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 3.
It's early afternoon before we're up and about , but once breakfast is over we're quickly busy again ; we take turns first of all to fix the .22 rifle firmly in a vice , and then to line the sights up precisely on a drawing pin one of the IRA T/O's has stuck into the door six feet away .
When we're satisfied that our aim is spot on , the T/O checks it . The point of the exercise , obviously , is to encourage absolute precision of aim . We are told that even the slightest inaccuracy at six feet is multiplied 50 times at 100 yards range - in practical operational terms , it means at least the difference between an enemy 'kill' and a graze or near-miss .
The vice technique will also come into use later on , when , maybe at a subsequent camp , we learn how to 'zero' a weapon fitted with a telescopic sight , for maximum sniping accuracy . 'Zeroing' itself is dependent on total consistency of accuracy . While one of us uses the vice , the others work away individually , stripping and re-stripping weapons , practicing breathing control , testing steadiness of aim , going through the 'jamming' procedure (' if the weapon jams , first re-cock and try to fire again ; failing that , if you're using a sub , turn the weapon upside down and try to shake the jammed round clear ; if it still won't fire , remove the 'mag' and clear the breech before reloading ... ' ) .
After an hour or so of working like this , and recapping over some of yesterday , we pin up a 'Faceless Man' target .......
(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 . (12 of 13).
" London is strange , " says Michael Stone , " no one over here seems to care about Northern Ireland (sic) , I can barely find it in the newspapers . I was just on Simon Mayo's radio show and he tore into me , told me I was an evil terrorist . Well , maybe , I said , but I'm an evil British terrorist . That seemed to throw him a bit . But Dublin is great - my brother was in a band and I used to go down and watch him play in the Baggot Inn . I was a big Thin Lizzy fan and I ended up lugging equipment around for all sorts of people , including Linda Martin .
Where do you live yourself ? Sandymount ? Oh , that's beautiful . I used to go for walks along the beach there , a great way to clear the head ..... "
I ask him if his war is now over .......
(MORE LATER).
STATEMENT RELEASED BY J. McGarrity , Runaidhe , IRISH REPUBLICAN PUBLICITY BUREAU , February 1957 . From 'The United Irishman' newspaper , Aibrean [April] 1957 , page 6.(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.
Every time that Irishmen have risen in defence of their country's right to freedom , the cry has gone up from the politicians that they had no mandate from the people . And although this may have been true in the literal sense , nevertheless the subsequent honour and love given to them by the people of Ireland showed that although they had not gone through the formality of an election process , their fight for freedom was in reality the cause of the people and had the support of the people .
Of this no greater example can be given than the Rising of Easter Week in 1916 ; it is admitted by anyone who has studied or has a personal knowledge of the period , that before the Rising less than five per cent of the people were sympathetic to the separatist movement . But at the 1918 elections when the people got the opportunity , they answered nobly the Call to Arms issued in the Proclamation of 1916 .
However , it cannot be said with truth that the Nationalist people of Occupied Ireland had not given a mandate for the campaign against British occupation Forces which opened on the 12th December 1956 .......
(MORE LATER).
Thursday, April 21, 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 2...
'Ambush Technique' concludes the lessons for today .
The Brits and RUC have introduced a new flak jacket in the past two years which is practically invulnerable to present calibres of ammunition used by the IRA so Volunteers are now trained not to bother attempting body shots on uniformed enemy personnel , but to aim instead for the head . The disadvantage in terms of diminished target area is more than offset by the advantages , both that it encourages Volunteers to 'get in close' instead of attempting improbable long shots , and that it requires more concentration and so produces greater accuracy .
The IRA Training Officers also elaborate on what parts of an armoured vehicle to aim at , how to fire most effectively in teams , and where and how to fire constructively after the all-important first aimed shot . We're feeling knowledgeable enough now to take the Brits on straightaway , hand-to-hand if necessary , although we've yet to fire a 'live' round , so it's maybe just as well the T/O's decide to call it a day and re-introduce reality with something to eat ! More frog spawn and gun geease , but it's well received after long hours of concentration ...
