ON THIS DATE (17TH FEBRUARY) 125 YEARS AGO : JOHN REDMOND'S PLEA IN WESTMINSTER FOR IRISH POLITICAL PRISONERS GOES UNHEEDED.
On the 17th February, 1896 - 125 years ago on this date - John Redmond (pictured) secured speaking time in the Westminster Parliament to discuss the plight of Irish political prisoners held in prison by the British political administration.
Such was the dire conditions endured by our prisoners, two 'Irish Unionist' (Free Stater-) members of that political administration - Horace Plunkett and W.E.H. Lecky - actually supported Mr Redmond in his attempt to secure some sort of justice for those POW's.
During his plea to 'The House', Mr Redmond said - "...many hon. Members seemed to think that because it was contended that these were political prisoners who ought to be released, the Irish Members were thereby claiming that political offences ought not to be punished. Nothing could be more absurd. What they said was that there was a distinction drawn by all the nations in the world between the treatment of political offences and offences which sprang from the ordinary criminal instincts of mankind, and in dealing with every other nation in the world except with Ireland, England had been the first to draw this distinction...
...all persons to-day would admit that John Mitchell (pictured) was a political offender, but Englishmen of his day did not admit it, and they passed a special Act of Parliament dealing with the subject of treason in order that he might be treated, not as a political offender, but as an ordinary criminal. All men of all parties admitted that the Fenians were political offenders, but anyone who listened to the speech of the hon. Member for South Mayo (Mr. Davitt) the other night, who knew his history, and heard what he suffered in prison, would recognise that though he was a political offender he was not treated as such. In this case the Government still maintained the fiction that these men were not political prisoners; but when all these men had been released, and when another generation of Englishmen looked back on these transactions, they would, perhaps, be just as willing to admit that they were political prisoners as men of the present day were willing to admit that the hon. Member for South Mayo (Mr. Davitt) and John Mitchell were political prisoners of their day...
(END of 'Occupation Forces Augmented' ; NEXT - 'New Choir' and 'Ireland's Soldiers Remembered', from the same source.)
ON THIS DATE (17TH FEBRUARY) 175 YEARS AGO : ATTEMPTED GENOCIDE RAISED IN THE BRITISH PARLIAMENT.
On the 17th February, 1846 - 175 years ago on this date - speaking in the British so-called 'House of Commons', Daniel O'Connell (pictured) raised, among other issues, the potato blight in Ireland, and the effect it was having on 'her majesty's subjects' on that island.
The 'servants of the people' in that political institution were only too aware of the suffering that the Irish were trying to live through, and O'Connell was aware of that, but he was hoping that his comments would be carried in the newspapers and reach a wider audience.
This is an extract of the speech he delivered -
"...It was certain that there was a fearful prospect of a most calamitous season before the people of Ireland. The extent of that calamity had been disputed, and there had been a time when there was a prospect of some portion of it being possibly averted..the calamity was pressing, was imminent – more pressing, more imminent, and more fearful than that House was aware of. In order to understand it, it was right that the House should be made aware of the state of Ireland before the calamity, had impended.
The last Population Returns of 1841 showed that, out of the whole rural population of Ireland, 46 per cent lived in a single room ; the entire human family and the pigs occupied the same apartment together. The next fact was, that of the civil population – that is, of the inhabitants of towns – 36 per cent lived in a single room, and that two or three families sometimes occupied the same room.
An account of all cattle, sheep, and swine, imported into Great Britain from Ireland, from the 10th day of October, 1845, to the 5th day of January, 1846 ; oxen, bulls, and cows, 32,883 ; calves, 583 ; sheep and lambs, 32,576 ; swine, 104,141..more than half the potato crop is unfit for human food, and the disease is progressing. More than half the labourers are unemployed, and are likely to continue so for the next three months, and during the months of July and August, as the farmers will not have money nor food to give them.
The agricultural labourers of Ireland suffer the greatest privations and hardships ; that they depend upon precarious and casual employment for subsistence ; that they are badly housed, badly fed, badly clothed, and badly paid for their labour ; that it would be impossible to describe adequately the sufferings and privations which the cottiers and labourers and their families in most parts of the country endure ; that in many districts their only food is the potato, their only beverage water ; that their cabins are seldom a protection against the weather ; that a bed or blanket is a rare luxury ; and that nearly in all, their pig and their manure heap constitute their only property ; that a large proportion of the entire population comes within the designation of agricultural labourers, and endure sufferings greater than the people of any other country in Europe have to sustain..." (from here.)
