On the 19th November, 1919, the newspapers in Ireland carried a piece about an event which took place the previous day, concerning the 'arrest' of an IRA Volunteer by the Crown Forces.
Volunteer Edward Malone, from the village of Dún Brinn (Dunbrin), near Athy, in County Kildare, had been hunted by the British since April that year and, on the 18th, was staying in the house in Ballycullane, County Kildare (about 7km [4.50 miles] from his own village) of his cousin, Volunteer Michael Malone, who was the Captain of 'A Company, 3rd Battalion, Carlow-Kildare Brigade IRA'.
British Army soldiers raided the house and captured Volunteer Edward Malone : early in 1920, Volunteer Malone and other POW's went on hunger-strike and, following a massive general strike and public protests, the POW's were released in April that year.
His own house in Dún Brinn had been raided and searched by the British on the 31st October, 1918 (IRA documents were found), and again on the 13th February, 1919, and a rifle was found.
Incidentally, when the split in the IRA occurred in January 1922 over the 'Treaty of Surrender', those who remained true to the Cause included Volunteers Patrick Mullaney (the Commander of the IRA Eastern Division's 1st Brigade), Edward Malone, James Farrell, Jim Farrell, Thomas Farrell, John Farrell, Michael O'Neill, Diarmuid O'Neill, Robert Crone, Jack O'Connor, William Kearney, Jack Dempsey, John Byrne, Pat Holmwood, Paddy Campbell, Pat Nolan and at least six other brave men - including five Free State Army soldiers who were operating with the IRA.
The Free Staters referred to that IRA Unit as 'Mullaney's Men'...
==========================
"MURDER BY A PERSON OR PERSONS UNKNOWN..."
Theobald Wolfe Tone was born on the 20th June, 1763 - the exact time and date of his death are unknown.
He was sentenced to death on the 10th November 1798 and, on the 11th November, he was informed by his gaolers that he would be publicly hanged on the following day, Monday, at one o'clock.
It is generally accepted that Wolfe Tone died on the 19th November 1798 but, in fact, he could have been murdered at any time during the previous week, and there is no doubt, and none of us should be in any doubt, of his murder by British Crown agents.
It is time now, once and for all, to bury the lie that Wolfe Tone took his own life.
These false stories were put out at the time not just to cover up the murder but also as black propaganda to denigrate Tone and the Cause he cherished with all his being. The proof of their successes in trying to destroy Wolfe Tone's character is still evident today over 200 years later.
Yes, the British establishment was expert at that time at covering up their crimes, even more successful than they are today. Many historians to this day trot out the same British lies, as if they were gospel, that Tone committed suicide ; they quote all sorts of stories to 'back-up' their claims.
They use the most abominable argument that especially as Wolfe Tone was of the Protestant faith it would not be repugnant for him to take his own life : I say here and now that this was and is the most objectionable of arguments. It was against everything Tone dedicated and gave his life for, namely, to substitute the common name of Irishman for the religious denominations.
To spread the lie and imply that somehow being a Protestant made it acceptable to commit suicide is to be against all Wolfe Tone stood for.
The argument is still going on with new books being written about Tone and praised and published by the present establishment who are as much against what Tone stood for as were the British establishment of the time, and as they still are today.
Why do the establishment, British and Irish, make such a case for Wolfe Tone's suicide?
Because to face the truth might make people today see the light and not just follow Tone's teachings but practice them.
It is often quoted also that Tone's son accepted his father's suicide ; even if this were true it is of no consequence as what he thought one way or the other has no bearing on the facts. How did Tone's son know how long his father lay dying? There was no way he could know, no more than anyone else - at no time were any visitors allowed into see Wolfe Tone.
Tone's father tried every possible move through the courts to get his son free.
His lawyer applied for and was immediately granted a writ of Habeas Corpus by Chief Justice Lord Kilwarden. Major Sandy, in charge of the barracks, was recognised generally as being a man with scant regard for justice or truth.
It has been stated as proof of Tone's suicide that a man of Sandy's calibre and his hirelings wouldn't do such a botched murder that would take eight days for the victim to die. But how do we know how long Wolfe Tone took to die? It could very well have been eight minutes, not eight days.
The only evidence ever produced to support the suicide verdict is an account from a French royalist, a Doctor Lentaigne, of whom little is known. This same doctor was by his being a royalist first, and working for the British Army, doubly opposed to all Wolfe Tone would stand for.
