FIVE DAYS IN AN IRA TRAINING CAMP .......
From the moment a new recruit enters the Irish Republican Army he or she undergoes a rigorous and intensive training to assess the individual Volunteer's level of commitment , general ability and particular aptitudes . After the initial recruitment lectures , this period includes training in personal security and anti-interrogation , basic intelligence work , political education - and of course training in the use of weapons . In this supplied article , a Volunteer in the IRA's Belfast Brigade describes his experience of taking part in an IRA training camp .
From 'IRIS' magazine , November 1983 , pages 39 , 40 , 41 , 42, 43 , 44 and 45 .
.....day 1 ...
The IRA Training Officers enter the room ; each of us is immediately assigned responsibility for some of the weapons stacked against the wall - in the event of a raid on the Camp at any time our first job is to grab our own particular weapons , and so throughout the camp we will always have to know exactly where the weapons have been left down .
IRA Standing Orders forbid the use of firearms in the 26 Counties other than for training , but the T/O's reckon we've a fair chance of getting away if we're raided , as long as we are quick enough not to get surrounded in the farmhouse . In that case , we have no intention of leaving much-needed IRA weapons in Free State hands . The T/O's explain what direction we're all to head in if raided , and the spot where we'll all try and regroup .
After the raid procedure we're told to clean the weapons ; it's something we'll do repeatedly in the course of the camp . One of the most frequent causes of a gun jamming is dirt and excess oil , and the result of this happening on an operation could be disastrous .......
(MORE LATER).
STONE COLD .......
Michael Stone is infamous for his attack on a republican funeral at Belfast's Milltown cemetery . By his own count , he has murdered four men and had a hand in the deaths of six others . He says his war is over - but he still expects to meet a violent end .
By Andrew Lynch .
First published in 'MAGILL' magazine , July 2003 , pages 34, 36 , and 38 .
Re-published here in 13 parts .
(7 of 13).
Michael Stone stated - " I was trained to block out the human aspect . I never wanted to think about the grieving widow or the crying children left behind . But when you take a man's life , a little part of you dies too . You lose that part of your humanity forever . "
The way Stone tells it , he never really had a chance ; growing up in East Belfast in the 1970's , he quickly learned to accept street battles and random killings as a way of life . At the age of 13 he joined the Tartans , an infamous loyalist group that roamed the streets at night , beating up Catholics and vandalising property .
Before long his reputation as a hard man attracted the attention of Tommy Herron , a 'legendary' UDA 'Supreme Commander' , who spotted the young Stone's potential .......
(MORE LATER).
MUNSTER ....... !
From 'The United Irishman' newspaper , Aibrean [April] 1957 , page 4.
(IML. IX. UIMHIR 4 - price Tri Pingin [Three Pennies].
Thanks to my late friends Christy and Theresa L. for giving me this 48-year-old newspaper ; this thread published in memory of those two old Fenians ! - John.
In his victory speech , the Sinn Fein TD for South Kerry , John Joe Rice , stated -
- " I ask you to continue the good work you have started for the realisation of a 32-County Republic and not to be bam-boozled by talk of good times and talk of grants . Organise and stand shoulder to shoulder and stand up for your rights . "
Mr. J. O'Shea (Killarney) , who presided at the event , said that it had been brought to their notice that an insidious rumour had been set in motion during the election that they were using the funds of the Prisoners' Dependents to fight the election in South Kerry ; he denied that such was the case and said that all the work on behalf of the Sinn Fein candidate was done voluntarily .
He thanked the people who worked for them , subscribed and gave their cars free of charge on the day of the elections . The meeting concluded with the National Anthem played by the Cullen Pipe Band .
[END of ' MUNSTER ....... ! '].
(TOMORROW - 'FACING REALITIES ' : from the same source).
Thursday, April 14, 2005
FIVE DAYS IN AN IRA TRAINING CAMP .......
From the moment a new recruit enters the Irish Republican Army he or she undergoes a rigorous and intensive training to assess the individual Volunteer's level of commitment , general ability and particular aptitudes . After the initial recruitment lectures , this period includes training in personal security and anti-interrogation , basic intelligence work , political education - and of course training in the use of weapons . In this supplied article , a Volunteer in the IRA's Belfast Brigade describes his experience of taking part in an IRA training camp .
From 'IRIS' magazine , November 1983 , pages 39 , 40 , 41 , 42, 43 , 44 and 45 .
..... day 1 ...
In a room on the IRA Camp ; a collection of books on a table - the one surprise in the pile is a copy of Frederick Forsythe's 'The Day Of The Jackel' , but on reflection even that does'nt seem to be out of place here . Finally , the black plastic sheeting tacked up across the window re-inforces our awareness that the semi-derelict farmhouse we have just arrived in is thought locally to be uninhabited , and that despite its relative isolation the next few days will be spent on the alert against the possibility of Garda raids . None of us is keen on spending the next few years in Portlaoise Prison !
We had left Belfast about twelve hours earlier , travelling separately to avoid the risk of being arrested together if anything went wrong . We reached our first pick-up point in the Free State without incident , however , and made the pre-arranged contact with the local IRA ; we then found ourselves waiting silently in a draughty bedroom until after dark , the four of us spending hours trying to find a game we all knew , with the 51-card pack which was all we could find in the room .
Night fell at last , thankfully , and we were smuggled out of the house and into a car , on our way now to the IRA Camp itself . Two changes of car later , several delays while other cars scouted ahead or while we doubled back , and an endless succession of winding country lanes behind us , we were just beginning to appreciate how the IRA is able to organise a regular flow of training camps for Volunteers across the North , despite the best efforts of the Garda Task Force .
Just then , the car glided to a halt , two figures stepped forward from the shadows towards us , and the driver said : " Okay . We're here . "
The same sense of security and anticipation that we had experienced on the way is echoed again now , the moment the IRA Training Officers enter the room .......
(MORE LATER).
STONE COLD .......
Michael Stone is infamous for his attack on a republican funeral at Belfast's Milltown cemetery . By his own count , he has murdered four men and had a hand in the deaths of six others . He says his war is over - but he still expects to meet a violent end .
By Andrew Lynch .
First published in 'MAGILL' magazine , July 2003 , pages 34, 36 , and 38 .
Re-published here in 13 parts .
(6 of 13).
These days , Michael Stone's work is sold through galleries in Belfast and London and he can command up to £6,000 for a painting ; he is , however , still a very long way from respectability . Despite his support for the peace process he remains something of a 'folk hero' to the Loyalist movement - a status which he claims (not altogether convincingly) makes him deeply uncomfortable .
" I've had songs and poems written about me , " he says , " and I've met plenty of kids who think I'm some kind of hero . I'm like Rambo to them . But I always say that there's nothing romantic about taking a life . People bleed , and there's no Hollywood director to say 'cut' . You get to hear their dying words , see the final seconds of their life . I was trained to block out the human aspect ....... "
(MORE LATER).
MUNSTER !.
From 'The United Irishman' newspaper , Aibrean [April] 1957 , page 4.
(IML. IX. UIMHIR 4 - price Tri Pingin [Three Pennies].
Thanks to my late friends Christy and Theresa L. for giving me this 48-year-old newspaper ; this thread published in memory of those two old Fenians ! - John.
The Sinn Fein T.D. for South Kerry , John J. Rice , received a big ovation at a victory meeting held in College Square , Killarney , on Saturday 9 . It was one of the biggest meetings held in Killarney for many years . In the course of his address , J.J. Rice said that since his election he had received shoals of telegrams and messages of congratulations on his success , but he believed that those should have been addressed to the gallant band of workers who strived night and day in Killarney and throughout the constituency to make his campaign a success .
His next thanks should go to the 5,500 voters in South Kerry who gave him their No. 1 votes : " I am not suffering from any swelled head and I know that I did not get those votes as John Joe Rice , but as the standard bearer of Sinn Fein in South Kerry .
I believe that the heart of the people of South Kerry is as good today as it was 40 years ago . I believe that the people of South Kerry are staunchly Republican . "
Continuing , he said that he did not want the people to sit back because they had elected a T.D. , but to carry on the Movement , because they did not know when another election would be sprung on them .......
(MORE LATER).
From the moment a new recruit enters the Irish Republican Army he or she undergoes a rigorous and intensive training to assess the individual Volunteer's level of commitment , general ability and particular aptitudes . After the initial recruitment lectures , this period includes training in personal security and anti-interrogation , basic intelligence work , political education - and of course training in the use of weapons . In this supplied article , a Volunteer in the IRA's Belfast Brigade describes his experience of taking part in an IRA training camp .
From 'IRIS' magazine , November 1983 , pages 39 , 40 , 41 , 42, 43 , 44 and 45 .
..... day 1 ...
In a room on the IRA Camp ; a collection of books on a table - the one surprise in the pile is a copy of Frederick Forsythe's 'The Day Of The Jackel' , but on reflection even that does'nt seem to be out of place here . Finally , the black plastic sheeting tacked up across the window re-inforces our awareness that the semi-derelict farmhouse we have just arrived in is thought locally to be uninhabited , and that despite its relative isolation the next few days will be spent on the alert against the possibility of Garda raids . None of us is keen on spending the next few years in Portlaoise Prison !
We had left Belfast about twelve hours earlier , travelling separately to avoid the risk of being arrested together if anything went wrong . We reached our first pick-up point in the Free State without incident , however , and made the pre-arranged contact with the local IRA ; we then found ourselves waiting silently in a draughty bedroom until after dark , the four of us spending hours trying to find a game we all knew , with the 51-card pack which was all we could find in the room .
Night fell at last , thankfully , and we were smuggled out of the house and into a car , on our way now to the IRA Camp itself . Two changes of car later , several delays while other cars scouted ahead or while we doubled back , and an endless succession of winding country lanes behind us , we were just beginning to appreciate how the IRA is able to organise a regular flow of training camps for Volunteers across the North , despite the best efforts of the Garda Task Force .
Just then , the car glided to a halt , two figures stepped forward from the shadows towards us , and the driver said : " Okay . We're here . "
The same sense of security and anticipation that we had experienced on the way is echoed again now , the moment the IRA Training Officers enter the room .......
(MORE LATER).
STONE COLD .......
Michael Stone is infamous for his attack on a republican funeral at Belfast's Milltown cemetery . By his own count , he has murdered four men and had a hand in the deaths of six others . He says his war is over - but he still expects to meet a violent end .
By Andrew Lynch .
First published in 'MAGILL' magazine , July 2003 , pages 34, 36 , and 38 .
Re-published here in 13 parts .
(6 of 13).
These days , Michael Stone's work is sold through galleries in Belfast and London and he can command up to £6,000 for a painting ; he is , however , still a very long way from respectability . Despite his support for the peace process he remains something of a 'folk hero' to the Loyalist movement - a status which he claims (not altogether convincingly) makes him deeply uncomfortable .
" I've had songs and poems written about me , " he says , " and I've met plenty of kids who think I'm some kind of hero . I'm like Rambo to them . But I always say that there's nothing romantic about taking a life . People bleed , and there's no Hollywood director to say 'cut' . You get to hear their dying words , see the final seconds of their life . I was trained to block out the human aspect ....... "
(MORE LATER).
MUNSTER !.
From 'The United Irishman' newspaper , Aibrean [April] 1957 , page 4.
(IML. IX. UIMHIR 4 - price Tri Pingin [Three Pennies].
Thanks to my late friends Christy and Theresa L. for giving me this 48-year-old newspaper ; this thread published in memory of those two old Fenians ! - John.
The Sinn Fein T.D. for South Kerry , John J. Rice , received a big ovation at a victory meeting held in College Square , Killarney , on Saturday 9 . It was one of the biggest meetings held in Killarney for many years . In the course of his address , J.J. Rice said that since his election he had received shoals of telegrams and messages of congratulations on his success , but he believed that those should have been addressed to the gallant band of workers who strived night and day in Killarney and throughout the constituency to make his campaign a success .
His next thanks should go to the 5,500 voters in South Kerry who gave him their No. 1 votes : " I am not suffering from any swelled head and I know that I did not get those votes as John Joe Rice , but as the standard bearer of Sinn Fein in South Kerry .
I believe that the heart of the people of South Kerry is as good today as it was 40 years ago . I believe that the people of South Kerry are staunchly Republican . "
Continuing , he said that he did not want the people to sit back because they had elected a T.D. , but to carry on the Movement , because they did not know when another election would be sprung on them .......
(MORE LATER).
Wednesday, April 13, 2005
FIVE DAYS IN AN IRA TRAINING CAMP .
From the moment a new recruit enters the Irish Republican Army he or she undergoes a rigorous and intensive training to assess the individual Volunteer's level of commitment , general ability and particular aptitudes . After the initial recruitment lectures , this period includes training in personal security and anti-interrogation , basic intelligence work , political education - and of course training in the use of weapons . In this supplied article , a Volunteer in the IRA's Belfast Brigade describes his experience of taking part in an IRA training camp .
From 'IRIS' magazine , November 1983 , pages 39 , 40 , 41 , 42, 43 , 44 and 45 .
DAY 1 .
Shortly before midnight . The four of us , after scrambling across rock-strewn fields from where the last car dropped us off , are ushered quickly , without a word spoken , into a cramped and sparsely furnished room by two IRA Training Officers , and left on our own to look around .
Four sets of combat fatigues are laid out neatly beside a pile of folded sleeping beds . An assortment of pistols , two sub-machine guns , rifles , stand stacked against a wall next to plastic tubs of ammunition . A few posters sellotaped to one wall provide the room's only decoration ; one is of Bobby Sands , two more are hand-drawn wallcharts , illustrating operations procedures , breathing control , ammo calibres and weapons maintenance .
The fourth poster is the simplest and most striking : a black-and-white sketch beneath the caption - " Faceless Men : British terrorists who rule our country ." It takes a while before we realise that it is meant to depict the peaked cap and shoulders of an RUC man and is the target we'll be using for shooting practice . The 'face' has no shape and no features ; when you look through the sights of an automatic rifle at a target one-hundred yards away , we will be told later on , the outline of the uniform - not the face itself - is all you see .
Almost the only other contents the room can boast of are a pile of books on the table , weapons manuals , Republican literature , political books and pamphlets .......
(MORE LATER).
STONE COLD .......
Michael Stone is infamous for his attack on a republican funeral at Belfast's Milltown cemetery . By his own count , he has murdered four men and had a hand in the deaths of six others . He says his war is over - but he still expects to meet a violent end .
By Andrew Lynch .
First published in 'MAGILL' magazine , July 2003 , pages 34, 36 , and 38 .
Re-published here in 13 parts .
(5 of 13).
Despite being sentenced to over 800 years in prison , Michael Stone ended up walking free from the Maze in July 2000 as one of the last inmates to be given early release under the terms of the 'Good Friday Agreement' (ie the Stormont Treaty) . Since then , he has spent much of his time concentrating on his prison hobby of painting .
" I was in solitary confinement for a year and they gave me pencils and a sketch book to pass the time , although they took the pencils off me at night , because I was on suicide watch , " he says , " I had to draw from memory because there obviously was'nt much to look at . Eventually , I got access to a lot more materials , including watercolour and oil paints .
Painting on the back of lockers and bed headboards in the H-Blocks helped to keep me sane ....... "
(MORE LATER).
ULSTER !.
From 'The United Irishman' newspaper , Aibrean [April] 1957 , page 4.
(IML. IX. UIMHIR 4 - price Tri Pingin [Three Pennies].
Thanks to my late friends Christy and Theresa L. for giving me this 48-year-old newspaper ; this thread published in memory of those two old Fenians ! - John.
At the Sinn Fein rally in Church Square , Seamus Sabhat said they should regard this victory rally as the start , and not the end , of their campaign . He congratulated the people of Monaghan on electing a Sinn Fein candidate , and he congratulated Eineachan O'Hanlon on his success .
Eineachan O'Hanlon thanked all who had voted and worked for Sinn Fein in the election ; he made it clear that he would not take his seat in Leinster House because the people had voted for him to take his seat in a 32-County Parliament only . Mr Tom Carragher , Donaghmoyne , also spoke , and the meeting concluded with the sounding of the Last Post for Sean Sabhat and Fergal O'Hanlon .
Then the playing of " A Nation Once Again " and the National Anthem brought proceedings to a close .
[END of 'ULSTER !'].
(TOMORROW - 'MUNSTER!' ; from the same source).
From the moment a new recruit enters the Irish Republican Army he or she undergoes a rigorous and intensive training to assess the individual Volunteer's level of commitment , general ability and particular aptitudes . After the initial recruitment lectures , this period includes training in personal security and anti-interrogation , basic intelligence work , political education - and of course training in the use of weapons . In this supplied article , a Volunteer in the IRA's Belfast Brigade describes his experience of taking part in an IRA training camp .
From 'IRIS' magazine , November 1983 , pages 39 , 40 , 41 , 42, 43 , 44 and 45 .
DAY 1 .
Shortly before midnight . The four of us , after scrambling across rock-strewn fields from where the last car dropped us off , are ushered quickly , without a word spoken , into a cramped and sparsely furnished room by two IRA Training Officers , and left on our own to look around .
Four sets of combat fatigues are laid out neatly beside a pile of folded sleeping beds . An assortment of pistols , two sub-machine guns , rifles , stand stacked against a wall next to plastic tubs of ammunition . A few posters sellotaped to one wall provide the room's only decoration ; one is of Bobby Sands , two more are hand-drawn wallcharts , illustrating operations procedures , breathing control , ammo calibres and weapons maintenance .
