MURDER MOST FOUL .
By Joe Egan .
A lecture delivered to Dublin Republicans by Joe Egan on 26th November 1989 : I have had the following document for the past 16 years ; it was given to me by its author , a friend and true Irish Republican and deserves a wider readership - John Horan .
" Theobald Wolfe Tone was born on June 20, 1763 - the exact time and date of his death are unknown . Wolfe Tone was sentenced to death on November 10 , 1798 ; on November 11 he was informed by his gaolers that he would be publicly hanged on the following day , Monday , at one o'clock .
It is generally accepted that Wolfe Tone died on November 19 , 1798 ; in fact , he could have been murdered at any time during the previous week , and there is no doubt , and none of us should be in any doubt , of his murder by British Crown agents .
It is time now , once and for all , to bury the lie that Wolfe Tone took his own life . These false stories were put out at the time not just to cover up the murder but also as black propaganda to denigrate Tone and the Cause he cherished with all his being . The proof of their successes in trying to destroy Wolfe Tone's character is still evident today nearly 200 years later ....... "
(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 .
(15 of 20).
Despite his constant verbal lashings at rebellious students and their teachers , and his budget cuts , throughout eight controversial and stormy years , Ronald Reagan's popularity with voters remained high - at times registering as much as a 70 per cent approval rating . Clearly he knew his audience .
He made a short and belated effort to run for President in 1968 , then supported Richard Nixon in 1972 and throughout Nixon's travail with Watergate ; Reagan was no great Nixon fan but he could hear opportunity knocking and he wanted to stay on the good side of party Officials . When Nixon finally resigned , Reagan quickly formed an exploratory committee to take soundings of the political waters .
Two years later I stood in Kansas City and watched as Ronald Reagan , a man who had been in professional politics less than ten years , fell just 117 votes short (out of 2257) of capturing the Republican nomination for President .......
(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 .
(11 of 14).
4th May : John Griffiths (37) was killed when a bomb planted under his car exploded as he left his home at Ballynick Road , Loughgall , County Armagh . The IRA claimed responsibility for the death of Mr. Griffiths , who was on his way to the Maze Prison where he worked as a nurse in the prison hospital , having previously served in the British Army and the UDR .
4th May : Corporal Stephen McGonigle (30) was killed when a roadside bomb exploded as he was on foot patrol in the countryside near Silverbridge , South Armagh , on the main Newry-Crossmaglen Road ; from Newark in Nottinghamshire , he had been in the British Army for 14 years and was married with two children . Three other British soldiers were injured in the attack which occured as they examined a parked car containing the bomb .
(MORE LATER).
