1169 And Counting.....

Saturday, September 29, 2007

MISSED OPPORTUNITIES...

On this weekend (Saturday 29th and Sunday 30th September) in 1979, Pope John Paul II ,the spiritual head of the Catholic Church, became the first Pope to visit Ireland . Those half-hoping that such an influential person might use the occasion to highlight the many injustices inflicted by Westminster on the Irish were to be disappointed : instead , we got the opposite - a pro-establishment , pro-Westminster/Free State and anti-Republican rant , during which , in an address to the Irish nation ,the man said - ""On my knees I beg you to turn away from the paths of violence and return to the ways of peace."

No mention of the British military and political presence on the island ; no reference to the (continuing) claim of British jurisdiction over six Irish counties ; not a word about "the paths of violence" which lead to Number 10 Downing Street: condemnation , only , for those attempting to resist the foreign occupation . What a wasted opportunity !

However , we salute those who wear a similar collar and are not afraid to 'speak' up - "Sometimes, I'm jealous of the Palestinians. They have one enemy, the Israelis.... The Israelis are stealing Palestinian land and the Palestinians are resisting it and so they fight..."
And so do we....

Friday, September 28, 2007

THEY ARE HELD IN BELFAST JAIL .......

From 'The United Irishman' newspaper, January 1958 .

HELD WITHOUT CHARGE OR TRIAL :

William Robinson , Mountjoy , Dungannon , County Tyrone .
Pat Devlin , 6 Arlit , Clonhybracken , Dungannon .
Paddy McGorry , Mountjoy , Dungannon .
John McAliskey , Derryloughan , Coalisland , Tyrone .
Patrick Quinn , Aidain , Coagh , Cookstown , Tyrone .
T. J. Quinn , Mooretown , Cookstown , Tyrone .
Gerry O' Neill , Ardboe , Dungannon .
Patrick Corey , Coalisland , Tyrone .
Brendan Foley , 8 Charlemont Street , Dungannon .
Eamonn Devlin , 22 Charlemont Street , Dungannon .
Patrick Devlin , 22 Charlemont Street , Dungannon .
Barney Young , Ballinderry Bridge , Cookstown .
Charles McGlinchy , Strabane , County Tyrone .
John Duffy , 54 O' Neill Avenue , Newry , County Down .
Vincent McCormack , Newry .
Joseph Campbell , 31 Castle Street , Newry (interned after a five year sentence) .
(MORE LATER).

ECONOMY IN CRISIS - An Historical Perspective.......

By any standards the economy of Ireland , North and South , can be described as being in a sorry mess with crisis , recession and imminent bankruptcy the most constant themes of economic discussion , intermittently over the last decade and ceaselessly in the last three years . In this article , Peter Graham surveys the factors which have produced this economy , and the historical role of foreign and native Irish capital.

From 'IRIS' magazine , November 1982.

The native Irish capitalist , and indeed the foreign capitalist that is based in Ireland - a 'landed man of substance' , who could have been expected to cause the industrial revolution to occur throughout Ireland , was by no means missing from the scene : even before the removal of the Penal Laws due to O' Connell's 'Catholic Emancipation Bill' in 1829, Irish Catholic merchants were prospering in supplying Irish agricultural produce to English cities which were growing as they industrialised , and also taking advantage of the need for that produce due to the French wars .

Much of the economic barriers to Catholic prosperity had already been breached by necessity , for the simple reason that the very small minority of wealthy English Proteatant landowners wanted to deal in land and other commodities with those Irish Catholic tenants who had prospered relatively and possessed wealth .

The propulsion behind Catholic Emancipation was not therefore so much economic as social and political ; rather than become industrialists , the native wealthy Irish were singularly obsessed with the status of obtaining access to education , the professions and politics , which were all opened to them by the ending of the Penal Laws . This social phenomenon was itself of course a result of the English ascendancy's social system in Ireland , yet it was so powerful as to divert the economic logic of the growth in native wealth.......
(MORE LATER).

DIVIS FLATS : Building Towards A Demolition Campaign .......
Divis Flats , at the bottom of the Falls Road in West Belfast , have acquired a reputation for 'trouble' - of all kinds - and social deprivation ever since they were built in the 1960's . They have also endured some of the severest British repression meted out during the past 14 years , and replied with some of the fiercest resistance . Local resident and community activist Jim Faulkner examines the new resurgence of morale in the flats complex and the prospects it faces in its biggest battle yet - for total demolition .
From 'IRIS' magazine , November 1983 .

