ON THIS DATE (25TH OCTOBER) 106 YEARS AGO : SINN FÉIN ADOPTS A REPUBLICAN CONSTITUTION.
"The Constitution of this new movement which you have adopted is one which it may be well to lay stress on. It says that this organisation of Sinn Féin aims at securing international recognition of Ireland as an independent Irish Republic.
That is what I stand for, what I stood for in East Clare and it is because I stand for that that I was elected here. I said in East Clare when I was elected that I regarded that election as a monument to the dead. I regard my election here as a monument to the brave dead, and I believe that this is proof that they were right, that what they fought for — the complete and absolute freedom and separation from England — was the pious wish of every Irish heart..."
- part of a speech delivered by Éamon de Valera to the Sinn Féin Ard Fheis in the Mansion House, in Dublin, on the 25th/26th October, 1917.
A report on that Ard Fheis, by Fr. Patrick Gaynor, can be read here.
That Sinn Féin Ard Fheis, Chaired by Arthur Griffith, was of particular interest and importance to Mr. Griffith, as it signalled a move away from his 'Dual Monarchy' policy in favour of republican principles ; in short, Arthur Griffith insisted that Ireland should come into its own, alongside Britain, with the two entities (for want of a better description!) forming a 'dual monarchy' ie a 'shared monarch', but with two 'separate' political administrations, according to Mr. Griffith which, he believed, would be more palatable to Westminster (but which proved to be less palatable to Irish republicans who insisted - and still do - on a clean break from the British).
Some of the more than 2,000 delegates present, perturbed by the objections to the so-called 'republican slant' of the proceedings, began a walk-out from the Ard Fheis but eventually the issue was somewhat settled there and then, in-house, and the proceedings continued.
Incidentally, at that time, there were 3,300 Sinn Féin Clubs (Cumainn), over 250,000 members and the organisation was financially healthy, with about £1,200 in its kitty.
However, between the jigs and the reels (!), one of the motions passed at that Ard Fheis, on the 25th October 1917 - 106 years ago on this date - read :
'1 -
The name of this organisation shall be Sinn Féin.
2 -
Sinn Féin aims at securing the international recognition of Ireland as an independent Irish Republic. Having achieved that status the Irish people may by referendum freely choose their own form of Government.
3 -
This object shall be attained through the Sinn Féin Organisation.
4 -
WHEREAS no law made without the authority and consent of the Irish people is or ever can be binding on their conscience, therefore in accordance with the Resolution of Sinn Féin adopted in Convention, 1905, a Constituent Assembly shall be convoked, comprising persons chosen by the Irish Constituencies as the supreme national authority to speak and act in the name of the Irish people and to devise and formulate measures for the welfare of the whole people of Ireland.
Such as :
The introduction of a Protective System for Irish industries and Commerce by combined action of the Irish County Councils, Urban Councils, Rural Councils, Poor Law Boards, Harbour Boards, and other bodies directly responsible to the Irish people.
The establishment and maintenance under the direction of a National Assembly or other authority approved by the people of Ireland of an Irish Consular Service for the advancement of Irish Commerce and Irish interests generally.
The re-establishment of an Irish Mercantile Marine to facilitate direct trading between Ireland and the countries of Continental Europe, America, Africa, and the Far East.
The industrial survey of Ireland and the development of its mineral resources under the auspices of a National Assembly or other national authority approved by the people of Ireland.
The establishment of a National Stock Exchange.
The creation of a National Civil Service, embracing all the employee of the County Councils, Rural Councils, Poor law Boards, Harbour Boards, and other bodies responsible to the Irish people, by the institution of a common national qualifying examination and a local competitive examination (the latter at the discretion of the local bodies).
The establishment of Sinn Féin Courts of Arbitration for the speedy and satisfactory adjustment of disputes.
The development of transit by rail road and water, of waste lands for the national benefit by a national authority approved by the people of Ireland.
The development of the Irish Sea Fisheries by National Assembly or other National authority approved by the people of Ireland.
The reform of education, to render its basis national and industrial by the compulsory teaching of the Irish language, Irish history and Irish agricultural and manufacturing potentialities in the primary system, and, in addition, to elevate to a position of dominance in the University system Irish agriculture and economics.
The abolition of the Poor Law System and substitution in its stead of adequate outdoor relief to the aged and infirm, and the employment of the able-bodied in the reclamation of waste lands, afforestation and other national and reproductive works.
A special meeting of the Executive may be summoned on three days' notice by the President on requisition presented to him signed by six members of the Executive specifying the object for which the meeting is called.
In case of an urgent emergency the President shall call all members of the Executive to an urgency meeting, and may take action in the name of the Executive in case he secures the approval of an absolute minority of the entire Executive. The action taken is to be reported for confirmation at next ordinary meeting of the Executive.
That where Irish resources are being developed, or where industries exist, Sinn Féiners should make it their business to secure that workers are paid a living wage.
That the equality of men and women in this Organisation be emphasised in all speeches and leaflets.'
The above political motion was way ahead of its time, and still serves as a demonstration of the forward thinking, fairness and 'street-level' democratic values that traditional Irish republicans have for the Irish people, and Ireland itself, unlike the sleeveen time-servers in Leinster House.
'FIRST THINGS FIRST.'
From 'The United Irishman' newspaper, April 1955.
