ON THIS DATE (2ND APRIL) 100 YEARS AGO : AN AMALGAMATED FREE STATE FORCE IS BORN.
'An Garda Síochána' - protecting the State and its business interests since 1925 (such as Shell, this pic...)
Officially, the 'safeguarding' of streets, marts and the local citizens seems to have been put on a regular footing in Ireland in 1786, in Dublin, when a body of men were assembled under the banner 'Dublin Police'.
This grouping was replaced in 1814 by Westminster, when an Irish 'Peace Preservation Force' was announced by the then 'Chief Secretary for Ireland', a Mr Robert Peel, to be replaced six years later by a more organised body, the 'County Constabulary', which was organised on a regional basis and shared a common uniform.
Fourteen years later, the 'County Constabulary' was replaced by two organisations, the 'Irish Constabulary' and the 'Dublin Metropolitan Police' (DMP) : the former was re-named the 'Royal Irish Constabulary' (RIC) (which recorded 11,000 members in about 1,600 barracks in the year 1900) and was officially dissolved in 1922 (but not mentally or morally,as far as its members and supporters are concerned) and the latter, the 'DMP', merged with the 'Civic Guard' (renamed in 1923 as 'Garda Síochána na hÉireann') in 1925 and the amalgamated force was named 'An Garda Síochána' on 2nd April 1925, 100 years ago on this date :
'On and from the commencement of this Act the Dublin Metropolitan Police and the Gárda Síochána shall be amalgamated and form one force (which force is in this Act referred to as the amalgamated force), and it shall thenceforward be lawful for the Executive Council to train, equip, pay, and maintain such amalgamated force as a police force in Saorstát Eireann.
The amalgamated force shall be called and known as the Gárda Síochána.....'
As far as Irish republicans are concerned, there is little, if any, actual difference between the above-mentioned 'police forces' as they are all tainted either directly by a foreign government or by that foreign government's proxy in this country, north or south of Britain's imposed border.
In short, both the RUC/PSNI and An Gárda Síochána seek to preserve the political status quo and, as such, they are of no benefit to those of us who campaign and work, politically, for a just society in this country.
Robert Peel and his ilk would be proud of both groups.
From this...
A member of the Dublin Metropolitan Police (DMP), a British creation in Ireland...
...to this - 
A member of the State 'Garda Síochána', a Free State creation in Ireland.
A history of the former (DMP) will show that between 1836 and 1925, approximately 13,000 men passed through its ranks, some of whom were 'awarded' the 'King's Police Medal' whilst others transferred to the DMP from the 'London Metropolitan Police'.
Other like-minded colleagues joined the gang, having developed a taste for it in the RIC.
This group changed uniforms again on the 3rd April in 1925, and again changed its name - to that of 'An Garda Síochána', but kept its by-now infamous attitude : to defend the State - whether British or the Westminster-permitted 'Free State' in Ireland - by the same methods.
And these are the same methods that pro-Irish, anti-migrant/foreign vagrant supporters have experienced from that State militia, whatever it may call itself.
Since their inception, the State 'Police Force' have attempted to present themselves as a 'neutral' body, dedicated to 'keeping peace' in society, regardless of the circumstances : the truth, as known by those of us who have 'dared' to challenge this unjust system, is much different - they see their position as one in which to preserve the status quo, whether same is dictated to them from the EU, Westminster or Leinster House.
They may not know it yet but one day (soon, hopefully!) they will have to change again, but this time it will be more than just a change of uniform...
On this date (2nd April) in 1919, the Second (32-County) Dáil Éireann (pictured) held a meeting to elect/confirm its departments and officers.
Éamon de Valera was elected Príomh-Aire (President), Arthur Griffith (Home Affairs), George Plunkett (Foreign Affairs), Eoin MacNeill (Industries), Cathal Brugha (Defence), Robert Barton* (Agriculture), Countess Markievicz (Labour), WT Cosgrave (Local Government) and Michael Collins, (Finance).
Seán T. O’Kelly was elected Ceann Comhairle.
Three non-cabinet appointments were also announced - Laurence Ginnell elected as Director of Propaganda, Robert Barton* as Director of Agriculture and Ernest Blythe as Director of Trade and Commerce.
The Dáil session was held over three days, and 52 TDs attended, which was the largest of any of the Dáil sessions which took place between 21st January 1919 and 10th May 1921.
Proper business was done, whereas the political institution in this State now, in Leinster House, is a farcical and expensive waste of space.
==========================
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.
Other experts within the industry allege that many claims of 'dry holes' drilled by the oil companies in the past were in fact positive finds, held over for a later day.
In contrast to standard operating procedures in the world, Ireland has no government officials based on oil rigs operating in Irish waters - instead, they visit the rigs from time to time, and by appointment only.
The State relies on the information supplied to it by the oil companies as to the viability of each site.
In the early day, the then State Energy Minister, Justin Keating, introduced oil and gas exploration taxation, which would protect Ireland's interests in the event of any commercially viable finds.
The tax then was levied at 50 per cent, and gave the State a right to an automatic 50 per cent shareholding in the find, together with royalties in the region of six to seven per cent...
(MORE LATER.)
On the 2nd April, 1920, the 'First Battalion' of the Manchester Regiment of the British Army (pictured) arrived in Ireland (Cork) and overstayed its welcome here by two years.
They were billeted in Fermoy and Kilworth, and were under the command of a Lt Col Gareth Evans and, as they were being transferred to this country, one of their political bosses, a Mr James Craig, was himself being shifted from his position as Parliamentary Secretary for Pensions in the British administration to that of Parliamentary Secretary at the Admiralty (where his new boss was a Mr Walter Long, the 'First Lord of the Admiralty').
All concerned probably had that sinking feeling...
==========================
An RIC man was shot dead in Carlow on the 25th March 1920, resulting in the local IRA leadership having to go 'on the run'.
Volunteer Edward Malone, from County Laois, the Commander of the Carlow Active Service Unit of the IRA (pictured, which, at the time, was fairly well armed - 11 rifles, 6 revolvers, about 50 shotguns and at least 1,000 rounds of ammunition for their weaponry) had already been 'arrested' by the British (on the 22nd November 1919) and was imprisoned in Mountjoy Jail in Dublin.
Volunteer Malone supported, and took part in, the IRA riot in the 'Joy which preceded a brief hunger-strike by the POW's, from late March to the 2nd April that year, even though he was isolated in the prison hospital from his men, and was handcuffed and monitored by prison warders.
They couldn't break the man.
==========================
THE NUMBER'S UP...
How some famous gambling conspiracies came to light.
By Con Houlihan.
From 'Magill' Magazine Annual 2002.
Some professionals are former bookmakers who have chosen a less hectic life, and the bookie knows all too well that the professional isn't above being part of a conspiracy.
You can bet, however, that no professional was involved in the most celebrated conspiracy of this generation - if some professionals had been involved, it might have succeeded.
As it was, the conspirators were woefully naive ; some of them were well known to me, and I wouldn't trust them to rob an orchard.
They were successful in their own professions but, as conspirators, they were non-runners.
The horse at the centre of the plot was a useful hurdler named 'Gay Future', and he was more useful than he seemed, but had been less than busy in his outings before the big day.
The chosen location was Cartmel, a modest racecourse in the Lake District in England, about 25 miles from the nearest big town, Lancaster, and the appointed time was a Bank Holiday ; on such occasions there are meetings at almost every course in Britain...
(MORE LATER.)
The 2nd April 1921 was a very eventful day in Ireland, politically and military :
Volunteers from the 6th Battalion of the Kerry No.2 Brigade of the IRA joined with their comrades from the Kerry No.1 Flying Column (about 30 armed Volunteers in all), under the leadership of Volunteers Tadhg Brosnan (Castlegregory) and Tom O’Connor (Milltown) and ambushed British soldiers at Glenbeigh Railway Station.
There were no casualties on either side, and - caught unawares - some of the British soldiers fled the scene, dumping their rifles behind them, as they knew the IRA would kill them for the weaponry.
