Working within British 'law' with a vow NOT to use force against the British....... :
DANIEL O'CONNELL -1843 ;
THE PROVISIONALS -1994 TO DATE .
.......'The Young Irelanders', a group within the Daniel O'Connell -led 'Loyal National Repeal Association' , were not convinced that " moral force " alone would win the day against the Brits.......
In 1842 , 'The Young Irelanders' established a newspaper called 'The Nation' , in which they supported the objectives of the 'Repeal' Movement . The newspaper , under the control of 26 years-young Charles Gavan Duffy , supported Daniel O'Connell in his quest to publicise the 'Repeal' Movement , and helped to organise and promote outdoor meetings (known as 'Monster Meetings') at which the objectives of the 'Repeal' Movement could be advanced .
The year 1843 was promoted as 'The Year of Repeal' , and Daniel O'Connell took his message to the people ; in Mullingar , County Westmeath , he addressed a crowd of approximately 150,000 people . The British 'authorities' were watching these developments with interest and , while no doubt regarding the 'Loyal' Daniel O'Connell as no more than a 'rebel pet' , were presumably more worried by the fact that the huge crowds he drew would be susceptible to the less 'loyal' message coming from 'The Young Irelanders' .
After the Mullingar 'Monster Meeting ' , which was viewed as a tremendous success by the organisers , 'The Nation' newspaper helped to publicise another such meeting - this time in Mallow , County Cork : 400,000 people turned up - the Brits were uneasy .......
(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.......
"....... the Brits were in the barn , searching it - we were in the loft , aware of their presence . We were dressed and armed ; the door was solid , as was its bolt , but the closing staple was its possible weak-point ......."
" The bolt-staple would be difficult to break but it would either pull-out or spring ; the key was in the inside of the lock - I removed it gently and laid it softly on the floor near the wall . The enemy might see it , or feel for it, in the keyhole, or it might fall out and give us away when the assault on the door began . It was vital to us to keep the Brits ignorant of our presence until the last moment since they could , if they discovered us , riddle the floor with bullets .
The torch lights wandering around the door at length concentrated on the lock ; then started a vigorous assault with rifle muzzles on that region . We watched the bolt as it sprung back and forth under the impact - there appeared to be little danger of failure under that treatment . The small area of the flagstone landing outside restricted the number and movement of the attackers ; they soon tired and changed their tactics ...
...they used the rifle butts on the middle of the door - this method was a great improvement on the first , and the bolt slid back much further in its staple - the door was 'bending' in the middle......."
(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 .
(6 of 21).
In the 1950's the old empires of Britain and France were dying and the United States was replacing them as a world power . At Buraimi Oasis , Oman, the CIA tried to use a $90 million bribe to oust British oil interests in favour of the American company , 'Aramco' ; when the case went to the International Court in Geneva , the CIA tried unsuccessfully to bribe the arbitrators ! The CIA aided the Algerian fight for independence from France and flew Algerian revolutionary Franz Fanon to Washington where they paid for his treatment for cancer . Whatever works...
At the end of October 1956 , the American military attache in Israel sent a message home - " Just thought you ought to know that my driver - a reservist with one arm and one leg missing and blind in one eye - has been called to the colours ! " The CIA deduced from the fact that double-amputees were being called up into the Israeli Army that military action was imminent ...
(MORE LATER).
