On the 4th June 1919, the Irish delegation (representing all 32 Counties) to the Paris Peace Conference, led by Seán T. O'Kelly (a republican-gamekeeper turned-Free State-poacher) presented a memorandum to M. Clemenceau, the French Prime Minister.
The memo concerned itself with Ireland's claim for independence and the need for international recognition, and those presenting it sought to be heard and to be allowed to participate in the peace treaty negotiations, arguing, correctly, that Westminster had no right to speak for Ireland.
The Conference and its treaties (specifically the Treaty of Versailles, which ended 'World War I') had far-reaching consequences, including the establishment of 'The League of Nations', the reshaping of European borders, and the imposition of harsh terms on Germany.
The Irish position - indeed, it's mere presence - was objected to by the British delegation and, despite some 'corridor conferences', we were unsuccessful in our endeavours but, had we been, the ensuing military and political conflict which, to this day remains unresolved, would more than likely have been avoided...
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GAS LADS...
The massive finds of oil and gas on our western seaboard could ensure Ireland's financial security for generations.
Wealth approximating that of the Arab countries is within our grasp, but the Irish government seems content to sell off our birthright for a handful of votes and a few dollars.
In a special 'Magill' report, Sandra Mara investigates just what we are giving away, and why.
From 'Magill' magazine, March 2002.
Now, once production starts from the Corrib field, the oil companies will be able to write off all costs going back 25 years!
These are the same companies that operate elsewhere in the world under far more stringent regulations.
In the Faroe Islands, for example, no company can operate without agreeing to a minimum government take of 55% by way of taxes and royalties.
The oil companies are also obliged to give a commitment to develop a sea port in the area, and these are the same companies operating off the west of Ireland.
In Norway, the government take was up to 79% on some of the fields, and that compares to zero% here ; the Norwegians have also benefited with the development of infrastructure for their ports and other services.
The government here should, at the very least, introduce a nominal 2% levy on production which could be used for local development and employment...
(MORE LATER.)
On the 4th June, 1920, IRA GHQ issued 'General Order No. 6' (pictured) to all Volunteers.
This Order was a follow-on from a directive from the Dáil announced in April that year in connection with the ostracisation of the RIC, in which Mr Diarmaid O’Hegarty, the Secretary to the Dáil, had stated that the RIC and DMP should be treated as "persons who, having been adjudged guilty of treason to their country, are regarded as unworthy to enjoy any of the privileges or comforts which arise from cordial relations with the public..."
'GO No.6' put some flesh on the bones of that -
'Volunteers shall have no intercourse with the RIC and shall stimulate and support in every way the boycott of this force, ordered by the Dáil.
These persons who associate with the RIC shall be subjected to the same boycott, and the fact of their association with, and toleration of this infamous force, shall be kept public in every possible way.
Definite lists of such persons in the area of his command shall be prepared by each Company, Battalion and Brigade Commander.'
In our opinion, the same should be done today with the RUC/PSNI in the Occupied Six Counties and with the Free State Gardai, the AGS ; those two groupings are constantly overstepping their remit by, among other actions, using pepper-spray and batons to ensure entry for foreign vagrants into working-class areas.
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CASH NO EXCUSE FOR RTE PUTTING DOCUMENTARY TO DEATH.
It has been a disastrous 12 months for RTE.
£23.5 million in cutbacks, a bid to increase the licence fee rejected, an enforced postponement of digital expansion, and a predicted £20 million loss to report for 2001.
By Belinda McKeon.
From 'Magill' Annual, 2002.
Times will be tough at Montrose in the year ahead, as RTE's struggle to balance commercial viability with broadcasting integrity grows ever more arduous.
But the ill wind has brought about something of worth - at last, an adequate degree of debate on the nature and status of a public service broadcaster is taking place in this country.
Across the water in recent months, Melvyn Bragg's slating of the BBC for its "dereliction of duty" triggered discussion of that duty, and of the responsibilities of a public service remit - discussion which prompted BBC viewers to ask questions of their national broadcaster, just as their RTE counterparts are beginning to ask questions here.
