On the 19th June, 1919, the First Dáil Éireann (the 32-County institution, not the bastardised imitation which houses itself in Kildare Street, Dublin) approved the 'Dáil Loan' proposal and initiative, which was a programme to raise £500,000 to help finance the republican struggle.
It was hoped that half of that amount would be raised internally, and the other half would come in from America.
On the 27th August (1919), a count of the finance raised was done and, on the 28th, the organisers announced that the half-way stage had been reached - £250,000 was in the bank.
The fund-raising operation proved to be such a success that it became over-subscribed, to the point that the 'External' (ie 'funds from America') amount was formally changed from £250,000 to $25m, which was deemed to be achievable!
Unfortunately, the Staters got their hands on the funds : in 1924, they issued legislation entitled 'Dáil Eireann (sic) Loans and Funds Act, 1924' which, they claimed, vested the fund under their control and, in 1925, their court system released that money to the 'Executive Council' of the Free State administration.
In other words, money raised to support the Irish republican Cause was used by ex-republicans to campaign, politically and militarily, against that Cause.
As was said at the time (and since) - "Bad cess to them anyway..."
While Irish republicans in Dublin were counting their funds, an RIC 'Inspector General', a Mr Joseph Byrne, was reading a letter he received from the 'General Officer Commander-in-Chief' of the British Army in Ireland, a ('Lieutenant General Sir') Mr Frederick Shaw (pictured, 'KCB, PC ETC ETC!) -
"From Christmas, the British Army would no longer be able to provide outpost detachments, due to on-going demobilisations and overseas commitments. The Garrison in Ireland will not be in a position to carry out the police duties which have devolved upon it during the war and (will not) respond to the constant calls upon it to assist the police..."
Mr Byrne knew that his paramilitary outfit, the RIC, would not be able to hold off the Irish rebels without the assistance of the British Army but, instead of pleading his case with Mr 'Lieutenant General Sir' Shaw, he went over his head - on the 9th September, he wrote to a Mr John James Taylor, the British 'Under Secretary of State for Ireland', and told him that the withdrawal of British Army support will result in the widespread withdrawal of RIC members from smaller barracks.
Seeking a compromise, Mr Byrne suggested that smaller units of the British Army could be formed and dispersed throughout the country to assist the RIC (this was before Westminster partitioned Ireland) but sure didn't Mr Shaw get to hear of the conversation and he, in turn, decided to go over Mr Byrne's head - he wrote to the new British 'Chief Secretary for Ireland', a Mr James Ian MacPherson, suggesting that Mr Byrne's obvious unwillingness to recruit non-Irishmen to the RIC would be better addressed by the formation of...
"..a special force of ex-soldiers (to assist the RIC). The military necessity for concentration and training is diametrically opposed to the Police (sick - RIC) demands for dispersion and local support..."
And sure then didn't the 'Chief Commissioner of the Dublin Metropolitan Police' (DMP), a Mr Walter Edgeworth-Johnstone (pictured) put in his tuppence worth - he wrote to Mr John James Taylor, the British 'Under Secretary of State for Ireland', telling him that a new outfit wasn't required in Dublin and that the certainty of disharmony and indiscipline meant that the proposal had "nothing to recommend it to either police or citizens.."
The RIC 'Inspector General', Mr Joseph Byrne, aware of the 'toing and froing chit-chat' that was going on in the ranks (!), also wrote to JJ (! - Mr Taylor ; Mr Byrne wrote to him on the 4th October [1919]) informing him that any such new outfit could not be controlled by the 'constabulary code of discipline' ie "listen, JJ - if this new gang are assembled and let loose in Ireland, they won't be as...ehh...well-mannered...as wha' we are and we're not gonna be answerable to or for them...".
The politicians in Westminster had their operatives in all of their political, military and paramilitary groupings in Ireland and were up to speed on the 'extra force'-type discussions, suggestions and correspondence that was taking place and, purely by coincidence, no doubt (!), three months later (ie in January 1920), a new grouping was formed and unleashed in Ireland : the Black and Tans.
The historian Charles Townshend wrote that despite the "cogency and prophetic accuracy" of the objections to any such 'special force of ex-soldiers', their objections were overruled, and so it was that the Irish had a new foe to contend with...
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ON THIS DATE (27TH AUGUST) 46 YEARS AGO : BRITISH ESTABLISHMENT FIGURE EXECUTED IN IRELAND.
HOW THE GAY LIFE KILLED MOUNTBATTEN.
Encounters with youths exposed him to IRA.
BY FRANK DOHERTY.First published in 'NOW' magazine, Volume 1, No.4, October 1989, page 37.
British 'Lord' Louis Mountbatten was killed because of his homosexuality, according to Irish Republican sources ; 'Lord' Mountbatten died in August 1979 when his boat was blown up at Mullaghamore, County Sligo, by the Provisional IRA.
A book published in Britain in October 1989 by a former British Intelligence Officer gave details of 'Lord' Mountbatten's gay life and claim that he was a risk to British State security ; but, ironically, 'Lord' Mountbatten proved to be a bigger threat to his own security.
It was his liaisons with three young Irish boys which led to his assassination - it was information obtained indirectly from one of the boys which drew the attention of the IRA to 'Lord' Mountbatten's presence in Ireland, and the same source provided details about his movements.
'Lord' Mountbatten regularly slipped away from his Irish Special Branch guards for homosexual encounters. The IRA had expected his cabin cruiser to be used for such a meeting with a teenage boy on the day he died. They planted a radio-controlled bomb in the engine compartment on the boat, killing Mountbatten and three others, including a 15-year-old Enniskillen boy ; the bombing brought widespread condemnation and an immediate crack-down on the IRA on both sides of the Border.
It came on the same day as 18 British Paratroopers were killed at Narrow Water, near Warrenpoint, County Down, in an IRA double ambush.
The new book , 'The Greatest Treason' by Richard Deacon, claims that Mountbatten passed secret information to the Russians ; Deacon, whose real name is Donal McCormick, is an ex-intelligence Officer who was a close friend of the former head of the British Secret Service, 'Sir' Maurice Oldfield.
Author 'Richard Deacon'(/Donal McCormick) quotes an unnamed former CIA Officer as saying -
"What we could never understand was how Mountbatten, a known homosexual and therefore a security risk, managed to achieve the kind of promotion and jobs he got..." 'Deacon' says - "It was known inside the (British) Navy long before World War Two that he was a homosexual, sometimes even risking such conduct in his cabin when at sea..."