The finely-suited 'parliamentarians' in that institution were aware of the suffering endured by the Irish, as policies enacted and enforced by Westminster was responsible for the genocide being played-out in Ireland, but they didn't care, as they themselves were not only not affected by those conditions but actually benefited, financially, from same ; Irish land, free of impoverished 'tenants', was more valuable and easier to sell than if the same land was sold with 'troublesome tenants' on it.
That mindset is still prevalent in British 'High Society' to this day, but here's a newsflash for our snob Brit readers - we ain't goin' nowhere ; this is our country, not a political and/or military base for your good selves. Take your unwanted debris back to your own country, and leave us in peace!
'IN THE NAME OF THE LAW...'
Confidence in the Garda Siochana continues to erode as more incidents of questionable Garda 'evidence' emerge.
By Sandra Mara.
From 'The Magill Annual', 2002.
Edward Moss said he eventually made a statement when he was told (by the gardai) that he'd never work in Donegal again if he didn't. In it, he claimed that Frank McBrearty gave him £15,000 not to make a complaint. He was reluctant to go to court, but was subpoenaed to attend. 'Magill' spoke to John Fahy, Moss's solicitor in Strabane, who wrote to the gardai on his client's behalf ; "You have insisted that he attend at the Garda Station to make statements, which statements have not been made voluntarily". John Fahy put the gardai on notice that if they persisted in contacting his client he would take proceedings to restrain them from doing so.
He says he no longer works in Donegal courts because of the difficulties he encountered - "I found some gardai were intimidatory towards me as an extension of the client. I accepted that situation prevailed in the North, but I expected more from the gardai in the South*. Unfortunately, that is not the case. I'd rather take my chances in a Northern court..."
(*'1169' comment - the 'cops' (ie State security service) on this island, North and South, will collaborate with each other in all cases to do with 'security matters' ; if they believe you have got the better of them in the North then you have made enemies with them, too, in the South, and vice versa.) (MORE LATER.)
'LICENSED TO KILL...'
From 'The United Irishman' newspaper, March, 1955.
One aspect of this whole business must be emphasised over and over again ; that is, it is the deliberate policy of the Stormont junta to provoke and incite the 'B Specials' to cause these incidents. They are frantically anxious to bring about sectarian strife in the Six County area and the instrument ready fashioned for this purpose is the 'B Special police force'. It was founded for this purpose and is maintained and used today for this purpose.
Deliberately, they are organised, instructed and trained to carry on a campaign of hostility and outrage on behalf of the Orange Order against the nationalist people in the North. They are the weapon which the Stormont junta inevitably falls back on in times of stress, whether that stress arises from economic or national causes. The Stormont junta know that the continuance of the Six County puppet State cannot be justified on economic grounds any more than it can on national grounds.
It is a monstrosity on both grounds and it would long ago have fallen but for the gullibility of the bulk of the Protestant people there who allow their religious feelings to be played upon and abused, by the cute self-seeking politicians in Stormont... (MORE LATER.)
Thanks for reading, Sharon.
ON THIS DATE (4TH NOVEMBER) 19 YEARS AGO : BRITISH PARAMILITARIES CHANGE NAME AND UNIFORM.
On the 10th October, 1969, 'The Hunt Report' recommended that the RUC (which had been formed on the 5th April 1922) should be changed into an unarmed force, that the 'B Specials' (the 'Ulster Special Constabulary') should be disbanded and a new reserve force be established, to be known as the 'Ulster Defence Regiment'. The RUC name was given to the then-existing RIC force on the 1st June 1922 in an attempted sleight-of-hand manoeuvre to present an existing pro-British paramilitary force as a 'new entity' and that 'new entity' - the RUC - was, in turn, amalgamated into the 'new' PSNI on the 4th November 2001 - 19 years ago on this date.
This was another tweaking of the name and uniform of a paramilitary outfit (and they've done it again!), as the 'police force' in that part of Ireland are still administered by Westminster and are as anti-republican as they were when they bore the 'RIC' name, and maintain the same structure and objective as when they were known by that latter name.
The more gullible in Leinster House and elsewhere among us (although they are well salaried to be so or, at least, to give the impression that they are that gullible) profess themselves convinced that a new day has dawned, ignoring the fact that the shadow in the room is caused by an elephant that they themselves have encouraged.
'BRITISH OCCUPATION CHALLENGED...'
