Showing posts with label John Kearney. Show all posts
Showing posts with label John Kearney. Show all posts

Wednesday, May 15, 2024

IRELAND, 1921 - RIC MEMBER RESIGNS, PROPER AUTHORITIES NOT NOTIFIED...





Mr Hugh McClean (21), a member of the Black and Tans, from Moray, in Scotland, was billeted in the Cork area and himself and one of his colleagues, a man named Cooke, were keep-fit fanatics and would go for a run regularly in a local wooded area.

On the 15th May, 1921, the two Tans headed-off in mid-afternoon to their usual spot (Morgans/Mayors Wood) for a run but ran into more than they had planned for.

IRA Volunteers from the Skibbereen Battalion, who were based in the Maulbrack area, about two miles distance from the Barony townland in Cork, were waiting on the two Tans and, when they arrived to their position, they shot them.

Mr Cooke, although seriously wounded, survived the attack, but Mr McClean, who was shot in both lungs and was still alive, died from his wounds later that evening, in the Skibbereen Workhouse.

It transpired that Mr McClean had already decided to leave his 'job' and had handed in his notice, effective at the end of that month. His father and his brother were members of the RIC but the brother had also handed in his notice, and both were due to leave at the end of May, 1921.

Mrs McClean, at home in Scotland, had told her husband and two sons that she had received a letter in the post (which had been posted to her from Edinburgh in Scotland) which contained a threat to her family, wrapped in republican literature.

However ; as the IRA Volunteers were leaving the scene of the executions, a local woman, who worked in a nearby shop - Majorie Young (21), from Bridgetown, Skibbereen, Cork - had heard the gunshots and was looking in the direction of the Woods when she seen two IRA men that she recognised leaving from that area.

M/s Young reportedly gave information to the British Crown Forces that those two men were IRA Skibbereen Battalion Adjutant O'Brien and Bantry Company IRA Officer Commanding Ralph Keyes.

The local IRA investigated the affair and came to the conclusion that M/s Young had indeed passed IRA names to the British, thereby "placing their Battalion Officers at risk of a death sentence" and, in their 'Intelligence Papers', listed the young woman as "guilty in the first degree", a reckoning that, had it been a man under investigation, would have marked him for death.

As it was, from what we gleaned from our inquiries, M/s Young was made aware of the IRA investigation into her activities on that day - 15th May 1921 - but it is not listed in the 'IRA Intelligence Reports on Civilians Accused of Giving Information to and Associating with British Forces during War of Independence in Counties Cork, Kerry, Waterford, and Limerick’ 1921, CP/4/40 [Military Archives]' that any action was taken against her.







"AND THE RADIO SAID..."







IRA Volunteer Billy Reid (32) was shot dead by enemy forces on this date - 15th May - 53 years ago.

Volunteer Reid was on active service, defending his country and his people, on that Saturday in 1971, when he was shot dead in Belfast by British soldiers.

On that day in May, 1971, a British Army foot patrol was ambushed in Academy Street in the centre of Belfast by the Third Battalion Belfast Brigade IRA.
One of the Volunteers was wounded and Volunteer Reid told his comrades to take the wounded man to safety, and he would provide cover fire for them to do so. But his weapon jammed and, as he attempted to withdraw, he was shot in the back.

The British Army soldiers then attacked and abused his body.

RIP Volunteer Billy Reid.

1st January 1939 – 15th May 1971.





















The 'Paris (Versailles) Peace Conference' was convened on the 18th January, 1919, to discuss possibilities for a permanent peace in Europe (no more 'World Wars') and to open discussions on US President Woodrow Wilson's apparent desire for self-determination and international co-operation between all nations.

Irish nationalists and republicans recognised the Conference as an opportunity to declare to world leaders our case for independence from England and, of course - as expected - Irish unionists and loyalists were not going to allow that case to go unchallenged.

The 'pro-Irish' delegation felt that the 'anti-Irish' side were receiving more favourable results than they were, and issued the following statement -

"We recognise that an agreement could not have been brought about without certain temporary concessions made in regard to the Constitution of the Irish Parliament which we, as democrats and representatives of Labour, regarded with strong dislike.

But we feel so deeply the necessity of setting up a Parliament in Ireland, in which labour amongst other interests may be able to find a place, that we have been willing to subordinate our democratic beliefs to what we conceive to be the highest interests of Ireland..."

So despondent were they that, on the 15th May, 1919, one of the 'pro-Irish' representatives, Joe Devlin, wrote home to his party leader, John Dillon, stating...

"...nothing will come of the (Paris) Peace Conference. The position must inevitably come to a fierce conflict between the government and Sinn Féin, and I am afraid the country is in for a bad time..."

And how right he was, and is - that "bad time" is still with us, as six of our thirty-two counties remain under the jurisdictional control of Westminster.

==========================







'KILLARNEY MEMORIAL UNVEILED.'

From 'The United Irishman' newspaper, April 1955.



On Sunday, March 13th (1955), a memorial was unveiled at Countess Bridge, Killarney, to the memory of four soldiers of the Irish Republican Army who were killed there by Free State forces, by being blown to pieces by a land mine, on March 7th, 1923.

A parade in the charge of DJ Conway, Tralee, and led by the Scartaglin Pipe Band, marched from the Fair Green, Killarney, to the Countess Bridge.

The Memorial was unveiled by Michael Lynch, The Spa, Tralee, who, after reciting a decade of the Rosary, said there was one thing the present generation could do, and that was to achieve the aims for which those four soldiers of the Republic gave their lives.

He appealed to the young men present to join the IRA and to bring the fight for Irish freedom to a successful end in our time.

Wreaths were placed on the Memorial on behalf of the Republican Graves Association, Killarney, and the Killarney Battalion IRA, and an oration was given by JJ Sheehy.

