BOBBY SANDS COMMEMORATION , DUBLIN , SATURDAY 5TH MAY 2012 : BRIEF REPORT AND PICS.

HUNGER-STRIKERS COMMEMORATION , DUBLIN , 5TH MAY 2012.

Lectern front used by RSF in Dublin , 5th May 2012.

The Annual RSF-organised Bobby Sands Commemoration was held today in Dublin on the traffic-isle in front of the GPO , watched by a crowd of about two-hundred people in total - not counting the ten uniformed State Garda members and eight of their plain-clothed colleagues. One Garda driver , in particular, must have been afraid of getting a ticket or clamped , maybe, as the only 'safe spot' he could find for his van was six feet away from the speakers lectern.

The parking 'problem' was one of two incidents which RSF had to cope with on the day : the other one was when a lady , recently released from Mountjoy Jail , and fresh from a pub between there and the GPO , insisted that Irish Republicans were "wrong" and she was "right" (in relation to everything, apparently...) but such was the foul language used by this woman she quickly drew upon herself the (unwanted) attention of the Gardai , who 'escorted' her off the traffic-isle and returned her safely to oblivion. The only other possible 'fly in the ointment' was the weather , as it's almost impossible to 'keep the crowd' in an open-air situation like that should the Heavens open which , thankfully , they didn't : we had a cool breeze throughout , overcast at times, but no rain. God , or Bobby , was looking down on us.....!

Anyway - enough chit-chat !

The RSF 'warm-up' speaker - John Horan , Dublin - asked , at 1.35pm, that the RSF 'A Team' ('Amplification Team' !) turn off the music system and turn on the amp equipment : he introduced himself to the crowds , and introduced a 'twist' to proceedings - Irish Republican female hunger-strikers. In his speech , John concentrated on one woman in particular - Dorothy MacArdle - and outlined in good detail her own history , including the fact that , in 1923, Dorothy MacArdle was one of 340 Irish Republican women who went on hunger-strike. He did reference parts of her life story which he and many others - myself included - believe she should have handled differently , but he stressed that those "transgressions" do not take away from the fact that it is not only Irish Republican men who have undertaken a hunger strike.

At about 1.45pm , led by Séan the Piper , an RSF Colour Party , uniformed representatives from Na Fianna Éireann and Cumann na mBan ,the Parade left the Garden Of Remembrance in Parnell Square and marched down O'Connell Street to the GPO , where a small stage with a speakers lectern on top , an amplification system and a separate music system had been set-up : the three uniformed groups were instructed by the Chairperson , Paddy Tidd , to 'form up' facing the pillars of the GPO , following which Paddy introduced himself to the crowd and welcomed and thanked them for attending the Commemoration - he then named each of the twenty-two hunger-strikers who , between the years 1917 and 1981 , died in this on-going struggle. RSF Vice-President , Fergal Moore , and Ard Chomhairle member Cait Trainor also addressed the crowds from the stage , both delivering hard-hitting , in-depth yet concise synopses of the political situation as it exists today in this warped State. We publish with these few words some pics from the event today , and a full report - including the text of the main speeches - and more pics will be published in the June issue of 'Saoirse' , which goes to print on Wednesday 30th May 2012. Incidentally , myself and the other members of the 'Leaflet Team' were correct in our assesment regarding the amount of leaflet 'packs' that could be distributed at this Hunger-Strike Commemoration - we had 700 such 'packs' but wanted (and needed !) at least 1,000 : we all received a call on our mobile phones just before 2.30pm requesting that , between us , we keep at least 50 'packs' , as two girls who live beside the venue where the ballad session is being held tonight wanted same to do a 'door-to-door' with in the area. But , at that stage, we had less than thirty 'packs' left between us.....!

Finally : great job today by RSF members and Colour Party , Séan the Piper , Na Fianna Éireann , Cumann na mBan , Paddy , Fergal , Cait and John and the two-hundred-or-so people that stood with us , despite the heavy State presence - a very fitting tribute was paid to the twenty-two men that were remembered. Few pics now , more in the June 2012 issue of 'Saoirse' :

The RSF Commemoration parade arriving at the GPO , Saturday 5th May 2012.

