Friday, July 20, 2007

CURRAGH CAMP/PUBLIC INQUIRY/HANDY.


'IN CURRAGH CONCENTRATION CAMP'.......
From 'The United Irishman' newspaper, January 1958 .

DUBLIN :

Eamon Thomas , 30 Goldenbridge Avenue , Inchicore .
Gerald McCarthy , 43 Drimnagh Road .
Frank Delaney , 130 Benmadigan Road , Drimnagh .
Frank Morrissey , 135 South Circular Road , Dolphins Barn .
Noel Kavanagh , 141 Tritonville Road , Sandymount .
Liam Nolan , 67 Bangor Road , Crumlin .
Sean Nolan , 67 Bangor Road , Crumlin .
Dick Burke , 23 Cliftonville Road , Glasnevin .
Paul Gleeson , 446 Galtymore Road , Drimnagh .
James Hayde , 110 Carrow Road , Drimnagh .
Seán Ryan , 1 Spencer Street , South Circular Road .
Bertie Murphy , 1 Leinster Avenue , North Strand .
(MORE LATER).



PUBLIC INQUIRY INTO OUR GREATEST SCANDAL.
From 'MAGILL' magazine, June 1998.
By Vincent Browne.
('1169...' Comment : please note - the use of the term 'murder' in connection with the death of an informer is not our choice of word.)

We return once more to the murder of John Corcoran in Kerry 13 years ago . The cover up of that murder and the obvious complicity of the Gardai in that murder remain by far the greatest scandal of our public life . And yet , apart from a brief intervention by Dick Spring and a broken promise by the now State Justice Minister , John O' Donoghue, not a single public representative has sought as yet to make an issue of this .

The Gardai had a special responsibility to protect the life of John Corcoran for he too , along with Sean O'Callaghan, was an informer , giving the Gardai information about the operation of the PIRA in the Cork area . That makes the Garda complicity in the crime , or his murder , or at least in the crime of the cover up of his murder , all the more outrageous . The prime source for information on the murder of John Corcoran - the IRA informer Sean O' Callaghan - is an inveterate liar . He has directly contradicted several times his account of how John Corcoran was murdered .

But he has , perhaps unwittingly , provided enough information for us to appreciate that the Gardai bear a great responsibility for what happened.......
(MORE LATER).





TAKING IT HANDY.......

Provisional Sinn Fein are fighting this election as a party which has just emerged from seventy years of abstentionism. The party is banned from the airwaves and there is a strong apparent bias against the party in the press.
From 'In Dublin' magazine Election Special, 1987.
By Derek Dunne.

It was too late when Charlie Haughey's handlers noticed that Gerry Adams was making his way towards them - they could not move Haughey , who was surrounded and as good as rooted to the spot . Adams asked Haughey if he would consider voting for the local Republican candidate , and Haughey smiled : " No, I can't ..." , he answered . The irony was not lost on some of those present who remembered that Fianna Fail claim to be 'The Republican Party' .

And then Mr. Haughey wished Mr. Adams 'the best of luck anyway' as he was swept away by handlers and others . It was a great stroke , and one which Haughey himself could hardly help but appreciate . Immediately , Adams had to move on as there was another appointment - this one was with Garret FitzGerald in Dublin's Clarence Hotel. When the Provos got there , Garret was upstairs and the meeting was over : Adams waited in the lobby downstairs , as did the Gardai and the Special Branch who were much in evidence , as were journalists . Adams said he was 'happier defending the (P)IRA on the doorsteps than the record of the present government' . He was asked if it was his intention to canvass Garret FitzGerald for support for the local Republican candidate . He might , he replied , if Mr. FitzGerald ever came down .

By now , Provisional Sinn Fein supporters had gathered outside the hotel - they were young , enthusiastic and they were also waiting for Garret . Section 31 of The Broadcasting Act has banned Provisional Sinn Fein from RTE and the print media have , by and large , ignored the party . This election has been fought out mainly in the media , and the young Provisional Sinn Fein supporters perceive that Garret FitzGerald has supported part of the problem - namely Section 31 of The Broadcasting Act . Now they are waiting for FitzGerald to come out of the hotel.......
(MORE LATER).







Wednesday, July 18, 2007

CURRAGH CAMP/PAST PRISONS/HANDY.


'IN CURRAGH CONCENTRATION CAMP'.......
From 'The United Irishman' newspaper, January 1958 .