The flare of publicity given to the interview by Mr. John Aloysius Costello with 'The Yorkshire Post' newspaper and the subsequent statements and counter-statements by himself, Mr, de Valera and various members of the Stormont junta have given a brief temporary revival to the politicians standby - the 'partition problem'.
But the editorial statement by 'The Yorkshire Post' is very candid on the matter. It states -
'...nor could we contemplate an arrangement which would deprive us in time of war of the use of the Ulster ports..'
That is the authentic voice of England ; it is saying in 1955 what Lloyd George said in 1920 -"Ulster, whether she wills it or not, must not be allowed merge with the rest of Ireland."
England feels that her imperial defence system requires that a grip be kept on the Irish side of the North Channel and irrespective of the wishes of the people concerned, she is determined to maintain that grip...(MORE LATER.)
ON THIS DATE (25TH OCTOBER) 41 YEARS AGO : BRITISH HANDLERS FINALISED THEIR PLANS TO ALLOW THEIR IRA INFORMER TO BREAK HIS 20-MONTH PERIOD OF INCOMMUNICADO HIDING.
One of the many so-called 'Irish republicans' that turned 'supergrass' on their one-time 'comrades' who were allegedly involved in militant republicanism was Tyrone man Patrick McGurk, who attempted to implicate nine men as being members of 'proscribed organisations'.
On the 20th of September, 1982, the RUC, apparently doubtful that he would go through with his 'evidence' if produced in court, instead invoked the obsolete 'Bill of Indictment' to by-pass the preliminary enquiry stage of the case against the nine accused. This meant that, until his return to Dungannon on the following day (Wednesday 26th October 1982) McGurk had been held incommunicado, without access to family or friends, throughout the 20-month period that the British kept him in a 'safe house', for his own protection.
It wasn't only in the republican community that the use by the British of so-called 'supergrasses' was questioned, as this exchange in Leinster House highlights :
"I will take the case of Mr. X as a clear example of the injustice of trial by supergrass, of which the British Government approve. I hope the Minister and the Government will take a serious interest in the whole affair and request the British Government to take the necessary action immediately to resolve these injustices.
Mr. X was 24 years of age in February 1982. He had no history of involvement in guerrilla activities whatsoever. In 1979 he married his wife Kathleen and they have two children, a boy and a girl. His daughter was six months old when he was arrested at 4.30 a.m. and brought to Gough Barracks in Armagh.
On Tuesday, 9th February 1982 an RUC man came to the room in the barracks and asked the interrogators "Who is this?" One of them answered "Mr. X." The RUC man turned back towards the other room and repeated the name, whereupon a man, unknown to Mr. X, appeared at the doorway. The interrogators asked the newcomer "Do you know this man?" The man at the door nodded. They asked "Have you made any statements against him?" Again the man nodded. They asked "Are you prepared to give evidence against this man?" Again the man nodded. The newcomer was then led away.
That man was Patrick McGurk (pictured), supergrass, newly recruited.
Mr. X was not the first victim of the new tactics. Mr. X was charged with possession of land mines at Ballygawley Road near Dungannon between 1st January and 31st December 1978. He was also charged with an arson attack on the Ulsterbus depot in Dungannon in May 1978. Mr. X made no statement while in custody and the only evidence against him were alleged statements made by McGurk. He was transferred to Crumlin Road prison in Belfast in custody for the next 21 months.
There is no precise location for the alleged incidents. Ballygawley Road is at least ten miles long. There was no precise date given for the alleged incidents. There were no explosions and no casualties. There was never any evidence of a bomb. Such a charge that cannot be pinned down make an alibi impossible. On 21st April 1982 Mr. X was brought up for bail. Under the Emergency Provisions Act, 1978, the conditions of bail are such that, instead of the prosecution having to prove that the prisoner would be a danger to society if released, the defence has to prove that he or she would not.
As this is extremely difficult, very few prisoners are granted bail and it was not surprising that Mr. X was refused. He was returned to Crumlin Road prison and was remanded in custody again.
The next development was in September 1982, five months after the bail refusal, when the preliminary inquiry should have taken place. This is when the accused are faced by the accusers who have to give evidence against them in an open court, so that the court can decide whether or not there is sufficient evidence to merit a continuation of the proceedings. The surprise was that there was to be no preliminary inquiry as Lord Chief Justice Lowry had granted a bill of indictment to the Director of Public Prosecutions the night before. This dispensed with the preliminary inquiry. Mr. X and others who stood in the courtroom that morning were returned to Crumlin Road prison and so rests the future of Mr. X. This is one of the many examples of the injustice of the supergrass trial system in Northern Ireland (sic) of which the British Government approve..." (From here.)
Incidentally, one of those named by McGurk was Patrick Joseph Kelly, who was arrested by the British in February 1982 but released in October 1983 due to lack of evidence after a trial that lasted fifteen minutes.
Today, British 'supergrasses' in Ireland are dressed in suits, given jobs, a salary, expenses, office staff and a position and title with which to implement British rule in their own country and are cheered-on in doing so by the same political establishment they once fought against.
And they relish their 'success' in doing so.
(The 'Supergrass' system is still in operation in Ireland [examples here and here] and will no doubt remain in the 'weapons arsenal' of both Westminster and Leinster House, to be used against Irish republican activists. The only way to bring that corrupt system to an end is to remove the British political and military presence from Ireland.)