Tomorrow's going to be a long day , too : we'll be moving on to the firing range after dark , and there'll be no proper sleep until we get back on the following night . So , after an hour or two of yarning in the warmth of the kitchen , five of us head for the sleeping bags leaving the remaining one to start the 'stag' by himself . I'm so tired tonight that even the floor looks soft ...
[END of 'DAY 2']. (Tomorrow - 'Day 3 : .22 rifles in a vice .......' )
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 . (11 of 13).
Perhaps not surprisingly after so many years in a solitary prison cell , Michael Stone loves to talk ; in fact , much of the time he communicates in long , rambling monologues , listening to questions with obvious impatience before he sets off again . His air of wide-eyed honesty is , you soon come to suspect , more than a bit of a sham .
In reality he is fully aware of the disconcerting effect he has on people - and enjoys it immensely . " Hey , I'm waffling , " he says more than once , " come on , don't be frightened . Give me your best shot ... "
After he has declared " I'm British and proud ... " for what seems like the twentieth time , I impulsively ask him whether he feels any more at home in London than he does in , say , Dublin .....
(MORE LATER).
COMMENT BY A NEW YORK NEWSPAPER . From 'The United Irishman' newspaper , Aibrean [April] 1957 , page 5.(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.
New York Paper 'Misses Boat' on Irish Problems ; by our New York Correspondent .
The 'New York Mirror' in a recent series of articles on the Irish situation , filed from that disturbed nation , "... missed the boat .. " according to Irish leaders here .
The artificial division of Ireland by partition has caused an economic imbalance which has contributed directly to the war now being fought ; unemployment , emigration , and lack of opportunity for young men have caused them to set their energies on the source of their difficulties - the British Army of Occupation in the industrial north .
Far from being "...terrorists.. " , the young men of the Republican Movement are fighting to preserve the natural union of Irish resources , and eliminate a foreign invader from their homeland .
Critics of the 'New York Mirror' newspaper expressed appreciation for the attention given to the situation in Ireland , but deplored the inadequate coverage which failed to present a true picture of the many factors affecting Ireland's political and economic freedom . Even if the close ties of blood and ideals that bind the United States and Ireland did not exist , Americans in their zeal for democratic principles would easily understand and appreciate the objectives of the Resistance Fighters in the light of their own historical experiences .
[END of 'COMMENT BY A NEW YORK NEWSPAPER'].(Tomorrow - 'STATEMENT RELEASED BY IRISH REPUBLICAN PUBLICITY BUREAU' .)
...day 2...
'Ambush Technique' concludes the lessons for today .
The Brits and RUC have introduced a new flak jacket in the past two years which is practically invulnerable to present calibres of ammunition used by the IRA so Volunteers are now trained not to bother attempting body shots on uniformed enemy personnel , but to aim instead for the head . The disadvantage in terms of diminished target area is more than offset by the advantages , both that it encourages Volunteers to 'get in close' instead of attempting improbable long shots , and that it requires more concentration and so produces greater accuracy .
The IRA Training Officers also elaborate on what parts of an armoured vehicle to aim at , how to fire most effectively in teams , and where and how to fire constructively after the all-important first aimed shot . We're feeling knowledgeable enough now to take the Brits on straightaway , hand-to-hand if necessary , although we've yet to fire a 'live' round , so it's maybe just as well the T/O's decide to call it a day and re-introduce reality with something to eat ! More frog spawn and gun geease , but it's well received after long hours of concentration ...
Tomorrow's going to be a long day , too : we'll be moving on to the firing range after dark , and there'll be no proper sleep until we get back on the following night . So , after an hour or two of yarning in the warmth of the kitchen , five of us head for the sleeping bags leaving the remaining one to start the 'stag' by himself . I'm so tired tonight that even the floor looks soft ...
[END of 'DAY 2']. (Tomorrow - 'Day 3 : .22 rifles in a vice .......' )
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 . (11 of 13).
Perhaps not surprisingly after so many years in a solitary prison cell , Michael Stone loves to talk ; in fact , much of the time he communicates in long , rambling monologues , listening to questions with obvious impatience before he sets off again . His air of wide-eyed honesty is , you soon come to suspect , more than a bit of a sham .
