'THE PRESS' Newspaper , October 1797 - March 1798 .
Too Radical for the Radicals .......
....... 'The Press' newspaper was judged by the Brits to be a militant publication , as it should have been ; however , some within its own 'camp' were wary of it , too , for much the same reason .......
A typical Editorial in 'The Press' newspaper ran (from Tuesday , 3rd October 1797) -
- " In a country really independent , the laws and policy originate within its own bosom and are calculated to extend the advantages of the state... (but) ... the government of this country has almost uniformly proposed to itself , as the ultimate end of its policy , the maintenance of an English interest as erroneously contra-distinguished from the interests of Ireland ..... "
Supporters of 'The Press' newspaper and the people behind that publication believed that they should strike a blow for freedom regardless of whether any assistance was promised from elsewhere or not - others within the United Irishmen leadership were opposed to such a move , notably Thomas Addis Emmet and a Dr. William James MacNeven , believing that they should wait for assistance from the French .
Thomas Addis Emmet was born in Cork on 24th April 1764 ; when he was 14 years young , his mother gave birth to another boy , Robert , who became more closely associated with the 'Emmet' name than Thomas Addis .......
(MORE LATER).
LIGHTS , CAMERA , REAGAN .......!
By John Dean.
First published in 'MAGILL' magazine , October 1980 , pages 30, 31, 35, and 37.
Re-published here in 20 parts .
(2 of 20).
In January 1970 , I questioned California Governor Ronald Reagan about new drug laws ; when I finished , I waited for him to question me , as had the other governors : he had no questions . So I asked him a few more questions but backed off very quickly for I realised that he had no idea what I was really talking about . Governor Reagan made a few banal remarks about drugs and then changed the subject to the speech he would soon be delivering , " .. on television " . It was clear the speech was far more 'important' than anything I had to offer , so I quickly ended the meeting .
Within the inner circles of the Nixon Administration , Reagan was considered a 'lightweight' , so I was not surprised at our meeting ; nor was John Mitchell when I reported back - " Reagan's into images and only images , " said Mitchell . And over the years I was struck by how attractive that image was and is .
Off-camera , the Reagans look good but they also look their years . On-camera , they look like an ad agency's conception of the perfect older couple , which is to say not old at all , even though today he is 69 and she is 57 .......
(MORE LATER).
BIG BROTHER HAS ARRIVED .......
An investigation into the extent of telephone surveillance in Ireland shows that with the aid of new technology , telephone tapping has reached alarmimg proportions and most of it is done illegally .
By Frank Doherty .
First published in 'MAGILL' magazine , December 1980 , page 19.
(4 of 6).
One of the most audacious interceptions was organised by the Official IRA and controlled by the late Liam McMillan ; the operational telegraph network of the British Army in the North was tapped and its signals sent into the telex machine of the 'Cork Examiner' newspaper's Office , to which the Officials had a key .
At that time , in 1971 and 1972 , reporter Walter Ellis , the 'Examiner's ' sole employee in the North , arrived at the one-room office in Lombard Street only at predictable times - to telex his copy to Cork . At other times the teleprinter spewed out requests for 'Q cars' for undercover intelligence from the tactical Headquarters of various British battalions , request lists to British Army 'Northern Ireland' (sic) Command , Lisburn , for permission to raid specified houses for named individuals .
Also , at midday , an intelligence precis of the previous 24 hours , which was broadcast to all British units , would be printed-off by the telex machine .......
(MORE LATER).