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.
Born into such instability, children are at risk of emotional deprivation and ultimately of growing up with distorted views of parenthood, which they will take with them into adulthood.
A complicating factor is our increasing mobility, which has also distanced children from the modifying influence of grandparents and cousins. The family in modern Ireland is therefore increasingly likely to be cohabiting, unstable and inward-looking as it is devoid of the steadying hand of the extended family.
Meanwhile, the push to encourage women into the workplace continues, even if it is against the will of some.
In 1999, the Minister for Finance added his weight to this by penalising, through individualisation of the tax system, those families in which one parent stayed at home. This resulted in something of a minor revolt and the minister was forced to delay his plans, although they are proceeding apace again.
The publication of a recent EU report finding that Ireland has the lowest proportion of women in the workforce of any EU country (sic) was recently a cause of political concern rather than national (sic) pride...
(MORE LATER.)
ON THIS DATE (25TH OCTOBER) 103 YEARS AGO : DEATH OF TWO IRISH HUNGER-STRIKERS.
Joseph Murphy (left of pic) and Terence MacSwiney : both men died on hunger-strike on this date - 25th October - in 1920, 103 years ago.
In his book 'History of the Irish Working Class', Peter Beresford Ellis wrote : "On October 25th, 1920, Lord Mayor of Cork, Terence MacSwiney - poet, dramatist and scholar, died on the 74th day of a hunger-strike while in Brixton Prison, London. A young Vietnamese dishwasher in the Carlton Hotel in London broke down and cried when he heard the news - "A Nation which has such citizens will never surrender". His name was Nguyen Ai Quoc who, in 1941, adopted the name Ho Chi Minh and took the lessons of the Irish anti-imperialist fight to his own country..."
Terence MacSwiney, his wife Muriel and their daughter, Máire, photographed in 1919.
He was the Commandant of the 1st Cork Brigade of the IRA and was elected as the Lord Mayor of Cork. He died after 74 days on hunger strike in Brixton Prison, England, on the 25th October, 1920, and his body lay in Southwark Cathedral in London where tens of thousands of people paid their respects.
'Joe Murphy (pictured) was born in Lynn, Massachusetts in the USA. He had 14 siblings, with only 5 surviving (and) was one of 3 children born in America, but he did not have American citizenship.
The Murphy family returned to their native Cork and settled in Pouladuff Road, in the suburbs...he joined H Company, 2nd Battalion of the Cork No.1 Brigade of the IRA in Cork city (and) would eventually rise to the rank of Commandant..but would be expelled from the IRA for "bringing the army into disrepute", although it's not clear what the exact reason for this was. Joe would later be arrested by the British for possession of a bomb to be used in an attack on British forces (but) it is likely these were trumped-up charges by the British even though Murphy was not a member of the IRA at this time...' (from here.)
Two gallant Corkmen who perished on hunger strike on October 25th 1920 - 103 years ago on this date.
(A special mention here, and a heartfelt 'Fáilte!', to our readers in Lynn, in Massachusetts, who we know are 'tuned-in' : we appreciate you taking the time to do so, and we hope you'll keep in touch. Go raibh maith agat!)
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.)
Tá traidisiún láidir is uaibhreach againn go bhfuil iontach cruinn agus spreagúil sa leabhrán seo.
Cuireann sé síos ár scéal, scéal spairn na hÉireann ar son saoirse, agus tá muid ábalta a lán fulaingt is crógacht a fheicáll sna spairin sin ó míle ocht gcéad nócha a hocht go dtí an lá seo.
Is leabhrán é seo go bhfuil leis an croí agus tnúth na saoirse ; leis an t-anam agus ár gcreid ndobhriste, agus leis an cheann is an obair déanta a bheith.
It was just a simple working class and fairly insignificant revolutionary who once declared that "...actions, not words, count most in life, especially in the life of a revolutionary organisation...."
(MORE LATER.)
Thanks for the visit, and for reading!
Sharon and the team.
ON THIS DATE (16TH AUGUST) 103 YEARS AGO : AN IRISH FIGHTER IN A BRITISH 'COURT OF JUSTICE'.
Pictured : Terence MacSwiney, his wife Muriel and their daughter, Máire, photographed in 1919.
On August 12th, 1920, in Cork, British forces 'arrested' Terence MacSwiney (and other members of the Cork IRA) for possession of 'seditious articles and documents', and for the possession of a cipher key which, they claimed, would enable the user to read coded messages sent by the RIC and, to ensure conviction, they accused him of three other counts of 'sedition'.
Terence MacSwiney was summarily 'tried' by the British on the 16th of August, 1920 - 103 years ago on this date - and sentenced to two years imprisonment in Brixton Prison, away from his family and supporters ; he immediately began a hunger strike in protest against his conviction, and was joined by ten other political prisoners (including Maurice Crowe [Tipperary] and Michael Fitzgerald).
Terence MacSwiney was born on the 28th March 1879, and was the Commandant of the 1st Cork Brigade of the IRA and was the elected Lord Mayor of Cork.
He died after 74 days on hunger strike (a botched effort to force feed him hastened his death) in that prison (Brixton) on the 25th October, 1920, and his body lay in Southwark Cathedral, in London, where tens of thousands of people paid their respects.
