Yet another Irish rebel not afforded a proper mention in our history books....

A child born at Ballaghadereen , County Mayo, in 1840, grew up to be one of the most determined Irish rebels of his generation ; he was what would be known today as a 'public relations consultant', but did not use his 'people' skills for personal gain - he used his gift in the service of the Irish struggle , which he had devoted himself to.
By 1863, at just 23 years young, Edward Duffy was full-time Organiser for the Fenians in Connaught. In August 1865 , the British launched an offensive against the Fenians and the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB) - through the use of informers , the British were aware that at least 85,000 rebels were prepared to fight in Ireland under the command of James Stephens, the Fenian leader, who was in contact with supporters in America for arms and equipment for that body of men; trained soldiers in America had also offered their service to the Irish cause.
(Periodicals of the time also mentioned the hundreds of ex-Union and Confederate army men that were in Ireland- a show of strength which worried the British). The IRB's newspaper, 'The Irish People' , was closed down in September 1865 by the British , and Edward Duffy and James Stephens went on the run , but were arrested on 11th November 1865 at Fairfield House in Sandymount, Dublin - both men were locked up in Richmond Jail; but not for long ..... (MORE LATER)>


"My thoughts were of my home and family , my wife and son. I tried to visualise the fading faces of my mother and father whom I have not seen for a long time , whom I fear I will not see again. Then came an old companion of mine: depression !
It tore at my heart and engulfed me with its unseen shroud of misery. The more I thought of home and family, the deeper I plunged into its darkest depths".
----'The writings of Bobby Sands' , April 1981 , and first published in 'Republican News' on 6th January 1979. (Will finish above paragraph tomorrow ...)


In 1854, a dispute arose between the U S Army and the Lakota Sioux over the theft of a single cow . The Lakota leader offered two cows to replace it , but the army lieutenant refused the offer, and demanded the surrender of the warrior who had stolen the cow -when his demand was refused , and without any warning, he ordered his soldiers to shoot the Sioux leader, which they did. The ensuing massacre of the soldiers led to 35 years of war !
(MORE LATER)>>

...after his death in 1820, it was disclosed that Leonard McNally had been an informer against the 'United Irishmen' and the IRB for twenty-six years ....

It also emerged that McNally, who had been passing information to the British since 1794, had used his position with the Irish rebels and the British to make even more money for himself ; He had actually charged the going rate to the rebels he defended in court while at the same time selling their defence details to the British !
This despicable and wretched individual died on the 13th February , 1820 . Roaring , I hope .....


"What is 1066, I think ? Obviously it is me, but I can think, speak, smell and touch . I have all my senses, therefore I am not a number , I am not 1066, I am human, I am not a number, I am not 1066 !. Who , or what, is a'Sir' ? It frightened me. It was evil. I sensed its hatred of me, its eagerness to dominate me, and its potential violent nature. Oh, what will become of me ? I remember I once had a family. Where are thay now ? Will I ever see or hear of them again ? " .

--- from 'The Writings of Bobby Sands' , April 1981.


Des Richardson , one of the Fianna Fail back-room 'money men' , launched 'FORUM 2000' in February 1995 ; Bertie Ahern described it as an initiative which- " is a response to the particular requirements of the business sector. Small to medium-sized enterprises will find a voice, a role and a means of contributing to the development of policy in this forum. The interaction between the smaller enterprises and large corporations will contribute to comprehensive and imaginative policies " .
The 'FORUM 2000' intention was to collect £1000 per year from 1000 companies for three years (do the math yourself...).

---- other politicial parties carry out that type of 'fundraising' in a different manner (ie " go round the back door, there, chief , we'll get someone outaya now....").
But full marks to The Soldiers of Destiny - in-your-face , broad daylight and up-front with it : an all-new type of corruption !

....the informer Leonard McNally , a Dublin man, signed himself 'J W' in all dealings he had with his British paymasters , in a 'career' which lasted twenty-six years (!) until he died at 68 years of age , in 1820....

The last dirty deed he carried out on the 'United Irishmen'was to have them bury him as a patriot , as it was not known then that the man was an informer. He received fine oratory and all the trappings befitting a rebel leader.