However, they are not the same questions, and they will never achieve the same results ; here's why -
Melvyn Bragg brought the BBC to its knees by pointing out that, within the past year, the station had screened only a single arts documentary and that, by failing to develop this crucial genre, they were neglecting to address and to reflect the public they claimed to represent...
(MORE LATER.)
On the 4th June, 1921, IRA Volunteers attached to 'E Company' of the 2nd Battalion of the Dublin Brigade were positioned on Newcomen Bridge (pictured) at the North Strand, waiting for a British Army vehicle which was due to pass by, with the intention of disabling it.
The vehicle arrived and the Volunteers, as tasked, threw a number of grenades at and under it, and left the scene.
It was put out of commission but, unfortunately, one of the fragmented parts of it hit a nine-year-old schoolboy, Andrew Hanratty, and the poor child died shortly afterwards.
RIP young Andrew Hanratty.
On the 7th May, 1921, an IRA Flying Column from Belfast travelled to east County Cavan at the request of IRA Colonel Seán McGouran.
The operation was to disarm a local RIC party near the village of Cootehill, in County Cavan, but they were ambushed near Lappinduff Mountain by enemy forces of around 100 men and, during the ensuing gun battle, Volunteer Sean McCartney was killed, other Volunteers were injured and 13 of the rebels were subsequently 'arrested', tried, and sentenced to death.
The Volunteers were awaiting the hangman in Crumlin Road Jail, but Volunteers attached to the 3rd Northern Division of the IRA set a plan in motion to break them out.
A Webley revolver was smuggled into the prison and, on the 4th June (1921), a four-man rescue team, disguised as RIC members and British Army Officers, drove up to the gates of Crumlin Road Jail in Belfast and, as expected, were stopped there by the sentries.
They told the armed guards that they were there to take custody of some of the fighters who had been captured at Lappinduff Mountain and they were waved through the gate checkpoint but, once inside, one of the 'British Army Officers' was recognised as an IRA man and the alarm was raised.
The IRA team managed to escape, but they didn't manage to take any of the Lappinduff POW's with them but all 13 were released as part of the Truce between the IRA and Westminster which occurred on the 11th July, 1921.
A close call...
...but no 'close call' for Volunteers attached to 'E Company' of the 3rd Battalion of the Dublin Brigade who, under the command of Volunteer Joseph O'Connor, gained entry to the British Army's 'GHQ Motor Repair and Ordnance Depot' (pictured) at the Shell Factory in Parkgate Street, in Dublin.
The Volunteers burned the stored oil, resulting in the destruction of 5 armoured cars and 35 other vehicles belonging to the Crown Forces and, while the flames were taking hold, other Dublin Volunteers (attached to 'F Company', 2nd Battalion, under the command of Lieutenant Danny Lyons), acting on information supplied to them by Brigade Intelligence Officers, had made their way to Sea Road in Clontarf where, as expected, they encountered two ex-British Army soldiers, a Mr John Brady and a Mr Thomas Halpin (who were still 'keeping company' with their old Crown Force colleagues) - both of them were shot and died later that day from their wounds.
At the same time as some Dublin Volunteers were warming themselves in Parkgate Street and taking in the sea air in Clontarf, two British Army deserters, a Mr George Mottley and a Mr John ('Jack') Steer, both of whom had made contact with the Kerry IRA months earlier and cautiously declared and announced themselves as 'neutral' and tried to maintain contact and relations with the rebels, were shot dead by the IRA in the village of Kilcummin, near Killarney, in County Kerry.
The remains of both men were recovered from a Kerry bog in 1926.
On the same day as the Parkgate Street attack, and possibly because of it, RIC Auxiliary troops parked their truck at the bottom of Capel Street in Dublin, dismounted, and opened fire on civilians - men, women and children.
A number of people were wounded and two men, Henry O'Rourke and John Murphy, died as a result.
RIP to those two men.
As the Crown Forces in Dublin were firing into civilians in Capel Street, their colleagues in the Military Detention Barracks in Limerick were placing one of their prisoners, IRA Captain Thomas Keane ('C Company', 2nd Battalion, Mid-Limerick Brigade), up against a white-washed wall.