The fourth poster is the simplest and most striking : a black-and-white sketch beneath the caption - " Faceless Men : British terrorists who rule our country ." It takes a while before we realise that it is meant to depict the peaked cap and shoulders of an RUC man and is the target we'll be using for shooting practice . The 'face' has no shape and no features ; when you look through the sights of an automatic rifle at a target one-hundred yards away , we will be told later on , the outline of the uniform - not the face itself - is all you see .
Almost the only other contents the room can boast of are a pile of books on the table , weapons manuals , Republican literature , political books and pamphlets .......
(MORE LATER).
STONE COLD .......
Michael Stone is infamous for his attack on a republican funeral at Belfast's Milltown cemetery . By his own count , he has murdered four men and had a hand in the deaths of six others . He says his war is over - but he still expects to meet a violent end .
By Andrew Lynch .
First published in 'MAGILL' magazine , July 2003 , pages 34, 36 , and 38 .
Re-published here in 13 parts .
(5 of 13).
Despite being sentenced to over 800 years in prison , Michael Stone ended up walking free from the Maze in July 2000 as one of the last inmates to be given early release under the terms of the 'Good Friday Agreement' (ie the Stormont Treaty) . Since then , he has spent much of his time concentrating on his prison hobby of painting .
" I was in solitary confinement for a year and they gave me pencils and a sketch book to pass the time , although they took the pencils off me at night , because I was on suicide watch , " he says , " I had to draw from memory because there obviously was'nt much to look at . Eventually , I got access to a lot more materials , including watercolour and oil paints .
Painting on the back of lockers and bed headboards in the H-Blocks helped to keep me sane ....... "
(MORE LATER).
ULSTER !.
From 'The United Irishman' newspaper , Aibrean [April] 1957 , page 4.
(IML. IX. UIMHIR 4 - price Tri Pingin [Three Pennies].
Thanks to my late friends Christy and Theresa L. for giving me this 48-year-old newspaper ; this thread published in memory of those two old Fenians ! - John.
At the Sinn Fein rally in Church Square , Seamus Sabhat said they should regard this victory rally as the start , and not the end , of their campaign . He congratulated the people of Monaghan on electing a Sinn Fein candidate , and he congratulated Eineachan O'Hanlon on his success .
Eineachan O'Hanlon thanked all who had voted and worked for Sinn Fein in the election ; he made it clear that he would not take his seat in Leinster House because the people had voted for him to take his seat in a 32-County Parliament only . Mr Tom Carragher , Donaghmoyne , also spoke , and the meeting concluded with the sounding of the Last Post for Sean Sabhat and Fergal O'Hanlon .
Then the playing of " A Nation Once Again " and the National Anthem brought proceedings to a close .
[END of 'ULSTER !'].
(TOMORROW - 'MUNSTER!' ; from the same source).
Tuesday, April 12, 2005
DYING BY THE SWORD .......
By Emer Woodful .
The murder of LVF leader BILLY WRIGHT has ignited the most violent spell in the North's recent history and threatened the peace process . He may well have considered it an appropriate legacy .
First published in 'MAGILL' magazine , February 1998 , pages 30,31,34 and 35 .
Re-published here in 17 parts .
[17 of 17].
Billy Wright has a 'weird calmness' for a man who has survived gun and bomb attacks : " Well , I've been prepared to die for long many a year . I don't wish to die , but at the end of the day no one will force their opinions down my throat - no one . "
Since Billy Wright's death (and at the time of going to press ) eight Catholics and one Protestant have been murdered ; and even while Wright was in prison last year , the LVF is believed to have been responsible for the killings of two GAA men ; Sean Brown , in Derry , and Gerry Devlin , from Glengormley .
There have also been the many attacks on churches . Only time will answer the questions of whether Billy Wright really was just a maverick , and whether he'll be an inspiration for others , and in his death become a hydra-headed killer .
[END of 'DYING BY THE SWORD'].
(Tomorrow - ' FIVE DAYS IN AN IRA TRAINING CAMP').
STONE COLD .......
Michael Stone is infamous for his attack on a republican funeral at Belfast's Milltown cemetery . By his own count , he has murdered four men and had a hand in the deaths of six others . He says his war is over - but he still expects to meet a violent end .
By Andrew Lynch .
First published in 'MAGILL' magazine , July 2003 , pages 34, 36 , and 38 .
Re-published here in 13 parts .
(4 of 13).
When the mourners (in Milltown Cemetery) eventually caught up with him , Michael Stone was beaten so badly that even today he can walk only with immense difficulty ; he was probably only moments from death when the RUC rescued him and brought him to an interrogation centre , where he admitted his part in three other murders and numerous terrorist offences .
At his trial , Stone sat stony-faced in the dock , listening to the prosecution unfold the grim details of his murderous career ; his only utterance was made after his sentence was read out , when he roared : " Long Live Ulster . No Surrender ! " He told me later that that was " ..carefully prepared . It's what the 36th Ulster Division shouted as they went over the top at the Somme . They were brave soldiers , and that's exactly the way I saw myself ....... "
(MORE LATER).
ULSTER !.
From 'The United Irishman' newspaper , Aibrean [April] 1957 , page 4.
(IML. IX. UIMHIR 4 - price Tri Pingin [Three Pennies].
Thanks to my late friends Christy and Theresa L. for giving me this 48-year-old newspaper ; this thread published in memory of those two old Fenians ! - John.
Sinn Fein held a 'victory rally' on Monday , March 18 (1957) . Several thousands , including young women , marched in a torchlight procession through the streets in pouring rain . A big crowd assembled in Church Square to listen to brief speeches interspersed with items of Irish dancing , songs and recitations .
Present were the mother , brother and sister of Sean Sabhat who was killed with Fergal O'Hanlon at Brookeborough . Concert items were rendered by the Fitzpatrick Sisters , Irish dancers , Clones ; Michael McGuinness , ballad singer ; the Carragher Sisters , Irish dancers , Castleblayney , and Tom Fitzpatrick , Inniskeen , recitation .
Addressing the meeting , Seamus Sabhat referred to a rumour that the Sabhat family did not support Sinn Fein and said he had worked as Director of Canvassing in Limerick during the elections .......
(MORE LATER).
By Emer Woodful .
The murder of LVF leader BILLY WRIGHT has ignited the most violent spell in the North's recent history and threatened the peace process . He may well have considered it an appropriate legacy .
First published in 'MAGILL' magazine , February 1998 , pages 30,31,34 and 35 .
Re-published here in 17 parts .
[17 of 17].
Billy Wright has a 'weird calmness' for a man who has survived gun and bomb attacks : " Well , I've been prepared to die for long many a year . I don't wish to die , but at the end of the day no one will force their opinions down my throat - no one . "
Since Billy Wright's death (and at the time of going to press ) eight Catholics and one Protestant have been murdered ; and even while Wright was in prison last year , the LVF is believed to have been responsible for the killings of two GAA men ; Sean Brown , in Derry , and Gerry Devlin , from Glengormley .
There have also been the many attacks on churches . Only time will answer the questions of whether Billy Wright really was just a maverick , and whether he'll be an inspiration for others , and in his death become a hydra-headed killer .
[END of 'DYING BY THE SWORD'].
(Tomorrow - ' FIVE DAYS IN AN IRA TRAINING CAMP').
STONE COLD .......
Michael Stone is infamous for his attack on a republican funeral at Belfast's Milltown cemetery . By his own count , he has murdered four men and had a hand in the deaths of six others . He says his war is over - but he still expects to meet a violent end .
By Andrew Lynch .
First published in 'MAGILL' magazine , July 2003 , pages 34, 36 , and 38 .
Re-published here in 13 parts .
(4 of 13).
When the mourners (in Milltown Cemetery) eventually caught up with him , Michael Stone was beaten so badly that even today he can walk only with immense difficulty ; he was probably only moments from death when the RUC rescued him and brought him to an interrogation centre , where he admitted his part in three other murders and numerous terrorist offences .
At his trial , Stone sat stony-faced in the dock , listening to the prosecution unfold the grim details of his murderous career ; his only utterance was made after his sentence was read out , when he roared : " Long Live Ulster . No Surrender ! " He told me later that that was " ..carefully prepared . It's what the 36th Ulster Division shouted as they went over the top at the Somme . They were brave soldiers , and that's exactly the way I saw myself ....... "
(MORE LATER).
ULSTER !.
From 'The United Irishman' newspaper , Aibrean [April] 1957 , page 4.
(IML. IX. UIMHIR 4 - price Tri Pingin [Three Pennies].
Thanks to my late friends Christy and Theresa L. for giving me this 48-year-old newspaper ; this thread published in memory of those two old Fenians ! - John.
Sinn Fein held a 'victory rally' on Monday , March 18 (1957) . Several thousands , including young women , marched in a torchlight procession through the streets in pouring rain . A big crowd assembled in Church Square to listen to brief speeches interspersed with items of Irish dancing , songs and recitations .
Present were the mother , brother and sister of Sean Sabhat who was killed with Fergal O'Hanlon at Brookeborough . Concert items were rendered by the Fitzpatrick Sisters , Irish dancers , Clones ; Michael McGuinness , ballad singer ; the Carragher Sisters , Irish dancers , Castleblayney , and Tom Fitzpatrick , Inniskeen , recitation .
Addressing the meeting , Seamus Sabhat referred to a rumour that the Sabhat family did not support Sinn Fein and said he had worked as Director of Canvassing in Limerick during the elections .......
(MORE LATER).
Monday, April 11, 2005
DYING BY THE SWORD .......
By Emer Woodful .
The murder of LVF leader BILLY WRIGHT has ignited the most violent spell in the North's recent history and threatened the peace process . He may well have considered it an appropriate legacy .
First published in 'MAGILL' magazine , February 1998 , pages 30,31,34 and 35 .
Re-published here in 17 parts .
(16 of 17).
And there he was - Billy Wright ; calmly drinking coffee in that same sitting room with the stripy wallpaper , where the armed and hooded LVF Colour Party later stood guard over his Lenin-lookalike corpse , with the thin face and the tiny pencil-line beard .
He had one eye on the Oprah Winfrey Show and the other on the big windows , vetting each car that drove up the cul-de-sac : " My heart goes out to my family at a time like this . " But he seemed so unafraid . " Well , if you think you're right , then you're right .
And I have done nothing wrong except express an opinion that's the prevalent opinion of the people of Northern Ireland , (sic) and I will always do that , dear , no matter what the price ....... "
(MORE LATER).
STONE COLD .......
Michael Stone is infamous for his attack on a republican funeral at Belfast's Milltown cemetery . By his own count , he has murdered four men and had a hand in the deaths of six others . He says his war is over - but he still expects to meet a violent end .
By Andrew Lynch .
First published in 'MAGILL' magazine , July 2003 , pages 34, 36 , and 38 .
Re-published here in 13 parts .
(3 of 13).
Television cameras captured the horror as Michael Stone , dressed in flat cap and all-weather jacket , appeared from behind a gravestone and opened fire ; when he missed his intended targets , Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness , he fled and was pursued by the outraged mourners . In the ensuing chaos , Stone shot three of them dead and injured dozens of others , including pensioners and children .
" I've actually only seen that film a couple of times , " says Stone , whose recently-published autobiography has become a bestseller both north and south . " But I'm told it's been shown on television practically every day for the last 15 years . Militarily , Milltown was an absolute disaster . My intention was to take out the Republican leadership and I ended up killing people I knew nothing about .
I regret what happened and I take full responsibility for the hurt I've caused . But I firmly believe my actions were unavoidable ....... "
(MORE LATER).
Letter to the Editor from RUAIDHRI O BRADAIGH , MOUNTJOY PRISON , DUBLIN .
From 'The United Irishman' newspaper , Aibrean [April] 1957 , page 4.
(IML. IX. UIMHIR 4 - price Tri Pingin [Three Pennies].
Thanks to my late friends Christy and Theresa L. for giving me this 48-year-old newspaper ; this thread published in memory of those two old Fenians ! - John.
" Gabhaim buiochas o chroi agaibh , a mhuintir Longphoirt is Iarmhidhe . Chruthaigh sibh thar barr ar fad sa gcoimhlint , fe mar a rinneabhar i mbliain 1917 , is thug sibh treoru arist don Naisiun uilig . Is cinnte gur mor an cuis athais bhur-n-eacht dar muintir ata fe smacht ag Gallaibh sna Se Condaethe . Go mba fada buan sibh uilig !
I wish to express my sincerest thanks to you for electing me as your representative to an All-Ireland Parliament ; I appreciate the amount of arduous work that went into the election campaign , and am proud that your efforts have met with such resounding success . Longford and Westmeath have matched their achievement of 40 years ago , and have written yet another page in the history of our struggle for unity and independence .
Your great stand for the Cause of Irish Freedom must surely be a wonderful source of hope and consolation to our people in the North who have been abandoned for so long , and who are at present enduring bitter persecution at the hands of the British Occupation Forces . The people of Longford-Westmeath , in electing me , have given their decision on the Freedom Fighters of 1956-57 , and on the coercionists who came to England's aid in her hour of need .
It is indeed inspiring in this age of self-seeking and materialism , to find in my native county and in Westmeath , so many people prepared to rise above all selfish interests and rally in such great numbers to the Cause of National Independence . Great credit is due to the 'Longford Leader ' newspaper which upheld fearlessly the best traditions of journalism in giving its news impartially , at a time when the 'national' press and radio joined forces in a conspiracy of silence against Sinn Fein .
With Fermanagh and South Tyrone , with Mid-Ulster , Monaghan , South Kerry and our neighbours in Sligo-Leitrim and Longford-Westmeath : all have , once more , taken a time-honoured place in the van of the march to freedom , an achievement which may be regarded with pride . If 1957 has been another 1917 , then let us in God's name look forward to another 1918 , to the day in the near future , when the All-Ireland Parliament , pledged to legislate for the whole 32 Counties will be re-assembled .
In conclusion , I would like to thank all the kind people who have sent scores of telegrams , letters and other messages of congratulations which have come to me here in prison .
Go raibh mile maith agaibh ar fad !
Is mise ,
Ruaidhri O Bradaigh .
Mountjoy Prison . "
[END of ' Letter to the Editor from RUAIDHRI O BRADAIGH , MOUNTJOY PRISON , DUBLIN . ' ].
(Tomorrow - 'ULSTER !' : from the same source.)
By Emer Woodful .
The murder of LVF leader BILLY WRIGHT has ignited the most violent spell in the North's recent history and threatened the peace process . He may well have considered it an appropriate legacy .
First published in 'MAGILL' magazine , February 1998 , pages 30,31,34 and 35 .
Re-published here in 17 parts .
(16 of 17).
And there he was - Billy Wright ; calmly drinking coffee in that same sitting room with the stripy wallpaper , where the armed and hooded LVF Colour Party later stood guard over his Lenin-lookalike corpse , with the thin face and the tiny pencil-line beard .
He had one eye on the Oprah Winfrey Show and the other on the big windows , vetting each car that drove up the cul-de-sac : " My heart goes out to my family at a time like this . " But he seemed so unafraid . " Well , if you think you're right , then you're right .
And I have done nothing wrong except express an opinion that's the prevalent opinion of the people of Northern Ireland , (sic) and I will always do that , dear , no matter what the price ....... "
(MORE LATER).
STONE COLD .......
Michael Stone is infamous for his attack on a republican funeral at Belfast's Milltown cemetery . By his own count , he has murdered four men and had a hand in the deaths of six others . He says his war is over - but he still expects to meet a violent end .
By Andrew Lynch .
First published in 'MAGILL' magazine , July 2003 , pages 34, 36 , and 38 .
Re-published here in 13 parts .
(3 of 13).
Television cameras captured the horror as Michael Stone , dressed in flat cap and all-weather jacket , appeared from behind a gravestone and opened fire ; when he missed his intended targets , Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness , he fled and was pursued by the outraged mourners . In the ensuing chaos , Stone shot three of them dead and injured dozens of others , including pensioners and children .
" I've actually only seen that film a couple of times , " says Stone , whose recently-published autobiography has become a bestseller both north and south . " But I'm told it's been shown on television practically every day for the last 15 years . Militarily , Milltown was an absolute disaster . My intention was to take out the Republican leadership and I ended up killing people I knew nothing about .
I regret what happened and I take full responsibility for the hurt I've caused . But I firmly believe my actions were unavoidable ....... "
(MORE LATER).
Letter to the Editor from RUAIDHRI O BRADAIGH , MOUNTJOY PRISON , DUBLIN .
From 'The United Irishman' newspaper , Aibrean [April] 1957 , page 4.
(IML. IX. UIMHIR 4 - price Tri Pingin [Three Pennies].
Thanks to my late friends Christy and Theresa L. for giving me this 48-year-old newspaper ; this thread published in memory of those two old Fenians ! - John.
" Gabhaim buiochas o chroi agaibh , a mhuintir Longphoirt is Iarmhidhe . Chruthaigh sibh thar barr ar fad sa gcoimhlint , fe mar a rinneabhar i mbliain 1917 , is thug sibh treoru arist don Naisiun uilig . Is cinnte gur mor an cuis athais bhur-n-eacht dar muintir ata fe smacht ag Gallaibh sna Se Condaethe . Go mba fada buan sibh uilig !
I wish to express my sincerest thanks to you for electing me as your representative to an All-Ireland Parliament ; I appreciate the amount of arduous work that went into the election campaign , and am proud that your efforts have met with such resounding success . Longford and Westmeath have matched their achievement of 40 years ago , and have written yet another page in the history of our struggle for unity and independence .
