REPUBLICAN LAW AND ORDER ; THE COURT SYSTEM 1920-1922.......
.......the Irish Rebels had established their own Court system and Police Force ; the imposed British system and the RIC were under constant attack from the IRA .......
House-robberies , muggings , fights , land disputes etc - the RIC ignored the criminals ; in any event , the population were reluctant to involve the RIC in such issues as , for the most part , they recognised the 'police' as another arm of British oppression .
The Republican Police wore no uniform and received no wage ; they were IRA Volunteers and were motivated not by money , pension or career , but by a sense of duty . The British Administration were aware of the inherent 'danger' , as they viewed it , of such a system taking root , in that it would further undermine their 'authority' throughout the island .
And it did -- as well as policing the streets , the Republican Police provided security at each sitting of the Republican Courts and were an integral part of the Republican justice system - ensuring that , for example , respectable hours were kept for pub opening and closing times ( to the extent that illicit stills were closed down !) , burglars and thieves were located and arrested , and street-drunkenness , rows and riots were curtailed .
Their influence was by now well established and they were accepted by the majority of the population ....... (MORE LATER).
WHERE MOUNTAINY MEN HAVE SOWN :
war and peace in rebel Cork ,
in the turbulent years 1916-21.
By Micheal O'Suilleabhain : published 1965.
1917-- A NOCTURNAL EXPEDITION .......
".......a Company meeting was held in Den Buckley's barn loft , at which an Organiser from Brigade H Q was present ......."
" Our lecturer dwelt at length on the importance of acquiring arms . This irritated my uncle who was patient only up to a certain point . He interrupted to state that damn well we all realised that , and that having tried all sources , we had come to the conclusion that the only way to get them was to take them from the enemy .
Permission to take them was all we wanted . The lecturer explained that he himself had no say in the granting of such permission . In the meantime , every effort should be made to augment our supplies of shotgun ammunition . Cartridges should be loaded with slugs , and , of course, to make slugs , lead was necessary . Lead should be acquired by any and every means . Here there were hardly suppressed smiles as the lecturer's eyes ranged along the class .
The ways and means for providing lead in our district were indeed varied , and unscrupulous if judged by peacetime standards . Peace reigned in the land , according to our oppressors , or ought to reign , according to the supporters of our oppressors . These partisans we made pay a heavy toll ; unwillingly , they supplied us with lead , even from the roof valley-gutters of their unoccupied mansions ......." (MORE LATER).
NOT RONNIE , NANCY , OR THE ASTROLOGER : part one of three .......
[from ' MAGILL ' magazine , May 1989 , page 37]
GUESS WHO.......?
(Answer after Part 3 ...)
" Boy , they were big on crematoriums , were'nt they ? "
--- Comment during his tour of the Nazi death camp at Auschwitz on 28th September , 1987 .
" Comme ci , comme ca...."
--- Said while he was talking to a nine-years-young Hispanic student at a Harlem school .
" When I'm the Education President , you'll be able to send your college to children . "
--- His promise during the 1988 Presidential campaign .
" It's no exaggeration to say , the undecideds could go one way or another . "
--- Again , during the 1988 campaign .
" Tell me , General - how dead is the Dead Sea ? "
--- His question to a Jordanian Army General .
Part 2 tomorrow .......
Tuesday, December 30, 2003
REPUBLICAN LAW AND ORDER ; THE COURT SYSTEM 1920-1922.......
....... Ireland 1919 - with the British occupation of Ireland came Britsh 'law and order' . Irish Republicans had won a major victory in the 1918 elections and had established a Republican Administration - now was the time to implement an Irish legal system .......
By the middle of 1920 , the 'Republican Courts' were up and running - if the issue could not be resolved at a local level in the Parish Court it was moved for re-hearing at the District Court ; a High Court and Supreme Court were also operational . Around the same time (ie between April and June 1920) the Ministry for Home Affairs established the means by which the decree of the Republican Courts could be enforced - a Republican Police Force .
The members of the British Police Force in Ireland , the 'Royal Irish Constabulary' (RIC) were under daily attack from the IRA at the time , and had concentrated their efforts , literally , into just staying alive - they no longer had the time or interest to deal with 'street-crime' ....... (MORE LATER).
WHERE MOUNTAINY MEN HAVE SOWN :
war and peace in rebel Cork ,
in the turbulent years 1916-21.
By Micheal O'Suilleabhain : published 1965.
1917-- A NOCTURNAL EXPEDITION .......
".......we had only two .38 revolvers with which to arm our Company . One day , I met my uncle on the road and went over to him - he presented me with a .45 police revolver , which was worth more to me than all the riches of the world ......."
" It seems he had helped a neighbour in some way , and this man , whom we all knew but never suspected of keeping a gun , went home without a word and returned with this fine weapon . He well knew what would most please my uncle .
One fine evening in early summer , the Company was assembled by special notice . The time was late , about half-past nine , and the place of assembly was Den Buckley's barn loft , in the village . Two oil-gas lamps gave us light . Presently our Captain entered , accompanied by a stranger . The newcomer was evidently a city man . My brother called us to attention and introduced him .
He was an Organiser from Brigade H Q . First he spoke in Irish , then continued in English . Having dealt generally with routine work , drilling etc , he concentrated on armaments . When the address assumed the character of a lecture , my brother directed us to fall out and be seated . We made ourselves comfortable on bags of grain along the wall , and some, seating themselves on the floor , reclined luxuriously against the sides of the bags . Thus fortified , we listened......." (MORE LATER).
NANCY , THE VENTRILOQUIST , AND THE DUMMY ---->
[from ' The Sunday Tribune ' newspaper , 15th May , 1988 , page 8]
<---- At a press conference in 1984 , Charles Bierbauer of CNN asked President Ronald Reagan how he was going to get the Russians back to the negotiating table at Geneva .
Ronnie was standing behind the speakers lectern , with Nancy by his side . The hall was packed when Bierbauer asked the question ; Ronnie looked at the CNN man , but said nothing . Ten seconds passed - Ronnie said nothing ; everyone feeling uncomfortable by now .
Still silence from Mr. President . Then Nancy tilted her head down , as if looking at her shoes ; then a murmer - " Doing everything we can " , she whispered , but loud enough for Ronnie to hear and , unfortunately for her , loud enough for the microphones on the lectern to broadcast her whisper to the wall-speakers !
The man himself , apparently , failed to grasp the fact that the game was up : he smiled at the CNN man and the other journalists and leaned into the microphones and said , loudly - " Doing everything we can ! "
And all without having to make a 'phone-call .......
....... Ireland 1919 - with the British occupation of Ireland came Britsh 'law and order' . Irish Republicans had won a major victory in the 1918 elections and had established a Republican Administration - now was the time to implement an Irish legal system .......
By the middle of 1920 , the 'Republican Courts' were up and running - if the issue could not be resolved at a local level in the Parish Court it was moved for re-hearing at the District Court ; a High Court and Supreme Court were also operational . Around the same time (ie between April and June 1920) the Ministry for Home Affairs established the means by which the decree of the Republican Courts could be enforced - a Republican Police Force .
The members of the British Police Force in Ireland , the 'Royal Irish Constabulary' (RIC) were under daily attack from the IRA at the time , and had concentrated their efforts , literally , into just staying alive - they no longer had the time or interest to deal with 'street-crime' ....... (MORE LATER).
WHERE MOUNTAINY MEN HAVE SOWN :
war and peace in rebel Cork ,
in the turbulent years 1916-21.
By Micheal O'Suilleabhain : published 1965.
1917-- A NOCTURNAL EXPEDITION .......
".......we had only two .38 revolvers with which to arm our Company . One day , I met my uncle on the road and went over to him - he presented me with a .45 police revolver , which was worth more to me than all the riches of the world ......."
" It seems he had helped a neighbour in some way , and this man , whom we all knew but never suspected of keeping a gun , went home without a word and returned with this fine weapon . He well knew what would most please my uncle .
One fine evening in early summer , the Company was assembled by special notice . The time was late , about half-past nine , and the place of assembly was Den Buckley's barn loft , in the village . Two oil-gas lamps gave us light . Presently our Captain entered , accompanied by a stranger . The newcomer was evidently a city man . My brother called us to attention and introduced him .
He was an Organiser from Brigade H Q . First he spoke in Irish , then continued in English . Having dealt generally with routine work , drilling etc , he concentrated on armaments . When the address assumed the character of a lecture , my brother directed us to fall out and be seated . We made ourselves comfortable on bags of grain along the wall , and some, seating themselves on the floor , reclined luxuriously against the sides of the bags . Thus fortified , we listened......." (MORE LATER).
NANCY , THE VENTRILOQUIST , AND THE DUMMY ---->
[from ' The Sunday Tribune ' newspaper , 15th May , 1988 , page 8]
<---- At a press conference in 1984 , Charles Bierbauer of CNN asked President Ronald Reagan how he was going to get the Russians back to the negotiating table at Geneva .
Ronnie was standing behind the speakers lectern , with Nancy by his side . The hall was packed when Bierbauer asked the question ; Ronnie looked at the CNN man , but said nothing . Ten seconds passed - Ronnie said nothing ; everyone feeling uncomfortable by now .
Still silence from Mr. President . Then Nancy tilted her head down , as if looking at her shoes ; then a murmer - " Doing everything we can " , she whispered , but loud enough for Ronnie to hear and , unfortunately for her , loud enough for the microphones on the lectern to broadcast her whisper to the wall-speakers !
The man himself , apparently , failed to grasp the fact that the game was up : he smiled at the CNN man and the other journalists and leaned into the microphones and said , loudly - " Doing everything we can ! "
And all without having to make a 'phone-call .......
Monday, December 29, 2003
REPUBLICAN LAW AND ORDER ; THE COURT SYSTEM 1920-1922.
In mid-1919 in Ireland , Arthur Griffith was the Head of the Ministry for Home Affairs in the First (All-Ireland) Dail Eireann and had established a 'Courts System' to settle disputes on the island .
Not to have set-up such a system was unthinkable , as the British system of 'justice' and their courts apparatus was still in operation in the country and could not be availed of , or recommended for use , by the Republican Administration as the British claim of jurisdiction in Ireland was itself being challenged by those same Irish Republicans .
Within twelve months , the Republican Courts , as they became known , were up and running ....... (MORE LATER).
WHERE MOUNTAINY MEN HAVE SOWN :
war and peace in rebel Cork ,
in the turbulent years 1916-21.
By Micheal O'Suilleabhain : published 1965.
1917-- A NOCTURNAL EXPEDITION .......
".......we had no option except to make our own munitions , which we 'field-tested' beside my uncle's house- he watched proceedings with interest......."
" " Well , Dan , what do you think of them ? ", someone asked . " Well bedammed , they may have some moral effect , " he answered .
Another waste of time and energy was the manufacture of the shotgun bayonet . We got a pattern , complete with clip , and were directed to make some dozens . We made them . They never did any harm to the enemy , but they nearly killed some of us who were engaged in their manufacture . Some day soon , they will be found at the bottom of a bog-hole and will be classified by archaeologists as Spears , Early Iron , Offset Socket .......
At this time , we had not a single service rifle in our Company . Neither had we pistols nor revolvers . One evening , my brother , Pat , returning from Cork city , brought with him two new .38 revolvers . Unanimously , one was presented to my uncle , while my brother , now our Company Captain , got the other . My uncle must have correctly interpreted my thoughts , as I examined his revolver , for he directed me to erect a target , and we had a few shots .
A short time afterwards I met him on the road . He put his hand in his coat pocket and drew forth a .45 police revolver which he handed to me . If , instead , he had handed me the riches of the world , they would not have been more welcome ........" (MORE LATER).
HONESTY IS .......
[from ' The Sunday Tribune ' , 20th July , 1997 , page 16]
The then Archbishop of Dublin , Richard Whately , wrote the phase - " Honesty is the best policy , but he who is governed by this maxim is not an honest man . "
Where , then , one wonders, would that leave Clive of India who , when summoned to present himself before a British 'House of Commons' committee in 1772 , accused of pillage , responded --
-- " When I consider the opportunities that were open to me , Sir , I stand astonished at my own moderation . " !!
.......NOT ENOUGH ---->
[from ' The Sunday Tribune ' , 13th july , 1997 , page 8]
<---- Margaret Griffin , once Governor of Georgia(USA), stated-- " The only thing tainted about money is t'aint mine and t'aint enough ! "
Or , as Oscar Wilde put it -- " There is only one class in the community that thinks more about money than the rich , and that is the poor . The poor can think of nothing else . That is the misery of being poor . "
In mid-1919 in Ireland , Arthur Griffith was the Head of the Ministry for Home Affairs in the First (All-Ireland) Dail Eireann and had established a 'Courts System' to settle disputes on the island .
Not to have set-up such a system was unthinkable , as the British system of 'justice' and their courts apparatus was still in operation in the country and could not be availed of , or recommended for use , by the Republican Administration as the British claim of jurisdiction in Ireland was itself being challenged by those same Irish Republicans .
Within twelve months , the Republican Courts , as they became known , were up and running ....... (MORE LATER).
WHERE MOUNTAINY MEN HAVE SOWN :
war and peace in rebel Cork ,
in the turbulent years 1916-21.
By Micheal O'Suilleabhain : published 1965.
1917-- A NOCTURNAL EXPEDITION .......
".......we had no option except to make our own munitions , which we 'field-tested' beside my uncle's house- he watched proceedings with interest......."
" " Well , Dan , what do you think of them ? ", someone asked . " Well bedammed , they may have some moral effect , " he answered .
Another waste of time and energy was the manufacture of the shotgun bayonet . We got a pattern , complete with clip , and were directed to make some dozens . We made them . They never did any harm to the enemy , but they nearly killed some of us who were engaged in their manufacture . Some day soon , they will be found at the bottom of a bog-hole and will be classified by archaeologists as Spears , Early Iron , Offset Socket .......
At this time , we had not a single service rifle in our Company . Neither had we pistols nor revolvers . One evening , my brother , Pat , returning from Cork city , brought with him two new .38 revolvers . Unanimously , one was presented to my uncle , while my brother , now our Company Captain , got the other . My uncle must have correctly interpreted my thoughts , as I examined his revolver , for he directed me to erect a target , and we had a few shots .
A short time afterwards I met him on the road . He put his hand in his coat pocket and drew forth a .45 police revolver which he handed to me . If , instead , he had handed me the riches of the world , they would not have been more welcome ........" (MORE LATER).
HONESTY IS .......