However, the 'RIC County Inspector', putting a brave face on their sufferings, claimed that the British Army captured "a Lewis gun and five rifles.." from the rebels!
While that RIC man was inventing armaments, Volunteers from E Company, 4th Battalion, South Wexford Brigade of the IRA were on a fund-raising operation in Killagowan, Oulart, in County Wexford ; a Mr. Oriel Richard Lee (31), who worked for the British administration in Ireland as a petty sessions officer, was at home having been issuing dog licences all day, assisted by RIC member Mr Patrick Eger, of Oulart Barracks, who was in the house with him.
At about 9pm, a knock came to the halldoor and, when he opened it, he was faced by at least two armed Volunteers, Thomas Cullen and Thomas Cosgrave, who instructed him to put his hands up, that they were IRA men and intended to take the money for licences that he had in the house.
With that, RIC member Eger showed himself, armed, and shots were fired by both parties ; Mr Lee died the next day from his wounds.
An RIC member, a Mr Patrick Neary, was accidentally (!) shot and wounded by another RIC member on the 2nd April - he died from his wound on the 11th April in King George V Hospital whereas, in Cork, an ex-British Army soldier, a Mr Thomas Goulding, on being approached by armed IRA Volunteers, escaped with his life by jumping into the River Lee and swimming to the other side.
‘Notice is here by given that anyone who is found loitering or standing at corners will be liable to be shot at sight. The same applies to anyone who is seen on the street of Tullamore with his hands in his pockets or acting in any suspicious manner whatsoever or interfering with or belittling or attempting to beset any member of his Majesty’s forces. We are out to end assassination and murder, and by hell we’ll do it...' - a British Army notice distrubuted in the Tullamore area of County Offaly in April 1921.
That notice was issued following an attack by the IRA on Tullamore RIC Barracks on the 1st April that year.
During that attack, IRA Volunteer Lieutenant Matthew Kane, from Ruddock's Lane in Tullamore, and his nephew, Volunteer John Conroy, were wounded (Volunteer Conroy was removed from the scene by the IRA Brigade Quartermaster, Volunteer Seamus Kelly) : Lieutenant Kane's body was found the following morning (2nd April) at Hophill, Tullamore and, to this day, it is not clear whether he died from his wounds or was found after the gunfight by the British Army and finished off.
In the early hours of the 2nd April, 1921, acting under instructions from IRA Volunteer Peadar O'Donnell, Officer Commanding of the 2nd Donegal Brigade, one group of IRA Volunteers attacked the RIC Barracks on Lecky Road in Derry (during which RIC member Michael Kenny was killed), a second group attacked the RIC Barracks on the Strand Road and a third group, split-up into pairs, was sent out to shoot any enemy forces they came across.
One pair of Volunteers came across an RIC member, a Mr John Higgins, on the Creggan Road and shot him dead, wounding four other RIC members but, unfortunately, two civilians were wounded in the crossfire.
The British Army were somewhat 'jumpy' during the shootings and a BA Private, a Mr James Wright (or Whyte), who was manning a post on Shipquay Street, was accidentally (!) shot dead by one of his colleagues.
On the 1st April, 1921, the owners of coal mines in England announced the slashing of miner's wages by up to a half, which was rejected by the miners who were then locked out of the mines by the owners.
In turn, this was to result in the British Government bringing its 'Emergency Powers Act' into play (enacted in 1920) and sending troops into the coalfields.
On the 2nd April, 1921, an industrial dispute by miners in England began, with the understanding that railway and other transport workers would also down tools but, by the 15th, no such support materialised, and the strikers were forced to call off the pickets and return to work on the 1st July.
But the fact that the system was being challenged by the workers upset the 'Establishment' and, fearful that the working class were organising for an uprising, British armed forces were brought home from Upper Silesia (Poland) because, according to Westminster... "..the risk at home from Sinn Feiners, Communists and other dangerous elements, was sufficiently great to necessitate their return.."
Also, armed troops from Malta and Egypt were ordered back home, the 'Reserve Forces' were mobilised and a special paramilitary ‘Defence Force’ was also raised (which eventually had about 80,000 men).
Westminster was reluctant to pull any troops out of Ireland but, such was their unease with the bravado showed by the workers, on the 8th and 9th of April (1921) they ordered four battalions of their troops to return home from Ireland.
Pity they didn't withdraw the lot of them...
"One night Jennie Kelly, Bob Hamill and myself were on IRA guard duty on a nearby road. A patrol of 'B Specials' came along.
Hugh Duffy (65, a 'postman' for the area) was an advanced guard for this patrol.
It was a fairly dark night and Duffy nearly got past where we were standing before we noticed him. We ordered him to halt and he immediately opened fire on us. We replied vigorously to his fire..."
- statement from an IRA Volunteer who was on guard duty that night.
Mr Hugh Duffy, from Rockberry in County Monaghan, an officially retired British Army soldier, used the cover of darkness to escape his fate that night, but long lay the fox.
On the 2nd April (1921), Mr Duffy's body was discovered at Moylemuck, Lisnalong near Ballybay in County Monaghan, with four bullet wounds in his head, one in his shoulder and one in his wrist.
A notice was pinned to the body -
'Spies and Informers Beware'.
On the same date that one of their spies was executed, a Mr Edward Talbot ('Lord' Fitzalan) was appointed by Westminster as the new 'Lord Lieutenant of Ireland', replacing a Mr John French, and the British Army burned down two houses in Macroom, in County Cork, belonging to IRA Officers Volunteer Daniel Corkery and a Volunteer named Kelleher.
On the 2nd April (1921), the home of a M/s Patrica Hoey, No.5 Mespil Road, Dublin, was raided by Crown Forces.
M/s Hoey told the raiding party that she was just on her way out to pay a visit to her sick mother and they let her go, and entered her house.
She took the route that Michael Collins, Tom Cullen and Alice Lyons were using to get to her house, met them, and warned them to get out of the area, which they did.
Located in her house was a room used by Mr Collins as part of his operations for the Department of Finance, and all the files etc were removed by the raiders -
"The raid was much worse than I thought. Practically the entire record is gone...", Collins said later.
As that raid was taking place in Dublin, a British Army Major General, a Mr Tudor, the 'Chief of Police', was inspecting the RIC garrison and 'D Company' of the Auxiliaries in Galway City.
Mr Tudor stated -
"In the determined stand that you have taken in lifting the terror of the reign of the gunman, I assure you that you have my fullest support...", he declared, and 'The Connacht Tribune' newspaper reported on his inspection thus -
'Having inspected the Auxiliaries, he spoke of the pleasure it gave him to hear from many sources of the excellent discipline of D Company. He congratulated them upon the gallantry shown by a small party of them when ambushed at Kilroe on January 18 last...'
The Kilroe Ambush did not result in the death of any Crown Force members but, in its aftermath, the RIC killed four unarmed civilians.
A Mr Carl Ackerman, a journalist with 'The Philadelphia Public Ledger' newspaper, was a close friend of a Mr Basil Thomson, of Scotland Yard in London, who ran a spy network against the IRA.
On the 2nd April, 1921, Mr Ackerman interviewed three of the rebel leadership in Dublin - Michael Collins, Arthur Griffith and Éamon de Valera.
He reported (and probably not only to his editor and readers) that Mr Collins had told him that.. "..it is only a question of time until we shall have Ireland cleared of Crown Forces..", and any talk of a compromise was dismissed.
Mr Ackerman wrote that Mr Arthur Griffith stated that Lloyd George should call a conference at which peace could be discussed, and he asked Mr de Valera if he would meet with Unionist leader Mr James Craig and de Valera replied that he would meet any Irishman because, once England had left Ireland, internal differences could be resolved amicably.
Whatever else he reported was for the ears of Scotland Yard only...
On the 2nd April, 1921, a British Army Crossley Tender truck in Rathfarnham was making its way to Rathmines, in Dublin, with IRA Volunteer Bernard Nolan in the back of it.