The author describes 'Lord' Mountbatten as "... devious and egotistical.."
The IRA bomb was detonated from a car parked on the shore as 'Lord' Mountbatten sailed past a couple of hundred feet away : a pulse-coded transmitter of a type not used before was brought in from South Armagh because the IRA believed that British security officers may have fitted ECM (Electronic Counter-Measure) equipment in Classiebawn Castle which would have prematurely detonated any radio-bomb they attempted to plant.
The IRA spent nearly two months setting-up the assassination, relying on information from 'Lord' Mountbatten's homosexual contacts to track his movements. Mountbatten was an uncle of both (British) 'Queen' Elizabeth and her husband, 'Prince' Phillip, and was interested in what homosexuals call 'the rough trade' and liked to have 'contacts' with 'working-class' youths.
He was particularly attracted to boys in their early teens and it was this characteristic which made him especially vulnerable to the IRA, because he needed to slip away from his personal bodyguards to keep dates with such boys, some of whom came in contact with IRA men.
His vice habit was similar to that of the former British Secret Service Chief, 'Sir' Maurice Oldfield, who was appointed 'Ulster (sic) Security Co-Ordinator' by Margaret Thatcher in the wake of the Mountbatten assassination.
'Sir' Maurice also slipped away from his 'personal protection detail' - a team of handpicked, plain-clothes British 'Royal' Military Policemen - on various occasions while he was living in Stormont House, beside Stormont Castle in Belfast, but a plan by the IRA to kill him during one such expedition into County Down failed when he was unexpectedly moved back to London.
(To be fair [!] to Mr Oldfield, he wasn't the only high-ranking queer in British military and political circles that caused trouble for their 'majesty'...)
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.
An Irish rig-worker told 'Magill Magazine' -
"It doesn't end there.
They also want an interconnector gas pipeline laid from Ireland to the UK, so they can export surplus Irish gas, owned by the oil companies, into Britain and then on to Europe, while Ireland will have to buy its domestic gas needs from the oil companies at the going rate!
It seems too far-fetched to be believable that anyone, much less a government, would agree to such a deal."
SIPTU's 'National Offshore Committee' spokesman, Padhraig Campbell, confirmed to 'Magill' magazine that his union met with 'Enterprise Oil' in 1996 to discuss jobs on the rig and, at that time, there had been a long-standing agreement in place with the drilling companies that an agreed number of experienced Irish-based rig-workers would be employed on rigs drilling in Irish waters for the duration of the drilling season, with the option that these workers could remain on when the drilling moved out of Irish waters...
(MORE LATER.)
On the night of the 26th August/morning of the 27th August 1920, two British Army lorries drove into the town of Naas, in County Kildare.
Both lorries had been observed driving at speed on the Newbridge Road and, tyres squealing, turning into Basin Street and then onto Main Street.
One of the lorries pulled-up at Staple Dowling's pub on the corner of Basin Street and the other parked at the Town Hall, and ten armed and 'uniformed' Black and Tan members jumped out of each lorry.
The Tans were seeking revenge for the death of two of their comrades, a Mr Patrick Reilly and a Mr John Haverty, who were killed in the nearby Greenhills area in a shoot-out with Irish rebels on the 21st August.
The armed men split-up into groups and went searching for targets - they tried to gain entrance to a butcher shop (at Number 11 South Main Street, owned by a Mr Denis Patterson) and hammered on the locked door of JJ White's shop (18 South Main Street ; the family were well-known rebels - Jimmy, Ned, Paddy and Mick Whyte were all members of the Irish Volunteers while their sister May was at one time commanding officer of the Naas Cumann na mBan organisation).
Groups of them were noisely congregated outside Broughal's Pub and Boushell's Family Bootmaker and Leather Merchant shop (owned by Mr Ben Boushell and two of his sisters, who lived over the shop), which was next door to the RIC Barracks, a fact which didn't disturb them at all and, incidentally, the RIC later claimed that they believed they were under attack, which is why they didn't venture outside!
They smashed windows and doors and gained entry to Broughal's Pub and Boushell's Shop, which they looted before setting fires in both premises, they then formed up on the Main Street and, for about ten minutes, celebrated their 'victory' by firing shots into the air.
The Tans then got back into their lorries and, firing shots as they went, left the village by the New Row Road.
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CASH NO EXCUSE FOR RTE PUTTING DOCUMENTARY TO DEATH...
It has been a disastrous 12 months for RTE.
£23.5 million in cutbacks, a bid to increase the licence fee rejected, an enforced postponement of digital expansion, and a predicted £20 million loss to report for 2001.
By Belinda McKeon .
From 'Magill' Annual, 2002.
RTE is not, and may not for some time, be in a position to give full backing to arts documentary, but this does not excuse its complete withdrawal from the scene.
It takes little imagination to see that a small investment in a good proposal would give RTE a stake in what, with additional funding from other sources, could become a viable product, yielding both commercial and cultural kudos for the broadcaster.
But RTE is not alone in responsibility for this fragmented genre : while the Arts Council's contribution to TG4 has produced the exemplary SPLANC, in real terms its contribution is minimal, amounting to the funding of at most three low-budget documentaries.
This failure to expand beyond TG4 amounts to a complacency which must be checked ; neither can the Irish Film Board bankroll an entire industry single-handedly...
(MORE LATER.)
On the 19th August, 1921, Volunteer James Staines, a prisoner in Hare Park Internment Camp in the Curragh, County Kildare, jumped into the back of a delivery lorry which had unloaded its cargo in the prison area, and escaped.
The British 'sought him here, they sought him there, those British sought him everywhere...' (!), but Volunteer Staines evaded capture.
On the 27th August, in a fit of the huffs, the 'General Officer Commanding the British Forces in Ireland', a Mr Cecil Frederick Nevil Macready, issued an order cancelling all leave on parole for republican prisoners, pending a return of Volunteer James Staines to the Curragh Internment Camp by a certain timeline...which came and went, but still no sign of Volunteer Staines!
He did not return and, days later, parole was subsequently re-instated by Mr Cecil Frederick Nevil Macready, who obviously realised that a fit of the huffs was not gonna win the day for him!
Incidentally - to add to poor Mr Mac's woes - a week later (ie in early September), fifty-four republican POW's escaped from the same internment camp through a tunnel they had dug : but history doesn't record if Mr Mac threw a huff or had a temper tantrum...!
