JULY-DECEMBER 1921 : Revenge Attacks on Republicans During The 'Truce' .......
.......Ireland , 1921 , during the 'Truce' ; covert assassinations were carried out by British forces against the IRA , 'shoot-outs' took place between the IRA and the Brits , and IRA Volunteers also died while on drills and in training camps .......
A year before the above-mentioned deaths and assassinations , the IRA in Belfast had been re-organised as 'B' Company , 2nd Battalion , following a meeting in Ballymacarret (in 1920) ; one of its members , 21 years young Murtagh McAstocker , was known by the Brits to be militarily opposed to them ...but he was now 'protected' by the 'Truce' .......
However , as little (and begrudgenly and reluctantly) as the British forces were 'bound' by the 'Truce' , their comrades in the various Loyalist militia (formed , supported , financed and armed by the British Army and their political leaders in Westminster) were not stalled at all by it .
The six-month 'Truce' (July - December 1921) was an opportunity for the Loyalist paramilitary gangs to 'ethnicaly clean' 'their' areas of Catholics/Nationalists , more so than they had been doing prior to the 'Truce' .
And young Murtagh McAstocker was on their list .......
(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.
BURNINGS.
" It is still the same . If you come from the east the half-mile long avenue of lime trees will lead you there . You are at the Mills , Ballyvourney . The hotel where the stage coach stopped on its way between Cork and Killarney still flourishes , though the stage coach has long since passed on , enveloped in the dust of time .
The old bridge which spans the Sullane River is as sound and as picturesque as ever , and, hard by, the Mill buildings are exactly the same , though renovated . And certainly the bloom of the rhododendron and the murmur of the river have not changed . Behind the scene , however, some important changes did take place not so long ago . Up to our own time , Ballyvourney , hardly large enough to be described as a hamlet , was completely overshadowed by a unique feudal machine which functioned there .
A high wall along the main road was pierced by the Lawn Gate which gave access , by a short drive, to the Great House ; let us assume that one day in the bad old times , one has passed through the Lawn Gate on some legitimate business , say paying the 'rent' - he notices that , a few yards to his right , another road runs parallel to his . It leads to the RIC Barracks , which is conveniently near to , but of course not on the same plane as , the Great House . Naturally , it gives him a sense of security to know that the 'law' is behind him as he faces towards the buildings on his left ......."
(MORE LATER).
' COLONEL OLIVER NORTH WOULD'NT DO ANYTHING THAT REAGAN DID'NT APPROVE ' .......
'The chain of events that has become known as IRANGATE is circling ever tighter around President Reagan . Sean Cronin draws together some of the links in the bizarre story'
First published in 'The Irish Times' newspaper , Tuesday , February 10th , 1987 , page 14 .
Re-produced here in 12 parts.
[12 of 12].
An updated memorandum in Colonel Oliver North's files - written around April 4th , 1986 - " provided that $12 million of the residual funds from an arms transaction would be used to purchase critically needed supplies for the Nicaraguan Democratic Resistance Forces ," according to the U S Senate Intelligence Committee report .
Colonel North told the Attorney General , Edwin Meese , that the $12 million figure was " based on what he was told by the Israelis and that he did not know how much was moved to the Nicaraguans - the Israeli (NIR) decided the amount given to the resistance , with no involvement by the CIA or NSC ....." On September 12th , 1986 , the Israeli Defence Minister, Mr. Yitzhak Rabin , offered " a significant quantity " of captured Soviet-bloc arms to the U S for the Contras . The arms were to be picked up on the week of September 15th and delivered to the insurgents .
U S Admiral Poindexter discussed the matter with President Reagan ; Yitzhak Rabin denies that he made such an offer . The report also reveals that Ronald Reagan held 17 meetings with Oliver North , and that others were present at those meetings . At one of them , the CIA Station Head in Costa Rica was with Colonel North . One's conclusion , unsupported by conclusive evidence , is that President Reagan , through his National Security Council staff , was fully briefed on everything taking place regarding Iran and the Contras .
" According to Robert McFarlane , Oliver North stated that McFarlane knew North would'nt do anything that was not approved ," the report says .
[END of - ' COLONEL OLIVER NORTH WOULD'NT DO ANYTHING THAT REAGAN DID'NT APPROVE ....'].
(Tomorrow - 'THE CIA : REAGAN'S SECRET ARMY' - from 'The Sunday Tribune' newspaper , 1986.)
