'THE PRESS' Newspaper , October 1797 - March 1798 .
Too Radical for the Radicals .......
....... in July 1798 , seventy-six Irish political prisoners - including Dr. William James MacNeven , Arthur O'Connor and Thomas Addis Emmet - entered into an 'agreement' with their British jailers that , in return for certain information , the Brits would stop the on-going slaughter of the now-leaderless United Irishmen organisation and release the 76 prisoners , allowing them to be exiled to a country of their own choice . The 'trade-off' began .......
However : once the Brits had got the information they wanted , they changed their mind ! They assembled the 76 Irish political prisoners but , instead of allowing them to go and to be exiled to a country of their own choice , as per the 'Treaty of Newgate' agreement , they shipped them off to a Scottish prison , Fort George ! That was in 1798 ; four years later (ie 1802) Dr. William James MacNeven and the other 'Treaty of Newgate' prisoners were finally released - they went to France .
The majority of them , led by MacNeven , enlisted in the 'Irish Brigade' of the French Army in the hope that the French military leadership could be persuaded to launch an invasion of Ireland to help remove the British presence . After three years 'pushing' the Irish agenda within the French Army , MacNeven realised that it was'nt going to happen ; he resigned his Commission in 1805 (he was by then a Captain) and left France for New York .
He practised his medical skills in that city on the poor Irish wretches that landed there , having been forced to leave their own country . On 12th July 1841 , at 78 years of age , Dr. William James MacNeven died in New York . He is buried on Riker Farm , in Queens .
However (tangents , tangents !) - back to the Irish Rebel newspaper that Arthur O'Connor and 'Lord' Edward Fitzgerald founded ; 'The Press' .......
(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 .
(9 of 20).
In 1942 , Ronald Reagan joined the United States Army , though despite his 'hawkishness' in later years he never himself went into battle - becoming a Captain with a film unit in Hollywood . Up until his army years , Reagan was a card-carrying liberal : " I was a near helpless hemophiliac liberal . I bled for causes . I had voted Democratic , following my father , in every election . "
Reagan's father was a first-generation Irish Catholic ; his mother a Scots-English Protestant . He ascribes his love of politics , as well as his early liberalism , to his background - " As a first-line Irishman , I relish it . There seems to be something blarney-green in the blood of most sons of the old sod that gives zest to the shillelagh psyche . " ('1169...' Comment - apologises to our readers for that .... !)
Unlike most candidates today , Ronald Reagan does not wear his religion or ancestry on his sleeve and that bit of 'green hokum' is the only nod he gives to his Irish background .......
(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 .
(5 of 14).
26th February : Joseph Fenton (35) from Sawel Hill , Andersonstown , was shot dead by the IRA in Bunbeg Park , Lenadoon . A claim by the IRA that Mr. Fenton was working as an agent for the British Army and RUC was immediately denied . However , later in the week the dead man's father , Patrick Fenton , said that he accepted the IRA's claim having been given evidence that his son had worked as a paid informer since 1982 . His information had lead to the capture of several IRA Volunteers and the seizure of arms and explosives by the RUC . Mr. Fenton left behind four children .
28th February : Retired RUC Inspector Gabriel Mullaly , of Kirkliston Park , Belfast , was killed when a bomb exploded under his car at the junction of North Road and Upper Newtownards Road . The IRA claimed responsibility for the killing .
(MORE LATER).
(Sorry for the delay in posting today , Tue 1st March : the 'Blogger' 'PUBLISH' button was down until recently - Sharon .)