[from ' The Sunday Tribune ' , 20th July , 1997 , page 16]
The then Archbishop of Dublin , Richard Whately , wrote the phase - " Honesty is the best policy , but he who is governed by this maxim is not an honest man . "
Where , then , one wonders, would that leave Clive of India who , when summoned to present himself before a British 'House of Commons' committee in 1772 , accused of pillage , responded --
-- " When I consider the opportunities that were open to me , Sir , I stand astonished at my own moderation . " !!
.......NOT ENOUGH ---->
[from ' The Sunday Tribune ' , 13th july , 1997 , page 8]
<---- Margaret Griffin , once Governor of Georgia(USA), stated-- " The only thing tainted about money is t'aint mine and t'aint enough ! "
Or , as Oscar Wilde put it -- " There is only one class in the community that thinks more about money than the rich , and that is the poor . The poor can think of nothing else . That is the misery of being poor . "
Sunday, December 28, 2003
A REBEL PRIEST - Fr. James O'Coigly ; 1762 - 1798 .......
.......on 7th June , 1798 , Fr. James O'Coigly was removed from his cell in Maidstone Jail in Kent , England , and taken to Pennenden Heath to be executed .......
.......he was placed on the gallows and gave his last speech , which was a firm confirmation of his Irish Republican ideals which contained no apology ; there was no attempt to bargain the information he held , for his life . The British hung him and then beheaded him , and callously burnt his remains at the foot of the gallows .
Through misty eyes I see my land
and hunger for her future grand ,
What greater hunger can there be
I hunger still, to see her free .
Fr. James O'Coigly , and hundreds more men and women like him , are not spoke about today , save in some Irish Republican circles ; you would be hard-pressed to find a reference or , indeed , even a mention of their names , in history books .
They are the forgotten heroes and warriors of their time , and ours . But not everyone will forget them.......
[END].
WHERE MOUNTAINY MEN HAVE SOWN :
war and peace in rebel Cork ,
in the turbulent years 1916-21.
By Micheal O'Suilleabhain : published 1965.
1917-- A NOCTURNAL EXPEDITION .......
".......we had to fashion our own weapons - tins were used , as were pig troughs......."
" .......cast iron pots , with any suggestion of a crack , were helped by the hammer to their final dissolution . A like fate overtook the ancient kettle .
This was our method of grenade making : A layer of viscous concrete was first poured into a tin . Then followed a judicious arrangement of scrap . Another layer of concrete , then more scrap , and so on . A wooden core , to provide space for the explosive , and the tin was put aside to set . When required , the explosive was inserted with its detonator and a suitable length of fuse .
Having made a large number of these things , we were anxious to test them . The testing ground was a field next to my uncle's house - we arranged targets standing around , to intercept the shrapnel . From the fence we threw our grenades , and then stooped in its shelter . After each explosion we inspected the targets . We tried all our types of grenade and bombs . My uncle had been a keen observer at the tests ......." (MORE LATER).
GETTING AWAY WITH MURDER.......
[from ' SAOIRSE ' , February 1988 , page 1]
....... Tomas MacCurtain , Lord Mayor of Cork , was murdered in his own home by British agents on the 20th March , 1920 ; on the 18th April 1920 , the Inquest Jury returned the following verdict ---
--- " We find.....that the murder was organised and carried out by the British Government and we return a verdict of wilful murder against David Lloyd George , Prime Minister of England ; Lord French , Lord Lieutenant of Ireland ; Ian MacPherson , late Chief Secretary of Ireland ; Acting Inspector General Smith of the RIC ; Divisional Inspector Clayton of the RIC ; District Inspector Swanzy and some unknown members of the RIC . "
That Jury verdict was never , as far as I am aware , officially overturned or , unfortunately , enforced in full .* However , it remains a matter of record that a properly constituted Irish Jury found a British Prime Minister guilty of " wilful murder " -- 'statute of limitations' or no , that verdict still stands.......
(* - RIC Inspector Swanzy was immediately transferred to an RIC Barracks in County Antrim for his own safety - on Sunday , 22nd August , 1920 , he was shot dead in Lisburn , County Antrim .).
.......on 7th June , 1798 , Fr. James O'Coigly was removed from his cell in Maidstone Jail in Kent , England , and taken to Pennenden Heath to be executed .......
.......he was placed on the gallows and gave his last speech , which was a firm confirmation of his Irish Republican ideals which contained no apology ; there was no attempt to bargain the information he held , for his life . The British hung him and then beheaded him , and callously burnt his remains at the foot of the gallows .
Through misty eyes I see my land
and hunger for her future grand ,
What greater hunger can there be
I hunger still, to see her free .
Fr. James O'Coigly , and hundreds more men and women like him , are not spoke about today , save in some Irish Republican circles ; you would be hard-pressed to find a reference or , indeed , even a mention of their names , in history books .
They are the forgotten heroes and warriors of their time , and ours . But not everyone will forget them.......
[END].
WHERE MOUNTAINY MEN HAVE SOWN :
war and peace in rebel Cork ,
in the turbulent years 1916-21.
By Micheal O'Suilleabhain : published 1965.
1917-- A NOCTURNAL EXPEDITION .......
".......we had to fashion our own weapons - tins were used , as were pig troughs......."
" .......cast iron pots , with any suggestion of a crack , were helped by the hammer to their final dissolution . A like fate overtook the ancient kettle .
This was our method of grenade making : A layer of viscous concrete was first poured into a tin . Then followed a judicious arrangement of scrap . Another layer of concrete , then more scrap , and so on . A wooden core , to provide space for the explosive , and the tin was put aside to set . When required , the explosive was inserted with its detonator and a suitable length of fuse .
Having made a large number of these things , we were anxious to test them . The testing ground was a field next to my uncle's house - we arranged targets standing around , to intercept the shrapnel . From the fence we threw our grenades , and then stooped in its shelter . After each explosion we inspected the targets . We tried all our types of grenade and bombs . My uncle had been a keen observer at the tests ......." (MORE LATER).
GETTING AWAY WITH MURDER.......
[from ' SAOIRSE ' , February 1988 , page 1]
....... Tomas MacCurtain , Lord Mayor of Cork , was murdered in his own home by British agents on the 20th March , 1920 ; on the 18th April 1920 , the Inquest Jury returned the following verdict ---
--- " We find.....that the murder was organised and carried out by the British Government and we return a verdict of wilful murder against David Lloyd George , Prime Minister of England ; Lord French , Lord Lieutenant of Ireland ; Ian MacPherson , late Chief Secretary of Ireland ; Acting Inspector General Smith of the RIC ; Divisional Inspector Clayton of the RIC ; District Inspector Swanzy and some unknown members of the RIC . "
That Jury verdict was never , as far as I am aware , officially overturned or , unfortunately , enforced in full .* However , it remains a matter of record that a properly constituted Irish Jury found a British Prime Minister guilty of " wilful murder " -- 'statute of limitations' or no , that verdict still stands.......
(* - RIC Inspector Swanzy was immediately transferred to an RIC Barracks in County Antrim for his own safety - on Sunday , 22nd August , 1920 , he was shot dead in Lisburn , County Antrim .).
Saturday, December 27, 2003
A REBEL PRIEST - Fr. James O'Coigly ; 1762 - 1798 .......
....... Fr. James O'Coigly was in Maidstone Jail in Kent , England , awaiting execution . He asked his jailers to send in a priest to hear his last confession - the Brits tried to use this request to their own advantage .......
His jailers sent in a ' Castle-Catholic' priest , loyal to the British Crown , and instructed him to refuse the last sacraments to Fr. O'Coigly unless the Rebel priest would give details concerning the United Irishmen organisation in Ireland ; the visiting priest went away empty-handed , with no sacraments dispensed .
Pennenden Heath , about a ten-minute walk from Maidstone Jail in Kent , was the designated place of execution ; on 7th June , 1798 , two-hundred British soldiers assembled outside Maidstone Jail , and Fr. James O'Coigly was brought out and placed in a horse-drawn cart . The procession headed-off towards the Heath and , once there , the priest was placed on the gallows ....... (MORE LATER).
WHERE MOUNTAINY MEN HAVE SOWN :
war and peace in rebel Cork ,
in the turbulent years 1916-21.
By Micheal O'Suilleabhain : published 1965.
1917-- A NOCTURNAL EXPEDITION .
" The efforts to obtain armaments of any kind at this period were truly remarkable . Money to buy them could be obtained somehow , but there was no market which sold them . Very small quantities , and small material only , could be smuggled in from abroad . The arms in the hands of the enemy provided the only source of supply . Our own authorities prohibited us and kept prohibiting us from trying to capture these .
This prohibition would last for a long time yet . We were therefore invited to make our own war material . We already knew how to make slugs , or buckshot , for shotgun cartridges . We possessed , or made , small machines for loading and capping cartridges . We could even make the powder for them . But the bombs and grenades which we were directed to make proved to be entirely a waste of time . We set to work to make them in all shapes and sizes .
From then on a housewife had no worry about the disposal of empty treacle tins - they disappeared . Neither had the farmer any broken or unsightly pig troughs to encumber his haggard ......." (MORE LATER).
FEET TO THE FIRE , ARSE TO THE WALL .......
[from ' The Sunday Tribune ' , newspaper , 24th August , 1986 , page 11]
" I think its time we held Sukarno's feet to the fire . "
--- the words of CIA Deputy Director of Operations (in 1957) , a Mr. Frank Wisner . 'Frankie the Feet' was talking about President Sukarno of Indonesia whom the CIA viewed as " too soft on communism . "
Sukarno had a weakness which the CIA exploited to discredit him - he was sex mad ! When he was in Egypt in 1958 , he 'phoned President Nasser from the telephone in his hotel room (which the CIA had bugged) and told Nasser - " I have three gorgeous Pan American stewardesses here with me and they'd like to have a party ! " Nasser said no , and hung up .
But the CIA did'nt hang up - they made a porno movie using a Sukarno 'double' doing the business with a supposed Soviet female blonde spy ; the movie was made in Los Angeles , and the CIA gave it a title - 'Happy Days' ! CIA Agents approched Sukarno with a few copies of 'his' video and a suitcase stuffed with cash , and suggested that he might want to move away from supporting " his lefty buddies ......."
Sukarno took the cash , the videos , and the advice - and the CIA left him alone !
Sex , lies and videotape - sure ya could nearly make a movie outta that .......
....... Fr. James O'Coigly was in Maidstone Jail in Kent , England , awaiting execution . He asked his jailers to send in a priest to hear his last confession - the Brits tried to use this request to their own advantage .......
His jailers sent in a ' Castle-Catholic' priest , loyal to the British Crown , and instructed him to refuse the last sacraments to Fr. O'Coigly unless the Rebel priest would give details concerning the United Irishmen organisation in Ireland ; the visiting priest went away empty-handed , with no sacraments dispensed .
Pennenden Heath , about a ten-minute walk from Maidstone Jail in Kent , was the designated place of execution ; on 7th June , 1798 , two-hundred British soldiers assembled outside Maidstone Jail , and Fr. James O'Coigly was brought out and placed in a horse-drawn cart . The procession headed-off towards the Heath and , once there , the priest was placed on the gallows ....... (MORE LATER).
WHERE MOUNTAINY MEN HAVE SOWN :
war and peace in rebel Cork ,
in the turbulent years 1916-21.
By Micheal O'Suilleabhain : published 1965.
1917-- A NOCTURNAL EXPEDITION .
" The efforts to obtain armaments of any kind at this period were truly remarkable . Money to buy them could be obtained somehow , but there was no market which sold them . Very small quantities , and small material only , could be smuggled in from abroad . The arms in the hands of the enemy provided the only source of supply . Our own authorities prohibited us and kept prohibiting us from trying to capture these .
This prohibition would last for a long time yet . We were therefore invited to make our own war material . We already knew how to make slugs , or buckshot , for shotgun cartridges . We possessed , or made , small machines for loading and capping cartridges . We could even make the powder for them . But the bombs and grenades which we were directed to make proved to be entirely a waste of time . We set to work to make them in all shapes and sizes .
From then on a housewife had no worry about the disposal of empty treacle tins - they disappeared . Neither had the farmer any broken or unsightly pig troughs to encumber his haggard ......." (MORE LATER).
FEET TO THE FIRE , ARSE TO THE WALL .......
[from ' The Sunday Tribune ' , newspaper , 24th August , 1986 , page 11]
" I think its time we held Sukarno's feet to the fire . "
--- the words of CIA Deputy Director of Operations (in 1957) , a Mr. Frank Wisner . 'Frankie the Feet' was talking about President Sukarno of Indonesia whom the CIA viewed as " too soft on communism . "
Sukarno had a weakness which the CIA exploited to discredit him - he was sex mad ! When he was in Egypt in 1958 , he 'phoned President Nasser from the telephone in his hotel room (which the CIA had bugged) and told Nasser - " I have three gorgeous Pan American stewardesses here with me and they'd like to have a party ! " Nasser said no , and hung up .
But the CIA did'nt hang up - they made a porno movie using a Sukarno 'double' doing the business with a supposed Soviet female blonde spy ; the movie was made in Los Angeles , and the CIA gave it a title - 'Happy Days' ! CIA Agents approched Sukarno with a few copies of 'his' video and a suitcase stuffed with cash , and suggested that he might want to move away from supporting " his lefty buddies ......."
Sukarno took the cash , the videos , and the advice - and the CIA left him alone !
Sex , lies and videotape - sure ya could nearly make a movie outta that .......
Friday, December 26, 2003
A REBEL PRIEST - Fr. James O'Coigly ; 1762 - 1798 .......
.......having arrested Fr. James O'Coigly and his four comrades , the British found a letter on the priest for the new French Administration - it was from ' The United Britons' , a Jacobin Society in England , and it called for French help to overthrow the English Parliament . All concerned were charged with " High Treason ".......
On 21st May 1798 , a 'trial' was held at Maidstone , Kent , in England , with all eyes fixed firmly on the 'ring-leader' , Fr. James O'Coigly , who apparently refused to even recognise the 'court' , never mind enter a defence against the charge . His four United Irishmen colleagues (including Arthur O'Connor , a leader of the Rebels in Leinster) defended their case as best they could and , to the surprise of all , were acquitted - the British had presumably concentrated their efforts on securing a conviction against what they perceived as their biggest threat - Fr. James O'Coigly .
During his seventeen days in prison , waiting for execution , Fr. O'Coigly requested , and received , permission for a Catholic Priest to visit him in his cell to hear his last confession ; however , the Brits even tried to use this 'act of compassion' to their own advantage .......(MORE LATER).
