ON THIS DATE (6TH DECEMBER) 102 YEARS AGO : A TERRIBLE CATASTROPHE IS BORN.
One of the leaflets (pictured) distributed by Irish republicans in late 1921 to counteract anti-republican propaganda that the 'Treaty (of Surrender)' was "a stepping stone" to that which they had fought for - indeed, one of those who accepted that Treaty, ex-republican Arthur Griffith, declared, in a press release immediately after signing same - "I have signed a Treaty of peace between Ireland and Great Britain. I believe that treaty will lay foundations of peace and friendship between the two Nations. What I have signed I shall stand by in the belief that the end of the conflict of centuries is at hand."
Yet historian Nicholas Mansergh noted that, at practically the same time as Griffith had penned the above, the British were talking between themselves of "...concessions (from the Irish) wrung by devices..some of which can be described at best as devious..every word used and every nuance was so important..."
On Monday 5th December 1921 - the day before the Treaty of Surrender was signed - the then British Prime Minister, Lloyd George, announced to the Irish side in the negotiations that he had written two letters, one of which would now be sent to his people in Ireland ; one letter told of a peaceful outcome to the negotiations, the other told of a breakdown in the negotiations - Lloyd George stated that if he sent the latter one "it is war, and war within three days. Which letter am I to send?"
(Years later, the Minutes of a British Cabinet meeting at which the 'Treaty' was discussed were released, and they showed that the majority of British politicians at the meeting "generally agree" that "the rough treatment to which the Irish extremists had been subjected during the past twelve months... had brought home to the (IRA) men in the field the need for some equitable compromise..." [UK National Archives, CAB 23/27/17]. Those people were also of the opinion "that a Boundary Commission would possibly give Ulster [sic] more than she would lose..")
That 'war letter' meeting took place on the afternoon of Monday 5th December 1921 ; at around 7pm that same evening, the Irish team left the Downing Street meeting to discuss the matter between themselves and returned to Downing Street later that night.
At ten minutes past two on the morning of Tuesday 6th December 1921 - 102 years ago on this date - Michael Collins and his team accepted 'dominion status' and an Oath which gave allegiance to the Irish Free State and fidelity to the British Crown - the Treaty was signed (and it should be noted that Collins and his team did not consult the [32-County] Dáil, the institution on whose behalf they were acting, before they signed it. Also, Mr Collins took the time to write to Kitty Kiernan saying that he did not get to bed until five o'clock that morning. He added - "I don’t know how things will go now but with God's help we have brought peace to this land of ours – a peace which will end this old strife of ours forever." He was wrong about it bringing peace, but was soon to catch up on his sleep. Also, when Mr Arthur Griffith got back to Dublin after his meetings in London, one of his first acts was to organise various meetings with 'representatives of the Southern unionists' [ie anti-republican elements in the country] to guarantee that "their interests would be safeguarded" in his new Free State!) :
On the 16th December (1921), the British so-called 'House of Commons' (by a vote of 401 for and 58 against) and its 'House of Lords' (166 for, 47 against) ascribed 'legitimacy' to the new State and, on the 7th January 1922, the political institution in Leinster House voted to accept it, leading to a walk-out by then-principled members who, in effect, were refusing to assist in the setting-up of a British-sponsored 'parliament' in the newly-created Irish Free State.
Mr Éamon de Valera was reportedly very annoyed when he heard that the 'Treaty' had been signed without his final consent but, later that same day, he dressed-up in his academic robes and, in his capacity as 'Chancellor of the National University of Ireland', he chaired an event to mark the anniversary of the death of Dante Alighieri in 1321. Mr de Valera was later to fully enforce the structure and operation of that same 'Treaty'. Mr Alighieri was known to have penned some verses on 'hypocrisy'...
But, at an IRA convention on the 26th March (1922), at which 52 out of the 73 IRA Brigades were present - despite said gathering having been forbidden by the Leinster House institution (!) - the 'Treaty' was rejected and a statement issued deriding Leinster House for having betrayed the Irish republican ideal.