They then shot him dead.
And, as they shot him, their colleagues 'keeping the peace' outside the barracks attacked the crowd of mourners, injuring people who had gathered there to pray at the time of the execution.
RIP Volunteer Thomas Keane.
While the Crown Forces in Limerick were executing and battering Irish men and women, the Crown Forces (British Army and RIC) on the Clare/Galway border (near the Slieve Aughty Mountains) had set-up a 'Recruitment Fare', to run from the 4th June to the 12th. On the 13th, they reported back to their HQ that "...we met with no success..".
Which is not strictly true, as they got out of there alive.
As they were setting-out their recruitment stall on the 4th, one of their RIC mates, a Mr Chandler, was setting-out his kit in the Curragh, in County Kildare to travel, on the next day, the short distance with his buddies, in a convoy, to Carlow Town.
The convoy consisted of three Crossley Tender trucks, carrying one British Army Officer, fifteen BA Privates, one Sergeant and seven RIC members.
At about 10pm, at the Kildangan Crossroads in the county of Kildare, the rear truck blew a tyre and pulled in ; not wanting to be abandoned in enemy territory, a Crown Force member in the punctured truck fired two shots to indicate to his colleagues in the other trucks that they were in trouble.
RIC member Chandler thought that was a great idea, and sure didn't he then fire three shots himself, one of which hit a British Army Private in the convoy, a Mr William Green (attached to the '1st North Staffordshire Regiment') and Mr Green died on the spot.
Good job Mr Chandler wasn't asked to change the wheel...
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DEATH IN THE MEDITERRANEAN...
Desmond Boomer, a Belfast engineer working in the Libyan oil-fields, disappeared seven years ago.
Officially, the plane on which he was a passenger crashed as a result of mechanical failure and pilot error.
But is that the real story?
Or were the Irishman and his fellow passengers unwitting victims of the shady war between Islamic fundamentalism and Mossad, Israel's intelligence network?
A special 'Magill' investigation by Don Mullan, author of 'Eyewitness Bloody Sunday'.
From 'Magill' magazine, January 2003.
Carmelo Bartolo was the owner of two small private Maltese airlines, 'Excelair' and 'Sun Aviation'.
Five weeks earlier, the Maltese press had implicated him, wittingly or not, in the assassination of the leader of Islamic Jihad, Fathi Shqaqi ; the impression was given that Carmelo Bartolo may have assisted members of the Israeli secret service, Mossad, to escape from the island in the hours following the killing on the 26th October 1995.
Desmond Boomer was initially due home for Christmas on the 13th December 1995, then his plans changed - on Saturday, 2nd December, he called his wife, Mandy, twice, from Djerba Airport.
The first call was in the afternoon ; he told his wife Mandy that he was coming home early and probably for good.
His second call was made around 9.30pm, when he informed Mandy that there was "very bad weather" and that he did not expect to fly out of Djerba until sometime the following day. His parting words are etched in his wife's memory - "I love you, Mandy".
A British passenger, Mike Williams, also made a phone call that Saturday ; he spoke to Ray Merciece, the lead guitarist and singer with 'The Characters', the most popular rock band in Malta at the time...
(MORE LATER.)
A Westminster-appointed 'Resident Magistrate' in Newry, County Down/Armagh, in Ireland, a Mr James Woulfe-Flanagan, was wanted for questioning by the IRA, and a two-man team, Volunteers Eddie O'Hare and Edward Fullerton, was dispatched to arrest him -
"On the 3rd June 1922, I was in the military barracks*, Dundalk.
I got an order that evening to proceed to Newry and, on the following morning, to arrest or shoot Mr. James Woulfe-Flanagan, Resident Magistrate.
I was told that Mr. Woulfe-Flanagan was in the habit of attending 11 o'clock Mass in the Cathedral in Newry and that he could be got coming from that Mass. I took Eddie O'Hare with me from the military barracks and we proceeded to Newry.