WHERE MOUNTAINY MEN HAVE SOWN :
war and peace in rebel Cork ,
in the turbulent years 1916-21.
By Micheal O'Suilleabhain : published 1965.
1916 AND AFTER.......
".......the play 'Handy Andy' did not take to the stage that evening - indeed , the players had to be escorted by the RIC back to their hotel , as the crowd were hostile to them ......."
" The four of us repaired to the other hotel , where we had tea . We sat by the fire talking to a group of friends for some time , then we started on our homeward walk . It was a fine, calm , frosty night . We had nearly reached Poul na Bro , about a mile from Ballyvourney , when we heard a car behind us .
Hastily assembling some dumps of 'ammunition' in the dykes at both sides of the road , we waited . They came , and as their lights fell on us , they gave a defiant yell at the country yokels who did not appreciate their genius . A feu-de-joie rattling on their enamel , warned them that they were still in hostile territory . With increasing speed they vanished from our sight .
We stopped on Poul na Bro bridge , over the River Sullane , while Dan Harrington lit his pipe . By the light of the match I could see his face . It wore a happy smile . He spoke -
" Well , bedamned boys , 'Handy Andy' could hardly be described as a huge success , you know . " "
[END OF '1916 AND AFTER'].
IF YA COULD SEE.......
[from ' The Sunday Tribune ' newspaper , 15th May , 1988 , page 8]
At a press conference in 1983 , journalist Sam Donaldson of ABC Television had put President Ronald Reagan on the spot over an issue . Ronnie's then Press Secretary , a Mr. Larry Speakes , yelled " LIGHTS ! " and , one second later , someone pulled a plug or threw a switch - and the room went dark !
END OF PRESS CONFERENCE.......
How can I work a comment in that the lights may be on but theres no-one home .......?
.......YOUR WAY ---->
[from ' The Sunday Tribune ' newspaper , 24th August , 1986 , page 11]
<---- In Buraimi Oasis , in Oman , during the 1950's , the CIA offered British oil companies a $90 Million bribe to pull-out lock , stock and barrel (pun!) from the country ; the Americans wanted their own oil company , ' ARAMCO ' , to be the top dog in the region .
The Brits refused the bribe , but the CIA kept pushing , so the British took a court-case over the issue , which ended up in the International Court in Geneva ; once there , the CIA tried to bribe the Court Officials to find in their favour ! They failed again .......
RONNIE - " The damn Brits won't move , honey ! "
NANCY - " Hold on , Ron - ah'll jus' make me a phone-call... "
.......having arrested Fr. James O'Coigly and his four comrades , the British found a letter on the priest for the new French Administration - it was from ' The United Britons' , a Jacobin Society in England , and it called for French help to overthrow the English Parliament . All concerned were charged with " High Treason ".......
On 21st May 1798 , a 'trial' was held at Maidstone , Kent , in England , with all eyes fixed firmly on the 'ring-leader' , Fr. James O'Coigly , who apparently refused to even recognise the 'court' , never mind enter a defence against the charge . His four United Irishmen colleagues (including Arthur O'Connor , a leader of the Rebels in Leinster) defended their case as best they could and , to the surprise of all , were acquitted - the British had presumably concentrated their efforts on securing a conviction against what they perceived as their biggest threat - Fr. James O'Coigly .
During his seventeen days in prison , waiting for execution , Fr. O'Coigly requested , and received , permission for a Catholic Priest to visit him in his cell to hear his last confession ; however , the Brits even tried to use this 'act of compassion' to their own advantage .......(MORE LATER).
WHERE MOUNTAINY MEN HAVE SOWN :
war and peace in rebel Cork ,
in the turbulent years 1916-21.
By Micheal O'Suilleabhain : published 1965.
1916 AND AFTER.......
".......the play 'Handy Andy' did not take to the stage that evening - indeed , the players had to be escorted by the RIC back to their hotel , as the crowd were hostile to them ......."
" The four of us repaired to the other hotel , where we had tea . We sat by the fire talking to a group of friends for some time , then we started on our homeward walk . It was a fine, calm , frosty night . We had nearly reached Poul na Bro , about a mile from Ballyvourney , when we heard a car behind us .
Hastily assembling some dumps of 'ammunition' in the dykes at both sides of the road , we waited . They came , and as their lights fell on us , they gave a defiant yell at the country yokels who did not appreciate their genius . A feu-de-joie rattling on their enamel , warned them that they were still in hostile territory . With increasing speed they vanished from our sight .
We stopped on Poul na Bro bridge , over the River Sullane , while Dan Harrington lit his pipe . By the light of the match I could see his face . It wore a happy smile . He spoke -
" Well , bedamned boys , 'Handy Andy' could hardly be described as a huge success , you know . " "
[END OF '1916 AND AFTER'].
IF YA COULD SEE.......
[from ' The Sunday Tribune ' newspaper , 15th May , 1988 , page 8]
At a press conference in 1983 , journalist Sam Donaldson of ABC Television had put President Ronald Reagan on the spot over an issue . Ronnie's then Press Secretary , a Mr. Larry Speakes , yelled " LIGHTS ! " and , one second later , someone pulled a plug or threw a switch - and the room went dark !
END OF PRESS CONFERENCE.......
How can I work a comment in that the lights may be on but theres no-one home .......?
.......YOUR WAY ---->
[from ' The Sunday Tribune ' newspaper , 24th August , 1986 , page 11]
<---- In Buraimi Oasis , in Oman , during the 1950's , the CIA offered British oil companies a $90 Million bribe to pull-out lock , stock and barrel (pun!) from the country ; the Americans wanted their own oil company , ' ARAMCO ' , to be the top dog in the region .
The Brits refused the bribe , but the CIA kept pushing , so the British took a court-case over the issue , which ended up in the International Court in Geneva ; once there , the CIA tried to bribe the Court Officials to find in their favour ! They failed again .......
RONNIE - " The damn Brits won't move , honey ! "
NANCY - " Hold on , Ron - ah'll jus' make me a phone-call... "
Thursday, December 25, 2003
NOLLAIG SHONA AGUS.......
A REBEL PRIEST - Fr. James O'Coigly ; 1762 - 1798 .......
.......in February 1798 , Fr. James O' Coigly and four other members of the United Irishmen were on a final visit to France to confirm French military involvement in Ireland - but all five were arrested by the British at Margate in England .........
The five Rebels were thrown into the infamous Tower of London prison .
In preparation for the coming fight in Ireland , both the French and the Irish Rebels had located a group in England willing to help - a Jacobin organisation called the 'Secret Committee of England' (also known as 'The United Britons'), which was attempting to organise the overthrow of the Westminster Parliament .
When the British searched Fr. O'Coigly , they found a letter from The United Britons addressed to the French Revolutionary Government calling for an invasion of England : this letter alone gave the British a reason to charge all concerned with " High Treason "....... (MORE LATER).
WHERE MOUNTAINY MEN HAVE SOWN :
war and peace in rebel Cork ,
in the turbulent years 1916-21.
By Micheal O'Suilleabhain : published 1965.
1916 AND AFTER.......
".......the iron roof of the hall was being pounded by rocks thrown by the crowd . One of those inside came out looking for a fight - he was one of those who offered to defend the RIC Barracks in Macroom on the night of my uncle's arrest ......."
" I groped on the ground for some missile . I was so tightly restricted by the crowd that I could find nothing . He retired again behind the closed door . It was then I realised too late that I held a stick in my right hand . I promised myself that I would not forget again .
The RIC now endeavoured to clear the crowd from the front . They started moving them slowly down the lane . A civilian appeared from nowhere helping them to push individuals here and there . I concluded that he must be one of the players coming again to the assistance of the RIC . I waited . Presently he approached , pushing people near me .
The RIC had stopped , but he continued energetically . I reached my right arm across a couple of my neighbours and the stirabout stick rapped sharply on his head . The RIC made an industrious movement forward but saw only a small ripple in the crowd as I disappeared . The bombardment continued and soon the garrison surrendered . As they came out , the crowd voiced its disapproval .
The RIC shepherded them practically unscathed through the crowd , save for a few shrewd cuffs and toes hastily administered . They sought the solace of their hotel ......." (MORE LATER).
CAT JUMPERS.......
[from ' The Sunday Tribune ' newspaper , 24th August , 1986 , page 11]
" We will never have universal peace until the strongest army and the strongest navy are in the hands of the most powerful nation . "
--- the oft-repeated motto of the then US Secretary of Defence , James Forrestal , who introduced ' Directive NSC 4a ' in December 1947 .
This allowed for "encouraging" a certain outcome in foreign elections ie the then CIA pumped millions of dollars into the election campaign of the Christian Democrats in Italy , hundreds of millions of dollars were spent in Greece and Turkey to obtain a " US friendly outcome " , and China and the Philippines had their 'guerrilla movements/terrorist organisations' either supported or suppressed , depending on the interests of the United States .
However , perhaps less well known was the involvement of the CIA under James Forrestal in 'Project MK Ultra' , from which came 'Project Bluebird' and 'Project Artichoke' - experiments with mind-bending drugs ; in 1953 , a substance containing LSD was added to bottles of Cointreau water which were consumed by scientists meeting in the Appalachians to discuss their work . One of them reportedly went hyper and jumped to his death from a tenth-floor window !
The CIA also attempted to turn house-hold pets into guided microphones and/or bombs !-- a cat was operated on ; it was 'opened-up' and a microphone was built-in to its stomach , then its tail was wired-up to same as the ariel ! The unfortunate animal was placed on a city street to be "field-tested" and was promptly run over by a taxi !
Taxi Driver -- " Oops ! Bleedin' cat . Better get it to the vet . "
Passenger -- " The vet ? No need. I'm a scientist . Lets take it to my tenth-floor office ......."
.......BEANNACHTAI NA FEILE .
Wednesday, December 24, 2003
A REBEL PRIEST - Fr. James O'Coigly ; 1762 - 1798 .......
.......born in County Armagh in 1762 and sent to The Irish College in Paris , a young trainee priest , Fr. James O'Coigly , witnessed the beginning of the French Revolution . In 1789 , at 27 years young , he returned to Ireland and , two years later (ie 1791) joined the new ' Society of United Irishmen '.......
As a leading member of the Society's 'Ulster Directory', a dedicated Republican and with experience of , and contacts in , France , he was put in charge of a small group of United Irishmen which was sent to France in the mid-1790's to convince the Revolutionary Government that it should physically assist the Irish in their endeavours to force a British withdrawal from Ireland .
Fr. O'Coigly and his team of four other Irish Rebels made the journey to France a number of times in the mid-to-late 1790's and were successful in convincing the French Administration that the Irish fight was worthy of support . In setting-out for what was to be their final visit to France , in February 1798 , to confirm dates etc for the French military action , the five Irish Rebels were arrested at Margate in England....... (MORE LATER).
WHERE MOUNTAINY MEN HAVE SOWN :
war and peace in rebel Cork ,
in the turbulent years 1916-21.
By Micheal O'Suilleabhain : published 1965.
1916 AND AFTER.......
".......the crowd refused to go in to see the play . The two RIC men knew something was wrong . One of Mikeen Buckley's men volunteered to pay in and see what was happening inside ......."
" He got in all right . Indeed I think he need not have spent the bad sixpence . Afterwards he told us of the financial side . " Six-and-six , they got , " he said , " and that included my good money . " Presently a spokesman appeared on the doorstep . He made an appeal to the good taste of the people of Ballyvourney . They had come to show them first-class drama , indeed they should be glad to have this opportunity .......
The hall was made entirely of iron . The first rock falling on the roof sounded like the crack of doom . It was the first of an avalanche . The front door was closed . The RIC men approached Mikeen Buckley and his men - the 'boys' retired into the shadows , and the RIC then infiltrated into the "masses" in front . The bombardment continued . Suddenly the door opened and out rushed a big man . With the bluster of a bully he challenged the best man in Ballyvourney to fight him . No one moved , but some laughed .
I recognised him as one of those who had offered to defend the barracks in Macroom on the night of my uncle's arrest ......." (MORE LATER).
......not finished yet with REAGANISMS.......
[from ' The Sunday Tribune ' newspaper , 15th May , 1988 , page 8]
DIVISIONS IN RONNIE's HEAD ---->
<---- Ronnie Reagan's Budget Director , a Mr David Stockman , organised a number of meetings at which the bould Ronnie was present , along with the various 'Heads of Departments' , Secretarys etc .
The Stockman fella was apparently an awful man for t'oul cutbacks , and argued for same at the meetings - some of those in attendance agreed with the proposed cutbacks , while others called for increases in expenditure . Stockman talked later of how Reagan would sit there , taking notes , looking at and , apparently , listening to the finer points of the pro-cuts and anti-cuts speakers .
Until one day Mr President left his notes behind.......
Mr Stockman , obviously curious as to which way the Boss was thinking re cutbacks or increases in the finances , sneaked a peep ....... and discovered that Ronnie was simply writing down the highest and lowest per-centage figures mentioned by those at the meeting (ie "increase by 9 per-cent" : "decrease by 5 per-cent" etc) , adding those two figures together (ie 14) and dividing by two !
Ronnie would then announce an increase or decrease of 7 per-cent , depending on which side had been most vocal at the meeting ! He would have been rightly stuck if he went deaf .......
RONNIE - " Nancy , ah done the sums , and divided bah two , but do ah make this one an increase or a decrease ? "
NANCY - " Hold on , dear - ah'll jus' make me a phonecall ......."
.......born in County Armagh in 1762 and sent to The Irish College in Paris , a young trainee priest , Fr. James O'Coigly , witnessed the beginning of the French Revolution . In 1789 , at 27 years young , he returned to Ireland and , two years later (ie 1791) joined the new ' Society of United Irishmen '.......
As a leading member of the Society's 'Ulster Directory', a dedicated Republican and with experience of , and contacts in , France , he was put in charge of a small group of United Irishmen which was sent to France in the mid-1790's to convince the Revolutionary Government that it should physically assist the Irish in their endeavours to force a British withdrawal from Ireland .
Fr. O'Coigly and his team of four other Irish Rebels made the journey to France a number of times in the mid-to-late 1790's and were successful in convincing the French Administration that the Irish fight was worthy of support . In setting-out for what was to be their final visit to France , in February 1798 , to confirm dates etc for the French military action , the five Irish Rebels were arrested at Margate in England....... (MORE LATER).