Within six months, a Civil War was raging in Ireland, between the British-supported Free Staters and Irish republicans who did not accept the 'Treaty' and that vicious fight continued until the 24th May 1923 when the IRA were ordered by their leadership to "..dump arms (as) further sacrifice on your part would now be in vain and the continuance of the struggle in arms unwise in the national interest...military victory must be allowed to rest for the moment with those who have destroyed the Republic.." , but, 'unofficially', Free Staters continued to exact revenge on republicans for some time afterwards and, indeed, are still doing so today, albeit in a different manner.
On the 11th July 1924, the Treaty was registered at the 'League of Nations' by the Free State authorities which, in our opinion, would have been the ideal occasion for a legal challenge to it, based on the fact that, when Michael Collins and his supporters were attempting to 'sell' it to their own side, they made a big deal of the 'Boundary Commission' clause and in particular the part of it which stated that the 'border' could be adjusted "in accordance with the wishes of the inhabitants", which is precisely why Westminster 'took' only six of the nine Ulster counties - a built-in 'majority'.
Also, the British actually took it on themselves to amend the 1921 Treaty of Surrender to allow themselves (ie Westminster) to unilaterally appoint a representative to speak on behalf of the Stormont 'Parliament'.
That Boundary Commission clause ('Article 12') was not properly adhered to by the signatories of the 1921 Treaty thereby, legally, negating the Treaty itself but deep pockets would be required to take such an action.
And the only grouping in this State in a position to mount a challenge like that is the same (Free State) grouping which benefited then and continues to benefit today from that Clause and that which spawned it. For now they do, anyway...
(Incidentally, decades after the 'Treaty of Surrender' had been signed, the diary kept by a prominent British Army officer and politician, a 'Sir' Henry Wilson, was opened [after his death] and, in it, he had opined about that 'Treaty'- "The Agreement [sic] is complete surrender...a farcical oath of allegiance...withdrawal of our troops...a Rebel Army! The British Empire is doomed..."
If only it truly was, Mr Wilson. If only...)
'AMERICAN NOTES...'
From 'The United Irishman' newspaper, April 1955.
The New York GAA have given the use of Gaelic Park for a field day in aid of the 'Prisoners Dependents Fund' on March 27th.
The president of the New York GAA, John Kerry O'Donnell, and the other officers of the New York Council, have given of their time to help plan the event, and preparations are also now nearing completion for the biggest Easter Commemoration that New York has had for years, and the 'Clan na Gael-IRA Veterans of America Inc' will direct the proceedings.
An active committee representative of many organisations in overseeing arrangements for the function to be held at the Pythian Temple, West 70th Street, New York, on Easter Sunday night : Barney Rooney is the General Chairman (sic)...
(MORE LATER.)
ON THIS DATE (6TH DECEMBER) 98 YEARS AGO : A 'CON' ARTIST IS BORN!
Con Houlihan, pictured, a sports writer who sometimes strayed into other subjects, was born on this date - 6th December - in 1925, 98 years ago on this date.
One of those 'other subjects' that Mr Houlihan occasionally visited was politics (he was a Fine Gael supporter, it seems) which prompted us to post a piece on this blog a few years ago in connection with a highly coloured article (!) that the man wrote after he happened to share street-space with Ruairí Ó Brádaigh -
'Not so much (or at all, even) 'speaking ill of the dead' in this piece as highlighting the straws an 'artist' will clutch at when they attempt to stray onto another 'canvass'. And Mr. Houlihan was indeed an 'artist' when it came to discussing and dressing-up/colouring in matters of the field and had wonderful turns of phrase which he employed with great timing.
But he done himself no favours when he attempted to 'stray' on to the well-trodden anti-republican 'canvass', where he was not as sure-footed as he was 'on the field' - indeed, the only way he could sustain an 'away trip' of that nature was to use a straw man argument in the hope that those as unfamiliar with that particular 'turf' as he was would consider him to be as good a 'pol corr' as he was a sports writer.