How anyone with the remotest feeling for justice or truth could accept the word of such a man under the circumstances at the time is an insult to ordinary intelligence. But then as the old cliche says - 'where ignorance is bliss it's folly to be wise.'
The secrets of a state prison at that period in history are seldom penetrated and even today would be virtually impossible.
Abundant proof is available even today if a thorough search was to take place but we who wish to know the truth have only to know the man : he had dedicated himself to his principles and had seen his friends and compatriots, including his brother, hanged, and he would not let them or his country down by taking his own life.
Without knowing the man, even reading his last letters is enough to disprove the abominable lie that he committed suicide.
Did he not write to his wife -
"My mind is as tranquil this moment as at any period in my life."
One only has to read his last speech from the dock at his trial to see and understand the character of the man. Just to quote a few lines is enough to convince any fair mind of the impossibility of Wolfe Tone committing suicide ; only the avowed enemies of truth and justice could dare say otherwise -
"Mr. President and gentlemen of the Court Martial : I mean not to give you the trouble of bringing judicial proof to convict me legally to having acted in hostility to the government of his Britannic Majesty in Ireland. I admit the fact from my earliest youth, I have regarded the connection between Ireland and Great Britain as the curse of the Irish nation and felt convinced that, whilst it lasted, this country could never be free nor happy."
Regarding the French, Wolfe Tone said -
"Attached to no party in the French Republic, without interest, without money, without intrigue, the openness and integrity of my views raised me to a high and confidential rank in its armies ; under the flag of the French Republic, I originally engaged with a view to save and liberate my own country. For that purpose, I have encountered the chances of war, amongst strangers.
For that purpose, I have repeatedly braved the terrors of the ocean, covered as I knew it to be, with the triumphant fleets of that power, which it was my glory and my duty to oppose. I have sacrificed all my views in life ; I have courted poverty, I have left a beloved wife, unprotected children I adored, fatherless.
After such sacrifices, in a cause which I have always conscientiously considered as the cause of justice and freedom - it is no great effort, at this day, to add the sacrifice of my life.
To the eternal disgrace of those who gave the order, I was brought hither in irons, like a felon.."
During his last speech from the dock, Wolfe Tone stated -
"I mention this for the sake of others, for me I am indifferent to it. I am aware of the fate which awaits me, and scorn equally the tone of complaint and that of supplication. Whatever be the sentence of this court, I am prepared for it. Its members will surely discharge their duty ; I shall take care not to be wanting in mine."
Tone's use of the word 'eternal' and 'his duty' are obvious references to God and posterity and he would have been fully aware and very careful about their use. Any study of the man and any understanding of him as a person to those who wish to see the truth can only draw the one conclusion.
To quote just a line or two from his last letters to his wife : "..be assured I will die as I have lived, and that you will have no cause to blush for me. Adieu, dearest love, keep your courage as I have kept mine. My mind is as tranquil this moment as at any period of my life."
Are these the words of a man contemplating suicide?
No!
Wolfe Tone knew that suicide would have damned his reputation irreparably and consequently the cause he dedicated his life to. There is only one conclusion to be drawn, knowing the man - 'murder by a person or persons unknown.'
(The above is an edited version of a lecture delivered to Dublin republicans by Joe Egan in November 1989. Joe was a member of the RSF Education Department at the time.)
GAS LADS...
The massive finds of oil and gas on our western seaboard could ensure Ireland's financial security for generations.
Wealth approximating that of the Arab countries is within our grasp, but the Irish government seems content to sell off our birthright for a handful of votes and a few dollars.
In a special 'Magill' report, Sandra Mara investigates just what we are giving away, and why.
From 'Magill' magazine, March 2002.
In a sale which appeared to net the State €126 million, the real gain is another matter.
The State agreed to write off over €101 million in debts, believed to have been incurred in the refurbishment of INPC just prior to the sale.
In terms of guarantees, INPC gave an undertaking that it will underwrite any claims for environmental damage or pollution up to €95, and provide an open-ended guarantee in regard to any claims in respect of the Whiddy Island incident, where the oil tanker 'Betelgeuse' exploded some years ago.
These guarantees and undertakings could potentially not alone wipe out any perceived gains, but leave the State in a negative-equity position...
(MORE LATER.)
ON THIS DATE (19TH NOVEMBER) 105 YEARS AGO : 'HANSARD' TRANSCRIPT OF DEBATE ON CAPTURE OF FOUR ENGLISH OFFICERS IN CORK BY REBELS MAKES THE HEADLINES.