Your great stand for the Cause of Irish Freedom must surely be a wonderful source of hope and consolation to our people in the North who have been abandoned for so long , and who are at present enduring bitter persecution at the hands of the British Occupation Forces . The people of Longford-Westmeath , in electing me , have given their decision on the Freedom Fighters of 1956-57 , and on the coercionists who came to England's aid in her hour of need .
It is indeed inspiring in this age of self-seeking and materialism , to find in my native county and in Westmeath , so many people prepared to rise above all selfish interests and rally in such great numbers to the Cause of National Independence . Great credit is due to the 'Longford Leader ' newspaper which upheld fearlessly the best traditions of journalism in giving its news impartially , at a time when the 'national' press and radio joined forces in a conspiracy of silence against Sinn Fein .
With Fermanagh and South Tyrone , with Mid-Ulster , Monaghan , South Kerry and our neighbours in Sligo-Leitrim and Longford-Westmeath : all have , once more , taken a time-honoured place in the van of the march to freedom , an achievement which may be regarded with pride . If 1957 has been another 1917 , then let us in God's name look forward to another 1918 , to the day in the near future , when the All-Ireland Parliament , pledged to legislate for the whole 32 Counties will be re-assembled .
In conclusion , I would like to thank all the kind people who have sent scores of telegrams , letters and other messages of congratulations which have come to me here in prison .
Go raibh mile maith agaibh ar fad !
Is mise ,
Ruaidhri O Bradaigh .
Mountjoy Prison . "
[END of ' Letter to the Editor from RUAIDHRI O BRADAIGH , MOUNTJOY PRISON , DUBLIN . ' ].
(Tomorrow - 'ULSTER !' : from the same source.)
Friday, April 08, 2005
DYING BY THE SWORD .......
By Emer Woodful .
The murder of LVF leader BILLY WRIGHT has ignited the most violent spell in the North's recent history and threatened the peace process . He may well have considered it an appropriate legacy .
First published in 'MAGILL' magazine , February 1998 , pages 30,31,34 and 35 .
Re-published here in 17 parts .
(15 of 17).
After the hearing , Gwen Reed's family had to leave the North , and they are now in a witness-protection scheme in Britain . So just where was the 'compromise' in this man , Billy Wright , who talked of dearly wanting peace ?
The father of two girls and two boys , divorced and in a second relationship , who wished for his children that " ... there would be peace and reconciliation , and that the country (sic) would flourish . " It seemed what he really wanted was total victory and total peace ; he did'nt think so - he wanted the " constitutional issue solved " (within a British context) , he said , and felt that then " ... the parades issue and similar things like that could be settled without the underlying threat of it being more devious than it appears . "
(MORE LATER).
STONE COLD .......
Michael Stone is infamous for his attack on a republican funeral at Belfast's Milltown cemetery . By his own count , he has murdered four men and had a hand in the deaths of six others . He says his war is over - but he still expects to meet a violent end .
By Andrew Lynch .
First published in 'MAGILL' magazine , July 2003 , pages 34, 36 , and 38 .
Re-published here in 13 parts .
(2 of 13).
Michael Stone cannot enter a strange room without mentally scanning the exits . He rarely sees any of the nine children he has by his two ex-wives ; he spends most of his time utterly alone , waiting for his past to catch up with him ...
One day , he fully accepts, his luck will run out : " You'll turn on the radio one morning and hear that Michael Stone has been shot dead , " he says matter-of-factly . " That's how I expect to die , with a bullet in my head . I just hope it happens quickly and that none of my family or friends are around at the time . It'll be a soldier's death , because that's what I am . I'm a British Loyalist and proud of it . When I joined up for the cause at the age of 16 , I knew that death or prison were the only possible outcomes . And on March 16th , 1988 , I probably signed my own death warrant . "
On that date , Michael Stone wrote himself into history as one of the most notorious terrorists ever thrown up by 'the Troubles' ; the scene was Belfast's Milltown Cemetery , the occasion the funeral of three IRA members shot dead by the British SAS in Gibraltar .......
(MORE LATER).
NO COMPROMISE . (Editorial Comment).
From 'The United Irishman' newspaper , Aibrean [April] 1957 , page 4.
(IML. IX. UIMHIR 4 - price Tri Pingin [Three Pennies].
Thanks to my late friends Christy and Theresa L. for giving me this 48-year-old newspaper ; this thread published in memory of those two old Fenians ! - John.
The Twenty-Six and Six County Parliaments were established by English force ; they were consolidated by the threat of immediate and terrible war . Since 1918 , the Irish people have not had the opportunity of expressing their desires or their opinions on the principle national issue of foreign interference and occupation .
Politicians motivated by fear of economic or political sanctions have confused the minds of the Irish people north and south ; personalities became more important than policies . Leinster House and Stormont are instruments of British government in Ireland . They are English in their conception and administration . To accept either as the fulfilment of Irish patriot aspirations would be a dastardly betrayal .
Sinn Fein Teachtai Dala (ie Sinn Fein members elected to Leinster House) will not accept and will not give either parliaments the appearance of NATIONAL validity by their presence in them . We do not claim a monopoly of Irish Nationalism ; we but follow the teachings of our National fathers . Apart from the principles involved (which preclude Irish Republicans and Separatists from accepting anything less than the complete separation of Ireland from England ) - as a matter of mere tactics and expediency it is futile for any Irishman or group of Irishmen to imagine that they can improve Ireland's economic condition while Ireland is divided and while England maintains her grip on Irish economy through her financial system .
Political impotence and futility inevitably follows entrance into either of these institutions ; Ireland has had enough of it . ('1169...' Comment - 1957 or 2005 ; true today as it was then ).
The days of mental reservations are gone . Honour must be upheld . Ireland is a Nation and will be united despite the power of England .
[END of 'NO COMPROMISE'].
(Monday - 'Letter to the Editor' from Ruaidhri O Bradaigh , Mountjoy Prison).
By Emer Woodful .
The murder of LVF leader BILLY WRIGHT has ignited the most violent spell in the North's recent history and threatened the peace process . He may well have considered it an appropriate legacy .
First published in 'MAGILL' magazine , February 1998 , pages 30,31,34 and 35 .
Re-published here in 17 parts .
(15 of 17).
After the hearing , Gwen Reed's family had to leave the North , and they are now in a witness-protection scheme in Britain . So just where was the 'compromise' in this man , Billy Wright , who talked of dearly wanting peace ?
The father of two girls and two boys , divorced and in a second relationship , who wished for his children that " ... there would be peace and reconciliation , and that the country (sic) would flourish . " It seemed what he really wanted was total victory and total peace ; he did'nt think so - he wanted the " constitutional issue solved " (within a British context) , he said , and felt that then " ... the parades issue and similar things like that could be settled without the underlying threat of it being more devious than it appears . "
(MORE LATER).
STONE COLD .......
Michael Stone is infamous for his attack on a republican funeral at Belfast's Milltown cemetery . By his own count , he has murdered four men and had a hand in the deaths of six others . He says his war is over - but he still expects to meet a violent end .
By Andrew Lynch .
First published in 'MAGILL' magazine , July 2003 , pages 34, 36 , and 38 .
Re-published here in 13 parts .
(2 of 13).
Michael Stone cannot enter a strange room without mentally scanning the exits . He rarely sees any of the nine children he has by his two ex-wives ; he spends most of his time utterly alone , waiting for his past to catch up with him ...
One day , he fully accepts, his luck will run out : " You'll turn on the radio one morning and hear that Michael Stone has been shot dead , " he says matter-of-factly . " That's how I expect to die , with a bullet in my head . I just hope it happens quickly and that none of my family or friends are around at the time . It'll be a soldier's death , because that's what I am . I'm a British Loyalist and proud of it . When I joined up for the cause at the age of 16 , I knew that death or prison were the only possible outcomes . And on March 16th , 1988 , I probably signed my own death warrant . "
On that date , Michael Stone wrote himself into history as one of the most notorious terrorists ever thrown up by 'the Troubles' ; the scene was Belfast's Milltown Cemetery , the occasion the funeral of three IRA members shot dead by the British SAS in Gibraltar .......
(MORE LATER).
NO COMPROMISE . (Editorial Comment).
From 'The United Irishman' newspaper , Aibrean [April] 1957 , page 4.
(IML. IX. UIMHIR 4 - price Tri Pingin [Three Pennies].
Thanks to my late friends Christy and Theresa L. for giving me this 48-year-old newspaper ; this thread published in memory of those two old Fenians ! - John.
The Twenty-Six and Six County Parliaments were established by English force ; they were consolidated by the threat of immediate and terrible war . Since 1918 , the Irish people have not had the opportunity of expressing their desires or their opinions on the principle national issue of foreign interference and occupation .
Politicians motivated by fear of economic or political sanctions have confused the minds of the Irish people north and south ; personalities became more important than policies . Leinster House and Stormont are instruments of British government in Ireland . They are English in their conception and administration . To accept either as the fulfilment of Irish patriot aspirations would be a dastardly betrayal .
Sinn Fein Teachtai Dala (ie Sinn Fein members elected to Leinster House) will not accept and will not give either parliaments the appearance of NATIONAL validity by their presence in them . We do not claim a monopoly of Irish Nationalism ; we but follow the teachings of our National fathers . Apart from the principles involved (which preclude Irish Republicans and Separatists from accepting anything less than the complete separation of Ireland from England ) - as a matter of mere tactics and expediency it is futile for any Irishman or group of Irishmen to imagine that they can improve Ireland's economic condition while Ireland is divided and while England maintains her grip on Irish economy through her financial system .
Political impotence and futility inevitably follows entrance into either of these institutions ; Ireland has had enough of it . ('1169...' Comment - 1957 or 2005 ; true today as it was then ).
The days of mental reservations are gone . Honour must be upheld . Ireland is a Nation and will be united despite the power of England .
[END of 'NO COMPROMISE'].
(Monday - 'Letter to the Editor' from Ruaidhri O Bradaigh , Mountjoy Prison).
Thursday, April 07, 2005
DYING BY THE SWORD .......
By Emer Woodful .
The murder of LVF leader BILLY WRIGHT has ignited the most violent spell in the North's recent history and threatened the peace process . He may well have considered it an appropriate legacy .
First published in 'MAGILL' magazine , February 1998 , pages 30,31,34 and 35 .
Re-published here in 17 parts .
(14 of 17).
Billy Wright felt the Irish (ie Free State) Constitution " ... justified the murder of British citizens , and having spent many years in the H-Blocks and listened to young nationalists singing their sings , believe me they draw their opinions because of their education , and because they are brought up to believe they have a right , because of that constitution , to take away this land . "
Wright was back in prison last year (1997) , listening to those songs ; he was given eight years for threatening to kill a Portadown woman , Gwen Reed , whom he'd known for 20 years . The incident happened in Portadown , just two weeks before I first met him - and heard his many denials of any involvement in violence .
What happened was that seven masked men , armed with sledgehammers and pickaxes , attacked the boyfriend of the woman's daughter , in a punishment beating . The woman's daughter , Nicola , tried to shield her boyfriend , and was injured . The next day , Billy Wright told Gwen Reed that " ... I'm going to fucking shoot you .. " after he'd also warned her son that " I'm coming after you . "
The judge said he found Wright's evidence " utterly unconvincing . "
(MORE LATER).
STONE COLD .
Michael Stone is infamous for his attack on a republican funeral at Belfast's Milltown cemetery . By his own count , he has murdered four men and had a hand in the deaths of six others . He says his war is over - but he still expects to meet a violent end .
By Andrew Lynch .
First published in 'MAGILL' magazine , July 2003 , pages 34, 36 , and 38 .
Re-published here in 13 parts .
(1 of 13).
Michael Stone is feeling the heat ; " God , it's desperate , " are the first words he says to me when he comes to the 'phone , his voice full of Belfast good cheer . " It's a really warm day here in London and I'm just stifling . "
He laughs mischievously : " Of course , I'm wearing heavy body armour like I always do - an old girlfriend of mine bought us a matching set of 'his and hers' . That does'nt help when you're walking around ! " Given that by his own admission he's murdered four men and played a hand in the killing of six others , you might think that Stone is lucky to be walking around anywhere .
On the other hand , the way he describes it , his does'nt sound like much of a life ; his homes in the English Midlands , Belfast and Northern France are crammed with surveillance devices and protected by steel bars . He eats only food he has prepared himself .
He cannot enter a strange room without mentally scanning the exits .......
(MORE LATER).
WHAT IS SINN FEIN ? - Sinn Fein spokesman gives exclusive interview to C.B.C. TV and Radio network .
From 'The United Irishman' newspaper , Aibrean [April] 1957 , page 3.
(IML. IX. UIMHIR 4 - price Tri Pingin [Three Pennies].
Thanks to my late friends Christy and Theresa L. for giving me this 48-year-old newspaper ; this thread published in memory of those two old Fenians ! - John.
6. Q - Is Sinn Fein the political wing of the Resistance Fighters ?
A - Sinn Fein and the Resistance Fighters are two separate bodies working towards the achievement of the same end . Sinn Fein is an organisation of civilians confining themselves to political methods .
7. Q - If you have candidates elected , what do you propose to do and what are your hopes for the future ?
A - We will continue to organise so that we can give the people the opportunity of again electing a majority of Sinn Fein candidates with a mandate to establish a National Government having jurisdiction over all 32 Counties of Ireland . At the present rate of progress such an opportunity would not seem to be far ahead . Only an Irish Government based on Christian principles and traditions can save this country ultimately from all ungodly " isms " that afflict the world today .
[END of 'WHAT IS SINN FEIN '].
(Tomorrow - 'NO COMPROMISE' : Editorial Comment from the same source).
By Emer Woodful .
The murder of LVF leader BILLY WRIGHT has ignited the most violent spell in the North's recent history and threatened the peace process . He may well have considered it an appropriate legacy .
First published in 'MAGILL' magazine , February 1998 , pages 30,31,34 and 35 .
Re-published here in 17 parts .
(14 of 17).
Billy Wright felt the Irish (ie Free State) Constitution " ... justified the murder of British citizens , and having spent many years in the H-Blocks and listened to young nationalists singing their sings , believe me they draw their opinions because of their education , and because they are brought up to believe they have a right , because of that constitution , to take away this land . "
Wright was back in prison last year (1997) , listening to those songs ; he was given eight years for threatening to kill a Portadown woman , Gwen Reed , whom he'd known for 20 years . The incident happened in Portadown , just two weeks before I first met him - and heard his many denials of any involvement in violence .
What happened was that seven masked men , armed with sledgehammers and pickaxes , attacked the boyfriend of the woman's daughter , in a punishment beating . The woman's daughter , Nicola , tried to shield her boyfriend , and was injured . The next day , Billy Wright told Gwen Reed that " ... I'm going to fucking shoot you .. " after he'd also warned her son that " I'm coming after you . "
The judge said he found Wright's evidence " utterly unconvincing . "
(MORE LATER).
STONE COLD .
Michael Stone is infamous for his attack on a republican funeral at Belfast's Milltown cemetery . By his own count , he has murdered four men and had a hand in the deaths of six others . He says his war is over - but he still expects to meet a violent end .
By Andrew Lynch .
First published in 'MAGILL' magazine , July 2003 , pages 34, 36 , and 38 .
Re-published here in 13 parts .
(1 of 13).
Michael Stone is feeling the heat ; " God , it's desperate , " are the first words he says to me when he comes to the 'phone , his voice full of Belfast good cheer . " It's a really warm day here in London and I'm just stifling . "
He laughs mischievously : " Of course , I'm wearing heavy body armour like I always do - an old girlfriend of mine bought us a matching set of 'his and hers' . That does'nt help when you're walking around ! " Given that by his own admission he's murdered four men and played a hand in the killing of six others , you might think that Stone is lucky to be walking around anywhere .
On the other hand , the way he describes it , his does'nt sound like much of a life ; his homes in the English Midlands , Belfast and Northern France are crammed with surveillance devices and protected by steel bars . He eats only food he has prepared himself .
He cannot enter a strange room without mentally scanning the exits .......
(MORE LATER).
WHAT IS SINN FEIN ? - Sinn Fein spokesman gives exclusive interview to C.B.C. TV and Radio network .
From 'The United Irishman' newspaper , Aibrean [April] 1957 , page 3.
(IML. IX. UIMHIR 4 - price Tri Pingin [Three Pennies].
Thanks to my late friends Christy and Theresa L. for giving me this 48-year-old newspaper ; this thread published in memory of those two old Fenians ! - John.
6. Q - Is Sinn Fein the political wing of the Resistance Fighters ?
A - Sinn Fein and the Resistance Fighters are two separate bodies working towards the achievement of the same end . Sinn Fein is an organisation of civilians confining themselves to political methods .
7. Q - If you have candidates elected , what do you propose to do and what are your hopes for the future ?
A - We will continue to organise so that we can give the people the opportunity of again electing a majority of Sinn Fein candidates with a mandate to establish a National Government having jurisdiction over all 32 Counties of Ireland . At the present rate of progress such an opportunity would not seem to be far ahead . Only an Irish Government based on Christian principles and traditions can save this country ultimately from all ungodly " isms " that afflict the world today .
[END of 'WHAT IS SINN FEIN '].
(Tomorrow - 'NO COMPROMISE' : Editorial Comment from the same source).
Wednesday, April 06, 2005
DYING BY THE SWORD .......
By Emer Woodful .
The murder of LVF leader BILLY WRIGHT has ignited the most violent spell in the North's recent history and threatened the peace process . He may well have considered it an appropriate legacy .
First published in 'MAGILL' magazine , February 1998 , pages 30,31,34 and 35 .