On the same date that the good general O/C was having his first huff, some of those he and his people supported in this country attacked a house in Nelson Street, in Belfast, and bombed it and, over the next few days, shot at least two men - Thomas Rafter (18), shot on North Queen Street, and Colin Fogg (42), shot on Lepper Street ; both men died from their wounds two days later.
The 27th August 1921 was 'Day 8' (the final day) of the First Session of the Second Dail, at which the main business was the appointment of five plenipotentiaries (pictured) to negotiate a Treaty with Westminster.
The five men - Arthur Griffith, Michael Collins, Robert Barton, Eamon Seán Duggan, and George Gavan Duffy - couldn't agree on the fact that the offered terms and conditions were less than had been fought for and defended their different positions back home in Dublin, in Dáil Éireann.
During those discussions in Dublin, Arthur Griffith and Michael Collins voted in favour of it, Robert Barton voted in favour but later changed his opinion and campaigned against it, Eamonn Seán Duggan and George Gavan Duffy voted in favour of it, with the latter proclaming -
"My heart is with those who are against the Treaty, but my reason is against them, because I can see no rational alternative..."
On the 7th January, 1922, the Dáil held a vote on that offering from Westminster and, for shame, it was ratified by 64 votes in favour, and 57 against and, on the 14th January, the pro-British members of the 'House of Commons of Southern Ireland' (another anti-Irish-republican grouping) also endorsed that 'agreement', thus spawning the corrupt Free State, which is still in operation to this day...
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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.
Shipping vessels and oil-rigs in the Mediterranean were also contacted and asked to participate in the search.
Philip Bartolo, now deceased, son of the missing pilot Carmelo Bartolo, told Desmond Boomer's father, Cormac, that the searching planes travelled the Piper Lance's expected route back to Malta.
They flew at around 500 to 1,000 feet, but found nothing.
"No one will ever convince me that that plane went down in the water and nothing floated from it," he told Cormac Boomer.
At 12 Noon, the US Embassy in Malta offered assistance, and a US Air Force P3 Orion aircraft was dispatched from Sigonella Air Base in Sicily to join the search operation, which took place from 3rd to the 10th December 1995, and concentrated on the FIR boundaries between Malta, Libya and Tunisia.
It met with no success...
(MORE LATER.)
On the 27th August, 1922, the Free State Leinster House administration announced that it was now increasing its recruitment drive for its military and had agreed in-house to maintain a force comprising 35,000 soldiers ; on that same date, in Kerry, Free State Army soldiers 'arrested' two IRA Volunteers, Seán Moriarty and James Healy, and paraded the two rebels through the town of Tralee.
The two Volunteers were taken to Balloonagh Convent where, out of sight of the public, they were placed standing up against a wall and their captors opened fire on them.
Both men fell to the ground, presumed dead by their murderers, who then marched out of the convent grounds and returned to their barracks.
Local men rushed over to the two Volunteers and discovered that most of the gunfire had been directed at Volunteer Moriarty, who had been "riddled with bullets..." but, although hit a number of times, Volunteer Healy was still alive - he survived to fight another day.
RIP Volunteer Seán Moriarty.
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ON THIS DATE (27TH AUGUST) 112 YEARS AGO : FIRST FULL DAY OF A 146-DAY LOCKOUT IN DUBLIN.
On the 26th August, 1913 - 107 years ago on this date - at about 9.40am, drivers and conductors on Dublin trams stepped-out of their vehicles and 'walked off the job' ; they, and other workers, were objecting to the poor working conditions they were forced to endure and their lack of rights to challenge those conditions, including an 'unofficial' workplace 'rule' that would practically ensure that if a worker joined a trade union he or she would be sacked.
The workers, who were fully supported by James Larkin, a revolutionary socialist who despised capitalism and supported the underprivileged, wanted better working conditions and the right to join a trade union without being penalised or sacked for doing so.
The tram workers were not then unionised (either were Dublin Corporation employees, building workers or the staff that worked in Guinness Brewery) but they had admired and supported Larkin and the then four-years-young, ten-thousand-membered ITGWU in the manner in which they had been fighting for improved conditions for the so-called 'unskilled workers' in Dublin, who were, mostly, members of the ITGWU : the workers and their trade union representatives were strongly agitating for a shorter working day (to work 8 hours a day rather than 12 or more hours a day), for better provision (if not actual jobs) for the many unemployed in the city, guaranteed pensions for workers who survived into their 60th year and a 'Labour Court', of sorts, where disagreements could be aired and settled in a neutral atmosphere.
It should be remembered that the Catholic Church as an institution decided not to organise 'soup kitchens' etc or offer assistance of any kind which might be of benefit to children during the lockout, as those poor kids were the sons and daughters of the striking workers and that particular church supported the employers and branded Jim Larkin (pictured) as a 'political troublemaker'.
Also worth remembering is the fact that anti-republican Arthur Guinness refused to close his premises or follow other such advice/demands from William Martin Murphy and, while he didn't actually join with Murphy and other employers in directly opposing the strikers, he organised for what was a large sum of money in those days - £500 - to be donated to a 'fighting fund' set-up by Murphy and other employers - '...(the Guinness company) had a policy against sympathetic strikes, and expected its workers – whose conditions were far better than the norm in Ireland – not to strike in sympathy ; six who did were dismissed.
400 of its staff were already ITGWU members, so it had a working relationship with the union. Larkin appealed to have the six reinstated, but without success..' (from here.)
The lockout ended after 146 days as the workers and their families were literally penniless and starving, even though their conditions, wages, hours worked, health and safety issues etc remained unchanged, and they were 'obliged' to sign a pledge that they would not join a trade union.
However, if any good came out of it, it was that the strikers had at least laid claim to the principle of joining a trade union* and had seen that, properly organised, they could defend themselves from attacks by the military and political establishment.
One of the better known connections between Irish republicanism and that period in our history was that Thomas Patrick Ashe (pictured), who was a member of the 'Irish Republican Brotherhood' (IRB) and who had established IRB circles in Dublin and Kerry and eventually became President of the IRB Supreme Council in 1917, and espoused the Labour policies of James Larkin.
Writing in a letter to his brother Gregory he said... "We are all here on Larkin's side.
He'll beat hell out of the snobbish, mean, seoinín employers yet, and more power to him."