In reality he is fully aware of the disconcerting effect he has on people - and enjoys it immensely . " Hey , I'm waffling , " he says more than once , " come on , don't be frightened . Give me your best shot ... "
After he has declared " I'm British and proud ... " for what seems like the twentieth time , I impulsively ask him whether he feels any more at home in London than he does in , say , Dublin .....
(MORE LATER).
COMMENT BY A NEW YORK NEWSPAPER . From 'The United Irishman' newspaper , Aibrean [April] 1957 , page 5.(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.
New York Paper 'Misses Boat' on Irish Problems ; by our New York Correspondent .
The 'New York Mirror' in a recent series of articles on the Irish situation , filed from that disturbed nation , "... missed the boat .. " according to Irish leaders here .
The artificial division of Ireland by partition has caused an economic imbalance which has contributed directly to the war now being fought ; unemployment , emigration , and lack of opportunity for young men have caused them to set their energies on the source of their difficulties - the British Army of Occupation in the industrial north .
Far from being "...terrorists.. " , the young men of the Republican Movement are fighting to preserve the natural union of Irish resources , and eliminate a foreign invader from their homeland .
Critics of the 'New York Mirror' newspaper expressed appreciation for the attention given to the situation in Ireland , but deplored the inadequate coverage which failed to present a true picture of the many factors affecting Ireland's political and economic freedom . Even if the close ties of blood and ideals that bind the United States and Ireland did not exist , Americans in their zeal for democratic principles would easily understand and appreciate the objectives of the Resistance Fighters in the light of their own historical experiences .
[END of 'COMMENT BY A NEW YORK NEWSPAPER'].(Tomorrow - 'STATEMENT RELEASED BY IRISH REPUBLICAN PUBLICITY BUREAU' .)
Wednesday, April 20, 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 2 ...
During the ' Safe Handling' aspect of weapons training , we learn how to remove the 'mag' and check that the breech is clear as soon as you handle a weapon , check the 'safe' mechanism is working , apply the 'safe' , finger off the trigger except when firing , never point the weapon at anyone when not in action . Like the field-stripping , we all keep forgetting bits at first (laughter when someone inadvertently swings around with the carbine , everyone ducks melodramatically though knowing it's unloaded) , but gradually the safety procedure beats itself into a routine .
Firing technique comes next : we look at the different postures a Volunteer can adopt when firing from ambush positions - prone , standing and kneeling ; and positions for short-range executions . How to work in pairs , one shooting , the other covering . How to grip the weapon properly to maximise accuracy , how to fire - sight the target steadily , take a breath , breath out taking the first pressure on the trigger with the finger tip , and as the final bit of air 'drifts' from the lungs the weapon should fire almost without your being aware of it , and so without jerking at the last moment .
Later , when we get to 'live' firing , we realise to our cost just how much the slightest tremor or 'flinch' affects accuracy over a range of 100-200 yards , and how much relaxed concentration is needed to get the necessary accuracy . By this time the acquired information is starting to form kaleidoscopic patterns inside my head , and it's just as well we're almost finished for today ; the whole process gets slowed down from time to time when we hear noises outside the farmhouse - then we have to sit rigid and in silence , eyes swivelling only to locate the weapons we've been assigned in case it's a raid .
Invariably , of course , it turns out to be a car passing on the road below , or a grazing cow that has strayed near .......
(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 .
(10 of 13).
Michael Stone claims to have passed-up on an opportunity to have shot Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness on the morning of the Milltown funerals - " That was the second time I let McGuinness off . I had tried to murder him before but he had his wee daughter with him ; she was skipping beside him and he kept bending down to kiss her . To shoot him in front of her would have been just too barbaric . "
But what exactly , I ask , was all this killing meant to achieve ? If Stone's plan had come off - and by his own account , it almost did - then what ? " Well , if you want to kill a snake , you cut off its head , " he says cheerfully .
