WHERE DOES THE TIME GO....?

On A Walk Through Rebel Dublin with the Patriot and Heroine Anne Devlin and Charles Stewart Parnell ,
Charlie Kerins , Charlotte Despard, and Che Guevara , we talked ,with A Servant of the Queen , about A Compact History of Ireland .

It was a Courious Journey, this Oral History of Ireland’s Unfinished Revolution and many of the Milestones in Irish History were discussed , as we passed through Dublin Tenement Life . We had No Faith in the System , so we agreed on a Secret Map of Ireland but promised that , despite the Partition of Ireland and all of the ensuing Raids and Rallies , we would not strive for same On Another Man’s Wound....
.....see what else is available here!
Finally - in answer to the question asked at the top of this post -
keep an account of next years time with one of these -
(Front[right] and back of the RSF 2008 Calendar)
- a 2008 Republican calendar,available from here for a fiver (Euro or Sterling) !
Calendars, books, pamphlets, CD's, tapes, T-Shirts etc - all of a Republican 'flavour' - make great 'stocking fillers' and , indeed , make great presents all year round. Visit the Dublin shop at 223 Parnell Street ('phone 01-8729747) or the Belfast shop at 229 Falls Road ('phone 90319004) to make your choice .
Thanks !
Sharon.

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DERRY - A STRATEGY OF NEGLECT.......

" I need hardly point out to you that in Derry , unless something is done now , it is only a matter of time until Derry passes into the hands of the Nationalist and Sinn Fein parties for all time . On the other hand , if proper steps are taken now , I believe Derry can be saved for years to come... " - [British] 'Sir' Dawson Bates to [British] 'Lord' Craigavon , 1934 .
From 'IRIS' magazine , July 1983.

The 1963 'Matthew Plan' was re-inforced by the 1970-75 'Matthew/Wilson Economic Development Plan' which , while finally designating Derry as a potential area of industrial growth , suggested that the future lay not with introducing massive investment into areas such as Derry but in encouraging migration from those areas to new centres of growth such as Craigavon .

Similarly the New University of Ulster was located in Coleraine , a politically motivated decision which ensured the relative failure of the NUU as an academic centre of excellence : it was policies such as these that led the architect Coppcutt , who had been brought over from England to design Craigavon , to resign in disgust , saying that the designation of Craigavon as a new city was a consequence of religious and political considerations , and that if Derry was developed instead "...this would indeed be earnest of the sincerity of the desire to prepare Ulster (sic) for the 21st century ."

He added that Craigavon would prevent growth in other regions , and that he and his team were not being asked to make a positive contribution to the growth of the Six County area but to "... engineer propaganda rather than a new city.."
[END of 'Derry - A Strategy Of Neglect']
(Next : 'The Catholic Hierarchy - Propping-up The Orange State' , from 1983)





TOXIC WASTE IN KILL,COUNTY KILDARE .......
From 'The Phoenix' magazine , May 1983.

By 1980 , the local County Council took notice of complaints and the long-drawn-out legal procedures began , during which time , of course , the dumpers continued to fill the pit to capacity . The Council are stating that the situation is under control for the present , that the dump is contained by the ponds , and that there is no cause for undue alarm . Local residents , however , are none too happy .

Down in the growing village of Kill , other questions are being asked and fears exchanged : some residents have pointed-out to 'The Phoenix' what they perceive as an unusually high instance of cancer and leukaemia in a small area of Kill . In the past few years , four people under forty have died of cancer and another three of leukaemia , two of these latter children of two and seven years . Since 1981 there have been three full-term babies still-born and a further three badly deformed foeti , miscarried at seven months of pregnancy.......
(MORE LATER).






REPUBLICAN MOURNERS DEFEAT RUC.......
Between December 1983 and May 1987 , over 25 republican or nationalist funerals were systematically attacked by the RUC as a matter of deliberate British policy . The objective was to drive mourners off the streets so that later Britain could claim dwindling support for republicanism as 'evidenced' by the small numbers attending IRA funerals . As Jane Plunkett reports , the opposite happened . More and more people came out to defend the remains of republican dead , the RUC were exposed as being as brutal and sectarian as ever , and these two factors , combined with damaging international news coverage , eventually forced the British government to reverse its policy of attacking republican funerals .
From 'IRIS' magazine , October 1987.

The Catholic Hierarchy continued to practise the same double standards as they did in January 1980 over the body of PIRA Volunteer Kevin 'Dee' Delaney or in 1861 over the Young Irelander Terence Bellew McManus, against whose remains every church door in Dublin was locked , on the orders of Cardinal Cullen.