WHERE MOUNTAINY MEN HAVE SOWN :
war and peace in rebel Cork ,
in the turbulent years 1916-21.
By Micheal O'Suilleabhain : published 1965.
1916 AND AFTER.......
".......the crowd refused to go in to see the play . The two RIC men knew something was wrong . One of Mikeen Buckley's men volunteered to pay in and see what was happening inside ......."
" He got in all right . Indeed I think he need not have spent the bad sixpence . Afterwards he told us of the financial side . " Six-and-six , they got , " he said , " and that included my good money . " Presently a spokesman appeared on the doorstep . He made an appeal to the good taste of the people of Ballyvourney . They had come to show them first-class drama , indeed they should be glad to have this opportunity .......
The hall was made entirely of iron . The first rock falling on the roof sounded like the crack of doom . It was the first of an avalanche . The front door was closed . The RIC men approached Mikeen Buckley and his men - the 'boys' retired into the shadows , and the RIC then infiltrated into the "masses" in front . The bombardment continued . Suddenly the door opened and out rushed a big man . With the bluster of a bully he challenged the best man in Ballyvourney to fight him . No one moved , but some laughed .
I recognised him as one of those who had offered to defend the barracks in Macroom on the night of my uncle's arrest ......." (MORE LATER).
......not finished yet with REAGANISMS.......
[from ' The Sunday Tribune ' newspaper , 15th May , 1988 , page 8]
DIVISIONS IN RONNIE's HEAD ---->
<---- Ronnie Reagan's Budget Director , a Mr David Stockman , organised a number of meetings at which the bould Ronnie was present , along with the various 'Heads of Departments' , Secretarys etc .
The Stockman fella was apparently an awful man for t'oul cutbacks , and argued for same at the meetings - some of those in attendance agreed with the proposed cutbacks , while others called for increases in expenditure . Stockman talked later of how Reagan would sit there , taking notes , looking at and , apparently , listening to the finer points of the pro-cuts and anti-cuts speakers .
Until one day Mr President left his notes behind.......
Mr Stockman , obviously curious as to which way the Boss was thinking re cutbacks or increases in the finances , sneaked a peep ....... and discovered that Ronnie was simply writing down the highest and lowest per-centage figures mentioned by those at the meeting (ie "increase by 9 per-cent" : "decrease by 5 per-cent" etc) , adding those two figures together (ie 14) and dividing by two !
Ronnie would then announce an increase or decrease of 7 per-cent , depending on which side had been most vocal at the meeting ! He would have been rightly stuck if he went deaf .......
RONNIE - " Nancy , ah done the sums , and divided bah two , but do ah make this one an increase or a decrease ? "
NANCY - " Hold on , dear - ah'll jus' make me a phonecall ......."
Tuesday, December 23, 2003
A REBEL PRIEST - Fr. James O'Coigly ; 1762 - 1798 .
A child born in County Armagh in 1762 grew up to become a priest in the Catholic Church ; as part of his training in the priesthood he was sent to the Irish College in Paris , where he was witness to the beginning of the French Revolution - that young man , James O'Coigly , returned to Ireland at twenty-seven years of age , in 1789 , a changed man .......
A rebellious spirit was gathering momentum in Ireland at that time and , in October 1791 , the ' Society of United Irishmen ' was formed - Fr. James O'Coigly joined the new organisation and was known as one of the Society's Organisers in his native Armagh ....... (MORE LATER).
WHERE MOUNTAINY MEN HAVE SOWN :
war and peace in rebel Cork ,
in the turbulent years 1916-21.
By Micheal O'Suilleabhain : published 1965.
1916 AND AFTER.......
".......hundreds of people were outside the hotel in Ballyvourney , waiting to see the play ; we were there to disrupt proceedings . Two RIC men were on duty ......."
" People were still coming , and each of us held a position to intercept them . To the right of the entrance door and just in the shadow I saw Mikeen Buckley with a dozen of his " boys . " They appeared to be in a pensive mood like real connoisseurs of the drama .
The players had entered the hall a long time since . It was already past the hour advertised for the start of the play . Then someone announced from the entrance door that all was ready . A placard had told us already that the admission fee was one shilling for front seats , and sixpence for the rear . No one stirred in the crowd . The RIC men got uneasy - they moved about as if trying to fathom the mystery .
I would have given a good deal to see both the body of the hall and the stage at the time . One of Mikeen's men came to my side . " I have a bad sixpence here , " he said , " and I'll never again get the opportunity of spending it . Would it be all right to go in ? I'll find out what's happening inside . " " Go ahead , " I said . " (MORE LATER).
and yet again....... ANOTHER REAGANISM.......---->
[from ' The Sunday Tribune ' newspaper , 15th May , 1988 , page 8]
' CUT ME DOWN BEFORE I KILL AGAIN . '
--- the above slogan , no doubt printed on eco-friendly cardboard , was tied to thousands of trees in America in early 1979 , in the run-up to the American Presidential election . And the reason .......?
.......While out on the hustlings and the rubber-chicken circuit looking for the top job , the bould Ronnie Reagan gave a radio interview in which he attacked the enemies of his buddies in Industry ; he declared that the United States Environmental Protection Agency had recently suppressed a report which , he said , " reveals that eighty per-cent of air pollution comes , not from chimneys and auto exhausts , but from plants and trees . " !
Apparently , someone on Ronnie's campaign staff had told him , correctly , that plants and trees emit nitrous oxide as they consume oxygen ; the Pres-to-be confused the emission's from plant-life with nitrogen dioxide , a polluter , and then (completely out of the blue) formed the notion that the country's Environmental Protection Agency was involved in a conspiracy against American Industry !
' KILLER PLANTS ' - .......was'nt that the name of an old 'B-movie' , starring that chap ,...oh , what's his name now , its on the tongue of me tip ......
A child born in County Armagh in 1762 grew up to become a priest in the Catholic Church ; as part of his training in the priesthood he was sent to the Irish College in Paris , where he was witness to the beginning of the French Revolution - that young man , James O'Coigly , returned to Ireland at twenty-seven years of age , in 1789 , a changed man .......
A rebellious spirit was gathering momentum in Ireland at that time and , in October 1791 , the ' Society of United Irishmen ' was formed - Fr. James O'Coigly joined the new organisation and was known as one of the Society's Organisers in his native Armagh ....... (MORE LATER).
WHERE MOUNTAINY MEN HAVE SOWN :
war and peace in rebel Cork ,
in the turbulent years 1916-21.
By Micheal O'Suilleabhain : published 1965.
1916 AND AFTER.......
".......hundreds of people were outside the hotel in Ballyvourney , waiting to see the play ; we were there to disrupt proceedings . Two RIC men were on duty ......."
" People were still coming , and each of us held a position to intercept them . To the right of the entrance door and just in the shadow I saw Mikeen Buckley with a dozen of his " boys . " They appeared to be in a pensive mood like real connoisseurs of the drama .
The players had entered the hall a long time since . It was already past the hour advertised for the start of the play . Then someone announced from the entrance door that all was ready . A placard had told us already that the admission fee was one shilling for front seats , and sixpence for the rear . No one stirred in the crowd . The RIC men got uneasy - they moved about as if trying to fathom the mystery .
I would have given a good deal to see both the body of the hall and the stage at the time . One of Mikeen's men came to my side . " I have a bad sixpence here , " he said , " and I'll never again get the opportunity of spending it . Would it be all right to go in ? I'll find out what's happening inside . " " Go ahead , " I said . " (MORE LATER).
and yet again....... ANOTHER REAGANISM.......---->
[from ' The Sunday Tribune ' newspaper , 15th May , 1988 , page 8]
' CUT ME DOWN BEFORE I KILL AGAIN . '
--- the above slogan , no doubt printed on eco-friendly cardboard , was tied to thousands of trees in America in early 1979 , in the run-up to the American Presidential election . And the reason .......?
.......While out on the hustlings and the rubber-chicken circuit looking for the top job , the bould Ronnie Reagan gave a radio interview in which he attacked the enemies of his buddies in Industry ; he declared that the United States Environmental Protection Agency had recently suppressed a report which , he said , " reveals that eighty per-cent of air pollution comes , not from chimneys and auto exhausts , but from plants and trees . " !
Apparently , someone on Ronnie's campaign staff had told him , correctly , that plants and trees emit nitrous oxide as they consume oxygen ; the Pres-to-be confused the emission's from plant-life with nitrogen dioxide , a polluter , and then (completely out of the blue) formed the notion that the country's Environmental Protection Agency was involved in a conspiracy against American Industry !
' KILLER PLANTS ' - .......was'nt that the name of an old 'B-movie' , starring that chap ,...oh , what's his name now , its on the tongue of me tip ......
Monday, December 22, 2003
STORMONT 'talking-shop' ; not a new failure -
Belfast May 1998 -- Dublin July 1917........
.......the 1917 'Irish Convention' , established and funded by the British , was a disaster from the start - Sinn Fein and the Labour Party boycotted it and those that took their seats did so for 'PR' and financial reasons only ; it was doomed to failure .......
On 8th April , 1918 , a mere ten months after its fanfare of a birth , it spluttered to an end !
Less then half of its one-hundred-and-five members bothered to 'sign-off' on the Conventions final report which , ironically , actually recommended to its parent body , Westminster , that Ireland should have self-government ! That last report also warned against extending military conscription to Ireland - the creation had turned on its master !
Indeed , on a public relations tour of America to promote the faltering Convention , a British Minister , 'Lord' Birkinhead , inadvertently let it slip that the body would continue to sit until such time as America had decided to enter the war in Europe - in other words , when American eyes looked elsewhere , the Convention would shut up shop !
The Brits practically admitted that the talking-shop was simply a diversion (similiar to today's Stormont Assembly-- an institution established to give the gullible the impression of 'movement'). The ploy worked in 1917 , and it worked again in 1998 ; but , as always , there are those who refuse to be purchased , fooled or intimidated .
[END].
WHERE MOUNTAINY MEN HAVE SOWN :
war and peace in rebel Cork ,
in the turbulent years 1916-21.
By Micheal O'Suilleabhain : published 1965.
1916 AND AFTER.......
".......on our way to upset the Macroom Dramatic Company , the four of us met up with Mikeen Buckley , a wild man , ex-British Army , who helped the I R A on occasion......."
" " We are going to Ballyvourney , Mike , to see that play , " said my uncle with a roguish smile . " I was thinking of going there myself , but I must tell some of the boys , " said Mike . We knew the "boys" . They were all about Mike's own calibre . No harm in them really . They would go to a wedding as strawboys , or stand at the village cross at night , until all hours , singing songs .
Indeed , one of the four of us now going northwards to Ballyvourney had been one of their company - Joe Roche . We reached Ballyvourney in good time . In the main street outside the hotel stood a motor-car . Enquiries confirmed that the players had come and were refreshing at the bar , for the play . We sought out a few locals whom we knew . They got busy with us talking about the play among the crowd that was gathering in front of the hall . Soon , some hundreds had assembled . Each new disciple spread the light . The people had not understood . Soon the disciples were in the majority .
A lamp blazed in front of the hall ; two RIC men were on duty . We kept out of their sight , well back in the crowd . We had no desire to enlighten them of our little organisation ......." (MORE LATER).
Hear we go again....... A REAGANISM ---->
[from ' The Sunday Tribune ' newspaper , 15th May , 1988 , page 8]
<---- " Ssshhh ! Don't bring that up . Leave it be . "
--- the words of Michael Deaver , the then Deputy Chief of Staff in Ronald Reagan's White House .
Mr. Deaver was replying to a question from his new Chief of Staff , Donald Regan ( 'Wall Street' millionaire and former Secretary of the U S Treasury) who had asked why the President's daily schedule was in such a mess - he got the above-mentioned answer from his Deputy.
Michael Deaver was known as a good time-keeper , always punctual , and part of his job was to arrange each days itinerary for President Reagan - but the daily meetings never went as planned , to such an extent that other White House staffers would imitate Deaver by intoning the mans mantra --- " Let's play around with this , let me see what can be done . "
A frustrated Deputy Chief Deaver later admitted that Nancy Reagan would go through the meetings schedule with her " friend " in San francisco , by telephone , every day - the " friend " was an astrologer ! The Chief of Staff , Donald Regan , had to go along with the charade , later stating that it was best to " humour her(Nancy) - at least this astrologer is not as kooky as the last one . " !
RONNIE - " Should ah press the red button , Nancy .......? "
NANCY - " Don't do nothin' just yet , Ron - ah wanna' make me a call ... "
Belfast May 1998 -- Dublin July 1917........
.......the 1917 'Irish Convention' , established and funded by the British , was a disaster from the start - Sinn Fein and the Labour Party boycotted it and those that took their seats did so for 'PR' and financial reasons only ; it was doomed to failure .......
On 8th April , 1918 , a mere ten months after its fanfare of a birth , it spluttered to an end !
Less then half of its one-hundred-and-five members bothered to 'sign-off' on the Conventions final report which , ironically , actually recommended to its parent body , Westminster , that Ireland should have self-government ! That last report also warned against extending military conscription to Ireland - the creation had turned on its master !
Indeed , on a public relations tour of America to promote the faltering Convention , a British Minister , 'Lord' Birkinhead , inadvertently let it slip that the body would continue to sit until such time as America had decided to enter the war in Europe - in other words , when American eyes looked elsewhere , the Convention would shut up shop !
The Brits practically admitted that the talking-shop was simply a diversion (similiar to today's Stormont Assembly-- an institution established to give the gullible the impression of 'movement'). The ploy worked in 1917 , and it worked again in 1998 ; but , as always , there are those who refuse to be purchased , fooled or intimidated .
[END].
WHERE MOUNTAINY MEN HAVE SOWN :
war and peace in rebel Cork ,
in the turbulent years 1916-21.
By Micheal O'Suilleabhain : published 1965.
1916 AND AFTER.......
".......on our way to upset the Macroom Dramatic Company , the four of us met up with Mikeen Buckley , a wild man , ex-British Army , who helped the I R A on occasion......."
" " We are going to Ballyvourney , Mike , to see that play , " said my uncle with a roguish smile . " I was thinking of going there myself , but I must tell some of the boys , " said Mike . We knew the "boys" . They were all about Mike's own calibre . No harm in them really . They would go to a wedding as strawboys , or stand at the village cross at night , until all hours , singing songs .