(END of 'Killarney Memorial Unveiled' ; NEXT - 'An Old And Unfair Criticism', from the same source.)













Commandant Niall 'Plunkett' O'Boyle (pictured) from Lackenagh, Burtonport, was an active Volunteer throughout the War of Independence and the Civil War. He was taken prisoner in 1922 and interned in Newbridge Internment Camp.

On October 14th, 1922, he was one of the 148 prisoners that escaped.

He made his way to Dublin, where he continued his campaign against the Free State forces and was appointed to the 3rd Battalion of the Dublin No.2 Brigade, operating mainly in the North West of Wicklow. For six months he operated fearlessly in the mountains between Tallaght and Glenmalure.

On May 15th 1923, two weeks after the call of a ceasefire, Niall O'Boyle's Flying Column was surrounded by Free State forces in the home of the Norton family, Valletmount, in County Wicklow.

The Free State forces opened fire on the house. Niall and his comrades called for the Staters to let Mrs Norton and her daughters out of the house.

He left the house with his hands raised and walked towards Free State officer, Felix McCorley from Belfast. Suddenly McCorley raised his revolver and shot Neil in the eye, and for good measure he shot him again in the head.

After the inquest, his remains were given to a Mrs Lambert of Lachen, Blessington, Co. Wicklow, and he was waked for one night in Manor Kilbride Church before being returned to Donegal.

During this time Mrs Lambert never left the remains until she seen him buried in his native Lackenagh, in Burtonport, in County Donegal.







He was born, on a small farm, at Leac Eineach, near Burtonport, in County Donegal, in 1898.

On the 15th May, 1923, the Plunkett Column of the Dublin No. 2 Brigade IRA was captured at Knocknadruce, Valleymount, in County Wicklow, after the death of its leader, Ned (Niall) Plunkett O'Boyle (25).

In April, 1923, a ceasefire had been agreed between the IRA and the Free Staters but that didn't deter most FSA Units from attempting to settle old scores ; on May 15th, Niall Plunkett O'Boyle and his men were resting in a house in Knocknadruce, owned by the Norton family, when they were surrounded by FSA troops and told to leave the building.

Shouted negotiations were held between both groups, with the Staters threatening to lob hand grenades into the house unless the IRA Volunteers came out.

Plunkett O'Boyle shouted that he was coming out, alone and unarmed, to discuss the terms of surrender ; he exited the house, hands held high above his head, and walked towards the officer in charge of the FSA, Felix McCorley, who moved in on the IRA man and shot him dead.

His body was returned to Donegal where he is buried in Kincasslagh graveyard.

When Ireland called forth her true sons of the heather,

O'Boyle was the foremost to answer the call,

The sons of the Rosses he banded together,

To drive the oppressor from dark Donegal.



"Because I believe these things I will always stick to them ; but I do not want to force any other person to believe as I do. Let everyone be honest with himself and do what he thinks right. It is my duty to tell you what I believe should be done..." - Ned (Niall) Plunkett O'Boyle.



















On the 14th, 15th and 16th May, 1920, those members of Dáil Éireann (the 32-County body) whom the British had not managed to imprison, received a note, on official Dáil Éireann-headed notepaper, stating -

"An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. Therefore a life for a life."

On investigation, it was discovered that the notes had been sent by the British 'Cairo Gang' who had obtained the notepaper from raids on republicans they had conducted previously.

However, in November that same year, the IRA all but read out that same note to that gang...

==========================







On the 15th May, 1920, British Army Major General Henry Hugh Tudor (pictured, KCB, CMG ETC ETC!) was appointed by Westminster to the position of 'Police Adviser to the Irish Administration in Dublin Castle' ; in effect, he was placed in command of the RIC, sidelining the RIC 'Inspector General' and other high-ranking members of that grouping, which didn't go down too well with them!

Mr Tudor's appointment was 'recommended' by Mr Churchill himself, who wanted a 'show of strength' in Ireland against the rebels, and Mr Tudor had a deserved name as a 'military hawk' ; he had 'served queen and country' (!) in the Second Boer War (1899-1902) and in the 'First World War' (1914-1918) and survived through it all to die peacefully, at 94 years of age, in 1965, after denying so many others the opportunity to do so.

'For queen and country', of course...

==========================









In mid-May 1920 street riots erupted in Derry, with the IRA and Loyalist gangs, including the RIC, doing battle with each other - the former in an effort to protect the community from the latter.

On the 15th May, Clare-born RIC 'Sergeant' Denis Moroney became the first RIC member to be killed in the city, as a result of the unrest ; he was the first such member to be shot dead in the Province of Ulster.

==========================







"A BULLET IS WAITING FOR DALTON THE SPY..."











In early 1920, an IRA Volunteer in Limerick, James Dalton, an Intelligence Officer for 1st Southern Division IRA (comprising about 450 Volunteers, all ranks), was observed to be visiting the homes of known RIC Intelligence Officers in the early morning, and word of this quickly got back to his IRA comrades.

On hearing the rumours about him that were circulating in republican circles, Volunteer Dalton himself requested an enquiry into the accusations that had been made against him and, following procedure, the enquiry was held.

The verdict reached was that "...there was no guilty or dishonest motive on his part and that the suspicions were unfounded.."

IRA Captain O'Sullivan stated that the 'spy accusations' against Volunteer Dalton "...were due to personal jealousy and animosity between rival factions in the Volunteers in Limerick.."

But...

..on the 15th May, 1920, Volunteer Dalton left his home at around 12 Noon to go to his day job (he worked as a clerk in the Electric Generating Station on Frederick Street/O'Curry Street, in Limerick) and, after work, met his father-in-law, as arranged, in a local pub between 6pm and 7pm that evening. The two men had a quick pint and left each others company to go home to their own houses, both of them in good humour.