Though the RUC attacked nationalist funerals , members of the British occupation forces continued to be buried in Catholic churches with full military honours , including the Union Jack flag on coffins during services . The Catholic Hierarchy's attitude to the recent funeral of Derry Volunteer Gerard Logue was very different : two days after the PIRA fired a salute in the grounds of Long Tower Church, local Catholic Bishop, Edward Daly, aligned the hierarchy with the British occupation forces by banning the remains of dead Volunteers from all churches in the city . He also implied that the family of Volunteer Gerard Logue had broken assurances which they firmly denied .

In June 1984 (four months after the funerals of PIRA Volunteers Henry Hogan and Declan Martin) , RUC men with batons drawn confronted mourners taking the coffin of Belfast INLA Volunteer Paul McCann to lie overnight in the local St Peter's Chapel . At the following day's funeral , the British Army and the RUC staged a show of strength , blocked the Falls Road and refused to let the funeral cortege proceed until an INLA guard of honour withdrew.......
(MORE LATER).

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These two photographs show five of the thirteen items that will be given as prizes in a CABHAIR raffle , which will be held this coming weekend in a venue in Dublin . The other eight prizes consist of cash in an envelope , ranging from amounts of €200 to €20 . The tickets - all of which have already been sold - cost €2 each.

But don't fret! You can still help CABHAIR - have a look here and here and , if you have a few quid and the time to follow-up either(or both!) of those two suggestions, please do so :CABHAIR does its best , all year round, to assist with the financial problems faced by the families of those imprisoned as a direct result of the political situation on this island and , as to be expected , those financial problems increase at this time of year.

Your assistance would be greatly appreciated,
Thanks!
Sharon.

POST SCRIPT : Sincere best of luck to Michael on his endeavours (which , incidentally , should be shared by all those who are opposed to the political criminality practised by these thugs) .
His website has been off-line recently and , if it's still unobtainable from the above link , you can get a brief substance of his approach here. And you can get the reasons why his idea should be supported here, here and here.
We hope the day is the success it deserves to be!

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DERRY - A STRATEGY OF NEGLECT.......

" I need hardly point out to you that in Derry , unless something is done now , it is only a matter of time until Derry passes into the hands of the Nationalist and Sinn Fein parties for all time . On the other hand , if proper steps are taken now , I believe Derry can be saved for years to come... " - [British] 'Sir' Dawson Bates to [British] 'Lord' Craigavon , 1934 .
From 'IRIS' magazine , July 1983.

Westminster policy produced the major regional , economic and social disparities that exist today along the line running East and West of the River Bann . Protestant allegiance was maintained in these areas by a system of political and economic patronage which ensured that Protestant employers gave first preference to Protestants in both public sector and private employment .

In 1962 , 97-per-cent of all government-sponsored industrial investment was restricted to the greater Belfast area : by 1964 , of 111 advance factories sponsored by the Stormont administratiion only 16 were located West of the Bann : by 1968 , of 240 government-sponsored firms employing 60,000 , only 10-per-cent were employed West of the Bann .

Not until 1965-69 were any commercial land holdings purchased West of the Bann by the Stormont administration for industrial investment . These disparities in industrial location survive to this day . The 'Matthew Plan' of 1963 , which limited the further expansion for Belfast , totally ignored Derry's potential as the North's second largest city and opted instead for the creation of a new town , 'Craigavon', securely within the unionist heartland . An 'economic development' plan was drawn-up to re-inforce the 'Matthew Plan'.......
(MORE LATER).






TOXIC WASTE IN KILL,COUNTY KILDARE .......
From 'The Phoenix' magazine , May 1983.

In other words , by the time the first inspection was made , an unknown quantity of possibly the most dangerous materials in the country had been deposited illegally in a manner and mixture unknown . In many other countries such developments have provoked major scandals but , in this case , Willie O'Brien , a disposer of industrial waste who is the principal depositor at the site , has not even been asked to give an explanation of what his company dumped , when , and in what quantities !

The scandal was exposed in the first instance when local residents around the site and down the hill almost a mile away in Kill village began to complain of a nauseating smell emanating from the dump . The residents also noticed a steadily increasing traffic of O'Brien's trucks up to the pit . It is thought that the land owner , Patrick Gavin , has , in fact , leased the whole quarry to Willie O'Brien for his disposal operation .

