MISSED OPPORTUNITIES...


On this weekend (Saturday 29th and Sunday 30th September) in 1979, Pope John Paul II ,the spiritual head of the Catholic Church, became the first Pope to visit Ireland . Those half-hoping that such an influential person might use the occasion to highlight the many injustices inflicted by Westminster on the Irish were to be disappointed : instead , we got the opposite - a pro-establishment , pro-Westminster/Free State and anti-Republican rant , during which , in an address to the Irish nation ,the man said - ""On my knees I beg you to turn away from the paths of violence and return to the ways of peace."

No mention of the British military and political presence on the island ; no reference to the (continuing) claim of British jurisdiction over six Irish counties ; not a word about "the paths of violence" which lead to Number 10 Downing Street: condemnation , only , for those attempting to resist the foreign occupation . What a wasted opportunity !

However , we salute those who wear a similar collar and are not afraid to 'speak' up - "Sometimes, I'm jealous of the Palestinians. They have one enemy, the Israelis.... The Israelis are stealing Palestinian land and the Palestinians are resisting it and so they fight..."
And so do we....

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THEY ARE HELD IN BELFAST JAIL .......

From 'The United Irishman' newspaper, January 1958 .

HELD WITHOUT CHARGE OR TRIAL :

William Robinson , Mountjoy , Dungannon , County Tyrone .
Pat Devlin , 6 Arlit , Clonhybracken , Dungannon .
Paddy McGorry , Mountjoy , Dungannon .
John McAliskey , Derryloughan , Coalisland , Tyrone .
Patrick Quinn , Aidain , Coagh , Cookstown , Tyrone .
T. J. Quinn , Mooretown , Cookstown , Tyrone .
Gerry O' Neill , Ardboe , Dungannon .
Patrick Corey , Coalisland , Tyrone .
Brendan Foley , 8 Charlemont Street , Dungannon .
Eamonn Devlin , 22 Charlemont Street , Dungannon .
Patrick Devlin , 22 Charlemont Street , Dungannon .
Barney Young , Ballinderry Bridge , Cookstown .
Charles McGlinchy , Strabane , County Tyrone .
John Duffy , 54 O' Neill Avenue , Newry , County Down .
Vincent McCormack , Newry .
Joseph Campbell , 31 Castle Street , Newry (interned after a five year sentence) .
(MORE LATER).




ECONOMY IN CRISIS - An Historical Perspective.......

By any standards the economy of Ireland , North and South , can be described as being in a sorry mess with crisis , recession and imminent bankruptcy the most constant themes of economic discussion , intermittently over the last decade and ceaselessly in the last three years . In this article , Peter Graham surveys the factors which have produced this economy , and the historical role of foreign and native Irish capital.

From 'IRIS' magazine , November 1982.

The native Irish capitalist , and indeed the foreign capitalist that is based in Ireland - a 'landed man of substance' , who could have been expected to cause the industrial revolution to occur throughout Ireland , was by no means missing from the scene : even before the removal of the Penal Laws due to O' Connell's 'Catholic Emancipation Bill' in 1829, Irish Catholic merchants were prospering in supplying Irish agricultural produce to English cities which were growing as they industrialised , and also taking advantage of the need for that produce due to the French wars .

Much of the economic barriers to Catholic prosperity had already been breached by necessity , for the simple reason that the very small minority of wealthy English Proteatant landowners wanted to deal in land and other commodities with those Irish Catholic tenants who had prospered relatively and possessed wealth .

The propulsion behind Catholic Emancipation was not therefore so much economic as social and political ; rather than become industrialists , the native wealthy Irish were singularly obsessed with the status of obtaining access to education , the professions and politics , which were all opened to them by the ending of the Penal Laws . This social phenomenon was itself of course a result of the English ascendancy's social system in Ireland , yet it was so powerful as to divert the economic logic of the growth in native wealth.......
(MORE LATER).