" Eliminating Adams and McGuinness would have brought the fight out on to the streets . The guerrilla war would have been over and we'd have had an open battle , us against them . The whole thing would have been settled once and for all . It would have been great ....... " ('1169...' Comment - Stone's "us... " would have included the British forces , not just the Loyalist paramilitaries and , whatever the outcome would have been , the "whole thing " would not "have been settled once and for all " - the British claim of jurisdiction over six of our counties would have remained . )
(MORE LATER).
FACING REALITIES .......
From 'The United Irishman' newspaper , Aibrean [April] 1957 , page 5.
(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.
Irish Communists accuse us of having no economic policy at all ; they only feel important when talking of Russia or China ' .. producing fifty-six million pairs of boots ... ' or some-such figure beyond the comprehension of ordinary mortals , ' .... in the last eleven months of 1955 .... ' , and would rather like to bring us within the orbit of one of those vast imperialisms .
They forget that the essence of all economy is to transfer the food and other goods necessary to human life from the earth to mankind with the least possible loss , delay and difficulty .
[END of 'FACING REALITIES'].
(Tomorrow - 'COMMENT BY A NEW YORK NEWSPAPER').
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 2 ...
During the ' Safe Handling' aspect of weapons training , we learn how to remove the 'mag' and check that the breech is clear as soon as you handle a weapon , check the 'safe' mechanism is working , apply the 'safe' , finger off the trigger except when firing , never point the weapon at anyone when not in action . Like the field-stripping , we all keep forgetting bits at first (laughter when someone inadvertently swings around with the carbine , everyone ducks melodramatically though knowing it's unloaded) , but gradually the safety procedure beats itself into a routine .
Firing technique comes next : we look at the different postures a Volunteer can adopt when firing from ambush positions - prone , standing and kneeling ; and positions for short-range executions . How to work in pairs , one shooting , the other covering . How to grip the weapon properly to maximise accuracy , how to fire - sight the target steadily , take a breath , breath out taking the first pressure on the trigger with the finger tip , and as the final bit of air 'drifts' from the lungs the weapon should fire almost without your being aware of it , and so without jerking at the last moment .
Later , when we get to 'live' firing , we realise to our cost just how much the slightest tremor or 'flinch' affects accuracy over a range of 100-200 yards , and how much relaxed concentration is needed to get the necessary accuracy . By this time the acquired information is starting to form kaleidoscopic patterns inside my head , and it's just as well we're almost finished for today ; the whole process gets slowed down from time to time when we hear noises outside the farmhouse - then we have to sit rigid and in silence , eyes swivelling only to locate the weapons we've been assigned in case it's a raid .
Invariably , of course , it turns out to be a car passing on the road below , or a grazing cow that has strayed near .......
(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 .
(10 of 13).
Michael Stone claims to have passed-up on an opportunity to have shot Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness on the morning of the Milltown funerals - " That was the second time I let McGuinness off . I had tried to murder him before but he had his wee daughter with him ; she was skipping beside him and he kept bending down to kiss her . To shoot him in front of her would have been just too barbaric . "
But what exactly , I ask , was all this killing meant to achieve ? If Stone's plan had come off - and by his own account , it almost did - then what ? " Well , if you want to kill a snake , you cut off its head , " he says cheerfully .
" Eliminating Adams and McGuinness would have brought the fight out on to the streets . The guerrilla war would have been over and we'd have had an open battle , us against them . The whole thing would have been settled once and for all . It would have been great ....... " ('1169...' Comment - Stone's "us... " would have included the British forces , not just the Loyalist paramilitaries and , whatever the outcome would have been , the "whole thing " would not "have been settled once and for all " - the British claim of jurisdiction over six of our counties would have remained . )
(MORE LATER).
FACING REALITIES .......
From 'The United Irishman' newspaper , Aibrean [April] 1957 , page 5.
(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.
Irish Communists accuse us of having no economic policy at all ; they only feel important when talking of Russia or China ' .. producing fifty-six million pairs of boots ... ' or some-such figure beyond the comprehension of ordinary mortals , ' .... in the last eleven months of 1955 .... ' , and would rather like to bring us within the orbit of one of those vast imperialisms .
They forget that the essence of all economy is to transfer the food and other goods necessary to human life from the earth to mankind with the least possible loss , delay and difficulty .
[END of 'FACING REALITIES'].