Re-published here in 17 parts .
(13 of 17).
The Anglo-Irish Agreement of 1985 (ie the Hillsborough Treaty) and the publication of the Framework Document propelled Billy Wright away from his faith and back to violence . He saw the setting up of the Joint Secretariat at Maryfield and the role for the Irish government as a betrayal ; the man who told me that he was the " ... first leading loyalist to call for a loyalist cease-fire ... " believed that the Framework Document meant that " .. the unionist people were to go into a united Ireland . "
But what of the fact that , under the terms of the Framework Document , any unity could only ever happen if there was democratic consent for it ? " Now please don't insult us , " he replied , " we have the Framework Document , and we have calls for it to be imposed . Please don't tell us nothing will be imposed . "
The Irish Constitution was also one of his mantras .......
(MORE LATER).
WOMEN IN IRELAND'S FIGHT FOR FREEDOM .......
By the late Cork Republican , Gearoid MacCarthaigh .
" Noirin Ni Liathain and many other Irish Republican women attended the meeting held later that evening ( ie 2nd November 1986 - after the Sinn Fein organisation had split over the issue of taking seats in Leinster House) in the West County Hotel at which Republican Sinn Fein continued on with the Ard Fheis .
I do not have to tell you of the great work being done by the women in the Head Office in Shaw Street , Dublin (RSF's then Head Office) . Only for them I doubt if there would be any Head Office .
Women have read the 'Statement from the Leadership' at many Easter Commemorations for the past number of years ; they are also very active in the work of all Cumann (Branches) in Ireland . I forgot to mention that since the 1970's women have provided Colour Parties at many funerals and parades in Ireland and continue to do so ; not because of a shortage of men but because it is their right as women to do so .
Ireland has every right to be proud of the part women have played in the Fight for Freedom and I know they will continue to do so until the fight is won and then I hope they will be suitably honoured for the part they have played and that a suitable memorial be erected in a prominent position in the capital city of Ireland , this to be dedicated to the memory of all women who died in the Fight for Freedom .
I will finish by paying a special tribute to women all over Ireland who provided billets for men on active service ; without those women and the services they provided there would have been no fight . "
GEAROID MacCARTHAIGH .
[END of ' WOMEN IN IRELAND'S FIGHT FOR FREEDOM '].
(Tomorrow - 'STONE COLD' : interview with Loyalist cemetery-killer MICHAEL STONE ).
WHAT IS SINN FEIN ? - Sinn Fein spokesman gives exclusive interview to C.B.C. TV and Radio network .
From 'The United Irishman' newspaper , Aibrean [April] 1957 , page 3.
(IML. IX. UIMHIR 4 - price Tri Pingin [Three Pennies].
Thanks to my late friends Christy and Theresa L. for giving me this 48-year-old newspaper ; this thread published in memory of those two old Fenians ! - John.
4. Q - Is Sinn Fein in existence in the Six Counties as well as in the 26 Counties ?
A - Since the last Imperial Election in the Six Counties , Sinn Fein has been declared an illegal organisation and membership means immediate imprisonment , but Sinn Fein does exist in the Six Counties ; evidence of this is contained in a British Army communique released recently and published in Northern newspapers which stated (after reporting military actions) - ' Green coloured pamphlets have been circulated in the Pomeroy and Stewartstown districts . On the top right-hand corner to represent the Six Counties is an orange square on which is printed 'Fight Your Corner' ; further down is an exhortation 'Join Sinn Fein' , and at the bottom - 'Don't Emigrate' ' .
5. Q - Some people think Sinn Fein a new Party ?
A - Sinn Fein is not new , it is representative of the oldest political tradition in Ireland . Sinn Fein was elected by a vast majority of the Irish people with a mandate to establish an Independent Irish Republic ; it was subsequent to that , that the present institutions of partition government were established by British intrigue and force and the threat of immediate and terrible war .
(MORE LATER).
By Emer Woodful .
The murder of LVF leader BILLY WRIGHT has ignited the most violent spell in the North's recent history and threatened the peace process . He may well have considered it an appropriate legacy .
First published in 'MAGILL' magazine , February 1998 , pages 30,31,34 and 35 .
Re-published here in 17 parts .
(13 of 17).
The Anglo-Irish Agreement of 1985 (ie the Hillsborough Treaty) and the publication of the Framework Document propelled Billy Wright away from his faith and back to violence . He saw the setting up of the Joint Secretariat at Maryfield and the role for the Irish government as a betrayal ; the man who told me that he was the " ... first leading loyalist to call for a loyalist cease-fire ... " believed that the Framework Document meant that " .. the unionist people were to go into a united Ireland . "
But what of the fact that , under the terms of the Framework Document , any unity could only ever happen if there was democratic consent for it ? " Now please don't insult us , " he replied , " we have the Framework Document , and we have calls for it to be imposed . Please don't tell us nothing will be imposed . "
The Irish Constitution was also one of his mantras .......
(MORE LATER).
WOMEN IN IRELAND'S FIGHT FOR FREEDOM .......
By the late Cork Republican , Gearoid MacCarthaigh .
" Noirin Ni Liathain and many other Irish Republican women attended the meeting held later that evening ( ie 2nd November 1986 - after the Sinn Fein organisation had split over the issue of taking seats in Leinster House) in the West County Hotel at which Republican Sinn Fein continued on with the Ard Fheis .
I do not have to tell you of the great work being done by the women in the Head Office in Shaw Street , Dublin (RSF's then Head Office) . Only for them I doubt if there would be any Head Office .
Women have read the 'Statement from the Leadership' at many Easter Commemorations for the past number of years ; they are also very active in the work of all Cumann (Branches) in Ireland . I forgot to mention that since the 1970's women have provided Colour Parties at many funerals and parades in Ireland and continue to do so ; not because of a shortage of men but because it is their right as women to do so .
Ireland has every right to be proud of the part women have played in the Fight for Freedom and I know they will continue to do so until the fight is won and then I hope they will be suitably honoured for the part they have played and that a suitable memorial be erected in a prominent position in the capital city of Ireland , this to be dedicated to the memory of all women who died in the Fight for Freedom .
I will finish by paying a special tribute to women all over Ireland who provided billets for men on active service ; without those women and the services they provided there would have been no fight . "
GEAROID MacCARTHAIGH .
[END of ' WOMEN IN IRELAND'S FIGHT FOR FREEDOM '].
(Tomorrow - 'STONE COLD' : interview with Loyalist cemetery-killer MICHAEL STONE ).
WHAT IS SINN FEIN ? - Sinn Fein spokesman gives exclusive interview to C.B.C. TV and Radio network .
From 'The United Irishman' newspaper , Aibrean [April] 1957 , page 3.
(IML. IX. UIMHIR 4 - price Tri Pingin [Three Pennies].
Thanks to my late friends Christy and Theresa L. for giving me this 48-year-old newspaper ; this thread published in memory of those two old Fenians ! - John.
4. Q - Is Sinn Fein in existence in the Six Counties as well as in the 26 Counties ?
A - Since the last Imperial Election in the Six Counties , Sinn Fein has been declared an illegal organisation and membership means immediate imprisonment , but Sinn Fein does exist in the Six Counties ; evidence of this is contained in a British Army communique released recently and published in Northern newspapers which stated (after reporting military actions) - ' Green coloured pamphlets have been circulated in the Pomeroy and Stewartstown districts . On the top right-hand corner to represent the Six Counties is an orange square on which is printed 'Fight Your Corner' ; further down is an exhortation 'Join Sinn Fein' , and at the bottom - 'Don't Emigrate' ' .
5. Q - Some people think Sinn Fein a new Party ?
A - Sinn Fein is not new , it is representative of the oldest political tradition in Ireland . Sinn Fein was elected by a vast majority of the Irish people with a mandate to establish an Independent Irish Republic ; it was subsequent to that , that the present institutions of partition government were established by British intrigue and force and the threat of immediate and terrible war .
(MORE LATER).
Tuesday, April 05, 2005
DYING BY THE SWORD .......
By Emer Woodful .
The murder of LVF leader BILLY WRIGHT has ignited the most violent spell in the North's recent history and threatened the peace process . He may well have considered it an appropriate legacy .
First published in 'MAGILL' magazine , February 1998 , pages 30,31,34 and 35 .
Re-published here in 17 parts .
(12 of 17).
A real family irony for Billy Wright is that his own grandfather , a Presbyterian , is said to have suffered discrimination from fellow Protestants because he spoke out against Catholic discrimination and actually stood for election , as an Independent candidate , against the big Unionist party - and won !
The grandson , Billy , also 'put it up' to the Ulster Unionists , in a different way ; 'King Rat' took the violent path . He did two further spells in prison - in 1982 he was charged with murder and attempted murder , on the evidence of UVF supergrass Clifford MacKeown , and Wright spent a year in prison on remand .
But the charges were dropped when Clifford MacKeown retracted his evidence . It was in prison , however , that Billy Wright started reading the Bible , and when he was released in 1983 he decided to " ... live quietly through Christ . "
But two developments propelled him back to violence and away from his faith .......
(MORE LATER).
WOMEN IN IRELAND'S FIGHT FOR FREEDOM .......
By the late Cork Republican , Gearoid MacCarthaigh .
" Hundreds of Irish Republican women have been imprisoned in the old Armagh gaol and in the new Womens gaol next door to the H-Block prison ; they have suffered hunger strike , they have suffered the indignities of the 'Dirty Protest' and strip-searches .
Many more are serving long sentences in English gaols and more , still , are in Free State gaols . In 1986 , when the latest desertion from the Republican Cause to the Free State took place , women were again prominent . When talk of the desertion first took place , Cumann na mBan issued a public statement condemning it .
Many women took part in the walk-out from the 1986 Sinn Fein Ard Fheis in the Mansion House and when the delegates walked-out they were met at the door of the Round Room by a member of Clann na Gael , in uniform , carrying the Clann na Gael flag , who led them out to the maim street ....... " ('1169...' Comment : That Clann na Gael member was Noirin Ni Liathain ; she had stood outside the Mansion House , in full uniform , that weekend ).
(MORE LATER).
WHAT IS SINN FEIN ? - Sinn Fein spokesman gives exclusive interview to C.B.C. TV and Radio network .
From 'The United Irishman' newspaper , Aibrean [April] 1957 , page 3.
(IML. IX. UIMHIR 4 - price Tri Pingin [Three Pennies].
Thanks to my late friends Christy and Theresa L. for giving me this 48-year-old newspaper ; this thread published in memory of those two old Fenians ! - John.
1. Q - What is Sinn Fein ?
A - Literally , it means "ourselves" , but to the Irish Nation it is indicative of self-reliance , Independence , and Separation from England .
2. Q - What is the aim of your Party ?
A - Sinn Fein is not a 'Party' . It is a national organisation . Its aim is to end the entire British Imperial System in Ireland , to establish a National Government having complete and effective jurisdiction over the whole territory of the Nation unhampered or circumscribed by agreements conditioning its establishment .
3. Q - What is the immediate object of Sinn Fein ?
A - Sinn Fein contested all twelve seats in the Imperial Election in the Six Counties in order to give the people in the British Occupied area the opportunity to voice their objection to the continued aggression in Ireland . In two of the largest constituencies Sinn Fein candidates were elected . By British legal machinery , the two democratically elected representatives were deprived of their seats . In the general election in the 26 Counties , Sinn Fein is giving the people of 19 constituencies a similar opportunity to voice their objection to British interference in Irish affairs and to show to their fellow countrymen in occupied Ireland their anxiety to be united with them under an Irish Government .
(MORE LATER).
By Emer Woodful .
The murder of LVF leader BILLY WRIGHT has ignited the most violent spell in the North's recent history and threatened the peace process . He may well have considered it an appropriate legacy .
First published in 'MAGILL' magazine , February 1998 , pages 30,31,34 and 35 .
Re-published here in 17 parts .
(12 of 17).
A real family irony for Billy Wright is that his own grandfather , a Presbyterian , is said to have suffered discrimination from fellow Protestants because he spoke out against Catholic discrimination and actually stood for election , as an Independent candidate , against the big Unionist party - and won !
The grandson , Billy , also 'put it up' to the Ulster Unionists , in a different way ; 'King Rat' took the violent path . He did two further spells in prison - in 1982 he was charged with murder and attempted murder , on the evidence of UVF supergrass Clifford MacKeown , and Wright spent a year in prison on remand .
But the charges were dropped when Clifford MacKeown retracted his evidence . It was in prison , however , that Billy Wright started reading the Bible , and when he was released in 1983 he decided to " ... live quietly through Christ . "
But two developments propelled him back to violence and away from his faith .......
(MORE LATER).
WOMEN IN IRELAND'S FIGHT FOR FREEDOM .......
By the late Cork Republican , Gearoid MacCarthaigh .
" Hundreds of Irish Republican women have been imprisoned in the old Armagh gaol and in the new Womens gaol next door to the H-Block prison ; they have suffered hunger strike , they have suffered the indignities of the 'Dirty Protest' and strip-searches .
Many more are serving long sentences in English gaols and more , still , are in Free State gaols . In 1986 , when the latest desertion from the Republican Cause to the Free State took place , women were again prominent . When talk of the desertion first took place , Cumann na mBan issued a public statement condemning it .
Many women took part in the walk-out from the 1986 Sinn Fein Ard Fheis in the Mansion House and when the delegates walked-out they were met at the door of the Round Room by a member of Clann na Gael , in uniform , carrying the Clann na Gael flag , who led them out to the maim street ....... " ('1169...' Comment : That Clann na Gael member was Noirin Ni Liathain ; she had stood outside the Mansion House , in full uniform , that weekend ).
(MORE LATER).
WHAT IS SINN FEIN ? - Sinn Fein spokesman gives exclusive interview to C.B.C. TV and Radio network .
From 'The United Irishman' newspaper , Aibrean [April] 1957 , page 3.
(IML. IX. UIMHIR 4 - price Tri Pingin [Three Pennies].
Thanks to my late friends Christy and Theresa L. for giving me this 48-year-old newspaper ; this thread published in memory of those two old Fenians ! - John.
1. Q - What is Sinn Fein ?
A - Literally , it means "ourselves" , but to the Irish Nation it is indicative of self-reliance , Independence , and Separation from England .
2. Q - What is the aim of your Party ?
A - Sinn Fein is not a 'Party' . It is a national organisation . Its aim is to end the entire British Imperial System in Ireland , to establish a National Government having complete and effective jurisdiction over the whole territory of the Nation unhampered or circumscribed by agreements conditioning its establishment .
3. Q - What is the immediate object of Sinn Fein ?
A - Sinn Fein contested all twelve seats in the Imperial Election in the Six Counties in order to give the people in the British Occupied area the opportunity to voice their objection to the continued aggression in Ireland . In two of the largest constituencies Sinn Fein candidates were elected . By British legal machinery , the two democratically elected representatives were deprived of their seats . In the general election in the 26 Counties , Sinn Fein is giving the people of 19 constituencies a similar opportunity to voice their objection to British interference in Irish affairs and to show to their fellow countrymen in occupied Ireland their anxiety to be united with them under an Irish Government .
(MORE LATER).
Monday, April 04, 2005
DYING BY THE SWORD .......
By Emer Woodful .
The murder of LVF leader BILLY WRIGHT has ignited the most violent spell in the North's recent history and threatened the peace process . He may well have considered it an appropriate legacy .
First published in 'MAGILL' magazine , February 1998 , pages 30,31,34 and 35 .
Re-published here in 17 parts .
(11 of 17).
Seventy-nine-year-old Rose Anne Mallon , shot dead while answering the phone in her Dungannon home ; two teenage girls killed while serving in a mobile shop in a Craigavon housing estate , and the man who tried to help also gunned down ; two young schoolboys shot on their lunch break while in an amusement arcade in Armagh ; and the Foxes , a couple in their late seventies , killed in their isolated farmhouse in Moy .
What of their families ? " I can understand their feelings , " Billy Wright said , " and as a man who has buried three of his own family I can sympathise with them . Nevertheless , I hold my views dear to my heart , and I think , by and large , that the Unionist population has been the biggest victim in all of this conflict ....... "
(MORE LATER).
WOMEN IN IRELAND'S FIGHT FOR FREEDOM .......
By the late Cork Republican , Gearoid MacCarthaigh .
" In 1968-1969 , when the Civil Rights riots started in the cities and towns of occupied Ireland , women took a very active part ; they were out on the streets and on the barricades , fighting alongside their brothers , their sons and husbands .
One name stands out from all the women of that period and later - the late Maire Drumm of Belfast , who was shot dead by Loyalist gunmen as she lay ill on a hospital bed in the Mater Hospital , Belfast .
At the IRA General Army Convention of 1970 , the Constitution of Oglaigh na hEireann was amended to allow Irish women to become members with full equality with the men . This was the greatest event that happened for Irish women since the foundation of the Irish Citizen Army in 1913 ; now women had full rights to take part in military operations on their own or in company with the men .
Many women have died on active service in occupied Ireland ; many more have been severely wounded ....... "
(MORE LATER).
SINN FEIN RALLY IN DUBLIN .......
From 'The United Irishman' newspaper , Aibrean [April] 1957 , page 3.
(IML. IX. UIMHIR 4 - price Tri Pingin [Three Pennies].
Thanks to my late friends Christy and Theresa L. for giving me this 48-year-old newspaper ; this thread published in memory of those two old Fenians ! - John.
' Saoirse Dearle , the Sinn Fein candidate for Dublin South-West , called on the electorate " ... to return to their old ideas and beliefs ! " , and to vote for Sinn Fein candidates .