(Or - 'Rebel motor cars? - BAN THEM!')
This discussion in the British 'House of Commons' on the 18th November, 1920, was commented on in the newspapers of the day on the 19th November -
OFFICERS CAPTURED.
HC Deb 18 November 1920 vol 134 cc2072-4
Mr. PENNEFATHER (by Private Notice) asked the Secretary of State for War whether he had any information to impart relating to the four officers taken by force out of a train at Waterfall, County Cork, the day before yesterday, and carried off in rebel motor cars, and whether, in view of this further proof of the assistance to crime afforded by privately-owned motor cars, the Government would at once prohibit their use in the disturbed areas?
Mr. DEVLIN : "What is a "rebel motor car"?
The SECRETARY of STATE for WAR (Mr. Churchill): "The only information which I have at present is that two Education Officers, Captain M. H. W. Green, Lincolnshire Regiment, and Captain S. Chambers, Liverpool Regiment, and an officer of the Royal Engineers, Lieut. W. Spalding Watts, were captured by the rebels.
I understand that Captain Green and Lieutenant Watts might have been witnesses of a murder of a police sergeant and that Captain Chambers was the principal witness against Father O'Donnell, who was arrested in October, 1919, for seditious speeches.
Presumably, these are the reasons why they were kidnapped, but I do not know the circumstances of their capture. With regard to the last part of the hon. Member's question, I think ample powers already exist under the Restoration of Order in Ireland Regulations.
Certain restrictions regarding the use of motor vehicles are already in force, and I understand that further drastic restrictions will come into operation on 1st December."
Mr. TERRELL : "Have these officers been released?"
Mr.CHURCHILL : "No."
Mr. DEVLIN : "The right hon. Gentleman brings in the trial, and the statement that Father O'Donnell was arrested for seditious language. For what reason ho dons (sic - 'he done'?) that, I do not know. Will he state that the court-martial acquitted him of that charge?"
Mr. CHURCHILL : "I did not attach importance to that. I have given the answer specially framed for me in answer to this question."
Mr. DEVLIN : "Who framed it for you?"
Mr. CHURCHILL "I had no communication whatever with the hon. Member (Mr. Pennefather), and there is no ulterior design behind the framing of the answer." (From here.)
We also found the following information in relation to this incident :
Capt M H W Green - removed and shot. Capt S Chambers - removed and shot. Lt W S Watts - removed and shot...there were 4 officers in mufti in a 3rd class compartment travelling from Cork (they thought it less conspicuous to travel 3rd class). There were 10 people in the compartment. The officers were en route to Bere Island. The soldiers were Lt R R Goode (inspector of Army Schools), Capt Reedy R.E., Chambers and Green.
The train stopped at Waterfall, 6 miles from Cork.
Three armed civilians entered their compartment. Looking at Chambers one of these armed men said "That is one of them" and looking at Green said "That is the other".
Chambers and Green were then marched out with their hands up and were last seen at the bridge over the railway....In 'The Year of Disappearances' (link here) the author makes a case for mistaken identity, for the Green the IRA wanted being George Edward Green, and not MHW Green...Watts had decided to travel First Class and was by himself.
Reedy only realised Watts was missing when the train got to Kinsale Junction and he could not find Watts...Goode added to his statement that he knew that Chambers had been responsible for the arrest of Father O'Donnell (Chaplin to the Australian Forces) in Oct 1919 for seditious language....Goode also said that Chambers and Green had the previous week been witnesses to the murder of 2 RIC constables at Ballybrack in the course of a railway journey.
Goode believed that Green was carrying an automatic pistol, but believed that the others were unarmed...1921 Nov 29- The IRA confirm that the men were executed, but details of their burial place did not emerge... (from here) and these British Army documents also make for interesting reading.
The lesson, whether it should have been learned in 1920 (if not centuries earlier!) or will be learned even at this late stage by those who think they have secured their political future and that of this Free State, is a simple one : 'Ireland unfree shall never be at peace'.
On the 19th November, 1920, 'The American Commission on Conditions in Ireland' held its first public hearing in Washington, America.
That organisation was established chiefly by the New York newspaper 'The Nation' and US Senators, Congressmen, Mayors, and other activists were quick to get involved, as the British military and political presence in Ireland was making world headlines at the time.