He summed-up the Irish feeling at that time (a feeling and determination which is still prominent in Irish republicans to this day) -
"The contest on our side is not one of rivalry or vengeance but of endurance. It is not those who can inflict the most but those who can suffer the most who will conquer. Those whose faith is strong will endure to the end in triumph."
"If I die I know the fruit will exceed the cost a thousand fold. The thought of it makes me happy. I thank God for it. Ah, Cathal, the pain of Easter week is properly dead at last..."
- Terence MacSwiney wrote these words in a letter to Cathal Brugha on the 30th of September, 1920, the 39th day of his hunger strike. The pain he refers to is that caused by his failure to take part in the 1916 Easter Rising - contradictory orders from Dublin and the failure of the arms ship, 'The Aud', to land arms in Tralee left the Volunteers in Cork unprepared for the fight.
In his book 'History of the Irish Working Class', Peter Berresford Ellis wrote :
"On October 25th, 1920, Lord Mayor of Cork, Terence MacSwiney - poet, dramatist and scholar - died on the 74th day of a hunger-strike while in Brixton Prison, London. A young Vietnamese dishwasher in the Carlton Hotel in London broke down and cried when he heard the news - "A Nation which has such citizens will never surrender". His name was Nguyen Ai Quoc (pictured) who, in 1941, adopted the name Ho Chi Minh and took the lessons of the Irish anti-imperialist fight to his own country..."
On the 13th March, 1920, Terence MacSwiney was unanimously elected as the 'Lord Mayor of Cork' by that city's Corporation (he donated his salary for the position to an outside organisation and received no salary for the other position he held at that time - Brigadier of the No. 1 Brigade, Cork IRA) -
"I shall be as brief as possible. This is not an occasion for many words, least of all a conventional exchange of compliments and thanks. The circumstances of the vacancy in the office of Lord Mayor governed inevitably the filling of it. And I come here more as a soldier stepping into the breach, than as an administrator to fill the first post in the municipality.
At a normal time it would be your duty to find for this post the councillor most practical and experienced in public affairs. But the time is not normal. We see in the manner in which our late Lord Mayor was murdered an attempt to terrify us all. Our first duty is to answer that threat in the only fitting manner by showing ourselves unterrified, cool and inflexible for the fulfillment of our chief purpose - the establishment of the independence and integrity of our country — the peace and the happiness of our country. To that end I am here.
I was more closely associated than any other here with our late murdered friend and colleague, both before and since the events of Easter Week, in prison and out of it, in a common work of love for Ireland, down to the hour of his death. For that reason I take his place. It is, I think, though I say it, the only fitting answer to those who struck him down.
Following from that there is a further matter of importance only less great — it touches the efficient continuance of our civic administration. If this recent unbearable aggravation of our persecution by our enemies should cause us to suspend voluntarily the normal discharge of our duties, it would help them very materially in their campaign to overthrow our cause. I feel the question of the future conduct of our affairs is in all our minds. And I think I am voicing the general view when I say that the normal functions of our corporate body must proceed, as far as in our power lies, uninterrupted, with that efficiency and integrity of which our late civic head gave such brilliant promise.
I don't wish to sound a personal note, but this much may be permitted under the circumstances — I made myself active in the selection of our late colleague for the office of Lord Mayor. He did not seek the honour and would not accept it as such, but when put to him as a duty he stepped to his place like a soldier.
Before his election we discussed it together in the intimate way we discussed everything touching our common work since Easter Week. We debated together what ought to be done and what could be done, keeping in mind, as in duty bound, not only the ideal line of action but the practical line at the moment as well. That line he followed with an ability and success all his own.
Gentlemen, you have paid tribute to him on all sides. It will be my duty and steady purpose to follow that line as faithfully as in my power, though no man in this Council could hope to discharge its functions with his ability and his perfect grasp of public business in all its details and as one harmonious whole.
GOVERNMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF IRELAND.
PROCLAMATION.
Whereas an unconstitutional and usurping Junta, set up at the dictation of the British Government and calling itself the "Provisional Government of Ireland," is and has been pledging the credit of the nation without the sanction of Dáil Eireann, the Parliament and Government of the Republic, and contracting debts and liabilities in various ways, including the purchase of military supplies and war material, and is further seeking to create vested interests by filling vacant offices and making appointments to new offices ;
And whereas the so-called Provisional Government has been proclaimed an illegal body by the Government of the Republic ;
Therefore, it is hereby proclaimed and notified to all whom it may concern that all such debts contracted or to be contracted, and appointments made, or to be made, by the said Provisional Government without the sanction of Dáil Eireann, the Parliament and Government of the Republic, are, and shall be illegal, null and void, and will not be recognised by the State.
(Signed) Aibhistin de Staic (Austin Stack)
Minister for Finance.'
In May 1923, the defence of the (32-County) Republic by armed struggle was suspended : from April 1922 until May 1923, the fighting had raged throughout the country (all 32 Counties of it) until the republican forces, encircled and isolated, were forced to dump arms. The republican army had lost some of its best leaders ; the republican institutions had been smashed, 11,316 republican fighters were still interned and British interests were being protected, by the 26-County Staters, 'with an economy of English lives.'
