JOHN SADLEIR and WILLIAM KEOGH - 19th Century Irish Turncoats .......
.......with support from the 'Independent Irish Party' in Westminster , British 'Lord' Aberdeen and the 'Whigs' took control of the Administration - and almost immediately offered less that had been agreed to the 'Independent Irish Party' in return for their support .......
This led to rows and bickering within the 'IIP' , a signal which 'Lord' Aberdeen picked-up on and used to his own advantage - in true Brit 'divide and conquer'-style , Aberdeen offered John Sadleir IIP MP the position of ' Lord of The Treasury' in the new British Administration , and also 'threw a bone' to the other dog , William Keogh IIP MP - that of the Office of British Solicitor-General for Ireland !
...And both men took the offer ; and the Catholic Church , subservient as ever to the Brits , supported them for doing so ! This tore not only the 'Independent Irish Party' asunder (although it did manage to 'hobble' on for another few years , disintegrating along the way ) until finally it disbanded in 1858 , but it also disappointed Charles Gavan Duffy IIP MP , (one of the more prominent members of the party) so much that , in October 1855 , he emigrated to Australia in despair .
So - despite success at the polls , and having the 'ear' of the political bosses , and the 'respect' of the 'Establishment' and good , favourable media coverage , being well-dressed , well-spoken and well-paid , if you lose your political principles , you're finished - draw your own conclusions....
(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.
1921 - The Big Round-Up.......
".......One of our lads , Corney , wanted to visit his family in West Cork but my uncle Dan advised against doing so by the mountain track as it would be swarming with British troops . But the men decided to go that route with Corney anyway , and asked me to go with them ......."
" Reluctantly , I agreed and the seven of us left together ; we had travelled over half-a-mile across country towards Renanirree when I stopped and asked the others again to consider staying where we were , or even to go in the opposite direction - I told them that they were going to be chased if not caught by the British on the bare mountains and that they would have a peaceful week anywhere to the south or east of us . It was no use ; I wished them luck and watched them go , for I felt lonely when they left me . I would have gone with them against my own judgement , but I had another reason for staying as well ...
I returned to Knocksaharing , and that night my uncle and I slept peacefully at Patsy Cooney's of Kilmacarogue , a quarter-mile from Dan's house . All the following afternoon and until late in the evening , I lay stretched in the heather on top of one of the foothills of Rahoona - it commanded an excellent view of the winding Ballyvourney Road at Pool na Bro , and stretches here and there as far east as Coolavokig . Equipped with a powerful pair of field glasses , little could pass unknown to me . One did not need the glasses to see the enemy , however ...
...at about two o'clock the procession started ; the massed columns of British infantry formed its principal feature - it was an imposing display , calculated to overawe as well as to destroy . The British infantry was made up most of the regular troops from Cork and Ballincollig Barracks . Their motor transport , with tents , field kitchens and other impedimenta added to the display ......."
(MORE LATER).
ETHIOPIA - A Brief History .......
(First published in 'HOT PRESS' Magazine , 6th May 1988 , Volume 12 , No. 8 , page 28).
Re-produced here in 10 parts .
(9 of 10).
After their drubbing at Adowa , the Italians had retired to their Eritrean and Somalian enclaves but Mussolini , inflamed with his fevered dreams of a new Roman Empire , invaded Ethiopia in 1935 . Evelyn Waugh , an Italian supporter , wrote of "the eagles of Ancient Rome , as they came to our savage ancestors in France and Britain and Germany , bringing the inestimable gifts of fine workmanship and clear judgement ... " but , in truth , the Italian campaign , with a policy of using poison gas and killing ten Ethiopians for every Italian casualty , was a prelude to the genocidal brutalities of the Second World War .
The Italian rule did'nt stick , however , and in 1941 , an Allied Force liberated Ethiopia and restored Haile Selassie to his throne . Both Italian wars had immensely added to Ethiopian prestige .
The first African independence movements seized on Ethiopia as an example and inspiration for their anti-colonial struggle whilst , as a feudal monarch , Haile Selassie was obviously friendlier to the West than Moscow or Peking ...
(MORE LATER).