Within a couple of hundred yards of his house, and within sight of his thirteen-year old daughter, Kitty (he and his wife, Anne, had seven children), Volunteer James Dalton was surrounded by up to six men and was shot four times (this was the second attempt on his life). He fell to the ground, where he was shot twice more.

A local child, six-year-old Elly Lowe, was hit in her calf by one of the bullets.

The consensus today is that he was not a spy, but questions are still asked to this day if Volunteer Dalton was, perhaps, an IRA double-agent, was he shot dead in an operation carried out by other IRA Volunteers in an unauthorised attack and/or was he the victim of a personal feud within the IRA in Limerick...?

His wife, Anne, received an ex-gratia payment of £500 that year (1920) and a further £700 in 1924 (from the 'Compensation [Personal Injuries] Committee') but was later encouraged to hand that £1,200 back to the State in return for a longer-term offer, which she did - for a 'Widows Allowance' of £90 a year, plus a further £24 a year in respect of each of her 7 children (under 'The Army Pensions Act'), with all those new children payments to run from the 1st April 1922 until each child "came of age" (18?). The few bob no doubt came in handy, but I'd bet she'd trade it in in a heartbeat to have her husband back.

Finally : the investigating officer in Dáil Éireann (the 32 County body, not the British/Free State-imposed institution that was spawned on Kildare Street in Dublin) issued the following statement in relation to the situation -

'Dáil Éireann Official Verdict in case of Mr James Dalton. The main point was not in dispute that the plaintiff (Mr Dalton) had entered certain premises at 1am and remained there til morning, the fact which had brought suspicion upon him.

Having heard the evidence I was of opinion that the plaintiff had been guilty of a grave indiscretion and error of judgement in acting as he had done, and that his conduct very naturally gave rise to much suspicion.

As against this I was certain of opinion that there had been no guilty or dishonest notice on his part, and that the suspicions in this respect had been unfounded.' (The Dáil investigation was Chaired by Judge Cahir Davitt.)

No arrests were made at the time. No arrests would ever be made...















On the 15th May, 1921, as Michael Hackett (27), from Bagenalstown, in County Carlow, was taking part in a sporting event in Fenagh, in County Leitrim, he was arrested by IRA Volunteers.

He was taken away and questioned about who he was talking to about the Active Service Unit attached to the Carlow Brigade IRA ; IRA enquiries had led to the conclusion that Mr Hackett, an ex-British Army soldier, was one member of a "gang of spies organised and paid by the RIC", who were operating in the Bagenalstown and Borris areas of Carlow, and regularly supplied information on the IRA and pointed out suspects to the RIC and British Army.

Mr Hackett was tried by court martial and found guilty of espionage "which was directly responsible" for the capture of an IRA ASU at Ballymurphy, County Carlow : he was executed by IRA Volunteers from the 4th Battalion IRA on the 1st June, 1921, and buried on the mountainside at Coolnasaughta, Myshall, in Carlow.

His body was later recovered and reburied by the Hackett family.

==========================

15th May 1921, Dublin - A Mr John Congdon and two of his friends were standing at the corner of Dorset Street and Saint Ignatius Road in Dublin, when the area around them exploded.

The IRA had thrown bombs at a passing British Army lorry and the three men were blown off their feet in the explosions ; Mr Congdon died from his wounds three days later.

==========================

15th May 1921, Tipperary - IRA Volunteers Brain Shanahan, Dan Breen, Jim Moloney, Con Moloney, Art Barlow and Ernie O'Malley were waiting outside a church in the village of Bansha, as they knew a group of RIC members were about to leave when the Mass ended.

When they left, the IRA attacked, and RIC member John Nutley (22) was shot in the head and died immediately.

Two of his colleagues, Jeremiah Sullivan and John McLoughlin, were wounded.

==========================

15th May 1921, Kerry - a member of the British Army's 'Royal Fusiliers City of London Regiment', Stephen Goldsmith, was cycling between the two places he rested his head in in Kenmare when he was shot by IRA Volunteers.

He died from his wounds on the 20th May that year.

==========================

RIC member John Ryle (45), from Kilmoyley in North Kerry, was badly injured in an IRA ambush on the 14th and died from his wounds the following day.

==========================

15th May 1921, Galway - RIC 'District Inspector' Cecil Arthur Maurice Blake (36), his wife Eliza, and two British Army officers (Captain Cornwallis and Lieutant William McCreery of the '17th Lancers') had left a party and were almost at the gates of Ballyturin House, near Gort, when they were ambushed by IRA Volunteers from the South West Galway Brigade and all four were shot dead.

A woman who was in the company of the four party-goers, a M/s Lily Margaret Gregory (the widow of Major Robert Gregory of Coole Park and 'Lady' Gregory's daughter-in-law) was not targeted or injured in the attack.

When the RIC arrived to investigate the scene, one of their members, John Kearney, was shot "in controversial circumstances" and died from his wounds on the 21st May.

==========================

15th May 1921, Tipperary - Two RIC members, Joseph Daly (20) and Thomas Gallivan (20) were reported as "missing" not long after they left their barracks, on bicycles, in Silvermines.

They had been arrested by IRA Volunteers from the North Tipperary Brigade (commanded by Billy Spain and Tom Walsh), shot dead and buried in Clooneen bog in the parish of Cloughjordan, as ordered by Brigade Officer Commanding Seán Gaynor.

In 1925, the bodies were exhumed by the IRA and Mr Daly was buried in his homeplace in Enfield, in County Meath.

The remains of Mr Gallivan, a native of Killarney, County Kerry, were buried in an unmarked grave in Ardcroney graveyard, in County Tipperary.

