THE SEEDS OF A POLICE STATE .......There is substantial evidence that a major crime was perpetrated within the Garda Siochana five years ago .
The evidence for this crime has certainly been available to senior Gardai ever since then , but no enquiry whatsoever has taken place , let alone any Garda being disciplined in connection with that crime .
By Vincent Browne and Derek Dunne .
From 'MAGILL' magazine , September 1983 .
Under cross examination , Alan Martin admitted that he was arrested and detained under Section 30 of the Offences Against the State Act , 1939 , and that he had been asked questions in relation to the Sallins mail train robbery . He further admitted that he had previous convictions including one for housebreaking .
He said that he couldn't sleep because of all the screaming and shouting and crying that was going on , and that it seemed to have gone on for hours but that finally he managed to get to sleep . He said also that the following morning , the person who gave out the breakfasts said that the occupant of the cell nearby was not able for his meal , and gave him a double portion . He stated that all the commotion was going on when he was trying to get to sleep , and further denied that his evidence was fabrication .
Only the Most Cursory Investigation :
The senior Garda Officers involved in the case acknowledged in court that they were aware of the allegations being made at the time about the ill-treatment of those held in connection with the Sallins mail train robbery . There was press coverage given to those allegations , as there were several press conferences held by members of the Irish Republican Socialist Party (IRSP), to which most of those held belonged , to publicise these allegations . In addition , there was of course the Habeas Corpus hearing in the State High Court of Osgur Breathnach , where allegations were made public and as a result of which Breathnach was sent to hospital by order of the court . Apart from that , the Gardai would have been aware from an early stage of the medical evidence that had been accumulated in the case . Yet only the most cursory enquiry was held into these allegations.......
(MORE LATER).
SPORTING NATIONALISM .......A look at the political origins of the GAA .
By 'Celt' .
From 'IRIS' magazine , November 1982 .
By 1886 , the Fenian element within the GAA was extremely strong : P.T. Hoctor , a renowned IRB leader from Tipperary , was elected vice-president , and in the same year an invitation was offered to the Fenian , John O' Leary , just returned from exile , to become one of the GAA's patrons .
Other invitations to become patrons had been accepted by Maurice Davin and the Archbishop of Cashel , Dr. Croke : Davin was an outstanding athlete and was driven by a concern to preserve Irish games from alien influences * . Dr. Croke's patronage saw the Catholic Church recognising the growing strength of the GAA , and the Archbishop himself was to act as mediator as the growing dissent between political factions for control of the GAA continued with vigour . ('1169...' Comment* : We can only presume that Maurice Davin , amongst others , are turning in their graves over the fact that the GAA now welcomes 'officials' of those 'alien influences' - the British 'security forces' - as members of its organisation. For shame....)
The annual convention of 1887 was indicative of this power struggle - the IRB had managed to pack the meeting with its members , and foremost among them were P.T. Hoctor and P.N. Fitzgerald . Forced to wait in the streets outside , with only a few of their supporters inside the convention , the 'clerical brigade' and 'National Leaguers' , led by Fr. John Scanlan , tried to storm the meeting : amidst fist fights the press stand was wrecked by a group led by Fr. John Scanlan himself ! Having been repelled by stewards , Scanlan and his colleagues withdrew to hold a splinter meeting . Meanwhile , inside the convention itself , the IRB candidate , E.M. Bennett of Ennis , County Clare , defeated Maurice Davin by 316 to 210 votes.......
(MORE LATER).
THE PROVOS AT THE BALLOT BOX .......By Michael Farrell .
From 'MAGILL' magazine , June 1983 .
Once the immediate backlog of social deprivation in the ghettos is tidied up a bit , constituency work , especially on local councils , will involve compromises and choices between priorities which are likely to lead to sharp divisions in an organisation aiming at revolutionary socialism . ('1169...' Comment : the Provisional Sinn Fein [PSF- 'Please Stoop Lower'] Party are currently experiencing those "sharp divisions" over how best to implement British policy in Ireland on behalf of their leadership in Westminster . As did 'The Workers Party' before them : some of Adams' people , unlike him , are only prepared to bow the head so far - their leader , and those immediately surrounding him , have no 'bottom line' and will do whatever it takes to secure their own political and financial wellbeing . They are politically and morally corrupt and , as such , are well suited to the corridors of Leinster House , Stormont and Westminster.)
And , if Sinn Fein does succeed in winning substantial support outside the republican ghettos , tension will grow between the political and military wings of the movement as the politically involved confront the 'adverse effect' of much of the IRA's activities on the population at large . ('1169...' Comment - the then IRA's "activities" were not focussed on "the population at large " : rather , the response to those activities by the Staters and the British Administration was focussed on that population , in the hope that , by 'squeezing' same , pressure would be brought to bear on Irish republicans to call off their campaign.) It looks as if Sinn Fein is more likely to have to cope with the problems of success than of failure : they look as if they will substantially increase their total and probably approach the 90,000 or 45 per cent to 50 per cent of the nationalist vote they are aiming at .
In the five nationalist-majority constituencies they should do even better , beating the SDLP in three - West Belfast , Fermanagh-South Tyrone and Mid-Ulster , and they may well pull ahead of the SDLP in the five taken as a whole.......
(MORE LATER).