Indeed , one of the four of us now going northwards to Ballyvourney had been one of their company - Joe Roche . We reached Ballyvourney in good time . In the main street outside the hotel stood a motor-car . Enquiries confirmed that the players had come and were refreshing at the bar , for the play . We sought out a few locals whom we knew . They got busy with us talking about the play among the crowd that was gathering in front of the hall . Soon , some hundreds had assembled . Each new disciple spread the light . The people had not understood . Soon the disciples were in the majority .
A lamp blazed in front of the hall ; two RIC men were on duty . We kept out of their sight , well back in the crowd . We had no desire to enlighten them of our little organisation ......." (MORE LATER).
Hear we go again....... A REAGANISM ---->
[from ' The Sunday Tribune ' newspaper , 15th May , 1988 , page 8]
<---- " Ssshhh ! Don't bring that up . Leave it be . "
--- the words of Michael Deaver , the then Deputy Chief of Staff in Ronald Reagan's White House .
Mr. Deaver was replying to a question from his new Chief of Staff , Donald Regan ( 'Wall Street' millionaire and former Secretary of the U S Treasury) who had asked why the President's daily schedule was in such a mess - he got the above-mentioned answer from his Deputy.
Michael Deaver was known as a good time-keeper , always punctual , and part of his job was to arrange each days itinerary for President Reagan - but the daily meetings never went as planned , to such an extent that other White House staffers would imitate Deaver by intoning the mans mantra --- " Let's play around with this , let me see what can be done . "
A frustrated Deputy Chief Deaver later admitted that Nancy Reagan would go through the meetings schedule with her " friend " in San francisco , by telephone , every day - the " friend " was an astrologer ! The Chief of Staff , Donald Regan , had to go along with the charade , later stating that it was best to " humour her(Nancy) - at least this astrologer is not as kooky as the last one . " !
RONNIE - " Should ah press the red button , Nancy .......? "
NANCY - " Don't do nothin' just yet , Ron - ah wanna' make me a call ... "
Sunday, December 21, 2003
STORMONT 'talking-shop' ; not a new failure -
Belfast May 1998 -- Dublin July 1917........
.......the business community , the Irish Unionists and the Irish Parliamentary Party were all eager to take the seats allocated to them by Westminster in the so-called ' Irish Convention ' at Trinity College , Dublin . The then Sinn Fein organisation dismissed the institution as a farce , a "face-saving" operation for the British .......
The 'Convention' , like the 1998 Stormont Treaty , was flawed from the start - the Irish Unionists were present to demand that Ireland be kept within the confines of the 'United Kingdom' while those in the chamber that purported to be 'Nationalists' had to be seen and heard to be seeking self-government for the country ! (Definately sounds familiar .......)
Sinn Fein boycotted this talking-shop and refused to take its seats ; it had been allocated only five places in the 'Convention' by the British . Likewise , the then Labour Party , mindful of the very real threat to its future political prospects from Sinn Fein , and not wanting to leave itself exposed as an out-and-out pro-Brit grouping , also refused to take its seats in the assembly .
And that was the charade that the British and their lackeys in Ireland grandiosely referred too as " The Irish Convention " -- a spurious mish-mash of native Unionists , castle-Catholics and till-fumblers ; self-serving creatures , every last one of them . But try as they did , they could'nt keep the show on the road ....... (MORE LATER).
WHERE MOUNTAINY MEN HAVE SOWN :
war and peace in rebel Cork ,
in the turbulent years 1916-21.
By Micheal O'Suilleabhain : published 1965.
1916 AND AFTER.......
".......the local I R A Company was 'up-and-running' again ; myself and three others were on our way to Ballyvourney when we met a neighbour . He asked if we were going to the play - we knew nothing of it ......."
" We asked him about the play he mentioned - he told us it was called 'Handy Andy' and the players were the Macroom Dramatic Company . " Handy Andy ," said my uncle . " It is hard to teach an enslaved people . Is'nt it remarkable how the shoneen is not happy until he is trying to belittle the people of Ireland , and show them to the world as a race of uncouth and ignorant savages ?
Pearse and his comrades are not dead a year and these so-and-so's from Macroom must come and resurrect the Stage Irishman again . Come on lads, we will go to Ballyvourney . " My uncle's dog was with us . We liked his company but we decided his presence might complicate matters for us later . We left him at the cottage of Johnny Curley , a friend of ours whose son was a Volunteer . As I was leaving the cottage , I saw a stirabout stick .
" Johnny , " I said , " will you give me a loan of that stick ? " " I will and failte , " said Johnny , " but I'll give you a nice walking stick if you like . " " No , Johnny , thanks , " I said , " this is quite good enough for the Stage Irishman ! " Johnny blinked his eyes , and I knew he did not understand but I had not time to explain .
Near the Cross we met Mikeen , a brother of Tadhg Buckley . A hard man who had long ago been drummed out of the British Army . A splendid cavalry man , but all the King's men could not bring him to discipline . He would take a horse when he wanted one and suffer for it later . Their varied punishments failing , they let him go . He was never a Volunteer , but was always ready to help , and in later days often risked his life to warn us of the enemy . Now he eyed us as if he knew we were on some business bent . " (MORE LATER).
BAT's IN THE .......
[from 'The Sunday Tribune ' newspaper , 24th August , 1986 , page 11]
Two months after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbour , a Mr. Adams from the town of Pennsylvania wrote to the President of the United States .
The President should know , he wrote , that the Japanese were " simply terrified of bats . " On 9th February 1942 , Franklin Delano Roosevelt passed the letter to the then Chief of the 'Office of Strategic Services ' (OSS) , the then C I A , a Mr William Donovan . A cover-note saying " This man is not a nut " was included .
So , for the next three years , Donovan ensured that bats were dropped on Japan ! Sometimes the bats were just slung out of bomber-planes , other times they were dropped by parachute ! When a bat is thrown out of an airplane at high altitude it freezes to death long before it hits the ground .
Might have been a good plan but ..... the Japanese were not actually afraid of bats ! Apparently , due to Roosevelt's covering-note , OSS Chief Donovan presumed that someone had confirmed the Japanese 'bat-phobia' ! What must the Japanese have thought of three years of being 'bat-bombed'.......?
Belfast May 1998 -- Dublin July 1917........
.......the business community , the Irish Unionists and the Irish Parliamentary Party were all eager to take the seats allocated to them by Westminster in the so-called ' Irish Convention ' at Trinity College , Dublin . The then Sinn Fein organisation dismissed the institution as a farce , a "face-saving" operation for the British .......
The 'Convention' , like the 1998 Stormont Treaty , was flawed from the start - the Irish Unionists were present to demand that Ireland be kept within the confines of the 'United Kingdom' while those in the chamber that purported to be 'Nationalists' had to be seen and heard to be seeking self-government for the country ! (Definately sounds familiar .......)
Sinn Fein boycotted this talking-shop and refused to take its seats ; it had been allocated only five places in the 'Convention' by the British . Likewise , the then Labour Party , mindful of the very real threat to its future political prospects from Sinn Fein , and not wanting to leave itself exposed as an out-and-out pro-Brit grouping , also refused to take its seats in the assembly .
And that was the charade that the British and their lackeys in Ireland grandiosely referred too as " The Irish Convention " -- a spurious mish-mash of native Unionists , castle-Catholics and till-fumblers ; self-serving creatures , every last one of them . But try as they did , they could'nt keep the show on the road ....... (MORE LATER).
WHERE MOUNTAINY MEN HAVE SOWN :
war and peace in rebel Cork ,
in the turbulent years 1916-21.
By Micheal O'Suilleabhain : published 1965.
1916 AND AFTER.......
".......the local I R A Company was 'up-and-running' again ; myself and three others were on our way to Ballyvourney when we met a neighbour . He asked if we were going to the play - we knew nothing of it ......."
" We asked him about the play he mentioned - he told us it was called 'Handy Andy' and the players were the Macroom Dramatic Company . " Handy Andy ," said my uncle . " It is hard to teach an enslaved people . Is'nt it remarkable how the shoneen is not happy until he is trying to belittle the people of Ireland , and show them to the world as a race of uncouth and ignorant savages ?
Pearse and his comrades are not dead a year and these so-and-so's from Macroom must come and resurrect the Stage Irishman again . Come on lads, we will go to Ballyvourney . " My uncle's dog was with us . We liked his company but we decided his presence might complicate matters for us later . We left him at the cottage of Johnny Curley , a friend of ours whose son was a Volunteer . As I was leaving the cottage , I saw a stirabout stick .
" Johnny , " I said , " will you give me a loan of that stick ? " " I will and failte , " said Johnny , " but I'll give you a nice walking stick if you like . " " No , Johnny , thanks , " I said , " this is quite good enough for the Stage Irishman ! " Johnny blinked his eyes , and I knew he did not understand but I had not time to explain .
Near the Cross we met Mikeen , a brother of Tadhg Buckley . A hard man who had long ago been drummed out of the British Army . A splendid cavalry man , but all the King's men could not bring him to discipline . He would take a horse when he wanted one and suffer for it later . Their varied punishments failing , they let him go . He was never a Volunteer , but was always ready to help , and in later days often risked his life to warn us of the enemy . Now he eyed us as if he knew we were on some business bent . " (MORE LATER).
BAT's IN THE .......
[from 'The Sunday Tribune ' newspaper , 24th August , 1986 , page 11]
Two months after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbour , a Mr. Adams from the town of Pennsylvania wrote to the President of the United States .
The President should know , he wrote , that the Japanese were " simply terrified of bats . " On 9th February 1942 , Franklin Delano Roosevelt passed the letter to the then Chief of the 'Office of Strategic Services ' (OSS) , the then C I A , a Mr William Donovan . A cover-note saying " This man is not a nut " was included .
So , for the next three years , Donovan ensured that bats were dropped on Japan ! Sometimes the bats were just slung out of bomber-planes , other times they were dropped by parachute ! When a bat is thrown out of an airplane at high altitude it freezes to death long before it hits the ground .
Might have been a good plan but ..... the Japanese were not actually afraid of bats ! Apparently , due to Roosevelt's covering-note , OSS Chief Donovan presumed that someone had confirmed the Japanese 'bat-phobia' ! What must the Japanese have thought of three years of being 'bat-bombed'.......?
Saturday, December 20, 2003
STORMONT 'talking-shop' ; not a new failure -
Belfast May 1998 -- Dublin July 1917........
.......the one-hundred-and-five seat 'Irish Convention' was to be heavily-loaded by the British , in their favour - only five seats were ear-marked for Irish Republicans , with the other one-hundred seats to be shared out between professional or 'wanna-be' 'place-seekers'.......
One of the groups in receipt of British largesse (and hoping for more) which was allocated seats at the 'talking-shop' was the business community ( "the fumblers in the greasy till") who were loyal to the half-crown only and who sat beside another group favoured by the Brits - the Irish Unionists .
John Redmond's Irish Parliamentary Party were grateful for the extra income and had no scruples about whose purse it came from ( sound familiar ? ) . The then Sinn Fein organisation dismissed the notion of a British-imposed so-called 'Irish Convention' as a farce , saying its purpose was " to assure the world that England left the Irish to settle the question of government for themselves and they could not agree , " thus 'explaining' to those asking the question of why they were in Ireland at all .
The 'Convention' , like the 1998 Stormont Treaty , was flawed from the start ....... (MORE LATER).
WHERE MOUNTAINY MEN HAVE SOWN :
war and peace in rebel Cork ,
in the turbulent years 1916-21.
By Micheal O'Suilleabhain : published 1965.
1916 AND AFTER.......
".......in the Spring of 1917 , the story of Joe Roche , a local IRA man , was re-called ......."
" Joe and three others met at the Cross and adjourned to a pub for a while , and came out feeling much better . The martial spirit asserted itself . They even felt numerically stronger . They decided that at least they should drill and march through the town . Joe was appointed instructor .
He drilled and dressed his men , first in single file and line , then two deep . And then to the delight of the boys at the corner , Joe shouted : " Form fours ! It must be done , be dammed , boys , although there are only three of ye there ," he added . Here someone suggested that we go through a little drill , as a token for a new start . Six of us were later drilled by my brother Pat . So the start was made .
After that evening men were coming in one by one , until the Company's strength reached its old level . In a few secluded spots we met and drilled . One fine Sunday evening four of us left my uncle's house and strolled along the road to the village . My uncle , Joe Roche , Tadhg Buckley and myself comprised the party . We met a neighbour , on his way home from the Cross , and sat down on top of Achan Riach while talking to him . He told us the news and casually asked us if we were going to Ballyvourney to the play . We knew nothing about it ......." (MORE LATER).
DEMOCRACY AS DEFINED BY 'DEMOCRATS'.......
[from ' The Sunday Tribune ' Magazine , 17th August , 1997 , page 17]
According to the book ' Crimes and Mercies ' , by James Bacque (published by 'Little Brown') , at least 9.3 million German civilians , P O W's and refugees died mostly of starvation on German soil in the aftermath of the 'Second World War ' , between 1945 and 1950 .
The deaths were caused by a planned , man-made 'famine' to which post-war Germany was subjected by the "victorious Allies" -- Britain , the U S A , France and Russia were responsible for the atrocities , which only became known-about in 1989 , via Soviet archives . The Allies took the above action under their 'Morgenthau Plan ' , which was designed to punish Germany with great severity , to reduce its infrastructure , turn the country into a primitive agrarian state and to weaken forever the ambitions of the German people .
The 'Plan' was responsible for the civilian death rate in Germany jumping up from an average of twelve per thousand to around twenty-nine per thousand , and when Goebbels learned of the 'Morgenthau Plan' and told his troops , it struck such fear into them that they fought more fiercly than they had previously !
A massive food-aid operation , set up by Herbert Hoover , failed to reach Germany when one-thousand boxcars and four-hundred trucks with food reached Germany but was turned back by the Allies and returned to its owners .
As the 19th Century humorist Ambrose Bierce put it - " A Christian is one who thinks the Bible is a divinely inspired book admirably suited to the spiritual needs of his neighbour ."
Quite.
Belfast May 1998 -- Dublin July 1917........
.......the one-hundred-and-five seat 'Irish Convention' was to be heavily-loaded by the British , in their favour - only five seats were ear-marked for Irish Republicans , with the other one-hundred seats to be shared out between professional or 'wanna-be' 'place-seekers'.......
One of the groups in receipt of British largesse (and hoping for more) which was allocated seats at the 'talking-shop' was the business community ( "the fumblers in the greasy till") who were loyal to the half-crown only and who sat beside another group favoured by the Brits - the Irish Unionists .