(Tomorrow - 'COMMENT BY A NEW YORK NEWSPAPER').
Tuesday, April 19, 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 2 .
Breakfast at 11am , and it's a lot less leisured than it sounds ; the water tank outdoors can't be cleaned (in case a passer-by sees movement) and somehow it's full of frog spawn , most of which melts when the water's boiled . It does nothing for the flavour of the tea . And the margarine tastes like gun grease ...
The next nine or ten hours , almost without a break , are put to intensive use . The six of us - including the IRA T/O's - huddle in the cramped bedroom around the pile of weapons : the Colt .45 and 9mm Browning Hi-Power pistols , a .357 Magnum Revolver , the semi-automatic M1 Carbine and Ruger Mini-14 (a standard-issue RUC weapon) , the fully-automatic (C)AR15 and AK47 , a bolt-action .22 , the Italian Biretta and Israeli Uzi 9mm sub-machine guns , a shotgun and the heavy Gewher that feels like an elephant gun .
One of the T/O's summarises the characteristics and capabilities of each of the weapons as we come to it - the accurate range , the practical killing range , ammo calibre and magazine size , the weapon's length and weight , how the firing action works , methods of concealment . Each of us then takes turns to field-strip the weapon and re-assemble it , naming the parts and repeating the characteristics etc . It's unlikely that if a weapon jammed in the course of an operation the IRA Volunteer would have the time to field-strip it , but the constant handling of the component parts helps to 'demystify' the guns , which most of us have'nt handled before , and so to feel comfortable with them .
'Safe handling' becomes a constant training theme , and we go through the procedure repeatedly .......
(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 .
(9 of 13).
When Michael Stone talks of his training , it is difficult not to conclude that he is exactly what Republicans say he is : a psychopath , pure and simple . He himself , predictably enough , takes enormous offence at such a description . He claims that his targets were all carefully chosen and that he despises indiscriminate killing .
Moreover , he claims that on a number of occasions he has refrained from pulling the trigger because his intended victim was in the company of friends or family : " On the morning of Milltown I was at the funeral service in the church , armed with seven grenades and three guns , " he says , " I could have taken Adams and McGuinness there and then , no problem . But the place was full of crying relatives . I remember one blonde teenage girl in particular , the sister of one of the dead IRA men .
I saw my own family reflected in her face . And I suddenly found that I just could'nt do it ....... "
(MORE LATER).
FACING REALITIES .......
From 'The United Irishman' newspaper , Aibrean [April] 1957 , page 5.
(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 Social and Economic Programme is designed to build an economy that will support the entire Irish nation at home and end the economic necessity of emigration . Gaelic revivalists will have to realise that while emigration is a necessity the Irish people will continue to learn and speak English as their primary language .
Our only hope for the restoration of Gaelic as our every day speech is - 1) To inculcate in every Irish person a genuine love for it ; 2) To cease using Gaelic as a political 'catch-cry' ; 3) To use Gaelic as often as possible in our ordinary day-to-day business ; 4) To teach it in a proper manner . At the other extreme is the Socialist or Communist who talks in very resounding phrases of modern progress : the smallness of the world : the affinity of the workers in China or in Ireland : the 'class war' etc .
That person accuses us of having no economic policy at all and being motivated by an outworn tribal prejudice that would isolate us from our neighbours and lead the Irish Nation to economic futility and disaster . Those Communists only feel important when talking of certain issues .......
(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 2 .
Breakfast at 11am , and it's a lot less leisured than it sounds ; the water tank outdoors can't be cleaned (in case a passer-by sees movement) and somehow it's full of frog spawn , most of which melts when the water's boiled . It does nothing for the flavour of the tea . And the margarine tastes like gun grease ...
The next nine or ten hours , almost without a break , are put to intensive use . The six of us - including the IRA T/O's - huddle in the cramped bedroom around the pile of weapons : the Colt .45 and 9mm Browning Hi-Power pistols , a .357 Magnum Revolver , the semi-automatic M1 Carbine and Ruger Mini-14 (a standard-issue RUC weapon) , the fully-automatic (C)AR15 and AK47 , a bolt-action .22 , the Italian Biretta and Israeli Uzi 9mm sub-machine guns , a shotgun and the heavy Gewher that feels like an elephant gun .