==========================

15th May 1921, Dublin - A Mr Peter Graham was shot dead as a spy at the Golf Links in Killiney, in County Dublin, by IRA Volunteers.

British Army 'insiders' had alerted the IRA that Mr Graham was a paid informer.

He was born in Dun Laoghaire, County Dublin, on the 19th October, 1897, and is buried in Deansgrange Cemetery in Blackrock, County Dublin.

==========================

15th May 1921, Tyrone - an attempted ambush on 'Special Head Constable' Matt Henderson at Eskra, near Dromore in County Tyrone, led to the death of IRA Volunteer Edward McCusker (...some sources list the date as May 14th).

Volunteer McCusker was attached to 'A Company', 2 Battalion, 2 Brigade (Tyrone) IRA, under the command of Michael and James Gallagher.

==========================

15th May 1921, London - A Mr Horace McNeil answered a knock on his house door in Bloemfontein Road, in Shepherd's Bush, London.

Four men questioned him about his links to the Black and Tans in Ireland, he tried to fight them away from his doorstep and close the door on them but was shot in the process.

He died three days later from his wound.

==========================

15th May 1921, Cork - in reprisals for attacks against them by the IRA in mid-May 1921, Crown Forces attached to the 'Cameron Highlanders' killed a labourer, Edward McNamara (19), from Water-Rock, in Cork ; his death certificate stated that he died on the 15th May, 1921, at The Kennels, Midleton, in Cork, of shock and haemorrhage caused by gunshot wounds. Mr McNamara was walking home on the train lines when he was shot.

The 'Camerons' then raided the home of IRA Volunteer Richard Barry and 'arrested' him. The next day his dead body was found on the railway line about a mile on the Midleton side of Carrigtwohill.

==========================













On this date - 15th May, 102 years ago (1922) - the newly-spawned Free State 'Civic Guard' were assembled for 'Morning Parade' in the training depot at Kildare Barracks.

They were standing to attention as their Commissioner, Michael Staines (a republican-gamekeeper-turned-Free State-poacher - he was only about a month in his position at that time and, in September [1922] he was replaced by Eoin O'Duffy) was addressing them when, suddenly, over 1,200 of them broke ranks, ran to the armoury, and took it into their control.

Mr Staines and those that were still loyal to him rushed for shelter but there was no safety to be had 'in-house' so they evacuated the barracks.

The issue, which had been 'bubbling-up' for a while, was that - shamefully, in regards to the former - of the 1,500 'Civic Guard' members, more than 1,400 of them were, between them, ex-IRA Volunteers and/or ex-Free State Army men ; not natural allies (!), by any means, but they were (briefly!) united in their shared dislike for their Officers and military trainers, who were mostly former members of the RIC!

And that in itself was also strange, as the Stater Army practically worked side-by-side with Crown Forces such as the RIC in their campaign against Irish republican forces but objected to taking orders from them now!

Both groups of mutineers objected to the manner in which other new recruits, from an RIC/DMP anti-Irish background, were treated more favourably by the Officers and, after recent promotions within their ranks of five such ex-RIC members, tensions had boiled over.

An ex-IRA man, now a 'Civic Guard' member, Michael Daly (a Clare man) and seven other members, wrote to Commissioner Staines demanding that those recently-promoted five ex-RIC men should be sacked and, at that assembly on the 15th May, Mr Staines ordered those eight members to step forward, which they did - and loud verbal disagreements followed immediately.

Mr Staines, assured of his position within the ranks he believed he presided over (!), called for his men, in a show of support for him, to move to the left - and about 60 members did!

A larger grouping moved in the opposite direction, leaving about another 60 members undecided, stuck-in-the-middle, on the fence ; those stand-stillers (!) were following the lead of a member called Joe Ring (a republican-gamekeeper-turned-Free State-poacher) and, between them they tried to 'restore order, find a compromise' but, eventually, they, too, had to seek shelter...

The mutiny/stand-off lasted for about seven weeks - this all happened during a period when the Staters - a Westminster proxy - were fighting against the IRA.

What happened next?

What did Chief Stater Michael Collins think of it all?

Did poor Mr Staines ever get his mojo back?

Those answers, or none of them, and answers to questions you haven't yet asked, might be found here. Or they might not. But - whatever - we're not bleedin' spoonfeedin' ya anymore...!



















On the 15th May, 1922, the nascent Leinster House administration's 'Northern Advisory Committee' held a meeting in the Metropole Hotel in York Street, in Belfast (pictured).

Among others, Cahir Healy, George Murnaghan, Seamus Woods and Frank Crummey were in favour of calling for, and supporting, 'a campaign of destruction within the six counties with the aim of making the rule of the Stormont Administration more expensive and difficult...'

However, when Leinster House got itself established in the Free State and the Staters got a taste for the expensive lifestyles, they completely reversed their position on the O6C to the point that they, too, enforced partition, and still do so to this day.

==========================











A 'General Election' was due to be held in June, 1922, in the 26-County State, and Mr Churchill, in Westminster, was informed by his people in Dublin that Mr Michael Collins and other Free Staters (whom he supported) were in talks with Irish republicans to ensure a conflict-free election for both of the pro and anti 'Treaty of Surrender' sides involved.

A friendly relationship (of sorts!) between the British-supported Free Staters and Irish republicans was not a welcome development for Mr Churchill or his government so, on the 15th May (1922), he sent a letter to Mr Collins in which he denounced any such pact as "an outrage upon democratic principles" ('1169' comment - Oh the irony..!), and told the Staters that the 'pact issue' would be raised at a British Cabinet meeting to be held on the 16th May.

