Mr Hugh McClean (21), a member of the Black and Tans, from Moray, in Scotland, was billeted in the Cork area and himself and one of his colleagues, a man named Cooke, were keep-fit fanatics and would go for a run regularly in a local wooded area.
On the 15th May, 1921, the two Tans headed-off in mid-afternoon to their usual spot (Morgans/Mayors Wood) for a run but ran into more than they had planned for.
IRA Volunteers from the Skibbereen Battalion, who were based in the Maulbrack area, about two miles distance from the Barony townland in Cork, were waiting on the two Tans and, when they arrived to their position, they shot them.
Mr Cooke, although seriously wounded, survived the attack, but Mr McClean, who was shot in both lungs and was still alive, died from his wounds later that evening, in the Skibbereen Workhouse.
It transpired that Mr McClean had already decided to leave his 'job' and had handed in his notice, effective at the end of that month. His father and his brother were members of the RIC but the brother had also handed in his notice, and both were due to leave at the end of May, 1921.
Mrs McClean, at home in Scotland, had told her husband and two sons that she had received a letter in the post (which had been posted to her from Edinburgh in Scotland) which contained a threat to her family, wrapped in republican literature.
However ; as the IRA Volunteers were leaving the scene of the executions, a local woman, who worked in a nearby shop - Majorie Young (21), from Bridgetown, Skibbereen, Cork - had heard the gunshots and was looking in the direction of the Woods when she seen two IRA men that she recognised leaving from that area.
M/s Young reportedly gave information to the British Crown Forces that those two men were IRA Skibbereen Battalion Adjutant O'Brien and Bantry Company IRA Officer Commanding Ralph Keyes.
The local IRA investigated the affair and came to the conclusion that M/s Young had indeed passed IRA names to the British, thereby "placing their Battalion Officers at risk of a death sentence" and, in their 'Intelligence Papers', listed the young woman as "guilty in the first degree", a reckoning that, had it been a man under investigation, would have marked him for death.
As it was, from what we gleaned from our inquiries, M/s Young was made aware of the IRA investigation into her activities on that day - 15th May 1921 - but it is not listed in the 'IRA Intelligence Reports on Civilians Accused of Giving Information to and Associating with British Forces during War of Independence in Counties Cork, Kerry, Waterford, and Limerick’ 1921, CP/4/40 [Military Archives]' that any action was taken against her.
"AND THE RADIO SAID..."
IRA Volunteer Billy Reid (32) was shot dead by enemy forces on this date - 15th May - 53 years ago.
Volunteer Reid was on active service, defending his country and his people, on that Saturday in 1971, when he was shot dead in Belfast by British soldiers.
On that day in May, 1971, a British Army foot patrol was ambushed in Academy Street in the centre of Belfast by the Third Battalion Belfast Brigade IRA.
One of the Volunteers was wounded and Volunteer Reid told his comrades to take the wounded man to safety, and he would provide cover fire for them to do so. But his weapon jammed and, as he attempted to withdraw, he was shot in the back.
The British Army soldiers then attacked and abused his body.
RIP Volunteer Billy Reid.
1st January 1939 – 15th May 1971.
The 'Paris (Versailles) Peace Conference' was convened on the 18th January, 1919, to discuss possibilities for a permanent peace in Europe (no more 'World Wars') and to open discussions on US President Woodrow Wilson's apparent desire for self-determination and international co-operation between all nations.
Irish nationalists and republicans recognised the Conference as an opportunity to declare to world leaders our case for independence from England and, of course - as expected - Irish unionists and loyalists were not going to allow that case to go unchallenged.
The 'pro-Irish' delegation felt that the 'anti-Irish' side were receiving more favourable results than they were, and issued the following statement -
"We recognise that an agreement could not have been brought about without certain temporary concessions made in regard to the Constitution of the Irish Parliament which we, as democrats and representatives of Labour, regarded with strong dislike.
But we feel so deeply the necessity of setting up a Parliament in Ireland, in which labour amongst other interests may be able to find a place, that we have been willing to subordinate our democratic beliefs to what we conceive to be the highest interests of Ireland..."
So despondent were they that, on the 15th May, 1919, one of the 'pro-Irish' representatives, Joe Devlin, wrote home to his party leader, John Dillon, stating...
"...nothing will come of the (Paris) Peace Conference. The position must inevitably come to a fierce conflict between the government and Sinn Féin, and I am afraid the country is in for a bad time..."
And how right he was, and is - that "bad time" is still with us, as six of our thirty-two counties remain under the jurisdictional control of Westminster.
==========================
'KILLARNEY MEMORIAL UNVEILED.'
From 'The United Irishman' newspaper, April 1955.
On Sunday, March 13th (1955), a memorial was unveiled at Countess Bridge, Killarney, to the memory of four soldiers of the Irish Republican Army who were killed there by Free State forces, by being blown to pieces by a land mine, on March 7th, 1923.
A parade in the charge of DJ Conway, Tralee, and led by the Scartaglin Pipe Band, marched from the Fair Green, Killarney, to the Countess Bridge.
The Memorial was unveiled by Michael Lynch, The Spa, Tralee, who, after reciting a decade of the Rosary, said there was one thing the present generation could do, and that was to achieve the aims for which those four soldiers of the Republic gave their lives.
He appealed to the young men present to join the IRA and to bring the fight for Irish freedom to a successful end in our time.
Wreaths were placed on the Memorial on behalf of the Republican Graves Association, Killarney, and the Killarney Battalion IRA, and an oration was given by JJ Sheehy.
(END of 'Killarney Memorial Unveiled' ; NEXT - 'An Old And Unfair Criticism', from the same source.)
Commandant Niall 'Plunkett' O'Boyle (pictured) from Lackenagh, Burtonport, was an active Volunteer throughout the War of Independence and the Civil War. He was taken prisoner in 1922 and interned in Newbridge Internment Camp.
On October 14th, 1922, he was one of the 148 prisoners that escaped.
He made his way to Dublin, where he continued his campaign against the Free State forces and was appointed to the 3rd Battalion of the Dublin No.2 Brigade, operating mainly in the North West of Wicklow. For six months he operated fearlessly in the mountains between Tallaght and Glenmalure.
On May 15th 1923, two weeks after the call of a ceasefire, Niall O'Boyle's Flying Column was surrounded by Free State forces in the home of the Norton family, Valletmount, in County Wicklow.
The Free State forces opened fire on the house. Niall and his comrades called for the Staters to let Mrs Norton and her daughters out of the house.
He left the house with his hands raised and walked towards Free State officer, Felix McCorley from Belfast. Suddenly McCorley raised his revolver and shot Neil in the eye, and for good measure he shot him again in the head.
After the inquest, his remains were given to a Mrs Lambert of Lachen, Blessington, Co. Wicklow, and he was waked for one night in Manor Kilbride Church before being returned to Donegal.