Ashe supported the unionisation of north Dublin farm labourers and his activities brought him into conflict with landowners such as Thomas Kettle in 1912.
During the lockout, Thomas Ashe was a frequent visitor to Liberty Hall and became a friend of James Connolly.
Long prior to its publication in 1916, Thomas Ashe was a practitioner of Connolly’s dictum that "the cause of labour is the cause of Ireland, the cause of Ireland is the cause of labour".
Like Jim Larkin and James Connolly, Thomas Patrick Ashe was a supporter and organiser of 'the men (and women) of no property'.
(*In 1913, trade unions were not managed by 'rainbow-flag'-waving degenerates, and were worth joining and fighting for.)
On Monday, 27th August 1923, the Leinster House 26-County political assembly held its first 'General Election' for the area of Ireland (ie 26 out of the 32 Counties) that it purported to hold jurisdiction over.
The election was won by the 'Cumann na nGaedheal' party ('pro-Treaty Sinn Féiners', as they seen themselves), who won 63 seats, with 39% of first-preference votes cast, while the then abstentionist Sinn Féin organisation won 44 seats with 27% of the first-preference votes.
The number of available seats had been expanded from 128 to 153, of which Independents won 16, the Farmers Party 15, Labour 14 and Independent Labour 1.
Five women were elected, of whom only one took her seat - a M/s Margaret Collins-O'Driscoll (sister of the late Mr Michael Collins, killed in August 1922) - the other four female seatholders (Constance de Markievicz, Dr Kathleen Lynn, Caitlín Brugha, and Mary MacSwiney) were republican activists and, as such, would not sit in a Free State assembly.
And today, 102 years later, that principled policy holds fast - no genuine Irish republican activist would sit in a Free State political assembly which purports to be 'Dáil Éireann'.
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ON THIS DATE (27TH AUGUST) 102 YEARS AGO : SINN FÉIN WINS 44 SEATS IN FREE STATE ELECTIONS.
'Free State Keeps Ireland Down...' : a poster used and distributed by Sinn Féin in the 1923 Free State general election.
'Justice and Brotherhood-not Flogging and Tortures....Sinn Féin will abolish the murder gangs and secure the life, liberty and property of the people...' : a leaflet used and distributed by Sinn Féin in the 1923 Free State general election.
'A Self-Reliant Nation.....Ireland Free and Therefore Strong, Prosperous and Peaceful...' : a 1923 Sinn Féin election poster.
Besides this State election, 1923 was an eventful year for Irish republicans : on the 2nd January, Cathal Goulding was born in East Arran Street in Dublin, and on the 13th of that month Free State President W.T. Cosgrave had to find somewhere else to live.
On the 10th of April, Liam Lynch was shot dead by Free State forces, on the 14th of that month Austin Stack was captured by the Staters and on the 23rd of that month, Sinn Féin politician Seán Etchingham died.
Three of our twenty-two republican hunger-strikers died in that year - Joe Witty, from Wexford, on the 2nd September, Denis Barry, Cork, on the 20th November and Andy O'Sullivan, also from Cork, on the 22nd November.
The 27th August 1923 election results, in which Sinn Féin polled 286,000 votes (29% of those that voted), winning 44 seats, can be accessed here.
At the time, there were over 11,000 Irish republicans in jail in the State, for refusing to accept any British political or military presence in Ireland and, for the same reason, the elected Sinn Féin representatives refused to take their seats in Leinster House as those sitting in that assembly had to take an oath of allegiance to the English 'King', George V, whereas nowadays they just utter same to themselves, mentally (and morally).
ON THIS DATE (27TH AUGUST) 227 YEARS AGO : EVENTS LEAD TO THE INAUGURATION OF GENERAL JOHN MOORE AS THE 'PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF CONNACHT'.
"Playing the very Devil with the country...."
'On they rode, hearing a menace in every whisper of the wind, a cannonade in every rustling of the leaves.
Beside this, John Gilpin's famous pace sinks to the level of a peddler's jog, nor did Tam O'Shanter's Mag e'er display such mettle as their panting, sweating beasts, spurred on until the blood dripped from their flanks.
So great was their fright, indeed, that they never stopped for breath until they had reached the town of Tuam, forty miles away ; and even here they paused scarce long enough to eat, and then made on to Athlone. At this place an officer of carabineers, with sixty of his men, arrived on the afternoon of the 29th of September. These heroes had covered a distance of over seventy English miles in twenty-seven hours! No wonder the battle has been jocularly styled "the Races of Castlebar"!' (from here.)
Ten weeks after the United Irishmen had been crushed at Ballynahinch, Co. Down, and two months after the fall of the rebel camp at Vinegar Hill, near Enniscorthy in County Wexford, Humbert landed at Kilcummin strand, on Killala bay, with about 1,100 officers and men of the army of the French Republic.
Four days later, on Sunday, 26 August, having taken Killala and Ballina, Humbert led about 700 of his men, and about the same number of untrained Irish recruits, in an amazing all-night march down the almost trackless west shore of Lough Conn, arriving next morning - 27th August 1798 - in front of the startled British garrison of Castlebar. The force opposing Humbert numbered about 1,700......
As you can read via the links, above, this was a short-lived victory, physically, that is, but, morally and spiritually, it, and other 'failures' like it, gave future generations added incentive to continue the struggle.
Which, if nothing else, is one aspect of this campaign that we will always have until we no longer need it ie when we, or a future generation of the indigenous Irish, can bring this campaign to a just conclusion!
Thanks for the visit, and for reading - appreciated!
Sharon and the team.
(We'll be back on Wednesday, 10th September 2025.)
ON THIS DATE (22ND NOVEMBER) 100 YEARS AGO : DEATH OF AN IRA HUNGER-STRIKER.
Andrew Sullivan (aka Andy O'Sullivan, pictured), 5th Battalion, Cork 4th Brigade, was one of three IRA men to die on hunger-strike in 1923 - he was 41 years of age at the time (the other two men were Joe Witty, 19 years young, and Dennis Barry, 40 years of age ; Joe died on the 2nd September that year, and Dennis died on the 20th November).
'Captain Andrew Sullivan was born in Denbawn, County Cavan in 1882, the oldest of eight children born to Michael Sorahan and Mary Smith...he eventually became the agricultural inspector for the Mallow area, County Cork and held that position for many years.
