" .... lets shoot 100 men a week " ~ No doubt MacReady learned his ' peace-keeping' skills in other countries which the British sought to claim as their own -- Wales , Scotland , North America , Africa , India , Australia , New Zealand , Burma , Afghanistan , China , Sudan , Egypt , and South Africa !!

Like most of the above-named countries , Ireland has had various British ' solutions ' imposed on her ~ direct rule , indirect rule , genocide , apartheid , puppet parliaments , so-called 'real' parliaments (Stormont) martial law , civil law , colonisation , land reform and partition . All have failed , being successful only in prolonging the conflict . The alternative , so far ignored and dismissed by the establishment as " unworkable " ( and not even up for discussion by the professional politicians in Leinster House , Stormont or Westminster) is that of a complete British military and political withdrawal from the 32 Counties of Ireland .
However , there are still those amongst us pushing for that solution ...

Eamonn's friend , Garret Fitzgerald , is remembered (by me, anyway !) for his conduct during the November 1982 Leinster House election campaign in this State , when he verbally lashed the then Fianna Fail leader , Charlie Haughey , for not supporting Maggie Thatcher in her Malvinas(Falklands) War _- Fitzgerald stated that if he was Free State Taoiseach during said episode he would have supported her ! According to ' The Sunday Tribune' newspaper of July 24 , 1983 , a former senior Free State civil servant (not named) claimed that Fitzgerald made a rushed secret visit to London in 1974 to persuade the British Government NOT to withdraw from the Six Counties . It was also claimed that the then leader of Fianna Fail , Jack Lynch , also made it known to the Brits that he was against withdrawal - he is said to have pleaded with the then British Foreign Secretary , James Callaghan . I can just picture a small queue of sniveling Free Staters waiting outside Downing Street .......

.........indeed, after his stint as a British ' peace-keeper ' , Widgery maintained his British Army connections by continuing to serve with the British Territorial Army for several years after the war . He is perhaps best remembered in Ireland for his statement on Bloody Sunday ~
" I would not be surprised if , in the relevant half-hour , as many rounds were fired at the (British) troops as were fired by them " ! It was obvious that defence of the Para's actions , not inquiry into them , was what Widgery saw as his task .
The British Minister of State for the Six Counties at the time , a Mr Van Straubenzee , later stated that he had visited many British Army barrackrooms and was constantly told , and I quote - " The average troops feeling is that if only they could be let off the leash they could finish the whole thing " . An echo of a similar statement by British General MacReady , who vowed to solve the Six County situation by proposing to shoot 100 men in a week ! (MORE LATER) .

He is said to be this States highest paid journalist , and is certainly never far from the headlines ~ Mr Eamonn Dunphy , that is - you may see him on a bus near you soon ...
The man was once a member of Fine Gael , and said he joined because he was " attracted by Garret Fitzgerald . He seemed a man of reason , a cut above the rest . He did'nt pander to the Catholic Church , did'nt promise to do away with the border overnight , or indeed at all , nor did he promise to make us wealthy in the morning . I knew nothing of Blueshirts - I had lived in England for nearly 25 years , and was unfamilar with the fine print of Irish politics " .
I would have thought it wise to check-out the political scene before joining any political party - but apparently the Blueshirts will accept the politically ignorant , perhaps even depend on them ......

" It strikes me that the British Army ran amok that day and they shot without thinking of what they were doing . They were shooting innocent people . I say it without reservation - it was sheer unadulterated murder "
------ So said British Major Hubert O Neill , the then Derry City Coroner , at the end of the inquest into Bloody Sunday ; O Neill delivered the above comments on August 21 , 1973 - a full 19 months after the massacre had taken place . It took the British that long to admit to something that must have been obvious to the rest of the world within hours of it happening - that the British Army were under instructions to let the Nationalist population in the Six Counties know that their then existence , their then lifestyle , such as it was , WAS IT ! There was no more on offer , whether requested politely by so-called Nationalist leaders or whether demanded on the streets - there was no more for the Nationalist population ! And that in-built discrimination which Bloody Sunday , January 30 , 1972 , symbolised , still lives on in the Six County area , even if it has been given a new coat of gloss with the Stormont Treaty .
On that Sunday , 15,000 people assembled in the Creggan Estate and , when the march reached the perimiter of the Bogside , near the high-rise Rossville Street flats , the marchers were confronted by barricades manned by the British Para's - the Parachute Regiment were under orders to prevent the marchers from entering the walled city ; suddenly , with no warning , the British Troops opened fire on the crowd - they shot 42 people , 14 of whom died . The British ' Report ' into Bloody Sunday was headed by British Lord Widgery , a man who had seen service in the British Army during WW2 - indeed , after his stint as a British ' peace-keeper ' ........ (MORE LATER) >

Although it is often assumed that the Free State ' Offences Against the State Act 1939 ' was introduced as an emergency measure due to the imminence of what became known as ' World War Two ' , it was in fact a routine adoption by the State of repressive powers . According to the then Fianna Fail Minister for Justice , Seamus Ruttledge , who introduced the OAS Bill in February 1939 , the FS administration " had it under consideration " since the adoption of the 1937 Free State Constitution . The period 1937 - 1939 was one of exceptional calm , as was agreed at the time by the Free State Labour Party leader , William Norton , and Fine Gael leader T F O' Higgins . Fine Gael , however , voted for the Bill on the day .
They may have thought it was'nt necessary , but then again , if it helps secure the position of the Establishment .....

In August , 1916 , Roger Casement , who was arrested on the eve of the Rising at Banna Strand in Kerry ( having come ashore from a German submarine) was hanged in Pentonville Prison , London . Of the ninty people who were sentenced to death by courts martial , 15 were executed, while the remainder( including Countess Markievicz) had their sentences commuted to life imprisonment .

In total , 1,836 men and five women ~ Brigid Foley , Maire Perolz , Nell Ryan , Winifred Carney and Helena Moloney~ were deported to prisons and internment camps in England and Wales . Between 3 and 12 May , 1916 , 15 Republican leaders were executed by firing squad in Kilmainham and Cork jails , in the aftermath of the 1916 Rising .
...and still the problem persists - how many more Risings are needed before the British admit their folly ?
During the years 1941-1948 , Lyndon B Johnson ( sworn in as U S President after the assassination of John F Kennedy) claimed he had seen 70,000 flying miles during which he had shot down fourteen Japanese planes , had his own engines shot out by enemy aircraft , acquired the nickname ' Raider' Johnson and been hospitalised on the Fiji Islands . In actual fact , Johnson's contribution to the U S war effort was one fifteen-minute flight as an observer in the South Pacific !!
.....was Johnson related to Ronnie Reagan ??

...... however , three days later (May 8) , three Republicans were executed - Eamonn Ceannt (Commander of the South Dublin Union) , Michael Mallin (Commander of the garrison at St Stephens Green) and Sean Heuston , a member of Na Fiann Eireann , who commanded the Mendicity Institute garrison . Later on that same day , Con Colbert , who had assumed command at Marrowbone Lane , was also put to death .
On May 9 , the only execution outside Dublin took place in Cork Jail where Thomas Kent , who had defended his home at Bawnard House , Fermoy , when British soldiers attempted to arrest his entire family , was shot by firing squad . On May 12 , Sean MacDiarmada and the dying James Connolly (Commander of the Dublin rebels) ,who had to be strapped upright in a chair , were shot by firing squad in Kilmainham Jail . (MORE LATER .....)

Far be it for me to speak ill of the dead , but a fact is a fact ~
In November 1989 , Catholic Bishop Edward Daly called for an end to Section 31 of the Broadcasting Act (which forbid Republican comment on radio and television in the State) . The Fine Gael communications spokesperson at the time , the late Jim Mitchell , said he favoured extending the ban to silent TV coverage of meetings , walkabouts , press conferences etc . He said to end the ban would almost certainly shift the balance in favour of "subversives" !
And that was not so much due to the way we put across the message , as the fact that the message itself was the correct path ; a fact which the Free Staters could'nt handle .

More information has been E-mailed to me re the aftermath of the 1916 Rising --

Sixteen Irish Republicans , including the seven signatories of the Proclamation , were executed by the British , after the Rising , while hundreds were imprisoned and interned in England and Wales . Within two days of the ending of the Rising ,court martials were convened by the British at Arbour Hill and Richmond Barracks - one of the first to face court-martial was Padraig Pearse , the President of the newly-proclaimed Irish Republic (32-Counties,NOT a 26-County State) and commander-in-chief of the Republican Army . On May 2 , 1916 , he was sentenced to death and despite a plea that his life be forfeit and that those of his comrades be spared , his request was rejected . During the following ten days , 15 Republicans were court-martialled , sentenced to death and executed .
On the morning of May 3 , 1916 , Pearse and Thomas J Clarke , the veteran Fenian and first signatory of the Proclamation , and Thomas MacDonagh , commander of the 2nd Battalion at Jacob's factory , were executed by firing squad in the yard of Kilmainham Jail . The following day , four more executions took place - Joseph Plunkett (GPO Garrison) ,Edward Daly (commander of the Four Courts Garrison) , Willie Pearse (GPO) and Michael O'Hanrahan (second-in-command at Jacobs factory) . Major John MacBride , a veteran of the Boer War in South Africa , who fought at Jacobs factory , was the only execution carried out on May 5 ........(MORE LATER......)