The late night rumbling of heavy trucks through the village and up the hill to the dump noticeably increased during the row at the Raybestos Manhattan dump in Ringaskiddy ,Cork, in 1979 , when residents there opposed the dumping of asbestos waste . Willie O'Brien was also the contractor for the Abbeyleix-based Stonearch Ltd plant , the effluent from which wiped out all life - fish , birds , rats and water hens - in a ten-mile stretch of the River Credogue near Mitchellstown , Cork , in June 1980 . Where the highly lethal effluent , identified as a derivative of chromium, has been dumped since then , is not known.......
(MORE LATER).






REPUBLICAN MOURNERS DEFEAT RUC.......
Between December 1983 and May 1987 , over 25 republican or nationalist funerals were systematically attacked by the RUC as a matter of deliberate British policy . The objective was to drive mourners off the streets so that later Britain could claim dwindling support for republicanism as 'evidenced' by the small numbers attending IRA funerals . As Jane Plunkett reports , the opposite happened . More and more people came out to defend the remains of republican dead , the RUC were exposed as being as brutal and sectarian as ever , and these two factors , combined with damaging international news coverage , eventually forced the British government to reverse its policy of attacking republican funerals .
From 'IRIS' magazine , October 1987.

Condemning the British attack on the funeral of INLA Volunteer Joseph Craven, A Belfast Provisional Sinn Fein spokesperson observed : " If the (P)IRA were to attempt to remove the cap and gloves or the Union Jack flag from an RUC man's coffin , or were to stop and harass mourners , or were to drown out graveside prayers and the oration , they would be condemned by every clergyman and politician in Ireland . (Provisional) Sinn Fein is attacked for refusing to be hypocrites like these others , who all support the violence of the State , the violence of the SAS and the corrupt laws of a colonial power. " ('1169...' Comment : it should be noted that now Mr Adams and Company have no problem in playing their part in that 'State' , will never again suffer at the hands of the SAS [as they are no longer a military or political threat to that State] and have no issue anymore in assisting 'the corrupt laws of a colonial power' . The Provos are , in effect , Free State and British 'rebel pets' .)

Two months later , on February 24th , 1984 , the RUC were again out in force harassing mourners , this time at the funerals of (P)IRA Volunteers Henry Hogan and Declan Martin. Long before dawn , hundreds of RUC members saturated the small North Antrim village of Dunloy and at one point tried to force their way into the Hogan house , but mourners remained calm and dignified and linked arms to form a three-deep human barricade , preventing any RUC attempt to remove the Tricolour.

Once again , the RUC intruded even into the churchyard , but withdrew after Volunteer Henry Hogan's family declared that they would not leave the chapel until the RUC left its grounds . Again the silence was deafening - Irish politicians and church leaders were silent , a 'pattern' they were to keep for the next three years : those who claimed to be the moral and spiritual leaders of the country failed to speak out , and thus allowed the RUC attacks to continue , and stayed silent as they witnessed the injuries and the sufferings of bereaved relatives and friends.......
(MORE LATER).

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Almost 12 months since it was 'only' thirty years.....

(UPDATE : this swim now has its own 'Jewellery Range'! And , as with all top-class pieces of jewellery , it has a 'history' attached to it...)

It began - properly structured and organised - in 1976 ,as a 'fundraiser with a difference' combined with the need to gain extra publicity for a situation which was then - as now - making world headlines . Those that sat down together in early September 1976 to tighten-up the then 'hit-and-miss' affair were a dedicated team who fully understood that to fail in their business would not only bring derision on them and the issue they sought to highlight , but would give their enemy a publicity coup which they would exploit to the fullest extent . With that in mind , the team persevered - favours were called-in , guarantees were secured , provisions obtained and word dispatched to like-minded individuals in the near-locale . At the appointed time on the agreed day - 12 Noon , Christmas Day 1976 - a soon-to-be 31-years-young event was 'born'.......
The CABHAIR Christmas Day Swim is , thankfully , still going strong and will be , as mentioned , 31-years-young on December 25th next!
Photographs of last years event can be viewed here and , if you can't make it to the actual swim itself , you might consider posting a donation to the following address :
CABHAIR
Irish Republican Prisoners Dependants Fund
223 Parnell Street,
Dublin 1.
Ireland.
Thank You,
Go Raibh Maith Agat,
Sharon.

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DERRY - A STRATEGY OF NEGLECT.

" I need hardly point out to you that in Derry , unless something is done now , it is only a matter of time until Derry passes into the hands of the Nationalist and Sinn Fein parties for all time . On the other hand , if proper steps are taken now , I believe Derry can be saved for years to come... " - [British] 'Sir' Dawson Bates to [British] 'Lord' Craigavon , 1934 .
From 'IRIS' magazine , July 1983.