A BA 'spotter' on board thought he recognised another IRA man and he, too - a civilian named Christopher Reynolds - was pulled off the street and put in the back, beside Volunteer Nolan.
As they were driving through Rathmines, the truck stopped and both prisoners were shot and considered to be dead but, even though they appeared lifeless, and were seriously wounded, they were in fact both still alive.
The truck was driven to 'King' George V hospital and their 'bodies' were placed in the hospital guard room under British Army soldiers.
Both men knew if they moved or cried out in pain, they would be finished off, so both of them somehow managed to lie still and silent, until they heard the British Auxiliaries getting back in the truck ; then they moved and groaned loudly, but the Auxies heard them and made their way into the guard room to shoot them again, but were prevented from doing so by the British Army guards, who sent for a Fr Francis Farrington from Aughrim Street Church.
The civilian, Mr Christopher Reynolds, gave a statement to Fr Farrington in which he stated that he was shot in the back, in cold blood, by one of the Auxies, and he died from his wound shortly afterwards.
Volunteer Bernard Nolan survived to fight another day.
While that was going on in Dublin, the IRA in Galway was raiding a house in Kinvara, in that county, searching for a Mr Thomas Morris (57).
They found their man in his sisters house, from which he was removed and shot dead.
Mr Morris, an ex-British Army man and former RIC member, had given information to his old buddies in the Crown Forces which resulted in a raid on a house (a M/s Bridget Quinn's house, perhaps..?) where IRA Volunteers were billeted, leading to their capture.
A notice was pinned to his body, reading 'Spies Beware!'.
In late March, 1921, two anti-republican informers in Manchester, England - Gilmartin and Foy - told their paymasters that at least two IRA Volunteers would be in the Erskine Street Irish Club in Hulme, Manchester, on the 2nd April, taking part in a whist drive (community fundraiser).
The British police raided the event, and a Detective named Harding pulled his gun on IRA Volunteer Séan Morgan, who was pushed out of the way by Volunteer Séan Wickham.
Detective Harding aimed his gun at Volunteer Morgan and fired, killing him ; he then aimed at Volunteer Wickham, aiming for his head, but instead wounded him in his neck.
Three of Mr Harding's colleagues were also wounded in the gunfight.
'For conspicuous gallantry during the combined naval and military operations in the neighbourhood of Lindi, East Africa, on the 10th and 11th June 1917. Though wounded in two places in the legs, he showed exemplary conduct in continuing to stand by the engines (the engine-room artificer in charge having been killed) until ordered on deck for medical treatment...'
James Leach (pictured) was born at Great Island, Kilmokea, County Wexford on the 22nd December 1890 and, at 21 years of age, joined the British Navy ('Number K11874').
On the 19th December, 1917, he was awarded the 'Conspicuous Gallantry Medal' (see above citation) and, in 1920, he took up duty on HMS Rocket (an 'R Class' Destroyer) and was aboard the Fishguard boat, the SS Great Western, on the 2nd April, 1921, when 'he went overboard and drowned'.
His body was not found until the 24th of April, floating in the river at the junction of the Rivers Barrow and Suir, in Waterford.
The court of inquiry found that Mr Leach "..had accidentally fell overboard. No blame attaches to anyone. There is not sufficient evidence to enable the court to form an opinion as to how the deceased came to be in the water.."
His second child was born the day after his body had been found – his wife had not been told of his death until after the birth...
Sad.
==========================
POLITICAL LIFESTYLES IN IRELAND...
From 'Magill' Magazine, January 2003.
"Pigeons are wandering around the station coffee shop..." comes the breathless announcement from the party's community affairs spokesman, Seán O'Neill, clearly a man of exceptionally sensitive disposition,"...they fly into the premises from the adjacent rail station and at times they walk the floor rummaging for scraps of food.
We are now calling on the Mid-Western Health Board to launch an immediate health inspection to ensure that the pigeons do not pose a health hazard..."
It is an article of faith among Irish republicans, of course, that everyone has their part to play in the struggle, no matter how small.
But, you know, sometimes you can take these things too far.
(MORE LATER.)
The 2nd April, 1922, was the day after Mr Churchill and Mr Michael Collins had officially signed the 'Transfer of Powers' document, in which Westminster 'gave authority' to the new Free State regime in Leinster House to govern over this bastard State.
An 'April Fools' joke indeed...
And, on the 2nd April, over 500 pro-British USC members carried out a major sweep of the Cookstown, Greencastle and Draperstown area in County Tyrone ; they detained over 300 men but only four were considered to be members of the IRA. Did Mr Collins sign-up for that, too...
Meanwhile, Mr de Valera was in Dundalk (on the 2nd April) speaking against the 'Transfer of Powers' pact stating, among its other faults, that it placed northern nationalists in the position, by default, of having to recognise the Stormont Administration, and all that flowed from it, as 'legitimate'.
And, in Limerick, the 'Protestant Young Men's Association' premises on 97 O’Connell Street, in Limerick, was damaged by a bomb.
Three day earlier (on March 30th) it had been subjected to gunfire and on March 29th, the Association's pavilion at Farranshone was burned down.
IRA Volunteer Liam Forde, the Officer Commanding of the Mid-Limerick Brigade IRA, condemned the attacks.
==========================
'Dublin Evening Mail Wednesday April 4‐ 1923.
TWO SHOT DEAD.
Shocking Discoveries near Dublin.
MYSTERIOUS TRADGEDIES.
Men’s Bodies Found on Roadside.
The shooting of two young men, whose bullet riddled bodies were discovered on the outskirts of the city at midnight last night, is surrounded in mystery, pending the holding of the coroner’s inquest, which has been fixed for this evening.
The first body, that of a young man, aged about 25 years, was discovered about 11.30 near a farmhouseat Cabra Lane by a party of military who were patrolling the district in an armoured car.
PATROL’S DISCOVERY.
The military were proceeding along the road when they were stopped by an old woman who resides in the locality and who informed the officer in charge that a man had been shot near the Deaf and Dumb school, Cabra Road. The military immediately proceeded to the scene and discovered the body at the spot indicated.
The man was dressed in army breeches, but was wearing civilian boots and black leggings. Portion of the head was blown away and the features were almost unrecognisable.
THE SECOND BODY.
The second body was discovered in the same vicinity. At about midnight a D.M.P. man on duty at the back gate of the Vice regal lodge was informed by a man that a man had been shot on the Navan Road near Cabra Lane. The guard immediately turned out and found the body of a man, whose name is stated to be Joseph Kieran, of 40 Upper Mercer Street. Both bodies were removed to the Mater Hospital where an inquest will be held this evening.
THE VICTIMS.
Today the bodies were identified as Christopher Breslin (26), Mount Tallant Road, and Joseph Kieran (19), of 40 Upper Mercer Street.
Breslin’s body was found in a gateway opposite the Deaf and Dumb Institution. Kieran's body was found on the Navan Road, near Cabra Lane. Particulars gathered today go to show that the shootings were very similar to other dreadful tragedies that have occurred on the outskirts of the city on many occasions, during the past twelve months.
Kieran, who was employed as a messenger in Eastman’s George’s Street, was at his work yesterday, and returned home in the evening at the usual hour. He was last seen alive about 11 o’clock last night at Redmond’s Hill. He was then going towards his home.
MEN IN MOTOR.
A motor car containing a number of men drove up quite close to him. The occupants got out and surrounded him. They carried revolvers and they ordered him to get into the car. He did as he was ordered and the car was driven away.
TAKEN FROM HOME.
The tactics adopted in taking Breslin away were somewhat similar. About 11.40 pm last night a party of armed men called at Breslin’s house, having arrived in a motor car which stopped outside. They asked for Christopher Breslin. He was inside at the time, and when he was told he was wanted he went to the door, where the men were standing. He was told he was wanted and should go with them immediately.
