IRELAND , JANUARY 15th , 1920 : ELECTIONS .......
....... one of the most prominent (pro-British) Unionists opposed to the Sinn Fein organisation was 'Lord' Edward Carson of Duncairn - a Dublin man , born in 1854 , and a barrister by trade . He rose quickly through the ranks of the 'Establishment' ; at 62 years of age he was appointed ' First Lord of the Admiralty '- but a bigger 'prize' was offered to him , if he wanted it .......
Westminster offered him the 'Premiership' of the new Six County 'State' - but he refused , and retired from public life in 1921 , at 67 years of age . But I digress (again !) - as well as hopefully giving the Unionists in Ireland an 'edge' , the British were convinced that the new 'Proportional Representation' (PR) system of voting would prove too complicated for the 'uneducated Irish' , who would unintentionally spoil their votes : but that did'nt happen .
Less than two-and-a-half per cent of votes were spoiled ; the Sinn Fein organisation was expected to attempt to disrupt the January 15th 1920 elections in protest over the new PR system - but they did'nt . The 'Daily Mail' newspaper of the time stated - " That Sinn Fein , instead of opposing a change , declaredly designed to cripple its power , should willingly help in its development , is more than remarkable ... " The reason was 'education' ; Sinn Fein sent out teams of election workers who themselves had been instructed in the new PR system , to pass that information on - and it worked .
That same newspaper (the 'Daily Mail') also noted that the British refused to publicise the workings of the new PR voting system , in the expectation that 'Paddy' would not vote or , if he/she attempted to , would do so wrongly - " Incredible as it may seem , not a single penny could be obtained for the purpose of explaining the system to voters ... "
But 'Paddy' was one step ahead .......
(MORE LATER).
Why We Ended The Hunger-Strike .
The full text of the H-Block Blanket Men's statement announcing the end of the 1981 Hunger-Strike .
First published in 'IRIS' magazine , Volume 1 , Number 2, November 1981 , pages 23 , 24 , 25 and 26 .
Re-published here in 18 parts .
(17 of 18).
" There were several reasons given by our comrades for going on hunger-strike ; one was because we had no choice and no other means of securing a principled solution to the four-year protest . Another , and of fundamental importance , was to advance the Irish people's right to liberty . We believe that the age-old struggle for Irish self-determination and freedom has been immeasurably advanced by this hunger-strike and therefore we claim a massive political victory .
The hunger-strikers , by their selflessness , have politicised a very substantial section of the Irish nation and exposed the shallow , unprincipled nature of the Irish partitionist bloc . Our comrades have lit with their very lives an eternal beacon which will inspire this nation and people to rise and crush oppression forever .
The Irish nation can be proud that it produced such a quality of manhood ....... "
(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.
(1 of 13).
In recent weeks , the American Senate have had hearings relating to a proposed extradition treaty between Britain and the U. S. Dominic McGlinchey , extradited from the Republic (ie the Free State) eighteen months ago is appealing his conviction for murder . Two months ago , John Quinn was freed by a London court following extradition from Dublin last March .
Very soon , even more controversial cases are likely to come before the courts - the recent case of John Patrick Quinn and the apparent bungling of the British police is bound to become an issue in these hearings . This is especially so in view of the harder political line Chief Justices and Attorneys General have been taking in the last few years .
Robert Russell and Brendan Burns are currently in Portlaoise Prison ; between them , they have served three years in jail - neither has been charged with any offence in this jurisdiction nor will they be : they are awaiting extradition to the six counties . Both have been extradited by the District Court and both are looking for orders under Section 50 of the Extradition Act 1965 , quashing their extraditions .
" Political offences " , or " offences connected with political offences " , were always exempt from extradition until the historic Supreme Court judgement in 1982 which saw the handing over of Dominic McGlinchey to the RUC .......
(MORE LATER).
Thursday, November 25, 2004
IRELAND , JANUARY 15th , 1920 : ELECTIONS .......
