.......and we're back ! Our 'Junior' had his weekend break (and 'love-in' with the new moth !) and is now back , all 'starry-eyed' , behind his desk here in '1169 Central.......'
Working within British 'law' with a vow NOT to use force against the British....... :
DANIEL O'CONNELL -1843 ;
THE PROVISIONALS -1994 TO DATE .
.......on 15th August 1843 , another one of the 'Repeal' Movements' 'Monster Meetings' was held - this time on the Hill of Tara , in County Meath ; the Brits , already worried at the level of support for these meetings , made their move .......
The 'Young Irelanders' newspaper , 'The Nation' , put the figure for those in attendance at the Hill of Tara 'Monster Meeting' at three-quarters of a million people "without fear of exaggeration" ; Daniel O'Connell himself claimed it was at least one-and-a-half million people , while another newspaper of the day ('The Times' ?) reported -
- " The whole district was covered with men . The population within a days march began to arrive on foot shortly after daybreak and continued to arrive , on all sides and by every available approach , 'till noon . It was impossible from any one point to see the entire meeting . The number is supposed to have reached between 500,000 and 700,000 persons . "
Other reports stated that O'Connell's marshals were on horseback , that the crowds arrived on foot and in carriages , banners were present , as were bands and groups in " historic fancy dress " . Indeed , archaeologists have found human bones on the site , some of which are said to be 4000 years old , and traces of wooden platforms , bits of clay pipes and , of course (!) , whiskey bottles , dating back to the mid - 19th Century .......
WHERE MOUNTAINY MEN HAVE SOWN :
war and peace in rebel Cork ,
in the turbulent years 1916-21.
By Micheal O'Suilleabhain : published 1965.
BURNINGS.......
".......just as the lock was about to give , the British Troops stopped . They went down the stone stairs and , minutes later , were marching back to Macroom . What damage had they caused to my near-by house , where my mother was .......?"
" We approached the house with some caution ; my mother knelt at an upstairs window - she had heard the rude knocking at the door , had seen some of the raiders search the house while others passed on uphill to the farmyard . She had listened for the shots which seemed inevitable , but meanwhile she had prayed to God who orders all things . That eternity of suspence was now over , the night past , the sun risen , the enemy departed - and we stood before her . We did not speak for we knew that she still prayed , but we raised our hands in salute ; her smile was our reward .
Although it grieved us to do so , we did not spare the property of our own people when it became a military necessity to destroy it ; this was the case with the Glebe House , Inchigeela ; IRA Intelligence had again warned us that it was about to be taken over by a Company of the regular British Army . On the evening of 2 June 1920 , we burned it down ; among the local IRA Volunteers who assisted at the operation was the son of the owner of the house ! Before the burning a few Volunteer Officers had started to break the news to the owner , by telling him of the impending occupation . He saved them further trouble by interjecting : " Burn it , lads ! Burn it ! "
Three days later , Ballingeary Barracks , just evacuated by a garrison of the RIC and Black and Tans , was destroyed by fire . The two IRA Volunteers who carried out the task did it to perfection , but, despite their extreme care , they got themselves slightly scorched . The physical damage they sustained was negligible , but they had to bear with fortitude the jokes of their IRA comrades ; for , having sprinkled the interior of the building , they retired the width of the street from it , and then hurled a lighted torch through the open door of the barracks but - a tongue of flame shot back at them ! It was bad luck indeed .
But no such 'bad luck' was experienced four days later at 'The Great House' in Ballyvourney ......."
(MORE LATER).
THE CIA : REAGAN'S SECRET ARMY .......
Since 1947 , the CIA has been a powerful force in covertly executing American internal and foreign policy . A major book detailing the workings , methods and sometimes incompetence of the secret service - 'The Agency ; The Rise and Decline of The CIA ' , by John Ranelagh , has recently been published .
Gene Kerrigan examines the books findings and assesses the importance of 'The Agency' and the role it has played over the last 39 years .
First published in 'The Sunday Tribune' newspaper , Dublin , 24th August 1986 , page 11.
Re-produced here in 21 parts .
(8 of 21).
The CIA had done a good job ; from now on if governments were to be subverted it would be the biggest kid on the block who would do it . In the early 1960's , the CIA supplied the money , the guns and advice for a coup against President Goulart of Brazi , who was considered too leftist . A CIA agent , Howard McCabe , masterminded a two-year campaign of subversion against the left-wing Prime Minister of Guyana , Cheddi Jagan , bringing him down .
The masterminding of coups against foreign governments was almost part of the CIA's 'stock-in-trade' ; in 1951 the British wanted to get rid of Muhammad Mossadeq , the Iranian leader who had nationalised their oil company . Fearful of a confromtation which would hurt oil supplies , the Americans told the British to stand aside : the CIA launched 'Operation Ajax' .......
(MORE LATER).