During the War of Independence Sullivan was the Commanding Officer for Civil Administration in the North Cork area and later in the 1st Southern Cork division...a supporter of the anti-Treaty side during the Irish Civil War, he was arrested and interred on July 5, 1923. Between 1922 and 1923, hundreds of others in all parts of Ireland were arrested by the (*) British controlled Irish police force (*), without any charge, and were kept in the prisons and internment camps without trial...in the Autumn of 1923 the conditions in the prisons grew worse and the men and women were being treated as convicts rather than political prisoners. To protest their imprisonment and bring public attention to the cruelty they were receiving, the only 'tool' they felt they had at their disposal was a hunger strike...' (from here).
(*)- an accurate description, in our opinion, but the timeline would show that, 'officially', at least, the then existing 'police force' would be acting under instruction from the then 'new' Free State administration in Leinster House rather than 'officially' taking orders from Westminster.
However, as republicans know (and history has since attested to) that 'police force' was a proxy force for Westminster - as, indeed, was the Leinster House 'parliament' that established that 'police force' - so the description 'British controlled Irish police force' is, as we said, accurate.
Also, as regards the POW's being treated as convicts, one of the prisoners, Alfred McLoughlin, who was interned for a year without being told why, managed to get a letter published in 'The Irish Times' newspaper in which he wrote - "I slept on bare boards in the Curragh military prison for five nights..I was handcuffed night and day..I was threatened, with a gun, several times, that I would be shot..." -
"I am one of the Hare Park prisoners referred to. In spite of what General Mulcahy says, I slept on bare boards in the Curragh military prison for five nights – April 24-28. I got one blanket. I was handcuffed night and day (day behind, night in front). The handcuffs were not off for meals ; they were off one wrist for alleged dinner, excluding Thursday, April 26, when they were both off for dinner, but on that day I was hanging handcuffed by the wrists to a kit-rack about six inches from the floor, for four-and-a-half hours. I was threatened with a gun several times [that] I was to be shot..."
W.B. Yeats, 'Lord' Granard and Sir Bryan Mahon campaigned for proper treatment for the prisoners and, in April 1923, the 'International Committee of the Red Cross' carried out an 'investigation' into the conditions in the prisons, reporting (in keeping with those who had facilitated their visit ie the Staters) that "the prisoners were treated like prisoners of war". However, it later emerged that their report was flawed as not one prisoner was interviewed during their 'investigation'!
Anyway - in that particular year (1923), there were about 12,000 Irish republicans interned by the Free Staters and, as stated, above, those men and women "were being treated as convicts rather than political prisoners", and a decision was made, by both the POW's themselves and the leadership outside, to go on hunger strike and, on the 13th October 1923, Michael Kilroy (pictured, a respected republican, at the time) OC of the IRA POW's in Mountjoy Jail, announced that 300 republicans in that prison/internment camp (including ten men who had been elected to a 32-County Dáil Éireann) had voted to go on hunger strike (those 300 men were soon joined by 162 more of their comrades in that institution).
Within days, thousands more imprisoned republicans joined the protest - 70 in Cork Jail, 350 in Kilkenny Jail, 200 in Dundalk Jail, 711 in Gormanstown Prison Camp, 1,700 in Newbridge, 123 in 'Tintown', 3,390 in the Curragh Camp, 100 in Harepark Camp and 50 women in the North Dublin Union prison (good condensed background piece here about that period in our history).
While on hunger strike, Andrew wrote to his brother Michael on the 7th November, 1923 - the 25th day of the protest ; "Dearest Br. Miceal,
Thanks ever so much. I really can't find words to explain adequately my gratitude for your prompt response to my appeal for some cash. I have been very hard up for many things especially smokes and of course I would not ask anyone - besides, I could never bring myself to beg. I am much cheered by the news that Cork is now with us in the fight. I always expected that and should it be a fight to a finish I shall die happy in the thought that my bones will moulder in its confines.
I asked you for to arrange that I should be buried by my old chief's side in Fermoy. My heart is so set on the freedom (of my people) that my spare moments are always devoted to devising ways and means to expedite that Glorious Dawn.
With that object in view I have decided that if Mallow Republicans provide a Republican Plot in the new Cemetery near the Railway...I shall order my interment there instead of at Fermoy, as the latter place has enough in L. Lynch's and Fitz Gerald's graves to keep aflame the burning torch of Freedom.
Matter wants something in its midst to counter the awful shoneenism that permeates its walls and I came to the conclusion that if I can no longer alive take the same active part in the battle I may at least in my mouldering grave do still some little to help those who come after me with that object in view.
I ordered that nothing should be inscribed besides my name etc by way of epitaph. Over my remains but the simple motto of my late life work...when the Republic so estated functioning and duly recognised then, but not till then, let men dare to eulogise my name in cold press over my grave.
Then too will Lynch's and Emmet's blazon forth. This is rather gruesome but one so often thinks of the apparent inevitable in this struggle that it becomes quite secondary, thoughts of the spiritual world.
In the latter line I am quite at peace, prepared and content. There will be no swerving from the straight rugged path to the goal. I set the motto for the strike, 'Freedom or Death'. I am Prison Adjutant now and by long ways the strongest man on the strike even though judging by the looseness of my clothes I must have dropped at least 3 stone weight. There are 124 of us on strike now.
A large number were shifted to the various camps and many of the leaders were taken from here to Kilmainham. It is all alike to us, we carry on. Of course some weak ones have given in. About 60 out of the total here have gone off and taken food on a promise of release. Immediately they were strong enough in hospital they were thrown back into C wing just as they were before the strike and told they could not be released until a big batch was ready.
Fr. James McCabe came up when they heard of my being on Hunger Strike and with his friend went to G.H.L and found they have me held on suspicion only but have no evidence and would release me if I went off strike and signed the usual form. Of course Fr. James asked me to do this and I sent him out the definite reply "NEVER!" At the same time my profuse thanks for his trouble in my behalf. Well, I must close this long winded letter. Remember the change, Mallow instead of Fermoy, in case I do. Undying Love,
Your Aff Br. Andy."