That same political junta is still here, in this Free State, still operating from Leinster House in Kildare Street, in Dublin and it's still wreaking political and financial havoc in the part of Ireland that it claims to have jurisdictional control over.
Those who operate under its 'writ' are, for the most part, millionaire/extremely wealthy businessmen and women and/or so-called 'landlords', and have no empathy with the people they purport to govern over.
The 'Free State' was spawned, in Ireland, on the 6th December 1922 and, in a nutshell, it has been all downhill since then, politically and morally. We need a new beginning ; a 'New Ireland'.
The alternative is to continue to put so-called 'new oil' (political candidates) into a seized 'engine' (Leinster House) in the hope that it will work.
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.
There was a perception of the Irish as a rural people ; priest-ridden and repressed but warm and friendly.
Over the past decade that image has metamorphosed and we are now seen as artistically sophisticated, socially progressive, chic and wealthy.
Many of these changes are positive, but there are indicators that at least some of this restyling has brought a raft of problems that could scarcely be comprehended in a sociological report.
We have always had a very friendly relationship to alcohol, and the pub has been an integral part of Irish culture. Regrettably, this relationship seems to be turning sour as we consume more and more alcohol. Teenagers and young adults drink prodigious amounts, yet they fail to identify any message in the findings of a recent EU survey which demonstrated that Ireland's young people had the largest intake of alcohol in Europe... (MORE LATER.)
'IN ANSWER TO CHURCH AND STATE AND IN DEFENCE OF IRISH REPUBLICANISM...'
Address to the Annual General Meeting of Comhairle Uladh (Ulster Executive) in Cootehill, County Cavan, on Sunday, November 22nd, 1987, by Ruairí Ó Brádaigh, Uachtarán, Sinn Féin Poblachtach.
Comhaírle Uladh AGM, November 22nd, 1987.
No generation of Irish republicans since the foundation of republicanism in Ireland by Wolfe Tone has been exempt from their strictures ; the United Irishmen, the Young Irelanders, the Fenians, the Land League, the men and women of Easter Week 1916, the Irish Republican Army in the Black-and-Tan War, in the war against the Free State, in 1931, in 1956 and in line of unbroken condemnation to the present day.
Denial of the sacraments and of church services for republican dead, excommunication in 1920 and again in 1922, exiling, silencing and punishment of brave priests eg Fathers Albert and Dominic and Father Michael O'Flanagan, who brought religious consolation to active republicans, are all part of this sorry tale. And in spite of it all, the Irish people have in the main clung tenaciously to their religious beliefs, wisely 'rendering to Caesar the things that are Caesar's and to God the things that are God's'.
The altar has many times been made a pro-British political platform down the years... (MORE LATER.)
16TH AUGUST 1919...
On the 16th August 1919 - 104 years ago on this date - Michael Collins, who was then still an Irish republican and a member of the GHQ Staff of the IRA, visited the Cork area and, as arranged beforehand, held a meeting with representatives of the Cork IRA.
The meeting took place in a town called Caheragh, in Drimoleague, and was presided over by Mr Collins, who announced several changes to the command structure of the 3rd West Cork Brigade of the army (pictured).
Seán Hayes, Hugh Thornton, Liam Deasy, Michael McCarthy, Pat Harte, Denis O'Shea and Ted O'Sullivan were all either promoted or demoted by Mr Collins, in what is said to be the last visit that he made to any of the three Cork Brigades during that period in our history.
After he took the soup, Mr Collins found himself in the Cork area again and, on the evening of the 22nd of August, 1922, Mr Collins and his Free State military escort took a wrong turn (another one...) and, on seeing a man they presumed was a local, pulled-in and asked him for directions.
The local, a Mr Dinny Long (an IRA man) put them on the right road, so to speak, and sent them on their way to an area known as 'the Mouth of Flowers', better known to outsiders as Béal na mBláth.
Mr Long had recognised Collins and got word to his comrades, and a certain IRA man, Liam Deasy, helped to organise a 'street party' for his old ex-republican Commanding Officer. The rest is history...
16TH AUGUST 1920...
British Army Private AE Nunn and some of his colleagues had been tasked with guarding a British Army airplane which crashed to earth on the 15th August, 1920, in the vicinity of Kanturk, in County Cork.
The Kanturk Company of the IRA heard about the incident and arrived at the scene on the same day and opened fire on Private Nunn and his colleagues and, in the firefight, Private Nunn was killed.
The following day, Monday, 16th August 1920 - 103 years ago on this date - Private Nunn's colleagues, assisted by RIC men, raided Jack O'Connell's home at Derrygallon, in Cork, and pulled him and his IRA comrade, Patrick Clancy, out of the house. Both men (pictured) were bayoneted and then shot dead.
The British raiding party later claimed that both men were killed while "resisting arrest".
16TH AUGUST 1920...
Kerry No. 2 Brigade of the IRA had received information that an RIC motorised patrol would be passing over Beaufort Bridge, in their operational area (between Killorglin and Killarney) at a certain time, on the 16th August (1920) and an ambush position was established.
The car with the (armed) RIC men arrived on the bridge at the expected time and was fired on, in the belief that the RIC would vacate the vehicle to defend themselves and try and retain ownership of the car.
Instead, although being fired on, the car sped up and hightailed it off the bridge!
16TH AUGUST 1920...