One of them said he would be taken back tomorrow. He was then escorted to the motor car and taken away.
Breslin had been employed as a labourer in the Dublin Corporation. His brother Peader, was killed during the attack on the military policemen in Mountjoy Prison last Autumn.
IRA Volunteers Christy Breslin and Joseph Kieran were 'arrested' separately by Free Staters and killed by them at Cabra, in Dublin, on the 2nd April 1923.
RIP to both of those men.
==========================
Thanks for reading - appreciated.
Sharon and the team.
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.
With such a potentially lucrative new source of gas and oil in Irish waters, the Irish government (sic) has been remiss in not securing a deal that would ensure similar structures and benefits were set up here as part of the licence requirements.
Industry experts say our politicians and civil servants must be held accountable, and explain their actions in exposing Ireland to such losses and in failing to protect our interests.
The initial tax deal was offered as "as incentive" to encourage oil and gas exploration in Ireland, but since 1992 only a small number of wells have been drilled, despite the evident potential of viable finds.
One industry source explained -
"The vast bulk of licences and drilling options or leases are so-called 'frontier licences' that the oil companies can sit on for up to 20 years.
Technology has moved on rapidly, and deep-water production techniques have already been developed for drilling the deep waters of the western Atlantic, but the proper exploitation of our natural resources had been delayed until the oil companies decided when to drill and produce.
Not to fulfil our needs for oil and gas, but their own..."
(MORE LATER.)
THE NUMBER'S UP...
How some famous gambling conspiracies came to light.
By Con Houlihan.
From 'Magill' Magazine Annual 2002.
A bet for them was a kind of 'fix' ; gambling was their drug.
Dostoievsky, the great Russian writer, could tell you all about this species - he belonged to it.
Finally, there is the professional ; you can hardly call him a gambler. He may go for a week or a month without having a bet, as he waits for near-certainties.
He isn't a professional in the true sense ; he doesn't depend for a living on betting, but it is his vocation.
The bookmaker doesn't fear the plunger - indeed, he welcomes him or her with open satchel, and he doesn't fear the compulsive gamblers, as they tend to chase their losses and end up losing more.
He has no fear of the punter, as the odds, after all, are in the bookie's favour, but he fears the person who has the occasional big bet, and has to be very wary in dealing with such bets because, usually, the money is informed.
These are the people he especially fears in the fraught three minutes at the greyhound track.
And, of course, he fears the professional, because he is dealing with a foe as shrewd as himself...
(MORE LATER.)
POLITICAL LIFESTYLES IN IRELAND...
His lavish lifestyle was funded by wealthy admirers.
Time after time, his debts were taken care of by friendly businessmen.
In exchange for giving people access to government leaders, he cheerfully lined his own pockets.
From 'Magill' Magazine, January 2003.
"Well, basically, I'd be going in to radically overhaul the tax system, the transport system and the judicial system..." ,he tells me, "..otherwise I'd just hang around the Dail."
You may, of course, have experienced just the slightest twinge of scepticism when you read that last bit but, at least, like Wigmore, do Brendan the courtesy of having a good laugh.
Wigmore supposes that this whole peace-in-our-time lark is all very well, But I must confess to a twinge of sadness every time I think of those hordes of fine, upstanding young soldiers left sitting around with nothing to do.
Speaking of which, join with me in sympathy for the members of Republican Sinn Féin who are clearly finding it hard to fill the hours in this brave new world of peace, love and understanding ; things have reached a new low in Limerick, where the former warriors for a 32-county socialist republic have been reduced to campaigning against those notorious agents of British imperialism - pigeons - who apparently have been making a dreadful nuisance of themselves at the local railway station...
(MORE LATER.)
Thanks for reading - delighted that ya could make it, even if we nearly didn't : family commitments, and job commitments - never the twain shall meet!
Sharon and the team.
"Experts within the industry allege that many claims of 'dry holes' drilled by the oil companies in the past were in fact positive finds, held over for a later day.
Leinster House has been remiss in not securing a deal that would ensure similar structures and benefits were set up here as part of the licence requirements.
Industry experts say our politicians and civil servants must be held accountable, and explain their actions in exposing Ireland to such losses and in failing to protect our interests..."
We'll have a much-shortened version of our usual Wednesday offering appearing here tomorrow (Wednesday 26th March 2025) due to family arrangements in relation to Confirmations, anniversaries, birthdays and other clan gatherings in Dublin and down the country, all of which took place in the same period that the firm I work for, and with, requested me to choose five work companions to trial a new office that we have opened in Dublin City Centre.
The new building is self-sufficient and state-of-the art (seriously so - it's like the Star Ship Enterprise!) and the company owners and management asked us to run it through its paces over four days and four nights - working, breakfast, lunch etc on the premises, sleeping in the night quarters, testing out the gym and pool facilities - yes, gym and pool! - and a host of other luxuries that make the building far too nice just to work in!
So there ya have it, my tale of woe - myself, three other Young Wans, two of the office lads and three security men, four days and nights in a futuristic building that practically ran itself.
Rough, it was, 'cause there was no hairdressers or nail bar on site (...although the other bar was open)...!
Anyway - thanks for reading ; we'll be back tomorrow, Wednesday, 26th March 2025. And if ya don't show up, I'll programme the new building to track ya down and nuke ya...!
Sharon and the team.
GEORGE PLANT : EXECUTED BY FREE STATERS ON THIS DATE (5TH MARCH) 83 YEARS AGO.
"It is a noble thing to die for your country, it is a useful thing to kill for your county. If you can't be noble just be useful" (George Plant, pictured)- put to death by a republican traitor after following IRA orders issued by an IRA informer.
George Plant was executed by de Valera's Fianna Fáil administration on the 5th March 1942, and the circumstances leading to that act have left unanswered questions to this day*.
In late August 1940, a Dublin house (22 Lansdowne Road, pictured) was raided by the Special Branch and, among others, a lorry driver (for the Shell-Mex Company in Wexford) in his mid-twenties, Michael Devereux, from Wexford, was arrested.
At the time, Devereux was the Quarter-Master of the IRA in Wexford.
He was held and questioned for three days by ex-IRA man (who was once the Commander of 'C' Company, 4th Battalion, IRA, Dublin Brigade) , now Free State Detective, Dinny O'Brien (registration number 8288) , who made a name for himself with his fellow Staters as 'a good Broy Harrier man'.
Volunteer Michael Devereux was released without charge and, shortly afterwards, the State Gardai 'stumbled upon' a major IRA arms dump in the Wexford area : it had been suggested at the time and since then that the Staters knew about that arms dump weeks before they raided the house in Lansdowne Road but willingly used the circumstances to set up Volunteer Devereux.
The then new IRA Chief-Of-Staff, Stephen Hayes, ordered George Plant and Kilkenny-man Michael Walsh to execute "the informer Michael Devereux" and, even though the two IRA men were uneasy about the task, and questioned same, they executed him, on the 27th September, 1940 (his body was only located a year later ie 27th September 1941).
In October 1941, George Plant was arrested by the Staters and charged (in effect, in front of a Free State Military Tribunal) with the 'murder' of Michael Devereux but the 'trail' collapsed within days as 'witnesses for the prosecution' refused to condemn the man, leaving the State no option but to declare a 'nolle prosequi' , which should have brought the issue to an end.
But in December that year (1941), George Plant was re-arrested (under 'Emergency Order 41F') and brought before the 'Special Military Court' (where Free State Army officers act as 'judges' who could only impose the death penalty with no right to appeal) and again charged with the 'murder' of Michael Devereux.
Also that same month (December 1941) , in an attempt to wipe-out his former IRA comrades, de Valera enacted an 'Emergency Powers Act' (to be enforced retrospectively, if required) in which 'witness' statements, once given (or, indeed, 'once taken' by the Staters) could be used in court even if the person who 'gave' same withdrew it later and was or was not in court!
At this second 'trail', George Plant was found guilty, sentenced to death and executed in Portlaoise on the 5th March 1942, by firing squad, 83 years ago on this date.