Continuing , Saoirse expressed the hope that this generation of Irish people would not be intimidated by British might or native corruption . Little publicity was given in the so-called 'National Press' to the GPO Rally or the Sinn Fein policy during the Election campaigns .
The owners and directors of those newspapers have their reasons for attempting to stifle public opinion ; we leave it to the Irish people to judge what their reasons might be . The Rally ended with the huge 15,000-strong crowd singing ' A Nation Once Again' and 'Amhrain na bhFiann' .
Three lusty cheers for the prisoners in gaol for Ireland was the grand finale .
[END of ' SINN FEIN RALLY IN DUBLIN '].
(Tomorrow - ' WHAT IS SINN FEIN ? ' ; American interview , 1957 , from the same source ).
READERS PLEASE NOTE - Re ' DVD format only ' : Friday was April 1st .......
By Emer Woodful .
The murder of LVF leader BILLY WRIGHT has ignited the most violent spell in the North's recent history and threatened the peace process . He may well have considered it an appropriate legacy .
First published in 'MAGILL' magazine , February 1998 , pages 30,31,34 and 35 .
Re-published here in 17 parts .
(11 of 17).
Seventy-nine-year-old Rose Anne Mallon , shot dead while answering the phone in her Dungannon home ; two teenage girls killed while serving in a mobile shop in a Craigavon housing estate , and the man who tried to help also gunned down ; two young schoolboys shot on their lunch break while in an amusement arcade in Armagh ; and the Foxes , a couple in their late seventies , killed in their isolated farmhouse in Moy .
What of their families ? " I can understand their feelings , " Billy Wright said , " and as a man who has buried three of his own family I can sympathise with them . Nevertheless , I hold my views dear to my heart , and I think , by and large , that the Unionist population has been the biggest victim in all of this conflict ....... "
(MORE LATER).
WOMEN IN IRELAND'S FIGHT FOR FREEDOM .......
By the late Cork Republican , Gearoid MacCarthaigh .
" In 1968-1969 , when the Civil Rights riots started in the cities and towns of occupied Ireland , women took a very active part ; they were out on the streets and on the barricades , fighting alongside their brothers , their sons and husbands .
One name stands out from all the women of that period and later - the late Maire Drumm of Belfast , who was shot dead by Loyalist gunmen as she lay ill on a hospital bed in the Mater Hospital , Belfast .
At the IRA General Army Convention of 1970 , the Constitution of Oglaigh na hEireann was amended to allow Irish women to become members with full equality with the men . This was the greatest event that happened for Irish women since the foundation of the Irish Citizen Army in 1913 ; now women had full rights to take part in military operations on their own or in company with the men .
Many women have died on active service in occupied Ireland ; many more have been severely wounded ....... "
(MORE LATER).
SINN FEIN RALLY IN DUBLIN .......
From 'The United Irishman' newspaper , Aibrean [April] 1957 , page 3.
(IML. IX. UIMHIR 4 - price Tri Pingin [Three Pennies].
Thanks to my late friends Christy and Theresa L. for giving me this 48-year-old newspaper ; this thread published in memory of those two old Fenians ! - John.
' Saoirse Dearle , the Sinn Fein candidate for Dublin South-West , called on the electorate " ... to return to their old ideas and beliefs ! " , and to vote for Sinn Fein candidates .
Continuing , Saoirse expressed the hope that this generation of Irish people would not be intimidated by British might or native corruption . Little publicity was given in the so-called 'National Press' to the GPO Rally or the Sinn Fein policy during the Election campaigns .
The owners and directors of those newspapers have their reasons for attempting to stifle public opinion ; we leave it to the Irish people to judge what their reasons might be . The Rally ended with the huge 15,000-strong crowd singing ' A Nation Once Again' and 'Amhrain na bhFiann' .
Three lusty cheers for the prisoners in gaol for Ireland was the grand finale .
[END of ' SINN FEIN RALLY IN DUBLIN '].
(Tomorrow - ' WHAT IS SINN FEIN ? ' ; American interview , 1957 , from the same source ).
READERS PLEASE NOTE - Re ' DVD format only ' : Friday was April 1st .......
Friday, April 01, 2005
DYING BY THE SWORD .......
By Emer Woodful .
The murder of LVF leader BILLY WRIGHT has ignited the most violent spell in the North's recent history and threatened the peace process . He may well have considered it an appropriate legacy .
First published in 'MAGILL' magazine , February 1998 , pages 30,31,34 and 35 .
Re-published here in 17 parts .
(10 of 17).
Billy Wright's involvement in violence started , he told me , because he saw his neighbours being " systematically murdered " : three of his own family were killed - his uncle , who was a member of the Salvation Army , his father-in-law and his brother-in-law .
" You know , " he said , " when you've looked into the coffins of the ones you love , and you've heard the feeble excuses coming from nationalists , words were'nt good enough ... " . He would never condemn any loyalist paramilitary killings ; he always tried to justify them by arguing that all the people killed by the loyalists were involved with the IRA .
But that simply was not the truth ; many ordinary Catholics were among the 41 people killed by the brutal hand of the UVF's Mid-Ulster Brigade .......
(MORE LATER).
WOMEN IN IRELAND'S FIGHT FOR FREEDOM .......
By the late Cork Republican , Gearoid MacCarthaigh .
" (... barred from their meeting rooms in Cork's Thomas Ashe Hall , by Cathal Goulding , Cumann na mBan managed to gain entrance when the IRA guard was absent ..) .. As soon as the men in the Hall realised what had happened they tried to force open the door ; they failed to do this and the women continued their meeting until their business was finished , when they took down the barricades and marched in a body from the Hall past the red-faced men whom they had defeated .
The following Easter they sold their Easter Lilies as always only now they were abused by both the Special Branch and by their former male comrades who were still claiming to be the IRA .
Cumann na mBan attended Bodenstown , in uniform , in 1969 , not to take part in the parade but to distribute a leaflet which they had got printed specially for the occasion ; it was headed - ' Why We Fell Out Of The Parade Last Year ' and , in it , they told the full story of the moves that were going on in the IRA .
They gave full details of what has become known as the 10 Commandments which were the resolutions passed a few years before at an Extraordinary General Army Convention which called for entry to the Free State Dail , looking for permits for sale of Easter Lilies , recognition of Free State Courts , and applying for permission to the Free Staters and the RUC to hold parades and meetings . ('1169....' Comment - .. much the same as the Provisional 'movement' does today : including applying to the 'authorities' for a 'permit' to sell Easter Lilies , which are distributed in honour of the men and women that those same 'authorities' have executed ! The Republican Sinn Fein 'permit' , on the other hand , was 'taken out' in 1916 .... ! ).
I always say Cumann na mBan were the first Provos : after the Provisional Army Council was elected in December 1969 , Cumann na mBan issued a public statement giving their allegiance to it ....... "
(MORE LATER).
SINN FEIN RALLY IN DUBLIN .......
From 'The United Irishman' newspaper , Aibrean [April] 1957 , page 3.
(IML. IX. UIMHIR 4 - price Tri Pingin [Three Pennies].
Thanks to my late friends Christy and Theresa L. for giving me this 48-year-old newspaper ; this thread published in memory of those two old Fenians ! - John.
' On behalf of the Sinn Fein candidate for Dublin North-East - Tomas Misteil - Miceal Treinfir was the next speaker ; he put the policy of Sinn Fein to the meeting , and said - " We stand for Ireland ; we in Sinn Fein do not and will not appeal to your emotion but to your reason and we are convinced that when you read and understand the 'National Unity and Social and Economic Programme' of Sinn Fein , you will have no option but to vote Sinn Fein . "
Commenting on the Educational Programme of Sinn Fein , Miceal Treinfir quoted Terence McSwiney -
- " When Ireland was wholly free , Ireland was wholly Gaelic ; when Ireland was wholly Gaelic , Ireland was wholly free . "
Mr. Sean Lafferty , from Chicago , who is at present on holiday in Ireland , assured those present that the Irish exiles in Chicago and Philadelphia gave their full support to Sinn Fein ....... '
(MORE LATER).
READERS PLEASE NOTE - We are moving with the times here in '1169 Towers' ; as such , you have read one of the last printed versions of '1169 And Counting' - we will shortly be 'broadcasting' only on DVD format in the very near future . More details on Monday , 4th April .......).
By Emer Woodful .
The murder of LVF leader BILLY WRIGHT has ignited the most violent spell in the North's recent history and threatened the peace process . He may well have considered it an appropriate legacy .
First published in 'MAGILL' magazine , February 1998 , pages 30,31,34 and 35 .
Re-published here in 17 parts .
(10 of 17).
Billy Wright's involvement in violence started , he told me , because he saw his neighbours being " systematically murdered " : three of his own family were killed - his uncle , who was a member of the Salvation Army , his father-in-law and his brother-in-law .
" You know , " he said , " when you've looked into the coffins of the ones you love , and you've heard the feeble excuses coming from nationalists , words were'nt good enough ... " . He would never condemn any loyalist paramilitary killings ; he always tried to justify them by arguing that all the people killed by the loyalists were involved with the IRA .
But that simply was not the truth ; many ordinary Catholics were among the 41 people killed by the brutal hand of the UVF's Mid-Ulster Brigade .......
(MORE LATER).
WOMEN IN IRELAND'S FIGHT FOR FREEDOM .......
By the late Cork Republican , Gearoid MacCarthaigh .
" (... barred from their meeting rooms in Cork's Thomas Ashe Hall , by Cathal Goulding , Cumann na mBan managed to gain entrance when the IRA guard was absent ..) .. As soon as the men in the Hall realised what had happened they tried to force open the door ; they failed to do this and the women continued their meeting until their business was finished , when they took down the barricades and marched in a body from the Hall past the red-faced men whom they had defeated .
The following Easter they sold their Easter Lilies as always only now they were abused by both the Special Branch and by their former male comrades who were still claiming to be the IRA .
Cumann na mBan attended Bodenstown , in uniform , in 1969 , not to take part in the parade but to distribute a leaflet which they had got printed specially for the occasion ; it was headed - ' Why We Fell Out Of The Parade Last Year ' and , in it , they told the full story of the moves that were going on in the IRA .
They gave full details of what has become known as the 10 Commandments which were the resolutions passed a few years before at an Extraordinary General Army Convention which called for entry to the Free State Dail , looking for permits for sale of Easter Lilies , recognition of Free State Courts , and applying for permission to the Free Staters and the RUC to hold parades and meetings . ('1169....' Comment - .. much the same as the Provisional 'movement' does today : including applying to the 'authorities' for a 'permit' to sell Easter Lilies , which are distributed in honour of the men and women that those same 'authorities' have executed ! The Republican Sinn Fein 'permit' , on the other hand , was 'taken out' in 1916 .... ! ).
I always say Cumann na mBan were the first Provos : after the Provisional Army Council was elected in December 1969 , Cumann na mBan issued a public statement giving their allegiance to it ....... "
(MORE LATER).
SINN FEIN RALLY IN DUBLIN .......
From 'The United Irishman' newspaper , Aibrean [April] 1957 , page 3.
(IML. IX. UIMHIR 4 - price Tri Pingin [Three Pennies].
Thanks to my late friends Christy and Theresa L. for giving me this 48-year-old newspaper ; this thread published in memory of those two old Fenians ! - John.
' On behalf of the Sinn Fein candidate for Dublin North-East - Tomas Misteil - Miceal Treinfir was the next speaker ; he put the policy of Sinn Fein to the meeting , and said - " We stand for Ireland ; we in Sinn Fein do not and will not appeal to your emotion but to your reason and we are convinced that when you read and understand the 'National Unity and Social and Economic Programme' of Sinn Fein , you will have no option but to vote Sinn Fein . "
Commenting on the Educational Programme of Sinn Fein , Miceal Treinfir quoted Terence McSwiney -
- " When Ireland was wholly free , Ireland was wholly Gaelic ; when Ireland was wholly Gaelic , Ireland was wholly free . "
Mr. Sean Lafferty , from Chicago , who is at present on holiday in Ireland , assured those present that the Irish exiles in Chicago and Philadelphia gave their full support to Sinn Fein ....... '
(MORE LATER).
READERS PLEASE NOTE - We are moving with the times here in '1169 Towers' ; as such , you have read one of the last printed versions of '1169 And Counting' - we will shortly be 'broadcasting' only on DVD format in the very near future . More details on Monday , 4th April .......).
Thursday, March 31, 2005
DYING BY THE SWORD .......
By Emer Woodful .
The murder of LVF leader BILLY WRIGHT has ignited the most violent spell in the North's recent history and threatened the peace process . He may well have considered it an appropriate legacy .
First published in 'MAGILL' magazine , February 1998 , pages 30,31,34 and 35 .
Re-published here in 17 parts .
(9 of 17).
Two of Billy Wright's sisters were married to Catholics ; he had no problem with Catholics per se , he said - " I lived among nationalist people , I grew up with them . I'd no difficulty with them . If only the IRA and Sinn Fein would recognise our right to exist , to be British , then I believe the two communities could come together , and a new form of life within a British context could evolve . " ( '1169...' Comment - "...life within a British context... " in the Six Counties is not an 'offer' ; it is that which is the cause of the conflict , and always has been in Ireland).
Indeed , Wright had grown up mixing with Catholics in South Armagh . Although he was born in England , he had returned to the North of Ireland at the age of four and settled in the mainly Protestant village of Mountnorris . He played Gaelic football with Catholics in nearby Whitecross and , unusually , also learned Irish history .
He moved to Portadown and , when he was 15 , was jailed for six years for possession of a firearm and hijacking .......
(MORE LATER).
WOMEN IN IRELAND'S FIGHT FOR FREEDOM .......
By the late Cork Republican , Gearoid MacCarthaigh .
" It had always been the practice that only flags and banners of Republican organisations be allowed to be carried in the Parade at Bodenstown ; in 1968 , it had been widely rumoured beforehand that the Communist Party of Ireland proposed to march behind their flag in Bodenstown . Officers of Cumann na mBan met Cathal Goulding in the Assembly Field and got a guarantee from him that only flags of Republican organisations would be carried in the parade .
The women did not trust Goulding and made arrangements to be enforced along the road if the flag of the Communist Party of Ireland was being carried in the parade behind their backs . On being informed about a mile out the road that that flag was being carried , they at once fell out of the parade . The following week Cathal Goulding declared that Cumann na mBan were no longer members of the Republican Movement ; he had bitten off more than he could chew .
The women continued as always ; in Cork City they were forcibly evicted from their meeting place in the Thomas Ashe Hall and warned not to come back again . A guard was placed on the main door to prevent them from entering and , for a few weeks , they held their meetings down 'The Boggey Road' until one day , while on her way to a meeting , the Cumann na mBan Officer Commanding spotted that the guard was missing from the main door .
She quickly collected all her members and they entered the Hall and barricaded themselves into their regular meeting room ....... "
(MORE LATER).
SINN FEIN RALLY IN DUBLIN .
From 'The United Irishman' newspaper , Aibrean [April] 1957 , page 3.
(IML. IX. UIMHIR 4 - price Tri Pingin [Three Pennies].
Thanks to my late friends Christy and Theresa L. for giving me this 48-year-old newspaper ; this thread published in memory of those two old Fenians ! - John.
' " This gathering is an effective answer to the people who denied publicity to Sinn Fein in this election " - so said Tomas O'Dubhghaill , addressing one of the biggest Sinn Fein rallies in recent years , at Dublin's GPO , on Saturday night , March 2 , 1957 . 15,000 people filled Ireland's main thoroughfare and they were indeed an answer to those who imposed the ban on Republican news and activities during the past months .
From the very beginning the enthusiasm of the crowd was marked ; three parades arrived simultaneously - one from each of the Dublin constituencies which was being contested by Sinn Fein . Banners and slogans carried by the marchers were greeted with cheers as they drew near the platform . Fianna Eireann scouts and the Emerald Girl Pipers Band headed the parade .
Saoirse Dearle opened the meeting by reading the 1916 Proclamation , following which a recording of the Last Post was played and two minutes silence observed . Tomas O'Dubhghaill , the candidate for Dublin South Central , was the first speaker to be introduced by Sean O'Suilleabhain , Director of Elections for Tom Misteil .
Tomas appealed to the electorate to vote for the Sinn Fein candidates and endorse the stand made by our 152,000 fellow-countrymen in the North ....... '
(MORE LATER).
By Emer Woodful .
The murder of LVF leader BILLY WRIGHT has ignited the most violent spell in the North's recent history and threatened the peace process . He may well have considered it an appropriate legacy .
First published in 'MAGILL' magazine , February 1998 , pages 30,31,34 and 35 .
Re-published here in 17 parts .
(9 of 17).
Two of Billy Wright's sisters were married to Catholics ; he had no problem with Catholics per se , he said - " I lived among nationalist people , I grew up with them . I'd no difficulty with them . If only the IRA and Sinn Fein would recognise our right to exist , to be British , then I believe the two communities could come together , and a new form of life within a British context could evolve . " ( '1169...' Comment - "...life within a British context... " in the Six Counties is not an 'offer' ; it is that which is the cause of the conflict , and always has been in Ireland).
Indeed , Wright had grown up mixing with Catholics in South Armagh . Although he was born in England , he had returned to the North of Ireland at the age of four and settled in the mainly Protestant village of Mountnorris . He played Gaelic football with Catholics in nearby Whitecross and , unusually , also learned Irish history .
He moved to Portadown and , when he was 15 , was jailed for six years for possession of a firearm and hijacking .......
(MORE LATER).