When Jack Lynch was Free State ' Taoiseach ' here in the bad old days , he appointed a Mr Desmond O Malley as ' Minister for Justice' : in December 1970 , Dessie threatened to introduce internment without trial in the State ~ this was nine months before Stormont premier Brian Faulkner imposed said internment in the Six Counties ! That's the Free Staters for ya-do the Brits dirty work even before they themselves can do it .....

..... Con Colbert held the position of Captain of ' F ' Company , Fourth Battalion , during Easter Week...

Throughout the early part of that week in 1916 , he commanded Watkin's Brewery in Ardee Street , an important outpost of the South Dublin Union , which intended to cut off the approach of the enemy from the south and west . On Wednesday , April 26th , he moved his small unit of about 20 men and boys to the main garrison at Jameson's Distillery , Marrowbone Lane ~ the fight that followed was described as ' fierce and bloody' .
Following Pearse's signed order to surrender on Saturday , April 29th , Con Colbert assumed command of the Marrowbone Lane garrison to save the life of his superior officer . In Richmond Barracks , after the surrender , Colbert was picked out by Dublin Castle detectives and transferred to Kilmainham Jail . On Thursday , May 4th , he was court-martialled and sentenced to death . On Sunday , May 7th , the death sentence was confirmed and , at 3.45am on the following morning , he was executed by firing squad in the yard of Kilmainham Jail with three others- Sean Heuston , Eamonn Ceannt and Michael Mallin . That happened on May 8th , 1916 - Con Colbert was only 23 years of age .
Not one of those that went out in 1916 did so with the intention of securing a partial British withdrawal ;
The fight then ,as now , is for an island free of British interference .....

During the 1920's , Britain divided both Ireland and Mesopotamia , keeping control in each nation of the most industrialised and profitable area ; Ireland was partitioned and Mesopotamia was 'made into' the kingdoms of Iraq and Kuwait . And it's all comimg back to haunt them .....

Beannachtai na Nollag , a chara - slan anois .

One of perhaps the least-mentioned leaders of the 1916 Rising , and the youngest , was Con Colbert .
He was born in Monalena , near Newcastle West , in Limerick , in 1893 , and was reared in Athea and educated at the local national school and later at the CBS in North Richmond Street after the family moved to Dublin . After his schooling , his first job was as a clerk at Kennedy's Bakery in Parnell Street . He was a fluent Irish speaker and joined Na Fianna Eireann in August 1909 , at 16 years of age . His Fianna work became his ambition , and he helped to organise routines and training for the other boys - he also established nightly classes in the use of fire-arms , signalling , scouting , map-reading and first-aid classes .
At the invitation of Padraig Pearse , Con Colbert acted as drill-instructor to the boys at St Edna's school in Rathfarnham and formed a slua (group) of Na Fianna in the school . In 1911 , he joined the Irish Republican Brotherhood and , in 1913 , at it's foundation , he joined the Irish Volunteers at it's inaugural meeting in November that year . He was soon elected to it's Executive Committee and became one of their first instructors in drill and fire-arms . The Irish Volunteers promoted Colbert to the position of Captain of ' F ' Company , Fourth Battalion , which was then commanded by Eamonn Ceannt ~ this was the position that Con Colbert held during Easter Week ......
(MORE LATER)

The last three ' legitimate ' kings of "Great Britain" are buried in the Vatican- in St Peters itself ! The last king was not only a Catholic , but a senior Roman Cardinal ; Cardinal King HenryIX . It was not untill Edward VII ( 20th Century) that England produced a 'monarch' whose first language was English ! ... And sure have'nt we in Oireland bein' spaking the english for ages-thick Paddies howarya .....

This month thirty-one years ago (December 5 , 1971) , the ' Democratic Unionist Party ' (DUP) was officially launched : prior to this , Ian Paisley was involved in the 'Ulster Protestant Action' group whose stated aim was~ " to keep Protestant and loyal workers in employment in times of recession in preference to their Catholic fellow workers " . The ' UPA ' was founded by Paisley in 1956 and used by him as an election vehicle ; on April 17 , 1970 , he was elected as British MP for North Antrim and has'nt stopped shouting since ...
In 1986 , William Beattie told the DUP youth wing " We must hire assassins ( to murder Catholics) and pay them when the job is done " . It was obviously cheaper to let the Brits do it for them-UDA , UVF , LVF etc etc .....
A man who might have been interested in DUP membership , a Mr Noel Koch , a former top U S ' anti-terrorism ' expert (who resigned from the U S Defence Department in May 1986 in protest at covert U S arms sales to Iran) suggested at the June 1987 Congressional hearings that the leader of a pro-Iranian group suspected of holding U S hostages in Lebanon should be " taken off to a nice warm dry place " where " I would take off something thats non-life-threatening like a finger and I'd wrap it in a note and I'd say ' There's a lot more where this came from ' " . He said he would then demand the release of all hostages immediately " and , if not , we'll be sending some more of this stuff around . There is a reality in which people do have to do things that are not taught in Sunday School . This hostage situation could be resolved rather handily if we choose to do it " . In dealing with ' terrorists' , Koch suggested that the U S should be " a little more creative and a little less fastidious " !! Obviously , Noel's mother did'nt name him with Christmas in mind ......

The American Civil War (1861-1865) was fought to ensure " that self-determination belonged only to the whole people of the nation " : President Abraham Lincoln stated -- "On what rightful principle may a State , being not more than one-fiftieth part of the nation in soil and population , break up the nation and then coerce a proportionally larger sub-division of itself in the most arbitrary way ?" .
The Six-County area of Ireland which Britain presently claims jurisdiction over (partitioned 82 years ago) had never existed before as an entity in history , or politics , or economics . Craigavon , deputy-leader of the Unionists in the British parliament , explained on March 29 , 1920 , why only six of the nine counties of Ulster could be brought under a Belfast parliament ~
" The three excluded counties contain some 70,000 Unionists and 260,000 Sinn Feiners and Nationalists and the addition of that large block of Sinn Feiners and Nationalists would reduce our majority to such a level that no sane man would undertake to carry on a Parliament with it . We quite frankly admit that we cannot hold the nine counties " ( see ' HANSARD ' , Volume 127 , column 991) . We can expect a similar ' explanation ' soon , from the British Parliament , as to why they now need to re-partition the partitioned area ! The Six-County Unionists would be doing themselves a favour in recognising that Britain has no permanent friends or enemies - only permanent interests ~ she will sell them out in 200? just as quickly as she did in 1920 ......

In an interview in ' Ireland on Sunday ' on March 28 , 1999 ,(page 16) , Provo Leinster House member Martin Ferris claimed that his house-phone had been cut off and his party was so broke (financially , he meant ! ) that they could'nt pay the bill for him ..... must be all those globe-trotting flights and $500-a-plate dinners and fine suits and cars that the money is spent on , Martin .....
..... he stated~ " People may not agree with me but they know I'm honest and I'll tell them the truth . I will not lie and cheat " . The medical-card incident is well known , but what about a certain M/S Ferris on a college grant ....?

That old British chestnut surfaced here again recently regarding Roger Casement ; the British still insisting that the ' diaries ' they ' found ' belong to the man . While that issue continues to fill column-space in the newspapers , Casement's speech from the dock goes unmentioned --
" Ireland is being treated today among the nations of the world as if she were a convicted criminal . If it be treason to fight against such an unnatural fate as this , then I am proud to be a rebel and shall cling to my ' rebellion ' with the last drop of my blood . If there be no right of rebellion against the state of things that no savage tribe would endure without resistance , then I am sure that it is better for men to die without right than to live in such a state of right as this . Where all your rights have become only an accumulated wrong , where men must beg with bated breath for leave to subsist in their own land ; to think their own thoughts , to sing their own songs , to gather the fruits of their own labours and , even while they beg , to see things inexorably withdrawn from them - then surely it is a braver , a saner and truer thing to be a rebel , in act and in deed , against such circumstances as these , than to tamely accept as the natural lot of men " .
The British feared such an influential man as Casement when he was their prisoner and feared the legacy he left behind after his death ; to divide his supporters it was necessary to malign his name , which is what they are still attempting to do with the so-called ' diaries ' .
Thankfully , thanks to their own history , the British have no credibility when they stand on a world stage and ask to be believed .
At their Ard Fheis in March this year , Bertie Ahern told the assembled ' Soldiers of Destiny ' -- " We need a kinder , gentler republicanism . We in Fianna Fail will continue to encourage former revolutionary parties to complete their transformation to become strictly democratic ones " . ~ Thats an easy job , Bertie ; the leadership of that "former revolutionary party" is doing the job for you !

......but Carter had another visitor- Garret Fitzgerald , the then Fine Gael top statesman , got word that Carter had been speaking to Fr Sean McManus and requested a meeting with the now U S President .
The meeting went ahead on 14 March , 1977 , and the Fine Gael blueshirt persuaded Carter " not to speak about the Northern Ireland(sic) issue in human rights terms " . By now , of course , like all politicians , Jimmy Carter had got what he wanted and got where he wanted , with the assistance of people whom he had promised that he would not forget afterwards !
And , again like all politicians ~ ' eaten bread is soon forgotten ' . The issue here is not only Carters about-turn on the Irish issue , but rather on why any Irish man would try to persuade a powereful figure like Carter NOT to involve himself in the question of Britains involvement in Ireland .