In June, 1920, RIC District Inspector William Harding Wilson was part of an RIC patrol driving through the village of Templetouhy, in County Tipperary, when they were fired on by the IRA ; bullets grazed his head but, although injured, he survived.
That same RIC operative, Wilson, was later said by the IRA to have been involved in the killing of IRA Captain (Borrisoleigh Company, Tipperary No.2 Brigade) Michael Small, who was shot dead on the 4th July, 1920, while he was crossing a field close to where an IRA ambush had taken place.
On the 16th August 1920 - 103 years ago on this date - an IRA 'Active Service Unit' was sent to the townland of Templemore, in Tipperary, to deal with the RIC man and, as he was about to enter the Post Office in that village at about 6.45pm, a shot rang out from a near-by laneway and RIC DI Wilson fell to the ground, having been shot in the head.
His colleagues in the British Army and the RIC went berserk and they went into the town of Templemore and burnt down the Town Hall (pictured) and three creameries in Castleiney, Killeen and Loughmore, and shops and houses were looted and destroyed.
However, during the fiery destruction of the Town Hall, two British soldiers (from the Northampton Regiment) received mortal injuries ; Lance–Corporal Herbert Fuggle died from burns and Lieutenant-Colonel Sidney Beattie was injured and died later from his wounds.
RIP Captain Michael Small.
Thanks for the visit, and for reading,
Sharon and the team.
ON THIS DATE (17TH AUGUST) 53 YEARS AGO : BRITISH PRESS RELEASE RE "DISTURBANCES" EXPOSES WESTMINSTER MINDSET.
'Speech by the Prime Minister, Major The Rt. Hon. J.D. Chichester-Clark, D.L., M.P., At a Press Conference in Stormont Castle To-Day, Sunday, 17th August 1969.'
"We have, of course, been doing what we can to provide you all with a regular and accurate supply of information on the public order situation in Belfast and elsewhere in Northern Ireland (sic).
I have, however, invited you to come here to-day so that my colleagues and I may put before you, and through you to the public, our views on some of the wider issues involved.
This is vitally necessary in view of a great deal of speculation, much of it wide of the mark..."
- Mr Chichester-Clark's mealy-mouthed and marble-in-the-mouth misdirections and outright mistruths dripped off those first two pages as, indeed, they did for the following four pages in that six-page press release, which was unleashed for public consumption on the 17th August 1969 - 53 years ago on this date.
The reason the 'Right Honourable' Mr Chichester-Clark and his people felt it prudent to call a press conference was because of the riots caused by one of their surrogate groupings, the 'Apprentice Boys', five days previously which, in turn, meant that Irish republicans had to take to the streets to protect themselves and the areas that they lived in.
"The real cause of the disorder is to be found in the activities of extreme Republican elements and others determined to overthrow our State. That is why we have found it necessary to detain a considerable number of known and dangerous agitators.
I would remind you again that the trouble in Belfast began with firing upon the police (sic) at widely-scattered locations within a short period of time...disorder was mounting ; riots had taken place in ten different towns the night before ; great damage was being done ; lives were clearly at risk..."
The Westminster political and military administration has invaded almost 90 per cent of the world's countries (to date, but it's early yet...) and, without exception, has 'explained' that bloodshed occurred because some of the natives got uppity and objected to being robbed, raped and pillaged ie 'The real cause of the disorder is to be found in the activities of (name natives here) and that is why we have found it necessary to etc...'
Same as it ever was, then, from Mr Chichester-Clark who, incidentally, was crudely impersonated by those who associated politically with him, including his own people, who viewed him as a representative of aristocratic nepotism and amateurism and spoke behind his back about Mr C-C and his unionist cabinets comprising of 'captain this and major that and general nothing..', as the poet John Montague put it!
"We fully appreciate that the United Kingdom Government and the Westminster Parliament must be satisfied that troops are involved only in a setting about which they can be confident and that the situation had arisen through no failure or error of this Government...no one here would dispute the sovereign authority of Westminster to secure its will..."
Perhaps no one in the circles you moved in, Mr C-C, would have "dispute(d) the sovereign authority of Westminster to secure its will" (..in the Occupied Six Counties) but we know of thousands of natives who did, and continue to do, just that!
While facing repeated votes of 'No Confidence' in his leadership, Mr Chichester-Clark resigned his Stormont position on the 20th March, 1971, in protest at the failure of the London administration to send in more troops and impose wide-ranging security measures in the Six Occupied Counties but was no doubt placated when, on the 20th July, 1971, he received a 'Life Peerage' and was gifted the title of 'Baron Moyola of Castledawson'. And he never even thanked the natives for helping him to secure his 'Baronship'!
James Dawson Chichester-Clark ('Lord Moyola') died, aged 79, on the 17th May, 2002, in Moyola Park Country Estate, near Castledawson, in County Derry. We'll hazard a guess and say that his family missed him.
'TOMÁS MacCURTAIN COMMEMORATION.'
From 'The United Irishman' newspaper, April 1955.
At the Tomás MacCurtain Commemoration, held in the City Hall, Cork, on March 18th last, the following address was delivered by Domhnall O Cathain :
"We are inclined to dwell mostly on current affairs, to attempt to expose the hypocrisy and insincerity that is rampant in this Ireland of today.
You may ask what has this got to do with the Tomás MacCurtain Commemoration, maybe you may even accuse us of using the Commemoration for some obscure political reason or some ulterior motive.