....... British 'Lord' Edward Carson of Duncairn was an interesting man , with a varied past - and a varied future ahead of him . He was a staunch supporter of the Irish (pro-Brit) Unionists .......
'Lord' Carson (1854-1935) was born in Dublin and became a successful barrister ; at 38 years young he was elected as a Unionist MP (to Westminster) for Dublin University and , again at that age , he was appointed (British) 'Solicitor General for Ireland' and served as the 'Solicitor General for England' from 1900 to 1905 .
At 57 years of age (in 1911) he was elected leader of the 'Ulster Unionist Council' (UUC) and helped to establish the 'Ulster Volunteer Force' (UVF) , a pro-British militia . From 1915 to 1916 he served as the British Attorney General , and was appointed as the 'First Lord of the Admiralty' in 1916 (until 1917) and was a member of Lloyd George's War Cabinet from 1917 to 1918 .
Westminster thought so highly of him that they were to offer him an even bigger 'prize' - but he considered it to be a 'poisoned chalice' .......
(MORE LATER).
Why We Ended The Hunger-Strike .
The full text of the H-Block Blanket Men's statement announcing the end of the 1981 Hunger-Strike .
First published in 'IRIS' magazine , Volume 1 , Number 2, November 1981 , pages 23 , 24 , 25 and 26 .
Re-published here in 18 parts .
(16 of 18).
" Rather than take action to secure an honourable solution and save lives , the SDLP occupied their time trying to make political gain by attacking those who did genuinely endeavour to end the issue honourably , namely the National H-Block/Armagh Committee and those councillors who answered our call to withdraw from the councils .
The SDLP should now be recognised for what it is - an amalgamation of middle-class Redmondites , devoid of principle , direction and courage . They are spineless and weak and are very capable of selling-out to Unionist intimidators for imperialist perks . ('1169...' comment - 'perks' such as seats in a British-imposed 'parliament' at Stormont , perhaps ...?)
Their whole leadership combined do not possess a fraction of the moral fibre demonstrated so valiantly by our comrades ....... "
(MORE LATER).
A CASE OF IRISH JUSTICE .......
By Maureen Armstrong .
First published in ' The Spirit of Freedom ' magazine ; An Independent Journal of Irish News and Opinion ' .
Volume 2 , Number 5 , May 1987 , page 3 .
Re-published here in six parts .
[6 of 6].
For the IRA it was a most remarkable feat : two British Army Observation Posts overlook this area . This fact , together with their extraordinary intelligence coup puts the lie to the British boast that they had defeated them .
Of course , we had the usual tirade from the slaves in Leinster House and in the religion circles . These same people were so strangely silent a few weeks ago when RUC and British Army forces kept a murdered Irish Republican from being buried for three days - there were no feelings of sympathy for the family of Lawrence Marley or for his little baby who is going to grow up without a father .
They were only native Irish Catholics - and , of course, after all the centuries of persecution , they were accustomed to death and humiliation .
[END of ' A CASE OF IRISH JUSTICE ... '].
(Tomorrow - 'The Extradition Fiasco' : from 1985 .)
....... British 'Lord' Edward Carson of Duncairn was an interesting man , with a varied past - and a varied future ahead of him . He was a staunch supporter of the Irish (pro-Brit) Unionists .......
'Lord' Carson (1854-1935) was born in Dublin and became a successful barrister ; at 38 years young he was elected as a Unionist MP (to Westminster) for Dublin University and , again at that age , he was appointed (British) 'Solicitor General for Ireland' and served as the 'Solicitor General for England' from 1900 to 1905 .
At 57 years of age (in 1911) he was elected leader of the 'Ulster Unionist Council' (UUC) and helped to establish the 'Ulster Volunteer Force' (UVF) , a pro-British militia . From 1915 to 1916 he served as the British Attorney General , and was appointed as the 'First Lord of the Admiralty' in 1916 (until 1917) and was a member of Lloyd George's War Cabinet from 1917 to 1918 .