During this time Mrs Lambert never left the remains until she seen him buried in his native Lackenagh, in Burtonport, in County Donegal.
He was born, on a small farm, at Leac Eineach, near Burtonport, in County Donegal, in 1898.
On the 15th May, 1923, the Plunkett Column of the Dublin No. 2 Brigade IRA was captured at Knocknadruce, Valleymount, in County Wicklow, after the death of its leader, Ned (Niall) Plunkett O'Boyle (25).
In April, 1923, a ceasefire had been agreed between the IRA and the Free Staters but that didn't deter most FSA Units from attempting to settle old scores ; on May 15th, Niall Plunkett O'Boyle and his men were resting in a house in Knocknadruce, owned by the Norton family, when they were surrounded by FSA troops and told to leave the building.
Shouted negotiations were held between both groups, with the Staters threatening to lob hand grenades into the house unless the IRA Volunteers came out.
Plunkett O'Boyle shouted that he was coming out, alone and unarmed, to discuss the terms of surrender ; he exited the house, hands held high above his head, and walked towards the officer in charge of the FSA, Felix McCorley, who moved in on the IRA man and shot him dead.
His body was returned to Donegal where he is buried in Kincasslagh graveyard.
When Ireland called forth her true sons of the heather,
O'Boyle was the foremost to answer the call,
The sons of the Rosses he banded together,
To drive the oppressor from dark Donegal.
"Because I believe these things I will always stick to them ; but I do not want to force any other person to believe as I do. Let everyone be honest with himself and do what he thinks right. It is my duty to tell you what I believe should be done..." - Ned (Niall) Plunkett O'Boyle.
On the 14th, 15th and 16th May, 1920, those members of Dáil Éireann (the 32-County body) whom the British had not managed to imprison, received a note, on official Dáil Éireann-headed notepaper, stating -
"An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. Therefore a life for a life."
On investigation, it was discovered that the notes had been sent by the British 'Cairo Gang' who had obtained the notepaper from raids on republicans they had conducted previously.
However, in November that same year, the IRA all but read out that same note to that gang...
==========================
On the 15th May, 1920, British Army Major General Henry Hugh Tudor (pictured, KCB, CMG ETC ETC!) was appointed by Westminster to the position of 'Police Adviser to the Irish Administration in Dublin Castle' ; in effect, he was placed in command of the RIC, sidelining the RIC 'Inspector General' and other high-ranking members of that grouping, which didn't go down too well with them!
Mr Tudor's appointment was 'recommended' by Mr Churchill himself, who wanted a 'show of strength' in Ireland against the rebels, and Mr Tudor had a deserved name as a 'military hawk' ; he had 'served queen and country' (!) in the Second Boer War (1899-1902) and in the 'First World War' (1914-1918) and survived through it all to die peacefully, at 94 years of age, in 1965, after denying so many others the opportunity to do so.
'For queen and country', of course...
==========================
In mid-May 1920 street riots erupted in Derry, with the IRA and Loyalist gangs, including the RIC, doing battle with each other - the former in an effort to protect the community from the latter.
On the 15th May, Clare-born RIC 'Sergeant' Denis Moroney became the first RIC member to be killed in the city, as a result of the unrest ; he was the first such member to be shot dead in the Province of Ulster.
==========================
"A BULLET IS WAITING FOR DALTON THE SPY..."
In early 1920, an IRA Volunteer in Limerick, James Dalton, an Intelligence Officer for 1st Southern Division IRA (comprising about 450 Volunteers, all ranks), was observed to be visiting the homes of known RIC Intelligence Officers in the early morning, and word of this quickly got back to his IRA comrades.
On hearing the rumours about him that were circulating in republican circles, Volunteer Dalton himself requested an enquiry into the accusations that had been made against him and, following procedure, the enquiry was held.
The verdict reached was that "...there was no guilty or dishonest motive on his part and that the suspicions were unfounded.."
IRA Captain O'Sullivan stated that the 'spy accusations' against Volunteer Dalton "...were due to personal jealousy and animosity between rival factions in the Volunteers in Limerick.."
But...
..on the 15th May, 1920, Volunteer Dalton left his home at around 12 Noon to go to his day job (he worked as a clerk in the Electric Generating Station on Frederick Street/O'Curry Street, in Limerick) and, after work, met his father-in-law, as arranged, in a local pub between 6pm and 7pm that evening. The two men had a quick pint and left each others company to go home to their own houses, both of them in good humour.
Within a couple of hundred yards of his house, and within sight of his thirteen-year old daughter, Kitty (he and his wife, Anne, had seven children), Volunteer James Dalton was surrounded by up to six men and was shot four times (this was the second attempt on his life). He fell to the ground, where he was shot twice more.
A local child, six-year-old Elly Lowe, was hit in her calf by one of the bullets.
The consensus today is that he was not a spy, but questions are still asked to this day if Volunteer Dalton was, perhaps, an IRA double-agent, was he shot dead in an operation carried out by other IRA Volunteers in an unauthorised attack and/or was he the victim of a personal feud within the IRA in Limerick...?
His wife, Anne, received an ex-gratia payment of £500 that year (1920) and a further £700 in 1924 (from the 'Compensation [Personal Injuries] Committee') but was later encouraged to hand that £1,200 back to the State in return for a longer-term offer, which she did - for a 'Widows Allowance' of £90 a year, plus a further £24 a year in respect of each of her 7 children (under 'The Army Pensions Act'), with all those new children payments to run from the 1st April 1922 until each child "came of age" (18?).
The few bob no doubt came in handy, but I'd bet she'd trade it in in a heartbeat to have her husband back.
Finally : the investigating officer in Dáil Éireann (the 32 County body, not the British/Free State-imposed institution that was spawned on Kildare Street in Dublin) issued the following statement in relation to the situation -
'Dáil Éireann Official Verdict in case of Mr James Dalton. The main point was not in dispute that the plaintiff (Mr Dalton) had entered certain premises at 1am and remained there til morning, the fact which had brought suspicion upon him.
Having heard the evidence I was of opinion that the plaintiff had been guilty of a grave indiscretion and error of judgement in acting as he had done, and that his conduct very naturally gave rise to much suspicion.
As against this I was certain of opinion that there had been no guilty or dishonest notice on his part, and that the suspicions in this respect had been unfounded.' (The Dáil investigation was Chaired by Judge Cahir Davitt.)
No arrests were made at the time. No arrests would ever be made...
On the 15th May, 1921, as Michael Hackett (27), from Bagenalstown, in County Carlow, was taking part in a sporting event in Fenagh, in County Leitrim, he was arrested by IRA Volunteers.
