THE BOUNDARY COMMISSION , 1921-1925 .......
A British 'sleight-of-hand' which caused a mutiny within British forces in Ireland.......
....... a Boundary Commission was included under Article 12 of the 1921 Treaty of Surrender (which was signed in Downing Street , London , on Tuesday 6th December 1921 ).......
When this Boundary Commission was to be set-up , it was to be 'Chaired' by Justice Feetham , a South African Judge , and a good friend of the British 'Establishment' - it may well have been a ' toothless body ' , as Winston Churchill , the then British 'Colonial Secretary to Ireland' considered it to be , but sure it was no harm to have its Chairperson in your pocket , too !
During the first three years of the existance of the Irish Free State , those running same poured all their resources into simply staying 'alive' ; it was not until 1924 that the Staters in Leinster House requested that the Boundary Commission should come into being - this opened-up old wounds for the Brits . Westminster was well aware that this issue was an 'open sore' for all concerned - the Staters ( except Michael Collins and , probably , those close to him , who knew better) were expecting 'the earth' (!) while the Unionists had been promised 'no change' .
On hearing of this request by the Free Staters to Westminster , the Stormont (ie the Six-County 'parliament' established by the British) 'Prime Minister' , 'Sir' James Craig , let it be known that , as he was not one of the signatories to the 1921 Treaty , he did not feel bound by its stipulations (re the Boundary Commission) and would have nothing to do with the establishment of such a body .
The Brits themselves were'nt really in favour of setting-up the Boundary Commission either , and no attempt was made to persuade 'Sir' Craig to take part in it by nominating a representative to that proposed body (as had been agreed in the 1921 Treaty)>/i> - instead , the Brits took it on themselves to nominate a person to sit on the Commission on Stormont's behalf .......
(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 .
[11 of 11].
Concerned by general reports of the deaths and injuries , sketched out above , an Independent International Tribunal recently came together in Belfast to examine use of the plastic bullet weapon . Tribunal members attending the evidence sessions , chaired by the Association for Legal Justice , were : Dr. Tim Shallice , respected English neuro-psychologist ; Dr. Antoine Comte , a French lawyer ; Denis Dillion , the District Attorney for Nassau County , USA ; and Republican New York Councillor , Peter King .
They found that " these lethal weapons " should be banned immediately ; like many others , they found that the plastic bullet is not being used as a riot control weapon but rather as a community control device . The people of the six counties walk in fear on their own streets .
Only international intervention can end the 'officially' sanctioned mis-use of this murderous weapon .
[END of ' PLASTIC BULLETS ... '].
(Next -" WE FIGHT ON " , say IRA Chiefs ; from 1989).
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 .
(8 of 31).
Some sixteen months after its formation , NORAID claimed chapters in Manhattan , Queens , Staten Island , the Bronx , Long Island , Connecticut , New Jersey , Washington , D.C. , Baltimore , Philadelphia , Boston , Buffalo , Chicago , St. Louis and Detroit .
There were soon some seventy branches throughout the U.S. ; the greatest support was concentrated in the New York area , where the Committee claimed two thousand members . It received steady support from the older , more established Irish-American organisations , such as the Ancient Order of Hibernians (AOH) , which runs the St. Patrick's Day Parade .
NORAID was filing six-monthly returns with the U.S. Justice Department in Washington , giving details of its fund-raising activities . The figures provide a good barometer of Irish-American re-action to British tactics ; from August 1971 to the end of January 1972 , the INAC reported collecting $128,099 . In the next six-month period , ending in July 1972 , and encompassing the Bloody Sunday killings , collections of $313,000 were recorded .
The next six months showed a considerable drop , with a reported collection of $150,000 ; the period coincided with the height of the IRA's car-bombing campaign , which resulted in heavy civilian casualties , and may have cost the IRA support in America reflected in NORAID's returns .
(MORE LATER).
Beannachtai na Nollag ; Christmas greetings and a Happy New Year to all our readers . From John , Sharon and our 'Junior' . Back Monday , as usual - slan go foill anois ).