Finally - from 'The Scotsman' newspaper, 26th November 1923 (page 10) - 'Death of Irish Hunger-Striker : At the inquest on Saturday on Andrew Sullivan, a hunger-striker, who after removal from Mountjoy Prison, Dublin, died on Friday afternoon in a military hospital, a doctor stated that Sullivan went on hunger-strike on October 14, and about a week ago he lost his sight. The jury found that death was due to pneumonia.' We mention that because the Friday in question would have been the 23rd November, 1923 and, on researching the inconsistency, we found the following :
'Many of the newspapers of the time reported Captain Andrew O'Sullivan died on November 22, 1923. That may have been the date he was removed from Mountjoy Prison and brought to St. Bricin's Military Hospital where he was pronounced dead on November 23, 1923...he died on 23 November 1923 at St. Bricin Military Hospital, Dublin City, County Dublin, Ireland, at age 41.5...the information on the death record was provided by Louis A. Burns, coroner for the City of Dublin. Inquest held 24 November 1923...(and) at the inquest on Saturday on Andrew Sullivan, a hunger-striker, who after removal from Mountjoy Prison, Dublin, died on Friday afternoon in a military hospital, a doctor stated that Sullivan went on hunger-strike on October 14, and about a week ago he lost his sight...' (from here).
However, the majority opinion is that the man died on the 22nd November 1923, and we, ourselves, believe that to be the correct date. IRA Captain Andy O' Sullivan, from Cork, died after 40 days on hunger-strike, on the 22nd November 1923, at 41 years of age, 100 years ago on this date.
'AMERICAN NOTES'
From 'The United Irishman' newspaper, April 1955.
Republican Aid Committee : Support for the dependents of the men (sic) in jail is growing steadily among the New York Irish.
The 'Irish Republican Prisoners Aids Fund' has been active here for more than 18 months but, since the sentencing of the eight young IRA men in connection with the Omagh raid, funds have rolled in much faster and steadier.
Also, attendance at affairs held to aid the prisoners has jumped enormously.
The Chairman (sic) of the 'Irish Republican Prisoners Aids Fund' of New York is Liam Cotter (pictured), a Kerry man, the Treasurer is Dr. Frank Monahan, from Cavan, and the Secretary is Chris McLoughlin, from Belfast.
New monthly dances and other social gatherings are held throughout New York, and other Irish clubs, organisations and county groupings have promised support. Some will hold functions, others will make cash contributions to the Central Committee in Dublin through the New York Committee...
(MORE LATER.)
IRELAND ON THE COUCH...
A Psychiatrist Writes.
'Magill' commissioned Professor Patricia Casey to compile an assessment of Irish society at what may emerge as the end of a period of unprecedented growth and change.
This is her report.
From 'Magill Magazine' Annual, 2002.
Whatever the explanation - indifference or scepticism - opting out of this fundamental right has significant consequences.
It is said that counselling is the new religion, replacing the priest, but information from several sources shows clearly that formal religion is not dead but is doing well, in spite of a number of significant problems.
The event of the year, the tour of the relics of Saint Therese, demonstrated the need that the Irish have for traditional forms of worship.
During the ten-week tour, over two million people filed past the casket and huge numbers went to confession again, with predictions that there would be a subsequent revitalisation of the sacrament.
That this could happen in post-Catholic Ireland, as one politician famously dubbed it, astounded us all. There has also been a reported increase in pilgrimages such as those to Lough Derg in recent years...
(MORE LATER.)
BEIR BUA...
The Thread of the Irish Republican Movement from The United Irishmen through to today.
Republicanism in history and today.
Published by the James Connolly/Tommy O'Neill Cumann, Republican Sinn Féin, The Liberties, Dublin.
August 1998.
('1169' comment - 'Beir Bua' translates as 'Grasp Victory' in the English language.)
Republican Sinn Féin, likewise, follows in the traditions of Tone, Emmet, the Fenians and Pearse.
We accept the programme of previous generations of republicans - 'Ireland Free'. No compromising 'interim settlement' is acceptable.
"The task we take up again is just Emmet's task of silent unattractive work, the routine of correspondence and committees and organising. We must face it as bravely and as quietly as he faced it, working on in patience as he worked on, hoping as he hoped, cherishing in our secret hearts the mighty hope that to us, though so unworthy, it may be given to bring to accomplishment the thing he left unaccomplished, but working on even when that hope dies within us..." - Padraig Pearse.
The Union Creed Of The United Irishmen :
"I believe in the Irish Union, in the supreme majesty of the people, in the equality of man* (sic), in the lawfulness of insurrection, and of resistance to oppression.
I believe in a revolution founded on the rights of man*, in the natural and imprescriptable right of all the Irish citizens to all the land. I believe the soil, or any part of it, cannot be transferred without the consent of the people, or their representatives, convened and authorised by the votes of every man* having arrived at the age of 21 years..."
(MORE LATER.)
1919 :
A pro-British newspaper in Dublin, 'The Irish Times', carried a report on the 22nd November, 1919, that a Mr Alan Bell had been appointed as a 'Resident Magistrate' by Mr John French, who was the '1st Earl of Ypres' and the British 'Lord Lieutenant of Ireland' (a position he resigned from on the 30th April 1921).
Mr Bell had come to the attention of the IRA before, as he had 'made a name' for himself as an RIC member who was particularly robust (!) in his treatment of Irish republicans.
He kept that demeanour about him in his new position, which gave him even more scope and opportunities to practice his 'robustness' (!) and, determined to further 'prove himself' to his new bosses, he organised the tracking-down and seizure of £71,000 belonging to the Movement.
Michael Collins, the then IRA Director of Intelligence, had instructed his men to observe Mr Bell's routine, and a plan to execute him was drawn-up ;
on March 26th, 1920, Collins ordered that the plan be acted on and, on that morning, Mr Bell was joined on the packed tram at Dalkey Station by three armed IRA men.
As the tram arrived at the corner of Simmonscourt Square at Merrion Road to take on and let-off passengers, another IRA man held it there ; the three IRA men on board rose from their seats and told Mr Bell to step off the tram with them - he refused and repeatedly called on the other passengers to help him.
Only one of the passengers on the packed tram attempted to help him, but he was quickly convinced to stay out of it. Mr Bell was then dragged off the tram by the three IRA men and, when they stepped onto the road, they were met by three other armed IRA men - the six Volunteers pushed Alan Bell across the road where he was shot three times in the head and died instantly. Mr Bell carried a pocket revolver for protection but never got the chance to use it.
The Dail Eireann National Loan recorded £357,000 in its account at the end of 1920, meaning that Dublin Castle had to continue to use its own money to pay its lackies in Ireland to do its bidding.