It's work included collecting first-hand accounts of British violence and atrocities in Ireland to maintain international attention on the situation and to further inform public and political opinion. The official 'ACCI' reporter, Albert Coyle, published over 1,100 pages of testimonies that documented the conflict.
Despite receiving invitations to attend, both Field Marshal 'Lord' John French, the '1st Earl of Ypres' who, as the '(British) King's Representative in Ireland', was their 'Commander-in-Chief of the British Expeditionary Forces' and, as such, their 'Lord Lieutenant' in this country, and 'Sir' Hamar Greenwood, who was the (British) 'Chief Secretary for Ireland' and, according to Westminster, was "responsible for the administration of the country (Ireland) and the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC)...", refused to attend.
And, actually, no-one from 'the British side' turned up...!
"You have killed one of my sons but I have more that will take up the fight..."
- Mr Martin Clancy, November 1920, speaking to the Black and Tans and RIC members who were harassing the mourners at the funeral of his son, Volunteer Second Lieutenant Patrick Clancy (19), Drangan Company, 7th Battalion, Third Tipperary Brigade IRA.
On the same date that the British shunned the Washington meeting, one of their Army Lieutenants in Ireland, a Mr Edward Litchford (aka 'Edward Litchfield', Lincolnshire Regiment, pictured) was in the vicinity of Corbally/Ballylusky, near Newton, Drangan, in County Tipperary, when he spotted Lieutenant Patrick Clancy, pulled out his pistol and shot Volunteer Clancy dead.
The British Army shooter was put on an IRA 'shoot-on-sight' list and his name came up in an 'IRA Witness Statement' about operations which took place in late 1920 -
"I was 'on the run' and spent practically all my time with Volunteer Donovan and some others who were also 'on the run' in the 7th Battalion area.
I remember Volunteer Donovan telling us that he had orders from G.H.Q. to shoot a Lieutenant Litchford (/field) of the British Army who was then stationed in (the village of) Killenaule, and Volunteer Donovan in turn gave us orders that if the opportunity ever came our way we were to shoot Litchfield on sight.
On a few occasions we went into Killenaule at night and patrolled the streets there but failed to see Lieutenant Litchfield.
In the search of the (confiscated) mails (page 38, here) afterwards we found three silver medals - one which I possess now. It is inscribed - 'To Lieutenant E.R. Litchford, Lincolnshire Regiment, for gallant conduct in Ireland, 19th November, 1920'..."
On the 20th March, 1921, Volunteers attached to the ASU of the 7th (Callan) Battalion, Kilkenny Brigade, acting on information supplied to them, took up an ambush position at the back gate of a lodging house in Mullinahone, County Tipperary, where an RIC member, a Mr William Campbell, was staying.
Mr Campbell was 'on sick leave' and was apparently expecting a visit from Mr Litchford, who never showed.
When Mr Campbell stepped out into the backyard of the premises, the Volunteers shot him dead.
Also, in early July 1921, the IRA received information that Mr Litchford would be 'out and about' in the village of Mulliahone (County Tipperary) on the 10th of that month, showing a BA sergeant, a Mr John William Reynolds, the lie of the land.
An ambush position was established and, when two British Army men in Lincolnshire Regiment attire entered the ambush position, IRA Volunteers opened fire on them.
The sergeant died at the scene, the other foreign soldier - a Lieutenant Rowles, not the man they were after - was seriously injured.
Incidentally, four months after Volunteer Patrick Clancy was buried, one of his brothers, Martin (Jnr), an IRA Volunteer himself, was attending an IRA Battalion meeting (of the IRA No. 3 Brigade) with eleven of his comrades, in a venue in Knockroe, in County Tipperary, when British Army soldiers from the Lincolnshire Regiment, under the command of a Lieutenant Ormond, stormed the venue.
In the melee that followed, two IRA Officers - Volunteer Patrick Hackett and Volunteer Richard Fleming - were shot dead, and Volunteer Martin Clancy was wounded and placed under 'arrest' but, rather than be burdened with a wounded man, a British soldier shot him dead.
Mr Martin Clancy Snr buried another son.
(Note - a sister to Volunteers Patrick and Martin (Jnr) Clancy, Josephine [Kiely], was a member of Cumann na mBan // - and, somehow, Mr Litchford survived until 1984, and is buried in his own country, in Saint Edmonds, in Suffolk, England. Droch chrích ort...)