And the race is on to try and get Stormont up and running again in time for the elections to that institution next May . When talks were held in May and June 1996 in order to put together the Stormont Treaty , one of the first issues to be discussed was that of wages and expenses for the participants ! It was agreed that those attending the talks at Castle Buildings , Stormont , would be paid a basic "loss of earnings" allowance of £100 Sterling each a day , plus subsistance and travel expenses at the standard British Civil Service rates ! Nice one , lads ....
In addition to the above , each of the then nine political parties involved were given a flat allowance of £300Sterling per day for each day they were involved in the talks , and each party was given a " research grant" of up to a maximum of £6000 per quarter year !
Another reason why the Provos and the rest of them were so anxious to get into Stormont - they could'nt afford not to ...

.....throughout Easter Week , the women engaged in the fight also helped to look after the wounded and voluntered to do the difficult and dangerous task of carrying the numerous vital dispatches between the various garrisons and outposts , in addition to gathering intelligence on British troop movements around the city .They also transported food supplies and ammunition through the many British army checkpoints .
On Saturday ,April 29 ,1916 , Nurse Elizabeth O Farrell , Julia Greenan and Winifred Carney(James Connolly's secretary) who had all moved to the new republican HQ in Moore Street following the evacuation of the GPO , carried Padraig Pearse's final order of surrender to British General Lowe at the corner of Moore Street and Parnell Street . Cumann na mBan were instructed to tour the republican garrisons with Pearse's order to surrender .
Seventy-seven women were arrested as a result of the Easter Rising , and many of those were released within days ; however , five women- Brigid Foley ,Maire Perolz , Nell Ryan , Winifred Carney and Helena Maloney were held for longer periods . Countess Markievicz , court-martialled and sentenced to death , had her sentence commuted to penal servitude for life and was released from Aylesbury Prison in June 1917 .
Countess Markievicz was born in London in 1868 . She founded Fianna Eireann in 1909 and , during the 1913 ' lock-out ' , she ran the Liberty Hall kitchen . She was baptised a Catholic in 1917 ~ she died on July 15 , 1927 . The cause that these women fought for is still with us , as is the history they left us ; it is not a history of appeasement ....

On Wednesday ,October 27 , 1976 , a few days before he was elected U S President , the Irish National Caucus arranged a meeting with Jimmy Carter in Pittsburgh . About fifty Irish-American leaders from around the U S attended . Fr Sean McManus made the opening statement in which he criticised US policy on the Six Counties and urged Carter to set a new policy if elected . Carter replied- " We see specific instances where human rights are subjugated and where quite often our nation , as was pointed out by Father McManus , stands mute and does'nt speak . It is a mistake for our countrys government to stand quiet on the struggle of the Irish for peace , for respect , for human rights and for unifying Ireland " .
Good words , well spoken ; but , Carter had another visitor ...... MORE LATER ...

During Easter Week 1916 , almost 100 women , members of Cumann na mBan and the Irish Citizen Army , played a full part in the fighting : Cumann na mBan , formed in April 1914 and the Irish Citizen Army , founded by James Connolly in November 1913 , were in training months before the Rising . Both groups received instruction in first aid , signalling and weapons preparation . Connollys daughters , Nora and Agnes , who were both members of Cumann na mBan , joined other members of that organisation in travelling around the country to ascertain the strengths and weaknesses in a particular area .
On Easter Monday 1916 , as the Volunteers and Citizen Army set out from Liberty Hall to occupy the various garrisons throughout Dublin , they were accompanied by several dozen women from the ICA and Cumann na mBan - these women were joined by dozens more once news of the rising spread . Altogether , 34 women , including Nurse Elizabeth O Farrell , Julia Grennan and Winifred Carney , were stationed at republican headquarters in the GPO . Women also stood side-by-side with the men at the Four Courts , Jacobs Factory and the South Dublin Union ; however , at Bolands Mills , which was under the command of Eamon de Valera , no women served ~ de Valera wpould not allow it !
The Irish Citizen Army put Michael Mallin in charge of the rebels stationed at St Stephens Green and he , in turn , placed Countess Markievicz as second-in-command - the Countess and Margaret Skinnider , who was badly injured during the fighting , acted as snipers from the roof of the College of Surgeons . In the City Hall area , where the commander Sean Connolly was killed during the Citizen Army attack on Dublin Castle on Easter Monday , Dr Kathleen Lynn , the most senior officer at the outpost , took over . MORE LATER......

In 1796 , the British established the Yeomanry , a de facto Orange militia ; within two years they were out of control , so much so that General Abercromby , who was called in to instil some discipline and restraint in late 1797 , resigned in disgust after issuing his famous order of February 1798 ~ " The army (are) in such a state of licentiousness that makes them formidable to everyone save the enemy " ! Would that they would only destroy each other today , too ....

Tim Pat Coogan , the newspapers mentioned previously , the Provos , Piet De Pauw etc -- all wrong in relation to the outcome of the vote on the Stormont Treaty ('Good Friday Agreement') ~~
..... which was put to the vote on Friday ,May 22 , 1998 , in this Free State and in the Six Counties --
In this state , the turnout was 56.3 % ; of those , 1,442,583 (94.4%) voted 'YES' and 85,748 (5.6%) voted 'NO' .
But 43.97% of those entitled to vote in the state did not do so !

In the Six Counties the turnout was 81% ; of those , 676,966 (71.12%) voted ' YES ' and 274,879 (28.88%) voted ' NO' .
But 19% of those entitled to vote in the Six Counties did not do so !
The claims that "the majority voted for it" and that it represents "the democratic wish of 95% of the population " etc etc is a deliberate falsehood put about by those that would attempt to convince the Irish people that the struggle to achieve a just and permanent settlement has been achieved . That finality can only begin when the British give a date for their withdrawal from this country - it has not been a war of over 800 years only to say to the British that which the Stormont Treaty leads them to believe _ ' Stay if you want , just treat us better ...' That was never the Republican demand , regardless of how well dressed and presentable those are that travel the globe calling , in effect , for the British to implement their policy in Ireland !
In his book ' History of the Irish Working Class ' , Peter Beresford Ellis wrote- " On October 25 , 1920 , Lord Mayor of Cork , Terence MacSwiney , poet , dramatist and scholar , died on the 74th day of a hunger-strike while in Brixton Prison , London . A young Vietnamese dishwasher in the Carlton Hotel in London broke down and cried when he heard the news - " A Nation which has such citizens will never surrender " . His name was Nguyen Ai Quoc who , in 1941 , adopted the name Ho Chi Minh and took the lessons of the Irish anti-imperialist fight to his own country " .
Terence MacSwiney , Bobby Sands - how many other examples are we going to need .........?

Bertie Ahern , ' Sunday Business Post' , 3/5/98 , page 16 - said it means that "Britain is out of the equation " ~
AP/RN , 10/9/98 , page 9 - said it was " the will of the electorate in both partitioned states " ~
' The Sunday Business Post ' , 13/2/00 , page 18 - said its institutions were set up " as a direct result of a vote of all the people of this island , the will of the entire people of Ireland " ~
' Ireland on Sunday' ,28/3/99 , page 14 - said it was " the wish of almost every last man and woman in this country " ~
AP/RN , 20/5/99 , page 9 - said it was " endorsed by a huge majority of this countrys people " ~
Tim Pat Coogan , in his 'IOS' column on 24/9/00 (page 32) said that " more than 90 per cent of the people of this island voted for " it ~
Niall O Dowd , in his 'IOS' column on 13/2/00 (page 31) said that it was " the democratic wish of 95 per cent of the population in the Irish Republic and 72 per cent in the North " ~
Piet De Pauw , the Belgium lawyer and human-rights expert , said , in December 2000 , that " the majority of the people on this island voted for " it ~
AP/RN , 11/3/99 , page 12 , said it " was endorsed by 85 per cent of the people of Ireland " ~
Tim Pat Coogan , again , this time in his 'IOS' column dated 7/5/00 , page 34 , said that its institutions " were voted for by an overwhelming majority on this island " ~~~~
What were they talking about ?
And why are they all wrong ?
More later .....
According to a report released by the United Nations Committee on Air Pollution in June , 1987 , Britain was then ( still is ?) the main acid rain polluter of the 32 Counties : they were also responsible for the pollution of every one of 16 sites where measurements were taken in East and West Europe , and contributed about 43 per cent of the sulphur pollution and 36 per cent of the nitrogen pollution affecting Ireland - they were also listed as the greatest single polluter of Norway and Sweden ! ( See ' The Sunday Tribune' , June 21 , 1987 , page 4) .
Damn Brits - if they don't get ya one way ........

Sir Charles Edward Trevelyan , the then permanent head of the British Treasury , was the man who held the British purse-strings and oversaw the economy while hundreds of thousands of Irish people died of starvation and disease in 1845 ,'46 and '47 . He is best remembered for saying the following during The Great Hunger ( ' Famine ' ) in this country ~ " The great evil with which we have to contend is not the physical evil of the famine(sic) , but the moral evil of the selfish , perverse and turbulent character of the Irish people " . Trevelyan was put in charge of 'relief effort' by his administration , but actually remained in England throughout that period - he received a knighthood for his work !
He once stated his belief that Cromwell had three objectives in Ireland ~ to pay off , in Irish land , the soldiers who had fought and the capitalists who had provided the money , for the conquest / to render the English hold upon Ireland secure against rebellion / to extripate Roman Catholicism . Cromwell done the damage on the military front , while people like Trevelyan ,who stayed in the background , backed up the ' Cromwells ' financially and morally . Its only right that they should be remembered , too .....
In 1847 , the Poor Law Committee stated that 2,385,000 people starved in Ireland every year , whether the potato crop failed or not . Trevelyan and his like simply hurried things along ....
On a somewhat similar note - On Sunday , July 12 , 1992 , a more up-to-date version of the above-named specimens died ~ Albert Pierrepoint , the last Englisg hangman ! He hanged IRA Volunteer Charlie Kerins , Chief of Staff , in December 1944 . Kerins will always be remembered and commemorated in Ireland , while Pierrepoint and those that appointed him will remain infamous . And that particular list is yet to be finally updated ....

