JOSEPH BRENAN ; 1828-1857 : 'Young Ireland' Leader .......
.......Although only in his early 20's , Joseph Brenan was in a leadership position in 'The Young Ireland' Movement ; he joined up with a group of Rebels , under the command of John O'Mahony , in the Waterford area .......
Joseph Brenan fought alongside O'Mahony's group against the British forces when 'The Young Irelanders' rose-up in July 1848 but , following the collapse of that Rising , Joseph Brenan was captured and imprisoned in Newgate Jail first , then, after a few months , was shifted to Carrickfergus Jail , then to Kilmainham Jail in Dublin .
Finally , after seven months detention , he was released (without trial) and became involved with Bernard Fulham in the production of a new Rebel newspaper , ' The Irishman ' ; he used 'The Irishman' to call for the population to take back in arms that which the Brits held by arms ; that was in March 1849 - in September that same year (1849) , after seven months writing articles and Editorials for 'The Irishman' newspaper , Joseph Brenan was told that James Fintan Lalor was planning an attack on the British .
J F Lalor was also in a leadership position in 'The Young Ireland' Movement and was well-known for his writings on the land issue .......
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WHERE MOUNTAINY MEN HAVE SOWN :
war and peace in rebel Cork ,
in the turbulent years 1916-21.
By Micheal O'Suilleabhain : published 1965.
A DRIVE TO CORK CITY .......
".......The man who was following Jim Grey had been warned off ; the local IRA then picked him up and investigated him and his family - we all agreed to leave the matter at that , as there seemed to be no threat to us ......."
" We finished our shopping and returned to the milk-cart . The tyres we purchased had arrived and we stowed them under the seat and the milk churns . Sitting aboard , we started out the Douglas Road , but had not gone far when we found the street partly blocked and a group of RIC men searching every vehicle that passed either way . Driving up to the barricade we were motioned through without question . Evidently , they tired of questioning the milk-man who passed them by every day . In any case , since the advent of the Black-and-Tans the RIC had ceased to be enthusiastic about the 'law'.
Very soon we were clear of the city and saw with relief the open country . It was good to be safely back at Ballygarvan with our four comrades and to see the Buick , and the Lewis-Gun , and our rifles . That night , having said good-bye to our kindly hostess , Miss Walsh , we started on our journey home to Ballyvourney . This time we choose the southern route , through Ballinhassig where we slipped by the rear of the British Barracks .
The Brits heard our Buick climbing the hill , however , and sent out a message to warn all their posts that we had passed . Our road from the south led us to within a mile of the British Barracks at Ballincollig , and , since we could not use lights , we had to travel very slowly . By-passing trenched roads delayed us further ; finally , we crossed the River Lee at Rooves Bridge and came into Coachford as day was breaking . So far , so good ......."
(MORE LATER).
GETTING OUT .......
'Britain has the economic clout to impose peace in Northern Ireland (sic), argue BOB ROWTHORN and NAOMI WAYNE . Why does'nt it use it ? '
(First published in 'New Statesman and Society' Magazine , 9th September , 1988 , pages 12 and 13).
Re-produced here in 10 parts .
[Apologises beforehand for the use of the descriptions "Northern Ireland" and "Province" , and the constant use of the terms "Catholics" and "Protestants" in the following ten-part article ; they are not our descriptions or terms , but the Authors].
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Contraception is now legal and available in the 'Republic' . Abortions are banned north and south of the border , and all Irish women , Protestant and Catholic , have to come to Britain for terminations . Divorce remains the main area of apparent difference , but even here the gulf should not be insurmountable . While divorce remains prohibited under the constitution of the 'Republic' (whereas the 'province's' divorce laws parallel Britain's) , new laws being introduced will soon give much the same entitlements as divorce , save the right to remarry .
These positive measures should do much to minimise the risk and extent of inter-community violence . But Britain would also have to act immediately to take all practicable measures to disarm Protestants . There are around 6,000 members of the Ulster Defence Regiment and a further 13,000 in the RUC . Most of them carry personal arms for self-defence and also have access to 'official' arsenals containing more destructive weapons (high-velocity rifles , sub-machine guns ,etc) . The UDR should be disbanded , thus greatly reducing Protestant access to 'official' arsenals .
It may also be necessary to disband the RUC , but much would depend on whether the RUC's loyalty and discipline held .......
(MORE LATER).
