FROM 1920 - "HE WAS STABBED WITH BRITISH BAYONETS AND SHOT IN THE FACE SEVERAL TIMES..."

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.

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FREE STATERS BEHAVING LIKE "MURDERING GREEN BLACK AND TANS".

ON THIS DATE (29TH APRIL) 104 YEARS AGO : REPUBLICAN 'SURRENDER ORDER' AND FR. ALOYSIUS.

On Saturday, 29th April, 1916 - 104 years ago on this date - Pádraig Pearse issued the 'Surrender Order' on behalf of the Irish republican forces who were taken part in the (Easter) Rising in Ireland against the forces of the Crown -

"In order to prevent the further slaughter of Dublin citizens, and in the hope of saving the lives of our followers now surrounded and hopelessly outnumbered, the members of the Provisional Government present at Headquarters have agreed to an unconditional surrender, and the Commandants of the various districts in the City and Country will order their commands to lay down arms.

P. H. PEARSE.

29th April, 3.45 p.m., 1916."

Approximately 64 rebels, 132 crown force members and 230 civilians had been killed. About 2,500 people had been wounded, and the centre of Dublin was devastated by the British shelling.

Sometimes overlooked and/or deliberately played-down is the role that the Capuchin Friars took on during the 1916 Rising, including that of their input regarding the 'Surrender Order' -

'..the Capuchin Friars were heavily involved with the surrender - after the initial surrender had taken place between General Lowe, Patrick Pearse with Nurse Elizabeth O'Farrell as the 'runner' (and) in all the discussion between the British Forces and the Irish Military Army. They ably assisted Nurse Elizabeth O’Farrell [Cumann na mBan] with the task of delivering the surrender order to the other leaders all around the outskirts of Dublin in their strategic positions i.e Eamonn Ceant, Thomas MacDonagh , Dev Valera et.al. Of course General Lowe, not wanting to take any chances that these surrender orders would not be safely delivered..ordered two of his officers to accompany them. They then went to Dublin Castel to deliver the surrender message..' (from here.)

'While many clerics have supported the armed struggle of the IRA since 1916, the Capuchin Friars have been particularly noted for their republicanism. One such Capuchin was Fr Aloysius Roche, the son of an Irish father and English mother, born in Scotland in 1886. He studied for the priesthood and, following his ordination, he was transferred to Dublin where he was attached to the Capuchin Order in Church Street.

During Easter Week 1916, Fr Aloysius along with Frs Albert, Augustine and Dominic brought spiritual aid to the Volunteers in the numerous garrisons and outposts throughout Dublin. Following Pádraig Pearse’s surrender on Saturday, 29 April 1916, Fr Aloysius spent the next day carrying the surrender order to the main garrisons on the south side of the city. In the early hours of the morning of 3rd May, Fr Aloysius administered the last sacraments to Pearse, MacDonagh and Thomas Clarke, the first three leaders of the Rising to be executed.

On 7th May, he met John Dillon, a leading member of the Irish Parliamentary Party, who agreed to do all in his power to persuade the British government to stop the executions. And it was largely due to his efforts that Dillon, five days later, during a debate on the rising in the House of Commons, launched a blistering attack on the British government’s handling of the situation in Ireland. Earlier that day, Fr Aloysius accompanied James Connolly by ambulance from Dublin Castle to Kilmainham Gaol for execution and stood behind the firing squad as they fired the final volley. During the Tan and Civil Wars he was an enthusiastic and practical supporter of the national struggle and continued his republican allegiance throughout the following decades...' (from here.)

Incidentally, the 'Fr Dominic' mentioned, above, was Fr Dominic O'Connor (Order of Friars Minor Capuchin, pictured, being led away by Free Staters from 'the battle of the Four Courts', in 1922) - it is recorded that the then 'President of the Executive Council of the Irish Free State' [aka 'Taoiseach'], WT Cosgrave, did not agree with the political outlook voiced by the Capuchins and he wrote to the Archbishop, Edward J Byrne, to voice his objections and, in one such letter, actually accused Fr Dominic of "treasonous acts"!

Fr Dominic was, at the time, the chaplain to the local IRA Cork Brigade, and is on record for a reply he gave to the church hierarchy in relation to their anti-republican/pro-British sermons : "Kidnapping, ambushing, and killing obviously would be grave sins or violation of Canon Law. And if these acts were being performed by the Irish Volunteers as private persons, they would fall under excommunication. But they are doing them with the authority of the Republic of Ireland. Hence the acts performed by the Volunteers are not only not sinful, but are good and meritorious..therefore the excommunication does not affect us. There is no need to worry about it. There is no necessity for telling a priest in confession that you went to Mass on Sunday, so there is no necessity to tell him one is in the IRA, or that one took part in an ambush or killing etc".