DUBLIN :

Michael Traynor , 38 South King Street .
Gearóid Ó Broin , 27 Church Avenue , South Circular Road , Rialto .
George Dearle , 82 Lower Drumcondra Road .
Robert Russell , 67 North Strand .
Eddie Gargan , 11 Auburn Street , Broadstone .
Tomás Ó Dubhghaill , 36 Comeragh Road , Drimnagh .
Anthony Magan , 45 Dodder Road , Rathfarnham.
Andy Nathan , 398 Nutgrove Avenue , Churchtown.
Brendan Sealy , 21 Weston Road , Churchtown.
Ruaídhrí Mac Daibhéid , 100 Griffith Avenue , Marino .
Patrick Cosgrove , 21 Dufferin Avenue , South Circular Road .
Michael O' Brien , 32 Hazel Road , Donnycarney .
(MORE LATER).





THE PRISONS OF THE PAST.......
In a jail outside Belfast , republican prisoners have begun smearing their cells with excrement . They are demanding the right to political status . We have been here before.....
From 'MAGILL' magazine August 2003 .
By Niall Stanage.

In the present circumstances , one can entirely disagree with the actions , and the political analysis , of 'dissident republicans' yet still understand why it is crazy to imagine that they will accept being treated only as criminals , or that they and their loyalist counterparts will mix without difficulty .

Here is where pragmatism also enters the equation . The British government has spent millions of pounds erecting ugly 'peace walls' to try to keep the north's warring factions apart . How , then , does it make sense to keep each community's most recalcitrant members cheek-by-jowl in a prison ? To insist on such a system is a receipe for disaster .

History is supposed to teach us lessons . We are not supposed to be doomed to repeat the mistakes of the past. Someone should remind the north's prison authorities of that fact . If they display the same arrogant ineptitude as their predecessors , the grimness of twenty years ago could envelop the jails - and the landscape beyond - once again .

[END of 'THE PRISONS OF THE PAST']
(Next : 'Public Inquiry Into Our Greatest Scandal' - from 1998.)




TAKING IT HANDY.......

Provisional Sinn Fein are fighting this election as a party which has just emerged from seventy years of abstentionism. The party is banned from the airwaves and there is a strong apparent bias against the party in the press.
From 'In Dublin' magazine Election Special, 1987.
By Derek Dunne.

On another doorstep , one woman complains that they are unable to get an Irish school going because of local objections . Gerry Adams suggests that , since it is a local issue , locals must sort it out between themselves . Throughout the day , four State air-force planes have been flying over the area and the noise is deafening . There have been complaints about the noise but seemingly to no avail . People wonder why the planes do not fly over less densely-populated areas , but nobody knows the answer .

In contrast with other political parties who bring journalists to bars and hotels for food and drink , Provisional Sinn Fein hospitality involves invading the house of a supporter for coffee . As it grows dark , many people have still not returned home . Most of those canvassed expressed either support or total apathy , but the PIRA was never mentioned . It is clear that the PIRA campaign is not an issue with most working class people , and there was no hostility towards Adams because of it . Generally , people were of the opinion that the country was in a dreadful mess and that they were tired of it all .

One woman wants to know if Provisional Sinn Fein will change all of that . " You have to change it..." , answers Adams . One of the biggest problems facing the party may be getting their voters out on the day . That particular canvass lasted only a couple of hours and the plan was to continue it the following day - a Saturday . And on that Saturday , it was known that Charlie Haughey would be in Crumlin Shopping Centre in Dublin and it was agreed that it would be a good opportunity to canvass his vote . And sure enough , when Adams and his team arrived at the shopping centre , there was Haughey , surrounded on all sides by handlers , gardai and journalists.......

(MORE LATER).







Tuesday, July 17, 2007

TARA WAS OLD WHEN CHRIST WAS BORN....


"For many centuries, historians worked to uncover Tara's mysteries, and suggested that from the time of the first Celtic influence until the 1169 invasion of Richard de Clare, the Hill of Tara was the island's political and spiritual capital. Due to the history and archaeology of Ireland being not well-integrated, archaeologists involved in recent research suggest that the complete story of the Hill of Tara remains untold...."