This tendency became apparent when the Republican Movement was surrounded by, if I might use the hackneyed phrase, the 'Paper Wall', when every device known to modern propagandists was used to slander and detract from the Republican Movement.
All this cleverness, prompted by cynical materialism, was brought to bear on an organisation sadly depleted by imprisonments, demoralised by ruthless coercion, and its spokesmen (sic) had no other means of retaliation, no other means of nailing the lies than the common rostrum..."
(MORE LATER.)
ON THIS DATE (17TH AUGUST) 102 YEARS AGO - TERENCE MACSWINEY TRANSFERRED FROM CORK TO BRIXTON.
"If I die I know the fruit will exceed the cost a thousand fold. The thought of it makes me happy. I thank God for it. Ah, Cathal, the pain of Easter week is properly dead at last..."
- Terence MacSwiney wrote these words in a letter to Cathal Brugha on the 30th September, 1920, the 39th day of his hunger strike. The pain he refers to is that caused by his failure to partake in the 1916 Easter Rising. Contradictory orders from Dublin and the failure of the arms ship, the Aud, to land arms in Tralee, left the Volunteers in Cork unprepared for insurrection.
In his book 'History of the Irish Working Class', Peter Beresford Ellis wrote : "On October 25th, 1920, Lord Mayor of Cork, Terence MacSwiney - poet, dramatist and scholar - died on the 74th day of a hunger-strike while in Brixton Prison, London. A young Vietnamese dishwasher in the Carlton Hotel in London broke down and cried when he heard the news - "A Nation which has such citizens will never surrender". His name was Nguyen Ai Quoc who, in 1941, adopted the name Ho Chi Minh and took the lessons of the Irish anti-imperialist fight to his own country..."
Terence MacSwiney, born on the 28th March 1879, was the Commandant of the 1st Cork Brigade of the IRA and was elected as the Lord Mayor of Cork. He died after 74 days on hunger strike (a botched effort to force feed him hastened his death) in Brixton Prison, England, on the 25th October, 1920, and his body lay in Southwark Cathedral in London where tens of thousands of people paid their respects.
He summed-up the Irish feeling at that time (a feeling and determination which is still prominent to this day) - "The contest on our side is not one of rivalry or vengeance but of endurance. It is not those who can inflict the most but those who can suffer the most who will conquer. Those whose faith is strong will endure to the end in triumph."
And our faith is strong.
It was on this date - 17th August - in 1920, that Terence MacSwiney was transferred from Cork Prison to Brixton Prison, where he died.
'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.
According to John White - "At the inception of the peace process the governments, including the American administration, said they would target funding into areas that had suffered most, and that didn't happen."
"There were great hopes, particularly among paramilitaries who said 'this is it, it's over, I'll be able to get a job and live a normal life.' When the jobs didn't come and when the economic and social deprivations in this area weren't alleviated in any way, they just felt 'what have we got out of it'? I saw many of them go back to senior positions in the UDA."
John White received a life sentence for the 1973 murder of SDLP Senator Paddy Wilson and his companion Irene Andrews, both of whom died from multiple stab wounds. Since his release from prison in the early 1990's he has become a prominent figure in the UDA's political wing, the 'Ulster Democratic Party' (UDP).
In the mid-90's, the UDP and the UVF's political wing, the 'Progressive Unionist Party' (PUP) were regarded as potentially transformational forces, combining hardline loyalism with left-of-centre social policies and a pragmatic attitude towards issues like power sharing...
(MORE LATER.)
'RAC REMINDER.'
From 'The United Irishman' newspaper, March, 1955.
We wish to remind American readers that the U.S. headquarters of the 'Republican Aid Committee' (RAC) is at 112 West 72nd Street, New York 23.
This is the only body in the U.S. which is authorised to collect funds on behalf of the Republican Prisoners and their dependents. Those wishing to subscribe to the fund should forward their subscriptions to the Secretary of the New York Committee.
A circular issued recently by 'The Irish Republican Adherents Benevolent Society' may have given the impression that the 'Society' had been authorised by the Central Committee in Dublin to collect funds. This is not the case.
Due to a misunderstanding, the sum of £100 was handed to the Central Committee some time ago on behalf of 'The Irish Republican Adherents Benevolent Society'. This sum has now been returned by the Central Committee.
(END of 'RAC Reminder' ; NEXT - 'United Stand Once More', from 'The United Irishman' newspaper, June, 1955.)
ON THIS DATE (17TH AUGUST) IN...
...1779 :
William Corbet (pictured) was born in Ballythomas, County Cork, on the 17th August, 1779 :
'William Corbet was an Anglo-Irish soldier in the service of France. In September 1798 he accompanied Napper Tandy in an aborted French mission to Ireland in support of the United Irish insurrection. After two years incarceration he escaped Ireland, and served in the campaigns of Napoleon reaching the rank of colonel. In 1831, under the July Monarchy, he was employed in the French expedition to Greece. He returned to France in 1837, retiring with the rank of Major-General...' (from here.)
Depending on circumstances, William sometimes used the name 'Billy Stone' but a name-change alone wasn't enough to save him from being expelled from Trinity College, in Dublin, in 1798, alongside Robert Emmet and others, for 'treasonable activities'.