RSF Colour Party member and Na Fianna Éireann.

Paddy Tidd , Chairing the proceedings.

Cait Trainor , one of the speakers at the Hunger-Strike Commemoration in Dublin today , Saturday , 5th May 2012.

Thanks for reading,

Sharon.

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INNER CIRCLES OF CORRUPTION.

'THERE WILL BE ANOTHER DAY.....' By Peadar O'Donnell ; first published in January 1963.

Trade union leaders in Dublin were undoubtedly on friendly terms with IRA officers , who trusted them absolutely : trade union rooms were used for IRA meetings , which wanted men attended , and Tom Johnson wrote the draft for the Democratic Programme of Dáil Éireann. The Labour Movement did , indeed , demonstrate independently that it had ends of its own to serve - it celebrated the first anniversary of the Russian Revolution by an overflow meeting in the Mansion House in Dublin and it staged demonstrations against British crimes in Ireland ('1169...' Comment : ....whereas today trade unions will avail of the services offered by those same British criminals..) and Tom Foran , General President of the Irish Transport and General Workers' Union , publicly described those demonstrations as dress rehearsals for 'The Workers' Republic'. As an official of Foran's and O' Brien's union , I came within hearing of the buzz of excited talk around union headquarters at Liberty Hall : I was lucky enough , while a student teacher in training in Dublin , 1911-1913 , to become interested in Labour papers and run into Labour meetings. It was my good luck that just then an uncle of mine , Peter Rodgers , home from Butte , Montana , where he was an active 'Wobblie', was on hand to sharpen , still further , my awareness of the class struggle. It did not seem strange to me , therefore , that the people I met at Liberty Hall should emphasise that the real fight would begin when the middle-class tried to duck out of the Republican struggle on terms that would suit them , but betray the Revolution. When that time came the Labour movement - to me that always meant the trade union movement - would take on the role which the Citizen Army played in the period of confusion on the eve of the 1916 Rising : it would be the point of rally for the independence movement in its second hour of crisis. I accepted this view of things eagerly..... (MORE LATER).


THE PETER BERRY PAPERS....... The Top Secret Memoirs of Ireland's Most Powerful Civil Servant : Dirty Tricks, Election '69/ Spying on a Unionist Politician/ Keeping the (State) Taoiseach informed/ The Garda Fallon Murder/ Advice to Jack Lynch- 'Fire the pair of them...'/ Vivion De Valera's advice to O'Malley/ Rumours of a Coup D'Etat/ The Internment Plot, November 1970/ Secret Meeting with William Craig. From 'MAGILL' magazine , June 1980.

" The Committee of Public Accounts had asked the Manager why documents had been released from the account when the banks re-opened despite the fact that the police had been making enquiries and the Manager's reply was that a request from the Department of Finance to retain all documents did not come until afterwards ie in late September or October. But , as I explained earlier, I had made this request for the retention of documents in the previous May and had been given to understand from the Group Law Agent that the bank would co-operate. The Committee's questioning of the Manager was sharp and his replies and actions in some other respects were commented on. The Report of the Committee has strictures ; on page 59 it has this to say - '.....moreover , the evidence given on behalf of this bank was unsatisfactory and the Committee did not receive from this bank the assistance it had a right to expect in tracing the money that passed through these accounts...' . If the Committee had had knowledge of my request , on behalf of the Minister for Justice , in May 1970, their strictures would , doubtless , have been ever more severe......." (MORE LATER).


INNER CIRCLES OF CORRUPTION.....

.....wheels within wheels greased :

Sean Fitzpatrick and Lar Bradshaw were great friends at the time - 'golf buddies' - and each was seen by their wannabe 'golf buddie' admirers as 'occupying the space' where they , themselves, hoped to exist one fine day : a 'Captain of Industry' , with connections to political bosses , property speculators and the so-called 'Leaders' of society. Life was good for Sean and Lar.