He was buried at St. Johnstown Cemetery, near Fethard, County Tipperary, following an oration by John McGrath (NGA), who said -
"George Plant worshipped at a shrine different to the majority of his fellow countrymen, but like his illustrious co-religionists, Wolfe Tone, Emmet, the Brothers Sheares, and many more, he fearlessly trod the path that they trod to their doom in the cause of Ireland's freedom..."
(*The then IRA Chief-of-Staff, Stephen Hayes, was said to be a paid informer in the employ of de Valera and, to earn his keep, he accused Michael Devereux of revealing the location of the arms dump in order to conceal the fact that he, Hayes, had actually turned it over to de Valera and his fellow Free Staters.
Also, George Plant was in the Republican Movement for twenty-five years and, as such, he would have known the 'achilles heel' of many of those who served with him, some of whom, at that time, were now 'respectable' career politicians in the young Free State and, indeed, not long after the man was buried, a Tipperary Churchman found a journal written by George Plant but he destroyed it after reading it as he deemed its contents to be a political game-changer for the Free Staters if it was ever to become public knowledge.
Questions were also asked in relation to an IRA bank robbery in 1928 in Tipperary, allegedly carried out by George Plant [then 24 years young] and his brother, Jimmy, after been ordered to do so by ex-IRA man, Frank Aiken [who was a Fianna Fáil member at the time], the proceeds of which were given to Frank Aiken for safekeeping until it was to be handed over to the IRA.
The money, however, apparently ended-up in the election coffers of Fianna Fáil and if George Plant knew that then best to silence him....?)
On the 5th March, 1919, Sinn Féin members were involved (mostly) on the side of farmers, fox-hunting and horse-racing aficionados in the Kildare area at a large public meeting held in Naas Courthouse (pictured), at which those 'For' and 'Against' were discussing (!) the issue.
Between 400 and 500 farmers attended the meeting, and were mostly in favour of both 'sports', as were some of the republicans present who distributed leaflets entitled 'Fox-Hunting For Freedom'.
However, those 'sports' divided the public and political organisations -
'On march 5, 1919, twenty-five members of the Muskerry Foxhounds from east Cork rode out. The Muskerry’s master, Jerry Rohan, was not present.
For several weeks he had sought a compromise that would see local Sinn Féin activists end their campaign to stop fox-hunting, but by early March he had conceded defeat, leaving the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) inspector for the area to report that the Muskerry had abandoned their sport for the year.
Master or no master, however, twenty-five defiant members set off that morning and, according to the correspondent of the Freeman’s Journal newspaper, at first “all went merrily” and there “was abundant promise of a good day’s sport.”
Early on, two men on foot attempted to persuade the hunters to stop, but after a brief conversation the spoilsports were ignored and the incident was momentarily forgotten when a fox appeared, offering the opportunity of a chase.
When that fortunate animal eluded them, the hunters moved on to the townland of Ballyshoneen. There the unusual action began. As the hunters prepared to rouse a new quarry they heard the sound of whistles that signaled the arrival of fifty to sixty Sinn Féin supporters.
This group adopted a vigorously persuasive approach.
Wielding hurleys and sticks, they immediately set upon the hounds and horses.
When a Catholic clergyman, who was among the hunting party, demanded that the attackers desist, he was, in the words of the Freeman’s prolix euphemism, “answered by an opprobrious sally of unseemly names and epithets.”
Hurleys, sticks, and stones were met with riding crops, but soon the hunt was in full retreat, withdrawing to the sound of a revolver shot and the
shouted question, “Now will you obey Sinn Féin and the orders of our Executive...?"
For what it's worth, the '1169' blog team voted unanimously against fox-hunting (ie 3-0), but 2-1 in favour of horse racing.
It was a secret ballot, of course, so I'll just say "that's lads for ya" and leave it at that...!
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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.
The State sold the family silver.
After confirming the commerciality of the Corrib North find, 'Enterprise Oil' lobbied the government for a reduction of the already small, by industry standards, tax rate to 12.5 per cent.
The oil industry in Ireland, the 'Irish Offshore Operators Association' (IOOA), then proposed that a $5 subsidy be paid by the State for any oil found in Irish waters, a proposal which smacks of the deal done with the American Indians to buy New York for a handful of beads and a few dollars.
Informed industry sources suggest that the oil companies view the west coast of Scotland as being the main base of operations for the Atlantic Margin, described as the new oil and gas frontier.
The North Sea oil and gas fields, they believe, have a finite life span, which is expected to stretch into the latter part of this century, so to base their operations in Scotland makes sound economic sense for the oil companies which have built up the Scottish infrastructure for the past 25 years - the Atlantic Margin stretches from west of the Shetlands, west of Scotland, down as far as the western seaboard of Ireland...
(MORE LATER.)
In early 1920, the Cork No.1 Brigade of the IRA received sanction from IRA GHQ to organise simultaneous attacks on four enemy barracks in their command area - Carrigtwohill (for East Cork units), Ballygarvan (south side Cork city units), Kilmurray (Macroom area units) and Inchigeela (Ballyvourney area units).
The Cork Brigades were well-staffed, well-armed and disciplined ; for instance, at around that period, the Cork No.3 Brigade had over 5,500 active Volunteers/support base that it could rely on.
On the 5th March (1920) the British Army and the RIC tried to hit back by harassing local republicans and, among those 'arrested' or pulled in for questioning were at least six members of the Bandon Battalion of the IRA but it didn't stop the rebels, or even slow them down - within weeks, the Cork Brigades had paid a visit (!) to enemy installations at Blarney, Farran, Inchigeela, Clondrohid, and Cork city (MacCurtain Street).
'Cute hoors' when they wanted to be, those Corkonians!
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JACK THE LAD.....
....Jack Murphy (pictured), that is - 68 years ago on this date (5th March, 1957) , an unemployed carpenter was elected to Leinster House (with 3,036 first preference votes) as an Independent representative for Dublin South Central but was marked out in that institution for being 'different' (ie 'genuine') and resigned his seat 15 months later, saying -
"I was fed up with the callous indifference of the big parties to the situation of the workers."
He was born near Synge Street in Dublin in 1920, and was number thirteen in the family - his parents, five brothers and five sisters. His father was active in republican circles and Jack joined Na Fianna Éireann in 1930, at ten years of age and, at 16 years young, he joined the IRA.
He was interned for republican activity in the Curragh at 21 and released four years later.
When he entered Leinster House he divided his monthly wage of £52 into three sections - one-third each to his own family, unemployed action groups and organisations that were trying to look after the old.
On resigning his seat in May 1958, he received only £2-1s a week unemployment assistance and could only find short-term temporary work.
In early 1959 he had no option but to emigrate (to Canada), saying -
"Since Christmas I have been unable to get any work, apart from a couple of weeks.
The building trade is finished. But there is plenty of work if only the Government would put up the money for it instead of putting millions into the purchase of jet planes.
Irish tradesmen have emigrated in thousands. And they will continue to go. There is no hope for them here. Many people will say that I am quitting, pulling out in failure. But mostly they will be people with good, solid jobs.
If I saw the slightest hope I would stay, I repeat that, but it broke my heart to see my wife trying to get along on a few shillings a week. I tried hard all along and no one can say that I did not try to spotlight the problems and evils of our country.
Again let me stress that I am not pulling out from any motive of selfishness. There are fine young men in this country who will lead the people if they are prepared to follow them.
I wish those men all the luck in the world. They will need it in their fight to overcome the apathy that is making it all too easy for the big political parties to continue to run the country (sic) as if the working people did not matter."
Some of those that worked alongside him in the 1957 election campaign were not in agreement with his decision to resign his seat and there was a falling-out between them but our research for this piece would indicate that Jack Murphy was simply disappointed and frustrated that he found himself powerless in Leinster House to affect real change for the working class, the unemployed and the elderly and, realising that that was the case, saw no benefit in staying there.