John Redmond's Irish Parliamentary Party were grateful for the extra income and had no scruples about whose purse it came from ( sound familiar ? ) . The then Sinn Fein organisation dismissed the notion of a British-imposed so-called 'Irish Convention' as a farce , saying its purpose was " to assure the world that England left the Irish to settle the question of government for themselves and they could not agree , " thus 'explaining' to those asking the question of why they were in Ireland at all .
The 'Convention' , like the 1998 Stormont Treaty , was flawed from the start ....... (MORE LATER).
WHERE MOUNTAINY MEN HAVE SOWN :
war and peace in rebel Cork ,
in the turbulent years 1916-21.
By Micheal O'Suilleabhain : published 1965.
1916 AND AFTER.......
".......in the Spring of 1917 , the story of Joe Roche , a local IRA man , was re-called ......."
" Joe and three others met at the Cross and adjourned to a pub for a while , and came out feeling much better . The martial spirit asserted itself . They even felt numerically stronger . They decided that at least they should drill and march through the town . Joe was appointed instructor .
He drilled and dressed his men , first in single file and line , then two deep . And then to the delight of the boys at the corner , Joe shouted : " Form fours ! It must be done , be dammed , boys , although there are only three of ye there ," he added . Here someone suggested that we go through a little drill , as a token for a new start . Six of us were later drilled by my brother Pat . So the start was made .
After that evening men were coming in one by one , until the Company's strength reached its old level . In a few secluded spots we met and drilled . One fine Sunday evening four of us left my uncle's house and strolled along the road to the village . My uncle , Joe Roche , Tadhg Buckley and myself comprised the party . We met a neighbour , on his way home from the Cross , and sat down on top of Achan Riach while talking to him . He told us the news and casually asked us if we were going to Ballyvourney to the play . We knew nothing about it ......." (MORE LATER).
DEMOCRACY AS DEFINED BY 'DEMOCRATS'.......
[from ' The Sunday Tribune ' Magazine , 17th August , 1997 , page 17]
According to the book ' Crimes and Mercies ' , by James Bacque (published by 'Little Brown') , at least 9.3 million German civilians , P O W's and refugees died mostly of starvation on German soil in the aftermath of the 'Second World War ' , between 1945 and 1950 .
The deaths were caused by a planned , man-made 'famine' to which post-war Germany was subjected by the "victorious Allies" -- Britain , the U S A , France and Russia were responsible for the atrocities , which only became known-about in 1989 , via Soviet archives . The Allies took the above action under their 'Morgenthau Plan ' , which was designed to punish Germany with great severity , to reduce its infrastructure , turn the country into a primitive agrarian state and to weaken forever the ambitions of the German people .
The 'Plan' was responsible for the civilian death rate in Germany jumping up from an average of twelve per thousand to around twenty-nine per thousand , and when Goebbels learned of the 'Morgenthau Plan' and told his troops , it struck such fear into them that they fought more fiercly than they had previously !
A massive food-aid operation , set up by Herbert Hoover , failed to reach Germany when one-thousand boxcars and four-hundred trucks with food reached Germany but was turned back by the Allies and returned to its owners .
As the 19th Century humorist Ambrose Bierce put it - " A Christian is one who thinks the Bible is a divinely inspired book admirably suited to the spiritual needs of his neighbour ."
Quite.
Friday, December 19, 2003
STORMONT 'talking-shop' ; not a new failure -
Belfast May 1998 -- Dublin July 1917........
.......the Brits decided that it was time to appease international opinion regarding their Irish 'colony' -- in July 1917 , they established a 'talking-shop' in Dublin to give the impression of political movement .......
That month (ie July 1917) , the British Parliament at Westminster gave birth to a bastard offspring - 'The Irish Convention .' Financed by the Brits and convened by their Prime Minister , David Lloyd George , who appointed its Chairperson , 'Sir' Horace Plunkett , the 'Convention' (to consist of one-hundred-and-five members) held its first meeting at Trinity College , Dublin .
At the time , the strongest political organisation in Ireland was the then twelve-years young Sinn Fein grouping , which was allocated only five seats at the 'Convention' -- the British themselves held fifteen seats for their own representatives and , in a rare show of "democracy" , decided that local politicians should also be present (ie Town Mayors and Chairpersons of Councils etc - in short , those who had proved that they were prepared to hang their backbone up with their coat each morning in the expectation that the British would slip them in to a permanent , pensionable position in the British Administration in Ireland .).
(MORE LATER).
WHERE MOUNTAINY MEN HAVE SOWN :
war and peace in rebel Cork ,
in the turbulent years 1916-21.
By Micheal O'Suilleabhain : published 1965.
1916 AND AFTER.......
"....... When she was a younger woman , my grandmother was no stranger to having a go at the British forces of occupation ; she once had at them in her family's yard with a cart-shaft ! I was happy to be preset when , as an old woman nearing death , her son Dan was released from jail by the British ......."
" " Oh Dan ," she cried , " I lived to see you home again . Now won't I be happy going to Kilmurray ! " She talked with us , my mother , my uncle and me , for a long time . Then she lay back smiling and said she would rest . We stole away to the kitchen . In the kitchen there was an old clock . Every week , she reminded me to wind it . " Maybe we will have good news before it is wound again , " she would say .
Ellen Cronin , her nurse , returned to the bedroom again . Soon Ellen called softly to us - " She is dying ," she said when I went with her . " She is sleeping , " I said . We knelt down . We could hear nothing but the gentle breathing and the measured tick of the old clock . Presently I noticed the breathing getting slower , but yet it seemed to me to keep harmony with the clock . Slower and slower , then fainter and fainter .....
.....then - it stopped . And with it stopped the old clock . Old Ellen looked at me - " The clock stopped , " she said . " It did, " I answered . We called my mother and my uncle in from the kitchen . They knelt down with us .
The New Year , 1917 , started quietly . A few Volunteers met at my uncle's house at least once a week and discussed the future . Now and again we opened dumps and cleaned and oiled the guns . One evening in the Spring , seven of us were together . We were in a happy mood . Some one told a story of how Joe Roche , my uncle's man , and three other old-timers met at the Cross ......." (MORE LATER).
NOTE TO ' KOSBIES ' COMMENTATOR (see '1169....' Guestbook , comment dated 18th December).......
....... A reader stated that 'WW1' had not begun at the time that I wrote that the 'KOSBIES' had been shipped-out from Ireland to the Western Front , and stated that I was ignoring that fact in order to maintain an " anti-Brit rant " .
In that particular article , on 15th December last , I wrote that those British Army troops " were shipped-out only days after the incident ......."
I also wrote , on 16th December , that " the 'KOSBIES' were quickly shipped-out of Ireland and sent to the Western Front ......." , as the reader correctly pointed out . I should have made myself clearer and mentioned the dates involved (and the reader in question should have checked said dates him/herself before making their comment) ---
--- The 'KOSBIES' shot forty-one members of the public , in Dublin , on 26th July 1914 ;
The then British Prime Minister , H. H. Asquith , announced on 4th August 1914 that Britain had declared war on Germany ;
The 'KOSBIES' were shipped-out from Ireland on that same date (ie 4th August 1914), and sent to the Western Front . There were already twenty-two thousand soldiers from all parts of Ireland serving in the British Army when the war began , attached to regiments such as the Connaught Rangers , the Munster Fusiliers and the Irish Guards . Thousands more Irishmen took John Redmonds advice and joined up as well . ( Redmond's crew were apparently led to believe that they would be kept together , as an 'Irish Brigade' , with their own special badges and emblems etc , but the British War Office would not allow that to happen .)
And , before I am accused of doing so , I am not suggesting that the Brits declared war on Germany because they wanted a reason to withdraw the 'KOSBIES' from Ireland !
Now that would be an " anti-Brit rant " ! Thanks for reading , and for the comment .......
John Horan. (PS - how's that for " a good trick " ?)
Belfast May 1998 -- Dublin July 1917........
.......the Brits decided that it was time to appease international opinion regarding their Irish 'colony' -- in July 1917 , they established a 'talking-shop' in Dublin to give the impression of political movement .......
That month (ie July 1917) , the British Parliament at Westminster gave birth to a bastard offspring - 'The Irish Convention .' Financed by the Brits and convened by their Prime Minister , David Lloyd George , who appointed its Chairperson , 'Sir' Horace Plunkett , the 'Convention' (to consist of one-hundred-and-five members) held its first meeting at Trinity College , Dublin .
At the time , the strongest political organisation in Ireland was the then twelve-years young Sinn Fein grouping , which was allocated only five seats at the 'Convention' -- the British themselves held fifteen seats for their own representatives and , in a rare show of "democracy" , decided that local politicians should also be present (ie Town Mayors and Chairpersons of Councils etc - in short , those who had proved that they were prepared to hang their backbone up with their coat each morning in the expectation that the British would slip them in to a permanent , pensionable position in the British Administration in Ireland .).
(MORE LATER).
WHERE MOUNTAINY MEN HAVE SOWN :
war and peace in rebel Cork ,
in the turbulent years 1916-21.
By Micheal O'Suilleabhain : published 1965.
1916 AND AFTER.......
"....... When she was a younger woman , my grandmother was no stranger to having a go at the British forces of occupation ; she once had at them in her family's yard with a cart-shaft ! I was happy to be preset when , as an old woman nearing death , her son Dan was released from jail by the British ......."
" " Oh Dan ," she cried , " I lived to see you home again . Now won't I be happy going to Kilmurray ! " She talked with us , my mother , my uncle and me , for a long time . Then she lay back smiling and said she would rest . We stole away to the kitchen . In the kitchen there was an old clock . Every week , she reminded me to wind it . " Maybe we will have good news before it is wound again , " she would say .
Ellen Cronin , her nurse , returned to the bedroom again . Soon Ellen called softly to us - " She is dying ," she said when I went with her . " She is sleeping , " I said . We knelt down . We could hear nothing but the gentle breathing and the measured tick of the old clock . Presently I noticed the breathing getting slower , but yet it seemed to me to keep harmony with the clock . Slower and slower , then fainter and fainter .....
.....then - it stopped . And with it stopped the old clock . Old Ellen looked at me - " The clock stopped , " she said . " It did, " I answered . We called my mother and my uncle in from the kitchen . They knelt down with us .
The New Year , 1917 , started quietly . A few Volunteers met at my uncle's house at least once a week and discussed the future . Now and again we opened dumps and cleaned and oiled the guns . One evening in the Spring , seven of us were together . We were in a happy mood . Some one told a story of how Joe Roche , my uncle's man , and three other old-timers met at the Cross ......." (MORE LATER).
NOTE TO ' KOSBIES ' COMMENTATOR (see '1169....' Guestbook , comment dated 18th December).......
....... A reader stated that 'WW1' had not begun at the time that I wrote that the 'KOSBIES' had been shipped-out from Ireland to the Western Front , and stated that I was ignoring that fact in order to maintain an " anti-Brit rant " .
In that particular article , on 15th December last , I wrote that those British Army troops " were shipped-out only days after the incident ......."
I also wrote , on 16th December , that " the 'KOSBIES' were quickly shipped-out of Ireland and sent to the Western Front ......." , as the reader correctly pointed out . I should have made myself clearer and mentioned the dates involved (and the reader in question should have checked said dates him/herself before making their comment) ---
--- The 'KOSBIES' shot forty-one members of the public , in Dublin , on 26th July 1914 ;
The then British Prime Minister , H. H. Asquith , announced on 4th August 1914 that Britain had declared war on Germany ;
The 'KOSBIES' were shipped-out from Ireland on that same date (ie 4th August 1914), and sent to the Western Front . There were already twenty-two thousand soldiers from all parts of Ireland serving in the British Army when the war began , attached to regiments such as the Connaught Rangers , the Munster Fusiliers and the Irish Guards . Thousands more Irishmen took John Redmonds advice and joined up as well . ( Redmond's crew were apparently led to believe that they would be kept together , as an 'Irish Brigade' , with their own special badges and emblems etc , but the British War Office would not allow that to happen .)
And , before I am accused of doing so , I am not suggesting that the Brits declared war on Germany because they wanted a reason to withdraw the 'KOSBIES' from Ireland !
Now that would be an " anti-Brit rant " ! Thanks for reading , and for the comment .......
John Horan. (PS - how's that for " a good trick " ?)
Thursday, December 18, 2003
STORMONT 'talking-shop' ; not a new failure -
Belfast May 1998 -- Dublin July 1917........
.......the Brits were losing the propaganda war in Ireland ; the 1916 Rising had ensured that international attention was still directed on this country , and the pro-Brit Irish Parliamentary Party was losing the last of its credibility .......
The focus now for the British was to get world opinion , if not actually on its side then at least neutralised or dis-interested and , at the same time , shore-up those in the colony that are eager to be placed in the new order (ie in the early 20th Century , the most prominent 'place-seekers' would have been the 'Irish Parliamentary Party' ; today , in the early 21st Century , it is Provisional Sinn Fein ).
From the British point of view , a ' Parliament ' (of sorts) was the ideal solution (sound familiar ?) --- if established 'correctly' and guided by a hidden-hand , it could boost the profile of the 'place-seekers' and , at the same time , give the impression to on-lookers that the British were indeed just an "honest broker" , trying to bring peace to the unruly natives . And so an earlier version of the present-day Stormont Parliament was born ....... (MORE LATER).
WHERE MOUNTAINY MEN HAVE SOWN :
war and peace in rebel Cork ,
in the turbulent years 1916-21.
By Micheal O'Suilleabhain : published 1965.
1916 AND AFTER.......
".......my uncle's mother , my grandmother , was very old and near death . She was adamant that she should live long enough to see her son , Dan , come home to her from the British prison he was in ......."
"....... " When he comes home , " she used to say , " then ye can carry me to Kilmurray ." I had stayed with her while Dan was away , and the house was often raided and searched by the British military and police . Very early in the morning they invariably came . From her bed in a room below she would call upstairs to me :
-- : " Mick , you must come down to admit the ragged regiment !" This was a term of contempt for the forces of the crown in the Land War . She had seen 'famine' , Fenians , evictions and emigration , and many were the stories I heard from her of the " bad times . " My mother told me how , once , in a fight with the British police and bailiffs for possession of cattle in the yard of her home , my grandmother , then a young woman , took a decisive part .
The men of the family were being forced backwards . She rushed into the yard and , seizing an old cart by the two shafts , she pressed them apart . One gave way before the strength of her fury . Grasping it with both hands , she rushed on the enemy . Her example carried the day . I was present to witness her triumph at Dan's homecoming ......." (MORE LATER).