Westminster thought so highly of him that they were to offer him an even bigger 'prize' - but he considered it to be a 'poisoned chalice' .......
(MORE LATER).
Why We Ended The Hunger-Strike .
The full text of the H-Block Blanket Men's statement announcing the end of the 1981 Hunger-Strike .
First published in 'IRIS' magazine , Volume 1 , Number 2, November 1981 , pages 23 , 24 , 25 and 26 .
Re-published here in 18 parts .
(16 of 18).
" Rather than take action to secure an honourable solution and save lives , the SDLP occupied their time trying to make political gain by attacking those who did genuinely endeavour to end the issue honourably , namely the National H-Block/Armagh Committee and those councillors who answered our call to withdraw from the councils .
The SDLP should now be recognised for what it is - an amalgamation of middle-class Redmondites , devoid of principle , direction and courage . They are spineless and weak and are very capable of selling-out to Unionist intimidators for imperialist perks . ('1169...' comment - 'perks' such as seats in a British-imposed 'parliament' at Stormont , perhaps ...?)
Their whole leadership combined do not possess a fraction of the moral fibre demonstrated so valiantly by our comrades ....... "
(MORE LATER).
A CASE OF IRISH JUSTICE .......
By Maureen Armstrong .
First published in ' The Spirit of Freedom ' magazine ; An Independent Journal of Irish News and Opinion ' .
Volume 2 , Number 5 , May 1987 , page 3 .
Re-published here in six parts .
[6 of 6].
For the IRA it was a most remarkable feat : two British Army Observation Posts overlook this area . This fact , together with their extraordinary intelligence coup puts the lie to the British boast that they had defeated them .
Of course , we had the usual tirade from the slaves in Leinster House and in the religion circles . These same people were so strangely silent a few weeks ago when RUC and British Army forces kept a murdered Irish Republican from being buried for three days - there were no feelings of sympathy for the family of Lawrence Marley or for his little baby who is going to grow up without a father .
They were only native Irish Catholics - and , of course, after all the centuries of persecution , they were accustomed to death and humiliation .
[END of ' A CASE OF IRISH JUSTICE ... '].
(Tomorrow - 'The Extradition Fiasco' : from 1985 .)
Wednesday, November 24, 2004
IRELAND , JANUARY 15th , 1920 : ELECTIONS .......
....... after the 15th January 1920 elections , the Unionists lost political control in Derry , which was the 'jewel in the crown' for them .......
The new Nationalist-controlled City Corporation and Mayor of Derry voted to give their allegiance to the 32-County Republican Dail Eireann : the Unionists objected strongly and the 'war of words' turned for the worse when Westminster sent armed RIC men , and British soldiers with bayonets attached to their rifles , into the Nationalist parts of Derry to 'put manners' back on the locals .
Speaking at an 'Orange' (a pro-Brit sectarian organisation) rally at Finaghy , Belfast , Unionist leader Edward Carson ('Lord' Carson of Duncairn) stated -
- " We must proclaim today clearly that , come what will and be the consequences what they may , we in Ulster will tolerate no Sinn Fein - no Sinn Fein organisation , no Sinn Fein methods . But we tell you [the British Government] this : that if , having offered you our help , you are yourselves unable to protect us from the machinations of Sinn Fein , and you won't take our help ; well then , we tell you that we will take the matter into our own hands . We will reorganise , as we feel bound to do in our our defence , throughout the province , the Ulster Volunteers . And those are not mere words . I hate words without action . "
British 'Lord' Edward Carson of Duncairn had an interesting past - and future.......
(MORE LATER).
Why We Ended The Hunger-Strike .
The full text of the H-Block Blanket Men's statement announcing the end of the 1981 Hunger-Strike .
First published in 'IRIS' magazine , Volume 1 , Number 2, November 1981 , pages 23 , 24 , 25 and 26 .
Re-published here in 18 parts .
