORE LATER).



A PEOPLE'S ARMY .......
'IRIS' magazine talks to two active women Volunteers in the Irish Republican Army about their involvement , their political attitudes , and their observations on the role played by women in the liberation struggle. Both Volunteers are from the Free State , where they live , and are in their twenties . 'Mary' comes from a country area and has been in the IRA for six years ; 'Anne' comes from the city and joined the IRA about a year ago .
From 'IRIS' magazine , November 1982.

'IRIS' magazine : " Since you joined the IRA , have you been allowed to play an equal role alongside male Volunteers ? "

MARY : " Yes , very much so . Everyone just has to do the job , there's never any question of 'oh , we'll have to leave her at home' . "

ANNE : " Since I joined the Army I have been allowed to play an equal role with the rest of the Volunteers in my unit . I'd expect it to be so . I received the same amount of training as my comrades did , so why should I take less risks than them ? It wouldn't be fair to them or me . "
(MORE LATER).



" COMRADES , BROTHERS AND SISTERS ......."
Kerry Dougherty talks to Michael O'Riordan about fifty years of Irish Communism.
From 'MAGILL' magazine, June 1983 .

To Michael O' Riordan and the other old-timers in the Communist Party , these seemingly small changes in public attitudes towards the party are the things they point to when asked to cite their major accomplishments . They admit that trying to promote communism , in one of the most Catholic and conservative nations in the West , has not always been easy :

" If you look at our members you'll find a lot of older people , about my age , and quite a few young members , but we did miss out on the middle-aged . They were all scared away by the Cold War ," he says . His own baptism into communism is interesting - especially considering he was born into a devout Catholic family in Cork in 1917 . By the age of 17 he had read James Connolly - whom he calls the first Irish communist - and was won over by the man's beliefs .

In 1934 , over the protestations of his parents , young Michael O' Riordan came to Dublin and joined the fledging Communist Party of Ireland : three years later he left Ireland to fight in the Spanish Civil War, returned when the war was over and devoted the next 40 years promoting the Communist cause in Ireland.......
(MORE LATER).