In his excellent book 'WHERE MOUNTAINY MEN HAVE SOWN : war and peace in rebel Cork , in the turbulent years 1916-21'(published 1965), Micheal O'Suilleabhain wrote that Tara was abandoned in the second-half of the 6th Century , that 153 Irish Kings had reigned there before A.D.563 and that 400 Pikemen of 1798 are buried there.

Now a Free State combination of political self-serving money-grabbing leeches are attempting to destroy that area by building a motorway in the (too-near) vicinity :


Some of us are trying to stop them...







...and your assistance would be appreciated !






Monday, July 16, 2007

CURRAGH CAMP/PAST PRISONS/HANDY


'IN CURRAGH CONCENTRATION CAMP'.......
From 'The United Irishman' newspaper, January 1958 .

CORK :
Tomás Mac Curtáin, Rosebank , Douglas Road .
Liam Early , Martinville , Commons Road .
David O' Connell , 26 Lough Road , The Lough .
Pádraig Ó Cuanacháin , 7 Bóthar na mBráthar Uacht , Crosaire Tuirnéire .
Seán Kenny , Cork City .

CLARE :
Martin White , Lisdoonvarna .
Francis Lyons , Erna , Fountain , Ennis .
Lot O' Halloran , Ballygriffey , Ennis .
Michael O' Keefe , Churchill House , Ennistymon .
Martin McCormack.

DERRY :
Laurence Bateson , Ballyroan Road , Magherafelt.

DONEGAL :
Patrick Dawson , 33 Lower Main Street , Letterkenny .
Tommy Breslin , Lifford .
Norman Daly , Lifford .
(MORE LATER).





THE PRISONS OF THE PAST.......
In a jail outside Belfast , republican prisoners have begun smearing their cells with excrement . They are demanding the right to political status . We have been here before.....
From 'MAGILL' magazine August 2003 .
By Niall Stanage.

The fear lurks in many minds - not all of them republican - that a prison struggle , with all its inherent evocativeness , could be just the thing to breath life into the cause of the 'dissidents' . Unyielding action from the prison authorities , if resisted with enough fervour inside the jails , could invest them with a credibility they have signally lacked so far .

The authorities have shown no signs of conceding the point on segregation ; they are wrong , just as those who were in the same position at the tail-end of the 1970's were wrong . There are good reasons , both principled and pragmatic , for separating prisoners of contrasting allegiances in northern jails .

The original H-Block hunger strikes were the ultimate response to the British policy of criminalisation , an initiative intended to disguise the political nature of the northern conflict and instead present paramilitaries as 'common criminals' . One among the many problems with this move was that it was , simply , wrong - irrespective of whether one supported , sympathised with , or was disgusted by , the actions of paramilitaries - they were different from other prisoners and were , therefore , always likely to resist efforts to conceal that difference . They were in jail , after all , for acting on political beliefs and - however ignoble some of their actions were - their mindset was demonstrably different from that of 'ordinary criminals'.......
(MORE LATER).





TAKING IT HANDY.......

Provisional Sinn Fein are fighting this election as a party which has just emerged from seventy years of abstentionism. The party is banned from the airwaves and there is a strong apparent bias against the party in the press.
From 'In Dublin' magazine Election Special, 1987.
By Derek Dunne.

People want to know about the state of the roads , about water rates , about jobs . One couple say that they are sick and tired of all the electioneering and that they are not going to vote for anybody - " If you don't vote for us , you're better off not voting for anybody " , says Gerry Adams .

His style on the doorstep is easygoing . Because his voice is not that well known , as a result of censorship , people are slightly taken aback that it does not fit in with the generally portrayed austere image of the man . He is uneasy about stopping people and asking them to vote for his party , because there is an invasion of privacy there .

Throughout Tallaght , many of the houses display Provisional Sinn Fein posters, and as many display Workers' Party posters. Some voters say they will either vote for the Provos or for the Workers' Party : here , at least , the distinctions between the two organisations have become blurred * to the point where people would vote First and Second preference , for each/either group . ('1169...' Comment - those 'distinctions' have , if anything , become harder to distinguish over the years as the Provos are now handling the mantle of 'New Stickies' with ease!) In one instance , a man on his doorstep says that he is quite definite that he will not vote 'Sinn Fein' , at which point Gerry Adams notices that he is involved in sport . The fact that there is no vote in it doesn't matter , as Adams spends at least five minutes talking to him about who won what and when . As he leaves , he is wished the best of luck.......
(MORE LATER).