The first fault with Mr. Houlihan's effort in this piece is that a radio station would not be played through the same loudspeakers on the same stage at the same time as an Irish republican was addressing an Irish republican gathering. It just wouldn't happen, simple as and, whilst some might dismiss this example as 'nit picking', it is from such 'little acorns' that mighty deceptions spring from.
It was a 'straw man' introduction that the author invented in order to 'colour' the gathering as "inflamed with hatred..indoctrinated by bigots in pubs and cafes or by mob orators..", before bringing in the standard 'Nazi' comparison.
All standard fare for any 'straw man' author - invent a 'connection' then rage against it. Mr. Houlihan got his answer days later from that particular "bigot (of a) mob orator" but the damage had been done : through deliberate misrepresentation, one anti-republican had 'confirmed' to others of that ilk just how right they were to despise Irish republicans and republicanism in general and, job done, Con parked his 'straw weapon' (in the back of the net, no doubt) to be (ab)used another day. Which he did, by the way - and often - but I'll not go into that here , as I have no desire to 'speak ill of the dead'..' (from here.)
Mr. Houlihan died on the 4th August, 2012, at 86 years of age. He was a fantastic sports writer, so I'm told (regular readers will know that I'm not big into sports or those that write about it etc) but I knew Ruairí, and I know how republicans carry themselves at rallies and protest marches etc and considered it fitting, and necessary, to repeat the above piece on the 'Con Almighty's' birthday.
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.
Further evidence for the ongoing role that Catholicism has in people's lives came from the study by Greally and Ward, published in late 2000, which surveyed 1,010 people in the Irish Republic (sic) as part of a larger, longitudinal European study.
The results are fascinating, not least because many of them are counter-intuitive and challenge the much-vaunted belief that the churches are empty and that our '20-somethings' have no interest in religion.
According to the results, Ireland is still the most religious country in Europe and there has been little change in weekly mass attendance during the 1990's, with the decline to the present level of 63 per cent occurring before the crop of clerical sexual scandals came to public attention.
The attitudes to the priests working in parishes at the coalface remain very positive, and the cohort now in their 20's have higher regard for these priests than any other age group, even when compared with their grandmothers born in the 1930's.
However, the institutional Church has suffered a serious decline in confidence since the last survey in 1991, with just 28 per cent having a great deal of confidence in the institutional Church...
(MORE LATER.)
6TH DECEMBER...
1919 :
IRA Volunteer Edward Malone, of Dunbrin, Athy, in County Kildare (a nephew of well-known cleric Reverend JJ Malone), was back in a British prison (Ship Street Barracks), having been in 'court' the previous day (5th December).
He had been charged with possession of 10 detonators, a document "likely to cause disaffection", a document "likely to prejudice discipline within the RIC" (!) and possession of a Winchester Rifle.
Volunteer Malone refused to recognise the 'court' but was sentenced anyway - to two years imprisonment with hard labour (but one year was remitted later).
==========
1919 :
John Charles Byrne (pictured) , aka 'Jack Jameson/Keith Prowse', a former British Army soldier who had been recruited into 'British Intelligence' by a Mr Basil Thomson of the London Metropolitan Police, arrived in Dublin on the 6th December, 1919, posing as a socialist theatre worker/musical instrument salesman, and let it be known that he could be helpful to the Irish republican Cause.
He was eventually put in contact with Michael Collins, who contacted one of his agents in London (Art O'Brien), who had supplied Mr Byrne with a cover note of introduction to Collins. The two men discussed the new 'benefactor', who had met with Collins twice and left an uneasy feeling behind him, on both occasions, with Collins and Squad members.
Mr Byrne was given false information by the IRA and, when that information was acted on by British operatives, the jig was up for the 'benefactor' : his body was found in Drumcondra, in Dublin, on the 7th March 1920.
'British Intelligence' later described him as "..the best Secret Service man we had...".