('1169' comment - we don't doubt that Mr Collins and his people would have buckled immediately, having read that letter, and the Staters haven't stopped buckling to the British since then.)

Anyway - the next day (16th May 1922), following the British Cabinet meeting, Mr Churchill let it be known to his Irish Stater chums (!) that he and his Cabinet had "reviewed the Irish situation" and they were of the opinion that 'Ireland was in a state of rapid social disintegration' and that queries had been raised as to whether or not the 'Treaty of Surrender' was being afforded the respect that it should be (!) and stated the fear in Westminster that, 'if British troops were withdrawn, a Republic would be declared..'

Mr Churchill had also expressed the desire 'to retain the English capital (ie Dublin!) and possibly convert it into a 'Pale' once more..'

The British Bulldog Churchill (!) also broadcasted to Dublin that he was suspending the supply of munitions to the Staters "until he was satisfied that they would be used effectively against the Republican party..", and that Mr Collins and his people were going to be summoned...invited (!) to London to be told that there would be no further large issues of arms to them until they showed that they were going to deal with Rory O'Connor and his men in the Four Courts!

And Mr Collins and his Stater Army duly fulfilled their duty to Mr Churchill.

And they haven't stopped doing so since...

==========================







SO, FAREWELL THEN, CELTIC TIGER....



It had to happen, sooner or later.

Most of the pundits and economists were too busy singing the Celtic Tiger's praises to notice, but a few critical observers worried all along about the weaknesses of a boom economy that depended so much on a few companies from one place - the United States.

By Denis O'Hearn.

From 'Magill' Annual 2002.

In other words, foreign software companies are nine times more productive than Irish companies, which are mostly very small and spend little on Research and Development, or training.

This dual economy is unstable in several respects - TNC's are much more likely to take their profits out of the country. In 1983, foreign profit repatriations made up just 3 per cent of Gross Domestic Product but by 1999 they rose to an astounding 40 per cent of GDP!

This drain on the economy requires a constant inflow of investments to offset it.

Even more worrying is the fact that global recession can rapidly cause cutbacks in the foreign sector, as we have seen so dramatically in Gateway's announced closure and Xerox's layoffs...

(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.)

ROBERT EMMET AND THE IRELAND OF TODAY...

"She would have tended him like a mother could he have tarried there, but his path lay to Kilmashogue, and hers was to be a harder duty.

When Sirr came out with his soldiery she was still keeping her vigil.

"Where is Emmet?"

"I have nothing to tell you."

To all their questions she had but one answer : "I have nothing to say ; I have nothing to tell you."

They swung her up to a cart and half-hanged her several times ; after each half-hanging she was revived and questioned : still the same answer.

They pricked her breast with their bayonets until the blood spurted out in their faces. They dragged her to prison and tortured her for days. Not one word did they extract from that steadfast woman.

And when Emmet was sold, he was sold, not by a woman, but by a man — by the friend that he had trusted — by the counsel that, having sold him, was to go through the ghastly mockery of defending him at the bar..."

(MORE LATER.)



Thanks for the visit, and for reading!

Sharon and the team.





Wednesday, March 16, 2022

AN IRA JAILBREAK OF A CONFUSED FIANNA FÁIL 'REBEL'.

ON THIS DATE (16TH MARCH) 115 YEARS AGO : DEATH OF A "LIFELONG IRISH SUBVERSIVE".

'John O'Leary was a lifelong subversive, whose participation in extra-parliamentary attempts to achieve Irish statehood date back at least to 1848 when, at the age of 18, he partook in an unsuccessful attempt to free 'Young Ireland' prisoners from Clonmel jail. O'Leary also took part in another attempt at a rising in Tipperary in 1849, before half-heartedly engaging in legal and medical studies in several universities...his efforts in support of Irish nationalism came to little (and) increasingly lonely, isolated from events back home, and with money from his inheritance running out, O'Leary moved back to Dublin in 1885..' (from here.)

This Irish dissident was born in Tipperary on the 23rd July, 1830 and, throughout his 77 years on this earth, he had studied both law and medicine in 'Queens College Cork' and 'Queens College Galway' but it was the opportunity to achieve Irish independence which captured his mind and his heart ; he never really took to medicine as a career, and refused to take the 'oath of loyalty' to the 'Crown' and to the Church of England, without which undertaking a career in law could not be entered into (incidentally, between the 16th and 19th centuries, 'justices of the peace', church ministers, business merchants and even members of the so-called 'royal household' could not operate as such unless they swore an 'oath of loyalty' to those two establishment institutions).

He survived as best he could on an inheritance and on income he received from rural tenancies, and turned his attention to an issue dear to his heart - that of Irish separatism and Fenianism. He was imprisoned by Westminster for the leading role he played in attempting to 'break the connection' and was also exiled in 1871, living as best he could in Paris and visiting America, all the while seeking to obtain assistance for fellow dissidents back home in Ireland.

He was on friendly terms with WB Yeats and was famously referenced by the poet in his 1913 work - '...romantic Ireland’s dead and gone / It's with O'Leary in the grave..' and, indeed, in his 1937 book, 'A General Introduction for My Work', Yeats wrote that "..it was through the old Fenian leader John O’Leary I found my theme. His long imprisonment, his longer banishment, his magnificent head, his scholarship, his pride, his integrity, all that aristocratic dream nourished amid little shops and litle farms..".

On a Saturday night in 1907 - on the 16th March, 115 years ago on this date - in his 78th year, John O'Leary, a "hater of established institutions", died in near-poverty in his residence at 11 Warrington Place (between the Grand Canal and Lower Mount Street), in Dublin.