NOT ON .......
[from ' The Irish News ' newspaper , 3rd February , 1997]
....... " We know there are two roads before us . One is the road to further conflict and the other is the road to the negotiating table . We have declared ourselves and now re-declare ourselves in favour of travelling to the negotiating table . There is nowhere else for us to go . "
--- so said Martin McGuinness , Provisional Sinn Fein , ex-British Minister for Agriculture and Education in the ex-Stormont 'Parliament' .
Tell ya where else you can go , Marty - to your British-funded holiday home in Donegal ; we'll send ya a postcard now and then - let you know how the struggle is going.......
.......THE ONE ROAD ---->
[from ' SAOIRSE ' , Irish Republican newspaper , March , 1997 , page 15]
<---- Prior to his execution on 7th May , 1916 , Eamon Ceannt , one of the leaders of the 1916 Rising , stated ---
" I leave for the guidance of other Revolutionaries who may tread the path which I have trod . Never treat with the enemy - never surrender to his mercy ; fight to the finish . Nothing can be gained by any other means . "
Martin , Gerry and company - hang your heads in shame.......
Belfast May 1998 -- Dublin July 1917........
.......the Brits were losing the propaganda war in Ireland ; the 1916 Rising had ensured that international attention was still directed on this country , and the pro-Brit Irish Parliamentary Party was losing the last of its credibility .......
The focus now for the British was to get world opinion , if not actually on its side then at least neutralised or dis-interested and , at the same time , shore-up those in the colony that are eager to be placed in the new order (ie in the early 20th Century , the most prominent 'place-seekers' would have been the 'Irish Parliamentary Party' ; today , in the early 21st Century , it is Provisional Sinn Fein ).
From the British point of view , a ' Parliament ' (of sorts) was the ideal solution (sound familiar ?) --- if established 'correctly' and guided by a hidden-hand , it could boost the profile of the 'place-seekers' and , at the same time , give the impression to on-lookers that the British were indeed just an "honest broker" , trying to bring peace to the unruly natives . And so an earlier version of the present-day Stormont Parliament was born ....... (MORE LATER).
WHERE MOUNTAINY MEN HAVE SOWN :
war and peace in rebel Cork ,
in the turbulent years 1916-21.
By Micheal O'Suilleabhain : published 1965.
1916 AND AFTER.......
".......my uncle's mother , my grandmother , was very old and near death . She was adamant that she should live long enough to see her son , Dan , come home to her from the British prison he was in ......."
"....... " When he comes home , " she used to say , " then ye can carry me to Kilmurray ." I had stayed with her while Dan was away , and the house was often raided and searched by the British military and police . Very early in the morning they invariably came . From her bed in a room below she would call upstairs to me :
-- : " Mick , you must come down to admit the ragged regiment !" This was a term of contempt for the forces of the crown in the Land War . She had seen 'famine' , Fenians , evictions and emigration , and many were the stories I heard from her of the " bad times . " My mother told me how , once , in a fight with the British police and bailiffs for possession of cattle in the yard of her home , my grandmother , then a young woman , took a decisive part .
The men of the family were being forced backwards . She rushed into the yard and , seizing an old cart by the two shafts , she pressed them apart . One gave way before the strength of her fury . Grasping it with both hands , she rushed on the enemy . Her example carried the day . I was present to witness her triumph at Dan's homecoming ......." (MORE LATER).
NOT ON .......
[from ' The Irish News ' newspaper , 3rd February , 1997]
....... " We know there are two roads before us . One is the road to further conflict and the other is the road to the negotiating table . We have declared ourselves and now re-declare ourselves in favour of travelling to the negotiating table . There is nowhere else for us to go . "
--- so said Martin McGuinness , Provisional Sinn Fein , ex-British Minister for Agriculture and Education in the ex-Stormont 'Parliament' .
Tell ya where else you can go , Marty - to your British-funded holiday home in Donegal ; we'll send ya a postcard now and then - let you know how the struggle is going.......
.......THE ONE ROAD ---->
[from ' SAOIRSE ' , Irish Republican newspaper , March , 1997 , page 15]
<---- Prior to his execution on 7th May , 1916 , Eamon Ceannt , one of the leaders of the 1916 Rising , stated ---
" I leave for the guidance of other Revolutionaries who may tread the path which I have trod . Never treat with the enemy - never surrender to his mercy ; fight to the finish . Nothing can be gained by any other means . "
Martin , Gerry and company - hang your heads in shame.......
Wednesday, December 17, 2003
STORMONT 'talking-shop' ; not a new failure -
Belfast May 1998 -- Dublin July 1917.
To paraphrase - ' Buy one half of your opposition and use them , and your own forces , to intimidate the remainder .'
Cruel , heartless , immoral and devious they are , without question , but not stupid - the British have centuries of experience to draw from in their colonial wars and conquests .
In 1917 , as had happened before and would happen again , the British felt they were losing the propaganda war in regards to Ireland ; one of their support networks in this country , John Redmond's ' Irish Parliamentary Party ' was rapidly losing credibility (the 1916 Rising had embarrassed them) and public opinion in America (and elsewhere) was turning against Westminster .
The Brits had been down this road before , and realised that they had to be at least seen to be doing something about what they referred to as " the Irish problem " ; time for ' a new coat of varnish ....... ' (MORE LATER).
WHERE MOUNTAINY MEN HAVE SOWN :
war and peace in rebel Cork ,
in the turbulent years 1916-21.
By Micheal O'Suilleabhain : published 1965.
1916 AND AFTER .......
".......my brother quickly organised twelve armed IRA Volunteers and set-out to free my uncle from his RIC prison-cell ; but the British police had borrowed a car from a local (Catholic) hotel owner and transported their two Republican prisoners to Cork city ....... "
" We were , with the Macroom Volunteers , numerically superior to the RIC in the barracks there . Any attempt to remove the prisoners would have been doomed to failure had we arrived in time . Indeed , the attempt would have been very welcome to us as it would mean their leaving the shelter of their barracks to face the shotguns in a narrow street .
After the removal of the prisoners it would appear that a few shoneen young men of the town repaired to the barracks and offered their services to defend the building against the Volunteers . We were later to meet and suitably reward them for their generous impulse .
My uncle saw the inside of many British gaols and finally the camps of Frongoch . Christmas was over when he reached home again . His mother , my grandmother , was there to welcome him . She had been living at home with us , but when she heard of her son's arrest she insisted on going back to the old home and remaining there until he returned . She was very old and her time had come to die , but she insisted that she would live until Dan came home ......."
DEMOCRACY MY ARSE .......
[from ' Hot Press ' magazine , 20th October , 1988 , page 46]
When he was the President of South Africa , P W Botha delivered a speech to a Provincial Congress of the so-called National Party on 15th August , 1985 , during which he stated that the principal " of one man (sic) one vote would lead to the domination of one racial group over the others and it would lead to chaos . " !!
So the obvious answer was - Apartheid ! And no way did that lead to " the (enforced) domination of one racial group over the others " resulting in " chaos . "
And LOOK ---> there goes another flying pig , on its way to HELL , which recently FROZE over .......
Belfast May 1998 -- Dublin July 1917.
To paraphrase - ' Buy one half of your opposition and use them , and your own forces , to intimidate the remainder .'
Cruel , heartless , immoral and devious they are , without question , but not stupid - the British have centuries of experience to draw from in their colonial wars and conquests .
In 1917 , as had happened before and would happen again , the British felt they were losing the propaganda war in regards to Ireland ; one of their support networks in this country , John Redmond's ' Irish Parliamentary Party ' was rapidly losing credibility (the 1916 Rising had embarrassed them) and public opinion in America (and elsewhere) was turning against Westminster .
The Brits had been down this road before , and realised that they had to be at least seen to be doing something about what they referred to as " the Irish problem " ; time for ' a new coat of varnish ....... ' (MORE LATER).
WHERE MOUNTAINY MEN HAVE SOWN :
war and peace in rebel Cork ,
in the turbulent years 1916-21.
By Micheal O'Suilleabhain : published 1965.
1916 AND AFTER .......
".......my brother quickly organised twelve armed IRA Volunteers and set-out to free my uncle from his RIC prison-cell ; but the British police had borrowed a car from a local (Catholic) hotel owner and transported their two Republican prisoners to Cork city ....... "
" We were , with the Macroom Volunteers , numerically superior to the RIC in the barracks there . Any attempt to remove the prisoners would have been doomed to failure had we arrived in time . Indeed , the attempt would have been very welcome to us as it would mean their leaving the shelter of their barracks to face the shotguns in a narrow street .
After the removal of the prisoners it would appear that a few shoneen young men of the town repaired to the barracks and offered their services to defend the building against the Volunteers . We were later to meet and suitably reward them for their generous impulse .
My uncle saw the inside of many British gaols and finally the camps of Frongoch . Christmas was over when he reached home again . His mother , my grandmother , was there to welcome him . She had been living at home with us , but when she heard of her son's arrest she insisted on going back to the old home and remaining there until he returned . She was very old and her time had come to die , but she insisted that she would live until Dan came home ......."
DEMOCRACY MY ARSE .......
[from ' Hot Press ' magazine , 20th October , 1988 , page 46]
When he was the President of South Africa , P W Botha delivered a speech to a Provincial Congress of the so-called National Party on 15th August , 1985 , during which he stated that the principal " of one man (sic) one vote would lead to the domination of one racial group over the others and it would lead to chaos . " !!
So the obvious answer was - Apartheid ! And no way did that lead to " the (enforced) domination of one racial group over the others " resulting in " chaos . "
And LOOK ---> there goes another flying pig , on its way to HELL , which recently FROZE over .......
Tuesday, December 16, 2003
SUNDAY , 26TH JULY , 1914 - ON THE DUBLIN QUAYS ; BRITISH SOLDIERS OPEN FIRE .......
.......the British gunmen , the 'KOSBIES' , were quickly shipped out of Ireland and sent to the Western Front ; the unarmed citizens they massacred on Sunday , 26th July were buried on the 29th July . Thousands of people attended the funerals.......
Dublin city came to a standstill as thousands upon thousands of people filled the footpaths along the funeral route , from the Pro-Cathedral to Glasnevin Cemetery . An armed Company of Irish Volunteers , with weapons reversed , led the mourners to the gravesides .
While the British Administration claim jurisdiction over any part of Ireland , and maintain and enforce that jurisdictional claim with an armed presence , the incident outlined above can happen again . That British claim must be dropped and the armed thugs enforcing same must be re-called to their own country . Any other 'solution' only postpones peace.......
[END].
WHERE MOUNTAINY MEN HAVE SOWN :
war and peace in rebel Cork ,
in the turbulent years 1916-21.
By Micheal O'Suilleabhain : published 1965.
".......on his way to a funeral in Ballyvourney , my uncle and a comrade , both unarmed , were arrested by the RIC . I was sent , by my brother , to my uncle's house at Knocksaharing while the Volunteers got organised ......."
" When I reached the house , I found the key where my uncle always hid it . Then I found that the lock had been broken and when I went in I knew that the place had been raided by the police . Joe Roche , a Volunteer who worked for my uncle now arrived . Joe explained to me how , before going to the funeral , they had removed all the guns from the house and dumped them temporarily . That was very satisfactory . We hurried back to the village .
Twelve men were now assembled under arms . My brother led us down the road towards Macroom . He had sent a Volunteer on a bicycle ahead to request the Macroom Company to hold the railway station . This they did . The police , aware of the move and having no car of their own available , asked a Protestant hotel keeper for a car to drive the prisoners to Cork . He refused . They next asked the Catholic hotel keeper - he drove the car himself . Thus it happened that halfway to Macroom a Volunteer cyclist met us with the news that my uncle and his comrade had already been taken away to Cork.
Another disappointment . Had the miserable hotel keeper refused the use of his car as the other decent man had done , and delayed the matter for half an hour , things would have been different . " (MORE LATER).
Free State Detectives always get their man .......
[from ' The Evening Press ' newspaper , 10th October - a Monday , if memory serves - 1983]
A man handed over two firearms to the ' Irish Press ' newspaper Office last night (ie Sunday , 9th October , 1983) ; a double-barrell shotgun (number JU 35590) and a Browning handgun (number filed off) .
The man said the gun's were given to him by two detectives , who wanted him to "plant" them in a car belonging to a criminal they named . The detectives offered him £3000 (Euro 3809) and a guarantee that the on-going harassment against him , his wife , children and mother-in-law would stop .
The two cops said they could organise a key for the car in question , if he had any difficulty . The man took the guns , intending to do the job , but then changed his mind .
How many others went ahead with the job ? If 'ordinary' detectives will do that to what they describe as an 'ODC' , how far has the political police in this State gone to 'nail' a "subversive" .......?
.......the British gunmen , the 'KOSBIES' , were quickly shipped out of Ireland and sent to the Western Front ; the unarmed citizens they massacred on Sunday , 26th July were buried on the 29th July . Thousands of people attended the funerals.......
Dublin city came to a standstill as thousands upon thousands of people filled the footpaths along the funeral route , from the Pro-Cathedral to Glasnevin Cemetery . An armed Company of Irish Volunteers , with weapons reversed , led the mourners to the gravesides .
While the British Administration claim jurisdiction over any part of Ireland , and maintain and enforce that jurisdictional claim with an armed presence , the incident outlined above can happen again . That British claim must be dropped and the armed thugs enforcing same must be re-called to their own country . Any other 'solution' only postpones peace.......
[END].
WHERE MOUNTAINY MEN HAVE SOWN :
war and peace in rebel Cork ,
in the turbulent years 1916-21.
By Micheal O'Suilleabhain : published 1965.
".......on his way to a funeral in Ballyvourney , my uncle and a comrade , both unarmed , were arrested by the RIC . I was sent , by my brother , to my uncle's house at Knocksaharing while the Volunteers got organised ......."
" When I reached the house , I found the key where my uncle always hid it . Then I found that the lock had been broken and when I went in I knew that the place had been raided by the police . Joe Roche , a Volunteer who worked for my uncle now arrived . Joe explained to me how , before going to the funeral , they had removed all the guns from the house and dumped them temporarily . That was very satisfactory . We hurried back to the village .