In another letter of complaint he sent, Cosgrave referred to a different priest, a Fr John Costello, and complained to the Archbishop that that priest had made it his business to approach Free State troops, in 1922, and called on them to lay down their arms ; when they declined to do so, he would call them "murdering green Black and Tans"! As 'Lord Cosgrave' probably said, in private - "It rings in my ears as kind of what miserable drones and traitors have I nourished and brought up in my household, who let their lord and president be treated with such shameful contempt by a low-born cleric? Will no one rid me of this meddlesome priest?" (!)

Sometimes one has to be 'meddlesome' in order to be honourable.





'DISRUPTION TACTICS FAIL', 'NATIONAL UNITY' AND 'DEMOCRACY!'.

From 'The United Irishman' newspaper, June, 1955.

Disruption Tactics Fail ;

The Unionist threat to unseat prisoner candidates if elected backfired. Instead of disrupting the Sinn Féin campaign it put northern republicans on their mettle. English law in Ireland has always had but one purpose - to legalise the dispossession of the Irish, in rights and in property. Our forefathers fought against it and we today proudly follow in their footsteps.

National Unity ;

The main plank of the Sinn Féin election platform was that there can be no political or economic development in Ireland while the country is divided. Not only must the border be removed and the physical unity of the country as a political and economic entity be restored, but the whole people must unite with the common purpose of developing Ireland's material resources for the welfare of all its citizens.

Democracy! ;

The English electoral laws and divisions as applied to Ireland produce a fine example of 'democracy' - 450,000 votes elect ten unionists, 152,000 votes elect two separatists ; 45,000 votes to elect one unionist but 76,000 votes to elect one separatist!

(END of 'Disruption Tactics Fail', 'National Unity' and 'Democracy!'. NEXT - 'Sinn Féin Post-Election Statement', from the same source.)





ON THIS DATE (29TH APRIL) 421 YEARS AGO : DEVIL CHRISTENED ON EARTH.

"The term 'slavery' is rarely associated with the white race, although during the 1600's this was the most significant portion of the market. More specifically, the Irish were targeted the most and the fact that the population of Ireland fell by 850,000 in the space of one decade highlights just how brutal things were...he (Oliver Cromwell, pictured) was one of the main reasons why the situation got to this point. His fanatical anti-Catholic views meant that any action he took over the Irish was brutal to say the least and as well as utilising the conquest of Ireland for religious and political means, he was bidding to cleanse the country of Catholics. In achieving this, selling the Irish off as slaves was one of his biggest weapons, but he also made sure life was as difficult as possible for those that did stay by burning off their crops, removing them from their land.." (from here.)

Pictured - some of Oliver Cromwell's Irish victims, sold as slaves and 'sex workers' to the highest bidder.

On the 29th April, 1599 - 421 years ago on this date - a baby boy, Oliver Cromwell, who had been born on the 25th April, was christened in Saint John the Baptist church in Huntingdon, England. Decades later, when someone was trawling through the birth records for that period, they came across an unofficial addendum to that particular entry : it read - "England's plague for five years..."

Cromwell should need no introduction to readers of this blog, but some readers may not be aware of the significance of a particular date - the 3rd September - in relation to the time he wreaked havoc on this Earth. That creature died on that date in 1658, and it was also on that same date, in 1649, that he began his nine-day siege of Drogheda after which thousands of its inhabitants were butchered (..but they deserved it, according to the man himself - "This is a righteous judgement of God upon these barbarous wretches, who have imbrued their hands in so much innocent blood.."). The infamous 'Death March', which he forced on his enemy after the battle of Dunbar, took place on the 3rd September (in 1650) and, one year later on that same date - the 3rd September, 1651 - he wallowed in more blood and guts, this time in his own country, at the battle of Worcester. And, somewhere in between wrecking havoc and stealing and selling Irish children, he found the time (on the 27th September in 1649) to write to his political bosses in London :

'FOR THE HONOURABLE WILLIAM LENTHALL, ESQUIRE, SPEAKER OF THE PARLIAMENT OF ENGLAND :

Dublin, 27th September 1649.