He died on the 11th of July, 1984.
Also elected in that same State election (5th March 1957) were four Irish republicans, for Sinn Féin, on an abstentionist basis : Ruairi Ó Brádaigh (Longford/Westmeath) , Éineachán Ó hAnnluain (brother of Feargal O'Hanlon, Monaghan constituency) , John Joe Rice (South Kerry) and John Joe McGirl (Sligo-Leitrim) all of whom knew, whilst canvassing for that British-imposed 'parliament', that they, too, would be unable to affect meaningful change for the working class, the unemployed or the elderly and canvassed on the basis that they would not take their seats or their salary.
Sixty-eight years have gone by since then, but the Leinster House institution remains as corrupt and ineffectual as it was then.
On the 5th March, 1921, about 100 armed IRA Volunteers from various Units - the Newmarket Battalion Column* (under Sean Moylan), a section of the Kerry No. 2 Brigade Column (under Tom McEllistrim), a section of the Charleville Battalion Column* (under Paddy O'Brien) and the Millstreet Battalion Column* (under Con J Meany) established an ambush position in the townland of Cloonbannin (on the road between Rathmore and Mallow), in County Cork.
(*These Columns were attached to the Cork No.2 Brigade.)
The rebels were out to destroy a joint British Army and RIC convoy, which was travelling from Killarney to Buttevant, in Cork, consisting of about 40 enemy forces in three lorries, an armoured car and a touring car (the BA soldiers were from the the East Lancashire Regiment).
The IRA were armed with land mines (which, in the event, failed to explode) rifles, hand grenades, and a Hotchkiss machine gun (which actually jammed during the engagement).
The convoy arrived at the ambush point and the IRA opened fire ; such was the volume of shots hitting them that the BA/RIC forces panicked, their armoured car ran into the touring car (which was carrying their Brigadier-General, a Mr Hanway Robert Cumming) and then sank in the soft margin of the road, but the machine gun mounted on the armoured car still worked and was used against the Volunteers.
The battle lasted for about 90 minutes and resulted in the deaths of four enemy soldiers - the Brigadier-General himself and a Mr Harold de Maligny, a Mr Harold Turner and a Mr William Walker ; more here about that successful operation.
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Speaking at the Clare Spring Assizes on the 5th March, 1921, a Mr Thomas Francis Moloney, the 'Lord Chief Justice of Ireland', declared that, while he was disappointed and annoyed with the people of County Clare "for allowing themselves to be cowed, intimidated and downtrodden by a comparatively small number of reckless and wicked men.." (ie by which he meant the IRA!), he stated that he understood why that was happening - "...the people of Clare dislike the crime but they dislike more assisting the police (sic)..."
Obviously, from his Ivory Tower high up in the clouds, Mr Moloney never witnessed the people being cowed, intimidated and downtrodden by "the police".
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The Captain of the Coppeen Company, 3rd (Dunmanway) Battalion, Cork No. 3 Brigade IRA, Volunteer Jeremiah O'Mahoney, was accidently shot dead by a comrade near Ballyvelone Cross, Enniskeane, County Cork, on the 5th March 1921.
'But faith marked him out for a short bright career, midst the trouble of warfare and strife,
whilst engaged in his duties for Irelands protection, was accidently wounded, he lost his young life.
Great was his loss to his comrades who loved him, he was determined, partial and brave,
Bold and determined in dealing with justice, in civil affairs he was courteous and mild.
In football and hurling and bowl playing he revelled,
Few were his equals in all manly play.
For his score in the goal-field, how sadly we miss him,
And from the glorious Ireland that is dawning today...'
RIP Volunteer Jeremiah O'Mahony.
==========================
On the 2nd March, 1921, five IRA Volunteers from 'Sections 1 and 2' of the Active Service Unit of the Dublin Brigade IRA (with Volunteer Tom Flood [pictured ; a-republican-gamekeeper-turned-Free State poacher] in command) had established an ambush position at the junction of Capel Street and Parnell Street in Dublin City Centre.
The Volunteers were waiting for a three-vehicle British Army patrol to show up and, when it did, each Volunteer lobbed a bomb at one of the vehicles and quickly left the scene.
Three days later - on the 5th March (1921) - roughly in the same part of Dublin, eleven IRA Volunteers from 'Sections 1 and 2' of the ASU bombed and shot at another three-vehicle Crown Force convoy, injuring several members of the RIC's 'Igoe Gang', with one injury themselves - Volunteer Seán Quinn was wounded in the operation.
Incidentally, the Dublin Brigade's 'Section 1 and 2' ASU was a full-time Unit - the members of it had quit their jobs and were paid £4.10.00 a week by the Movement, given a 'Short Webley' (revolver), 12 rounds of ammunition and access to hand grenades when needed.
And we'll bet not one of them dreaded Monday morning...!
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On Friday morning, 4th March, 1921, on-the-run IRA Volunteer Tom Lee (20,pictured) from Tipperary, ran past a farmer tending to his lifestock in Fethard, County Tipperary, and he shouted at the farmer to go back into his house.
The farmer saw that the IRA man was being chased by a British Black and Tan, so he stepped out in front of the Tan to try and slow him down but he was hit in the face with the butt of his rifle, sending the elderly farmer to the ground.
With that, the Tan ran up a little hill, took aim with his rifle, and fired three shots at Volunteer Lee, who fell in the field he was running across.
The Black and Tan turned to the farmer on the ground and said -
"It's your lucky day, Paddy. If I hadn't shot him, I would have shot you..."
Volunteer Lee, although only 20 years of age, was a seasoned military activist, and had been on-the-run for a few months. Earlier on that morning, himself and IRA Captain Pat Ryan had both slept overnight in a Mr Coffey's haybarn, near the town of Fethard.
They left the barn and went to another safehouse nearby for breakfast, which they never finished - they seen a force of Black and Tans and RIC members beginning to surround the house and decided to fight their way out.
Gunfire was exchanged between the IRA men and the Crown Forces, and Volunteers Lee and Ryan escaped out through a back window and split up.
Volunteer Lee got to the Cashel Road, ran past the Danagher's house and into Holway's Field...and that's when three shots were fired at him.
The Tans commandeered a horse and cart and made their way to where Volunteer Lee was lying - he had been shot twice, but was still alive.
He was thrown in the back of the cart and, by the time they got out of the field a small crowd had gathered, including local priest, Reverend PC Ryan, who climbed onboard the cart and stayed with the Volunteer on the journey to Fethard Military Barracks in Tipperary. Rev Ryan anointed the IRA man on that journey.
Volunteer Tom Lee (who had eight brothers and three sisters, ranging in age from 3 to 24, at the time) died in that Crown Force military barracks at 2.30am on Saturday, 5th March 1921, and was laid to rest on the 8th with his ancestors in the old graveyard in the village of Clerihan (Ballyclerahan).
'The Nationalist' newspaper carried a report on March 9th -
'His body was immediately removed to Tipperary Town for the military inquiry and, after the inquiry, the remains were then transferred to Cashel and taken from there by hearse to the parish church in Fethard.
All shops and banks were closed with blinds fully drawn for the arrival of the funeral cortege.
In the church, a guard of honour formed by Volunteers watched by the coffin, which was draped in the Tricolour, and had a glass panel through which the boy's face and shoulders could be seen.
Thousands viewed the remains on Monday and Tuesday morning, various clergy were in attendance and Mass was celebrated by the parish priest, the Very Rev PC Ryan..."
Within three weeks of Volunteer Tom Lee's burial, his mother, Bridget, gave birth to her final child, a daughter, Patricia.
Incidentally, the cursed Tan who killed Volunteer Tom Lee was a 24-year-old Scottish man, from Aberdeen, named James Paterson. Mr Paterson was working as a farm labourer after he had been demobbed from the British Army, left the labouring job and decided to impose 'law and order' in Ireland as a member of a British paramilitary gang.
We tried to find more details on Mr Paterson but - priorities - the cat wanted out the back.