Next morning I made contact with Pat McEvoy, who had a Ford car, and I asked him to have his car available for us in his garage from 9 o'clock onwards, as we had a 'job' to do in Newry.
We had scouts out from 10 o'clock onwards to find out if Mr. Woulfe-Flanagan attended any of the earlier Masses. Shortly after the 11 o'clock Mass
had started the scouts reported that Mr. Woulfe-Flanagan had gone to that Mass.
At about a quarter to twelve we got the car parked as close as possible to the Cathedral steps, at Fox, the barber's shop, and immediately in front of Mr. Woulfe-Flanagan's parked car.
Eddie O'Hare and myself then waited on the Cathedral steps until the congregation started to come out after the 11 o'clock Mass. When Mr. Woulfe-Flanagan and his two sisters came out, I approached him and informed him that I had orders from the IRA to arrest him and that, if he resisted, he was doing so at the peril of his life.
Having warned him, I took hold of him on one side and O'Hare took hold of him on the other. He violently resisted our efforts to force him to come with us.
As he was a powerful man of over six foot in height, when we found we were not able to force him to come with us we both fired and mortally wounded him..."
(* A British Army military barracks, which the IRA had taken over.)
- Statement by Volunteer Edward Fullerton.
That's cat altogether - that story of the 'wolf', the fox, the hare and the 'legal eagle'...
...and, on the same day that Mr Woulfe-Flanagan refused a lift, 52km (about 32 miles) up the road in Belfast, a Mr Robert Hunt (50) was walking across Ross Street when he was shot by a sniper, and died later that day in the Mater Hospital from his wounds, and a 25-years-young man, a Mr William Rice, was walking along Lime Street when a British Army soldier shot him dead.
RIP Mr Robert Hunt and Mr William Rice.
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Thanks for reading - but, ya know, when we get to 2 million, we're gonna keep buggin' ya to come back, 'cause we'll be looking for yer help to get to 3 million...!
Sharon and the team.
We won't be here on Wednesday, 11th June 2025, as the three of us will be down the country visiting a dear friend and comrade of ours who is in her final days. A genuine 'country woman', an old rebel, tough as auld boots and as honest, straight and strong as a six-inch nail.
Truly one of our own, a true friend, and an invaluable source of information, detail and just general auld chit-chat, who helped us out manys a time over the decades, and is one of our 'go-to' people for the historical knowledge we need to put the blog together.
We'll be back on Wednesday, 18th June 2025.
’Tis fifty long years since I saw the moon beaming,On strong female forms and on eyes with hope gleaming,I see them again, sure, through all my day dreaming,Glory o, glory o, to the bold Fenian women...
ON THIS DATE (9TH FEBRUARY) 119 YEARS AGO : DEATH OF A KNIGHTED, DISILLUSIONED 'NATIONALIST'.
Charles Gavan Duffy (pictured) was born in Dublin Street in County Monaghan on the 12th April, 1816, into a well-to-do family, and received his education in Belfast.
During his 87 years in this world he worked as a politician, barrister, author and a publisher, and was the proprietor and the editor of 'The Nation' newspaper, which was founded in 1842 by Charles Gavan Duffy, Thomas Davis and John Blake Dillon.
That publication associated itself with 'The Young Irelanders' organisation but, before that, he was employed as a journalist with 'The Dublin Morning Register' and was the editor of 'The Belfast Vindicator', which was published twice a week (and cost 4d!).
He was prosecuted in 1842 for libellous comments made in 'The Belfast Vindicator' towards members of the judiciary following the hanging of a man in Belfast and left that newspaper that same year and then established 'The Nation' in Dublin, shortly after which he wrote and issued his perhaps best-known pamphlet, 'The Spirit of the Nation'.
He was tried for sedition and acquitted, founded the 'Irish Tenant League' in 1850 (which was founded with good intentions, but didn't turn out as hoped or intended ; 'the road to Hell' and all that..) and became an MP in 1852. He moved to Australia in 1855 and became Prime Minister of the State of Victoria in 1871, was elected as the 'Speaker of the Parliament' of Victoria (1877-1880), accepted a British 'Knighthood' ('Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George') in 1873 and was awarded and accepted a 'KCMG' in 1877.