Mr. Speaker - I had not received any account from Colonel Venables - whom I sent from Tredah to endeavour the reducing of Carlingford, and so to march Northward towards a conjunction with Sir Charles Coote - until the last night. After he came to Carlingford, having summoned the place, both the three Castles and the Fort commanding the Harbour were rendered to him. Wherein were about Forty Barrels of Powder, Seven Pieces of Cannon ; about a Thousand Muskets, and Five-hundred Pikes wanting twenty. In the entrance into the Harbour, Captain Fern, aboard your man-of-war, had some danger ; being much shot at from the Sea Fort, a bullet shooting through his main-mast. The Captain's entrance into that Harbour was a considerable adventure, and a good service ; as also was that of Captain Brandly, who, with Forty seamen, stormed a very strong Tenalia at Tredah, and helped to take it ; for which he deserves an owning by you.

Venables marched from Carlingford, with a party of Horse and Dragoons, to the Newry ; leaving the place, and it was yielded before his Foot came up to him. Some other informations I have received form him, which promise well towards your Northern Interest ; which, if well prosecuted, will, I trust God, render you a good account of those parts. I have sent those things to be presented to the Council of State for their consideration. I pray God, as these mercies flow in upon you, He will give you an heart to improve them to His glory alone ; because He alone is the author of them, and of all the goodness, patience and long-suffering extending towards you. Your army has marched ; and, I believe, this night lieth at Arklow, in the County of Wicklow, by the Sea-side, between thirty and forty miles from this place. I am this day, by God's blessing, going towards it.

I crave your pardon for this trouble; and rest, your most humble servant, OLIVER CROMWELL.

P.S. I desire the Supplies moved for may be hastened. I am verily persuaded, though the burden be great, yet it is for your service. If the Garrisons we take swallow-up your men, how shall we be able to keep the field? Who knows but the Lord may pity England's sufferings, and make a short work of this? It is in His hand to do it, and therein only your servants rejoice. I humbly present the condition of Captain George Jenkin's Widow. He died presently after Tredah Storm. His Widow is in great want.

The following Officers and Soldiers were slain at the storming of Tredah: Sir Arthur Ashton, Governor; Sir Edmund Varney, Lieutenant-Colonel to Ormond’s Regiment; Colonel Fleming, Lieutenant-Colonel Finglass, Major Fitzgerald, with eight Captains, eight Lieutenants, and eight Cornets, all of Horse; Colonels Warren, Wall, and Byrn, of Foot, with their Lieutenants, Majors, etc; the Lord Taaff’s Brother, an Augustine Friar; forty-four Captains, and all their Lieutenants, Ensigns, etc; 220 Reformadoes and Troopers; 2,500 Foot-soldiers, besides the Staff-Officers, Surgeons, etc.'

A Butcher of even his own forces. But he was appreciated in some circles...





FIT TO PRACTISE...?

As social work in Ireland reaches a landmark, Phil MacGiolla Bháin argues that the profession is flawed beyond salvation.

From 'Magill' magazine, July 2002.

The internal ideological dynamics of social work pass the ordinary person by as they go about their lives. They are unaware of the existence of the rather strange worldview that governs family life until they have the misfortune to come into contact with these agents of the local State. Then, their family becomes 'a referral' and finds itself inducted into an industrial system for 'the Protection of Children'. The family moves out of the constitution as a revered basic unit of Irish society into a post-feminist landscape where misandry and expediency rules.

Enforcing the educational advantages that the middle class in any society have over working-class people, social workers 'invite' frightened, disorientated parents to "case conferences" where they explain in opaque terms about the "treatment plan" for the family. I once witnessed the chairperson of a 'case conference' telling a working-class couple who just wanted their kids back that they were not to worry because the chairperson's specialised training was "Jungian"! Had this not being so serious, it could have been part of a Monty Python script.

That this self-righteous matron could think that this bit of information was 1) intelligible and 2) reassuring to a couple whose kids were in health board care under - to say the very least - dubious circumstances, is a classic example of the middle-class professional mindset infecting this entire area of endeavour... (MORE LATER.)





ON THIS DATE (29TH APRIL) 104 YEARS AGO - THOMAS PATRICK ASHE / BATTLE OF ASHBOURNE.