WOMEN IN IRELAND'S FIGHT FOR FREEDOM .......
By the late Cork Republican , Gearoid MacCarthaigh .
" It had always been the practice that only flags and banners of Republican organisations be allowed to be carried in the Parade at Bodenstown ; in 1968 , it had been widely rumoured beforehand that the Communist Party of Ireland proposed to march behind their flag in Bodenstown . Officers of Cumann na mBan met Cathal Goulding in the Assembly Field and got a guarantee from him that only flags of Republican organisations would be carried in the parade .
The women did not trust Goulding and made arrangements to be enforced along the road if the flag of the Communist Party of Ireland was being carried in the parade behind their backs . On being informed about a mile out the road that that flag was being carried , they at once fell out of the parade . The following week Cathal Goulding declared that Cumann na mBan were no longer members of the Republican Movement ; he had bitten off more than he could chew .
The women continued as always ; in Cork City they were forcibly evicted from their meeting place in the Thomas Ashe Hall and warned not to come back again . A guard was placed on the main door to prevent them from entering and , for a few weeks , they held their meetings down 'The Boggey Road' until one day , while on her way to a meeting , the Cumann na mBan Officer Commanding spotted that the guard was missing from the main door .
She quickly collected all her members and they entered the Hall and barricaded themselves into their regular meeting room ....... "
(MORE LATER).
SINN FEIN RALLY IN DUBLIN .
From 'The United Irishman' newspaper , Aibrean [April] 1957 , page 3.
(IML. IX. UIMHIR 4 - price Tri Pingin [Three Pennies].
Thanks to my late friends Christy and Theresa L. for giving me this 48-year-old newspaper ; this thread published in memory of those two old Fenians ! - John.
' " This gathering is an effective answer to the people who denied publicity to Sinn Fein in this election " - so said Tomas O'Dubhghaill , addressing one of the biggest Sinn Fein rallies in recent years , at Dublin's GPO , on Saturday night , March 2 , 1957 . 15,000 people filled Ireland's main thoroughfare and they were indeed an answer to those who imposed the ban on Republican news and activities during the past months .
From the very beginning the enthusiasm of the crowd was marked ; three parades arrived simultaneously - one from each of the Dublin constituencies which was being contested by Sinn Fein . Banners and slogans carried by the marchers were greeted with cheers as they drew near the platform . Fianna Eireann scouts and the Emerald Girl Pipers Band headed the parade .
Saoirse Dearle opened the meeting by reading the 1916 Proclamation , following which a recording of the Last Post was played and two minutes silence observed . Tomas O'Dubhghaill , the candidate for Dublin South Central , was the first speaker to be introduced by Sean O'Suilleabhain , Director of Elections for Tom Misteil .
Tomas appealed to the electorate to vote for the Sinn Fein candidates and endorse the stand made by our 152,000 fellow-countrymen in the North ....... '
(MORE LATER).
Wednesday, March 30, 2005
DYING BY THE SWORD .......
By Emer Woodful .
The murder of LVF leader BILLY WRIGHT has ignited the most violent spell in the North's recent history and threatened the peace process . He may well have considered it an appropriate legacy .
First published in 'MAGILL' magazine , February 1998 , pages 30,31,34 and 35 .
Re-published here in 17 parts .
(8 of 17).
The S.D.L.P. accused David Trimble of ".. breathtaking hypocrisy .. " , and Bob McCartney of the 'UK Unionists' said the meeting was " ...questionable.. " . Wright himself said David Trimble had asked him to intervene to prevent any violence .
When asked why he was at Drumcree if he was'nt even a member of the Orange Order , Billy Wright replied - " How dare you , dear , how dare you ! My family's buried at Drumcree . I will not let you tell me where I can or cannot go , or that I cannot speak to my MP at a time when your government is speaking to the IRA . "
It was difficult to try and figure out Billy Wright , the man who described the ceasefire as "... the happiest day of my life .. " , who had worked in the past as a religious preacher , but who had abandoned practising his beloved religion because of the dilemma he saw in his support for violence . He told me -
- " I believe that true Protestantism is about faith in the Lord Jesus Christ . You're quite right to say that if you were practising that faith then you could'nt align it to your other beliefs ....... "
(MORE LATER).
WOMEN IN IRELAND'S FIGHT FOR FREEDOM .......
By the late Cork Republican , Gearoid MacCarthaigh .
" In 1939 , when the English bombing campaign started , women again played an active part ; the late Mrs. Charlie Woods , Miss Rita McSwiney (now Mrs. Paddy McGlynn ) and Miss Mary Glynn (now Mrs. Dick Mullready ) served long years in English prisons for their part in the Campaign . Many other Irish women were deported from England for the same reason .
In the 1940's , the women of Cumann na mBan and the girls of Clann na Gael were the ones not in gaol or internment camps and managed to keep the Republican position before the public . They held regular protest marches and meetings in Dublin , and were often battoned by the Free State Guards . On one such occasion the late Commandant Katie O'Connor of Clann na Gael was knocked unconscious in the middle of O'Connell Street , Dublin , by the blow of a baton welded by one of the so-called 'Guardians of the Peace' .
On many occasions during the 1940's the women provided Guards of Honour at funerals of dead Republicans ; many women were interned in Mountjoy Gaol in the 1940's and I know of no case of any of them 'signing out' .
It had always been the practice that only flags and banners of Republican organisations be allowed to be carried in the Parade at Bodenstown but , in 1968 , it had been widely rumoured beforehand that the Communist Party of Ireland proposed to march behind their own flag in Bodenstown ....... "
(MORE LATER).
SURVIVORS , SERVERS , AND SAVIOURS.......
From 'The United Irishman' newspaper , Aibrean [April] 1957 , page 2.
(IML. IX. UIMHIR 4 - price Tri Pingin [Three Pennies].
Thanks to my late friends Christy and Theresa L. for giving me this 48-year-old newspaper ; this thread published in memory of those two old Fenians ! - John.
' At present , outside agencies artifically alter the value of money by regulating the supply of credit so that the Irish farming community , for example , is doomed to experience a period of depression after every period of prosperity . But a farm cannot flourish under such a system ; we require a monetary system designed to maintain a state of equilibrium within our country , and not a fixed relationship between an Irish pound and an external unit of currency .
There is not lacking in Ireland sufficient intelligence to solve our problems : what is wanting lies in the sphere of the will . We are are a Nation of survivors and have been deficient in the use of our will-power . But that weakness , thanks be to God , appears to be leaving us now .
Ireland's survivors are becoming her servers ; and Ireland's servers shall be her saviours . '
[END of ' SURVIVORS , SERVERS , AND SAVIOURS....... '].
(Tomorrow - ' SINN FEIN RALLY IN DUBLIN ' ; from the same 1957 source.)
By Emer Woodful .
The murder of LVF leader BILLY WRIGHT has ignited the most violent spell in the North's recent history and threatened the peace process . He may well have considered it an appropriate legacy .
First published in 'MAGILL' magazine , February 1998 , pages 30,31,34 and 35 .
Re-published here in 17 parts .
(8 of 17).
The S.D.L.P. accused David Trimble of ".. breathtaking hypocrisy .. " , and Bob McCartney of the 'UK Unionists' said the meeting was " ...questionable.. " . Wright himself said David Trimble had asked him to intervene to prevent any violence .
When asked why he was at Drumcree if he was'nt even a member of the Orange Order , Billy Wright replied - " How dare you , dear , how dare you ! My family's buried at Drumcree . I will not let you tell me where I can or cannot go , or that I cannot speak to my MP at a time when your government is speaking to the IRA . "
It was difficult to try and figure out Billy Wright , the man who described the ceasefire as "... the happiest day of my life .. " , who had worked in the past as a religious preacher , but who had abandoned practising his beloved religion because of the dilemma he saw in his support for violence . He told me -
- " I believe that true Protestantism is about faith in the Lord Jesus Christ . You're quite right to say that if you were practising that faith then you could'nt align it to your other beliefs ....... "
(MORE LATER).
WOMEN IN IRELAND'S FIGHT FOR FREEDOM .......
By the late Cork Republican , Gearoid MacCarthaigh .
" In 1939 , when the English bombing campaign started , women again played an active part ; the late Mrs. Charlie Woods , Miss Rita McSwiney (now Mrs. Paddy McGlynn ) and Miss Mary Glynn (now Mrs. Dick Mullready ) served long years in English prisons for their part in the Campaign . Many other Irish women were deported from England for the same reason .
In the 1940's , the women of Cumann na mBan and the girls of Clann na Gael were the ones not in gaol or internment camps and managed to keep the Republican position before the public . They held regular protest marches and meetings in Dublin , and were often battoned by the Free State Guards . On one such occasion the late Commandant Katie O'Connor of Clann na Gael was knocked unconscious in the middle of O'Connell Street , Dublin , by the blow of a baton welded by one of the so-called 'Guardians of the Peace' .
On many occasions during the 1940's the women provided Guards of Honour at funerals of dead Republicans ; many women were interned in Mountjoy Gaol in the 1940's and I know of no case of any of them 'signing out' .
It had always been the practice that only flags and banners of Republican organisations be allowed to be carried in the Parade at Bodenstown but , in 1968 , it had been widely rumoured beforehand that the Communist Party of Ireland proposed to march behind their own flag in Bodenstown ....... "
(MORE LATER).
SURVIVORS , SERVERS , AND SAVIOURS.......
From 'The United Irishman' newspaper , Aibrean [April] 1957 , page 2.
(IML. IX. UIMHIR 4 - price Tri Pingin [Three Pennies].
Thanks to my late friends Christy and Theresa L. for giving me this 48-year-old newspaper ; this thread published in memory of those two old Fenians ! - John.
' At present , outside agencies artifically alter the value of money by regulating the supply of credit so that the Irish farming community , for example , is doomed to experience a period of depression after every period of prosperity . But a farm cannot flourish under such a system ; we require a monetary system designed to maintain a state of equilibrium within our country , and not a fixed relationship between an Irish pound and an external unit of currency .
There is not lacking in Ireland sufficient intelligence to solve our problems : what is wanting lies in the sphere of the will . We are are a Nation of survivors and have been deficient in the use of our will-power . But that weakness , thanks be to God , appears to be leaving us now .
Ireland's survivors are becoming her servers ; and Ireland's servers shall be her saviours . '
[END of ' SURVIVORS , SERVERS , AND SAVIOURS....... '].
(Tomorrow - ' SINN FEIN RALLY IN DUBLIN ' ; from the same 1957 source.)
Tuesday, March 29, 2005
DYING BY THE SWORD .......
By Emer Woodful .
The murder of LVF leader BILLY WRIGHT has ignited the most violent spell in the North's recent history and threatened the peace process . He may well have considered it an appropriate legacy .
First published in 'MAGILL' magazine , February 1998 , pages 30,31,34 and 35 .
Re-published here in 17 parts .
(7 of 17).
In August 1996 , the UVF 'stood down' one of its Units in Portadown ; it is believed that Billy Wright and Alex Kerr then set-up the Loyalist Volunteer Force , which led to their being issued with the Combined Loyalist Military Command's death threat . The CLMC's statement read -
- " Failure to comply with this directive (ie to leave the Six Counties within 72 hours) will result in summary justice for your treasonable and subversive activities . " At the time , support for Wright and Kerr came from the DUP's Ian Paisley junior , who said that "... any death threat on any individual by any organisation is contemptible and reprehensible , and I condemn it with every ounce of strength I have . "
There was quite a fuss about Billy Wright having met the UUP leader David Trimble at Drumcree ; Wright had manned the barricades , fortified with a mechanical digger and a slurry tank filled with petrol that could have been sprayed over the British security forces in the event of any battle developing .
The newspaper headlines barked banners like ' Mallon Accuses Trimble of Breaking the Law ' and ' Trimble's Talk with Wright Raises Queries about his Refusal to Meet Garvaghy Group ..... '
(MORE LATER).
WOMEN IN IRELAND'S FIGHT FOR FREEDOM .......
By the late Cork Republican , Gearoid MacCarthaigh .
" On December 8th 1936 , Na Fianna Eireann were holding a Four Martyrs Commemoration Concert in Cork City Hall ; the late Mary McSwiney , one of the last survivors of the Second All-Ireland Dail Eireann , was the speaker . At the outset of her speech she declared as follows :
: " Republicans in this city are wary of using this Hall as it has never been properly opened . Since no-one is more entitled to use it than Republicans I now declare this City Hall officially opened in the name of the Irish Republic . "
In 1936 , Cumann na mBan was declared an 'illegal organisation' by the Fianna Fail Free State government and their Head Office in Dublin was locked and sealed-up by the Broy Harriers ; they were never again to gain admission to their Head Office but this did not stop them from fighting on .
In 1939 , when the English bombing campaign started , women again played an active part ....... "
(MORE LATER).
SURVIVORS , SERVERS , AND SAVIOURS.......
From 'The United Irishman' newspaper , Aibrean [April] 1957 , page 1.
(IML. IX. UIMHIR 4 - price Tri Pingin [Three Pennies].
Thanks to my late friends Christy and Theresa L. for giving me this 48-year-old newspaper ; this thread published in memory of those two old Fenians ! - John.
' At the 1955 Annual Dinner of the Institute of Bankers in Ireland , Sir George Erskine , President of the Institute of Bankers in England , listened to a speech made by the Minister of Finance ; afterwards , he made a speech himself - he said that , as he listened to the Minister , he thought that if only he closed his eyes he might have been listening to the (British) Chancellor of the Exchequer -
- " To my mind , " he said , " from what the Minister said , your problem is the same as ours . "
Sinn Fein believes that the problems are dissimilar , and that financial independence is essential to political independence and , for the prosperity and growth of the population of Ireland we must control our national resources . At present we make use of a foreign currency , the circulation of which is controlled by foreign financiers .
With a national currency , the volume in circulation could be regulated to provide stability of prices , full employment and the stoppage of emigration . At present , outside agencies artifically alter the value of money by regulating the supply of credit ....... '
(MORE LATER).
By Emer Woodful .
The murder of LVF leader BILLY WRIGHT has ignited the most violent spell in the North's recent history and threatened the peace process . He may well have considered it an appropriate legacy .
First published in 'MAGILL' magazine , February 1998 , pages 30,31,34 and 35 .
Re-published here in 17 parts .
(7 of 17).
In August 1996 , the UVF 'stood down' one of its Units in Portadown ; it is believed that Billy Wright and Alex Kerr then set-up the Loyalist Volunteer Force , which led to their being issued with the Combined Loyalist Military Command's death threat . The CLMC's statement read -
- " Failure to comply with this directive (ie to leave the Six Counties within 72 hours) will result in summary justice for your treasonable and subversive activities . " At the time , support for Wright and Kerr came from the DUP's Ian Paisley junior , who said that "... any death threat on any individual by any organisation is contemptible and reprehensible , and I condemn it with every ounce of strength I have . "
There was quite a fuss about Billy Wright having met the UUP leader David Trimble at Drumcree ; Wright had manned the barricades , fortified with a mechanical digger and a slurry tank filled with petrol that could have been sprayed over the British security forces in the event of any battle developing .
The newspaper headlines barked banners like ' Mallon Accuses Trimble of Breaking the Law ' and ' Trimble's Talk with Wright Raises Queries about his Refusal to Meet Garvaghy Group ..... '
(MORE LATER).
WOMEN IN IRELAND'S FIGHT FOR FREEDOM .......
By the late Cork Republican , Gearoid MacCarthaigh .
" On December 8th 1936 , Na Fianna Eireann were holding a Four Martyrs Commemoration Concert in Cork City Hall ; the late Mary McSwiney , one of the last survivors of the Second All-Ireland Dail Eireann , was the speaker . At the outset of her speech she declared as follows :
: " Republicans in this city are wary of using this Hall as it has never been properly opened . Since no-one is more entitled to use it than Republicans I now declare this City Hall officially opened in the name of the Irish Republic . "
In 1936 , Cumann na mBan was declared an 'illegal organisation' by the Fianna Fail Free State government and their Head Office in Dublin was locked and sealed-up by the Broy Harriers ; they were never again to gain admission to their Head Office but this did not stop them from fighting on .
In 1939 , when the English bombing campaign started , women again played an active part ....... "
(MORE LATER).
SURVIVORS , SERVERS , AND SAVIOURS.......
From 'The United Irishman' newspaper , Aibrean [April] 1957 , page 1.
(IML. IX. UIMHIR 4 - price Tri Pingin [Three Pennies].
Thanks to my late friends Christy and Theresa L. for giving me this 48-year-old newspaper ; this thread published in memory of those two old Fenians ! - John.
' At the 1955 Annual Dinner of the Institute of Bankers in Ireland , Sir George Erskine , President of the Institute of Bankers in England , listened to a speech made by the Minister of Finance ; afterwards , he made a speech himself - he said that , as he listened to the Minister , he thought that if only he closed his eyes he might have been listening to the (British) Chancellor of the Exchequer -
- " To my mind , " he said , " from what the Minister said , your problem is the same as ours . "
Sinn Fein believes that the problems are dissimilar , and that financial independence is essential to political independence and , for the prosperity and growth of the population of Ireland we must control our national resources . At present we make use of a foreign currency , the circulation of which is controlled by foreign financiers .
With a national currency , the volume in circulation could be regulated to provide stability of prices , full employment and the stoppage of emigration . At present , outside agencies artifically alter the value of money by regulating the supply of credit ....... '
(MORE LATER).
Monday, March 28, 2005
DYING BY THE SWORD .......
By Emer Woodful .