DIVIS FLATS : Building Towards A Demolition Campaign .......
Divis Flats , at the bottom of the Falls Road in West Belfast , have acquired a reputation for 'trouble' - of all kinds - and social deprivation ever since they were built in the 1960's . They have also endured some of the severest British repression meted out during the past 14 years , and replied with some of the fiercest resistance . Local resident and community activist Jim Faulkner examines the new resurgence of morale in the flats complex and the prospects it faces in its biggest battle yet - for total demolition .
From 'IRIS' magazine , November 1983 .

The British Army observation post on top of Divis Tower , which has a commanding view of the flats complex and of the Falls Road as far as the Royal Victoria Hospital (where there is another British Army observation post) is an obscenity that emphasises the reality of Divis as , in effect , an open prison , with the 'inhabitants' under continual surveillance .

Surveys have shown that about half of the flats have serious dampness , especially in the bedrooms , and that in sixty per cent of those damp flats personal belongings such as clothing , bedding , carpets and furniture have been damaged by mould and blackening , and fifty-seven per cent of affected households felt that some of the family had health problems such as bronchitis and asthma , as a result of sleeping in damp conditions over a long period .

The health profile of the area generally is no better than that of the Moyard area , another flats complex in nationalist West Belfast , where there have been recent cases of polio . Divis Flats , for its part , has a number of families affected by tuberculosis , dysentery and other contagious diseases . The rats in and around the complex are bigger than the cats and the dogs are afraid to go near them . There are only three passenger lifts to service the 12 blocks of flats and they are constantly breaking down.......
(MORE LATER).

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A pamphlet has just been published on this very subject, by the Very Rev. P. Malone, P.P., V.F., of Belmullet, co. Mayo, and in this he says: "I have seen the son, standing upon the deck of the emigrant ship, divest himself of his only coat, and place it upon his father's shoulders, saying, 'Father, take you this; I will soon earn the price of a coat in the land I am going to.' "

Such instances, which might be recorded by the hundred, and the amount of money sent to Ireland by emigrants for the support of aged parents, and to pay the passage out of younger members of the family, are the best refutation of the old falsehood that Irishmen are either idle or improvident.....
(From here)

We are endeavoring to re-build an Island nation which will be proud to remember its past , and determined to ensure that that island nation will be free of the savagery inflicted on it over the centuries . Your assistance would be appreciated....
Go raibh máith agat.

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THEY ARE HELD IN BELFAST JAIL .......

From 'The United Irishman' newspaper, January 1958 .

HELD WITHOUT CHARGE OR TRIAL :

James O' Connor , Cullion , Desertmartin , Derry .
Bernard Cassidy , Slaughtneil , Maghera , Derry .
J.J. Cassidy , Halfgain , Maghera , Derry .
D. Cassidy , Halfgain , Maghera , Derry .
Charles Young , Ballinderry , Cookstown , County Tyrone .
P. McLean , B. A. , Altamuskin , Omagh , Tyrone .
Gerald O' Docherty , Ballycolman Avenue , Strabane , Tyrone .
Brendan McNamee , Sixmilecross , Tyrone .
Frank McLoughlin , Ballyfatton , Sion Mills , Tyrone .
Seán Loughran , 21 Drumglass , Dungannon , Tyrone .
Joe McCallion , 8 Melmount Villas , Strabane .
Mick O' Kane , Bridge Street , Strabane .
Thomas O' Connor , Tullydonnell , Dungannon .
Brendan Mallon , Coagh , Cookstown , Tyrone .
Mick Kelly , Coagh , Cookstown .
Liam Lavery , Coagh , Cookstown .
J.F. Carr , Ballygittle , Stewartstown , Tyrone .
(MORE LATER).



ECONOMY IN CRISIS - An Historical Perspective.......

By any standards the economy of Ireland , North and South , can be described as being in a sorry mess with crisis , recession and imminent bankruptcy the most constant themes of economic discussion , intermittently over the last decade and ceaselessly in the last three years . In this article , Peter Graham surveys the factors which have produced this economy , and the historical role of foreign and native Irish capital.

From 'IRIS' magazine , November 1982.