==========
1920 :
On the 6th December, 1920 (listed as 'October 1920' by some sources) as a Republican Court was in session in the village of Craggaknock, near Kilkee, in County Clare, armed and semi-uniformed men burst in to the building and stopped the proceedings.
The Black and Tans had arrived.
They were looking for one person in particular - an IRA man named William Shanahan (pictured) - they knew he had been there, but was no where to be found now.
But they wanted blood, so they opened-up on the unarmed civilians in the room, killing a local man, a Mr Thomas Curtin.
A local doctor stated that "the bullet had caused a wound about three to four and a half inches long. It had ripped up the skull, the coverings of the brain and the brain itself. The wound was about one inch wide. An ordinary rifle bullet was used, at about 500 yards range..."
==========
1920 :
On Monday, 6th December 1920, as Dublin Corporation was holding its monthly meeting in 'City Hall' in Dublin, British Auxiliaries stormed the venue, led by a Captain William King, and 'arrested' six elected political representatives - Michael Staines, Thomas Lawlor, Joseph Clarke, James V. Lawless, James Brennan and Michael Lynch.
Their intention was to disrupt Irish political life in Ireland, as they were aware that not all politicians supported 'the Crown'. They then "requisitioned" (under DORA 'legislation') the 'City Hall' building and another political institution, 'Municipal Buildings', for use by the British political and military forces.
==========
1920 :
On the 6th December, 1920, having been instructed by his betters (!) in Westminster to do so, British Army Lieutenant-General 'Sir' Henry Hugh Tudor ('KCB, CMG etc!') issued a notice to the British 'police force' in Ireland, the RIC, to, basically, 'calm down'.
That grouping, the RIC, had 'unofficially' been given carte blanche by Westminster to run riots in Ireland and terrorise the population, in order to 'restore and maintain law and order'. Britain's version of 'law and order', that is - the order was effective, for a few days, and then ignored. Westminster, too, ignored the fact that it had issued the order in the first place.
==========
1922 :
On the 6th December, 1922, Free State forces finally took over the town of Kenmare (pictured), in County Kerry.
The town had been held by the rebels (IRA) since September, 1922, and the Staters had tried, twice, to take it from them, but failed on both occasions. But, on the 6th December that year, the Leinster House Free State administration sent in three military columns of their armed forces to 'secure' the town, which they did, this time, and 'arrested' fourteen rebels in the process.
==========
1925 :
In order to 'legitimise the new Irish State in Northern Ireland' (sic) in the political eyes of the world, Westminster and its offspring in Leinster House needed to present the 'Stormont Government' (sic) in the Occupied Six Counties as 'an agreed positve advancement'.
So those three anti-republican, pro-British political institutions came up with a 'Tripartite Agreement' which all three would get on board with and sign off on.
In a speech in Dublin, Mr Éamon de Valera (playing the rebel) loudly objected, calling the 'Agreement' a "mediated crime" and described those in Leinster House as "Free Staters who had sold our countrymen for the meanest of all considerations – a money consideration..".
However, within two years, Mr de Valera and his followers had accepted political office in the Free State 'parliament' and Establishment...!
==========
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 the land, or any part of it, cannot become the property of any man, but by purchase, or as rewards for forwarding and preserving the public liberty.
I believe our present connection with England must be speedily dissolved.
I believe that old age, pregnant women and labour should be honoured.
I believe that treason is the crime of betraying the people.
I believe religious distinctions are only protected by tyrants.
I believe applying the lands of the church to relieve old age, to give education and protection to infancy, will be more acceptable to a united people, than maintaining lazy hypocrites and ravenous tithe-gatherers.
In this faith I mean to live, or bravely die..."
(MORE LATER.)
Thanks for the visit, and for reading.
Sharon and the team.
ON THIS DATE (20TH JULY) 101 YEARS AGO : BRITISH ARMY MAJOR IN IRELAND DIES BY HIS OWN HAND.
On the 20th July, 1921, a British Army Major in the hated Black and Tan/RIC 'Auxiliary' force in Ireland shot himself dead in Woodstock House in Inistioge, in County Kilkenny.