His last years were spent in his house (12 Boulevard Victor Hugo) in Nice, France, where he wrote his memoirs and wrote and talked about his political experiences. He died there, at 87 years of age, on the 9th February 1903 - 119 years ago on this date, and it emerged after his death that his private letters told of his disillusionment with Irish politics.
His peers, some of whom at that stage called him "a middle-class whig and a deserter of the separatist cause...", described those letters as 'the groans of a disappointed reformer' - "We have lost our way..", he wrote. As, indeed, have all Irish people who accept 'awards' from British 'royalty'.
Charles Gavan Duffy is buried in Glasnevin Cemetery, in Dublin, within the circle of the O'Connell Monument.
'THE ARMAGH ACTION...'
This dramatic account of the action was given to one of our representatives in an interview with one of the men who took part.
From 'The United Irishman' newspaper, July, 1954.
At the armoury the loading was going on apace. A British officer who drove up in a Citroen car, inquiring for the whereabouts of a brother officer appeared suspicious, so one of our men pushed his Sten gun through the window and ordered him out. He was marched into the armoury.
GATE BLOCKED :
A Tommy, way over on the far side of the square, noticing something unusual going on, drove a lorry past and down to the main gate where he jammed it from opening. The 'sentry' pointed a Sten gun at him and ordered - "Back that truck up or I'll kill you." The driver made an effort as if to hop out on the passenger side only to find himself looking into a Colt .45.
He quickly reversed the truck and was taken out of the cabin and bundled into the guardroom.
The Alarm Bell :
Seeing this, another British soldier coming from the building opposite dashed across to ring the alarm bell on the guardroom wall. "Stop! Or I'll blow your brains out.." ordered an IRA Volunteer. The British soldier froze in his tracks.
Two of our men had the barracks covered from the outside. One of them, seeing two soldiers up on the wall and about to jump out on the street, pointed his gun at them and ordered them to get back. They fell back into the barracks.
Smartly and coolly the Volunteers dealt with every situation... (MORE LATER.)
ON THIS DATE (9TH FEBRUARY) 101 YEARS AGO : BRITISH MURDER AND PERJURY IN DUBLIN.
On the night of the 9th February, 1921, republican activists James Murphy and Patrick Kennedy were 'arrested' by British Auxiliaries in Talbot Street, in Dublin, shortly after they left the 'Cinema Theatre' in that street.
Two hours later, a different grouping of the British presence in Ireland, the 'Dublin Metropolitan Police' ('DMP') found the two men lying shot in Drumcondra : Patrick Kennedy was dead and James Murphy was dying when the 'DMP' came across them, after hearing loud moans in Clonturk Park, in Drumcondra.
James Murphy, badly wounded, was taken to the Mater Hospital (where he died from his wounds two days later) and, during a visit from his brother, he told of how himself and his friend, Patrick Kennedy, were stopped in Talbot Street by members of 'F' Company of the Auxiliary Division of the 'Royal Irish Constabulary' (ADRIC) and that 'ADRIC' Captain William Lorraine King had 'arrested' them and stated that they were "just going for a drive."
The two men were put into a lorry and brought to Dublin Castle, where they were questioned and searched, but nothing of interest to the British Forces was found on them and nothing incriminating was said by them.
They were let go at about 10pm that night but, due to the (British-imposed) curfew situation, the two men were told that they would require an escort home. But they weren't taken to their homes...
"My brother, James Murphy, and I lived together in lodgings at 22, Killarney Street, Dublin. My brother's age is 25. He was an assistant at Whiteside and Company, of South Great Georges Street, Dublin, grocers. I saw him last on Wednesday, the 9th instant, about 6.30, when after his day's work he came home for his evening meal.
After he had tea he left me, saying that he was going to pass a few hours at the pictures or a game of billiards. I have since ascertained from the said James Murphy that he went to the Cinema Theatre in Talbot Street, and as he was leaving, about 9.30, there was a 'hold up' by the armed forces of the Crown in Talbot Street, when a number of young men were held up and searched.