RIP Volunteers Patrick Clancy, Martin Clancy Jnr, Patrick Hackett and Richard Fleming.
On the same date that Volunteer Patrick Clancy was shot dead (19th November 1920), British Army Intelligence operatives were searching through files and other paperwork that had been taken in house raids on the 26th October and the 10th, 17th and on that same date, the 19th, of November.
Liam Hayes (pictured, a republican-gamekeeper-turned-Free State-poacher), at that time an IRA Volunteer who was working within the 'Republican Loan Department' in the Movement, lived at No. 49 Longwood Avenue in Portobello, in Dublin and, on the 10th November (1920), the British Army raided the house.
The IRA Chief of Staff at that time, Volunteer Richard Mulcahy (another republican-gamekeeper-turned-Free State poacher), was in the house at time of the raid, but he managed to escape (..luckily enough...?!) .
But CoS Volunteer Mulcahy left his files and paperwork in the house and, on the 19th of that month, while they were sifting throught the paperwork they had removed earlier during the various raids, British operatives came across the names and locations of about 200 IRA Officers/Volunteers, all of whom had to go 'on the run'.
They also came across detailed plans for attacks on infrastructural plants in England which, obviously, had to be abandoned.
As the British sifters of papers were sifting papers in their then Dublin Castle HQ, 260km (about 160 miles) away down the country, in the village of Dúras (Durrus) in West Cork (about 10km/6 miles from the town of Bantry) their comrades in the RIC were, as ever, getting rowdy with four IRA Volunteers they had captured and placed under 'arrest'.
The four rebels - Volunteer Maurice Donnegan (Officer Commanding 5th Battalion, Cork No.3 Brigade), Volunteer Captain Ralph Keyes (Bantry Company), Adjutant Seán Cotter (5th Battalion) and Volunteer Cornelius O'Sullivan - were each given the digs and were more than likely about to be executed on the spot by the RIC.
A British Army Colonel, a Mr Percy Hudson, attached to the 'King's Liverpool Regiment' (who was a Lieutenant-Colonel around the time of the 1916 Rising and was eventually promoted to the position of Major) and some of his soldiers, who were on that 'seek and detain' operation with the RIC, intervened, and more than likely literally saved the lives of the four Volunteers.
Credit where it's due - fair play to Mr Hudson for that!
==========================
THE MONTH UNSPUN.
The stories that hit the headlines.
From Magill magazine, August 2002.
An Apology Of Sorts.
The IRA released a statement four days before the 30th anniversary of 'Bloody Friday' apologising for the "deaths and injuries on non-combatants" which they had caused over the course of their campaign, and acknowledged the "grief and pain of their relatives."
Nine people were killed and more than 100 injured on 'Bloody Friday', 21st July 1972, when the IRA exploded over 20 bombs around Belfast.
According to the statement... "..the process of conflict resolution requires the equal acknowledgement of the grief and loss of others..", and the IRA is... "..totally committed to the peace process* and to dealing with the challenges and difficulties which this presents.".
The IRA has never apologised for its actions before, so the value of the statement to the peace process* should not be underestimated, the newspapers believed...
(*)
(MORE LATER.)
'West Belfast erupted.
Bullets raked the city’s trams.
Rival nationalist and loyalist snipers traded shots from rooftops.
Mobs burned rows of houses, especially along the unofficial frontier between catholic and protestant neighbourhoods...'
"We turned a corner then a shout in a Southern brogue - 'Halt, hands up!'
Jack Donaghy was using a Peter Painter 12 rounder (Mauser C96 automatic pistol). He opened fire, three policemen fell, one killed, two wounded."
'The dead policeman was Constable Thomas Conlon, based in Springfield Road barracks ; the two wounded were Constable Edward Hogan and the driver of the Crossley tender, Special Constable Charles Dunne.
Conlon, a catholic policeman originally from Roscommon, was viewed by the IRA as being sympathetic – according to Montgomery, "he was good at giving tips of police raids."
The most immediate response to the ambush was that a GAA club hall was burned down in Raglan Street that night, where it was stated that "a German rifle and a thousand rounds of ammunition" were found by police during a follow-up search. As no loyalists could have penetrated so deep into the Lower Falls, the hall must have been burned by the police. This was merely a foretaste of what was to come...'
(From here.)
The disturbances detailed above began on the 10th July 1921 and lasted until the 15th July, and resulted in the deaths of at least 20 people with injuries to many more, with over 200 houses destroyed.