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In March, 1921, a Mr Walter Harold Wiggins (aka 'Walter Jones'), a Private in the British Army, and listed as being '...one of the two non-commemorated members of the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry..' was recorded as having '..died in southern Ireland during the Black and Tan campaign (having) expired in Limerick Workhouse (then in use as a British Army barracks) from a self-inflicted wound on 5 March 1921..'
Bloody cat still wants out...
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In late February/early March in 1921, the Crown Forces in Leinster let it be known that, on Saturday, 5th March, all fairs, street stalls, and markets would be prohibited from taking place.
On that Saturday, the 'Anglo-Celt' newspaper reported that all markets etc within a 10 mile radius of the towns of Maynooth and Edenderry had been banned by the British military, and 'The Nationalist and Leinster Times' newspaper reported that they had also been banned in Monasterevin, Kildare, Portarlington, Portlaoise ('Maryborough') and Mountrath.
It was understood at the time that such actions were a financial punishment on the public for supporting the rebels ; the stalls etc disappeared, but the support never did...
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THE NUMBER'S UP...
How some famous gambling conspiracies came to light.
By Con Houlihan.
From 'Magill' Magazine Annual 2002.
To survive he must know or sense what money is 'informed' and what is not.
People who bet can be divided into five categories ; you have 'the plungers', those men and women who have more money than sense, but they are now a rare breed - they flourished in the nineteenth century.
Then there are 'the punters', and they are the great majority - betting for them is a hobby or part of a night out.
There is also a breed that is hard to define but easy to recognise ; they are not compulsive gamblers, but occasionally they put on big bets - you could call it serious money.
Our old friend, Mick O'Toole, famous greyhound trainer and even more famous as a racehorse trainer, gave the ultimate answer long ago - " A big bet is a bet you cannot afford."
Then there are the people known as compulsive gamblers ; you will find them in all walks and stumbles of life, and I have known a few in my time.
They were all nice intelligent people but were dependent on gambling as others are on nicotine or alcohol...
(MORE LATER.)
158 YEARS AGO ON THIS DATE (5TH MARCH) : FENIAN RISING (1867).
Fenian flag , 1867.
1867 Irish Fenian Proclamation : 'English Monarchical government a curse...' -
'The Irish People of the World.
We have suffered centuries of outrage, enforced poverty, and bitter misery. Our rights and liberties have been trampled on by an alien aristocracy, who treating us as foes, usurped our lands, and drew away from our unfortunate country all material riches.
The real owners of the soil were removed to make room for cattle, and driven across the ocean to seek the means of living, and the political rights denied to them at home, while our men of thought and action were condemned to loss of life and liberty.
But we never lost the memory and hope of a national existence.
We appealed in vain to the reason and sense of justice of the dominant powers. Our mildest remonstrance's were met with sneers and contempt. Our appeals to arms were always unsuccessful.
Today, having no honourable alternative left, we again appeal to force as our last resource. We accept the conditions of appeal, manfully deeming it better to die in the struggle for freedom than to continue an existence of utter serfdom.
All men are born with equal rights, and in associating to protect one another and share public burdens, justice demands that such associations should rest upon a basis which maintains equality instead of destroying it.
We therefore declare that, unable longer to endure the curse of Monarchical Government, we aim at founding a Republic based on universal suffrage, which shall secure to all the intrinsic value of their labour. The soil of Ireland, at present in the possession of an oligarchy, belongs to us, the Irish people, and to us it must be restored.
We declare, also, in favour of absolute liberty of conscience, and complete separation of Church and State.
We appeal to the Highest Tribunal for evidence of the justness of our cause. History bears testimony to the integrity of our sufferings, and we declare, in the face of our brethren, that we intend no war against the people of England – our war is against the aristocratic locusts, whether English or Irish, who have eaten the verdure of our fields – against the aristocratic leeches who drain alike our fields and theirs.
Republicans of the entire world, our cause is your cause. Our enemy is your enemy. Let your hearts be with us.
As for you, workmen of England, it is not only your hearts we wish, but your arms. Remember the starvation and degradation brought to your firesides by the oppression of labour. Remember the past, look well to the future, and avenge yourselves by giving liberty to your children in the coming struggle for human liberty.
Herewith we proclaim the Irish Republic.
The Provisional Government.'
The link in the title of this post will give a background to, and details of, the 1867 Rising, leaving us to concentrate on one of the thousands of men and women that struck a blow for Irish freedom in that year - Peter O'Neill Crowley, from Cork, who was killed in Tipperary by the British :
A child born in the townland of Ballymacoda in County Cork, in 1832, learned how to make a living from the land and was considered in the locality, as a young adult, to be what would now be called 'a pillar of society'.
He was known as an expert farmer and had a wide circle of friends.
An Irish republican at heart, Peter O'Neill Crowley joined the Fenian Movement in Cork and rose quickly through the ranks - at 35 years young, he was in command of a 'Fenian Circle', which numbered more than one hundred men.
It is almost certain that Crowley and his 'Circle' were involved in the capture of the RIC Barracks at Ballynockane, County Cork, on the night of the 5th March, 1867 ; Fenian leaders J F X O'Brien, Michael O'Brien and William Mackey Lomasney had combined their forces into one 'Circle' consisting of over 2,000 Fenian fighters and, in early March 1867, caused havoc in Cork for the British administration.
As well as capturing the Ballynockane RIC Barracks (and removing anything of value to the Fenian war effort) the Fenian's sabotaged large sections of rail-track used by the 'Great Southern and Western Railway', destroyed the 'points-system' belonging to same and rendered inoperable the telegraph system in the district.
In that same month (March 1867), Peter O'Neill Crowley and his group attacked an armed coastguard station at Knockadoon.
The Knockadoon coastguard station, located about eight miles from Youghal in Cork, was staffed by ten armed employees ; they were over-powered, held captive and their rifles and ammunition taken.
It is not perhaps as well known as it should be, but the 'main' Fenian Rising of 1867 lasted for just over twenty-four hours, although isolated attacks on the British continued for a few weeks.
When Peter O'Neill Crowley and his second and third in command, John McClure and John Edward Kelly (see page 5, here) realised that the Rising had failed, they knew the British would be determined to 'round-up' the leadership ; they issued orders to their 'Circle' to disperse.
After the 'dispersal' order was given (towards the end of the first week in March 1867) , the three Fenian leaders - Crowley , McClure and Kelly - fled to the limited safety of Kilclooney Wood in County Tipperary.
On 31st March, 1867, a large force of British soldiers entered Kilclooney Wood and 'scouts' from the same force soon located the whereabouts of the three Irish rebels.
Within hours they were surrounded by the enemy and ordered to surrender ; they refused.
The three were well-armed, and fought courageously, but were no match for the numbers ranged against them. The gun-battle lasted for several hours,but it ended when Peter O'Neill Crowley died, with at least three gunshot wounds to his body.
John McClure and Edward Kelly were arrested and were later sentenced to life imprisonment.
The county of Cork practically came to a standstill for Crowley's funeral, in his native Ballymacoda. The Fenian leader, John Devoy, said of the man -
"Peter O'Neill Crowley was one of the best men in the Fenian Movement, and Ireland never gave birth to a truer or more devoted son. His devotion to the Cause of Irish liberty was sublime and his courage dauntless."
The two men captured in Kilclooney Wood in Tipperary after the gun-battle, John McClure and John Edward Kelly, were released four years later, in the 'general amnesty' of that year (1871).
Incidentally, the 'Kilclooney Wood Engagement' is considered to be the last action of the 1867 Fenian Rising but by no means the end of our on-going struggle for full independence from Westminster interference and misrule in Irish affairs.
Divided streets ; IRA on one side of the road, Free State Army on the other, and an uneasy truce between the two.
Not referencing the 5th March 1922 specifically, but encompassing that date.
In short : when the British military and their proxies in the RIC/Black and Tans were vacating their barracks and buildings in the Free State following the Treaty of Surrender, both sides - the IRA and the FSA - recognised the importance of taking them over.