He, with others, was searched, and put by the soldiers on a motor lorry, and brought to Dublin Castle, where he was examined. Nothing of any kind of a compromising character was found on him; he had no weapons and no documents of any kind.
The examination was finished at about 10 o'clock, when the military authorities told him that he was released and might go home. As it was then after curfew hour, there was danger and difficulty for anybody going through the streets for fear of the military. Accordingly the officer-in-charge told some soldiers to take my brother and Patrick Kennedy to their homes and leave them there, and to leave my brother at 22, Killarney Street, or as near to it as they could go.
Instead of bringing my brother to his lodgings, the military drove the motor lorry by Drumcondra to Clonturk Park. They halted the motor lorry near a field, where there was unused and derelict ground. They took my brother and Patrick Kennedy out of the motor lorry, brought them into the field, put old tin cans over their heads, put them against the wall, and fired a number of shots at them. I believe Patrick Kennedy was killed almost instantaneously. My brother was hit through the tin can in his mouth on the left cheek, on the right cheek, and through the breast...." (more here.)
'ADRIC' Captain William Lorraine King and two of his men, H. Hinchcliffe and FJ Welsh, were arrested by their own people and put on 'trial' but were acquitted on the 15th April 1921 after James Murphy's dying declaration was ruled "inadmissible" (plus, both Hinchcliffe and Welsh had provided perjured alibis for their Captain King's location at the time of the shootings).
It is the likes of King, Hinchcliffe and Welsh that those in the Leinster House institution in Dublin sought to commemorate. Shame on those quislings.
ON THIS DATE (9TH FEBRUARY) 168 YEARS AGO : UVF LEADER BORN IN DUBLIN.
On the 9th February 1854 - 168 years ago on this date - a future leader of the 'Ulster Unionist Party', Edward Henry Carson, was born in Dublin.
'Lord' Carson held numerous positions in Westminster and pursued a career as a senior barrister and a judge. He become one of seven 'Law Lords' and, upon his death, in 1935, he was one of the few non-monarchs to receive a United Kingdom State Funeral.
This British 'Lord' was born in Dublin in 1854 and died at 8am on the 22nd October 1935 on the Isle of Thanet in Kent, England. His beloved empire had conveyed the title of 'Right Honourable The Lord Carson KC PC' on him, a prefix he was delighted to take with him to his grave.
"We must proclaim today clearly that, come what will and be the consequences what they may, we in Ulster will tolerate no Sinn Féin- no Sinn Féin organisation, no Sinn Féin methods. But we tell you (the British Government) this : that if, having offered you our help, you are yourselves unable to protect us from the machinations of Sinn Féin, and you won't take our help ; well then, we tell you that we will take the matter into our own hands. We will reorganise, as we feel bound to do in our our defence, throughout the province, the Ulster Volunteers. And those are not mere words. I hate words without action.." - the words of then soon-to-be (anti-republican) paramilitary leader Edward Carson ('Lord Carson of Duncairn') at an 'Orange' rally in Finaghy, Belfast, County Antrim.
He was a staunch supporter of the Irish (pro-British) Unionists who, at 38 years young, was elected as a Unionist MP (to Westminster) for Dublin University and, again at that same age, was appointed 'Solicitor General for Ireland' and served as the 'Solicitor General for England' from 1900 to 1905.
He was also a barrister, a judge and politician, and the leader of 'The Irish Unionist Alliance' and the 'Ulster Unionist Party'. At 57 years of age (in 1911*) he was elected leader of the 'Ulster Unionist Council' (UUC) and helped to establish the 'Ulster Volunteer Force' (UVF), a pro-British militia (*he wrote to his friend James Craig re his UUC leadership that he intended "..to satisfy himself that the people really mean to resist. I am not for a game of bluff and, unless men are prepared to make great sacrifices which they clearly understand, the talk of resistance is useless..").