Those members of the 'Londonderry branch of the SDLP' whose abstention on the issue last April led to the defeat of a motion to change the city's 'official' name back to 'Derry' , can justly be said to have done their level best to preserve the remnants of 'Sir'Dawson Bates' loyalist preserve for his equally bigoted unionist successors .

Hailed as the 'Maiden City', the undefiled sanctuary of loyalist supremacy , Derry has exercised a strong symbolic influence in the Orange psyche over the centuries and , after partition , the swift steps taken by unionists - the abolition of proportional representation , the restriction of the franchise , the gerrymandering of electoral boundaries , discrimination in jobs and housing , and of course as always the armed presence of the RUC and 'B'Specials - did indeed serve to 'secure' Derry for 'years to come' .

But the consequences of a history of poverty and neglect imposed on the city in the interests of minority 'rule' are still being felt . In order to secure and maintain not only Derry but the entire Stormont state , systematically pursued policies of economic neglect and discrimination in employment were followed in areas where the nationalist population constituted a majority .......
(MORE LATER).





TOXIC WASTE IN KILL,COUNTY KILDARE .......
From 'The Phoenix' magazine , May 1983.

Lechate containing toxins had flowed from the dump and settled in surrounding ponds in the huge quarry , resulting in dangerous concentrations of rain-water and pollutants . One well on the site , formerly used by Patrick Gavin's parents , was dangerously polluted , so his parents moved out . Boulder-clay beneath the site has prevented any substantial seepage of toxic substances into the ground water and the principle water table .

Instead , the waste has moved on top of this impermeable lair of boulder-clay and settled in the ponds , which have grown in size and have gradually 'moved' to the edges of the site . That , at least , is how the experts from An Foras saw it after surveying the site for two years since 1980 . The Council engineer has his people out testing the water in the nearby wells and rivers for evidence of the pollution spreading . The judge , on hearing this pretty frightening account , took the proper course and closed the pit , remarking in passing that Mr Gavin had neither a permit nor planning permission for this dirty and dangerous business .

Costs to the princely tune of £500 were awarded against Patrick Gavin and there the matter lies . But what was not disclosed was the nature of the dangerous waste dumped over the years because it was only in 1980 that investigations began into the site . The County Council and An Foras acknowledge that there could be many more highly toxic materials in the dump and that they could have been deposited there at any time since 1964 . It could be years before this material shows itself , if it has not already seeped into the ground or surface waters.......
(MORE LATER).






REPUBLICAN MOURNERS DEFEAT RUC.......
Between December 1983 and May 1987 , over 25 republican or nationalist funerals were systematically attacked by the RUC as a matter of deliberate British policy . The objective was to drive mourners off the streets so that later Britain could claim dwindling support for republicanism as 'evidenced' by the small numbers attending IRA funerals . As Jane Plunkett reports , the opposite happened . More and more people came out to defend the remains of republican dead , the RUC were exposed as being as brutal and sectarian as ever , and these two factors , combined with damaging international news coverage , eventually forced the British government to reverse its policy of attacking republican funerals .
From 'IRIS' magazine , October 1987.

On December 6 , 1983 , the Tricolour-draped coffin of PIRA Volunteer Colm McGirr was carried past Coalisland RUC Barracks without interference . Ten uniformed PIRA Volunteers flanked the hearse for part of the route and they fired a final salute at the graves of Colm McGirr and his comrade Volunteer Brian Campbell. So much for recent suggestions by Jack Hermon and British Direct-Ruler Tom King that the RUC are under some absolute obligation to prevent any formal PIRA presence .

The RUC moved cautiously to implement the new strategy : just two days after the funerals of Colm McGirr and Brian Campbell , they tried out the new policy on a funeral that they knew was likely to be small - that of INLA Volunteer Joseph Craven, which took place from the isolated and tiny nationalist ghetto of Bawnmore. During a pre-planned incursion by scores of RUC men , including members of the infamous Divisional Mobile Support Units, and British soldiers from three different regiments , an RUC inspector snatched the Volunteer's black beret and gloves from his tricolour-draped coffin and several mourners were injured attempting to defend the coffin . Two other mourners were arrested and the Volunteer's mother collapsed .

There was no condemnation from the Free State establishment , either of the attack itself or of the presence of armed RUC men within the grounds of the local St Mary's Chapel during Requiem Mass.......
(MORE LATER).

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