(15 of 18).
" Well may they (the Dublin Establishment) hang their heads in shame , for they are a pathetic reflection of republicanism and the spirit that traditionally earmarked the Irish patriot's pursuit of nationhood and justice , and by their cowardly collaborationist and quisling stand on the H-Block issue they have debased the memory of generations of Irish freedom fighters who fought for a separatist Ireland .
If John Bull does'nt actually rule the twenty-six counties physically , he still rules in spirit ; and it must not be forgotten that Garret FitzGerald's concept of democracy parallels with Maggie Thatcher's .
There was only one positively injurious action available to the SDLP which would help to save lives in the H-Blocks and that was to isolate the British administration by withdrawing from the council chambers - this they consistently refused to do , preferring instead to cling tenaciously to their role of imperialist lickspittle ....... "
(MORE LATER).
A CASE OF IRISH JUSTICE .......
By Maureen Armstrong .
First published in ' The Spirit of Freedom ' magazine ; An Independent Journal of Irish News and Opinion ' .
Volume 2 , Number 5 , May 1987 , page 3 .
Re-published here in six parts .
(5 of 6).
The Gibsons drove without incident through Dundalk to the Customs Post at Carrickarnon ; the Gardai told him that they would accompany him right to the border but he said that the RUC were waiting for him on the other side . But the RUC were not there - they were waiting a quarter mile from the border as they were reluctant to drive right up there ; they were afraid that the IRA might be waiting for them .
Two minutes before Diplock Judge Gibson's car came across the border , a car had been parked by the roadside ; it was packed with explosives detonated by remote control . Judge Gibson had let off his last murderer of the Irish Republican community .
He went to meet the 'Final Judge' to whom he was so fond of sending young Irish men , women and children .......
(MORE LATER).
....... after the 15th January 1920 elections , the Unionists lost political control in Derry , which was the 'jewel in the crown' for them .......
The new Nationalist-controlled City Corporation and Mayor of Derry voted to give their allegiance to the 32-County Republican Dail Eireann : the Unionists objected strongly and the 'war of words' turned for the worse when Westminster sent armed RIC men , and British soldiers with bayonets attached to their rifles , into the Nationalist parts of Derry to 'put manners' back on the locals .
Speaking at an 'Orange' (a pro-Brit sectarian organisation) rally at Finaghy , Belfast , Unionist leader Edward Carson ('Lord' Carson of Duncairn) stated -
- " We must proclaim today clearly that , come what will and be the consequences what they may , we in Ulster will tolerate no Sinn Fein - no Sinn Fein organisation , no Sinn Fein methods . But we tell you [the British Government] this : that if , having offered you our help , you are yourselves unable to protect us from the machinations of Sinn Fein , and you won't take our help ; well then , we tell you that we will take the matter into our own hands . We will reorganise , as we feel bound to do in our our defence , throughout the province , the Ulster Volunteers . And those are not mere words . I hate words without action . "
British 'Lord' Edward Carson of Duncairn had an interesting past - and future.......
(MORE LATER).
Why We Ended The Hunger-Strike .
The full text of the H-Block Blanket Men's statement announcing the end of the 1981 Hunger-Strike .
First published in 'IRIS' magazine , Volume 1 , Number 2, November 1981 , pages 23 , 24 , 25 and 26 .
Re-published here in 18 parts .
(15 of 18).
" Well may they (the Dublin Establishment) hang their heads in shame , for they are a pathetic reflection of republicanism and the spirit that traditionally earmarked the Irish patriot's pursuit of nationhood and justice , and by their cowardly collaborationist and quisling stand on the H-Block issue they have debased the memory of generations of Irish freedom fighters who fought for a separatist Ireland .
If John Bull does'nt actually rule the twenty-six counties physically , he still rules in spirit ; and it must not be forgotten that Garret FitzGerald's concept of democracy parallels with Maggie Thatcher's .