The murder of LVF leader BILLY WRIGHT has ignited the most violent spell in the North's recent history and threatened the peace process . He may well have considered it an appropriate legacy .
First published in 'MAGILL' magazine , February 1998 , pages 30,31,34 and 35 .
Re-published here in 17 parts .
(6 of 17).
Billy Wright denied having had anything to do with the death of Lurgan taxi driver Eddie McGoldrick ; he said that he had been " ... arrested for public consumption .. " and knew of no loyalist involvement in the killing . The UVF and the UDA also denied any involvement , and Wright offered the completely unfounded suggestion that it may have been a drug-related killing .
That killing is said to have added to the rift between Billy Wright and the 'Combined Loyalist Military Command' , who were backing the cease-fire ; there had been growing unease among Wright and his supporters , and the UVF , which was said to be angry about the violence at Drumcree , the McGoldrick killing and the moving further away from any dialogue . As a result , in August 1996 , after Drumcree , the UVF issued a statement saying it had stood down one of its Units in Portadown .......
(MORE LATER).
WOMEN IN IRELAND'S FIGHT FOR FREEDOM .......
By the late Cork Republican , Gearoid MacCarthaigh .
" Eamonn de Valera was due to visit Cork ; security was tight . Passes were issued by the Free State authorities , six of which ended up with the local IRA . The Brits , of course , did not know this . Six members of Cumann na mBan were selected , a prepared speech was drawn up and each of the six women had to learn it off by heart .
de Valera was visiting Cork to open the new City Hall ; on the opening day , the six women presented themselves at the entrance to the City Hall one or two at a time and were admitted when they produced their passes . When they entered the Hall they took up widely scattered positions around the stage . When de Valera got up and started his speech , the first woman got up and started her speech ; Dev sat down and remained sitting until the Broy Harriers had removed the woman protestor from the room .
When de Valera got to his feet again , the second woman got up and continued from where the first woman was forced to leave off ; six times this happened that day . The women , when they were dragged from the main room , were held for a number of hours in a separate room in the building and questioned as to how they had gained admission .
Needless to say they did not tell ....... "
(MORE LATER).
SURVIVORS , SERVERS , AND SAVIOURS.......
From 'The United Irishman' newspaper , Aibrean [April] 1957 , page 1.
(IML. IX. UIMHIR 4 - price Tri Pingin [Three Pennies].
Thanks to my late friends Christy and Theresa L. for giving me this 48-year-old newspaper ; this thread published in memory of those two old Fenians ! - John.
' After the British butchery of 1798 , the Orangeman was made to fear the Catholic and , fearing him , to oppress him . The Catholic was taught that he needed a friend to defend him against Protestant oppression and Orange violence .
The maintenance of a so-called United Kingdom necessitated the dis-union of Ireland , and a new 'pale' was formed around Belfast . We must teach our Northern brethren that they have lost much in the last 150 years ; and that it is in London and not in Dublin that they will eventually recognise their enemies .
The first duty of Irishmen , then , is to unite and save our country ; our second duty is to make it reasonably prosperous , provide full employment and stop emigration . The key to these economic problems is monetary reform - the State must assume the responsibility of controlling the supply of credit , or money , and of feeding a sufficiency of this into our economy for real wealth to be produced and all people to be employed ....... '
(MORE LATER).
Beannachtai na Casca oraibh ; Tiocfaidh Ar La ! Happy Easter ; Our Day Will Come !
By Emer Woodful .
The murder of LVF leader BILLY WRIGHT has ignited the most violent spell in the North's recent history and threatened the peace process . He may well have considered it an appropriate legacy .
First published in 'MAGILL' magazine , February 1998 , pages 30,31,34 and 35 .
Re-published here in 17 parts .
(6 of 17).
Billy Wright denied having had anything to do with the death of Lurgan taxi driver Eddie McGoldrick ; he said that he had been " ... arrested for public consumption .. " and knew of no loyalist involvement in the killing . The UVF and the UDA also denied any involvement , and Wright offered the completely unfounded suggestion that it may have been a drug-related killing .
That killing is said to have added to the rift between Billy Wright and the 'Combined Loyalist Military Command' , who were backing the cease-fire ; there had been growing unease among Wright and his supporters , and the UVF , which was said to be angry about the violence at Drumcree , the McGoldrick killing and the moving further away from any dialogue . As a result , in August 1996 , after Drumcree , the UVF issued a statement saying it had stood down one of its Units in Portadown .......
(MORE LATER).
WOMEN IN IRELAND'S FIGHT FOR FREEDOM .......
By the late Cork Republican , Gearoid MacCarthaigh .
" Eamonn de Valera was due to visit Cork ; security was tight . Passes were issued by the Free State authorities , six of which ended up with the local IRA . The Brits , of course , did not know this . Six members of Cumann na mBan were selected , a prepared speech was drawn up and each of the six women had to learn it off by heart .
de Valera was visiting Cork to open the new City Hall ; on the opening day , the six women presented themselves at the entrance to the City Hall one or two at a time and were admitted when they produced their passes . When they entered the Hall they took up widely scattered positions around the stage . When de Valera got up and started his speech , the first woman got up and started her speech ; Dev sat down and remained sitting until the Broy Harriers had removed the woman protestor from the room .
When de Valera got to his feet again , the second woman got up and continued from where the first woman was forced to leave off ; six times this happened that day . The women , when they were dragged from the main room , were held for a number of hours in a separate room in the building and questioned as to how they had gained admission .
Needless to say they did not tell ....... "
(MORE LATER).
SURVIVORS , SERVERS , AND SAVIOURS.......
From 'The United Irishman' newspaper , Aibrean [April] 1957 , page 1.
(IML. IX. UIMHIR 4 - price Tri Pingin [Three Pennies].
Thanks to my late friends Christy and Theresa L. for giving me this 48-year-old newspaper ; this thread published in memory of those two old Fenians ! - John.
' After the British butchery of 1798 , the Orangeman was made to fear the Catholic and , fearing him , to oppress him . The Catholic was taught that he needed a friend to defend him against Protestant oppression and Orange violence .
The maintenance of a so-called United Kingdom necessitated the dis-union of Ireland , and a new 'pale' was formed around Belfast . We must teach our Northern brethren that they have lost much in the last 150 years ; and that it is in London and not in Dublin that they will eventually recognise their enemies .
The first duty of Irishmen , then , is to unite and save our country ; our second duty is to make it reasonably prosperous , provide full employment and stop emigration . The key to these economic problems is monetary reform - the State must assume the responsibility of controlling the supply of credit , or money , and of feeding a sufficiency of this into our economy for real wealth to be produced and all people to be employed ....... '
(MORE LATER).
Beannachtai na Casca oraibh ; Tiocfaidh Ar La ! Happy Easter ; Our Day Will Come !
Friday, March 25, 2005
DYING BY THE SWORD .......
By Emer Woodful .
The murder of LVF leader BILLY WRIGHT has ignited the most violent spell in the North's recent history and threatened the peace process . He may well have considered it an appropriate legacy .
First published in 'MAGILL' magazine , February 1998 , pages 30,31,34 and 35 .
Re-published here in 17 parts .
(5 of 17).
In his house in Portadown , in his neat sitting-room , in his fairly large detached house with a manicured garden , rich with flowers , and complete with a basketball hoop , sat Billy Wright . A trim 36-year-old then , who did'nt drink or smoke , who had tattoos , dressed in denim , wore a gold ear-ring , and talked about his little dog , Levi , who'd just had an operation .
All around were the little china religious plaques announcing things like ' Jesus' Name Is Sweet To Every Ear . ' In the Laura Ashley-style room , with bordered wallpaper , his partner serves coffee in pottery mugs . All so normal , except for a feeling of tight control and anger that sometimes seeps through the man who's said to have ordered the random killing of a Catholic man on 7th July , the day before the Drumcree stand-off .
Lurgan taxi driver Eddie McGoldrick had just had a new baby and had also just graduated from Queens University .......
(MORE LATER).
WOMEN IN IRELAND'S FIGHT FOR FREEDOM .......
By the late Cork Republican , Gearoid MacCarthaigh .
" Many women were interned in Kilmainham Jail by the Free Staters during the years 1922-1923 ; the story of their treatment there is told in ' The Jangle of the Keys ' by one of them - the late Mrs Margaret Buckley . Aoife Taffe , who escaped from the jail , hid for several hours in a coal wagon which was parked on the nearby railway line until it moved off to safer places .
At Easter 1936 , Fianna Fail banned the sale of Easter Lilies for the first time - women all over Ireland were in the forefront defying this ban .
In 1936 also , the new City Hall in Cork City , which had been built on the site of the old City Hall and Public Library (which had been burned to the ground by the Black And Tans in 1920 ) was opened . The opening ceremony was to be performed by Eamonn de Valera ; Free State security was to be very tight for this event . Passes for admission were only given to very carefully selected people .
Six of those passes were given to an ex-British Army Officer who lived in Cork at that time ; he gave them to a member of the Brigade Staff of the 1st Cork Brigade , Oglaigh na hEireann ....... "
(MORE LATER).
SURVIVORS , SERVERS , AND SAVIOURS.......
From 'The United Irishman' newspaper , Aibrean [April] 1957 , page 1.
(IML. IX. UIMHIR 4 - price Tri Pingin [Three Pennies].
Thanks to my late friends Christy and Theresa L. for giving me this 48-year-old newspaper ; this thread published in memory of those two old Fenians ! - John.
' In that same eighteenth century Ireland , there were sectarian parties in Ulster - the Protestant 'Peep of Day Boys' and the Catholic 'Defenders' ; religious animosity was more bitter than it is today . Violence was common and , after one bloody affray , the Orange Order was instituted .
Despite this unfavourable background , the Society of United Irishmen was formed in Belfast , mainly by Protestants ; the Catholic element in the Society grew rapidly in numbers and soon the mass of the 'Defender' organisation had been enrolled . This signified that the Catholics had been converted to the idea that their real enemy was not the Orangeman , but England .
The United Irishmen were able to convert some of the Orangemen to the idea that their fear of Catholic numerical superiority was unfounded , and that Ireland was big enough for all her children to achieve prosperity provided that the connection with Britain was broken . Britain saw that this was true , and she decided that a prosperous Ireland would endanger British commerce ; hence the barabarties of 1797 and 1798 ....... '
(MORE LATER).
By Emer Woodful .
The murder of LVF leader BILLY WRIGHT has ignited the most violent spell in the North's recent history and threatened the peace process . He may well have considered it an appropriate legacy .
First published in 'MAGILL' magazine , February 1998 , pages 30,31,34 and 35 .
Re-published here in 17 parts .
(5 of 17).
In his house in Portadown , in his neat sitting-room , in his fairly large detached house with a manicured garden , rich with flowers , and complete with a basketball hoop , sat Billy Wright . A trim 36-year-old then , who did'nt drink or smoke , who had tattoos , dressed in denim , wore a gold ear-ring , and talked about his little dog , Levi , who'd just had an operation .
All around were the little china religious plaques announcing things like ' Jesus' Name Is Sweet To Every Ear . ' In the Laura Ashley-style room , with bordered wallpaper , his partner serves coffee in pottery mugs . All so normal , except for a feeling of tight control and anger that sometimes seeps through the man who's said to have ordered the random killing of a Catholic man on 7th July , the day before the Drumcree stand-off .
Lurgan taxi driver Eddie McGoldrick had just had a new baby and had also just graduated from Queens University .......
(MORE LATER).
WOMEN IN IRELAND'S FIGHT FOR FREEDOM .......
By the late Cork Republican , Gearoid MacCarthaigh .
" Many women were interned in Kilmainham Jail by the Free Staters during the years 1922-1923 ; the story of their treatment there is told in ' The Jangle of the Keys ' by one of them - the late Mrs Margaret Buckley . Aoife Taffe , who escaped from the jail , hid for several hours in a coal wagon which was parked on the nearby railway line until it moved off to safer places .
At Easter 1936 , Fianna Fail banned the sale of Easter Lilies for the first time - women all over Ireland were in the forefront defying this ban .
In 1936 also , the new City Hall in Cork City , which had been built on the site of the old City Hall and Public Library (which had been burned to the ground by the Black And Tans in 1920 ) was opened . The opening ceremony was to be performed by Eamonn de Valera ; Free State security was to be very tight for this event . Passes for admission were only given to very carefully selected people .
Six of those passes were given to an ex-British Army Officer who lived in Cork at that time ; he gave them to a member of the Brigade Staff of the 1st Cork Brigade , Oglaigh na hEireann ....... "
(MORE LATER).
SURVIVORS , SERVERS , AND SAVIOURS.......
From 'The United Irishman' newspaper , Aibrean [April] 1957 , page 1.
(IML. IX. UIMHIR 4 - price Tri Pingin [Three Pennies].
Thanks to my late friends Christy and Theresa L. for giving me this 48-year-old newspaper ; this thread published in memory of those two old Fenians ! - John.
' In that same eighteenth century Ireland , there were sectarian parties in Ulster - the Protestant 'Peep of Day Boys' and the Catholic 'Defenders' ; religious animosity was more bitter than it is today . Violence was common and , after one bloody affray , the Orange Order was instituted .
Despite this unfavourable background , the Society of United Irishmen was formed in Belfast , mainly by Protestants ; the Catholic element in the Society grew rapidly in numbers and soon the mass of the 'Defender' organisation had been enrolled . This signified that the Catholics had been converted to the idea that their real enemy was not the Orangeman , but England .
The United Irishmen were able to convert some of the Orangemen to the idea that their fear of Catholic numerical superiority was unfounded , and that Ireland was big enough for all her children to achieve prosperity provided that the connection with Britain was broken . Britain saw that this was true , and she decided that a prosperous Ireland would endanger British commerce ; hence the barabarties of 1797 and 1798 ....... '
(MORE LATER).
Thursday, March 24, 2005
DYING BY THE SWORD .......
By Emer Woodful .
The murder of LVF leader BILLY WRIGHT has ignited the most violent spell in the North's recent history and threatened the peace process . He may well have considered it an appropriate legacy .
First published in 'MAGILL' magazine , February 1998 , pages 30,31,34 and 35 .
Re-published here in 17 parts .
(4 of 17).
So just who was Billy Wright ? : " I am a mid-Ulster loyalist , and I can equate my feelings to 97 per cent of the unionist population , " he told me when I met him twice in the summer of 1996 . Wright , said to have been the former mid-Ulster Commander of the UVF , had just played a pivotal role in the Drumcree stand-off .
Our last meeting was on 29 August 1996 , the day before the expiration of the Combined Loyalist Military Command's death threat against him and Alex Kerr , the former UDA Commander in South Belfast .
The drill was that you phoned Wright , got picked up in a car park and were driven to his home , via a number of safety checks . The car slowed down at different houses , and a wave was given , and returned, from behind a curtain . Then , later , a mysterious wave , and a nod to a dark figure concealed in a big hedge , just at the entrance to his housing estate in Portadown .......
(MORE LATER).
WOMEN IN IRELAND'S FIGHT FOR FREEDOM .......
By the late Cork Republican , Gearoid MacCarthaigh .
" Throughout 1922 and 1923 , as well as carrying out the same tasks as they had during the Black And Tan War , Republican women also carried out an intensive publicity campaign against the Free State .
One night a number of Cumann na mBan members were picked up by a Free State Army patrol while painting slogans on walls in Dublin ; they were placed in the back of an armoured car and taken to the Barracks . Luckily , their paint and brushes were put in as well - when the armoured car arrived at the Free State Barrack , the Staters discovered the inside of it covered with anti Free State slogans in white paint . The women had not been idle during the journey !
When the 'Cease-Fire-Dump-Arms' Order was issued in 1923 , women continued to play a leading role in the struggle ; in 1925 , the Easter Lily was introduced by Cumann na mBan as the National Emblem of Commemoration of Ireland's dead . The Easter Lily is still the property of Cumann na mBan and no other body has the right to claim it .
For a number of years past the National Commemoration Committee ('1169...' Comment - the NCC are now based at 223 Parnell Street , Dublin 1) have acted as distribution agents for Cumann na mBan . Many women were interned in Kilmainham Jail by the Free Staters during the years 1922-1923 ....... "
(MORE LATER).
SURVIVORS , SERVERS , AND SAVIOURS.......
From 'The United Irishman' newspaper , Aibrean [April] 1957 , page 1.
(IML. IX. UIMHIR 4 - price Tri Pingin [Three Pennies].
Thanks to my late friends Christy and Theresa L. for giving me this 48-year-old newspaper ; this thread published in memory of those two old Fenians ! - John.
' Padraig Pearse had this to say to the 'Pacificators' :
: " A thing that stands demonstrable is that nationhood is not achieved otherwise than in arms . In one or two instances there may have been no actual bloodshed , but the arms were there and the ability to use them . Ireland un-armed will attain just as much freedom as it is convenient for England to give her ; Ireland armed will attain ultimately just as much freedom as she wants . There are many things more horrible than bloodshed : and slavery is one of them . "
The first duty we owe to Ireland is to unite all Irishmen and fill them with a patriotic fervour to serve those neighbours who are nearest in blood and tradition - there own people . It should never be forgotten that , at the end of the eighteen century , Ireland was rapidly becoming united and would have become completely so but for British interference .
The real author of the 'Orange Terror' etc was Britain ; our brother Irishmen were merely 'the master's puppets' . They certainly sinned , but we sin also if we fail to forgive them . Unity is not to be built on foundations of hatred , and sectarianism lacks charity ....... '
(MORE LATER).
By Emer Woodful .
The murder of LVF leader BILLY WRIGHT has ignited the most violent spell in the North's recent history and threatened the peace process . He may well have considered it an appropriate legacy .