This led to 'shapes being thrown' by both sides and no where more so than in Limerick - between both sides, about 700 armed men were involved in repeated 'shouting matches' in and around the town and outside the emptying barracks and buildings, with the FSA somehow thinking it was a good idea to opine out loud that that situation wouldn't have occurred if only the British had stayed on the ground a little longer!
IRA Volunteers from Cork and Kerry were arriving into the city to support their rebel comrades, and FSA members from outside the district (FSA 1st Western Division) were moving in, as well.
But then, on the 12th March, both sides agreed that their men from outside the Limerick areas would return to their own bases and that the Limerick IRA leadership would divide the military garrisons in the city between Pro- and Anti-Treaty units, and that Limerick Corporation repair crews and workmen would oversee the maintenance of the barracks and buildings (the IRA took over the Ordnance Barracks, Castle Barracks, the New Barracks and Strand Barracks, leaving the FSA to scramble for the leftovers!).
The FSA men on the ground talked about that compromise as offering too much, too soon to the IRA, whereas the IRA Volunteers (who were numerically superior) were not happy that they had been ordered to compromise with the Staters.
But the Staters continued grumbling and throwing shapes and, as they were by then better armed (thanks to their sponsors in Westminster) they made their move on the 11th July that year "to take Limerick back" and between then and the 20th of that month, they unfortunately succeeded - a more detailed article can be accessed here.
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"War, though necessary and noble for necessary and noble ends, has terrible effects incidental to it, not only material ruin, but moral effects when prolonged unrighteously, a tendency to lose balance and judgment, to forget and misinterpret the real object of the national struggle, to grow to believe that strife, even fratricidal strife, is noble in itself. Such things must cease as soon as freedom is secured or the nation will perish..."
-Mr Michael Collins, 5th March 1922, as quoted in 'The Irish Independent' newspaper on the 6th March 1922.
"...misinterpret the real object of the national struggle.." which, as we now know, or should know, apparently, was to obtain a Free State within our 32-County Republic.
T'was the objective all along...
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POLITICAL LIFESTYLES IN IRELAND...
His lavish lifestyle was funded by wealthy admirers.
Time after time, his debts were taken care of by friendly businessmen.
In exchange for giving people access to government leaders, he cheerfully lined his own pockets.
From 'Magill' Magazine, January 2003.
Happily, Brendan O'Carroll is showing more staying power -
"I know for a fact that I will stand in Dáil Éireann (sic) one day", he iunforms me cheerfully.
"If not at the next election, the one after that for sure. And make no mistake, I'll be going in to legislate as well."
The Finglas funnyman has, of course, an impeccable political pedigree - not so much from his mother, who was a Labour Party TD (sic), but from the fact that in his former life as a waiter he once had the pleasure of attending to the needs of Margaret Thatcher at a European summit in Dublin Castle.
But anyway, what exactly would the author of 'How's Your Jolly Roger' hope to achieve in his new career...?
(MORE LATER.)
ON THIS DATE (5TH MARCH) 221 YEARS AGO - 'CONVICTS' REVOLT : FIRST FULL DAY OF THE 'VINEGAR HILL' NSW UPRISING.
The 5th March in 1804 was the first full day of the uprising by the 'Castle Hill Convicts' in New South Wales, Australia, led by Irish rebel Phillip Cunningham, a Kerryman, born at Glenn Liath ('Grey Glen'), Moyvane. The Irish rebels had made their move on the previous day.
Although not a lot is known about this Irish hero, it is recorded that he moved to Clonmel, Tipperary, in the 1790's and worked as a stonemason, supplementing his income from same by opening up a small pub.
Peter Cunningham and about two hundred other 'convicts' turned on the Redcoat soldiers who had imprisoned them, locked them up and broke into a weapons hut.
Martial law was declared as a result, in the Sydney area, and residents in the town of Parramatta were advised to assemble at the docks, ready to flee the area if needed. The rebels had by now based themselves on a hilltop and declared it to be their 'Vinegar Hill'.
A Major George Johnson and his men from the New South Wales Corps and a detachment of fifty mercenaries from the 'Loyal Association' marched through the night and a short battle commenced in and around 'Vinegar Hill', ending the rebellion. Peter Cunningham was later executed without trial.
'The Sydney Gazette' newspaper covered(/coloured) the event, in its edition of the 11th March 1804, in the following manner -
'REBELLION AT CASTLE HILL.
Major Johnston on arriving at Toongabbee, received information that a considerable Body were on their way to the Hawkesbury : Notwithstanding the fatigue of his small Detachment in marching up from Sydney and the distance they had gone since, they immediately ran in good Order, with their followers, and after a pursuit of Seven Miles farther, Major Johnston and a Trooper, who had preceded the Detachment, came up with the rear of the Insurgents at 11 o'clock, whose number have since been ascertained to be 233 men, armed with Musquets, Pistols, Swords etc., and a number of followers which they had taken from the Settlers.
After calling to them repeatedly they halted, and formed on the rise of a Hill : The Major and Trooper advanced within pistol shot, and endeavoured to persuade them to submit to the Mercy that was offered them by the Proclamation, which they refused.
The Major required to see their Chiefs, who after some deliberation met them half way, between the Detachment and Insurgents, when by a great presence of mind and address the Major presented his pistol at the head of the Principal leader (Phillip Cunningham), and the Trooper following his motions, presented his Pistol also to the other leader's head (William Johnston) and drove them into the Detachment without the least opposition from the body of the Insurgents..'
That rebellion may very well have been shortlived and its leader, Peter Cunningham, almost forgotten in our history, but it, and he, live on in the memory of every Irish republican to this day.
As it should be.
On the 5th March, 1923, three columns of Free State Army soldiers were making their way cautiously through the Garrane Mountains near Cahersiveen, in County Kerry (pictured).
They were acting on information that a column of IRA Volunteers (comprising men from the Kerry No.3 Brigade and the Kerry 1st Battalion) were billeted in, and at, the O'Connell farmhouse and, when they got there, they were fired on.
Both sides were well armed, but the IRA were outnumbered and fought as long as they could.
Six IRA men offered to surrender (including Volunteers Denis Daly, Dan O’Connor and Michael Griffin) and, in the confusion and the 'to-ing and fro-ing' during the handover, the remainder of the IRA column managed to escape towards the town of Glencar.
Two FSA members, a Mr Timothy O’Shea and a Mr Jeremiah Quaine, were killed during the farmhouse gunfight and, in an attempted follow-up operation, another FSA member, a Mr William Healy (from Valentia, in County Kerry) was shot dead and two of his comrades wounded.
One member of the IRA column who escaped during the six-man-surrender, Brigade Engineer Dan Clifford (26, an electrician and blacksmith by trade, from Reenalagane, Cahersiveen, County Kerry, attached to the No.3 Brigade and No.1 ASU, and who was originally attached to the Kerry 1st Battalion IRA) had made it, unarmed, to a neighbouring farm and took shelter in a shed, but an FSA member found him and shot him dead.
Volunteer Dan Clifford is buried in The Republican Plot in Kilnavarnogue Cemetery, Cahersiveen, in County Kerry.
The following day (6th March) IRA Volunteer Sean T. O'Sullivan was killed by the Staters at Gleesk, near Gleann Beithe (Glenbeigh) in County Kerry, as they were searching for the escaped IRA Volunteers.
RIP Volunteer Dan Clifford and Volunteer Sean T. O'Sullivan.
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Thanks for reading - delighted that ya could make it!
Sharon and the team.
We're taking a short(ish!) holiday as we've to do a fair bit of travelling in the country, North, South, East and West.
Between confirmations, birthdays anniversaries and our day jobs we're gonna be kept busy until about the 17th of this month, meaning that we won't be back blogging until Wednesday, 26th March.
...but ya can still catch me on X/Twitter and
Facebook, if yer that desperate for some company!