Twelve men were now assembled under arms . My brother led us down the road towards Macroom . He had sent a Volunteer on a bicycle ahead to request the Macroom Company to hold the railway station . This they did . The police , aware of the move and having no car of their own available , asked a Protestant hotel keeper for a car to drive the prisoners to Cork . He refused . They next asked the Catholic hotel keeper - he drove the car himself . Thus it happened that halfway to Macroom a Volunteer cyclist met us with the news that my uncle and his comrade had already been taken away to Cork.
Another disappointment . Had the miserable hotel keeper refused the use of his car as the other decent man had done , and delayed the matter for half an hour , things would have been different . " (MORE LATER).
Free State Detectives always get their man .......
[from ' The Evening Press ' newspaper , 10th October - a Monday , if memory serves - 1983]
A man handed over two firearms to the ' Irish Press ' newspaper Office last night (ie Sunday , 9th October , 1983) ; a double-barrell shotgun (number JU 35590) and a Browning handgun (number filed off) .
The man said the gun's were given to him by two detectives , who wanted him to "plant" them in a car belonging to a criminal they named . The detectives offered him £3000 (Euro 3809) and a guarantee that the on-going harassment against him , his wife , children and mother-in-law would stop .
The two cops said they could organise a key for the car in question , if he had any difficulty . The man took the guns , intending to do the job , but then changed his mind .
How many others went ahead with the job ? If 'ordinary' detectives will do that to what they describe as an 'ODC' , how far has the political police in this State gone to 'nail' a "subversive" .......?
Monday, December 15, 2003
SUNDAY , 26TH JULY , 1914 - ON THE DUBLIN QUAYS ; BRITISH SOLDIERS OPEN FIRE .......
......the British troops , usually either feared or ignored by the Irish , had reached breaking-point and opened fire on the public . Forty-one people were hit , four of whom died : there was uproar , so the Brits set-up a 'Commission of Inquiry' into the shootings.......
As expected , the ' Commission of Inquiry ' was nothing of the sort . In August that year (1914) the Brits announced the findings of same -- it amounted to a mere ' slap-on-the-wrist ' for those who pulled the triggers . The 'Commission' simply stated that the actions of their gunmen on that day , Sunday , 26th July , 1914 , was " questionable and tainted with illegality " and scolded their soldiers for " a lack of control and discipline " !
The British Army soldiers responsible for the massacre , the 'Kings Own Scottish Borderers' (the 'KOSBIES') , within hours following the shootings , found themselves even more reviled by the Irish than they had been - their very presence on the street now guaranteed trouble .
They were shipped out only days after the incident , to the Western Front . The Irish , meanwhile , had buried their dead : on 29th July , 1914 , literally thousands of Irish people followed the coffins of those shot dead three days earlier ....... (MORE LATER).
WHERE MOUNTAINY MEN HAVE SOWN :
war and peace in rebel Cork ,
in the turbulent years 1916-21.
By Micheal O'Suilleabhain : published 1965.
1916 AND AFTER.......
"....... Sunday , 23rd April 1916 ; at Carriganimma we heard about the arms-ship ' THE AUD '......."
" We heard of her long period of waiting for men who did not come to take the arms from her . We heard of the capture of 'THE AUD' , the landing and capture of Roger Casement , and the accidental drowning of the three Volunteers at Ballykissane Pier .
We returned home in bad spirits , my uncle especially so . We pitied him , since he had waited a long time for that day . The following day we heard nothing . Next we heard newspaper accounts of the Rising , but nothing through Volunteer channels . My uncle still kept vigil with his small garrison . On Thursday he went to a funeral at Ballyvourney , four miles distant . He was not armed .
A party of RIC arrested him and a Volunteer who accompanied him . Both were taken handcuffed in a motor-car to Macroom . We heard the news at home . My brother ordered me off to my uncle's house at Knocksaharing , and rushed out to mobilise some men of the Company ......." (MORE LATER).
7 of 9 - A FLYER , BUT NOT REAL ;
4 of 25 - REAL , BUT NOT A FLYER.......
[from ' THE EVENING PRESS ' newspaper , 16th September , 1988 - a Friday , I believe - page 5]
According to a book entitled ' Landslide : The Unmaking of The President 1984 - 1988 ' , by Jane Mayer and Doyle McManus (Washington journalists) , Ronald Reagan " was lazy . He was'nt interested in the job . All he wanted to do was watch movies and television . "
U S Chief of Staff Howard Baker (who replaced Donald Regan) briefly considered a proposal that the U S Constitution's 25th Amendment be invoked to remove Ronald Reagan from Office .
Baker's aid , James Cannon , sent Baker a memorandum on 1st March 1987 stating - " Consider the possibility that Section 4 of the 25th Amendment to the Constitution might be applied . "
The '25th' provides that a U S President can be removed from Office if the Vice-President and a majority of the Cabinet certify he is unable to perform his duties ! When questioned about Cannon's memo , Ronald Reagan replied - " No truth at all ."
Or , then again , maybe Nancy kept the truth of it from her husband . Or perhaps the pair of them were'nt worried about how it would all pan out as they had read it beforehand in the stars . Or was it the tealeaves ?
......the British troops , usually either feared or ignored by the Irish , had reached breaking-point and opened fire on the public . Forty-one people were hit , four of whom died : there was uproar , so the Brits set-up a 'Commission of Inquiry' into the shootings.......
As expected , the ' Commission of Inquiry ' was nothing of the sort . In August that year (1914) the Brits announced the findings of same -- it amounted to a mere ' slap-on-the-wrist ' for those who pulled the triggers . The 'Commission' simply stated that the actions of their gunmen on that day , Sunday , 26th July , 1914 , was " questionable and tainted with illegality " and scolded their soldiers for " a lack of control and discipline " !
The British Army soldiers responsible for the massacre , the 'Kings Own Scottish Borderers' (the 'KOSBIES') , within hours following the shootings , found themselves even more reviled by the Irish than they had been - their very presence on the street now guaranteed trouble .
They were shipped out only days after the incident , to the Western Front . The Irish , meanwhile , had buried their dead : on 29th July , 1914 , literally thousands of Irish people followed the coffins of those shot dead three days earlier ....... (MORE LATER).
WHERE MOUNTAINY MEN HAVE SOWN :
war and peace in rebel Cork ,
in the turbulent years 1916-21.
By Micheal O'Suilleabhain : published 1965.
1916 AND AFTER.......
"....... Sunday , 23rd April 1916 ; at Carriganimma we heard about the arms-ship ' THE AUD '......."
" We heard of her long period of waiting for men who did not come to take the arms from her . We heard of the capture of 'THE AUD' , the landing and capture of Roger Casement , and the accidental drowning of the three Volunteers at Ballykissane Pier .
We returned home in bad spirits , my uncle especially so . We pitied him , since he had waited a long time for that day . The following day we heard nothing . Next we heard newspaper accounts of the Rising , but nothing through Volunteer channels . My uncle still kept vigil with his small garrison . On Thursday he went to a funeral at Ballyvourney , four miles distant . He was not armed .
A party of RIC arrested him and a Volunteer who accompanied him . Both were taken handcuffed in a motor-car to Macroom . We heard the news at home . My brother ordered me off to my uncle's house at Knocksaharing , and rushed out to mobilise some men of the Company ......." (MORE LATER).
7 of 9 - A FLYER , BUT NOT REAL ;
4 of 25 - REAL , BUT NOT A FLYER.......
[from ' THE EVENING PRESS ' newspaper , 16th September , 1988 - a Friday , I believe - page 5]
According to a book entitled ' Landslide : The Unmaking of The President 1984 - 1988 ' , by Jane Mayer and Doyle McManus (Washington journalists) , Ronald Reagan " was lazy . He was'nt interested in the job . All he wanted to do was watch movies and television . "
U S Chief of Staff Howard Baker (who replaced Donald Regan) briefly considered a proposal that the U S Constitution's 25th Amendment be invoked to remove Ronald Reagan from Office .
Baker's aid , James Cannon , sent Baker a memorandum on 1st March 1987 stating - " Consider the possibility that Section 4 of the 25th Amendment to the Constitution might be applied . "
The '25th' provides that a U S President can be removed from Office if the Vice-President and a majority of the Cabinet certify he is unable to perform his duties ! When questioned about Cannon's memo , Ronald Reagan replied - " No truth at all ."
Or , then again , maybe Nancy kept the truth of it from her husband . Or perhaps the pair of them were'nt worried about how it would all pan out as they had read it beforehand in the stars . Or was it the tealeaves ?
Sunday, December 14, 2003
SUNDAY , 26TH JULY , 1914 - ON THE DUBLIN QUAYS ; BRITISH SOLDIERS OPEN FIRE .......
.......word travelled quickly that the Brits had been out-foxed ; the British military contingent were making their way back into Dublin city centre accompanied by dozens of on-lookers , all laughing at their mis-fortune , and the footpaths were lined with Irish families , slagging the Brits .......
The Brits were by now near breaking-point ; they were more accustomed to being feared or, at best , ignored , by the public , and were seething with rage now that they were being laughed at by them . An Officer in charge felt the same .......
This British Army Officer ordered one line of his men (approximately twenty soldiers) to halt and turn to face the jeering crowd ; when the soldiers had done as commanded , he instructed them to " ready weapons " and fire on the crowd , if he so ordered . It is not clear whether the order to " fire " was given or not but , regardless , the Brits did open fire - the people on the footpaths - men , women and children - were easy targets .
Forty-one people were hit : a man in his mid-forties died on the spot , as did a woman in her early fifties , and a teenage boy . Of the other thirty-eight people , one died later . Such was the outcry from Ireland and abroad , the British Government decided to hold a so-called ' Commission of Inquiry ' into the shooting -- in August that year (1914) the Brits announced their conclusion ....... (MORE LATER).
WHERE MOUNTAINY MEN HAVE SOWN :
war and peace in rebel Cork ,
in the turbulent years 1916-21.
By Micheal O'Suilleabhain : published 1965.
1916 AND AFTER
" A few weeks before the 1916 Rising , my uncle , taking with him five Volunteers , raided the houses of everyone known to possess firearms in the district . He collected a large number of shotguns . He then proceeded to put his own house into a state of defence . It was a farmhouse where he lived alone and a mile distant from the village .
I visited him daily . Four or five armed Volunteers were with him night and day . Evidently he was waiting for something to happen . The windows were barricaded and shotguns lay on the tables , all loaded . Sunday , 23rd April came . After first Mass , the IRA Company , each man armed with either a shotgun or a pike and carrying a full day's rations , left the village .
We went the nearest way to Millstreet . At Carriganimma we halted . There came the news of the disaster in Kerry and of the coming from Germany of the 'AUD' . We heard of how the arms ship , having successfully evaded the British blockade , reached Tralee bay ......." (MORE LATER).
FAIRYTALES FROM THE LAND WHERE THE SUN NEVER SETS .......
[from ' The Evening Press ' newspaper , 4th October , 1988 - a Tuesday , if memory serves - page 8]
Barbara Cartland , the novelist and step-grandmother of the late British Princess Diana began a campaign to stop black families from living near her country mansion !
In an interview at her Herefordshire Estate luxury pile , she stated -- " You don't want blacks all over the place . This is part of the heritage of England , don't you see ? It makes me very angry . "
Ah now stall the ball there a mo , Babs ; sure is'nt it part of your " British heritage " to invade other countries , steal their goodies , enslave the men and rape the women ?
And then tell the poor unfortunates that they are now part of " The British Empire ?
Sure ya can hardly blame them (black , white , yellow or whatever colour they are ) for wanting to live on what you people refer to as "the Mainland" , now can ya ?
Bejasus , Babs , ye could nearly write a book 'bout it .......
.......word travelled quickly that the Brits had been out-foxed ; the British military contingent were making their way back into Dublin city centre accompanied by dozens of on-lookers , all laughing at their mis-fortune , and the footpaths were lined with Irish families , slagging the Brits .......
The Brits were by now near breaking-point ; they were more accustomed to being feared or, at best , ignored , by the public , and were seething with rage now that they were being laughed at by them . An Officer in charge felt the same .......
This British Army Officer ordered one line of his men (approximately twenty soldiers) to halt and turn to face the jeering crowd ; when the soldiers had done as commanded , he instructed them to " ready weapons " and fire on the crowd , if he so ordered . It is not clear whether the order to " fire " was given or not but , regardless , the Brits did open fire - the people on the footpaths - men , women and children - were easy targets .
Forty-one people were hit : a man in his mid-forties died on the spot , as did a woman in her early fifties , and a teenage boy . Of the other thirty-eight people , one died later . Such was the outcry from Ireland and abroad , the British Government decided to hold a so-called ' Commission of Inquiry ' into the shooting -- in August that year (1914) the Brits announced their conclusion ....... (MORE LATER).
WHERE MOUNTAINY MEN HAVE SOWN :
war and peace in rebel Cork ,
in the turbulent years 1916-21.
By Micheal O'Suilleabhain : published 1965.
1916 AND AFTER
" A few weeks before the 1916 Rising , my uncle , taking with him five Volunteers , raided the houses of everyone known to possess firearms in the district . He collected a large number of shotguns . He then proceeded to put his own house into a state of defence . It was a farmhouse where he lived alone and a mile distant from the village .
I visited him daily . Four or five armed Volunteers were with him night and day . Evidently he was waiting for something to happen . The windows were barricaded and shotguns lay on the tables , all loaded . Sunday , 23rd April came . After first Mass , the IRA Company , each man armed with either a shotgun or a pike and carrying a full day's rations , left the village .
We went the nearest way to Millstreet . At Carriganimma we halted . There came the news of the disaster in Kerry and of the coming from Germany of the 'AUD' . We heard of how the arms ship , having successfully evaded the British blockade , reached Tralee bay ......." (MORE LATER).
FAIRYTALES FROM THE LAND WHERE THE SUN NEVER SETS .......
[from ' The Evening Press ' newspaper , 4th October , 1988 - a Tuesday , if memory serves - page 8]
Barbara Cartland , the novelist and step-grandmother of the late British Princess Diana began a campaign to stop black families from living near her country mansion !
In an interview at her Herefordshire Estate luxury pile , she stated -- " You don't want blacks all over the place . This is part of the heritage of England , don't you see ? It makes me very angry . "
Ah now stall the ball there a mo , Babs ; sure is'nt it part of your " British heritage " to invade other countries , steal their goodies , enslave the men and rape the women ?
And then tell the poor unfortunates that they are now part of " The British Empire ?
Sure ya can hardly blame them (black , white , yellow or whatever colour they are ) for wanting to live on what you people refer to as "the Mainland" , now can ya ?
Bejasus , Babs , ye could nearly write a book 'bout it .......
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