Small(ish) skirmishes followed until, on the 19th November that year, nationalists were again put in a position where they had to defend themselves - riots broke out in the east side of Belfast and in the York Street area (and in the townland of Baile Mhic Gearóid [Ballymacarrett], Knockbreda area, the following day), which lasted into the night of the 25th (November 1921), during which at least 30 people lost their lives.
North, South, East or West in Ireland or any other country that they have 'kept the peace in' - the British political and military presence leaves bloodshed behind it...
==========================
DEATH IN THE MEDITERRANEAN...
Desmond Boomer, a Belfast engineer working in the Libyan oil-fields, disappeared seven years ago.
Officially, the plane on which he was a passenger crashed as a result of mechanical failure and pilot error.
But is that the real story?
Or were the Irishman and his fellow passengers unwitting victims of the shady war between Islamic fundamentalism and Mossad, Israel's intelligence network?
A special 'Magill' investigation by Don Mullan, author of 'Eyewitness Bloody Sunday'.
From 'Magill' magazine, January 2003.
The Tunisian authorities made a copy (not the original) of the alleged recording of the communication between Captain Bartolo and Djerba ATC available in December 1998, three years after the incident.
The Maltese inquiry report states..."..a copy of the original tape was eventually sent by the Board for examination at Farnborough by the UK Accident Investigation Branch."
Farnborough concluded that... "..the tone of the pilot's voice appeared to change slightly and the conversation from him appeared somewhat clipped.
The content of the voice appeared to contain over this period more high frequencies, giving an indication of some degree of stress or anxiety..."
(MORE LATER.)
On the 19th November, 1922, the newspapers in the Free State (and some newspapers further afield) all carried the same front page - that four IRA Volunteers had died the previous day in Dublin when the landmine they were working on exploded.
The Volunteers - Captain Thomas Maguire (Dublin), Lieutenant Patrick Egan (Limerick), Thomas S. Whelan (Limerick) and Bernard Curtis (pictured, Dublin) - were preparing an ambush position on the Naas Road (beside Lansdowne Valley, near Inchicore) for FSA members who were driving back to their Baldonnel base from guard duty in Kilmainham Jail.
RIP Volunteers Thomas Maguire, Patrick Egan, Thomas S. Whelan and Bernard Curtis.
==========================
ON THIS DATE (19TH NOVEMBER) 105 YEARS AGO : NEWS BREAKS OF AN IRA SHOPPING TRIP FOR AIRPLANE PARTS...
The British 'authorities' heard about the incident, as did the local IRA unit, and the former ordered their man in the area, 2nd Lieutenant MH Last, to organise a platoon from 'C' Company, 'Oxon and Bucks' (the 'Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry' regiment) and get to the site to guard the wreck, which they did and, in an act of bravado (given the times that were in it!) the British forces apparently posted no sentries and built and lit a large fire to make themselves comfortable.
The IRA, too, had arrived on site, with Volunteer Joe Clancy in command, and a gun battle ensued -
'1920 Nov 18. A platoon from "C" Company, 1st Battalion of the Ox and Bucks were guarding the crashed RAF plane near Punches Quarry, Cratloe area. They were under the command of 2nd Lieutenant M.H.Last. A group of I.R.A. volunters led by Joe Clancy (Brigade Training Officer East Clare Brigade) had seen the plane come down and got together an attacking group from IRA men hiding out at Hogans house in Cratloe.
Their objective was to capture the aeroplane's machine gun.
After dusk Clancy and his group climbed to the top of Punches Quarry and opened fire at 17.30 on the unsuspecting Ox and Bucks troops who were grouped round a large bonfire that they had lit to keep themselves warm. The IRA said that there were no sentries posted...'- more here.
ON THIS DATE (19TH NOVEMBER) 105 YEARS AGO : NEWS OF BRITISH REPRISAL KILLINGS IN CORK.
On the 17th November 1920, a 46-year-old Kerry-born RIC Sergeant, a Mr James O'Donoghue, who had 22 years 'service' in that particular 'police force' and was about to be promoted to Head Constable, was shot dead in White Street in Cork city by three IRA men (Charlie O'Brien, Willie Joe O'Brien and Justin O'Connor) , who were standing in a gateway, waiting for a target that never showed.
The IRA unit were about to leave the area when they were spotted by O'Donoghue, who had just left his home at Tower Street, in full uniform, to make his way to the RIC barracks at Tuckey Street, about a half-mile of a walk from his house.