There was only one positively injurious action available to the SDLP which would help to save lives in the H-Blocks and that was to isolate the British administration by withdrawing from the council chambers - this they consistently refused to do , preferring instead to cling tenaciously to their role of imperialist lickspittle ....... "
(MORE LATER).
A CASE OF IRISH JUSTICE .......
By Maureen Armstrong .
First published in ' The Spirit of Freedom ' magazine ; An Independent Journal of Irish News and Opinion ' .
Volume 2 , Number 5 , May 1987 , page 3 .
Re-published here in six parts .
(5 of 6).
The Gibsons drove without incident through Dundalk to the Customs Post at Carrickarnon ; the Gardai told him that they would accompany him right to the border but he said that the RUC were waiting for him on the other side . But the RUC were not there - they were waiting a quarter mile from the border as they were reluctant to drive right up there ; they were afraid that the IRA might be waiting for them .
Two minutes before Diplock Judge Gibson's car came across the border , a car had been parked by the roadside ; it was packed with explosives detonated by remote control . Judge Gibson had let off his last murderer of the Irish Republican community .
He went to meet the 'Final Judge' to whom he was so fond of sending young Irish men , women and children .......
(MORE LATER).
Tuesday, November 23, 2004
IRELAND , JANUARY 15th , 1920 : ELECTIONS .......
....... in order to convince Ulster Unionists that they should jettison three of Ulster's nine counties - and their Unionist brethren that lived in those three counties - Cavan , Monaghan and Donegal - so that Westminster might more easily effect 'control' over that part of Ireland , the then influential British MP , Thomas Moles (who was later to be appointed Editor of 'The Belfast Telegraph' newspaper) stated .......
....... " If a ship were sinking and there were only enough life boats for two-thirds of the passengers , should they all drown rather than leave anyone behind ? " ('1169...' comment - no mention of it being a stolen 'ship' , crewed by pirates !) However - the British Bill in question (ie- 'The Government of Ireland Bill') was eventually accepted , and became 'law' in May 1920 . But the 'new' 'Six County Ulster' was also 'problematic' for the Brits - at the time it had a Unionist majority of 820,000 to 430,000 Nationalists , but the 'spread' of both sides created problems in attempting to gerrymander the area .
Two of the Six Counties had a Nationalist majority - Fermanagh 56.2 per cent , and Tyrone 55.4 per cent . Plus , some city's and other areas had Nationalist majority's , too : Derry City , parts of Armagh and Down , and Belfast . It was hoped by Westminster that the then new voting system of proportional representation would give the Unionists an edge .
But the fact that the January 15th , 1920 election had seen the Unionists loose control of Derry Corporation was still 'hurting' the Unionists and their political masters in Westminster .......
(MORE LATER).
Why We Ended The Hunger-Strike .
The full text of the H-Block Blanket Men's statement announcing the end of the 1981 Hunger-Strike .
First published in 'IRIS' magazine , Volume 1 , Number 2, November 1981 , pages 23 , 24 , 25 and 26 .
Re-published here in 18 parts .
(14 of 18).
" We believe that the Dublin bloc of Fianna Fail , Fine Gael , and Labour are accessories to the legalised murder of ten true and committed Irishmen who died heroically in the long tradition of republican resistance to British occupation , oppression , and injustice in Ireland .
They are accessories to murder by virture of the fact that they sat idly by and thus encouraged the British to continue with the death policy .
The sheer hypocrisy of their position is that at no time did any of these three parties unequivocally or even tacitly support our demands , even though our five demands are implemented in their entirety - even more than we were looking for - in jails in Southern Ireland ....... "
(MORE LATER).
A CASE OF IRISH JUSTICE .......
By Maureen Armstrong .
First published in ' The Spirit of Freedom ' magazine ; An Independent Journal of Irish News and Opinion ' .
Volume 2 , Number 5 , May 1987 , page 3 .
Re-published here in six parts .
(4 of 6).