One of the T/O's summarises the characteristics and capabilities of each of the weapons as we come to it - the accurate range , the practical killing range , ammo calibre and magazine size , the weapon's length and weight , how the firing action works , methods of concealment . Each of us then takes turns to field-strip the weapon and re-assemble it , naming the parts and repeating the characteristics etc . It's unlikely that if a weapon jammed in the course of an operation the IRA Volunteer would have the time to field-strip it , but the constant handling of the component parts helps to 'demystify' the guns , which most of us have'nt handled before , and so to feel comfortable with them .
'Safe handling' becomes a constant training theme , and we go through the procedure repeatedly .......
(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 .
(9 of 13).
When Michael Stone talks of his training , it is difficult not to conclude that he is exactly what Republicans say he is : a psychopath , pure and simple . He himself , predictably enough , takes enormous offence at such a description . He claims that his targets were all carefully chosen and that he despises indiscriminate killing .
Moreover , he claims that on a number of occasions he has refrained from pulling the trigger because his intended victim was in the company of friends or family : " On the morning of Milltown I was at the funeral service in the church , armed with seven grenades and three guns , " he says , " I could have taken Adams and McGuinness there and then , no problem . But the place was full of crying relatives . I remember one blonde teenage girl in particular , the sister of one of the dead IRA men .
I saw my own family reflected in her face . And I suddenly found that I just could'nt do it ....... "
(MORE LATER).
FACING REALITIES .......
From 'The United Irishman' newspaper , Aibrean [April] 1957 , page 5.
(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 Social and Economic Programme is designed to build an economy that will support the entire Irish nation at home and end the economic necessity of emigration . Gaelic revivalists will have to realise that while emigration is a necessity the Irish people will continue to learn and speak English as their primary language .
Our only hope for the restoration of Gaelic as our every day speech is - 1) To inculcate in every Irish person a genuine love for it ; 2) To cease using Gaelic as a political 'catch-cry' ; 3) To use Gaelic as often as possible in our ordinary day-to-day business ; 4) To teach it in a proper manner . At the other extreme is the Socialist or Communist who talks in very resounding phrases of modern progress : the smallness of the world : the affinity of the workers in China or in Ireland : the 'class war' etc .
That person accuses us of having no economic policy at all and being motivated by an outworn tribal prejudice that would isolate us from our neighbours and lead the Irish Nation to economic futility and disaster . Those Communists only feel important when talking of certain issues .......
(MORE LATER).
Monday, April 18, 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...
We are shown how to clean our guns ; on this occasion it's as well we're only training , as most of us are'nt that sure what we're doing . Come to think of it , only one of us seems to know what exactly most of the weapons are , and maybe even he's bluffing it a bit ...
Hopefully we will make up for the ignorance over the next few days ; it is now 2am and we get a cup of tea (at last !) and make tired conversation with the IRA T/O's for a while in the kitchen , before four of us head for sleeping bags and the floor , leaving two to start the all-night 'staggered watch' in the kitchen .
I'm shaken/kicked awake around 5am to start my three house of 'stag' - propped up in a kitchen chair with a copy of 'Small Arms Of The World' : its the only comfortable part of the night ...
[END of 'Day 1'].
(Tomorrow - 'Day 2').
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 .
(8 of 13).
It was UDA Commander Tommy Herron who drove Michael Stone and four of his friends out to a local quarry and allowed them to play for half-an-hour with his pet Alsatian . Then he presented the teenagers with a .22 calibre pistol and told them to kill the dog as it pranced at their feet .
As Stone's friends professed themselves unable to do it , young Michael Stone calmly took the gun , shouted at the dog to distract it and shot it in the back of the head . The UDA had found its 'natural born killer ' .
" I was basically turned into a one-man murder-machine , " Stone says , " they taught me to smear cartridges with mercury or garlic puree , because they get into the bloodstream and cause blood poisoning within seconds . They showed me how to strangle someone with the brake cable of a pushbike . They pointed out the exact spot on the neck to kill a man by scrambling their brain . Aye , it was a great training ....... "
(MORE LATER).