He was taken away and questioned about who he was talking to about the Active Service Unit attached to the Carlow Brigade IRA ; IRA enquiries had led to the conclusion that Mr Hackett, an ex-British Army soldier, was one member of a "gang of spies organised and paid by the RIC", who were operating in the Bagenalstown and Borris areas of Carlow, and regularly supplied information on the IRA and pointed out suspects to the RIC and British Army.
Mr Hackett was tried by court martial and found guilty of espionage "which was directly responsible" for the capture of an IRA ASU at Ballymurphy, County Carlow : he was executed by IRA Volunteers from the 4th Battalion IRA on the 1st June, 1921, and buried on the mountainside at Coolnasaughta, Myshall, in Carlow.
His body was later recovered and reburied by the Hackett family.
==========================
15th May 1921, Dublin - A Mr John Congdon and two of his friends were standing at the corner of Dorset Street and Saint Ignatius Road in Dublin, when the area around them exploded.
The IRA had thrown bombs at a passing British Army lorry and the three men were blown off their feet in the explosions ; Mr Congdon died from his wounds three days later.
==========================
15th May 1921, Tipperary - IRA Volunteers Brain Shanahan, Dan Breen, Jim Moloney, Con Moloney, Art Barlow and Ernie O'Malley were waiting outside a church in the village of Bansha, as they knew a group of RIC members were about to leave when the Mass ended.
When they left, the IRA attacked, and RIC member John Nutley (22) was shot in the head and died immediately.
Two of his colleagues, Jeremiah Sullivan and John McLoughlin, were wounded.
==========================
15th May 1921, Kerry - a member of the British Army's 'Royal Fusiliers City of London Regiment', Stephen Goldsmith, was cycling between the two places he rested his head in in Kenmare when he was shot by IRA Volunteers.
He died from his wounds on the 20th May that year.
==========================
RIC member John Ryle (45), from Kilmoyley in North Kerry, was badly injured in an IRA ambush on the 14th and died from his wounds the following day.
==========================
15th May 1921, Galway - RIC 'District Inspector' Cecil Arthur Maurice Blake (36), his wife Eliza, and two British Army officers (Captain Cornwallis and Lieutant William McCreery of the '17th Lancers') had left a party and were almost at the gates of Ballyturin House, near Gort, when they were ambushed by IRA Volunteers from the South West Galway Brigade and all four were shot dead.
A woman who was in the company of the four party-goers, a M/s Lily Margaret Gregory (the widow of Major Robert Gregory of Coole Park and 'Lady' Gregory's daughter-in-law) was not targeted or injured in the attack.
When the RIC arrived to investigate the scene, one of their members, John Kearney, was shot "in controversial circumstances" and died from his wounds on the 21st May.
==========================
15th May 1921, Tipperary - Two RIC members, Joseph Daly (20) and Thomas Gallivan (20) were reported as "missing" not long after they left their barracks, on bicycles, in Silvermines.
They had been arrested by IRA Volunteers from the North Tipperary Brigade (commanded by Billy Spain and Tom Walsh), shot dead and buried in Clooneen bog in the parish of Cloughjordan, as ordered by Brigade Officer Commanding Seán Gaynor.
In 1925, the bodies were exhumed by the IRA and Mr Daly was buried in his homeplace in Enfield, in County Meath.
The remains of Mr Gallivan, a native of Killarney, County Kerry, were buried in an unmarked grave in Ardcroney graveyard, in County Tipperary.
==========================
15th May 1921, Dublin - A Mr Peter Graham was shot dead as a spy at the Golf Links in Killiney, in County Dublin, by IRA Volunteers.
British Army 'insiders' had alerted the IRA that Mr Graham was a paid informer.
He was born in Dun Laoghaire, County Dublin, on the 19th October, 1897, and is buried in Deansgrange Cemetery in Blackrock, County Dublin.
==========================
15th May 1921, Tyrone - an attempted ambush on 'Special Head Constable' Matt Henderson at Eskra, near Dromore in County Tyrone, led to the death of IRA Volunteer Edward McCusker (...some sources list the date as May 14th).
Volunteer McCusker was attached to 'A Company', 2 Battalion, 2 Brigade (Tyrone) IRA, under the command of Michael and James Gallagher.
==========================
15th May 1921, London - A Mr Horace McNeil answered a knock on his house door in Bloemfontein Road, in Shepherd's Bush, London.
Four men questioned him about his links to the Black and Tans in Ireland, he tried to fight them away from his doorstep and close the door on them but was shot in the process.
He died three days later from his wound.
==========================
15th May 1921, Cork - in reprisals for attacks against them by the IRA in mid-May 1921, Crown Forces attached to the 'Cameron Highlanders' killed a labourer, Edward McNamara (19), from Water-Rock, in Cork ; his death certificate stated that he died on the 15th May, 1921, at The Kennels, Midleton, in Cork, of shock and haemorrhage caused by gunshot wounds. Mr McNamara was walking home on the train lines when he was shot.
The 'Camerons' then raided the home of IRA Volunteer Richard Barry and 'arrested' him. The next day his dead body was found on the railway line about a mile on the Midleton side of Carrigtwohill.
==========================
On this date - 15th May, 102 years ago (1922) - the newly-spawned Free State 'Civic Guard' were assembled for 'Morning Parade' in the training depot at Kildare Barracks.
They were standing to attention as their Commissioner, Michael Staines (a republican-gamekeeper-turned-Free State-poacher - he was only about a month in his position at that time and, in September [1922] he was replaced by Eoin O'Duffy) was addressing them when, suddenly, over 1,200 of them broke ranks, ran to the armoury, and took it into their control.
Mr Staines and those that were still loyal to him rushed for shelter but there was no safety to be had 'in-house' so they evacuated the barracks.
The issue, which had been 'bubbling-up' for a while, was that - shamefully, in regards to the former - of the 1,500 'Civic Guard' members, more than 1,400 of them were, between them, ex-IRA Volunteers and/or ex-Free State Army men ; not natural allies (!), by any means, but they were (briefly!) united in their shared dislike for their Officers and military trainers, who were mostly former members of the RIC!
And that in itself was also strange, as the Stater Army practically worked side-by-side with Crown Forces such as the RIC in their campaign against Irish republican forces but objected to taking orders from them now!
Both groups of mutineers objected to the manner in which other new recruits, from an RIC/DMP anti-Irish background, were treated more favourably by the Officers and, after recent promotions within their ranks of five such ex-RIC members, tensions had boiled over.
An ex-IRA man, now a 'Civic Guard' member, Michael Daly (a Clare man) and seven other members, wrote to Commissioner Staines demanding that those recently-promoted five ex-RIC men should be sacked and, at that assembly on the 15th May, Mr Staines ordered those eight members to step forward, which they did - and loud verbal disagreements followed immediately.
Mr Staines, assured of his position within the ranks he believed he presided over (!), called for his men, in a show of support for him, to move to the left - and about 60 members did!