The old Irish song ' The Old Bog Road ' was penned by Teresa Brayton , who was born in Kilbrook , Co. Kildare , in 1868 . The song itself is a ballad about being exiled from Ireland , while another of her songs was adopted by Na Fianna Eireann , the Republican scouting organisation , as its marching song . Teresa was known locally as an Irish patriot and a staunch Republican , and she became an assistant teacher at Newtown in Kildare . She emigrated to America in 1908 but returned home frequently , and was a friend to , amongst others , Constance Markievicz and Helena Moloney . After the 1916 Rising and throughout the Tan War she supported the Irish Republican cause in America by distributing pamphlets and fund-raising . She also wrote a song about ' The Manchester Martyrs ' ( Allen , Larkin and O Brien ) . Teresa Brayton died in America on August 24 , 1943 .

When he was British Foreign Secretary , Douglas Hurd , former Six-County Direct Ruler , stated -- " We need to make it clear that we don't accept the partition of Bosnia by force . The idea that simply because you or your friends have occupied swathes of terrority , the world simply packs up and accepts that , will be shown to be wrong " . ' Hear Hear ' , Douglas , and so say all of us !

In 1963 , the British pulled out of Kenya . The Mau Mau 'terrorists' that fought against the British presence were treated much like the Irish ' terrorists ' , and are now fighting the Brits again !
They are taking their former oppressors to court to seek compensation for human rights abuses during the 1950's and 1960's . More than half a million Mau Mau belonging to the Mau Mau Trust welfare group have hired British lawyer ( fight fire with fire ! ) Martin Day to fight their case . They claim that British soldiers regularly beat and tortured the Kenyans with rifle butts and glass bottles before putting them to work as slave labourers . It has been stated that some of the men were effectively castrated by the British soldiers , while female prisoners were raped repeatedly and with extreme violence . The brits , as can be expected , deny the claims and have said that the majority of 'official ' records(ie their own files) were destroyed in the war .
On the other hand , Mr Blair , we Irish have plenty of paperwork ......

Liam Mellows , the Irish Republican leader , predicted in the Treaty debate on January 4 , 1922 -- " Men will get into positions , men will hold power , and men who get into positions and hold power will desire to remain undisturbed and will not want to be removed " ;
Human Nature again - Mellows was warning us about those that fool themselves into thinking that they can cosy up to the British but still maintain their opposition to the British presence : the Brits , of course , are past masters of pulling people like that ' the extra mile ' ie into the establishment . They will try it now , again ,in Kenya , and are doing it now , in Ireland . But not to all of us ...

A group called ' Ailtiri na hAiseirghe' , Irish for ' Architects of the Resurrection' , entered the political scene in the Free State in the early 1940's , with the intention of creating a ' Gaelic , Christian ,Corporatist (fascist) state ' . They apparently supported the Portugese dictator Salazar , and condemned "the cumbersome indirect methods of our imposed, corrupt , unchristian , Godless and inefficient brand of parliamentary democracy " . They stated that there should be "room for only one national party " in the State , and that under its rule we would be " a model for the whole world ,and our superior civilisation would enable Ireland to control not only the Atlantic , but the Pacific ... " .
They also claimed that such a State " could dictate to dictators and in co-operation with Divine Providence it could settle the affairs of the universe for another two-thousand years ! In the 1943 election , four 'Resurrection' candidates amassed four thousand votes between them - in !944 , seven 'Res' candidates got six thousand votes , all but one of them losing their deposits . In the 1948 election they fielded one candidate and received only 323 votes . Perhaps Fine Gael should change its name and improve its fortunes ......
About ten years ago , a Mr Geoffrey Wheatcroft was a columnist with the (ever-so) British ' The Sunday Telegraph' (perhaps he still is - its not a newspaper I 'take' , as they say...) . In one of his columns , Geoffrey stated - " Fifty years ago , Serbs and Croats were massacring each other on a scale that makes the Ulster(sic) problem seem as trivial as it indeed is . Partition has been the greatest boon and benefit Ireland has enjoyed this century .It is the essential condition without which the southern state could not have survived as it has " . I say-steady on , Geoffrey , old man !
I have just removed 'The sunday Telegraph' from my Christmas card list ...

In May , 1956 , while speaking to the Aden Legislative Council , British Lord Lloyd stated~ " The importance of Aden both strategically and economically is such that we (British Government) cannot forsee the possibility of any fundamental relaxation of our responsibilities for the colony " -- In November 1967 , Britain withdrew !
Speaking about Cyprus in 1954 , Henry Hopkinson , a Colonial Office Minister of State , said~ " It has always been understood and agreed that there are certain territories in the Commonwealth which , owing to their particular circumstances , can never expect to be independent " -- In August 1960 , Cyprus became independent ...
In ???? , speaking at ////// British PM ~~~~~~~ stated that due to the proximity of the two isles/our stiff upper lip/ for the sake of our position on the world stage/ the British will continue to exercise a jurisdictional claim in Ireland-- however , in ..........

An extract from MIchael Davitts ' The Fall of Feudalism in Ireland' states -- The genius of misgovernment has never been more wilfully blind in its methods or more persistent in the folly of political unwisdom than in the ways and means of Englands rule in Ireland . Laws and force have come to us across the sea in their most provocative form and applicaton , while concessions were never wisely or tactfully made to a cry of justice , but always to the pressure of turmoil , illegality or insurrection . Every stage of the Anglo-Irish struggle attests this fact in its history " .
Those that left the Movement in 1986 and are now in the pay of the British -"attempting to change things from the inside" - would do well to remember that it was tried before ; the only position the British will allow them is that of a poacher turned gamekeeper . And our history is littered with those ....

By early 1931 it was obvious to the Free State administration that what they termed " the normal process of the law " could no longer deal with Republican activity in the State , and Free State President Cosgrave introduced the necessary paper-work to set up a Military Tribunal on October 14 , 1931 . Eamon de Valera , who had left the Movement in 1926 and formed the Fianna Fail party , stated - " They (the then IRA) are to be taken into these secret tribunals and maltreated and nobody is to hear a word about it and nobody is to be allowed to raise his voice in protest. That is the situation. But tradition is a hard thing to kill. They have been reared in that tradition . That is the Gospel that kept Irish Nationality alive through all the centuries of persecution . These are the men whom we want to crush now . These are the men who are represented as terrorists , these who never thought of themselves . They are simply the rats that are to be squelched . These are the people who are ready to give everything that they had for Ireland , and well we know it , and now they are being deserted by the majority of their people . They have been deserted by old comrades who can no longer see any hope of success on the line they are adopting , by people who were with them originally but who are so far away from them now that the road which they are following is leading diametrically in the opposite direction . They are brave men anyway : let us at least have for them the decent respect that we have for the brave " .
---- Words from a heavy heart , obviously , but words the man was to put into action .

More words from another anti-republican ; " The only solution for dealing with the (P)IRA is to kill 600 people in one night- let the United Nations and Bill Clinton and everyone else make a scene , and it is over for 20 years " .
--- Former British Defence Minister Alan Clark , October 12 , 1997 (see ' Ireland On Sunday' newspaper , 12/10/97 , page 15) ; that's the attitude that got the British into trouble in all the countries they colonised - indeed , it is the reason they set out on their conquest . And they still have'nt learned !

One of this State's elected representatives who sits in Leinster House and is paid 1438 Euro a week for doing so has what hundreds of thousands of ordinary working-class people have'nt got - a medical card , which he has used three times since his election last May . Politicians in that institution received a pay-rise in 2000 and , in January 2001 , they received another increase ( of 18.7per cent) , then an extra 4 per cent in October last plus another wage increase last week (announced after the budget) which has them at their present wage ; after ten years ' service ' they get 1670 Euro a week , based on present wage structures . On top of their salary , they also get 625 Euro a week in various expenses , not all of which has to be vouched for with receipts . Martin is apparently a quick learner~ Leinster House has no shortage of financially and morally corrupt members - now , since last May , Ferris ( the ' good ' apple) has gone into the barrell ( of bad apples ) to change them or , at the very least , to ' keep an eye on them ' but ... human nature kicked in and another wealthy politican decided he , too , wanted more !
Plus ca change , plus c'est la meme chose .

A Mr George Marshall was ' Regional Director of BBC Northern Ireland(sic) ' in 1937 and is best remembered by us for the following quote - " There is no such thing today as an Irishman. One is either a citizen of the Irish Free State or a citizen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland(sic) . Irishmen as such cease to exist after the partition " . George may be gone but no doubt his sentiments live on in the minds of his BBC colleagues .