British 'Lord' Justice Gibson had a holiday home at Doonan , Kilcar , in County Donegal ; the slavish , obeisant behaviour of the Dublin government to " His Lordship" added to his secret feeling of invulnerability . This was his downfall .
The long-suffering Republican and Nationalist community in the North had no respect for this arrogant purveyor of British 'justice' in the six occupied counties . Their defenders , the Irish Republican Army , were thwarted in dealing out the justice he deserved because he was under strong security both at his home and in transit to and from the courts .
Gibson , thinking that he was invincible , made his own arrangements on his trip to Britain ; he decided to come back through Dublin , as he so enjoyed having the slaves in the 'Republic' take such good care of him . On Thursday , April 23rd , the RUC notified the Gardai Security Section in the Phoenix Park , Dublin , and ordered them to meet 'Lord' Gibson at the B+I terminal on Saturday and escort him to the 'Border' .......
(MORE LATER).
....... in order to convince Ulster Unionists that they should jettison three of Ulster's nine counties - and their Unionist brethren that lived in those three counties - Cavan , Monaghan and Donegal - so that Westminster might more easily effect 'control' over that part of Ireland , the then influential British MP , Thomas Moles (who was later to be appointed Editor of 'The Belfast Telegraph' newspaper) stated .......
....... " If a ship were sinking and there were only enough life boats for two-thirds of the passengers , should they all drown rather than leave anyone behind ? " ('1169...' comment - no mention of it being a stolen 'ship' , crewed by pirates !) However - the British Bill in question (ie- 'The Government of Ireland Bill') was eventually accepted , and became 'law' in May 1920 . But the 'new' 'Six County Ulster' was also 'problematic' for the Brits - at the time it had a Unionist majority of 820,000 to 430,000 Nationalists , but the 'spread' of both sides created problems in attempting to gerrymander the area .
Two of the Six Counties had a Nationalist majority - Fermanagh 56.2 per cent , and Tyrone 55.4 per cent . Plus , some city's and other areas had Nationalist majority's , too : Derry City , parts of Armagh and Down , and Belfast . It was hoped by Westminster that the then new voting system of proportional representation would give the Unionists an edge .
But the fact that the January 15th , 1920 election had seen the Unionists loose control of Derry Corporation was still 'hurting' the Unionists and their political masters in Westminster .......
(MORE LATER).
Why We Ended The Hunger-Strike .
The full text of the H-Block Blanket Men's statement announcing the end of the 1981 Hunger-Strike .
First published in 'IRIS' magazine , Volume 1 , Number 2, November 1981 , pages 23 , 24 , 25 and 26 .
Re-published here in 18 parts .
(14 of 18).
" We believe that the Dublin bloc of Fianna Fail , Fine Gael , and Labour are accessories to the legalised murder of ten true and committed Irishmen who died heroically in the long tradition of republican resistance to British occupation , oppression , and injustice in Ireland .
They are accessories to murder by virture of the fact that they sat idly by and thus encouraged the British to continue with the death policy .
The sheer hypocrisy of their position is that at no time did any of these three parties unequivocally or even tacitly support our demands , even though our five demands are implemented in their entirety - even more than we were looking for - in jails in Southern Ireland ....... "
(MORE LATER).
A CASE OF IRISH JUSTICE .......
By Maureen Armstrong .
First published in ' The Spirit of Freedom ' magazine ; An Independent Journal of Irish News and Opinion ' .
Volume 2 , Number 5 , May 1987 , page 3 .
Re-published here in six parts .
(4 of 6).
British 'Lord' Justice Gibson had a holiday home at Doonan , Kilcar , in County Donegal ; the slavish , obeisant behaviour of the Dublin government to " His Lordship" added to his secret feeling of invulnerability . This was his downfall .
The long-suffering Republican and Nationalist community in the North had no respect for this arrogant purveyor of British 'justice' in the six occupied counties . Their defenders , the Irish Republican Army , were thwarted in dealing out the justice he deserved because he was under strong security both at his home and in transit to and from the courts .