It was only when McNally's son put in a claim to the British for the continuation of the £300 per annum 'Secret Service' pension, which his father had been in receipt of for the previous twenty-two years, that the facts about Leonard McNally became known : indeed, it was due to the fact that the then British Lord Lieutenant practically shouted from the rooftops that he had not known that the pension was authorised that it became such a public matter.
And then more 'dirt' came out about the informer McNally..... (MORE LATER)>>


" ....it is watching me. More noise directly outside my tomb , a rattle of metal against metal. A square form of light begins to materialise , revealing an entrance as a door swings open. A figure stands in the grey dim light of the doorway. It is a human figure , dressed in what appears to be some sort of black uniform. It stands scrutinising me in silence for several seconds, before letting out a terrifying yell that sends shivers through my body .
" I am Sir!". The words echo around my tomb. " I am Sir!" it bellows again. " I am Sir,you are 1066" . The door slams shut with a loud explosive boom , killing the dim light where the entrance had been. Still afraid to move, I stand in the total darkness " .
---- 'The Writings of Bobby Sands' , April 1981.


Speaking at the so-called 'Forum for Peace and Reconciliation' in Dublin Castle on Friday February 10th , 1995, Ulster Unionist Party member Roy Garland stated that he had been a "leading Officer" in the TARA group, which he described as a "paramilitary group" which was "led by evangelical Christians" !
-- Lord save us , Roy - we believe ya .....

The British , no doubt wary of all their informers and having no respect for any of them anyway, refused to take McNally fully into their confidence ; he was aware that the United Irishmen knew there was an informer in their midst and were actively looking for said informer. McNally's nerve snapped and , in 1798, he asked his British paymasters for help ; they settled his nerves by offering him £300 a year for his 'service' , and he returned to his 'work' for them , within the top ranks of the rebel movement.
Between the years 1794 and 1820 , not suspected for one minute by his 'comrades' in the United Irishmen, McNally shopped people to the British , pointed out 'safe houses' , ruined missions and ensured that funds were 'discovered' by Dublin Castle. All his communications and dealings with the British were done under the initials 'JW' . (MORE LATER)>


"I can hear heavy booming noises echoing all around me like thunder.Somehow it reminds me of heavy doors closing. I check the four walls of my tomb;there appears to be some sort of a door in one of the walls. I can't understand my being here. What , I wonder, will become of me? I know I am a human being, although I'm naked and bearded . I can think and breath. Am I in hell or some sort of limbo ? I can hear heavy footsteps approaching. They stop quite near to me. There is someone or something nearby. I can hear it moving and breathing . It is watching me . "

----from 'The writings of Bobby Sands' , April 1981 - more tomorrow.....

From an article in 'Fortnight' magazine , issue 335 , January 1995 , page 5 (by Robin Wilson , Editor of same) -

"During 1994... Gerry Adams said the difference between himself and Michael Collins was that Mr. Collins had'nt got rid of partition" .

------- thats the type of bull that keeps the new members happy , Gerry - its now almost ten years since you made that statement: have those new members copped on yet ?

Also , at the Provisional Sinn Fein Ard Fheis of that same year when partition ended (ie 1994 !) , Joe Cahill took to the platform and declared that 'Tiocfaidh ar la' was redundant - " because our day HAS come " .
"our Day" was never about the establishment of a British parliament in Ireland , Joe, regardless of whether it functions or not !

Informers , double-agents , touts and 'Steak-Knife' ; not a new development , as I have recorded here before and, now, do so again -

A man born in Dublin in 1752 went on to become one of the most notorious Irishmen ever to involve himself in the struggle....

Leonard McNally moved to England while still a young man and studied to be a barrister;when he 'took silk' and registered himself as a practising barrister , his friend John Philpot Curran persuaded him to transfer his business to the Irish Bar, which he did. McNally made his name with the United Irishmen in his defence in court of William Jackson , Napper Tandy , Wolfe Tone and , later, Robert Emmet and many other Rebel leaders - however , he apparently got rattled when the British arrested the French Government representative, William Jackson, in April 1794, and approached the British 'authorities' in Dublin Castle and offered to pass on information to them in return for 'safe passage' from them for himself. They readily agreed . (MORE LATER)>>


" I must have died last night , because when I awoke this morning I was in hell. I don't really know how I got here. I don't think I've done anything to deserve being here. But I am here, and I am suffering terribly. I think I am in some sort of tomb. I can not see, as everywhere is in total darkness . I have no clothes on , except some sort of rag around my waist.The floor of my tomb is covered in a wet mushy substance , the source or nature of which I don't know. There is a revolting stench lingering in the darkness and the air is warm , heavy and humid. There is something soft and damp lying in the corner , which seems to be some sort of bedding to lie upon " .
-----From 'The Writings of Bobby Sands' ,April 1981 , and first published in 'Republican News' on July 1st, 1978 . (Will finish the rest of above paragraph tomorrow....).