A larger grouping moved in the opposite direction, leaving about another 60 members undecided, stuck-in-the-middle, on the fence ; those stand-stillers (!) were following the lead of a member called Joe Ring (a republican-gamekeeper-turned-Free State-poacher) and, between them they tried to 'restore order, find a compromise' but, eventually, they, too, had to seek shelter...
The mutiny/stand-off lasted for about seven weeks - this all happened during a period when the Staters - a Westminster proxy - were fighting against the IRA.
What happened next?
What did Chief Stater Michael Collins think of it all?
Did poor Mr Staines ever get his mojo back?
Those answers, or none of them, and answers to questions you haven't yet asked, might be found here. Or they might not. But - whatever - we're not bleedin' spoonfeedin' ya anymore...!
On the 15th May, 1922, the nascent Leinster House administration's 'Northern Advisory Committee' held a meeting in the Metropole Hotel in York Street, in Belfast (pictured).
Among others, Cahir Healy, George Murnaghan, Seamus Woods and Frank Crummey were in favour of calling for, and supporting, 'a campaign of destruction within the six counties with the aim of making the rule of the Stormont Administration more expensive and difficult...'
However, when Leinster House got itself established in the Free State and the Staters got a taste for the expensive lifestyles, they completely reversed their position on the O6C to the point that they, too, enforced partition, and still do so to this day.
==========================
A 'General Election' was due to be held in June, 1922, in the 26-County State, and Mr Churchill, in Westminster, was informed by his people in Dublin that Mr Michael Collins and other Free Staters (whom he supported) were in talks with Irish republicans to ensure a conflict-free election for both of the pro and anti 'Treaty of Surrender' sides involved.
A friendly relationship (of sorts!) between the British-supported Free Staters and Irish republicans was not a welcome development for Mr Churchill or his government so, on the 15th May (1922), he sent a letter to Mr Collins in which he denounced any such pact as "an outrage upon democratic principles" ('1169' comment - Oh the irony..!), and told the Staters that the 'pact issue' would be raised at a British Cabinet meeting to be held on the 16th May.
('1169' comment - we don't doubt that Mr Collins and his people would have buckled immediately, having read that letter, and the Staters haven't stopped buckling to the British since then.)
Anyway - the next day (16th May 1922), following the British Cabinet meeting, Mr Churchill let it be known to his Irish Stater chums (!) that he and his Cabinet had "reviewed the Irish situation" and they were of the opinion that 'Ireland was in a state of rapid social disintegration' and that queries had been raised as to whether or not the 'Treaty of Surrender' was being afforded the respect that it should be (!) and stated the fear in Westminster that, 'if British troops were withdrawn, a Republic would be declared..'
Mr Churchill had also expressed the desire 'to retain the English capital (ie Dublin!) and possibly convert it into a 'Pale' once more..'
The British Bulldog Churchill (!) also broadcasted to Dublin that he was suspending the supply of munitions to the Staters "until he was satisfied that they would be used effectively against the Republican party..", and that Mr Collins and his people were going to be summoned...invited (!) to London to be told that there would be no further large issues of arms to them until they showed that they were going to deal with Rory O'Connor and his men in the Four Courts!
And Mr Collins and his Stater Army duly fulfilled their duty to Mr Churchill.
And they haven't stopped doing so since...
==========================
SO, FAREWELL THEN, CELTIC TIGER....
It had to happen, sooner or later.
Most of the pundits and economists were too busy singing the Celtic Tiger's praises to notice, but a few critical observers worried all along about the weaknesses of a boom economy that depended so much on a few companies from one place - the United States.
By Denis O'Hearn.
From 'Magill' Annual 2002.
In other words, foreign software companies are nine times more productive than Irish companies, which are mostly very small and spend little on Research and Development, or training.
This dual economy is unstable in several respects - TNC's are much more likely to take their profits out of the country. In 1983, foreign profit repatriations made up just 3 per cent of Gross Domestic Product but by 1999 they rose to an astounding 40 per cent of GDP!
This drain on the economy requires a constant inflow of investments to offset it.
Even more worrying is the fact that global recession can rapidly cause cutbacks in the foreign sector, as we have seen so dramatically in Gateway's announced closure and Xerox's layoffs...
(MORE LATER.)
BEIR BUA...
The Thread of the Irish Republican Movement from The United Irishmen through to today.
Republicanism in history and today.
Published by the James Connolly/Tommy O'Neill Cumann, Republican Sinn Féin, The Liberties, Dublin.
August 1998.
('1169' comment - 'Beir Bua' translates as 'Grasp Victory' in the English language.)
ROBERT EMMET AND THE IRELAND OF TODAY...
"She would have tended him like a mother could he have tarried there, but his path lay to Kilmashogue, and hers was to be a harder duty.
When Sirr came out with his soldiery she was still keeping her vigil.
"Where is Emmet?"
"I have nothing to tell you."
To all their questions she had but one answer : "I have nothing to say ; I have nothing to tell you."
They swung her up to a cart and half-hanged her several times ; after each half-hanging she was revived and questioned : still the same answer.
They pricked her breast with their bayonets until the blood spurted out in their faces. They dragged her to prison and tortured her for days. Not one word did they extract from that steadfast woman.
And when Emmet was sold, he was sold, not by a woman, but by a man — by the friend that he had trusted — by the counsel that, having sold him, was to go through the ghastly mockery of defending him at the bar..."
(MORE LATER.)
Thanks for the visit, and for reading!
Sharon and the team.
And we're back!
...and we were right about the family gig that kept us out of action last Wednesday : it took the two days before it to properly finalise it, and three days after it to recover from it.
As expected, when ya have two football-team-full of immediate family members to help organise, plus the 'subs', the back-room 'staff' and - of course - the 'fans'!
Anyway - we're working on a 15-part blog post that we should have ready for Wednesday, 15th May 2024, for all you refs and hawkeye's (!) out there to scrutinise, including a few more paragraphs on all of the following -
In the 1920's, two members of the Crown Forces were surrounded in a wooded area by IRA Volunteers and executed but, as they were leaving the scene, the Volunteers were noticed by a local girl who had spoken to the British about what she witnessed. She knew questions were being asked about her and, true enough, a knock came to her door. But...
1900's - a conference, held abroad, was thought to be the perfect venue for Irish republicans to make their case for Irish freedom but, five months into it, they realised that the cards were stacked against them...
1920's - a love-letter (not!), on branded notepaper that the recipient themselves used, was dropped through letterboxes quoting a Biblical verse.
But those that delivered those missives soon had reason to read the words themselves...
1920's - British military and paramilitary 'hawks and doves' in Ireland squawked at each other when the big vulture in Westminster played 'favourites'...
1920's - on this, the second attempt on his life, his attackers were successful. All involved were IRA Volunteers, but the real reason for the attack remains shrouded in half-truths, rumour and/or purposeful misdirection. Or does it...?