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1920 :
The Secretary of the Newbridge (County Kildare) branch of the ITGWU, Michael Smyth, was on his way to a Council meeting on the afternoon of Monday, 22nd November, 1920, when he was 'arrested' in Naas by the British 'police force' in Ireland, the RIC.
His republican leanings, which he had at the time - he was later to become a 'Senator' in the Free State administration - had previously brought him to the attention of the British junta in Ireland and he had been 'taken into custody' by the Black and Tans in early July that year and was badly beaten up by them, before being deposited in their barracks in Newbridge, Kildare, and held there for about a week.
He was then imprisoned in the Curragh and, later, Mountjoy Jail in Dublin.
Two men of his acquaintance, Thomas Patterson and Tom Harris, were also 'arrested' that same day, and imprisoned in the Curragh.
When he knew that Michael Smyth was in 'custody', the RIC 'County Inspector' for the Kildare area, a Mr Kerry Supple (whose house on the Sallins Road in Naas had been attacked by the IRA less that a year previously) assembled a raiding party and bustled their way into the Kildare County Council building and went to the room where the meeting was taking place.
They looted the office until they found the Minute Book, documents book and any correspondence to and from Dáil Éireann and removed those items from the premises. That material would have been delived by those 'Irishmen' to their British paymasters in Dublin.
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1920 :
'On the morning of 21 November 1920, Dublin IRA shooting teams simultaneously struck 14 separate premises housing 22 suspected British agents. The scale of the audacious operation was unprecedented, as scores of IRA gunmen shot dead 15 men (12 of whom were pre-targeted), many while still in their beds in fashionable areas of South Dublin...' (From here.)
(14 British intelligence officers were assassinated and, seeking revenge, their comrades drove into Croke Park, in Dublin, that afternoon, and opened
fire on the crowd, killing 14 civilians and wounding 65. 'The Freeman's Journal' newspaper described the Croke Park massacre as 'Amritzar Repeated in Dublin'.)
The following day, the 22nd November - 103 years ago on this date - the British administration in Ireland announced that they were extending their existing 'curfew' (martial law) to now operate from 10pm to 5am (instead of 12 Midnight to 5am), and they ordered their troops to arrest and intern "all known officers" of the IRA.
Within a few days, more than 500 men had been 'arrested' and imprisoned by the British, but the republican campaign continued.
(Incidentally, when British PM David Lloyd George was informed on the 22nd that his agents had been killed in Dublin and told of the manner by which they died, he is said to have turned to Patrick Moylett and callously commented "They got what they deserved. Beaten by counter-jumpers...")
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1920 :
"When we had been in position for some time, there was no sign of any activity, but suddenly someone dashed past the end of Mill Lane, at the same time firing a shot. We rushed onto the Main Street at the junction with Mill Lane and opened fire on two Black and Tans who were running up the street towards their barracks. The enemy party escaped, but when we returned to Mill Lane, we found that Paddy McCarthy had been shot dead by the single shot..." - IRA Volunteer William Reardon.
On the 22nd November 1920, IRA Volunteers from the Millstreet Battalion and the column of the Cork No. 2 Brigade IRA attacked British forces who had been terrorising the population of Millstreet, County Cork.
IRA Captain Patrick McCarthy, Newmarket Battalion, Cork No. 2 Brigade, was killed while taking part in that attack on the RIC/Tans, at Upper Mill Lane in Millstreet.
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1920 :
Edward (Edmund/Eddie) Carmody was born in Moyvane, in County Kerry and, at a young age, he moved to Ballylongford, on the North Coast of that county, and got work work on a farm.
When of an age to do so, he joined the IRA (8th Battalion [Ballylongford], Kerry No. 1 Brigade), served his time and worked his way into the position of Quarter Master and then settled into the rank of Lieutenant.
On the 22nd November, 1920, as he was on his way to inspect an arms dump outside Ballylongford, he was surrounded by a gang of Black and Tan members who shot at him. He sustained several wounds but continued to try and escape from them by lying low. It was said that the trail of blood in his wake gave his whereabouts away, and the Tans dragged him onto a road where they proceeded to kick and punch him, slammed their rifle butts into his bloody body, stood him up against a wall and fired more shots into him.
He was then stabbed with bayonets and shot in the face several times.
His lifeless body was then thrown onto a cart and he was paraded through Ballylongford by the Tans and left outside a turf shed inside the barracks yard, from where his father collected his remains the following day.
Another martyr for old Ireland, another murder for the Crown...
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1920 :
'WAR IRELAND – GERMANY - ENGLAND.
War is imminent between England and Germany. England's cowardly and degenerate population won't make soldiers. Not so the Germans. They are trained and ready.
What will England do? She will recruit Irishmen to fight Germany for her. She will then, when finished with them, fling them back to the workhouses of Ireland reeking with foul filthy diseases."
- a leaflet distributed in 1913 by Irish republicans and which was handed out by IRB member Art O'Donnell (pictured) in his village of Tullycrine, Kilrush, County Clare where, in 1890, he was born, one of fifteen children.
When the IRB split months later, Art remained true to his republican beliefs and assisted in re-organising the rebels in the townland of Kildysart, in County Clare, alongside
Sean McNamara, Martin Griffin and Frank McMahon, which they did, and those men armed themselves, trained and drilled, in preparation for 'England's difficulty...'
He was the 'Officer Commanding' of the West Clare Brigade IRA when he 'arrested' by the British in Ennis, County Clare, on the 22nd November, 1920, and detained in Ennis Barracks, before being taken to Limerick Prison and, from there, he was moved to Cork Jail.
He 'rested' in Cork Jail for a while before being put on a boat, with other IRA POW's, and they were delivered to Ballykinlar Camp, just outside Belfast but, thanks to his efforts, the rebel army in his district still functioned, under the command of Jack Coghlan and Commandant Willie Shannon.
He was released under the terms of the December 1921 'Treaty of Surrender'.
Art O'Donnell : the Quiet Idealist.
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1920 :
Éamonn Ó Modhráin (pictured, 'Prisoner A 3/56' in Mountjoy and 'Number 290' in Frongoch Internment Camp in Wales) had a passing interest in Irish history but expanded that interest, in the early 1900's, on hearing representatives of the 'Irish National League' ('Conradh na Gaeilge') speaking in his area, Kildare.
He involved himself in their cultural activities and was soon after to be elected as a 'Branch Secretary' for the organisation, and worked his way up to eventually being elected as its 'Chairperson'.