The Informer Reynolds~
The meetings that Reynolds attended of the ' United Irish Supreme Executive' were detailed gatherings to plan the Rising - he supplied chapter and verse on these to his English paymasters . He also compiled and handed over information which led to the arrest of most of the membership of the Leinster Directory of the United Irishmen : the arrests took place at the home of Oliver Bond , in Bridge Street , Dublin , in March 1798 . The arrests were a severe blow to the organisation and irreparably damaged the prospects of a successful rising taking place the following May .
Reynolds , thinking that his ' job ' was done , refused to comply when ordered to testify at the ' trial ' of Oliver Bond and John McCann , the Provincial Secretary of the Leinster Directory , and so was placed under arrest himself ( in May 1798) ! However , being the weasel that he was , he struck a deal -- in exchange for personal immunity he agreed to appear in court to give evidence about certain figures and , for a lump sum of £5000 and a pension for life he agreed to tout on the people arrested at Bond's house .
Reynolds was no doubt proud that , thanks to him , three members of the Directory - McCann , Billy Byrne and Bond were found guilty in July 1798 . McCann and Byrne were executed while Bond died in jail the following September . The Informer left Ireland for his own safety and was employed abroad by the English authorities . He settled in Paris and died there on August 18 , 1836 . I can only hope he had many a sleepless night .
Lloyd George again ~
In his book 'Year 501; The Conquest Continues' , Noam Chomsky tells how former British PM Lloyd George noted approvingly that British diplomacy had prevented the 1932 Disarmament Convention from banning the bombardment of civilians . Lloyd George observed - " We insisted on reserving the right to bomb niggers " . God knows he sent enough people , including coloureds , to their deaths ...

The British police in the Six Counties (PSNI) have been in the news here recently in connection with their recruitment , as an informer , of a 13-years-young boy with special needs ; the youth was offered sums of money to report on the movements of a number of people in his area , and arrangements were put in place wherby the youth could pass this information on to his British handlers .
The use of informers by the British is as old as the struggle itself , and one such infamous tout springs to mind ~
Thomas Reynolds , the son of a wealthy merchant , was born in Dublin in March 1771 , and became a successful dealer in silks . He married into a family connected with the Tone clan , and he joined the United Irishmen in 1797 . Such was his popularity that he was elected leader of the Kildare Society of United Irishmen and was soon promoted to membership of the Leinster Provincial Directory . In 1798 , his financial situation took a turn for the worst , and his father died . He inherited considerable property from his father and , for a time , this stopped him from becoming bankrupt . One of his creditors , a man named Cope , persuaded him to sell information to the British authorities as a means of keeping himself going financially . Reynolds was desperate for cash and agreed - his position within the United Irishmen gave him access to valuable detail regarding the planned Rising for that year .
More on this informer later ....
Quickie on Llyod George - On Monday , December 22 , 1919 , his ' Bill for the Better Government of Ireland ' (known here simply as ' The Partition Bill') was read to the British Parliament and was passed into British law in 1920 , but did not come into force until May 1921 . And has caused nothing but trouble since ....

'Quickie' on Lloyd George -
The man's son once said " Father was sick of the Irish Republicans .He was quite willing to let them have what they seemed determined to have ; an impoverished semi-peasant country with their peat fires and undrained bogs and dreams of glory seen in a fine mist of alcohol " . The nerve of that man ~ and after all we done for him ....

Another decent Brit who promised to look after us was Henry 8th - he operated a policy known as 'Surrender and Regrant' , wherby 'Pardons' and English titles were offered to Irish ' terrorists ' if they surrendered to him and pledged to follow English laws ! ( So thats where Blair got it from ) .

Those Irish people that refused to ' cut deals' with the likes of Lloyd George etc were treated the old-fashioned way by the British ; after the executions of the leaders of the 1916 Rising (and leaving out the deaths on hunger-strike of Tomas Aghas in 1917 and Terence MacSwiney in 1920) the British Government executed 24 Irish Republicans in the five years of conflict from late 1916 to 1921 ; but the new Fianna Fail regime in the Free State executed some 77 Irish Republicans in the six months from November 1922 to April 1923 . "Poachers turned gamekeepers" ~ still with us to this day ; they have no ' bottom line ' , no principle , no new low they won't stoop to - they know the price of everything and the value of nothing . But they have always been with us ,and have always failed to carry out their paymasters instructions . As it should be .

More on OLIVER CROMWELL ~
He apparently had much to gain , personally , from the invasion of Ireland ; in 1642 , following the passing of the ' Adventurers Act ' by the English Parliament ( the aim of which was to defray the cost of subduing Ireland by inviting 'contributions' from the wealthy merchant class , in return for which they were guaranteed land in Ireland following the conquest ) in which Cromwell invested to the tune of £2,050 , which ensured that he was subsequently granted land in the ' Barony of Eglish ' ( Co Offaly) .
The historian James Leyburn stated - " What Cromwell did (in Ireland) deserves to be ranked with the horrors perpetrated by Genghis Khan . His 'pacification' of Ireland was so thorough that it left scars on that country which have never been forgotten or forgiven " .

" One perplexity after another.Crises chasing each other like the shadows of clouds across the landscape . Miners , unemployment , reparation , Silesia and , as always , Ireland " .
------ Lloyd George , June , 1921 .
Lloyd George became British PM ( in an administration comprising Liberals and Unionists ) in December 1916 . More on this man ,and a quote from his son ,later .....

A 'quickie' on Fine Gael-- A woman from Co Down contacted Fine Gael Head Office in Dublin earlier this year and enquired about membership . A M/S Sarah Belton wrote back to the woman , stating - " We are always delighted to hear from people with new ideas. As you are living outside Ireland , associate membership is the only option available to you " . That explains Fine Gael's political position better than I could !
Britain has the worst record on human rights in Western Europe- to date, it has lost more than 50 of the cases brought against it at the European Court of Human Rights ; 12 of those cases (almost 25% of the total) have been directly connected to the conflict in the Six Counties , where Britain has been found to have breached articles of the European Convention on Human Rights(ECHR) on the right to life , on the prohibition on torture , on the use of inhuman or degrading treatment , on unjustified detention and on the right to a fair trial . Twice , Britain has been forced to derogate from the ECHR under Article 15 because of it's use of illegal seven-day detention orders . The ECHR was finally incorporated into British law in October 2000 , some 50 years after it came into being !
The refusal to incorporate the Convention was based on Britains continued use of the ' temporary ' Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) , most specifically the use of seven-day detention orders which were in flagrant breach of all human rights conventions and legislation . Under Blair's Labour Government , the British state has managed to circumvent the threat to the PTA posed by incorporation of the ECHR simply by making the legislation permanent (the new 'Terrorism Act') and by making seven-day detention dependent upon a magistrate rather than a police officer !
The British administration are a devious bunch to cut a deal with - the Provos have apparently taken them on their word in relation to the Stormont treaty and , while the Adams family may make a living on the ' rubber chicken' lecture circuit and promote themselves as world leaders , no date has been given for a British withdrawal from Ireland . Have you a ' Plan B ' , Gerry ?

The Fine Gael party has been in the news here recently due to the death of one of its Dublin ex-Leinster House members . The party has an interesting history , which is hardly ever mentioned --
During their lifetime , the Blueshirts underwent four name changes; The Army Comrades Association , the National Guard , the Young Ireland Association and the League of Youth . The name changes were due to proscription by the then Fianna Fail administration in Leinster House . Eoin O Duffy , who was sacked as Commissioner of the Free State police , was elected as leader of the Blueshirts - on his instruction , in 1933 , the ' right-arm salute ' (think Nazi) was adopted !
From then untill September 1934 , the Blueshirts enjoyed their greatest period of support and activity .
it was at that period that O Duffy was ousted as leader and replaced by Ned Cronin , who promptly took the group downhill ~ it struggled on for two years but ceased to exist after 1936 . Most of its members jumped camp into the fledging Fine Gael .
Following his explusion , O Duffy founded his own organisation and led an ill-fated crusade to Spain to support Franco's fascists during the Civil War . The Fine Gael party is not alone anti-Republican but is a pro-British and pro-Unionist political party . It has no time whatsoever for the Republican position re the political issue in our six north-eastern counties , and would be of the opinion that the British won the issue a long time ago ; with this in mind , I will annoy the Blueshirts by quoting the words of Padraig Pearse in his last few hours before he was executed by the British -
" We seem to have lost . We have not lost . To refuse to fight would have been to lose ; to fight is to win . We have kept faith with the past , and handed on a tradition to the future ..... if you strike us down now we shall rise again and renew the fight . You cannot conquer Ireland. You cannot extinguish the Irish passion for freedom . If our deed has not been sufficient to win freedom , then our children will win it by a better deed " . Look out , Fine Gael - it's not over yet ....

....Austin Stack was sent to Strangeways Prison in Manchester , from where he escaped in October 1919 . During the Black and Tan war , as Minister for Home Affairs , he organised the Republican Courts which replaced the British legal system in all parts of Ireland . He rejected the Treaty of 1921 and , following a short PR tour of America , returned to Ireland to take up arms on the Republican side in the Civil War .
In the general round-up of Republican leaders in April 1923(during which Liam Lynch was shot dead by Free State troops) Stack , the Deputy Chief of Staff , was arrested in a farmyard in the Knockmealdown mountains . This was four days after Lynchs death . Imprisoned in Kilmainham Jail , he took part in a mass hunger-strike by Republican prisoners in October 1923 , which was his 5th hunger-strike in 6 years . Shortly after the end of the 41-day hunger-strike , in November , he was released with hundreds of other political prisoners . He married Una Gordon in 1925 .
In April 1929 ,he entered the Mater Hospital in Dublin for a stomach operation - he never recovered , and died 2 days later , on April 27 , 1929 . Austin Stack is buried in the Republican Plot in Glasnevin Cemetary , Dublin .
Go ndeanaidh Dia trocaire ar a anam usual calma.
Martin Ferris and others like him have no shame to attempt to link themselves to those men and women like Austin Stack . Make a career for yourself by all means , Martin , but not on another mans wounds .