At a meeting to discuss the funeral of John O'Leary, the 'Wolfe Tone and United Irishmen Memorial Committee' issued the following statement - 'To the day of his death he assited in the project which is dear to us all, and it is impossible to adequately express the feelings to which we struggled to give vent when we heard that all was over, the more especially as we knew that amongst those who were collected around his death-bed was one who was determined to prevent, if possible, a popular manifestation of sorrow and of sympathy with the princples which the old Fenian Chief held.

The day after Mr O'Leary’s death the Committee met in the morning and remained in session throughout the day sending several deputations to his relatives, asking that the arrangements for the funeral be handed over to us. This request was refused. Your Committee received numerous telegrams from friends in all parts of Ireland, Lodnon, and abroad, requesting to know the position of things, and urging your Committee to insist upon a public funeral.

Finally, it became obvious that there was but one course to pursue, namely, to proceed to the Church, after the Mass, to take quiet possesion of the coffin, carry it to the hearse, wrap it in the folds of the Green Flag of Ireland and form a proper funeral procession to Glasnevin. This was done, and, despite the harsh weather, it was a glorius and inspiriting sight to witness the people of Dublin turning out in their thousands to do honour to the old Leader...'

When he was practically on his death bed, he was asked by a friend what he thought about the neglect shown to him in his old age by some of those who once cherished him and by people overall ; he replied - " Ah, they'll make up for it by giving me a grand funeral..."

And they did.

John O'Leary ; born 23rd July 1830, died 16th March 1907 (...and John B.Yates, the father of WB, was born on this date [16th March] in 1839 ; he was born in Tullylish, in County Down).







'LONDON CEREMONY...'

From 'The United Irishman' newspaper, July, 1954.



Tomás O Dubhghaill stated - "For generations the Irish people have been fighting to break the grip of the English invaders in Ireland. As a result of the great struggle in 1920/21 the English forces of occupation have withdrawn from the greater part of the country but they still hold, by sheer force of arms, 6 counties out of the thirty-two, and by holding these six counties they dominate and control the whole thirty-two.

Just as we would expect the Englishman* in face of German or other occupation forces in England to do his* utmost to resist them, so in Ireland's case today we insist that it is not merely a duty but a God-given right and privilege for every Irishman* to resist and oppose by every means in his* power the British occupation forces in Ireland.

That quite simply is our case and we make no apologies for our attitude in the matter. I may be asked if I am advocating the use of force. In reply I must emphasise that the continued presence of British troops in Ireland is based not on any question of right or invitation, but purely on force of arms..." (*woman/her.) (MORE LATER.)







ON THIS DATE (16TH MARCH) 103 YEARS AGO : A JAILBREAK BY A CONFUSED FIANNA FÁIL 'REBEL'.

Robert Barton (pictured - of Barton and Guestier fame), an ex-British Army officer, was one of the delegation team sent to London in October 1921 by the republican administration in Ireland to discuss the terms of what transpired to be the 'Treaty of Surrender' would have been known to those he sold out to as, among other attributes, a jailbreaker.

In February 1919, he was delivering a speech in the town of Carnew, in the south of County Wicklow, which was considered by the British 'authorities' to be 'a seditious speech during which threats were uttered', and he was 'arrested' by them for same and incarcerated in Mountjoy Jail in Dublin.

But the republican leadership on the outside had other plans for Mr Barton and wanted him out of prison, so Michael Collins and others organised for a file to be smuggled into him by a friendly prison warder, Patrick J. Berry, a Kilkenny man (a plumber by trade) who had been working in the prison system for about 13 years and was practically 'above suspicion' as far as his employers were concerned.

Barton got the file and used it to saw through one of the bars on his ground-floor cell and, at an agreed time, he moved the bar in the cell window to one side and made his way to an agreed location at the 20-foot high prison wall, from where he threw a bar of soap over the wall as a signal ; a rope was thrown over to him, which was attached to a rope ladder, half of which was being held by the Volunteers on the footpath.

He climbed to the top of the wall and jumped into a stretched blanket which his colleagues were holding, the rope ladder was then removed from the scene and he was then taken to the home of Batt O'Connor in Donnybrook, then an active Volunteer and one of Collins' 'office workers' - he handled financial matters for the Movement because, being in the building trade, he was well versed in book-keeping. However, within a few short years, he was using his skills to prop-up the Free State, as a Fine Gael member of the Leinster House administration.

Anyway - before he left his cell, Robert Barton had mocked-up an effigy of himself sleeping in the bed, and left a note for the prison administration stating that the accommodation was not acceptable and he felt compelled to vacate it, adding that he will send for his luggage later..!

The next time the British were 'introduced' to him was in October 1921 - he voiced concern about the 'Articles of Agreement' (the 'Treaty') but was eventually persuaded, by himself (!) and his fellow pro-treaty delegates, to accept it.

When the Movement split, politically and militarily over that 'false dawn' document, Mr Barton then joined the anti-Treaty fighters and, among other republican activities he was part of, he was active in the republican occupation of the Hammam Hotel in O'Connell Street, Dublin, during the 'Battle of Dublin', when the Free State was fighting against the IRA.

He later turned again, joining with and campaigning for the Fianna Fáil party and, when/if he was asked about his previous political incarnations he would reply that the signatories of the Treaty (of Surrender) had been misguided and tricked into signing same by false promises and it has been said that he was haunted to the end of his life by his decision to sign it.

He died at 94 years of age, on the 10th August in 1975. But maybe he didn't - he might have 'misjudged' that, too.







THE NOT SO IRISH NEWS...

Rita Smyth examines the editorials of the Northern newspaper, 'The Irish News', for the first six months of 1987.

Her analysis shows how the paper reflects the political attitudes of the Stormont Castle Catholics (who dominate the SDLP*) and the conservative values of the Catholic Hierarchy, especially Bishop Cahal Daly.