An industrial revolution in Ireland confined itself therefore largely to the north-east , where the necessity of maintaining political control by sectarianism strangled the ideological revolution which was experienced elsewhere in Europe by reason of that economic development .

Conversely , the southern unindustrialised part of the country was very receptive to these new ideological concepts of freedom - there were of course some industries established down the east coast , mainly in Dublin and Cork , but in the main the rest of Ireland lay non-industrialised and economically under-developed , dependent on its agricultural economy other than perhaps for its main exceptions of brewing and distilling . Politically , Britain obviously had much responsibility for this failure to industrialise in Ireland .

Certainly the Act Of Union, at the beginning of the key period of the nineteenth century , left Ireland an open economy , linked closely to Britain and drastically subservient to her economically . But the fact remains that those industries already mentioned - linen , ship-building , brewing and distilling - did prosper and no satisfactory reasons why others could not , would seem to be apparent.......
(MORE LATER).



DIVIS FLATS : Building Towards A Demolition Campaign .......
Divis Flats , at the bottom of the Falls Road in West Belfast , have acquired a reputation for 'trouble' - of all kinds - and social deprivation ever since they were built in the 1960's . They have also endured some of the severest British repression meted out during the past 14 years , and replied with some of the fiercest resistance . Local resident and community activist Jim Faulkner examines the new resurgence of morale in the flats complex and the prospects it faces in its biggest battle yet - for total demolition .
From 'IRIS' magazine , November 1983 .

The inevitable consequence for those on supplementary benefits is high debt , with the NIHE and the NIES routinely using the Payment For Debt Act to deduct arrears at source from unemployment benefits . In some of these cases , a family with , say , three children is left after deductions with less than £30 a week to feed and cloth themselves .

Both Sinn Fein and the locally-backed 'Welfare Rights' project have been trying over the last year to tackle these problems by providing support and getting people to understand how the system works and how to take on the bureaucratic agencies that run those schemes and , to this end , a 'Benefit Take-Up Campaign' was launched in Divis Flats recently , on similar lines to a recent campaign in the Ballymurphy area which netted over £100,000 for people in that area .

Financially the Divis Flats campaign has already been a success , but additionally it has helped people to fight for what is theirs of right and not to regard it as a sort of 'charity' . However , the biggest problem in Divis is the flats themselves - they simply aren't fit to live in . In surveys carried out in the area since 1981 by a local study group , an overwhelming 96 per cent of householders stated that they didn't wish to continue living in Divis . 2,000 people live on top of each other in 12 blocks totalling 700 flats and a further 100 flats in the tower block . Then there's the British Army observation post on top of that tower block.......
(MORE LATER).

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THE DESTRUCTION OF IRISH TRADE
The early Irish were famous for their excellence in arts and crafts, especially for their wonderful work in metals, bronze, silver and gold. By the beginning of the 14th century trading ships were constantly sailing between Ireland and the leading ports of the Continent.

COMPETITION WITH ENGLAND
This commerce was a threat to English merchants who tried to discourage such trade. They brought pressure on their government, which passed a law in 1494 that prohibited the Irish from exporting any industrial product, unless it was shipped through an English port, with an English permit after paying English fees. However, England was not able to enforce the law. By 1548 British merchants were using armed vessels to attack and plunder trading ships travelling between Ireland and the Continent(unofficial piracy).

ENGLISH MEN, ENGLISH SHIPS, ENGLISH CREWS, ENGLISH PORTS AND IRISH GOODS
In 1571 Queen Elizabeth ordered that no cloth or stuff made in Ireland could be exported, even to England, except by English men in Ireland. The act was amended in 1663 to prohibit the use of all foreign-going ships, except those that were built in England, mastered and three-fourths manned by English, and cleared from English ports. The return cargoes had to be unloaded in England. Ireland's shipbuilding industry was thus destroyed and her trade with the Continent wiped out.

TRADE WITH THE COLONIES
Ireland then began a lucrative trade with the Colonies. That was "cured" in 1670 by a new law which forbade Ireland to export to the colonies "anything except horses, servants, and victuals." England followed with a decree that no Colonial products could be landed in Ireland until they had first landed in England and paid all English rates and duties.