Shortly after his election earlier this year to Leinster House , Martin Ferris (PSF) claimed to be the first "Sinn Fein TD" for Kerry North " since Austin Stack" - He's right in a Provo sort of way ~ Austin Stack was never elected for Kerry North ! On five occasions , Stack was returned as a Sinn Fein Deputy ; 1) 1918 for Kerry West ; 2)1921 for Kerry and West Limerick ; 3)1922 Kerry and West Limerick; 4)1923 for Co Kerry and 5)1927 for Co Kerry . He was still Ard-Runai of Sinn Fein when he died in 1929 . It must be noted that Austin Stack was each time elected to an All-Ireland Dail , not a 26-County institution calling itself 'Dail Eireann' .
Austin Stack was born in Tralee , Co Kerry , in 1880 . In 1904 , he captained the Kerry team which won the All-Ireland final and , for many years afterwards , he held a postition on the Kerry board of the GAA . He was arrested with Con Collins on April 21 , 1916 , while planning an attack on Tralee RIC barracks in an attempt to rescue Roger Casement . He was sentenced to death but this was later commuted to twenty years penal servitude . Released in the general amnesty of June 1917 , he became active in the Irish Volunteers again and was elected Secretary of Sinn Fein - a position which , as stated , he held up to his death . His health was shattered due to the number of prison protests and hunger-strikes for political status he took part in . In the 1918 General Election , while a prisoner in Belfasts Crumlin Road jail , he was elected to represent West Kerry in the First Dail . He was sent to Strangeways Prison in Manchester , from where ...(more later..)

Our old friend Conor Cruise O Brien has been in the news here recently re income tax matters ; apparently , not only was he not paying all the tax judged to be owed by him , but actually admitted as much on radio !
Conor would consider himself as an opponent of colonialism abroad but defends the British presence in Ireland ; he is a former editor of a British newspaper yet agrees with censorship of Irish newspapers ; he is a self-proclaimed liberal and proponent of free speech yet , when he was a Free State Minister , he introduced Section 31 of the Broadcasting Act(which barred Republicans from radio and television) ; he was a member of thr Anti-Apartheid Movement yet broke the academic boycott of South Africa .
He joined the Free State Labour Party in 1937 and in 1968 he won a seat in Leinster House and was made spokesperson on foreign affairs (which included the Six County area !) by then Labour leader Brendan Corish . During an interview with 'Washington Post' journalist Bud Nossiter , O Brien showed Nossiter dozens of letters which had been sent to the Editor of 'The Irish Times' newspaper - Nossiter inquired if O Brien intended to censor those letters , to which O Brien replied -- " No , but we will hit the Editor who produces these things " . In 1977 , he lost his seat .
Lord William Whitelaw ,Frank Cluskey , Paddy Devlin and Ken Maginnis are amongst those who have defended him , while the late Neil Blaney , Tim-Pat Coogan and Austin Currie have criticised him .
In his autobiography 'My Life and Themes' , Conor Cruise O Brien wrote ~~ " If Home Rule had been achieved by the parliamentary route , David Sheehy (his grandfather) would certainly have had a seat in the Irish cabinet . Our whole family would have been part of the establishment of the new Home Rule Ireland . As it was , we were out in the cold , superseded by a new republican elite " .
DAMMIT ! Connor , you're right of course - your career in "the new Home Rule Ireland" was banjaxed by Republicans ; what a bummer ....
As such ,by way of an apology ,please accept the following verse ---
' With pomp and with ridiculous display
the politicians corpse is borne away ,
and all around him carped and slanged
I wept- I had wished to see him hanged ' .
( G K Chesterton , poet and British Liberal MP ) .

On August 11 , 1986 , U S Army physician Hugo Almeida was granted political asylum in Cuba . Almeida was serving at a U S Army base in Stuttgart , West Germany , when he was ordered by his C.O. to go to Central America . He refused , and was given duty by the C.O. at what Almeida classed as "unsocial hours" . He was then confronted by a Colonel Burgos , who threatened to force him to serve in Central America - he still refused ,and was demoted from Captain to Private .
It was then that he deserted . When Cuba announced that Almeida had been granted asylum , Washington denied that he even existed ! Then , on August 20 , 1986 , the Pentagon admitted that he was one of their recruits , but that he had been demoted because he was not a "fully-accredited doctor" . Almeida said - " I did'nt want to fight in a Vietnam war - type struggle in Central America . As an Hispanic , I could not participate in the U S military aggression in Central America . I've lived and travelled in those Countries and I' ve seen the poverty and misery there, and how little the U S does to help the people who need it most . We should not fool ourselves into believing these people really want us there ".
Theres a message in there for Cromwells people in this Country....
" Great God ! Did I ever think I would live tosee it , to see men who were the bravest , now fooled that this Treaty means a realisation of our highest ideals "
---- Kathleen Clarke , speaking about the 1922 Treaty of Surrender ; No doubt the woman would say the same re the 1998 Treaty .

The 'new' British Secretary of State for our Six Counties , Paul 'Spud' Murphy , was'nt always in touch(!) with matters in that part of our isle : back in 1997 , the bould Murp was a lowly political development minister in Tony's cabinet and shared the pleasure of his company with us in October that same year , in Dublin . He was asked by a journalist of the possible composition of any Six County 'parliament' , and replied that any such assembly should consist of 90 members elected by PR and any cross-border bodies put in place would be tasked with "uncontroversial matters" such as tourism , energy, EU issues and agriculture and stated his opinion that "that is all that will emerge from the current settlement(sic) talks in the North" . That opinion was , of course , stated for the benefit of the Unionists , much the same as so-called republicans were told by their leadership that any such Six County assembly would be the first step on the road to getting the British out ! They both can't be right ..
Some correspondence received re the American Civil War - During the American revolution , Thomas Jefferson said that if he and his comrades-in-arms (ie"terrorists" !) were captured by the British , they can expect to be treated as the Irish are treated by the British - " mercilessly tortured and killed" . Abe Lincoln , in justifying the violent conflagration of a civil war which left over 625'000 dead , said - " Dangers spring up against us which must be met and if destruction be our lot , we must ourselves be its author and finisher " .
Also , correspondence received re Daniel O Connell - "...a middle-class landowner and monarchist , and an anti-revolutionary who vehemently condemned the working class struggle against capitalist inequality. In 1838 , he voted against reducing the hours of child labour in factories .... "
Keep 'em comin' , folks - thanks .

OLIVER CROMWELL - a name from Irish history which even our native 'Brits' in this Free State find hard to excuse !
Cromwell landed at Ringsend , Dublin , on August 15 , 1649 , with 20,000 soldiers and launched a nine-month military campaign . With King Charles 1 recently executed , Cromwell's position was impregnable and he had scores to settle in Ireland which had largely supported the Catholic King in Englands Civil War . When Drogheda ,in county Louth , refused to surrender , his army stormed the walls and slaughtered 3,500 defenders and civilians in what Cromwell called "a righteous judgement of God upon these barbarous wretches" . Four weeks later , Wexford suffered a similar fate from the 'New Model Army' , and those that survived were executed , exiled or had their lands confiscated , and the land was handed out as payment to his army - about eleven million acres of the Countrys 20 million acres was given away .
In his book entitled 'The Cromwellian Settlement of Ireland' (which was actually written and first printed in 1865) John Prendergast described how it was proclaimed by drum and trumpet on market days throughout Ireland in October 1652 that-- "On September 26 1652 , all the ancient estates and farms of the people of Ireland were declared to belong to the adventurers and the army of England " . One of Cromwells men(but this time wearing a British Army uniform , in Ireland , 1990 !) was interviewed in a Yorkshire TV documentary in August 1990 marking the 20th Anniversary of the deployment of British Troops in the Six Counties ; he described how he got a reaction out of those that did not offer resistence to him and his fellow troopers -- "You pull their armpit hair when you search them , that gets them going~you've got to muck them about as much as you can".
Not as bad as what Cromwell did to us , I know , but ,between them all , they've been "mucking us about" for almost 1000 years .... And Counting !

....the U S Constitutional Convention was all about the issue of slavery -- there would have been no agreement among the 13 colonies unless slavery continued and the idea that slaves would still be regarded as property was protected . Slave-owners wanted "their property" ,for purposes of the census , to be counted . To their shame , the framers of the Constitution gave in and counted slaves for purposes of representation as "three-fifths of a human being" ! President Abraham Lincoln is given credit for freeing the slaves but it was a political decision by Lincoln to satisfy abolitionists in his party for his re-election bid ; it was not a moral decision . Lincoln declared~ " That the two races could never live together on terms of social and political equality " .
"....that fine old soldier John Mitchel described MYLES BYRNE as " A tall figure , the splendid ruin of a soldier d'elite , bearing himself still erect under the weight of eighty winters .The grey eye is keen and proud , the thin face bronzed and worn by war and weather , and the whole bearing gives the idea not of decrepitude , but of a certain dashing gallantry .He has marched over half of Europe , and stood full often at the head of his regiment on the rough edges of battle in Spain , in Germany , in Greece and other , earlier memories , cloud at times his clear grey eyes ; and through and beyond the battle smoke and thunder of all Napoleon's fields , he has a vision of the pikemen at New Ross , and hears the fierce 'hurrah' on Oulart Hill " . END .
A beautiful description of a brave man and the cause he believed in . A man that would put todays pretenders to shame - those that strut the world stage .in fine suits and fancy cars , with their $500 -a-plate dinners in big hotels ~ its not what the struggle is about ; it must come from the heart , not the wallet . We may be broken sometimes , but never beaten !
( Thank you , Frank , in Enniscorthy , for the above information ).