FACING REALITIES .
From 'The United Irishman' newspaper , Aibrean [April] 1957 , page 5.
(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.
Common to all who disagree with Sinn Fein and who are opposed to our policy is an appalling ignorance of what our policy really is . At least one Irish language 'enthusiast' , for instance , cuts the ground from under us in the most devastating English and asserts - again in the best Queen's English - that he knows some children " ... who will not be taught to admire English . "
What this nation needs is educated children , and eventually educated men and women and not a colony of illiterates in two languages . Eventually , if the Irish nation is wise and prudent , Gaelic will become the everyday spoken language in this country . To attain to that desirable end , straight hard thinking will have to be done by the whole Irish people . Pious sentiments and mouthy phrases won't cure the ills that afflict us .
The majority of our people speak English fairly fluently and are very proud of the knowledge ; a small percentage of our people on the Western Seaboard speak Gaelic fluently and are rather ashamed of it and do their utmost to ensure that their children have at least a working knowledge of English to carry them through the world when they go off 'navvying' or 'tatty-hoking' .
The Irish nation has got to reverse that attitude to the language and at the outset , out of sheer necessity , do it through the medium of English .......
(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...
We are shown how to clean our guns ; on this occasion it's as well we're only training , as most of us are'nt that sure what we're doing . Come to think of it , only one of us seems to know what exactly most of the weapons are , and maybe even he's bluffing it a bit ...
Hopefully we will make up for the ignorance over the next few days ; it is now 2am and we get a cup of tea (at last !) and make tired conversation with the IRA T/O's for a while in the kitchen , before four of us head for sleeping bags and the floor , leaving two to start the all-night 'staggered watch' in the kitchen .
I'm shaken/kicked awake around 5am to start my three house of 'stag' - propped up in a kitchen chair with a copy of 'Small Arms Of The World' : its the only comfortable part of the night ...
[END of 'Day 1'].
(Tomorrow - 'Day 2').
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 .
(8 of 13).
It was UDA Commander Tommy Herron who drove Michael Stone and four of his friends out to a local quarry and allowed them to play for half-an-hour with his pet Alsatian . Then he presented the teenagers with a .22 calibre pistol and told them to kill the dog as it pranced at their feet .
As Stone's friends professed themselves unable to do it , young Michael Stone calmly took the gun , shouted at the dog to distract it and shot it in the back of the head . The UDA had found its 'natural born killer ' .
" I was basically turned into a one-man murder-machine , " Stone says , " they taught me to smear cartridges with mercury or garlic puree , because they get into the bloodstream and cause blood poisoning within seconds . They showed me how to strangle someone with the brake cable of a pushbike . They pointed out the exact spot on the neck to kill a man by scrambling their brain . Aye , it was a great training ....... "
(MORE LATER).
FACING REALITIES .
From 'The United Irishman' newspaper , Aibrean [April] 1957 , page 5.
(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.
Common to all who disagree with Sinn Fein and who are opposed to our policy is an appalling ignorance of what our policy really is . At least one Irish language 'enthusiast' , for instance , cuts the ground from under us in the most devastating English and asserts - again in the best Queen's English - that he knows some children " ... who will not be taught to admire English . "
What this nation needs is educated children , and eventually educated men and women and not a colony of illiterates in two languages . Eventually , if the Irish nation is wise and prudent , Gaelic will become the everyday spoken language in this country . To attain to that desirable end , straight hard thinking will have to be done by the whole Irish people . Pious sentiments and mouthy phrases won't cure the ills that afflict us .
The majority of our people speak English fairly fluently and are very proud of the knowledge ; a small percentage of our people on the Western Seaboard speak Gaelic fluently and are rather ashamed of it and do their utmost to ensure that their children have at least a working knowledge of English to carry them through the world when they go off 'navvying' or 'tatty-hoking' .
The Irish nation has got to reverse that attitude to the language and at the outset , out of sheer necessity , do it through the medium of English .......
(MORE LATER).
Friday, April 15, 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 ...
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).
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.)
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