Auxiliary Cadet Major Cyrus Hunter Regnart RMLI ('Royal Marine Light Infantry'), who made a name for himself in 'foreign theatres of war', as those who cause/organise but don't actually shoulder a weapon in, call them.
Major Regnart was a linguist with a wide range of languages - German, Russian, French, Spanish, Danish - and that fact is mentioned in his reports at the end of various 'campaigns', with the implication being that he had used them to further the aims and objectives of the different 'war efforts' he involved himself in, for 'King and Country'.
On the 3rd June, 1921, he was 'released' by the RMLI and was demobilised the next day ; he joined 'ADRIC' on the 14th June, 1921 ('Service Number 2046')and was dispatched to 'A Coy' (pictured), who were then based in Woodstock House, Inistioge, in County Kilkenny where, no doubt due to the horrors he had witnessed/inflicted on his foreign jaunts, and those he witnessed/inflicted in Ireland, he killed himself on the 20th July, 1921, and was taken back to his own country to be buried (in St Helen Churchyard, in Albury, Oxfordshire, in England).
Incidentally, that 'Big House', Woodstock, was vacated by British forces in early 1922 and was then occupied by a different anti-republican element, the Free State Army. They, in turn, were withdrawn from the building on the 1st July, 1922 and, on the 2nd July, the IRA burned it down.
'CHURCHILL.'
From 'The United Irishman' newspaper, April 1955.
Mr Churchill has resigned.
His life may be summed up by saying that he was a careerist who succeeded, but it would be difficult to say that the world is a better place because he lived in it.
He certainly saved England from surrender and defeat in 1940 when he rallied a defeated and dispirited people and led them to the destruction of Germany. It cannot be said that he led them to victory, because in his lifetime the British Empire has tottered and the economy of England is as brittle as a well-baked oatcake.
Gone are the reservoirs of cheap raw materials in India, China, Malaya and all the corners of the once British Colonies... (MORE LATER.)
ON THIS DATE (20TH JULY) 99 YEARS AGO : 'BOUNDARY COMMISSION' PROBLEMS.
On the 11th July 1924, the 'Treaty of Surrender' was registered at the 'League of Nations' by the Free State authorities which, in our opinion, would have been the ideal occasion for a legal challenge to it, based on the fact that, when Michael Collins and his supporters were attempting to 'sell' it to their own side, they made a big deal of the 'Boundary Commission' clause (established under 'Article XII' of that Treaty) and in particular the part of it which stated that the 'border' could be adjusted "in accordance with the wishes of the inhabitants", which is precisely why Westminster 'took' only six of the nine Ulster counties - a built-in 'majority'.
Also, the British actually took it on themselves to amend the 1921 Treaty of Surrender to allow themselves (ie Westminster) to unilaterally appoint a representative to speak on behalf of the Stormont 'Parliament'. That Boundary Commission clause ('Article 12') was not properly adhered to by the signatories of the 1921 Treaty thereby, legally, negating the Treaty itself.
But deep pockets would be required to take such an action. And the only grouping in this State in a position to mount a challenge like that is the same (Free State) grouping which benefited then and continues to benefit today from that Clause and that which spawned it. For now they do, anyway.
On the 31st July, 1924, a 'British Judicial Committee' stated that the majority would rule on the Boundary Commission and that that Commission did not have the power to order plebiscites ; Westminster then took it upon itself to appoint a 'Northern Ireland' representative to the Boundary Commission, thus skewing the outcome of any vote taken, and it should be kept in mind that, at that stage, the Boundary Commission had not even held its first meeting - It actually only met for the first time on the 6th November 1924!
On the 20th July 1923 - 99 years ago on this date - after a meeting between Free State and British political reps in London, the Staters announced that Eoin MacNeill would be the Free State's representative on the Boundary Commission and around the same time made the formal request to the British Government to actually set up the Commission ("Please, Sir...") ; this simple request drew a hostile response from Westminster, prompting one of their own, 'Sir' James Craig, 1st Viscount Craigavon PC, PC (NI), DL etc etc to state that he and his 'government' (sic - he meant the Stormont puppet/Vichy administration in the occupied counties) would not recognise any Boundary Commission!