(From 'Iris' magazine, October 1987.)

('1169' comment - *...and who now fill the ranks of other Stoop-like political parties in Stormont and Leinster House.)

Condemning the alleged control of building sites by paramilitaries, 'The Irish News' opined - '(It is) ridiculous that the police (sic) have only 20 members to investigate this massive fiddle and intimidation..' (February 13th).

Returning to the subject a few days later, the 'paper stated - 'This corruption of a moral climate can only end when we can give our total, unqualified support to the law-makers and enforcers. Everyone should strive to achieve the structures of justice and impartiality that would give birth to such support.'

No-one, it would seem, is striving harder than the police themselves. Commenting on the unionist opposition to the 'Public Order' legislation, they say - 'Perhaps they're annoyed at the totally reasonable desire of the police to see an atmosphere created in which all flags are flown with dignity, and not used for offensive or provocative purposes (April 2nd).

One of the reasons for the RUC's behaviour at Laurence Marley's funeral was, we are expected to believe, that it '...allowed the RUC to set the ground for the loyalist marching season.' (!) Needless to say, no such behaviour was evident this summer.

And again in April, we are assured of the good intentions of the 'forces of law and order' and appealed to support the RUC** - 'We are convinced that the vast majority of the minority sector in Northern Ireland (sic) now acknowledges that due recognition must be given to the determined efforts which the police, under the command of Sir John Hermon, have implemented to make the force a truly professional organisation, divorced from the political area..' (April 25th.) ['1169' comment - any person or entity which considers that a British 'police force' in Ireland can behave like "a truly professional organisation, divorced from the political area.." are themselves "divorced" - from reality!]

(**See our 'Comment', above, just under the title of this piece!)

(MORE LATER.)







ON THIS DATE (16TH MARCH) 101 YEARS AGO : RIC AMBUSH, 2 JAIL BREAKS AND A REPUBLICAN SUPPORTER IN THE BRITISH ARMY.

On the 16th March, 1921, an RIC patrol was ambushed by the IRA near Ballymote, in County Sligo, resulting in the death of an RIC member, James O'Brien, from Lancashire in England ; he had joined that grouping in December 1920.

An IRA Volunteer, Jim Molloy, was captured at the scene of the ambush and was badly beaten by the RIC before being thrown into a cell in Boyle Military Barracks, where a British soldier, a Corporal George ('Charlie') Meadlarklan, befriended him ; the British Army man had served with the Bedfordshire Regiment for about 15 years and was then drafted to Ireland ; he had a political understanding of the conflict in Ireland to the point that he had some agreement with what the IRA was hoping to achieve.

His political position was picked-up on by a local shopkeeper, Margaret Judge, who was a member of Cumann na mBan, and who availed of her shop duties to glean whatever information she could from the British soldiers and RIC members who frequented her shop, which was also used as a meeting place for local republicans.

Discussions were held with the Corporal and he agreed to assist with breaking Jim Molloy out of prison and, on the 21st May, 1921, the plan was put into action ; six IRA Volunteers - Brennan, Dempsey, Derby, Lohan, Delahunty and Reid - were waiting outside the barracks and brought the (ex-)prisoner to safety, and much the same plan (with the same six Volunteers involved) was used about one week later to secure the release of another IRA prisoner from the same barracks, Michael Dockery, the Officer Commanding of the North Roscommon Brigade IRA.

An inquiry into the escapes was held by the British 'authorities' and thirty other IRA prisoners were moved from Boyle Barracks and locked-up in the Curragh Concentration Camp in Kildare and a smaller number were brought to Mountjoy Jail in Dublin. The Corporal's role in the escapes was uncovered and he was court-martialled and sent back to England, where he was imprisoned in Colchester Jail, in Essex.

Shortly afterwards he resurfaced in Ireland using the name 'George McLoughlin', claiming that he had escaped from custody, and made contact with Michael Dockery, who was now in the Free State Army. The two of them used their old IRA contacts (including Alex McCabe and Jim Hunt, both now Free State operatives) and secured an FSA position for Meadlarklan/McLoughlin as a cook in the officers mess.

He joined that State grouping in February 1922 and within a few months he was working in the kitchen in Sligo Jail. A glass bottle he was holding exploded and he lost two fingers as a result of that incident and received a 'Wound Pension' for his trouble ; he then applied for a 'Military Service Pension' but was unsuccessful. He went back to England and died there, in the Maida Vale Hospital in London, in October 1958.

The IRA Volunteer Jim Molly was 'arrested' again, this time by the Staters, in August 1922, and imprisoned in Mountjoy Jail in Dublin and was held there for a number of years. On his release he moved to Ballaghaderreen, in County Roscommon, and managed to get a job with Roscommon County Council. He became well known as an Irish musician, died in 1980 and is buried in Carracastle Cemetery, in County Mayo. His son, Matt, took to the music too, and done well for himself!







'UNITED IRISHMEN...'

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

It should never be forgotten that, at the end of the 18th century, Ireland was rapidly becoming united and would have become completely united but for British interference.

The real author of the Orange Terror etc was Britain ; our brother Irishmen (sic) were merely the master's puppets. They certainly sinned, but we sin equally if we fail to forgive them. Unity is not to be built on foundations of hatred, and sectarianism lacks charity. In the 18th century there were sectarian parties in Ulster ; the protestant 'Peep O' Day Boys' and the catholic 'Defenders'. Politico-religious animosity was more bitter than it is today. Violence was common, and after one bloody affray the 'Orange Order' was instituted.

Despite this unfavourable background, the 'Society of United Irishmen' was formed in Belfast, mainly by enlightened protestants. The catholic element in the Society grew rapidly in numbers and soon the mass of the Defender organisation had been enrolled. This signified that the catholics had been converted to the idea that their real enemy was not the Orangeman but England and, at the same time, the 'United Irishmen' were able to convert some of the Orangemen to the idea that their fear of catholic numerical superiority was unfounded... (MORE LATER.)