Thomas Patrick Ashe, pictured, was born in Lispole, in County Kerry, on the 12th of January, 1885, the seventh of ten siblings. He was active in Irish republicanism, trade unionism and cultural circles, and commanded the 5th Battalion of the Dublin Brigade which won the Battle of Ashbourne on the 29th of April 1916 (a battle which lasted for over five hours), 104 years ago on this date. He qualified as a teacher in 1905 at De La Salle College, Waterford and after teaching briefly in Kinnard, County Kerry, in 1906 he became principal of Corduff National School in Lusk, County Dublin. He was a fluent Irish speaker and a member of the Keating branch of the Gaelic League and was an accomplished sportsman and musician setting up the Round Towers GAA Club as well as helping to establish the Lusk Pipe Band. He was also a talented singer and poet who was committed to Conradh na Gaeilge.

The funeral procession in Dublin, 30th September 1917 (pictured) for Thomas Ashe, an IRB leader who died on the 25th September that year, after being force fed by his British jailers - he was the first Irish republican to die as a result of a hunger-strike and, between that year and 1981, twenty-one other Irish republicans died on hunger-strike. The jury at the inquest into his death found "..that the deceased, Thomas Ashe, according to the medical evidence of Professor McWeeney, Sir Arthur Chance, and Sir Thomas Myles, died from heart failure and congestion of the lungs on the 25th September, 1917 and that his death was caused by the punishment of taking away from the cell bed, bedding and boots and allowing him to be on the cold floor for 50 hours, and then subjecting him to forcible feeding in his weak condition after hunger-striking for five or six days.."

Michael Collins organised the funeral and transformed it into a national demonstration against British misrule in Ireland ; armed Irish Republican Brotherhood Volunteers in full uniform flanked the coffin, followed by 9,000 other IRB Volunteers and approximately 30,000 people lined the streets. A volley of shots was fired over Ashe's grave, following which Michael Collins stated - "Nothing more remains to be said. That volley which we have just heard is the only speech which it is proper to make over the grave of a dead Fenian."

The London-based 'Daily Express' newspaper perhaps summed it up best when it stated, re the funeral of Thomas Ashe, that what had happened had made '100,000 Sinn Féiners out of 100,000 constitutional nationalists.' The level of support shown gave a boost to Irish republicans, and this was noted by the 'establishment' in Westminster - 'The Daily Mail' newspaper claimed that, a month earlier, Sinn Féin, despite its electoral successes, had been a waning force. That newspaper said - '..It had no practical programme, for the programme of going further than anyone else cannot be so described. It was not making headway. But Sinn Féin today is pretty nearly another name for the vast bulk of youth in Ireland..'

Politically, he was a member of the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB) and established IRB circles in Dublin and Kerry and eventually became President of the Supreme Council in 1917. While he was actively and intellectually nationalist he was also inspired by contemporary socialism. Ashe rejected conservative Home Rule politicians and as part of that rejection he 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". He 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 infamous lockout in 1913 he was a frequent visitor to Liberty Hall and become 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". In 1914, he travelled to the United States where he raised a substantial sum of money for both the Gaelic League and the newly formed Irish Volunteers of which he was an early member.

Ashe founded the Volunteers in Lusk and established a firm foundation of practical and theoretical military training. He provided charismatic leadership first as Adjutant and then as O/C (Officer Commanding) the 5th Battalion of the Dublin Brigade. He inspired fierce loyalty and encouraged personal initiative in his junior officers and was therefore able to confidently delegate command to Charlie Weston, Joseph Lawless, Edward Rooney and others during the Rising. Most significantly, he took advantage of the arrival of Richard Mulcahy at Finglas Glen on the Tuesday of the Rising and appointed him second in command. The two men knew one another through the IRB and Gaelic League and he recognized Mulcahy’s tactical abilities. As a result he allowed himself to be persuaded by Mulcahy not to withdraw following the unexpected arrival of the motorised force at the Rath crossroads. At Ashbourne on the 28th of April Ashe also demonstrated great personal courage, during a battle which lasted over five hours, first exposing himself to fire while calling on the RIC in the fortified barracks to surrender and then actively leading his Volunteers against the RIC during the fight.

After the 1916 Rising he was court-martialled (on the 8th of May 1916) and was sentenced to death. The sentence was commuted to penal servitude for life. He was incarcerated in a variety of English prisons before being released in the June 1917 general amnesty. He immediately returned to Ireland and toured the country reorganising the IRB and inciting civil opposition to British rule. In August 1917, after a speech in Ballinalee, County Longford, he was arrested by the RIC and charged with "speeches calculated to cause disaffection". He was detained in the Curragh camp and later sentenced to a year's hard labour in Mountjoy Jail. There he became O/C of the Volunteer prisoners, and demanded prisoner-of-war status. As a result he was punished by the Governor.