First published in 'MAGILL' magazine , February 1998 , pages 30,31,34 and 35 .
Re-published here in 17 parts .
(4 of 17).
So just who was Billy Wright ? : " I am a mid-Ulster loyalist , and I can equate my feelings to 97 per cent of the unionist population , " he told me when I met him twice in the summer of 1996 . Wright , said to have been the former mid-Ulster Commander of the UVF , had just played a pivotal role in the Drumcree stand-off .
Our last meeting was on 29 August 1996 , the day before the expiration of the Combined Loyalist Military Command's death threat against him and Alex Kerr , the former UDA Commander in South Belfast .
The drill was that you phoned Wright , got picked up in a car park and were driven to his home , via a number of safety checks . The car slowed down at different houses , and a wave was given , and returned, from behind a curtain . Then , later , a mysterious wave , and a nod to a dark figure concealed in a big hedge , just at the entrance to his housing estate in Portadown .......
(MORE LATER).
WOMEN IN IRELAND'S FIGHT FOR FREEDOM .......
By the late Cork Republican , Gearoid MacCarthaigh .
" Throughout 1922 and 1923 , as well as carrying out the same tasks as they had during the Black And Tan War , Republican women also carried out an intensive publicity campaign against the Free State .
One night a number of Cumann na mBan members were picked up by a Free State Army patrol while painting slogans on walls in Dublin ; they were placed in the back of an armoured car and taken to the Barracks . Luckily , their paint and brushes were put in as well - when the armoured car arrived at the Free State Barrack , the Staters discovered the inside of it covered with anti Free State slogans in white paint . The women had not been idle during the journey !
When the 'Cease-Fire-Dump-Arms' Order was issued in 1923 , women continued to play a leading role in the struggle ; in 1925 , the Easter Lily was introduced by Cumann na mBan as the National Emblem of Commemoration of Ireland's dead . The Easter Lily is still the property of Cumann na mBan and no other body has the right to claim it .
For a number of years past the National Commemoration Committee ('1169...' Comment - the NCC are now based at 223 Parnell Street , Dublin 1) have acted as distribution agents for Cumann na mBan . Many women were interned in Kilmainham Jail by the Free Staters during the years 1922-1923 ....... "
(MORE LATER).
SURVIVORS , SERVERS , AND SAVIOURS.......
From 'The United Irishman' newspaper , Aibrean [April] 1957 , page 1.
(IML. IX. UIMHIR 4 - price Tri Pingin [Three Pennies].
Thanks to my late friends Christy and Theresa L. for giving me this 48-year-old newspaper ; this thread published in memory of those two old Fenians ! - John.
' Padraig Pearse had this to say to the 'Pacificators' :
: " A thing that stands demonstrable is that nationhood is not achieved otherwise than in arms . In one or two instances there may have been no actual bloodshed , but the arms were there and the ability to use them . Ireland un-armed will attain just as much freedom as it is convenient for England to give her ; Ireland armed will attain ultimately just as much freedom as she wants . There are many things more horrible than bloodshed : and slavery is one of them . "
The first duty we owe to Ireland is to unite all Irishmen and fill them with a patriotic fervour to serve those neighbours who are nearest in blood and tradition - there own people . It should never be forgotten that , at the end of the eighteen century , Ireland was rapidly becoming united and would have become completely so but for British interference .
The real author of the 'Orange Terror' etc was Britain ; our brother Irishmen were merely 'the master's puppets' . They certainly sinned , but we sin also if we fail to forgive them . Unity is not to be built on foundations of hatred , and sectarianism lacks charity ....... '
(MORE LATER).
Wednesday, March 23, 2005
DYING BY THE SWORD .......
By Emer Woodful .
The murder of LVF leader BILLY WRIGHT has ignited the most violent spell in the North's recent history and threatened the peace process . He may well have considered it an appropriate legacy .
First published in 'MAGILL' magazine , February 1998 , pages 30,31,34 and 35 .
Re-published here in 17 parts .
(3 of 17).
On New Year's Day , the Church of Ireland Primate , Robin Eames , said that 'Northern Ireland' (sic) " ... was at the beginning of a very dark and very dangerous period . "
What made Billy Wright stand out , however , was that he openly supported violence and was prepared to die for the union . He did strike a chord among loyalists who believe that the Republican Movement won concessions through violence and that loyalists should be following the same course .
Those loyalists believed that , regardless of any possible concessions , it was worth dying rather than deny the union anyway . Some commentators say he was nothing but a maverick ; yet he defied the Combined Loyalist Military Command's death threat against him in the summer of 1996 and , in doing so , he got the support of about 5,000 people .
The DUP's Willie McCrea supported Billy Wright at a rally in his hometown of Portadown : Wright struck fear into the hearts of Catholics . All the shops in Portadown , even 'Dunnes Stores' , closed obediently " ... as a mark of respect " for his funeral . His 'constituency' was not that of the Ulster Unionist middle classes but of the poorer , angry younger men .......
(MORE LATER).
WOMEN IN IRELAND'S FIGHT FOR FREEDOM .......
By the late Cork Republican , Gearoid MacCarthaigh .
" I had the honour to meet Nurse Eileen O'Farrell on a platform in Middle Abbey Street in Dublin in December 1956 ; she stated publicly that night - " ... the young men of Oglaigh na hEireann who were fighting in occupied Ireland were the true successors of the men with whom I had served in 1916 ... " . Nurse O'Farrell died the following April (1957) while I was a prisoner in Mountjoy Jail .
Following the Surrender of 1916 , the women of Ireland were actively engaged in tending to the wants of the relatives of those who had died in the fight and raising funds for the relatives of the men in prison ; on the first anniversary at Easter 1917 women flew Irish tri-colours from many inaccessible positions around the country .
When the First Dail set-up Republican Courts in 1920 there were many women Justices appointed ; one life-long member of Cumann na mBan was a District Justice for the York Street district of Dublin .
During the Black And Tan War women played a vital role doing intelligence work , providing clothing and food for the men on-the-run as well as caring for wounded men , and also acting as couriers . During the Dail debates on the Treaty in 1922 not one woman TD voted for acceptance of the Treaty . When Free State forces attacked the Republic in June of that year (1922) Countess Markievicz joined the fighting in the Hammond Hotel where she fought under Cathal Brugha right until the end ....... "
(MORE LATER).
SURVIVORS , SERVERS , AND SAVIOURS .
From 'The United Irishman' newspaper , Aibrean [April] 1957 , page 2.
(IML. IX. UIMHIR 4 - price Tri Pingin [Three Pennies].
Thanks to my late friends Christy and Theresa L. for giving me this 48-year-old newspaper ; this thread published in memory of those two old Fenians ! - John.
' How does she stand , this country of ours , in 1957 ? Those of us who are realists must admit that the possibility of national extinction weights upon our minds and torments our hearts . Ireland is sick , and the vultures are in the skies above her .
Look around you ! Look at what you see , and for what you cannot see . We have a declining and ageing population ; we have decadence in culture and inepitude in the management of our economy . External forces control the money we use , and the amount of it we use , the very life-blood of that economy . Small wonder , then , that our agriculture , fisheries and industries , flourish not .
Ireland is not yet one ; Ireland is not yet free . Through the influence of the radio , cinema and television , the atmosphere has become something which is foreign to our culture , while Patriotism has been much dishonoured . But all is not lost - corpse-like , Ireland breathes yet : she need not die . She will not die unless her children abandon her - she will not die if men will but listen to the voices that come from the past -
- to the voice of Padraig Pearse : " To every generation its deed ... " he cries , and he speaks for others as well as for himself ; " ... Ireland one and Ireland free . Is not this the definition of Ireland , a Nation .... ? " '
(MORE LATER).
By Emer Woodful .
The murder of LVF leader BILLY WRIGHT has ignited the most violent spell in the North's recent history and threatened the peace process . He may well have considered it an appropriate legacy .
First published in 'MAGILL' magazine , February 1998 , pages 30,31,34 and 35 .
Re-published here in 17 parts .
(3 of 17).
On New Year's Day , the Church of Ireland Primate , Robin Eames , said that 'Northern Ireland' (sic) " ... was at the beginning of a very dark and very dangerous period . "
What made Billy Wright stand out , however , was that he openly supported violence and was prepared to die for the union . He did strike a chord among loyalists who believe that the Republican Movement won concessions through violence and that loyalists should be following the same course .
Those loyalists believed that , regardless of any possible concessions , it was worth dying rather than deny the union anyway . Some commentators say he was nothing but a maverick ; yet he defied the Combined Loyalist Military Command's death threat against him in the summer of 1996 and , in doing so , he got the support of about 5,000 people .
The DUP's Willie McCrea supported Billy Wright at a rally in his hometown of Portadown : Wright struck fear into the hearts of Catholics . All the shops in Portadown , even 'Dunnes Stores' , closed obediently " ... as a mark of respect " for his funeral . His 'constituency' was not that of the Ulster Unionist middle classes but of the poorer , angry younger men .......
(MORE LATER).
WOMEN IN IRELAND'S FIGHT FOR FREEDOM .......
By the late Cork Republican , Gearoid MacCarthaigh .
" I had the honour to meet Nurse Eileen O'Farrell on a platform in Middle Abbey Street in Dublin in December 1956 ; she stated publicly that night - " ... the young men of Oglaigh na hEireann who were fighting in occupied Ireland were the true successors of the men with whom I had served in 1916 ... " . Nurse O'Farrell died the following April (1957) while I was a prisoner in Mountjoy Jail .
Following the Surrender of 1916 , the women of Ireland were actively engaged in tending to the wants of the relatives of those who had died in the fight and raising funds for the relatives of the men in prison ; on the first anniversary at Easter 1917 women flew Irish tri-colours from many inaccessible positions around the country .
When the First Dail set-up Republican Courts in 1920 there were many women Justices appointed ; one life-long member of Cumann na mBan was a District Justice for the York Street district of Dublin .
During the Black And Tan War women played a vital role doing intelligence work , providing clothing and food for the men on-the-run as well as caring for wounded men , and also acting as couriers . During the Dail debates on the Treaty in 1922 not one woman TD voted for acceptance of the Treaty . When Free State forces attacked the Republic in June of that year (1922) Countess Markievicz joined the fighting in the Hammond Hotel where she fought under Cathal Brugha right until the end ....... "
(MORE LATER).
SURVIVORS , SERVERS , AND SAVIOURS .
From 'The United Irishman' newspaper , Aibrean [April] 1957 , page 2.
(IML. IX. UIMHIR 4 - price Tri Pingin [Three Pennies].
Thanks to my late friends Christy and Theresa L. for giving me this 48-year-old newspaper ; this thread published in memory of those two old Fenians ! - John.
' How does she stand , this country of ours , in 1957 ? Those of us who are realists must admit that the possibility of national extinction weights upon our minds and torments our hearts . Ireland is sick , and the vultures are in the skies above her .
Look around you ! Look at what you see , and for what you cannot see . We have a declining and ageing population ; we have decadence in culture and inepitude in the management of our economy . External forces control the money we use , and the amount of it we use , the very life-blood of that economy . Small wonder , then , that our agriculture , fisheries and industries , flourish not .
Ireland is not yet one ; Ireland is not yet free . Through the influence of the radio , cinema and television , the atmosphere has become something which is foreign to our culture , while Patriotism has been much dishonoured . But all is not lost - corpse-like , Ireland breathes yet : she need not die . She will not die unless her children abandon her - she will not die if men will but listen to the voices that come from the past -
- to the voice of Padraig Pearse : " To every generation its deed ... " he cries , and he speaks for others as well as for himself ; " ... Ireland one and Ireland free . Is not this the definition of Ireland , a Nation .... ? " '
(MORE LATER).
Tuesday, March 22, 2005
DYING BY THE SWORD .......
By Emer Woodful .
The murder of LVF leader BILLY WRIGHT has ignited the most violent spell in the North's recent history and threatened the peace process . He may well have considered it an appropriate legacy .
First published in 'MAGILL' magazine , February 1998 , pages 30,31,34 and 35 .
Re-published here in 17 parts .
(2 of 17).
At a press conference announcing the Progressive Unionist Party's return to the talks process , its leader , David Ervine , said that "... a fine young man has lost his life , caused by some obscure group of headcases receiving political direction from anonymous but respectable politicians . "
Whatever about the long-term implications of the killing of Billy Wright , what we do know is that he was , for some , the working-class hero who represented the fear and alienation that many unionists feel about what they see as the threat to their culture , and a situation where the union would not be the same .
On New Year's Day , even the Church of Ireland primate , Robin Eames , spoke of the deep feeling of resentment among Protestants over the British government's handling of the peace process .......
(MORE LATER).
WOMEN IN IRELAND'S FIGHT FOR FREEDOM .......
By the late Cork Republican , Gearoid MacCarthaigh .
" The Constitution of Cumann na mBan declares that they are an autonomous organisation and declares that the first of its aims is " ... to assist Oglaigh na hEireann by every means available to them in the fight for the Freedom of Ireland . "
When founded , Cumann na mBan were trained in military drill , first aid , communications , coding and de-coding . On Easter Monday 1916 , members of Cumann na mBan reported for duty at all positions held by Oglaigh na hEireann in Dublin . They were welcomed everywhere except at Boland's Mills where they were ordered to go home by de Valera .
They did not "go home " but reported to Padraig Pearse at the GPO ; they were welcome here and given plenty to do for the week . Nurse Eileen O'Farrell , on Pearse's orders , negotiated the surrender with British General Lowe at a British barricade in Parnell Street and when it had been signed , carried Pearse's order to surrender to all posts which were occupied in Dublin .
I had the honour to meet Nurse Eileen O'Farrell on a platform in Middle Abbey Street in Dublin in December 1956 ....... "
(MORE LATER).
A POTENT WEAPON OF AGRESSION .......
From 'The United Irishman' newspaper , Aibrean [April] 1957 , page 1.
(IML. IX. UIMHIR 4 - price Tri Pingin [Three Pennies].
Thanks to my late friends Christy and Theresa L. for giving me this 48-year-old newspaper ; this thread published in memory of those two old Fenians ! - John.
' Part of Crumlin Road Prison in Belfast has been converted into a concentration camp and young men from all over the Six Counties are being rounded up and incarcerated there without trial .
In addition , Republicans who have completed terms of imprisonment are not given their release but are immediately 'lodged' in the camp - one of the latter is Leo McCormack of Dublin who has just completed a sentence of four years imprisonment in Belfast Jail . '
[END of ' A POTENT WEAPON OF AGRESSION .......'].
(TOMORROW : ' SURVIVORS , SERVERS, AND SAVIOURS ....' - from the same source .)
By Emer Woodful .
The murder of LVF leader BILLY WRIGHT has ignited the most violent spell in the North's recent history and threatened the peace process . He may well have considered it an appropriate legacy .
First published in 'MAGILL' magazine , February 1998 , pages 30,31,34 and 35 .
Re-published here in 17 parts .
(2 of 17).
At a press conference announcing the Progressive Unionist Party's return to the talks process , its leader , David Ervine , said that "... a fine young man has lost his life , caused by some obscure group of headcases receiving political direction from anonymous but respectable politicians . "
Whatever about the long-term implications of the killing of Billy Wright , what we do know is that he was , for some , the working-class hero who represented the fear and alienation that many unionists feel about what they see as the threat to their culture , and a situation where the union would not be the same .
On New Year's Day , even the Church of Ireland primate , Robin Eames , spoke of the deep feeling of resentment among Protestants over the British government's handling of the peace process .......
(MORE LATER).
WOMEN IN IRELAND'S FIGHT FOR FREEDOM .......
By the late Cork Republican , Gearoid MacCarthaigh .
" The Constitution of Cumann na mBan declares that they are an autonomous organisation and declares that the first of its aims is " ... to assist Oglaigh na hEireann by every means available to them in the fight for the Freedom of Ireland . "
When founded , Cumann na mBan were trained in military drill , first aid , communications , coding and de-coding . On Easter Monday 1916 , members of Cumann na mBan reported for duty at all positions held by Oglaigh na hEireann in Dublin . They were welcomed everywhere except at Boland's Mills where they were ordered to go home by de Valera .
They did not "go home " but reported to Padraig Pearse at the GPO ; they were welcome here and given plenty to do for the week . Nurse Eileen O'Farrell , on Pearse's orders , negotiated the surrender with British General Lowe at a British barricade in Parnell Street and when it had been signed , carried Pearse's order to surrender to all posts which were occupied in Dublin .
I had the honour to meet Nurse Eileen O'Farrell on a platform in Middle Abbey Street in Dublin in December 1956 ....... "
(MORE LATER).
A POTENT WEAPON OF AGRESSION .......
From 'The United Irishman' newspaper , Aibrean [April] 1957 , page 1.
(IML. IX. UIMHIR 4 - price Tri Pingin [Three Pennies].
Thanks to my late friends Christy and Theresa L. for giving me this 48-year-old newspaper ; this thread published in memory of those two old Fenians ! - John.
' Part of Crumlin Road Prison in Belfast has been converted into a concentration camp and young men from all over the Six Counties are being rounded up and incarcerated there without trial .
In addition , Republicans who have completed terms of imprisonment are not given their release but are immediately 'lodged' in the camp - one of the latter is Leo McCormack of Dublin who has just completed a sentence of four years imprisonment in Belfast Jail . '
[END of ' A POTENT WEAPON OF AGRESSION .......'].
(TOMORROW : ' SURVIVORS , SERVERS, AND SAVIOURS ....' - from the same source .)
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