Just in passing; a short story which speaks volumes --
In 1781, LUKE COLLINGWOOD , Captain of the British slave ship 'ZONG' ,(from Liverpool) , ordered that 131 sick slaves be thrown overboard ,which they were , and all drowned . The reason this was done was that if the slaves had died on board the ship , the owners would be left at the loss(ie out of pocket) but if they were thrown alive into the sea , it would be the loss of the insurance underwriters ! A legal case followed ('Gregson V Gilbert') which was a simple claim for compensation only , not a murder trial . (Hope the Adams Family know who they're dealing with ...) And on the issue of slaves --
George Washingtons livelihood depended on the institution of slavery - he was a prime 'breeder' who derived income from the sale of slaves . So , to, did Thomas Jefferson , who 'bred' slaves while writing the 'Declaration of Independence' ! The two men were said to be haunted by the guilt involved . The U S Constitutional Convention was all about the issue of slavery ...(more later) .
Also - more on MYLES BYRNE to follow....

A few additional points re 1798 -
It is believed that one of that years leaders of the Rising,NAPPER TANDY, was the first Irishman to be judicialy extradited to England, in 1798. He was extradited from Hamburg and sentenced to death at Lifford Courthouse in 1801 - however , as part of the 'AMIENS TREATY' then being negotiated by Napoleon,he was released but died 18 months later, a free man . Pardon me while I now contradict myself regarding Catholic priests and politics -- During the 1798 Rising , Wexford had 85 priests , of whom only 11 joined the Rebels , including Fr Murphy of Boolavogue . He was captured , flogged and hanged in Tullow, Co Carlow , on July 2 , 1798 . One of the few decent priests ,recognised as such by the British and dealt with accordingly by them
Re MYLES BYRNE -- " For over 30 years he followed the flag of France across the battlefields of Europe ,whilst seeking out information from all sources on the situation in Ireland. After his retirement in 1835 , when all hope of striking a blow for his own country had failed , he settled in Paris and continued to write , off and on , for twenty years, right up to the day of his death in 1862 . His widow published his Memoirs in three volumes and the story was published in serial form in the 'Shamrock' of Dublin , in 1869 , and reprinted in the 'Irish Weekly Independent' in 1898 .
Whilst in Paris , his home was a 'safe house' for all who had ever served Ireland and one of the most welcome visitors to his home was that fine old soldier John Mitchel , who described Myles Byrne as ......(More later).

More on MYLES BYRNE ,1798 rebel , and a mention for someone from the same historical period who is better known than Myles Byrne but ,in my opinion, should'nt be .....
Daniel O Connell,'The Great Liberator' ,so-called NOT because he liberated Ireland from British rule(has'nt happened yet) but because he is said to have "liberated the great mass of the Irish people from their irrelevance on the political scene" . O Connell opposed the 1798 Rising ,and was a member of the Lawyers Corps of Yeomanry ,which was the Protestant militia which fought against the United Irish forces.O Connell , a Mason, referred to the insurgents as "criminals" . He was known as a landlord of ill-repute,and once stated- "I desire no social revolution,no social change,in short-salutary restoration without revolution,an Irish parliament,British connection, one king,two legislatures ".He frequently called for more British troops to be sent to quell the secret societies which resisted landlord oppression !
George Bernard Shaw(1856-1950) had the measure of people like O Connell--
" The more things a man is ashamed of,the more respectable he is" ('Man and Superman',1903).

A man of different character was Myles Byrne - " He was only a boy when he witnessed the attacks by the yeoman militia and other mercenaries which England let loose in Wexford in 1798. But he took his place in the United Irishmen and fought through the Wexford campaign , joined Michael Dwyer afterwards in Wicklow , later came to Dublin and was a comrade and friend of Robert Emmet in the continuation of ' 98 which failed so sadly in 1803 . He was sent by Emmet(then on the run) to France to seek assistance from Thomas Addis Emmet and the other exiled United Irishmen .He went with no hesitation ,in the hope that he would return in the ranks of a conquering army - but it was not to be ...." (more later).

When it was first established in 1795 as a militant Protestant organisation dedicated to preserving Protestant 'supremacy' ,the Orange Order had a Grand Master named John Claudius Bereford, who stated that the union with England would "see the destruction of the country. Proud of the name of Irishman,I hope never to ... see my country governed by laws enacted by a parliament over which she can have no control..(the proposed Union was) a measure so destructive of their commerce and prosperity ,and so humiliating to their pride as a nation". All the Orange lodges of the nine Ulster counties organised a meeting and issued the declaration that the proposed Union would bring " inevitable ruin to the peace, prosperity and happiness of Ireland" . What next-Nationalists opposed to a United Ireland? Well...
At the height of the 1798 Rising, the Archbishop of Dublin, John Troy, in a letter read at all masses in his diocese , wrote about the "heinousness of violating the laws of our country and of attempting by insurrection and murder to subvert the government of our gracious King. Let no one deceive you by wretched impracticable speculations on the rights of man and the majesty of the people. Unite with all your loyal and peaceable fellow subjects to crush the wicked spirit of insurrection " .
Without commenting on "the rights of small children" to the Catholic Church , it really would be better for all concerned if they kept out of politics and childrens underpants .......

Many thanks to a Mr Frank Clarke,from Enniscorthy in Co Wexford , who e-mailed me re my comments here on Sunday last ,November 17 , when I mentioned a Wexford rebel named Myles Byrne; Mr Clarke gave me more details re the 1798 fighter--
" In Montmartre("Hill of Martyrs") Cemetery in Paris lie the remains of Myles Byrne ,United Irishman,Wexford man and survivor of Oulart Hill and Vinegar Hill in 1798.The inscription on his gravestone reads~ Here lies Myles Byrne,Lieutenant Colonel in the service of France.Officer of the legion of honour.Knight of St Louis,born at Monaseed in the county Wexford in Ireland,20 March 1780. Died at Paris,the 24th January 1862,his long life was distinguished by the constant integrity and loyalty of his character and by his high-minded principles.Sincerely attached to Ireland,his native land,he gave faithful service to France,the country of his adoption "
Frank gave me a personal history of Myles Byrne , and requested that I post same on this page ; the Myles Byrne described in Franks e-mail to me is very much the man I thought he would be --a genuine rebel of that period and this one ,as the fight is the same fight and likewise the oppressor. I will return to Myles Byrne at a later stage .As Frank Clarke stated in his letter to me -- " Myles Byrne would have had no time for those that think they can talk the British out of our country;he was a man of honour ,not to be bribed or brokered with .He is Irelands loss..." There's still a few of us out there ,Frank! Slan Anois,agus go raibh maith agat.

14 killed,13 wounded-'BLOODY SUNDAY',January 30,1972:4.09pm---
The Bloody Sunday march in 1972 was not an isolated event~ it was one of a series of nine such marches,with the first one having taken place on Christmas Day 1972,with a demonstration from the outskirts of Belfast to the gates of LONG KESH prison.
In the four weeks before Bloody Sunday ,there were nine "illegal" (so the British said) anti-internment marches across the Six Counties;on January 22,1972,an anti-internment march in Armagh was scattered by British soldiers firing CS gas and rubber bullets- on the same day,a march to a newly-opened prison camp at Magilligan in Co.Derry was beaten and kicked into disarray by British soldiers ,including men of the First Battalion of the Parachute Regiment fron Belfast.
The day before Bloody Sunday a riot in William Street was stopped when British soldiers opened fire-Peter McLaughlin and Peter Robson were wounded and classed as "nail-bombers". Neither man was ever questioned or charged in relation to the 'nail-bombing' allegation! In a BBC documentary broadcast in January 1992(Nineteen-ninty-two) the commander of 1PARA,Lieutenant Colonel Derek Wilford,stated- "When we moved on the streets(on Bloody Sunday) we moved as if we in fact were moving against a well-armed .well-trained army".
14 KILLED,13 WOUNDED-- British Army V Non-combatants~ the British trade-mark in every country they blighted with their presence.

'NEWSFLASH 2' -- " Nationalists(will not) even begin to contemplate a unionist-dominated Assembly which would have Trimble as its 'prime minister' .Not a chance".
---Brian Campbell,journalist with AP/RN,writing in that paper on...oh!-well,not recently ; no,actually,he wrote the above around the same time as Jim was having his change of heart--March 1998(see AP/RN,26 March,1998,page 19).

'NEWSFLASH 3'-- "An internal Six County settlement is not a solution to the conflict.A Six-County assembly would institutionalise the Unionist veto" -fightin' talk at last from the Provo 'paper(see 'Editorial' column,page 8,AP/RN...OOPS! my fault again-its not a current statement from the Adams Family indicating a realisation of the facts;its from AP/RN,February 5, 1998,putting down a line in the sand which would soon be washed away by the tide of incoming careers...