So, if you're interested in the full-time results (groan!) for the above, and about another ten pieces, then score with us (groan again...) on Wednesday, 15th May 2024.
And apologises for the above pitch...
Thanks for reading - see ye on Wednesday, 15th May 2024!
Sharon and the team.
On the 1st May 1916, in Cork - 108 years ago on this date - rebel weapons were voluntarily surrendered to British-appointed and approved representatives and those who surrendered them were, in return, given 'passports' by the British Army to travel throughout Cork to persuade other Irish rebels to do the same -
'..Captain Dickie, General Officer Commanding (of the British military), invited the leaders of the Irish Volunteers in Cork on 28th April (1916) to meet him at the house of the Bishop of Cork, and that they refused ; that on the following morning he visited the Volunteer Hall himself, and held a conference with the Volunteer leaders which also proved abortive..
...a further conference was held on 30th April at the Lord Mayor's house, at which the Bishop, the Lord Mayor, the General Officer Commanding, and the two leaders of the Volunteers were present, at which it was agreed that the Volunteers should hand over their rifles either to the Bishop or to the Lord Mayor, and that the (British) military were not even to know the number of rifles handed in, the rifles to be returned to the Volunteers as soon as the Dublin disturbances were over...
..if the Irish Volunteers handed in their arms to the Bishop (Daniel Coholan) and the Lord Mayor (Thomas Butterfield) before midnight on April 30th and assisted the (British) authorities to maintain order, the (British) General Officer Commanding was prepared to ensure no prosecution for offences other than acts of overt rebellion or traitorous correspondence with the enemy (by which is meant the Irish Volunteers)....at their own request, leaders of the Cork City Volunteers were permitted, on the 29th April, to visit country districts to endeavour to prevent disturbances by country branches of their organisation...
...whether he is aware that, in conformity with that agreement, the rifles were on 1st May handed over to the Lord Mayor's custody, and passports were delivered to the Volunteer leaders to go through the county of Cork to advise the County Corps to abide by the agreement, with the result that no disturbance took place throughout the county ; but that, notwithstanding that agreement, the (British) military authorities on the following day arrested all the leaders, men and women, of the Cork City Volunteers, and lodged them in Cork gaol and, under threat of arresting the Lord Mayor, compelled him to surrender the rifles entrusted to him..' (From 'HANSARD, May 1916, DISTURBANCES IN IRELAND'.)
A beggary-type scenario ; shameful behind-the-scenes machinations, a criminal act, in our opinion that, during Easter Week in 1916, in Cork, an agreement was reached between representatives of the British occupation forces and the Cork leadership (as opposed to the rank-and-file Volunteers) of the Irish Volunteers "that the Volunteers should hand over their rifles", that the local Irish Volunteers should, in effect, become a British Army militia and "assist the (British) authorities (sic) to maintain order" and that Cork Volunteers be "permitted (!) to visit country districts to endeavour to prevent disturbances by country branches of their organisation..".
Absolutely disgusting and despicable behaviour by the Irish Volunteer leadership in Cork, in 1916.
Actions of that sort, whether during Easter Week in 1916 or at any other period in our history - to be even willing to discuss such issues with the British - are unforgivable, but no shame attaches to the 'rank-and-file', the hundreds of brave Irish men and women from Cork who truly and honestly took the battle to the British and, thankfully, continue to do so to this day.
Interesting reading material on the above can be found here, here, and here.
'Put not your trust in Princes' remains good advice ; even 'in-house', you have to watch what people do rather than what they say.
We have always done that at this blog and doing so has served us well, to the point that we are proud of the people that we work alongside with in our joint efforts to secure a proper peace in this country.
'SINN FÉIN REPLIES TO MR. HANNA...'
From 'The United Irishman' newspaper, April 1955.
You may say :
"That's silly. Others have done so before. Why can't you? It's only a piece of paper."
Sinn Féin's answer to that is that the Irish people have had such painful experiences of people who regard oaths as 'empty formulea' and solemn declarations as "just scraps of paper", that it's time more truth and honesty were shown in Irish politics.
In the Six County area, therefore, Sinn Féin is confined to the Westminster elections for which 12 candidates are elected and in which no declaration to sit is required. Issued by the Publicity Committee, Sinn Féin.
(END of 'Sinn Féin Replies To Mr Hanna' ; NEXT - 'Killarney Memorial Unveiled', from the same source.)
The newspaper 'An t-óglác' was, as it stated on its front page, 'The Official Organ of the Irish Volunteer', and was the internal organ of the Irish Republican Army, a journal distributed only to IRA members themselves.
It was based on the journal of the original 'Irish Volunteers', but its title was later retained by both the IRA and the Free State Army for rival periodicals during the 1920's.
The newspaper was much sought after by enemies of the IRA, as it provided valuable insights into the influences, evolution, and goals of the organisation's military strategy, and doubled as an instructional journal for combat. The content was provided by the IRA GHQ Staff, who organised for it to be printed secretly in Dublin and dispatched to every IRA Unit in the country.
On the 1st May, 1920, it warned against '...an enemy newspaper, published in Ireland (which) has recently, in several leading articles, lamented the triumphs of "the ever-advancing Republican forces" in Ireland.
Reference is made to certain parts of the country where the guerilla warfare is being waged with exceptional vigour and to the large number of districts in those parts where the Irish Republican forces are virtually in complete control (but) in some areas things are in a decidedly unsatisfactory condition.
We wish to point out that those places where guerrilla warfare against the enemy has been waged with great activity and effectiveness represent only a small portion of the country. In some other parts there has been marked inactivity.
The present is not a time for halting to report progress nor for indulging in self-gratulation, but for pushing forward our campaign with energy and efficiency. The initiative has passed into our hands and we must keep it.
We have gained ground ; we must consolidate our advantages, but our motto must be always 'Forward'...!'
It described the 'Black and Tans' as '...physically and morally degenerate Englishmen with no understanding of Ireland...when the IRA comes to deal with these men it will make short work of them...'
Westminster recognised that 'An t-óglác' was an important addition in the fight against them and, in 1919, they declared that anyone caught in possession of it would be sentenced to six months hard labour in one of their prisons, but that didn't stop its publication nor dent its circulation!
==========================
The 1st May is the traditional date in Ireland when 'Eleven-Month Leases' (the 'Conacre System') come up for renewal.
And, on the lead-up to the 1st May in 1920, the grievances that existed between the (mostly foreign) 'landlords' and their 'tenants' were given voice to, although that voice, while still present, had only been a scattered whisper in the years leading up to that date.
The re-raised voice was particularly loud in Galway, Mayo and Roscommon, but its echo was heard, too, in the other twenty-nine counties, as land husbandry and agricultural issues were the bread-and-butter mainstays of the day, more so than they are in the 21st Century.