From 'The United Irishman' newspaper, June, 1955.
However, the electors of Mid-Ulster and Fermanagh-South Tyrone realised quite clearly that no matter what English law says or does, a vote for Philip Clarke and Tom Mitchell was a vote for the unity and freedom of Ireland and an end to British rule in Ireland. Although no other Sinn Féin representatives were elected in the other constituencies, the electors voted with the same clear realisation - that a vote for Sinn Féin was a vote for a united and free Ireland.
The political situation in the North of Ireland has for many years been confused by a general classification of all Catholics as 'nationalists' and all Protestants as 'unionists'. This has been demonstrated to be false in this election ; we interpet 'nationalist' to mean one who believes in the freedom and unity of the nation and separated from English influence and control, and 'unionist' to mean one who believes in Ireland remaining subject to English power and control and domination by the English Parliament at Westminster. Previous elections in the North of Ireland have been contested on a purely sectarian issue - Catholic versus Protestant. The 'status quo' was never seriously challenged and the 'castle catholics' could with safety vote for the 'nationalist' candidate. The issue in this election was really serious - England's 'right' to rule in Ireland was challenged and only the brave and the Irish voted for Ireland.
It now remains for the people in the 26 Counties to follow the lead given by the North : *vote Sinn Féin at every opportunity, organise branches of Sinn Féin in every area in Ireland*. A united people cannot be defeated. (* '1169' comment - if you "vote/organise" for that grouping now, you will be doing so to benefit an organisation that has accepted/works with the Free State and Westminster administrations in Ireland, and will be prolonging the British military and political presence in this country and/or shoring-up the capitalist political situation that exists here.)
(END of 'British Occupation Challenged' ; NEXT - 'The West's Awake', from the same source.)
ON THIS DATE (4TH NOVEMBER) 46 YEARS AGO : JUDITH THERESA WARD WAS 'CONVICTED ON ALL COUNTS' IN AN 'UNPROFESSIONAL TRIAL'.
Judith Ward (pictured), an 'IRA activist', was arraigned on the 3rd October 1974 at Wakefield Crown Court, West Yorkshire, England, on an indictment containing 15 counts : Count 1: causing an explosion likely to endanger life or property on the 10th September 1973, at Euston Station, Count 2: a similar count relating to the explosion on the motorcoach on the M62 on the 4th February 1974, Counts 3-14: twelve counts of murder relating to each of the persons killed in the explosion on the motorcoach and Count 15: causing an explosion as before on February 12, 1974, at the National Defence College at Latimer.
She pleaded "not guilty" to all counts but, on the 4th November 1974 - 46 years ago on this date - she was convicted on all counts, by a majority of 10 to two on Count 1 and unanimously on all the others. She was sentenced to five years' imprisonment on Count 1, 20 years' imprisonment concurrently on Count 2, life imprisonment for the murder Counts 3-14 and to 10 years on Count 15, to be served consecutively to the 20 years on Count 2, making a determinate sentence of 30 years.
It took eighteen years of campaigning to have her conviction quashed, which it was on the 11th May 1992 and it transpired that she had changed her 'confession' several times and that the police and the prosecution selected various parts of each 'confession' to assemble a version which they felt comfortable with! One of the main pieces of forensic evidence against her was the alleged presence of traces of nitroglycerine on her hands, in her caravan and in her bag. Thin layer chromatography and the Griess test were used to establish the presence of nitroglycerine but later evidence showed that positive results using these methods could be obtained with materials innocently picked up from, for instance, shoe polish, and that several of the forensic scientists involved had either withheld evidence or exaggerated its importance.
Her book, 'Ambushed - My Story' makes for interesting reading and allows the reader to draw comparisons with the injustices suffered by the Maguire Seven, the Birmingham Six and the Guildford Four ; a total of 18 innocent people, including Judith Ward (13 men, 3 women and two children) who, between them, spent a total of 216 years in prison. Anne Maguire, a mother of 5 children, was menstruating heavily and denied all toiletries for a week, and was beaten senseless and Carol Richardson, who didn't even know she was pregnant, miscarried in Brixton Prison days after her arrest. Pat O'Neill, who had minutes before entered the Maguires house to arrange for a baby-sitter when the police arrived, was told by a cop to swear that he saw a big cardboard box on Maguires table or else he would be done, but he refused to lie - he served eleven years. On his release, he found his marriage was broken beyond repair and that his six children had left the family home.