So, in effect, one of the main 'selling points' of the 'Treaty of Surrender' was being renegade on by the British, yet the servile Staters felt compelled to keep to their end of the 'bargain'. Typical of that mindset, which still exists in that same political institution in Kildare Street in Dublin.
'DIVIDED LOYALTIES...'
Ulster loyalism displayed its most belligerent face this year as violence at Belfast's Holy Cross School made international headlines. But away from the spotlight, working-class Protestant communities are themselves divided, dispirited and slipping into crisis.
By Niall Stanage.
From 'Magill' magazine, Annual 2002.
Seán Mag Uidhir's words find an unexpected echo in those of prominent loyalist and Orangeman Mark Harbinson - "Nationalists have developed that side of things, and it is a credit to them," he says, "We have had this belief that the Protestant people of Ulster (sic) would always be looked after by the British government. What I am seeing now is people realising that they haven't been looked after, they have been treated like some distant colony."
Faced with a disorientating present, Protestants are prone to harking back to the pre-1969 'good old days' and, in doing so, they are reminiscing not just about a Northern Ireland (sic) whose 'Britishness' was beyond question, but about an era in which huge companies like Mackies engineering works and the Harland And Wolff shipyard employed thousands of (overwhemingly Protestant) workers.
The decimation of those industries - the shipyard once boasted a workforce of over 20,000 people, now the total is less than 2,000 and closure is regularly mooted - has been a seismic shock from which Belfast loyalism has yet to recover... (MORE LATER.)
'NYC COMMITTEE.'
From 'The United Irishman' newspaper, March, 1955.
'From Irish Republican Prisoners Dependants Fund,
Clan na Gael HQ.
To General Secretary, Dublin.
A Cara,
Since last writing you our position has greatly strengthened, the GAA President, John (Kerry) O'Donnell, has given the 'Republican Aid Committee' (RAC) his very influential support.
He has obtained for us a special field day at Croke Park, with excellent matches to be played at same with permission to have a chance sale booth for the full season in the park, making a strong appeal on behalf of the prisoners at the GAA Banquet of the Year, besides giving generous personal contributions, and pledging full support on behalf of the Prisoners' Aid.
The group attached to the AOH branch Highbridge, the Bronx, who organised a very successful dance last year, are again to repeat their effort on April 16th, besides making a special subscription drive in their area.
The members of the branch have all declared their willingness and desire to help...' (MORE LATER.)
ON THIS DATE (20TH JULY) IN...
...1616 :
'The Flight of the Earls' ; on the 20th July, 1616, Hugh O'Neill (pictured), the head of the O'Neill clan of Ulster, the 2nd Earl of Tyrone, described over the decades as 'charismatic, machiavellian, a ruthless opponent, a skilled negotiator, a power seeker par excellence, an innovator...', an Irish rebel who, from 1595 to 1603 ('the Nine Years War'), led an unsuccessful Roman Catholic uprising against English rule in Ireland, died in Rome.
He hoped to restart the war by building an army of soldiers from Europe, but he never managed to gain enough military support ; the defeat of O'Neill and the conquest of the province of Ulster was the final step in the subjugation of Ireland by the English, a nightmare we're still living through.
======================================
...1798 :
During the 1798 Rebellion, a force of 3,000 'United Irishmen' were camped out in the Bog of Allen in County Kildare and used their encampment as a 'base of operations' from which to organise, and carry out, attacks on the British.
From that base, under the command of Colonel William Aylmer, they carried out attacks on British forces at Properous, Clane, Rathangan, Naas, Kilcock and Maynooth, but suffered one major setback when 200 of their number were killed on the 19th June, 1798, in what became known as 'The Battle of Ovidstown'.