ON THIS DATE (16TH MARCH) IN...

...1920 :

The caretaker/maintenance man in Caherdaniel Courthouse in County Kerry, Cornelius Kelly (40), had been told by the IRA not to be assisting the RIC by storing equipment for them (including six 'police' bicycles) in a storeroom in the courthouse but he ignored the warnings. On the 16th March, 1920, IRA men called to his house and demanded the keys to the storeroom. He argued with them and they shot him dead.

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...1920 :

On Tuesday, 16th March 1920, two RIC members, James Rocke (26) and Charles Healy (25), were walking back to their barracks, having attended Mass in the village of Toomevara, in County Tipperary. Two IRA men, John Hackett and Paddy Whelehan, wearing disguises and each armed with a revolver, challenged them on the street at about 7.30pm before shooting them.

RIC member Rocke died at about 11.15pm that night and his colleague, Charles Healy, died in Limerick Military Hospital later on that same night.

'Constable' Rocke was new to Toomevara, having been transferred there from Borrisoleigh, County Tipperary, a few weeks earlier. 'Constable' Healy had been in Toomevara for some years.

Tipperary No. 1 Brigade IRA had previously tried to clear the operation with their headquarters but had been refused authorisation to carry out the attack, so they took matters into their own hands. John Hackett, Paddy Whelehan and nine others were later 'arrested' by the RIC over the shootings but were never brought to trial.

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...1921 : On the 16th March, 1921, at about 10pm, an RIC patrol of four operatives was ambushed by the IRA at King's Corner/Market Square, in Clifden, County Galway. At least 18 Volunteers from a Flying Column attached to the West Galway (Connemara) Brigade IRA were involved in the operation, under the Command of Peter ('Petie') Joe McDonnell.

Two RIC members, Charles Reynolds (33) ('Service Number 62614'), a Roscommon man, died within minutes of being shot and his colleague, Thomas Sweeney (25) ('Service Number 75734'), from Aughrim, in County Galway, died from his wounds on the 18th March.

The IRA Volunteers then regrouped and made their way to the Maam valley, where they ambushed British reinforcements at Munterowan and Screebe.

In the days after that IRA operation the RIC went on a rampage burning down at least 16 buildings in Clifden and killed a civilian, J.J. MacDonnell, who called to the RIC barracks to ask for help to extinguish a fire which was engulfing his father's hotel. MacDonnell was a retired British Army officer.

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...1922 :

On the 16th March, 1922, British/Loyalist operatives on the Newtonards Road threw a bomb into Seaforde Street in Belfast and injured five people, one of whom, John Kearney, died later in hospital. Also, John Taylor (52), was shot by the British in the west of the city and another man, William Johnson, (27) was shot by the British Army for allegedly sniping from his Louisa Street home. Four bombs were thrown around this time in Belfast, three in the Short Strand.

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...1922 :

On the 16th March, 1922, seven Free State Army soldiers were 'arrested' by the RIC and B-Specials in Cosquin, just across the Donegal-Derry border in Derry. They were held for several months but were released in September after they recognised the 'Northern Court system'. ('1169' comment - we're surprised that it took them 'several months to recognise the legitimacy' of a 'court' system which they, themselves, were in effect bearing arms to uphold.)

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...1922 :

On the 16th March, 1922, a milkman - William Kane - was shot dead on the Newtownards Road in Belfast.

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...1922 :

An IRA convention was held in Kilkenny Military Barracks on the 16th March, 1922 (the building had been vacated by the British on the 11th February that year), with all nine IRA battalions and 62 companies represented. Speeches for and against the 'Treaty of Surrender' were heard, but no vote was taken.

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...1923 :

On the 16th March, 1923, the Free State Army sent local members into the town of Newport, in County Mayo, searching for republican operatives, and some 'arrests' were made. At the same time, the FSA were searching parts of Wexford for IRA Volunteers when they came under attack - one FSA member and two IRA Volunteers were killed in the gunfight.

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LÁ FHÉILE PÁDRAIG SONA DAOIBH! ('Happy St. Patricks Day!')

Enjoy your day - ye are all Irish for this day, but some of us are blessed and will still be Irish tomorrow!

Happy St Patricks Day for tomorrow, readers - if we get home in one piece after our Paddy's Day long weekend, then we won't be contacting ya for bail money!

Incidentally, St Patrick's Day was celebrated in New York City for the first time, in 1762, at the 'Crown and Thistle Tavern'. Next time we're in that glorious city, we'll pop in and see if the party is still going on. If not, we'll re-start it!

We hope you get a break for the holiday and, if you do, that you enjoy it : we intend to do just that...!







CYBER ATTACKED BY 'FACEBOOK'!


That's the notification I got (pictured) yesterday (15th March 2022) when I logged-on to my 'Facebook' account : no warning from them that it was about to happen, no contact at all from them beforehand, no reason or explanation as to why they banned me, and no contact from them since.

I tried to contact them and finally got 'speaking' to a 'computer-says-no' bot, so I've emailed them and contacted them on social media asking that my page be reinstated but no joy yet. One of the Girl Gang, Ceclia, has signed over her page to me (thanks again, Bud!) so I'm back - for now, anyway!

My new page can be found here (...until the Facebook censorship bots come lookin' for me again!) so please do check-in and bookmark it for future reference. If/when I get my own page back I'll let ya know but, until then, you'll get me on the new one (...and I'm on Twitter, too, but probably only until FB rat me out...!).

Thanks for the visit, and for reading.

Sharon and the team.