He maintained his interest in Irish culture, sport and language and also developed an interest in, and support for, Irish republicanism and, in 1914,
he joined the Athgarvan Company of the Irish Volunteers, which brought him further into the 'Person of Interest'-category of British forces.
He was 'arrested' by the British on the 22nd November 1920, as were hundreds of other republicans, in the aftermath of 'Bloody Sunday', was court-martialled and sentenced to sixteen months imprisonment in Mountjoy Jail, in Dublin, for "possession of seditious literature".
He was released under the terms of the 'Treaty of Surrender' in December, 1921.
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1920 :
John Jack 'Rover' McCann was born in Loughshinny, a small village between Skerries and Rush, in County Dublin, in 1886.
He joined the Movement at 28 years of age and was 30 when he took part in 'the Battle of Ashbourne' in April 1916 and, following the Easter Rising, he was captured by British forces and taken to Swords, County Dublin, and from there to Richmond Barracks, in Inchicore, Dublin, where his comrades were being held.
The republican POW's were then transported to Knutsford Jail in the county of Cheshire, in the North West of England, and from there to Frongoch internment camp in Merionethshire, Wales. The 'Rover' and his comrades were released in December 1916 in a 'Christmas Amnesty', and he returned home, still cherishing his republican beliefs.
In the early hours of the 22nd November, 1920, the Black and Tans called to his home, forced him into a nearby field and shot him dead.
RIP.
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1920 :
An RIC patrol was ambushed outside Ardara, in County Donegal, on the 22nd November 1920, resulting in the wounding of four RIC members, two of whom were seriously injured.
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1920 :
On the 22nd November, 1920, British Army Brigadier General Frank Percy Crozier arrived in Galway on foot of complaints lodged against 'D Company Auxiliaries' and he sacked the drunken Commander of that particular militia (on the 30th, a Lieutenant FHW Guard, formerly of the 'Royal Scots Regiment' and a former officer of the 'Gold Coast Volunteer Corps', took over the position).
While he was in Galway, he 'investigated' the murder of Father Griffin but it was only in May 1921 - after he had resigned his post - that he admitted that his men, the Auxies, were in fact responsible for the death of the priest.
His vehicle was involved in a serious crash on the 23rd, as he was travelling back to Dublin, having sacked the militia Commander, inquired (!) into the death of Father Griffin and inspecting 'G Company Auxiliaries' in Killaloe, in County Clare ; he ended up in the Curragh Hospital for about a month and was then transfered to a convalescent home in Dublin.
FP Crozier was born in 1879 in Warwick Camp, a British Army base in Bermuda and, at 33 years of age, he 'went home to the Mainland' and joined 'The British League for the Support of Ulster and the Union' and was put in charge of the UVF. He was an RIC member ('Service Number 72229') and worked his way through the paramilitary/militia system to the command position in the 'Auxiliary Division RIC'. He was a 'Company Man', in other words.
He was aware of the lawlessness that permeated the 'Auxies' (and, indeed, the whole British military and political system in Ireland) but, until it got so completely widespread, had weakly dismissed such debauchery as 'the workings of a malign influence, an inner crew, a shadowy group of officials, politicians and others..'
On one occasion, when his hand was forced and he had to summarily dismiss about two dozen serving men, a Lieutenant-General, a 'Sir' Henry Hugh Tudor ('KCB', 'CMG' etc) reinstated them 'pending a full inquiry' ; Mr Crozier let it be known that that was done out of fear that any of the dismissed men would talk to the press about their 'extracurricular' activities!
And the poor man was getting it tough at home, as well - in October, 1920, his wife called personally at the British War Office and stated that her husband had left her entirely destitute and that it would be necessary for her to go into the workhouse that night, and she wanted to know his whereabouts with a view to commencing civil proceedings...
No doubt caught between a rock and a hard place, he resigned from the 'British Defence Forces' in 1921, and resigned from this Earth on the 31st August 1937.
Here's hoping he eventually got some peace...!
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1920 :
On the 22nd November, 1920, sixteen-year-old Michael O'Reilly was crossing Capel Street, in Dublin City Centre, when he was shot dead.
It transpired that a British soldier, a Private Hampton, of the Wiltshire Regiment, had 'negligently discharged' his weapon, killing the youth in the process...
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1920 :
On the 22nd November, 1920, RIC members were travelling in a Crossley Tender truck through Dromoland, in the county of Clare, when the vehicle was involved in an accident.
The RIC driver, Edward Roper (25), from Hampshire, in England, who also wore the Black and Tan uniform when not attired as an RIC member, died, after his vehicle smashed into the gate leading into Dromoland Castle, and two of his comrades - Michael Fleming (31), from County Laois, also a Tan, and an ex-Sergeant Major in the British Army 'Irish Guards Regiment' and their comrade Patrick Driscoll (31), from Ballydehob, in Cork, who had joined the RIC nine years previously - died with him.
We have no idea how badly damaged the truck was.
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1921 :
On the 22nd November, 1921, responsibility for 'security, law and order and the administration of justice' (!) was transferred from Westminster to its spawn administration in Ireland, the Stormont regime in Belfast.
A few weeks before that, a new pro-British paramilitary group – the 'Ulster Imperial Guards' – had been formed, which was made up mainly of ex-British Army soldiers and ex-UVF gang members, and James Craig used their presence to pressure Dawson Bates into giving the 'Ulster Special Constabulary' more powers to crack down on Irish people.
Which he did.
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118ú ARD FHEIS 2023.
We'll be extra busy on the last weekend in November 2023, as we have an 'appointment' in Dublin City Centre with our political comrades.
The 118th Ard Fheis of the Republican Movement is being held in a Dublin venue and myself and the two lads have each acquired a 'Visitors Pass' for the day, and we'll be doing some work for same in the days before the event, and in the days after it.
There are 53 motions to be discussed, ranging in topic from 'Political Policy', 'Prisoners' and 'Elections' to 'Organisation and Activities' and 'Publicity and Culture' and more, so it's gonna be a busy five or six days for us, but we're looking forward to meeting our comrades and colleagues, from home and abroad!
We won't be here on Wednesday 29th November 2023, but we will be back with our usual offerings on the following Wednesday, 6th December 2023. And I'll still be on 'X' and Facebook, 'cause yer not gettin' rid of me that easy...!
Thanks for the visit, and for reading ; we'll be back on Wednesday, 6th December 2023.
Sharon and the team.