According to reports of the incident, the RIC man "came upon" the IRA men and he was shot dead as a result.
The next day - the 18th November (1920), a gang of masked men, believed to be RIC and/or Black and Tans from the Tuckey Street barracks, forced their way in to the O'Brien house, looking for Charlie and Willie Joe ; they shot Charlie, leaving him for dead, and then shot his brother-in-law, Eugene O'Connell, who died at the scene.
The British execution gang then broke into the near-by home of Patrick Hanley and shot him dead, and then turned their guns on his friend, Stephen Coleman, severely wounding him, and a James Coleman was also attacked by the gang and shot dead.
An IRA investigation into how the IRA unit had been exposed led the organisation to believe that informers had been at work and three men were shot dead as a result - John Sherlock, 'Din-Din' O'Riordan and Eddie Hawkins (whose father, Dan, was seriously wounded in that action).
Incidentally, a week after they killed the RIC man, the Cork Command IRA officially apologised in writing to his family and let it be known that they were 'furious' that their Volunteers had taken it on themselves to carry-out that operation.
No such apology was issued by the RIC or the Black and Tans. And, in our opinion, no such apology should have been issued by the Cork Command.
ON THIS DATE (19TH NOVEMBER) 152 YEARS AGO : 'HOME RULE' ISSUE MAKES THE HEADLINES AGAIN.
Isaac Butt was born in Glenfin, Donegal, on the 6th September 1813. His father, the Reverend Robert Butt, became Rector of St. Mary's Church of Ireland, Stranorlar, in 1814, and Isaac spent his childhood years in Stranorlar.
His mother's maiden name was Berkeley Cox and she claimed descendency from the O'Donnells.
When Isaac was aged twelve he went as a boarder to the Royal School Raphoe and at the age of fifteen entered Trinity College Dublin.
He trained as a barrister and became a member of both the Irish Bar and the English Bar.
He was a conservative lawyer but after the famine ('1169' comment - it was an attempted genocide) in the 1840s became increasingly liberal. In 1852 he became Tory MP at Westminster representing Youghal, Co. Cork and in 1869 he founded the Tenant League to renew the demand for tenant rights.
He was a noted orator who spoke fervently for justice, tolerance, compassion and freedom, and always defended the poor and the oppressed. He started the Home Rule Movement in 1870 and in 1871 was elected MP for Limerick, running on a Home Rule ticket.
He founded a political party called 'The Home Rule Party' in 1873. By the mid 1870s Butt's health was failing and he was losing control of his party to a section of its members who wished to adopt a much more aggressive approach than he was willing to accept.
In 1879 he suffered a stroke from which he failed to recover and died on the 5th May in Clonskeagh, Dublin. He was replaced by William Shaw who was succeeded by Charles Stewart Parnell in 1880. Isaac Butt became known as "The Father of Home Rule in Ireland".
At his express wish he is buried in a corner of Stranorlar Church of Ireland cemetery, beneath a tree where he used to sit and dream as a boy.' (from here.)
On the 18th November, 1873, a three-day conference was convened in Dublin to discuss the issue of 'home rule' for Ireland and, it being such an outrageous notion (!) at the time, its first day received massive media coverage the following day, 'Day 2' of the conference, the 19th November, 1873 - 152 years ago on this date.
The conference had been organised, in the main, by Isaac Butt's then 3-year-old 'Home Government Association', and was attended by various individuals and small localised groups who shared an interest in that subject.
Isaac Butt was a well-known Dublin barrister who was apparently viewed with some suspicion by 'his own type' - Protestants - as he was a pillar of the Tory society in Ireland before recognising the ills of that creed and converting, politically, to the 'other side of the house' - Irish nationalism, a 'half way house', if even that - then and now - between British imperialism and Irish republicanism ie Isaac Butt and those like him made it clear that they were simply agitating for an improved position for Ireland within the 'British empire', as opposed to Irish republicans who were demanding then, and now, a British military and political withdrawal from Ireland.
'At twelve o'clock, on the motion of George Bryan, M.R, seconded by Hon. Charles Ffrench, M.P., the Chair was taken by William Shaw, M.R.