In a protest against how the 'landlords' treated them, the 'tenant' smallholder farmers organised 'cattle drives', the removal of dividing walls between the land they worked on and their neighbours land, and street demonstrations, all of which was made easier due to the fact that the RIC were mostly afraid to show themselves, as they knew the IRA were in 'the long grass', waiting for them...!
==========================
On the 1st May, 1920, a joint letter to the British Cabinet from their 'Secretary of State for War and Air', Mr Winston Churchill, Field Marshal 'Sir' Henry Hughes Wilson and Mr Hugh Trenchard, the 'Chief of the Air Staff', concern was expressed about how much continued British (mis)rule in Mesopotamia (where Iraq is now) was costing the British Exchequer.
In that joint letter, Mr Wilson complained about the financial price involved, and Mr Trenchard suggested that the 'Royal Air Force' be given the task of governing Mesopotamia and doing so out of their allocated budget which, of course, would still have to be funded from the British Exchequer, but would mean that the politicians would be 'one step removed' from culpability.
We didn't know the man (obviously!), but Mr Trenchard sounds like he was trying hard to be the best boy in the class...!
==========================
SO, FAREWELL THEN, CELTIC TIGER....
It had to happen, sooner or later.
Most of the pundits and economists were too busy singing the Celtic Tiger's praises to notice, but a few critical observers worried all along about the weaknesses of a boom economy that depended so much on a few companies from one place - the United States.
By Denis O'Hearn.
From 'Magill' Annual 2002.
TNC's may receive as much as nine out of every ten pounds of corporate profits in the southern Irish economy.
This dualism is even present in software, which the business press calls the big success story of indigenous Irish industry. By the year 2000, Ireland was the second largest exporter of software behind the US (having surpassed Israel and India).
And half of the employment in software was in Irish-owned firms.
This is quite a considerable achievement, yet the industry is dominated by TNC's in every other respect ; with just half of software employees, transnationals account for about 90 per cent of Irish software sales, exports and revenues...
(MORE LATER.)
On the 1st May, 1921 (six weeks before the 'Truce' of the 11th July), two West Tipperary IRA Volunteers, Seán Duffy (27), from Monaghan, Officer Commanding 4th (Tipperary Town) Battalion, 3rd Tipperary Brigade, and Paddy Moloney (21), Adjutant, 4th Battalion, were staying in a 'safe house' at Gortdrum in Tipperary, not realising that Crown Forces, acting on "reliable information that two prominent rebels were in a certain house" were on the way to 'arrest' them.
A young lad, Larry Connors, was 'keeping sketch' (a lookout) for them and he seen the enemy gunmen approaching the house ; he raised the alarm and the two Volunteers made a run for it, after firing a few shots at the British soldiers.
They were both shot dead.
'Black and Tans were approaching. The two men attempted to flee but the house was surrounded. They attempted to shoot their way out but only made it 200 yards from the house. Their bodies were brought to Tipperary where a military inquest was held...' - more here.
RIP to the two brave Volunteers.
==========================
"On May Eve a trench was being opened about a mile from the village of Liscarroll, and some of the IRA parties on their way home after completing the work were intercepted by a (British) military patrol which killed a young lad, only about 14 years of age..."
- statement from Patrick O'Brien, Vice Officer Commanding of the Charleville Battalion, IRA.
Joseph Coughlan, 14 years of age, an active member of Na Fianna Éireann, was acting as a guide for the IRA on the evening of the 30th April, 1921, as they set out to make one of the roads into the village of Liscarroll, County Cork, impassable, by digging a trench across it.
The group were working on a road at Sunfort Hill, which was only about 200 yards from where young Joseph lived with his grandparents, John and Mary Dennehy.
A British Army patrol, consisting of soldiers from the 'East Lancashire Regiment', came across the scene after the job was done and the group were making their way out of the area and called on them to surrender, but they scattered in all directions ; the British soldiers opened fire, killing the 14-years-young boy in the process - he died on the 1st May, 1921.
RIP Fian Joseph Coughlan.
==========================
On the 1st May, 1921, the small village of Dún Eochaille ('Donohill'), in County Tipperary, was the location for a meeting between the IRA leadership to establish a Headquarters for the 2nd Southern Division IRA, which they set-up near the village.
Ernie O'Malley, Con Moloney and Dan Breen were among those present and, between them, they would have discussed the Division's five brigades, which had command over Limerick, Tipperary, and Kilkenny.
The IRA itself had recently been reorganised (in April 1921) along the lines of a 'regular' army ; military divisions were created based on region, with IRA Commanders being given responsibility for specific geographical areas but, in practice, this had little effect on the localised nature of the guerrilla warfare campaign.
In terms of weapons, IRA units possessed an abundance of pistols and shotguns, but relatively few rifles and only a handful of machine-guns. It was recorded (in late 1921) that the IRA as a whole held just 3,295 rifles, of which 1,385 or 42% belonged to the First Southern and Second Southern divisions located in Munster.
These two divisions accounted for most of the IRA's strongest brigades, which had led the development of the guerrilla warfare tactic but, that which the organisation lacked in firepower, it more than made up for in determination!
==========================
On the 1st May, 1921, two RIC members - George Cutherberston (21, from Scotland ; he had four months 'service' with the RIC) and Walter Shaw (20, from Yorkshire, in England ; he had three months 'service' with the RIC) - went for a lunchtime stroll from Arva Barracks, in County Cavan.
Their bodies were later discovered in the townland of Fihoragh, on the Cavan-Longford border ; they had been ambushed by six IRA Volunteers from the ASU of the North Longford Brigade, IRA (pictured).
==========================
On the 1st May, 1921, IRA Volunteer Lieutenant Henry Clancy (23 years of age, 'C' Company, Limerick City Battalion, Mid Limerick Brigade), from 4 Garvey's Range, in Limerick, was with his comrades preparing for an ambush on a Black and Tan gang at Ballysimon, in Limerick.
An RIC patrol happened upon the scene and a gunfight ensued, during which Volunteer Clancy was shot dead and one of his comrades, Thomas Keane, was captured.
Volunteer Keane was executed by the British on the 4th June 1921.
==========================
"On 1st May, 1921, the three combined Columns were in the neighbourhood of Knockadea, Tully and Shraharla.
We got word that the Galbally patrol had gone to Kildorrery ; the column was mobilising.
Commandant Liam Hayes, who had now recovered from his injury, led his section across Shraharla Bridge. When about on the centre of the bridge
they were surprised and attacked by enemy personnel who arrived in four or five lorries.
Some of them (the IRA Volunteers) got into John Ronan's farmyard and were trapped.
Four were killed, and Volunteer Casey from Ballybricken, all from the Mid-Limerick Brigade, was taken prisoner. He was court-martialled
and executed on the following day.