The jobs ('Positions') they held in their respective fields were extremely well paid and included a huge expense allowance as it was recognised , by their Boards , that 'entertaining clients' was an important part of their working day. Sean was a Bank Boss , in charge of 'Anglo Irish Bank' and moved in circles that were even too rich for him - one of his best known 'business deals' that , like 'his' bank , went sour on him , was an investment he made with, amongst other such luminaries , the 'King' of Morocco - both were involved in a (failed) casino and theme park operation in Macau , a so-called 'SAR' of China.

Anyway , back to this particular aspect of his dealings in Dublin : Sean was a Board Director of the Dublin Docklands Development Authority (DDDA) , where his 'golf buddie' , Larry Bradshaw , was the boss and, by pure coincidence , Larry was a Board Director of Anglo Irish Bank , where Sean was the boss ! In 2006 , with hundreds of millions of taxpayer-supplied Euro at his 'disposal' , Larry thought it would be a good idea to spend €412 million to purchase a (contaminated) 25-acre site in Ringsend , Dublin , and Sean's bank (!) was , fortunately (!) on hand to part-finance the 'deal' : the rest , as they say , is history , and is but one signpost on the crooked road that has taken this poxy State to the position it's in - a financial and moral basket case , with our interchangeable 'leaders' in Leinster House - who would be no strangers to lifting their little fingers on a golf course with the likes of Sean and Lar - completely uninterested in any aspect of the above and similar scandals : their one and only concern is to ensure that they remain in Office long enough to qualify for their pension.

But even at this late stage , there is a solution - the alternative is to carry-on as we are , changing the colours every few years of the political and business criminals that have elbowed their way to the taxpayer-funded pension-trough that State politicians and their property-speculating business friends are up to their worthless , non-productive necks in. We owe it to future generations to take a stand now.....

400 X 3 + 250 X 4 + 50 X 5 = 2,450......

RSF leaflets for 5th May 2012.

RSF Head Office has prepared 2,450 Republican leaflets for distribution at this years Bobby Sands Commemoration which will be held in Dublin on Saturday 5th May 2012 : these leaflets have been assembled in 'packs/booklets' , 400 of which will contain three leaflets , whilst 250 will have four leaflets and 50 will have five leaflets , giving a 'pack' total of 700. It was suggested by Head Office that any 'packs' left over be distributed at the function that same night in 'The Barn House' pub , to which the leaflet team replied "God Bless your innocence...." !

Experience has proven to myself and the rest of the leaflet team that the 700 'packs' we have will be gone before the Commemoration is over and , had we had 1,000 packs , we could have distributed them no problem. So , if you're looking for an 'RSF Leaflet Pack' on Saturday 5th May 2012 , your best chance to get one will be between O' Connell Bridge and the Ambassador from 12.30 pm to , hopefully , about 2.30pm. After 2.30pm , your chances are slim to none ! See you in Dublin City Centre that afternoon , or at the gig that night....

Thanks for reading,

Sharon.

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WESTMINSTER CONTINUES ITS SECRET WAR IN IRELAND.

BRITISH GOVERNMENT AND 'LOST' IRISH FILES....

Interesting article here in connection with the on-going 'dirty tricks' campaign which Westminster is running in relation to its political and military interference in Ireland : "The first claims came from those illegally arrested during internment in 1971 and those subjected to "deep interrogation". The (British) MoD decided to settle out of court when crown counsel advised them that they would be likely to lose if a case was brought before a judge. New evidence from the National Archives shows the (British) army continued harming civilians even after the disasters of internment, deep interrogation and Bloody Sunday.... the British preference for claiming to operate within the law, yet bending the meaning of the law to allow repression – as documented in the colonial archives we have now seen – carried on into Northern Ireland... (sic) "

This is not a 'revelation' as far as Irish Republicans are concerned - rather , it is confirmation of our position ie that in order to start to repair the damage she has caused and is causing in Ireland , Britain must first announce a date for its complete military and political withdrawal. No other offer will be entertained.

Thanks for reading,

Sharon.

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