Ireland was forbidden to engage in trade with the colonies and plantations of the New World if it involved sugar, tobacco, cotton, wool, rice, and numerous other items. The only item left for Ireland to import was rum. The English wanted to help English rum makers in the West Indies at the expense of Irish farmers and distillers.

IRISH WOOL TRADE CURTAILED, THEN DESTROYED
When the Irish were forbidden to export their sheep, they began a thriving trade in wool. In 1634 The Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, Lord Stafford, wrote to King Charles I: "All wisdom advises us to keep this (Irish) kingdom as much subordinate and dependent on England as possible; and, holding them from manufacture of wool (which unless otherwise directed, I shall by all means discourage), and then enforcing them to fetch their cloth from England, how can they depart from us without nakedness and beggary?"

In 1660 even the export of wool from Ireland to England was forbidden. Other English laws prohibited all exports of Irish wool in any form. In 1673, Sir William Temple advised that the Irish would act wisely by giving up the manufacture of wool even for home use, because "it tended to interfere prejudicially with the English woolen trade."

George II sent three warships and eight other armed vessels to cruise off the coast of Ireland to seize all vessels carrying woolens from Ireland. "So ended the fairest promise that Ireland had ever known of becoming a prosperous and a happy country."

LINEN TRADE REPRESSED
Irish linen manufacturing met with the same fate when the Irish were forbidden to export their product to all other countries except England. A thirty percent duty was levied in England, effectively prohibiting the trade. English manufacturers, on the other hand, were granted a bounty for all linen exports.

BEEF, PORK, BUTTER AND CHEESE
In 1665 Irish cattle were no longer welcome in England, so the Irish began killing them and exporting the meat. King Charles II declared that the importation of cattle, sheep, swine and beef from Ireland was henceforth a common nuisance, and forbidden. Pork and bacon were soon prohibited, followed by butter and cheese.

SILK AND TOBACCO
In the middle of the 18th century, Ireland began developing a silk weaving industry. Britain imposed a heavy duty on Irish silk, but British manufactured silk was admitted to Ireland duty-free. Ireland attempted to develop her tobacco industry, but that too was prohibited.

FISH
In 1819 England withdrew the subsidy for Irish fisheries and increased the subsidies to British fishermen - with the result that Ireland's possession of one of the longest coastlines in Europe, still left it with one of the most miserable fisheries.

GLASS
Late in the 18th century the Irish became known for their manufacture of glass. George II forbade the Irish to export glass to any country whatsoever under penalty of forfeiting ship, cargo and ten shillings per pound weight.

THE RESULT
By 1839, a French visitor to Ireland, Gustave de Beaumont, was able to write:

"In all countries, more or less, paupers may be discovered; but an entire nation of paupers is what was never seen until it was shown in Ireland. To explain the social condition of such a country, it would be only necessary to recount its miseries and its sufferings; the history of the poor is the history of Ireland."

CONCLUSION

From the 15th through the 19th centuries, successive English monarchies and governments enacted laws designed to suppress and destroy Irish manufacturing and trade. These repressive Acts, coupled with the Penal Laws, reduced the Irish people to "nakedness and beggary" in a very direct and purposeful way. The destitute Irish then stood at the very brink of the bottomless pit. When the potato blight struck in 1845, it was but time for the final push.....
(From here)

We are no longer bitter to the point of distraction , nor do we seek 'revenge' .
But we continue to demand Justice .
The 1169 Team.

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THEY ARE HELD IN BELFAST JAIL .......

From 'The United Irishman' newspaper, January 1958 .

