THE BOUNDARY COMMISSION , 1921-1925 .......
A British 'sleight-of-hand' which caused a mutiny within British forces in Ireland.......
....... when (pro-Brit) Stormont 'Prime Minister' 'Sir' James Craig heard of Michael Collins' boast (ie- ' We'll get back almost half of the Six Counties [by using the Boundary Commission] ... ') , he 'lost the head'.......
Craig stated that if the Boundary Commission " were to make anything more than the very minutest change in our boundary , the inevitable result of that would be bloodshed and chaos of the worst description . I will never give in to any re-arrangement of the boundary that leaves our Ulster (sic) area less than it is under the Government of Ireland Act . "
The Brits could see a situation developing in which they might have to use force against one side or the other - ie against the Unionists to make them accept the ruling of the Boundary Commission , or against the Free Staters in the Leinster House 'parliament' in Dublin , to make them accept that the Boundary Commission was just a 'talking shop' ; and , mindful of the fact that the Brits have no friends , only interests , it suited Westminster , this time , to support the Unionists .
Winston Churchill , the then British 'Colonial Secretary to Ireland' , stated that the possibility of the Boundary Commission " reducing " what he called " Northern Ireland (sic) to its preponderatingly Orange (ie Unionist) areas (is) an extreme and absurd supposition , far beyond what those who signed the [1921] Treaty meant . "
Also , Austen Chamberlain , the then British Chancellor of the Exchequer , went even further in their desire to appease the Unionists .......
(MORE LATER).
PLASTIC BULLETS.......
First published in 'IRIS' Magazine , Volume 1 , Number 2 , November 1981 .
In April 1981, 1,955 plastic bullets were fired - a rate of one every 20 minutes over the month . This was more than in the whole of 1980 .
Plastic bullets do not arouse the indignation that normal bullets excite . Over 7,000 have been fired since the death of Bobby Sands (ie May 1981 - November 1981) .
The intent of the British is that the mass protests can be shot off the streets without international opinion responding , as it would to news of large numbers of civilians being shot-up with buck shot or live rounds in , for example , South Africa .
Cases since April 1981 ; ' * ' denotes plastic bullet death .
Re-published here in 11 parts .
(8 of 11).
July 9th , 1981 . Martin Tumelty (brother of Sean - see this list , May 30th) , Divis Flats , Belfast . Martin was shot in the head by the RUC - fortunately at long range . He suffered severe facial bruising .
July 22nd , 1981 . Brian McDonnell , 26 years of age , Springhill , Belfast . Shot by British soldiers at point-blank range while standing at door of his taxi . He suffered from extensive bruising to his back .
July 24th , 1981 * . Peter Doherty , 40 years of age , Divis Flats , Belfast . Shot by British Royal Marine Commandos ; Peter was standing inside the window of his own flat when hit . He died a week later from massive head injuries .
July 27th , 1981 . Martin Rooney , 13 years of age , Divis Flats , Belfast . Shot by British soldiers while coming home from working on a milk-round . A passing lorry which was taking Martin to hospital was delayed by British soldiers : Martin was taken to hospital suffering from a fractured skull .
(MORE LATER).
NORAID'S UNTOLD MILLIONS .......
Irish-Americans have long had complex and contradictory relations with Ireland and the 'Irish Question' . On Saint Patrick's Day , all the ambiguities are apparent .
This year (ie 1987) , on Saint Patrick's Day , the latest book by Irish writer , Jack Holland was published in New York , exploring the tangled web of links between Irish-Americans and the Irish in Ireland , the IRA and the Irish government .
' The American Connection ' describes the activities of leading Irish-American politicians , of romanticising writers and of gun-runners .
In this edited extract , the author tells how Noraid was set up and how it has resisted pressures to disclose all the sources and uses of its funds .
First published in 'MAGILL' magazine , April 1987 .
Re-published here in 31 parts .
(5 of 31).
The U.S. authorities have taken a different view ; they have maintained , along with the British and Irish governments , that NORAID is really an IRA front , and that its money goes into the pockets of gun-dealers and gun-runners .
When Daithi O Conaill and Joe Cahill arrived in America , their visits were monitored - the FBI noted that O Conaill had come as a representative of the "Provisional IRA" and a "member of the army council," the organisation's ruling body . Later that year Joe Cahill returned , and from mid-November to December 6 he visited Chicago , San Francisco , Cleveland , Boston , Yonkers , and Philadelphia . The FBI source named Cahill as a "sponsor" of the 'Northern Aid Committee' in Belfast .
On July 10th , 1970 , when NORAID held one of its first demonstrations , near the United Nations Buildings in New York , the FBI was there to watch .......
(MORE LATER).