He went on hunger strike on the 20th September 1917 and five days later died as a result of force-feeding by the prison authorities. He was just 32 years old. The death of Thomas Ashe resulted in POW status being conceded to the Volunteer prisoners two days later. Thomas Ashe’s funeral was the first public funeral after the Rising and provided a focal point for public disaffection with British rule. His body lay in state in Dublin City Hall before being escorted by armed Volunteers to Glasnevin Cemetery. 30,000 people attended the burial where three volleys were fired over the grave and the Last Post was sounded. While imprisoned in Lewes Jail in 1916, Thomas Ashe had written his poem 'Let Me Carry Your Cross for Ireland, Lord' which later provided the inspiration for the Battle of Ashbourne memorial unveiled by Sean T. O'Kelly on Easter Sunday, 26th April 1959 at the Rath Cross in Ashbourne :

Let me carry your Cross for Ireland, Lord, the hour of her trial draws near, and the pangs and the pains of the sacrifice, may be borne by comrades dear.

But, Lord, take me from the offering throng, there are many far less prepared, through anxious and all as they are to die, that Ireland may be spared.

Let me carry your Cross for Ireland, Lord, my cares in this world are few, and few are the tears will for me fall, when I go on my way to You.

Spare Oh! spare to their loved ones dear, the brother and son and sire, that the cause we love may never die, in the land of our heart's desire!

Let me carry your Cross for Ireland, Lord! Let me suffer the pain and shame, I bow my head to their rage and hate, and I take on myself the blame.

Let them do with my body whate'er they will, my spirit I offer to You, that the faithful few who heard her call, may be spared to Roisin Dubh.

Let me carry your Cross for Ireland, Lord! For Ireland weak with tears, for the aged man of the clouded brow, and the child of tender years.

For the empty homes of her golden plains, for the hopes of her future, too! Let me carry your Cross for Ireland, Lord! For the cause of Roisin Dubh.

(from here.)

Thomas Patrick Ashe - born 12th January 1885, died, at 32 years of age, on the 25th September 1917.





'REPUBLICAN AID COMMITTEE' AND 'FR. LIAM PILKINGTON DEPARTS FOR IRELAND.'

From 'The United Irishman' newspaper, November 1954.

Republican Aid Committee ;

American friends please note that a Central Committee has been set up in New York to co-ordinate efforts to raise funds for the prisoners dependants. Subscribers and those wishing to help should write to - Chris McLoughlin, Secretary, c/o Clan na Gael HQ, Hargrave Hotel, 112 West 72nd Street, New York 23.

Fr. Liam Pilkington (pictured) Departs For Ireland ;

A reception was held for Father Liam Pilkington on Wednesday night, the eve of his departure to Ireland and the African mission fields, at the Clan na Gael hall, West 72nd Street, New York. The place was packed despite the temperature and the humidity.

Seán O'Riada, well known Kerry republican and life-long struggler in the cause of Irish freedom, introduced the one time Commandant of the Third Western Division, Irish Republican Army. Speaking in Irish, Mr. O'Riada spoke of the movement for independence as it has come down to us in our day and of the awakening that would seem to be occurring now. He then made a presentation to Fr. Pilkington on behalf of the Clan na Gael of New York, to which Liam replied that he was happy indeed to be among men and women who had remained faithful to the Republic through the long years.

He said he himself had been removed from the struggle for nigh on 30 years in the mission field of Africa but it was his hope that he, too, had remained faithful to the ideals for which they had fought 40 years ago. He said that when the struggle for a free Ireland was resumed* more attention should be paid to the economic side of the question. This was not a petty matter of a border**, he said, but embraced all the needs of the Irish people that they could live in their own land and find useful employment there, and that he would always pray and offer Masses for their cause which was so close to all of them.

Thanking Fr. Pilkington, Seán O'Riada said that the economic side of the struggle was of the utmost importance and James Connolly's work in this regard should be studied today...

('1169' Comment - * the struggle has never stopped, and therefore did not then, or ever, need to be "resumed". ** A border imposed in a country, by a foreign entity, is not "a petty matter" and should not be dismissed as such by anyone who claims to be opposed to a border of that nature.)

(END of 'Republican Aid Committee.' 'Fr. Liam Pilkington Departs For Ireland' piece to be continued....)

Thanks for reading - Sharon and the '1169' team. Stay safe, and 'play' safe!

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