'THE PRESS' Newspaper , October 1797 - March 1798 .
Too Radical for the Radicals .......
....... at 20 years young , in 1783 , William James MacNeven returned to Dublin to establish himself as a medical doctor ; he also joined the 'Catholic Committee' , which sought legal changes to the way Catholics were being victimised because of their religion .......
However - a campaign , well-meaning as it was , to obtain better employment opportunities in 'high' Office for ('upper-class') Catholics was not the number-one priority when you and yours had empty bellies ; the immediate cause of that type of poverty was British mis-rule and the treatment dished-out to the Irish 'peasantry' by Westminster's military and its political leadership .
Dr. William James MacNeven must have come to that same conclusion because , at the invitation of 'Lord' Edward Fitzgerald , he joined the militant 'Society of United Irishmen' and soon became one of the leaders of that organisation . However , the two men were later to 'fall-out' over how , and when , to tackle the Brits in an armed uprising . When he was 34 years young (ie in 1797) Dr. William MacNeven would have witnessed the British Yeomen and Militia , under direction from their General Lake , persecuting the starving Irish ; it was agreed that MacNeven should travel to Paris in July that year (1797) to again seek French help for a Rising in Ireland .
He would have been aware of French efforts to assist the Irish eight months previously (ie in December 1796) .......
(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 .
(6 of 20).
Ronald Reagan almost always talks in generalities , making it extremely difficult to pin him down on specifics ; Elizabeth Drew , of 'The New Yorker' says - " Talking to Reagan can be something like grappling with a wet cake of soap . He is pleasant enough , responsive , even garroulous , but often he follows much the same script that he does on stage , and many of his answers slide away . "
Ronald Reagan is not dumb : he knows full well that elections are won on image , and by generalists . Saying the same things over and over is safe , lessening the chance of being tripped up and looking bad . He is also one of the best public speakers in American politics today , knowing how to stir a crowd and keep them in their seats listening - it's the use of humour with a good delivery .
He is sincere , and whether you agree or not with what he's saying , he says it well and obviously believes what he is saying .......
(MORE LATER).
DEATH LIST 1989 .......
Two RUC Officers and two British soldiers , one based in West Germany , were killed by the IRA since mid-May , while a Catholic barman was shot by the UFF bringing the total death toll to 39 this year .
No by-line.
From 'MAGILL' magazine , July 1989 , pages 22 and 23 .
Re-published here in 14 parts .
(2 of 14).
28 January : RUC Constable Stephen Montgomery (26) was killed and another RUC man seriously injured when a drogue bomb hit their vehicle close to midnight at Sion Mills in County Tyrone . The bomb was thrown from a roof top . The IRA claimed responsibility .
31 January : British Army Private Nicholas Peacock (20) from Grantham , Lincolnshire , was killed in a bomb blast at the side of the 'Rock Bar' at the junction of the Falls Road and Rockmore Road in West Belfast . In the North for less than a month , Private Peacock was the first British soldier to die in Ireland in 1989 .
6 February : James Joseph Connolly (20) , an IRA Volunteer from Castlederg , County Tyrone , was killed when a bomb he was planting under the car of an RUC Officer exploded prematurely at Drumquin , County Tyrone . Josie Connolly was born in Glasgow in August 1968 and was a bricklayer by trade and a well-known amateur boxer .
(MORE LATER).