'NEWSFLASH' -- Jim McAllister,former Provo Ard Comhairle(Executive) member stated " The peace process has failed.The party should not go back to the talks.They are not a stepping-stone to a United Ireland or to disengagement.Adams played his hand well,but it was a selected hand and it was'nt the best one in the game.Long term,he has to lose". WHATS THIS? A top Provo breaking ranks and telling things as they are?? Well...Yes and No- The above quote is from February 1998(see 'The Sunday Tribune',March 1,1998,page 13) when Adams and Co. were hustling for a career in a British parliament (ie Stormont) but were doing so in a manner which some of their own people could'nt stomach.

More on the British in India- according to the author MIHIR BOSE , many millions of Indians collaborated with the British and found both profit and pleasure from British rule; one-third of India was never ruled by the British but was left in the hands of Indian 'Princes'- these were the greatest bulwark of British rule and their biggest collaborators. A system which the British are still using to this day in Ireland~ "if its not broke,don't fix it"~ "jolly good" !
MILES BYRNE ,an 18-year young 1798 rebel leader from Monaseed,escaped to France where he played a prominent role in the Napoleonic wars of Europe . In the 1850's he wrote his memoirs of the 1798 Rising ,in which he was critical of the "gentlemany nature" of the rebel approach,believing them to have been "too willing to negotiate and to accept(British) government protections and non-existent government good faith" . What would Miles make of the carry-on of the inheritors of the 'Stoop Down Low Party' throne?

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!

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.

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....

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?

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.

I had the intention to write a few lines here about the latest arrest in the Six Counties of the 'civil servant' arrested by the RUC(PSNI) for what the Brits term 'spying' (and they should know all about that) but will just record how selfish they are -- they won't even let the Provos surrender with some diginity ! The remainder of the Provisional movement are now just hoping for an easy way out , a salary (with pension) and a cosy future , but the nasty Brits won't even give them that.... And if they gather their supporters and go back to an armed campaign , it will be seen as Irish people fighting to get a British parliament re-introduced in Ireland! Give it up , Gerry and Martin - you are in a cul-de-sac of your own making.

.....The 'old'(but often resurrected) 'PLAN B' for the British and their supporters in this country used to be "Re-Partition" ie if Westminster considered that it could no longer be guaranteed that a majority in one (or more) of the occupied Six Counties would vote in favour of maintaining the 'union' with Britain, that county(or counties) would be deemed to be no longer part of what the British refer to(wrongly) as 'Ulster'. And their 'loyal' supporters in that ousted area would be left stranded in a new 27 or 28 -County Free State. As the adage goes: "Britain has no permanent friends or enemies,only permanent interests" .

The latest 'Buzz-Word' to raise its head in this Country is "Dual Consent" - which means,in relation to our Six North-Eastern Counties,that a Nationalist majority in said area will not now suffice if a vote is called to determine the issue of Britains continuing claim of jurisdiction - if, or when, Nationalists 'outnumber' the pro-British element in the Six Counties (who are a minority on the whole island!) and vote for a British withdrawal it will mean nothing presumably(and apparently) untill the majority of the pro-British voters agree with it ! Talk about moving the goalposts.... So far,however, those in favour of this "Dual Consent" nonsense are just testing the water , flying kites etc -- but who knows ? They would certainly have their supporters in Leinster House and in the media - so we may here more from them in the coming weeks and months .....

I was watching the programme on BBC 1 TV last night(Wed 30 October,10.35pm) which concerned itself with the 'life and times' of one Martin McGuinness , ex-Republican hard man now , sadly , a "team player" with Stormont United(!) and paid accordingly(ie like Beckham). Martin ,who has taken to shrivelling himself up in the hope that he won't look too offensive to his British co-workers and pay-masters , recalled for the camera the time he was in his office when his then new best friend , Mo Mowlam , walked in : "What are they?" , said Mo ,pointing to a pile of Easter Lilies on the table - Martin , at this stage giggling to himself at the thought of it, replied that they were called Easter Lilies and were worn in memory of those that had died for ireland ; "I'll have one of those" ,said the British Secretary of State,and pinned one to her jumper before leaving the room . With that ,said the rebel McGuinness , ' I went out into the corridor after her and asked where she was going' -- " To meet the Unionists for an arranged appointment " , says Mo .... "Oh no no no ," said Martin - " I don't think so"~and then ,says he, ' I removed the Lily from her jumper' . AND MARTIN SERIOUSLY COULD NOT SEE ANYTHING WRONG WITH THAT PICTURE! Is he really so friendly ,so pally, so much in awe of the British establishment that he will prostitute himself morally ,in such a cringe-inducing fashion , in the corridors of Stormont and then see nothing wrong in recounting the horrible scene ,in public, on TV? Why in the name of God do some people feel that they must atone for the sins of their oppressor? I used to meet Martin on occasion in Dublin ,in the early 1980's , regarding political business relating to the then Sinn Fein organisation and the man was nothing like he is now - back then he pointedly refused to hang his backbone up with his coat in the morning ~ shame , Martin ,the Brits have no respect for crawlers and lackeys - their former colonies are full of them ! True independance means setting your own limits - not having your new best friends ,no matter how courteous they appear , setting your agenda . Your mark on history , Martin,will be likened to the mark that froth leaves on a beer-glass .You made me ashamed and embarrassed for you -I can only hope that someone in your party brings you back to reality.

"Welcome" and "Good Luck" to Pat Rabbitte in his new position as leader of this States 'Labour Party' and Liz McManus as deputy leader. Pat and Liz were both members of the so-called 'Workers Party' which went into Leinster House in the early 1980's to "change the system" ; however,as human nature dictates, the system changed them ,much to the annoyance of their membership who cried foul and insisted that their elected representatives return to basics-- the elected suits,however, having tasted the gravy,wanted to stay on the train and a split developed--and 'Democratic Left' was hatched,only to be run-over by 'Labour' as it tried to cross the road! Paddy Rabbitte has a reputation as a " wit" in Leinster House and will now surely be laughing all the way to the bank.... And what to make of the new 'grouping' in Leinster House-the 'Technical Group'-formed specifically to outnumber Paddys Party (Labour) in that institution ; the Provos instigated the formation of that coalition Group and were happy to invite,amongst others, Michael Lowry (ex-Fine Gael,now Indp)to join,as they needed his support. The bould Michael L has been involved with three tribunals (Buchanan , McCracken and Moriarty) looking into "financial irregularities" in this little State -and no , he was'nt on the judging panel! What a tangled web we weave........ (Comment?-johnhoranrsf@eircom.net)

'Spud' Murphy started his new job today ,Friday 25/10/02 , in this troubled isle of ours. His predecessor , a Mr Reid , served his time in the Six Counties and thus was rewarded with a cosy(er) position back on the 'mainland'(!).The Brits apparently use the North-Eastern counties as a testing ground for those politicians whom their PM considers to be on the way up -you know, "Test their mettle and all that,what".... For once , Gerry Arafat SORRY Gerry ADAMS was right- it makes no difference who assumes the role of 'British Secretary of State for Northern Ireland'(sic) ; whoever it is can only hope to maintain the status quo and try to keep a lid on the whole situation .And we've had nearly a thousand years of that BUT WHAT THE HELL maybe Spud Murphy , a good welshman, will surprise us all and call for an immediate British withdrawal........

Well thank God for that - it's 'official' ; we ARE good europeans !! A 'YES' vote on NICE TWO means that we have not upset our friends in the rest of 'Europe' . . . Christ Almighty-the shame if we had! Our politicians in Leinster House can breath easy now and plan for the future--THEIR future....more jobs oops - I mean 'positions' will be available(or made specially) for them and their like , and they can visit other countries without feeling that they have let their new-found friends down. The state of this little State we're in .....

I voted today(Saturday 19 October) on the NICE TWO issue; a 'NO' vote ! Then went to the RSF Ard Fheis in Dublin - stopped by the Special Branch on my way in and questioned re my business in that area,then searched by same .On leaving ,some six hours later, stopped and searched again ! We must be putting their kids through college !! Great money if you can leave your conscience behind.... Anyway- hopefully ,the 'NO' vote on NICE will prevail(again) and the money-hungry politicians will not further enhance their careers and pensions in Brussels .We should know on Monday-Slan Anois.

1169 and counting-- from what and to what? Those familar with this island will also be familar with its problem(s) implied in the above 'BLOG' address ; those not familar will probably not be interested enough to read on . And those that are familar but would not consider the date in question to be a problem might read this far out of curiosity but will be logging out about now!
As I write , the Stormont Parliament has just collapsed ,again,and people in the 26 County State are about to vote , again , on the NICE treaty . The politicians , employers , business class , the church's and most of the trade union leadership tell us that their is no alternative to the Stormont set-up and no alternative other than to accept NICE ; the British funded 'government' in Stormont was put together in 1998 - the problem has existed since the twelfth century ,so what was the alternative before then?
The NICE treaty was already voted on by those that bothered to vote in June 2001 and the EEC/EU did'nt collapse simply because the majority voted 'NO' ; this time , apparently, it will , if the establishment are to be believed. There are many who think that the 'Peace Process' is the only game in town and a 'YES' vote on NICE TWO is the only honourable answer to our betters in Brussels . I am not one of those - what do you think?