On the 10th July, another rebel camp consisting of Wicklow and Wexford rebels marched from Blessington, nearly 40km away, to join them. This boosted numbers at the Bog of Allen camp to about 4,000 fighters but, the next morning, the Wicklow and Wexford group left the camp and headed north to Meath and Fingal, but they were halted on the 14th July at Drishogue Lane, Ballyboughal, where they were cut down by the British.
The British forces then headed for the Bog of Allen encampment and, on the 20th July, 1798, knowing that they were outnumbered and about to face a foe with superior weaponry, the Kildare rebels surrendered under a conditional amnesty and rebel Colonel William Aylmer sent a message to his father, an acquaintance of the 'Marquess' of Buckingham, to try and arrange surrender terms for himself, his second-in-command, Hugh Ware, and their remaining fighters.
William Aylmer was detained in Dublin Castle before being allowed to go to England, named in the 'Banishment Act' and was effectively 'evicted' from Ireland. But a section of his men had refused to surrender, breached the British encirclement and marched northwards, under Anthony Perry, to try to rise once more the rebels of Meath and Fingal.
The fight for freedom continued, and does so to this day.
======================================
...1888 :
Sarah Teresa MacMahon (Sorcha MacMahon, pictured) was born in Coas, in County Monaghan, on the 20th July, 1888, one of seven children (four boys and three girls), and was raised in an Irish-speaking household.
After her schooling, she left the family home in Monaghan and headed for Dublin where she began working as a commercial bookkeeper for Taggart's Garage, and joined Cumann na mBan, where she made her mark as a secretary and in nursing and first aid.
She was very active in the 1916 Rising and began working with Michael Collins afterwards but, in February 1922, when Cumann na mBan rejected the 'Treaty of Surrender', he instructed her to end her membership of, and association with, Cumann na mBan and - more fool her - she did.
While she then claimed that she did not support either side in the conflict between Collins' Free State and the Republican Movement, she continued to work, in a clerical position, for the Staters. She died as 'Mrs Sorcha Rogers' on the 13th December, 1970, in Sutton, County Dublin.
======================================
...1920 :
On the 20th July, 1920, the RIC and their comrades in the British 'Dragoon Guards Regiment' (pictured, who were stationed in Claremorris, County Mayo) went on the rampage and provoked riots in Tuam, County Galway ; the British forces looted public houses, fired their weapons indiscriminately, burned down the Town Hall and a number of other buildings and houses.
An English reporter who was observing the destruction compared the wrecked town of Tuam to Belgian and other French towns which had been destroyed by the Germans during the First World War.
They were on a revenge mission - on the 19th, an IRA ambush in Tuam resulted in the death of two RIC men.
======================================
...1920 :
At 2am on the morning of Tuesday, 20th July 1920, the RIC Barracks in Nurney, County Kildare, was attacked by the IRA and burned down and, at 2.30am, the RIC Barracks in Castledermot (about 17 miles from Nurney), also in that same county, was attacked and burnt down, as was the courthouse and, in Athy, again in Kildare, the courthouse was made unusable.
In all three attacks, communication links were cut and the 'Weights and Measures' ledgers, and other 'official' books, were destroyed. IRA casualities were light, with only one Volunteer having received injuries.
======================================
...1920 :
On the 20th July, 1920, the West Limerick Brigade of the IRA held a meeting in Dirreen, Athea, in Limerick, and formed a 'Flying Column' of Volunteers, consisting of about 35 fighters. The Vice Commander of the Brigade, Garrett McAulieffe, was announced as the Commander of the new Column and IRA Captain Michael Colbert was promoted to the position of Vice Commander of the new Unit.
======================================
...1921 :
On the 20th July, 1921, political 'movement' took place in relation to possible 'peace talks' regarding the political and military situation Westminster had placed itself in, in relation to its interference in Ireland.
Various issues were discussed/offered/touched-on by Westminster, including that the use of the word 'treaty' was now deemed acceptable by the British cabinet, which was very decent and jolly hockeysticks etc of them.
