IRELAND , JANUARY 15th , 1920 : ELECTIONS .......
....... it took a few months before British General 'Sir' Nevil Macready realised that Westminster had given him a ' poisoned chalice ' by appointing him as the 'Commander-in-Chief' of the British Forces in Ireland .......
On 24th May 1921 , Macready sent his political boss in London a memorandum in which he stated that a full British military victory in Ireland , against the guerilla troops of the IRA " was almost an impossibility ... " . The Brits were apparently of the opinion that if 'Sir' Nevile could'nt do it , then it could'nt be done .
So , on 22nd June 1921 , British 'King' George V , who was in Belfast to open the new 'Home Rule Parliament' at Stormont , issued the following statement -
- " I speak from a full heart when I pray that my coming to Ireland today may prove to be the first step towards an end of strife amongst her peoples , whatever their race or creed . In that hope , I appeal to all Irishmen to pause , to stretch out the hand of forebearance and conciliation , to forgive and forget and to join in making for the land which they love a new era of peace , contentment and goodwill . "
Things moved quickly after that signal from the Brits - on 9th July 1921 , Eamon de Valera led an Irish Republican delegation in a pre-arranged meeting with , amongst others , British General Macready and his Under-Secretary , Andy Cope .......
(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 .
(1 of 11).
APRIL 22nd , 1981 . * Paul Withers , 15 years of age , Derry . Shot from three yards by British soldier . Suffered massive fracture of skull and died later . Paul was shot near the scene of a minor riot .
April 23rd , 1981 . Brendan Kelly , 21 years of age , Dungiven , Co. Derry . Shot at close range by RUC . Lost his right eye , seventeen stitches to head , teeth loosened by impact . No riot was going on at the time .
May 5th , 1981 - day of Bobby Sands death ; Martin Hamill , 15 years of age , Turf Lodge , Belfast . shot at close range by British soldier . Hit by two bullets . Severe damage to face . He was walking home with a friend when shot . No rioting in area .
(MORE LATER).
THE EXTRADITION FIASCO .......
By Derek Dunne .
First published in 'Magill' magazine , October 1985 , pages 9,10 and 11.
Re-published here in 13 parts.
(11 of 13).
Those wishing to claim the " political " exception from extradition , must first therefore admit to the 'crime' ; this poses a particularly acute problem for those who are completely innocent . There guilt or innocence cannot be an issue in extradition proceedings as the law now stands . And in order to have even an opportunity of exempting themselves from extradition , they must incriminate themselves and plead guilty .
Dominic McGlinchey , Seamus Shannon and John Patrick Quinn could all have been charged in the 'Republic' with the 'offences' they were wanted for in the North and Britain under the Criminal Law Jurisdiction Act 1976 ; however , the British authorities chose not to proceed along those lines .
Robert Russell is wanted by the RUC in the North for " escape from lawful custody " ; he was one of the 38 Maze escapees in September 1983 . Russell , 27 , was interned when he was 16 . In 1976 , he was arrested and charged with a killing but the charges were later dropped . In 1982 , he was sentenced to 20 years for the attempted murder of Superintendent Drew in Belfast ; he was also convicted of wounding with intent , and having firearms and ammunition .
He was granted a retrial but the conviction was upheld . In 1984 , another escapee , Philip McMahon , was granted an order by the Supreme Court restraining his extradition .......
(MORE LATER).
( To the " descendant of P.McG " : thank you for the comments - much appreciated . / Annabel ; that site is 'down' for now , but keep checking - I'm sure they will be able to help you - Sharon . ).