On the 3rd of September 1914, in an address he delivered in Belfast to the 'UUC', he stated - "England's difficulty is not Ulster's opportunity. However we are treated, and however others act, let us act rightly. We do not seek to purchase terms by selling our patriotism..." A lesson there, without doubt, for all the gombeens that inhabit the Leinster House institution!
From 1915 to 1916 he served as the British Attorney General, and was appointed as the 'First Lord of the Admiralty' in 1916 (until 1917) and was a member of Lloyd George's War Cabinet from 1917 to 1918. Westminster thought so highly of him that they offered him an even bigger 'prize' - that of the 'Premiership' of the new Six County 'State' - but he refused, and retired from public life in 1921, at 67 years of age.
In June 1935, at 81 years of age, Carson contracted bronchial pneumonia but, even though he recovered his health somewhat within weeks, a few months later his strength weakened again and he died on the 22nd of October, 1935. But, unfortunately, his political attitudes and morals live on, in Leinster House, Stormont and Westminster.
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.)
Sterile Condemnations...
For the Irish establishment, the fundamental priority is political stability. In their view, a 'normal society' is one in which commerce and industry proceed unhindered and businesspersons flourish according to the 'natural' order of things.
This is the view put forward by the eminent statesperson, economist and academic, Garret Fitzgerald, in the newspaper last June ; he explained that if only the economic and cultural trends of the 1960's had continued undisturbed by "violence and reaction" they could have brought about a unired Ireland!
"But because of IRA violence.. Dr Fitzgerald explained, "...Ireland has not moved onto an economic par with Britain." Not for Garret a complicated analysis of the imperialist domination of Ireland - the IRA is the source of all our problems and it is the IRA which has prevented Irish unity.
The choice posed by the paper on behalf of its clerical and commercial mentors is between "..the rule of law and the anarchy of force..."If only the evil IRA would desist from the armed struggle, justice and equality would be possible, but it wants to "..put a halt to the slow, laborious but certain progression towards the establishment of legal structures to which the community can give totality of support, because they are seen to be just and impartial.." (February 21st). (MORE LATER.)
ON THIS DATE (9TH FEBRUARY) 101 YEARS AGO : BRITISH FORCES LOOT AND BURN A 'FRIENDLY BUSINESS'.
On the 9th February, 1921, at about 1pm, a unit of British Auxiliaries, travelling in 11 military vehicles, stopped outside and in the surrounding area at Chandlers Pub and Grocers (pictured) in Baile Roibín ('Robinstown'), in the townland of Baile Bradach ('Balbradagh'), Trim, in County Meath.
The owners and operators of the business, Richard Chandler and his family, were well-known in the area as supporters of the British Crown and "loyal subjects of his Majesty the King" but the Auxies, RIC and Black and Tans that were in that search/raiding party didn't care ; friend or foe, they were rarin' to go. And 'go' they did...
Claiming that they were searching for "illegal IRA ammunition", they ransacked the store and began stealing from both it and the living quarters above it, and 'mistreated' Mrs Chandler.
Their Commanding Officer, General Frank Percy Crozier ('CB, CMG, DSO') heard about the destruction caused (listed on the link below) from some members of that search/raiding party - so disgusted were they with the conduct of their own colleagues - and Crozier himself travelled to the town to find out for himself what had happened, although he himself was no stranger to such armed thuggery - his first attempts to join the British Army failed on medical grounds, so he joined-up with a gang of gunmen and hired himself out as a mercenary soldier in Africa and Canada, and later joined the 'Ulster Volunteer Force' in Ireland.
Crozier (pictured) went to Trim and interrogated twenty-six Auxiliaries, stating that twenty-one of them were unfit to remain 'in service', and he held five of them for court martial. But one of his 'bosses', a Lieutenant-General Henry Hugh Tudor, over-ruled Crozier's findings and reinstated the unfit gunmen.
Crozier took offence at being 'corrected' and stated that those men had grouped together and threatened to expose shady dealings within the British 'security forces/peace keepers' in Ireland unless either he, himself, or Tudor, reinstated them, and he further claimed that Westminster knew about those shady dealings and condoned them, as they helped 'to get the job done in Ireland'. So upset was he at being over-ruled that, by the end of February that year (1921) he had resigned from the British Army and gone public with details of how 'his army' in Ireland were abusing Irish people.