On the motion of the Rev. P. Lavelle, seconded by Laurence Waldron, D.L., the following gentlemen were appointed Honorary Secretaries : — John O.Blunden, Philip Callan M.P, W.J.O'Neill Daunt, ER King Harman and Alfred Webb. ER King Harman read the requisition convening the Conference, as follows : —
We, the undersigned feel bound to declare our conviction that it is necessary to the peace and prosperity of Ireland, and would be conducive to the strength and stability of the United Kingdom, that the right of domestic legislation on all Irish affairs should be restored to our country and that it is desirable that Irishmen should unite to obtain that restoration upon the following principles : To obtain for our country the right and privilege of managing our own affairs, by a Parliament assembled in Ireland, composed of her Majesty the Sovereign, and the Lords and Commons of Ireland.
To secure for that Parliament, under a Federal arrangement, the right of legislating for, and regulating all matters relating to the internal affairs of Ireland, and control over Irish resources and revenues, subject to the obligation of contributing our just proportion of the Imperial expenditure.
To leave to an Imperial Parliament the power of dealing with all questions affecting the Imperial Crown and Government, legislation regarding the Colonies and other dependencies of the Crown, the relations of the United Empire with Foreign States, and all matters appertaining to the defence and the stability of the Empire at large...' (from here.)
The militant 'Irish Republican Brotherhood' (IRB) was watching those developments with interest and it was decided that Patrick Egan and three other members of the IRB Supreme Council - John O'Connor Power, Joseph Biggar and John Barry - would join the 'Home Rule League' with the intention of 'steering' that group in the direction of the IRB.
Other members of the IRB were encouraged to join the 'League' as well, and a three-year time-scale was set in which to completely infiltrate that grouping.
However, that decision to infiltrate Isaac Butt's organisation was to backfire on the 'Irish Republican Brotherhood' : the 'three-year' period of infiltration ended in 1876 and in August 1877 the IRB Supreme Council held a meeting at which a resolution condemning the over-involvement in politics (ie political motions etc rather than military action) of IRB members was discussed.
After heated arguments, the resolution was agreed and passed by the IRB Council, but not everyone accepted that decision and Patrick Egan, John O'Connor Power, Joseph Biggar and John Barry refused to accept it and all four men resigned from the IRB ; they had become 'comfortable' in the political arena.
Charles Stewart Parnell was elected as leader of the 'Home Rule League' in 1880 and it became a more organised body - two years later, Parnell renamed it the 'Irish Parliamentary Party' and the rest, as they say, is history...
On the 19th November, 1924, the British Government agreed to hand £1 million over the following twelve months to finance the 'Ulster Special Constabulary' ('USC' - A, B and C Specials), three of its paramilitary groupings in Ireland.
It was also agreed that Mr Winston Churchill, the British 'Chancellor of the Exchequer' (and future British PM) should hold on to an extra £250,000 to spend on the 'Specials' at his own discretion ie recruitment, bullets and bribes etc.
And that government also approved Mr Churchill as the only conduit between the British Exchequer and Mr James Craig, the 'the first Prime Minister of Northern Ireland' ie "...listen, James, if ya need a few extra shillings for recruitment, bullets and bribes, just gimme a shout..".
In October the following year (1925), Mr Churchill told Mr Craig that he had an extra £500,000 to give him for the 'USC' : recruitment, bullets and bribes don't come cheap, ya know...
On the same date that the Brits had agreed to hand over the big money to their surrogates in the Occupied Six Counties, a delegation of concerned nationalists from Tyrone, Strabane and Keady (all areas in the O6C) was meeting with Mr William T. Cosgrave, the 'President of the Free State Executive Council' ('Head of Government', or the equivalent of 'Taoiseach') in Dublin -
"If it's a bad report, (Eoin) MacNeill should not sign. This view is generally held..."
- the advice offered to Mr Cosgrave, from the delegation, in relation to the findings of the Boundary Commission which, the delegation stated, should not issue any report at all rather than issue a 'border-remains-as-is' report!
In other words - 'if it's a bad-news report, bury it...' - and the Staters have been burying that particular issue re the O6C, among others, ever since...
And, as that delegation were offering their 'bury it' advice, the politicians in Leinster House voiced approval for the notion that acceptance of the Treaty (of Surrender) must not be construed by Westminster as there being even more Irish territory to be had ie "Ah Jaze, Mr Churchill, leave us something here that we can tax, will ya..."
Disgusting cockroaches, all of them, filled with void.
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Thanks for the visit, and for reading - appreciated.
Sharon and the team.
(We'll be back on Wednesday, 3rd December, 2025.)