He went to Paris and joined a French military force under Napper Tandy, with the rank of Captain, and sailed from Dunkirk with arms and ammunition for Ireland. The expedition had to turn back following the defeat of General Humbert and, arriving in Hamburg, they were handed over to the British authorities and taken to Ireland, where they were imprisoned in Kilmainham Jail.
He remained a military man for the rest of his life, obtaining the rank of Major-General, and died at St Denis, in Paris, on the 12th August, 1842, at only 63 years of age.
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...1912 :
On Yer Bike..!
This advertisement was published in 'The Connaught Telegraph' newspaper on the 17th August, 1912, and was placed by 'The Connaught Cycle and Motor Works of Linenhall Street, Castlebar and Main Street, Claremorris'.
It is a list of "satisfied customers" from the then British 'police' force in Ireland, the RIC, who had purchased bicycles or cycling accessories from the company and were so thrilled with what they got that they apparently wrote to the bike shop about it (!).
Among the happy customers was a Sergeant W. Driscoll, Clonboo RIC, County Galway, who bought an 'RIC Erin's Hope Bicycle' (..how ironic!), Daniel O'Sullivan, New Inn RIC, Galway, a 'Head Constable' be the name of Gargan, from Killarney, an RIC man named Hanley, from Kinvarra RIC, in Galway, and a few other Crown Agents, all of whom were full of praise for the product and the company.
We wonder did that company operate from a 'Big House'-type premises...?
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...1920 :
Tuesday, 17th August in 1920 was a busy day for the 'Irregulars' in Donegal ; Volunteer members of the Ardara Battalion attacked a four-person RIC patrol, leaving all four injured, two seriously (and that same IRA unit attacked another RIC patrol near the chapel in Ardara the following night) and, on the 17th, Volunteers from the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Battalions took over the village of Falcarragh (pictured) to remove the wireless telegraphy equipment from the post office in the town.
The IRA were aware that a garrison of RIC operatives were stationed in the town barracks and Joe Sweeney and James McCole organised their men in such a manner that the RIC knew not to attempt to leave their barracks until the IRA were finished their business ; the building was surrounded by armed republicans but no attempt was made to enter the premises and no attempt was made by the RIC to leave the safety of their barracks.
The removal of the wireless equipment took about two hours, during which the RIC stayed indoors and the IRA stood watch over them before dispersing and re-grouping in the Gortahork area, having completed their mission.
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1922 :
On the 17th August, 1922, two Free State Army medical orderlies from County Galway, Cecil Fitzgerald and John O'Mara, who were based in Killarney in County Kerry, decided to take a boat trip to Innisfallen Island (pictured) in Lough Leanne, in Kerry.
As they were approaching the jetty on the island, an IRA sniper opened fire on them and both were shot dead.
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1922 :
On the 17th August, 1922, Free State troops re-occupied the town of Dundalk, in County Louth. The Staters were led by republican-gamekeeper-turned-Free State-poacher Dan Hogan (pictured) who obtained the rank of Free State Army 'Major General of the Eastern Command' and, in 1927, was promoted to 'Chief of Staff of the State Defence Forces', a position he resigned from in 1929.
He was last heard of in Chicago, in 1941 when, according to Fearghal McGarry's biography of Eoin O'Duffy - "Hogan left for the United States under a cloud, financial or sexual. He was killed in a bar brawl there in the early 1940s..."
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1922 :
A British 'police force' in Ireland, the 'Royal Irish Constabulary' (RIC) which was, in effect, an armed British militia in Ireland, was disbanded between the 17th and the 31st August, 1922, after that grouping had faithfully served the Westminster administration since 1822.
They were replaced by the 'Civic Guards' (which had been formed on the 7th February 1922), a grouping which was re-titled the 'Garda Siochana', in the Free State, in 1923, and which carried-on the old RIC traditions of assisting at evictions and doing its utmost to suppress Irish republicans and republicanism.
Indeed, one of the RIC's most high profile 'hits' was the murder of Cork Lord Mayor Tomás MacCurtain on the 20th March 1920, the inquest into which found that he had been - "...wilfully murdered under circumstances of the most callous brutality, and that the murder was organised and carried out by the Royal Irish Constabulary, officially directed by the British Government, and we return a verdict of wilful murder against David Lloyd George, Prime Minister of England ; Lord French, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland ; Ian McPherson, late Chief Secretary of Ireland ; Acting Inspector General Smith, of the Royal Irish Constabulary ; Divisional Inspector Clayton of the Royal Irish Constabulary ; District Inspector Swanzy and some unknown members of the Royal Irish Constabulary..." (From here.)
The anti-republican mentality of the RIC lives on today in those who wear the uniforms of the State cops and their colleagues in the Occupied Six Counties, the RUC/PSNI.
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2000 :
On the 17th August, 2000, the last passing out parade for RUC recruits, under the RUC name, was held in the Garnerville Training Centre in Belfast, when 36 new members of that British militia threw their caps in the air and shouted "Hurrah! Hurrah!"
On the 4th November, 2001, the RUC amalgamated with, and transitioned into, a grouping which calls itself the 'Police Service of Northern Ireland' (PSNI) (sic) and the RIC and the RUC were simply re-born in a different uniform.
Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose..!
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Thanks for the visit, and for reading!
Sharon and the team.
