IRELAND , JANUARY 15th , 1920 : ELECTIONS .......
....... in 1941 , the Brits were considering the 'introduction' of conscription in the Six Occupied Counties of Ireland . The (pro-British) U.S. Ambassador in the Free State , a Mr. David Gray , knew it would be a mistake ; in a letter to his 'boss' , the American Secretary of State , he wrote (on 24th May 1941).......
".... Eighty thousand Irish Volunteers in the British Army will be disaffected , there will be no material number of Nationalist conscripts , a government, a popular majority and an army inclined to be friendly to Great Britain rather than to the Axis will become definitely hostile , possibly giving active aid to Germany and most important of all the pro-British opposition will be helpless and the opportunity for dividing the country on the question of the ports will be lost for the duration .
The effect on Irish-American opinion at this juncture is not for me to estimate . This is a grave situation . " Shortly afterwards , Churchill wrote -
- " .... the (British) Cabinet is inclined to the view it would be more trouble than it's worth to go through with conscription . No immediate decision will be taken and in the meantime the less made of the affair the better . " It took , as usual , the threat of force , or force itself , before the British realised that there would be a re-action to their action . And it still does today .
However - 'tangents' as always ! : back to the earlier part of the 20th Century in Ireland - the 'Irish Volunteers' , under the leadership of John Redmond , called for Irishmen to join the British Army and help in the war against Germany .......
(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.
Some details about the Author , Micheal O'Suilleabhain -
Against a striking backdrop of mountain , rock , river and lake , Micheal O'Suilleabhain sets the story that he has to tell . There is in his tale an interlacing thread of high drama that is neither intentional nor contrived . It comes with an articulate voice and forcible impact out of the land and the people about whom he writes .
His people live in three parishes that cover almost eighty square miles ; in this area , the small sloping fields that now grow crops and help to support livestock were won from the stony ground by hard unremitting physical labour . The quality of the soil is not good and all the fields have been reclaimed from the rock , the marsh , the bog , the heather and the brake .
The work of reclamation was done , with the worst of tools , by men and women who were driven , long ago, from the fertile inland by successive plantations . But their labours were rewarded only by further confiscations by the Planters .......
(MORE LATER).
ONE THAT GOT AWAY .
Donegal IRA man , Patrick McIntyre - wanted by the RUC and by Gardai - was released by the High Court last month when his lawyers convinced the Court that he was not properly arrested and held by the Gardai . Tommie Gorman details McIntyre's story of two escapes and meets him 'on the run' .
From ' Magill ' magazine , June 1987 , pages 24 , 25 , 26 , 28 and 29 .
Re-produced here in 13 parts .
(1 of 13).
On Easter Sunday morning of 1978 , seven raw County Donegal Provo recruits crossed the border to Derry City ; they had been chosen to form the Colour Party for the Easter Commemoration ceremony that afternoon , leading the Easter Parade through the Creggan and Bogside where Daithi O Conaill delivered the oration .
The 'show' over , the Colour Party members went into the Rossville Street flats , stripped off their paramilitary clothes and dark glasses and got into casual clothes . The back road from Creggan to the border had been checked and cleared , they were assured .
Some of the seven men wanted to go for a few pints and then take the bus home . Under protest , they all piled into the one car and were driven off . The joint British Army/RUC patrol which intercepted them minutes later already had photographs of all seven men taken from a helicopter during the Easter Parade .
IRA membership would be easy to prove .......
(MORE LATER).