His execution was the subject of questions in the British House of Commons...
...men of Mid-Limerick Column killed at Shraherly 1st May 1921 ; Captain Paddy Stair, James Horan, Tim Hennessy.
Volunteer Casey was taken prisoner and executed in Cork the next morning..."
- Donnchadh O h-Annagain (pictured, Donnchadh O' Hannigan), Brigadier East Limerick Brigade, and Officer Commanding East Limerick Flying Column.
The combined IRA Columns included the ASU of the East Limerick Brigade and some men from the Mid-Limerick ASU ; they encountered a large contingent of Crown Forces at Shraharla (4 miles northeast of Kildorrery) on the Cork-Limerick border.
A gunfight began and, as the IRA Volunteers retreated, two of their number from the Mid-Limerick ASU - Patrick Starr and James Horan - were killed.
Two other IRA Volunteers, Patrick Casey and Tim Hennessy, were captured ; Volunteer Casey was executed at 6.30am the next day in the Military Detention Barracks in Cork after being 'tried by court martial' and found 'guilty', just over 24 hours after his capture.
Volunteer Hennessy (who was wounded in the gunfight) died from his wounds on the 17th May (1921).
Also, the British Crown Forces captured a substantial number of IRA weapons.
==========================
Early in 1918, a young Kerry man, from the town of Kenmare, Denis Tuohy (pictured), joined the RIC.
Later that same year, Westminster forced conscription on Ireland, meaning that young Irishmen were compelled to join the British Army or face a jail sentence. Mr Tuohy objected to that policy, and resigned from the RIC in protest.
His objection extended to more than just refusing to work with the British - he wanted to work against them, and joined the IRA.
He was placed as one of Terence MacSwiney's bodyguards, and also served the Cause as the Intelligence Officer for Crossroads Company, 3rd Battalion, No 2 Kerry Brigade IRA.
On the 1st May, 1921, at about 4am, Volunteer Tuohy was 'arrested' at his home by Crown Forces and taken to Kenmare Workhouse Military Barracks "for questioning" : he was killed there on there same date, while "attempting to escape".
Details later came to light that driven to desperation he seized a hand grenade and flung it among his torturers, giving them more 'reason' to continue torturing him. His father visited the barracks at about 11am and saw his son through a window, battered and bloodstained and strapped to a chair.
When his father spoke he lifted his head and nodded to show he recognised him. Realising however that his son was dying, his father went straight to find the Parish Priest to administer the last Rites of the Church, but the British officer in charge refused permission, as well as refusing any medical aid for the IRA Volunteer.
At 6pm that day - 1st May 1921 - a volley of shots was heard and the British stated that they had executed Volunteer Tuohy, but it was later ascertained that he had died earlier in the day as a result of the brutal treatment he had received and the shooting was only used to cover up a British crime.
His British captors had denied him medical treatment and religious rites and his body showed signs of torture - his torso was badly marked and all his finger nails had been extracted.
But they couldn't extract his Republicanism.
RIP Volunteer Denis Tuohy.
==========================
CROWN FORCE DEATHS ON 1ST MAY 1921 :
On the 30th April, 1921, RIC member Henry R. Cowie, 35 years of age ('Service Number 79339'), was with two of his colleagues (Boyle and McCullie) in Newbliss Barracks, in County Monaghan, when a Webley revolver was fired accidentally. Mr Cowie died from his wound the next day, 1st May 1921.
On the 1st May, 1921, two RIC members, William Albert Smith (27, a wood-turner by trade, who had joined the RIC in late 1920) and John F. Webb (20) left their barracks in Castlemartyr, County Cork, to go and join two of their colleagues who had left earlier, to go fishing in a near-by demesne area.
Apparently, they couldn't find their buddies so the two of them decided to 'set up shop' themselves, and try and catch a few fish.
As they were casting rods, they were disturbed by about a dozen IRA Volunteers, who surrounded them. The Volunteers shot both men - Mr Smith died at the scene, and Mr Webb died from his wounds the following day.
==========================
A British Army dispatch rider and signalman with the 'Royal Corps Of Signals', Herbert Reginald Wenn (19, 'Service Number 2309611'), from Norwich, in England, died in the Military Hospital in the Curragh, County Kildare, on the 1st May 1921.
He was said to have been "fooling around with a gun" at the time.
==========================
On the 1st May, 1921, at about 11.30am, two Black and Tan members left their barracks at Arvagh, in County Cavan, to go for a walk.
Gunfire was heard in the locality at around 1pm and their bodies were found a short distance away on the Longford side of the border.
==========================
BEIR BUA...
The Thread of the Irish Republican Movement from The United Irishmen through to today.
Republicanism in history and today.
Published by the James Connolly/Tommy O'Neill Cumann, Republican Sinn Féin, The Liberties, Dublin.
August 1998.
('1169' comment - 'Beir Bua' translates as 'Grasp Victory' in the English language.)
ROBERT EMMET AND THE IRELAND OF TODAY...
"I would ask you to consider now how the call I have spoken of was made to the spirit of a woman, and how, equally, it was responded to.
Wherever Emmet is commemorated let Anne Devlin not be forgotten.
Bryan Devlin had a dairy farm in Butterfield Lane ; his fields are still green there. Five Sons of his fought in ‘98. Anne was his daughter, and she went to keep house for Emmet when he moved into Butterfield House.
You know how she kept vigil there on the night of the rising. When all was lost and Emmet came out in his hurried retreat through Rathfarnham to the mountains, her greeting was — according to tradition, it was spoken in Irish, and Emmet must have replied in Irish — "Musha, bad welcome to you! Is Ireland lost by you, cowards that you are, to lead the people to destruction and then to leave them?"
"Don't blame me, Anne ; the fault is not mine..." said Emmet. And she was sorry for the pain her words had inflicted, spoken in the pain of her own disappointment..."
(MORE LATER.)
THE BEGINNING OF ALL OUR WOES...
'That night they tarried by the shore as they were,
but the king on the morrow marched directly to Wexford,
accompanied by all -
of a verity, to assault the town...'
On the 1st May 1169 - 855 years ago on this date - the deposed King of Leinster, Diarmait Mac Murchada (Dermot MacMurrough) landed at Bannow Bay in County Wexford (on the south coast of Ireland), with the Blessing of the English political hierarchy (whom he had requested assistance from) and with a group of mercenary Norman soldiers to reclaim his throne, resulting in large parts of Ireland coming under Norman control.
In 1126, Mac Murchada had succeeded to the throne of his father, Enna, in a manner which was disputed and challenged by his rivals ; determined to hold on to his position, he killed or otherwise disabled the challengers, who fought back.