Held Without Charge Or Trial :

Séan Ramsey , 12 Artillery Street , Derry City .
Patrick Molloy , Mahera , County Derry .
David Ramsey , 41 Central Drive , Derry City .
Séan Gallagher , 4 Cedar Street , Derry City .
Brendan McHarry , Crebarkeley , Dungiven , County Derry .
John McCloskey , Cluntygeeragh , Dungiven .
John F. McCloskey , Cluntygeeragh , Dungiven .
Kevin McGill , Crebarkeley , Dungiven .
Jack Hegarty , Draperstown , County Derry .
John McCusker , Kerley , Maghera , County Derry .
Frank Donnelly , Falgatraney , Maghera , County Derry .
Patrick L. Docherty , 134 Taobh an Portaigh , Derry City .
James S. Devlin , Ballyneil , Hoop , Moneymore , Derry .
(MORE LATER).



ECONOMY IN CRISIS - An Historical Perspective.......

By any standards the economy of Ireland , North and South , can be described as being in a sorry mess with crisis , recession and imminent bankruptcy the most constant themes of economic discussion , intermittently over the last decade and ceaselessly in the last three years . In this article , Peter Graham surveys the factors which have produced this economy , and the historical role of foreign and native Irish capital.

From 'IRIS' magazine , November 1982.

Notwithstanding all the foreign influence and interference , there was emerging in Ireland a native land-owning class , which has remained and strengthened its stranglehold on the agricultural economy up to the present day .

The agricultural situation in the north-east of Ireland was of course different - the plantations of vast areas of land there with Protestant settlers made those settlers essential, politically , to their landlords , and thus in a far stronger tenure position than the native Irish tenants further south . This 'security' among northern Protestant farmers by the mid-eighteenth century made it unnecessary for them to espouse the separatist cause as a tool for extracting economic benefit .

The resulting weakness of the north-eastern landlords in their inability to over-exploit or drive off their tenants , also saw the intensified industrial development of the north-east as landlords strove to increase their income by diversification into investment , ultimately into the linen and ship-building industries on which that region's prosperity became based . To insure his political position , the northern industrialist made sure that those who worked in his factories were Protestants . This was not a distinction which saved those workers from any of the hardships of capitalist exploitation of their labour but , stimulated by organised sectarianism , it did keep them aware of their 'advantage' over the Catholics of the same 'class'.......
(MORE LATER).



DIVIS FLATS : Building Towards A Demolition Campaign .......
Divis Flats , at the bottom of the Falls Road in West Belfast , have acquired a reputation for 'trouble' - of all kinds - and social deprivation ever since they were built in the 1960's . They have also endured some of the severest British repression meted out during the past 14 years , and replied with some of the fiercest resistance . Local resident and community activist Jim Faulkner examines the new resurgence of morale in the flats complex and the prospects it faces in its biggest battle yet - for total demolition .
From 'IRIS' magazine , November 1983 .

The Divis Youth And Cultural Development Group provides a place for young people to meet , play pool , listen to music and discuss their future . It is an important development where one-third of the 2,000 population is under 16 years of age . The Divis Education Project, which was formed about three years ago by social and community workers to tackle truancy (or 'beaking' as it is known locally) , has formed a new committee with more local involvement and set up a craft workshop for unemployed teenagers - with facilities for making harps and other ornaments as well as practical household goods and furniture .

The workshop has attracted so much interest among the huge numbers of young unemployed that people have had to be turned away for lack of space and financial resources , and a fundraising drive has been undertaken to expand facilities over the nect couple of years . The project has also set up a library in Divis Flats , including books in Irish to reflect the great interest in the language locally . Two Irish language classes a week are held at the Education Project's school ('Crazy Joe's') and the local Sinn Fein cumann also holds classes there .

Sinn Fein has opened an advice centre in the Flats (where its Belfast housing department is based) where voluntary workers deal with the array of day-to-day social , housing , benefits and Brit/RUC harassment problems faced by the local people , over eighty per cent of whom are in receipt of some degree of state benefits , while over sixty per cent of the working population is unemployed . Debt to the 'Housing Executive' and to the electricity service is a major worry for people ; the exorbitant cost and inefficiency of the old , gas central heating means that residents use electric heaters and 'Supersers' to heat living-rooms and bedrooms , with some families facing quarterly electricity bills of £150 to £200 , money they haven't got.......
(MORE LATER).

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