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.
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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