A proposal was on the table to have 26 out of our 32 counties declared as 'a qualified Dominion Status' with 'internal control over taxation, finance and land defence', but with no navy force, and existing navy bases to be practically handed-over to the 'Royal Navy', and there would be agreed restrictions placed on the number of and actual individual membership of the new State's army.
There was to be free and open trade between the new 'Free State' and England, which would, potentially, help the new State and the Staters within it to pay the demanded 'Irish contribution to the British war debt'!
In addition, the new State must recognise "..the existing powers and privileges of the Parliament of Northern Ireland, which cannot be abrogated except by their own consent..."
A 'win-win' situation for Westminster, with gifted political careers and an easy life guaranteed for those who accepted the 'Terms and Conditions' offered/imposed by Westminster. And those acceptees are still there, in Leinster House, in Kildare Street, in Dublin.
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...1922 :
On the 20th July, 1922, Free State Army Captain Ned O'Brien and about 100 State troops, using boats, attacked republican positions on the quays in Waterford and took about twelve prisoners ; they then crossed the river Suir into the city to continue their assault.
Free State General John T. Prout (pictured, a republican-gamekeeper-turned-Free State-poacher), with about 450 State troopers under his command, used an 18-pounder field gun which he stationed at the Suir Ferry bank to fire at close range into the IRA-held Post Office. Two Free State soldiers were killed in the fighting in Waterford and nineteen were wounded, and at least one IRA fighter was fatally wounded. Five civilians were killed in the three-day State onslaught.
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...1922 :
On the 20th July, 1922, two Free State Army Privates, John Foran and John Martin, were killed in successive nights in attacks outside Mountjoy prison in Dublin. We have no more information on these two men.
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...1933 :
On the 20th July, 1933, republican-gamekeeper-turned-Free State-fascist Eoin O'Duffy (pictured) became the leader of the 'National Guard' grouping (the 'Blueshirts', without whom there would have been no Fine Gael), an organisation which sprang from the 10,000-strong 'Army Comrades Association'.
Mr O'Duffy joined the IRA in 1917 but, when the Free State was spawned in 1921, he jumped ship to it and was the commander of the State Army between 1924 and 1925, and also 'served' as chief commissioner of the Civic Guard (the State 'police force') from 1922 to 1933.
He was removed from that position in 1933 and, true to his fascist political leanings, he helped to found the 'Fine Gael' party ; he was president of that outfit from 1933 until 1934, when he was forced to resign.
This foul creature died on the 30th November, 1944, at 54 years of age. More about him here.
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...1982 :
On the 20th July, 1982,
the IRA detonated two bombs in London, one in Hyde Park and the other in Regents Park, two hours later. Both were timed to coincide with British military ceremonies which were taking place in those parks.
The explosions killed 11 military personnel - four soldiers of the Blues And Royals at Hyde Park, and seven bandsmen of the Royal Green Jackets at Regents Park, and a further 51 people were injured. Seven horses also died in the attack.
According to Andrew Parker-Bowles (the ex-husband of the 'Duchess' of Cornwall), the English Queen saw the attack as one of the darkest days of her reign : "She said to me it was 'the most ghastly day of my life.'"
We here in Ireland know all about such "ghastly days".
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Thanks for the visit, and for reading!
We're temporarily closing up shop here for a few weeks ; not going away, not even going on a 'staycation' and, unfortunately, definitely not going back to NYC. Yet..!
We haven't had a decent break in...eh... yonks (!) and the two lads will, I know, appreciate the free time and I've already made some arrangements with the Girl Gang for a few days/nights out, plus we'll be contacting our buddies in New York to have a chat.
We'll be back here on Wednesday, 10th August 2022 with, among other pieces, a few paragraphs about an IRA Executive meeting held in the mid-1920's, comprising over two dozen republican fighters, at which past actions were discussed and future arrangements were made.
If you're unable to do without the pleasure of my our company (!) until the 10th August next, then get yer fix on Facebook and/or Twitter. Or don't. See what I care ; I'm off on me holliers...!
Thanks again,
Sharon and the team.