In one of his many print rambles at the time ,John Junor used his then column in 'The Mail on Sunday' (see same,February 24th, 1991, page 19), which he titled 'Lock up the evil bomb-makers' , to call for the re-introduction of internment ; he finished the article by saying- " And if that shoddy third-rater Mr Charles Haughey splutters , as he will , in protest, tell him to get stuffed" .
"shoddy" ? - surely not ....

.....in April 1883, in Green Street Courthouse in Dublin, Judge O'Brien began to hear 'evidence' against thirteen men....

Five of the men - Joe Brady, Dan Curley , Michael Fagan , Thomas Caffrey and Tim Kelly - received the death sentence and the other eight men were sentenced to long periods of imprisonment. (Nineteen year-old Tim Kelly faced three 'trials' before eventually convicted, the jury at the previous'trials' having failed to agree).
Joe Brady , Michael Fagan , Thomas Caffrey , Dan Curley and young Tim Kelly were hanged in Kilmainham Gaol in Dublin between May 14th and June 4th, 1883. One of the informers, James Carey, was shot dead on board the 'Melrose Castle' off Capetown, South Africa, on July 29th, 1883, by Donegal-man Patrick O Donnell ; he was caught and escorted back to Ireland , where he was executed on December 17th, 1883.
Compare the above , and the following paragraph, with the cringe-inducing pleadings of those that claim to be following the footsteps of men like 'the Invincibles' and Bobby Sands ; disgusting.

"....I'm left to pass the day like this, from 7.30 am to 8.30 pm . How I spend my day is determined by the weather. If it's reasonably warm, its possible to sit on the floor,stare at the white walls and pass a few hours day-dreaming. But otherwise,I must spend my day continuously pacing the cell to prevent the cold chilling through to my bones.
Even after my bedding is returned at 8.30 pm , hours will pass before the circulation returns to my feet and legs " .


From 'The Evening Press' newspaper, November 2nd, 1989, page 7 -
In an interview with the 'Ballyfermot People' local 'paper, (the late) Brian Lenihan described Maggie Thatcher as "too ideological" : that from a member of a party which hangs it's backbone up with its coat in the morning ...
Brian went on to describe his (then) good buddy , Charlie Haughey, as "a very flexible politician , much more subtle and intelligent a politician than Thatcher. Charlie is very much on the same line as many continental politicians.If he has any failing its that sometimes in politics you can be too subtle, too clever, too intelligent. That can happen " .
--- he certainly took you for a ride , Brian - now Bertie is taking your fellow Fianna Fail cronies for one !

....a reward of £1000 was offered by the British for information leading to the arrest of those responsible for the assassination of Lord Frederick Cavendish and Thomas F.Burke in Dublin's Phoenix Park on May 6th, 1882 , but the reward offer went unanswered ....

....then , in November 1882, six months after the British lost their men, Superintendent John Mallon of the 'G Division' of the Dublin Metropolitan Police,arrested a member of the Invincibles, Robert Farrell, and Mallon told him that they knew the identity of those that had carried-out the assassinations and advised Farrell to save himself - this was the same line that those previously arrested had been told .
Unfortunately , Robert Farrell fell for it ; within weeks, twenty-six men were arrested. The 'G' man, John Mallon, needed additional witnesses and evidence to build a substantial case against the men and reverted to form - three of the twenty-six men ( Michael Kavanagh , James Carey and his brother, Peter) turned informers . In April 1883 , in Green Street Courthouse in Dublin, Judge O'Brien began to hear 'evidence' against thirteen men ...... (MORE LATER)>>


" A stretch of tarmac surrounded by barbed wire and steel is the only view from my cell window. I'm told it's an exercise yard. I would'nt know. In my fourteen months in H-Block 5, I have'nt been allowed to walk in the fresh air . I'm on 'cellular confinement' today. That is the three days out of every fourteen when my only possessions, three blankets and a mattress, are removed , leaving a blanket and a chamber pot " .

---- from 'The Writings of Bobby Sands' , April 1981 , and first published in 'Republican News' on September 16th, 1978.(Will finish the remainder of the above paragraph tomorrow).



'The Sunday Press' , October 29th, 1989 -
- Charlie McCreevy stated : " I'm a born-again TD.The thing is not to think too much, to flow with the tide. Thinking is a handicap" (!).
You've made a comfortable living out of ignoring your handicap, Charlie ...