Gibson , thinking that he was invincible , made his own arrangements on his trip to Britain ; he decided to come back through Dublin , as he so enjoyed having the slaves in the 'Republic' take such good care of him . On Thursday , April 23rd , the RUC notified the Gardai Security Section in the Phoenix Park , Dublin , and ordered them to meet 'Lord' Gibson at the B+I terminal on Saturday and escort him to the 'Border' .......
(MORE LATER).
Monday, November 22, 2004
IRELAND , JANUARY 15th , 1920 : ELECTIONS .......
....... the British Parliament at Westminster proposed to include legislation for a 'Council of Ireland' within its new (ie February 1920) 'Government of Ireland Bill' ; this 'Council' was put forward by the Brits as a 'sweetner' , to encourage the Nationalist/Republican community to accept the 'Bill' .......
The Unionists in Ireland , however , were sceptical and reluctant to accept the 'Government of Ireland Bill' , as it proposed the establishment of a nine-county parliament in Ulster , but Westminster encouraged them to believe that a local 'parliament' would strengthen their position within Ireland - and that was the reason put forward in 'The Government of Ireland Bill' for abandoning the three Ulster Counties of Cavan , Monaghan and Donegal...
... it was pointed out to the Irish (pro-Brit) Unionists that , within the Nine Counties of Ulster , Unionists had a 56.3 per cent majority , whereas , within a Six County 'Ulster' , they would have a 66 per cent majority . In true 'divide and conquer' style (even , as in this case , when dealing with 'their own' people ) , the Brits , speaking to those who were not in favour of jettisoning their Unionist brethren in Cavan , Monaghan and Donegal let it be known that Cavan had an 81.5 per cent Nationalist majority , Monaghan 74.7 per cent and Donegal 78.9 per cent - in short , Westminster could 'control' a Six County 'Ulster' better than it could a nine-county Ulster !
The then influential British MP , Thomas Moles (who was later to be appointed Editor of 'The Belfast Telegraph' newspaper) summed-up the options in his own indomitable way .......
(MORE LATER).
Why We Ended The Hunger-Strike .
The full text of the H-Block Blanket Men's statement announcing the end of the 1981 Hunger-Strike .
First published in 'IRIS' magazine , Volume 1 , Number 2, November 1981 , pages 23 , 24 , 25 and 26 .
Re-published here in 18 parts .
(13 of 18).
" We contend very strongly that the reason why the British did'nt respond to our August 6th statement is that the prison regime we proposed was inarguably superior and better than the present Victorian regime and that the church accepted this , but to support our demands would be to oppose the British government .
And the logical conclusion , again , would be to consciously incite the Irish Catholic population to oppose the British policy ; therefore , they remained ambiguous on the entire issue and the reason , as we stated, is that they are intricately immersed in the field of politics and deceit .
It was the Catholic clerics , more than anyone , who were involved in the back-door and public pressuring of families to get them to intervene ......."
(MORE LATER).
A CASE OF IRISH JUSTICE .......
By Maureen Armstrong .
First published in ' The Spirit of Freedom ' magazine ; An Independent Journal of Irish News and Opinion ' .
Volume 2 , Number 5 , May 1987 , page 3 .
Re-published here in six parts .
(3 of 6).
British 'Lord' Justice Gibson commended the RUC for sending three young Irishmen "...to the final court of justice . " The three lads had been shot dead by the RUC .
This time there was a reaction from some of the politicians ; Seamus Mallon (SDLP) accused Gibson of giving " a licence to murder " to the RUC , and added that the decision marked a new low in the Northern judiciary . Next day , Mallon forgot all about the whole affair !
He had voiced his opinion and that was that as far as he was concerned . The Toman case eventually became one of the alleged 'shoot-to-kill' incidents investigated by former Manchester Deputy Chief Constable John Stalker .