Anyway - somehow or other, Crozier lived for a further 16 years (he died in August 1937) but 'The Times' newspaper, a 'pro-our-lads' propaganda sheet, refused to publish any tributes to the man as he had 'spilled the beans' - or some of them - in relation to the thuggery of 'our lads' in Ireland, but they did publish what was later called "an ungenerous obituary" on the man.
A more detailed account of the above can be read here.
'SINN FÉIN NOTES...'
From 'The United Irishman' newspaper, March, 1955.
LONDON...
Twelve o'clock Mass at Kilburn on Sunday, 6th February, was said for the happy repose of the souls of Barnes and McCormack ; there was a large congregation at the Mass and many republicans who had been out of touch met again and reaffirmed old friendships. All Cumainn in the London area observed two minutes silence in memory of the martyrs.
WORMWOOD SCRUBS :
A friend who visited Seán Stephenson recently reports that Seán and Manus Canning are in very good spirits and that they had each received over 200 greeting cards at Christmas. They send their thanks through the columns of 'The United Irishman' to all the kind friends who remembered them. St Patrick's Day is drawing near and they will be pleased to hear from you all again.
Manus is rather a figure in Wormwood Scrubs, being the only prospective MP there ; he is the Sinn Féin candidate for the Derry constituency in the forthcoming general elections for Westminster... (MORE LATER.)
ON THIS DATE (9TH FEBRUARY) IN...
...1921 :
Thomas Halpin, a Sinn Féin Alderman on Drogheda Corporation in County Louth, and John Moran (originally from Church Street, Enniscorthy, in County Wexford) were taken from their homes in Drogheda and shortly afterwards their bodies were found on the side of the road ; more here.
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...1921 :
A huge search operation by up to about 2,000 British military operatives was started in west Donegal ; they 'arrested' seven IRA men and, later in that same week, there was another search operation in Dungloe, in Donegal, and in the surrounding areas. Over 60 men are arrested and taken to Derry City – most were later released, but 20 were detained.
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...1922 :
A meeting was held by the Westminster-enabled State caretakers in the Gresham Hotel in Dublin on the 9th February, 1922.
Those in attendance included Michael Collins, Richard Mulcahy, Michael Staines and Michael Ring, and the objective of that meeting was the establishment of a 'new police force' for the then recently spawned Free State. Collins and his crew knew that they would need the help of former members of the RIC in setting up the new grouping, so they invited a number of ex-RIC men who had helped them to take on the IRA to the meeting.
They attended, and advised the Staters in relation to that task, setting-up a number of committees etc and a new grouping, 'An Garda Síochána', was formed on the 22nd February, 1922. And they haven't gone away, you know...
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...1922 :
On the 9th February, 1922, the British Army physically vacated Ballymullen Military Barracks in Tralee, County Kerry, and two barracks' in Sligo, and handed them over to their surrogates, the Free State Army. The mind-set remained, but the uniform changed colour.
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...1923 :
On the 9th February, 1923, a planned fund-raising operation by the IRA on the post office in Poleberry, in County Waterford, went wrong ; the Staters had been tipped-off with the details of the raid and had placed armed agents in the premises. Two IRA men, Michael Moloney (17) and Thomas Walsh (23), were killed, and a third IRA men, Nick O'Neill, was wounded, but managed to escape.
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Thanks for the visit, and for reading,Sharon and the team.
We won't be posting here next Wednesday, 16th February 2022, as we have an in-house 'BIG' (!) birthday and a Christening to organise over the next few days and we intend to let rip at both!
But we'll be back 'on air' on Wednesday, 23rd February 2022 with, among other items, a story from our history about an Irish man who, in the course of trying to stop a robbery, was convicted of treason by the British Government and sentenced to death after a three-day 'trial'...
And, between now and the 23rd, you can catch me on 'Twitter', if ya need yer fix that bad...!
Slán go fóill anois.