In 1166, he lost - he was forced out of Ireland, and the English 'King', Henry II, helped him by putting him in contact with several Anglo-Norman 'Lords' in South Wales and, in 1169, an army had been assembled and they landed, as stated above, in Wexford ; this is only a 'bare bones' synopsis of events which still affect this country today, as six of our counties remain in bondage.
And, after 855 years, Irish republicans are continuing to campaign against the 'King Henry's' and the 'Lords' who are attempting to hold on to their ill-gotten gains ; more info on this episode in our history can be read here.
'1169 And Counting', if you like...!
"(I will) give to all citizens in this area, irrespective of creed or class, every protection within my power.."
- Tom Hales (pictured, a republican-gamekeeper-turned-Free State-poacher), on the 1st May, 1922, Officer Commanding of the 3rd Cork Brigade IRA, offering assurance to all citizens in his brigade area that he and his men will not favour one over the other in regards to religious or political differences.
Mr Hales took a seat in Leinster House as a Fianna Fáil member for the Cork West constituency at the 1933 State election and stayed within the Fianna Fáil fold until June, 1936, when he resigned, stating that he could no longer support their policy of interning IRA members.
He later contested other Leinster House elections as an independent, and died on the 29th April 1966, aged 74.
==========================
The month of May in 1922 witnessed another fund-raising operation by the IRA (...they weren't State funded!) and, indeed, between the 1st January and the 22nd July that year, a total of £167,000 was 'raised' from banks and post offices, a tidy sum today but, literally, a small fortune in those days!
For instance, during that seven-month time period, £18,000 was taken in Ennis, £20,910 in Tipperary, £18,285 in Clonmel and £10,000 in Ballina, County Mayo.
On the 1st May 1922 alone the sum of £50,000 was taken and, as was standard procedure, the IRA Volunteers involved in the raids left receipts for the amounts taken, as there was every intention to pay it back when the campaign was over.
The author Dorothy Macardle wrote - "The Republican army without funds felt justified in taking money from banks and post offices to arm and provision the republicans and the IRA Executive took full responsibility for the raids.." or, as Seán Moylan (a republican-gamekeeper-turned-Free State-poacher) put it : "Sure it’s only a venial sin to rob a bank..."
==========================
On the 1st May, 1922, a document was signed between the IRA and the political and military branches of the Free State calling for "army unity" and agreeing to a proposal accepting that the majority of Irish people support the 'Treaty of Surrender' and that an election should be held to form a political administration that would have the confidence of all citizens.
Five representatives of the Free State (political and military) were present - Seán Boylan, Michael Collins, Richard Mulcahy, Eoin O'Duffy and Gearoid O'Sullivan, and the republicans were represented by Dan Breen (QM, Tipperary No. 3 Brigade) , Tom Hales (O/C Cork No. 3 Brigade); Humphrey Murphy (O/C Kerry No. 1 Brigade); Florrie O'Donoghue (Adj, 1st Southern Division) and Sean O'Hegarty (O/C Cork No. 1 Brigade).
It was a bad deal for the republican side but, lucky enough, it was a deal done without authorisation ; a bad deal because it morally legitimised the 'Treaty of Surrender' and gave it an authority it didn't deserve in that it presented it as being taken for granted by the republicans that they, too, considered that that 'Treaty', and the manner in which the Staters considered it 'an Ace card', was the only way to consider it.
The deal was done without the authorisation of the IRA Executive, the 'ruling body' of the Movement who, on hearing about what had been accepted by their five comrades, promptly denounced it.
('1169' Comment - out of those five republican representatives, two left republicanism and joined Fianna Fáil [Dan Breen and Tom Hales],
two more left republicanism and formed the 'Neutral IRA' [Florrie O'Donoghue - NIRA first, then he joined the Free State Army - and Seán O'Hegarty] leaving the last man standing tall - Humphrey Murphy, who soldiered on with the IRA.)
==========================
On the 1st May, 1922, another meeting between the IRA and the Staters was also held, this one in Drumboe Castle, in County Donegal.
Joe Sweeney and Tom Glennon (O/C and V/C of the Free State Army 1st Northern Division) met with Seán Lehane and Charlie Daly (O/C and V/C IRA 1st Northern Division) for what turned out to be a three-and-a-half-hour meeting.
The Staters insisted that the IRA should 'evacuate the county', to which the IRA Volunteers replied that they wouldn't be doing that as they intended to continue attacking the 'Specials' in Fermanagh, Tyrone, Derry and elsewhere, and would base their forces in Donegal and other counties.
Mr Sweeney drew the discussion to an end when he eventually realised that the IRA were not for turning and, on leaving the meeting, he looked at the two IRA men and declared - "It looks as though we're going to have to regard one another as enemies from now on."
And so it was.
And is.
==========================
Writing in 'The London Times' newspaper on the 1st May, 1922, Frederick Edwin Smith, the '1st Earl of Birkenhead, GCSI, PC, DL' (ETC!, pictured), the former British 'Lord Chancellor', strongly opined that 'Sir' James Craig, the'1st Viscount Craigavon/Prime Minister of Northern Ireland' (sic) should appoint a representative to the Boundary Commission on the basis that the Treaty article governing the boundary issue (Article 12) only implied "a re-adjustment of boundaries" and Stormont loyalists had nothing to fear from appointing a representative, under those 'terms and conditions'.
'Sir' James was incandescent with rage when he heard what Mr Smith had written, as Jimmy's intention was to let the whole issue slide, 'out of sight, out of mind/if it's not broken (!!) don't fix it' - in other words, 'we're quite happy with the six counties we are occupying, and I know we told you that we'd have a proper look at adjusting partition, but that was really just a 'bonus point' we gave you to help in selling the Treaty (of Surrender) to your own people...'
And Westminster kept the sham deal on the road until November 1925, when it issued its final report which, incidentally, was never officially publicly published because of what were stated to be "disagreements about its recommendations" : no 'alterations' were made to the British-imposed 'border'.
A copy of that report was 'leaked' to the British press, more-or-less telling the Free Staters to feck off, which triggered the resignation of the Free State representative on the 'Commission', Mr Eoin MacNeill - he 'countermanded a Commission' he himself once favoured, if you like...!
==========================
This joke (?!) was published in 'The Weekly Irish Times' on the 1st May 1919 ;
Prisoner : "There goes my hat ; shall I run after it?"
Policeman : "Phwat? Run away and never come back again? You stand here and I'll run after your hat..."
Whatever about my hat, I'll get my coat...
Thanks for the visit, and for reading!
Sharon and the team.
(We won't be here next Wednesday, 8th May 2024, as we have a family occasion on the 6th and, truthfully, we know we're not gonna be recovered from it until the 9th, at least - well, you try and party with between fifty and sixty guests without it impacting your routines!
But we'll be back on Wednesday, 15th May 2024 with, among other pieces, the last day on this Earth of an Irish rebel who is still remembered and honoured to this day...)