The tremendous power that British 'Lord' Justice Gibson wielded over the Nationalist community in the North made him secretly feel as if he was 'God' ; to further feed his 'secret power over the Irish' he secured for himsef a holiday home at Doonan , Kilcar , County Donegal and he revelled in the attention and security provided him by the Garda Siochana .......
(MORE LATER).
....... the British Parliament at Westminster proposed to include legislation for a 'Council of Ireland' within its new (ie February 1920) 'Government of Ireland Bill' ; this 'Council' was put forward by the Brits as a 'sweetner' , to encourage the Nationalist/Republican community to accept the 'Bill' .......
The Unionists in Ireland , however , were sceptical and reluctant to accept the 'Government of Ireland Bill' , as it proposed the establishment of a nine-county parliament in Ulster , but Westminster encouraged them to believe that a local 'parliament' would strengthen their position within Ireland - and that was the reason put forward in 'The Government of Ireland Bill' for abandoning the three Ulster Counties of Cavan , Monaghan and Donegal...
... it was pointed out to the Irish (pro-Brit) Unionists that , within the Nine Counties of Ulster , Unionists had a 56.3 per cent majority , whereas , within a Six County 'Ulster' , they would have a 66 per cent majority . In true 'divide and conquer' style (even , as in this case , when dealing with 'their own' people ) , the Brits , speaking to those who were not in favour of jettisoning their Unionist brethren in Cavan , Monaghan and Donegal let it be known that Cavan had an 81.5 per cent Nationalist majority , Monaghan 74.7 per cent and Donegal 78.9 per cent - in short , Westminster could 'control' a Six County 'Ulster' better than it could a nine-county Ulster !
The then influential British MP , Thomas Moles (who was later to be appointed Editor of 'The Belfast Telegraph' newspaper) summed-up the options in his own indomitable way .......
(MORE LATER).
Why We Ended The Hunger-Strike .
The full text of the H-Block Blanket Men's statement announcing the end of the 1981 Hunger-Strike .
First published in 'IRIS' magazine , Volume 1 , Number 2, November 1981 , pages 23 , 24 , 25 and 26 .
Re-published here in 18 parts .
(13 of 18).
" We contend very strongly that the reason why the British did'nt respond to our August 6th statement is that the prison regime we proposed was inarguably superior and better than the present Victorian regime and that the church accepted this , but to support our demands would be to oppose the British government .
And the logical conclusion , again , would be to consciously incite the Irish Catholic population to oppose the British policy ; therefore , they remained ambiguous on the entire issue and the reason , as we stated, is that they are intricately immersed in the field of politics and deceit .
It was the Catholic clerics , more than anyone , who were involved in the back-door and public pressuring of families to get them to intervene ......."
(MORE LATER).
A CASE OF IRISH JUSTICE .......
By Maureen Armstrong .
First published in ' The Spirit of Freedom ' magazine ; An Independent Journal of Irish News and Opinion ' .
Volume 2 , Number 5 , May 1987 , page 3 .
Re-published here in six parts .
(3 of 6).
British 'Lord' Justice Gibson commended the RUC for sending three young Irishmen "...to the final court of justice . " The three lads had been shot dead by the RUC .
This time there was a reaction from some of the politicians ; Seamus Mallon (SDLP) accused Gibson of giving " a licence to murder " to the RUC , and added that the decision marked a new low in the Northern judiciary . Next day , Mallon forgot all about the whole affair !
He had voiced his opinion and that was that as far as he was concerned . The Toman case eventually became one of the alleged 'shoot-to-kill' incidents investigated by former Manchester Deputy Chief Constable John Stalker .
The tremendous power that British 'Lord' Justice Gibson wielded over the Nationalist community in the North made him secretly feel as if he was 'God' ; to further feed his 'secret power over the Irish' he secured for himsef a holiday home at Doonan , Kilcar , County Donegal and he revelled in the attention and security provided him by the Garda Siochana .......
(MORE LATER).