How many more Irish children will have to 'leave the family home' before the British eventually give a date for their political and military withdrawal from Ireland, because the situation as it now (and still) exists here is that their very presence continues to be objected to by Irish republicans and continues to give rise to unrest. And, if our history is to be used as a yardstick, that will always be the case.
'IN THE NAME OF THE LAW.'
Confidence in the Garda Siochana continues to erode as more incidents of questionable Garda 'evidence' emerge. By Sandra Mara. From 'The Magill Annual', 2002.
As Pat Byrne's tenure as Garda Commissioner draws to a close, he could be forgiven for wishing he could fast-forward his retirement and hand over the poisoned chalice, particularly in the light of Abbeylara, allegations of garda corruption in Donegal, the Dean Lyons affair and numerous other 'occasions of sin' for the guardians of law and order in Ireland (sic).
In the latest round of events, the legal team acting for Donegal publican Frank McBrearty and his family (which now numbers five barristers and two solicitors) secured leave from the High Court to take an action designed to compel the Garda Commissioner to fully investigate allegations of perjury by five of his officers in District Court proceedings against the McBreartys between December 1998 and April 1999.
Martin Giblin SC, for the McBrearty family, instructed by Ken Smyth of Binchy's Solicitors, told Mr Justice O'Neill that his clients were the subject of intense garda attention following the death of Raphoe man Richie Barron in 1996. Mr Barron was found by two local men on a roadway close to his home in the early hours of 14th October 1996 ; seriously injured and lying in a pool of blood, Mr Barron was taken to hospital by ambulance but subsequently died from his injuries... (MORE LATER.)
'RETURN TO SINN FÉIN.'
From 'The United Irishman' newspaper, November 1954.
A plea for a return to Sinn Féin principles of self-reliance was made at the Irish Club in Eaton Square last night by Professor John Busteed, who lectured on the future of Ireland.
Suggesting that emigration should be regarded as a test of the efficiency of the national economy (sic), Professor Busteed said that, on present figures, out of every 1,000 boys aged 14 now, 350 would have left the country in twenty years, and out of every 1,000 girls, 390 would have left.
That was a phenomenon that existed nowhere else in the world ; Denmark, for instance, had three times the national (sic) income of Ireland and had no emigration problem. When the Free State was set up there were 1,220,000 at work, of whom over half were employed in agriculture. Today the total was 1,200,000, and the number engaged in agriculture had declined from 650,000 to 480,000. (From an 'Irish Independent' London letter, 27-9-1954.)
(END of 'Return to Sinn Féin' ; NEXT - 'British Garrisons And The Ban', from the same source.)
'ROLLING STONES' (/'STROLLIN' BONES!') WRONG - TIME IS NOT ON OUR SIDE....
...we won't be posting our usual contribution, and probably won't be in a position to post anything at all, next Wednesday, 11th November 2020. This coming weekend (Saturday/Sunday 7th/8th) is spoke for already with a 650-ticket raffle to be run for the Dublin Executive of Sinn Féin Poblachtach in a different venue than usual, due to the Covid 19 issue, and in a slightly different format.
But, closed venues and social distancing etc or not, work on this gig began yesterday, Tuesday 3rd November 2020, and the paperwork 'autopsy' into it will be held on Monday, 9th, so - between the three of us - we're booked up solid with our 'pay-the-bills/day-job' work and the work on the raffle, and Ard Fheis paperwork, even though the Ard Fheis itself has been defered. Then it's straight on to the December 2020 Cabhair raffle and the Cabhair Christmas Day Swim and loads of other stuff which one committee or another will no doubt be looking to have done!
But it's all for a good Cause and we don't mind helping out. Check back here for us on Wednesday 18th November 2020 ; sure you'd never know what it is that we'll be givin' out about!
Thanks for reading - Sharon and the '1169' team.
...and we're still in 'Lockdown 2' in this State, but most citizens are less compliant than they were during the first 'Lockdown' and, in our opinion, with good reason ; State politicians grant themselves exemptions from Covid rules for golf society/business meetings and for attending other such business/political meetings in the State and abroad but insist that the rest of us comply! They provide faulty PPE and declare that clothes are not essential items (!), resulting in State 'officialdom' losing more of whatever 'authority' it had left. And they continue to pay themselves their full salary while offering the rest of us a State payment which is, for most people, inadequate to meet their needs. There is general unrest and resentment here as a result, and that unrest and resentment is growing...
