'THE PRESS' Newspaper , October 1797 - March 1798 .
Too Radical for the Radicals .......
....... in February 1798 , the representative of the United Irishmen leadership , Arthur O'Connor , was arrested by the Brits in Margate , England , whilst on his way to France to help organise assistance for the Rebel Cause in Ireland . He was 'tried' with 'sedition' (in May 1798) - but found 'not guilty' ! He was immediately re-arrested , transported to Kilmainham Jail in Dublin and charged , again , with 'sedition' : but not given a 'trial' this time . He was just simply locked-up in Kilmainham - then , after seven months (ie in January 1799) he was brought before the prison administration .......
He was told he was to be moved to Fort George Prison in Scotland ; he was incarcerated there for three years and two months (ie until March 1802) and was only released , as stated earlier in this piece , because the French 'named' him under the 'Peace Of Amiens' Treaty which was signed between the French and the British on 25th March 1802 to bring their war to an end . On his release , Arthur O'Connor was deported to France and enlisted in their Army .
Within two years (ie by 1804) he was appointed General-Of-Division by Napoleon ; on 25th April , 1852 , at 92 years of age (or 87 , depending on your source - I believe it was the former) Arthur O'Connor died . However (before that small 'tangent' !) - after his 'arrest' by the Brits (in February 1798) , Westminster was aware that his colleague , 'Lord' Edward Fitzgerald , was still free and they knew he was capable of using 'The Press' newspaper as a 'tool' with which to rally the thousands of United Irishmen who supported Fitzgerald and O'Connor in their call for an immediate armed Rising ...
... - so Westminster ordered their uniformed thugs in Ireland to 'visit' the Offices of 'The Press' newspaper .......
(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 .
(12 of 20).
Edward Langley , a 'PR' man with the General Electric group , travelled America with Ronald Reagan in the mid-1950's :
: " Gradually , and only he knows precisely when , he came to share the 'Middle American' views of his audiences . Reagan , then as now , was a consummate crowd-pleaser who loved the applause and the interplay with his listeners . Eventually , from whatever mixture of performing instinct and new conviction , he started taking his audiences' opinion for his own , and telling them what they wanted to hear . "
In 1964 , Reagan gave his now famous " Islands of Freedom ... " speech for the ill-fated Republican Presidential candidate , Barry Goldwater - " We stand here on the only island of freedom that is left in the whole world , " he told a national television audience , " there is no place to flee to , no place to escape to . We defend freedom here or it is gone ... "
Contributions poured in after his address - still , Goldwater lost by a landslide .......
(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 .
(8 of 14).
19th March : David Braniff (63) , a father of 13 , was shot dead at his home in Alliance Avenue , Belfast , as he knelt with his wife and one daughter reciting the rosary . Two loyalist gunmen burst into the house and killed Mr. Braniff despite an attempt by his wife to save his life .
20th March : Chief Superintendent Harry Breen (51) from Banbridge , County Down , and Superintendent Bob Buchanan (55) from Moira , County Down , died when the car they were travelling in was attacked by an IRA Unit near Jonesboro in South Armagh . The two men had just crossed the border from the south on an unapproved road when they encountered an IRA checkpoint . They had been attending a meeting with Chief Superintendent John Nolan at Dundalk Garda Station where 'cross border security' was discussed . Chief Supt. Breen was Commander of the RUC's 'H' Division which includes Newry , South Armagh and Armagh City , while Supt. Buchanan was in charge of RUC 'liaison' with the Gardai , a key post in the RUC hierarchy .
(MORE LATER).