The British Army observation post on top of Divis Tower , which has a commanding view of the flats complex and of the Falls Road as far as the Royal Victoria Hospital (where there is another British Army observation post) is an obscenity that emphasises the reality of Divis as , in effect , an open prison , with the 'inhabitants' under continual surveillance .

Surveys have shown that about half of the flats have serious dampness , especially in the bedrooms , and that in sixty per cent of those damp flats personal belongings such as clothing , bedding , carpets and furniture have been damaged by mould and blackening , and fifty-seven per cent of affected households felt that some of the family had health problems such as bronchitis and asthma , as a result of sleeping in damp conditions over a long period .

The health profile of the area generally is no better than that of the Moyard area , another flats complex in nationalist West Belfast , where there have been recent cases of polio . Divis Flats , for its part , has a number of families affected by tuberculosis , dysentery and other contagious diseases . The rats in and around the complex are bigger than the cats and the dogs are afraid to go near them . There are only three passenger lifts to service the 12 blocks of flats and they are constantly breaking down.......
(MORE LATER).

Thursday, September 27, 2007

A pamphlet has just been published on this very subject, by the Very Rev. P. Malone, P.P., V.F., of Belmullet, co. Mayo, and in this he says: "I have seen the son, standing upon the deck of the emigrant ship, divest himself of his only coat, and place it upon his father's shoulders, saying, 'Father, take you this; I will soon earn the price of a coat in the land I am going to.' "

Such instances, which might be recorded by the hundred, and the amount of money sent to Ireland by emigrants for the support of aged parents, and to pay the passage out of younger members of the family, are the best refutation of the old falsehood that Irishmen are either idle or improvident.....
(From here)

We are endeavoring to re-build an Island nation which will be proud to remember its past , and determined to ensure that that island nation will be free of the savagery inflicted on it over the centuries . Your assistance would be appreciated....
Go raibh máith agat.

Wednesday, September 26, 2007

THEY ARE HELD IN BELFAST JAIL .......

From 'The United Irishman' newspaper, January 1958 .

HELD WITHOUT CHARGE OR TRIAL :

James O' Connor , Cullion , Desertmartin , Derry .
Bernard Cassidy , Slaughtneil , Maghera , Derry .
J.J. Cassidy , Halfgain , Maghera , Derry .
D. Cassidy , Halfgain , Maghera , Derry .
Charles Young , Ballinderry , Cookstown , County Tyrone .
P. McLean , B. A. , Altamuskin , Omagh , Tyrone .
Gerald O' Docherty , Ballycolman Avenue , Strabane , Tyrone .
Brendan McNamee , Sixmilecross , Tyrone .
Frank McLoughlin , Ballyfatton , Sion Mills , Tyrone .
Seán Loughran , 21 Drumglass , Dungannon , Tyrone .
Joe McCallion , 8 Melmount Villas , Strabane .
Mick O' Kane , Bridge Street , Strabane .
Thomas O' Connor , Tullydonnell , Dungannon .
Brendan Mallon , Coagh , Cookstown , Tyrone .
Mick Kelly , Coagh , Cookstown .
Liam Lavery , Coagh , Cookstown .
J.F. Carr , Ballygittle , Stewartstown , Tyrone .
(MORE LATER).

ECONOMY IN CRISIS - An Historical Perspective.......

By any standards the economy of Ireland , North and South , can be described as being in a sorry mess with crisis , recession and imminent bankruptcy the most constant themes of economic discussion , intermittently over the last decade and ceaselessly in the last three years . In this article , Peter Graham surveys the factors which have produced this economy , and the historical role of foreign and native Irish capital.

From 'IRIS' magazine , November 1982.

An industrial revolution in Ireland confined itself therefore largely to the north-east , where the necessity of maintaining political control by sectarianism strangled the ideological revolution which was experienced elsewhere in Europe by reason of that economic development .

Conversely , the southern unindustrialised part of the country was very receptive to these new ideological concepts of freedom - there were of course some industries established down the east coast , mainly in Dublin and Cork , but in the main the rest of Ireland lay non-industrialised and economically under-developed , dependent on its agricultural economy other than perhaps for its main exceptions of brewing and distilling . Politically , Britain obviously had much responsibility for this failure to industrialise in Ireland .

Certainly the Act Of Union, at the beginning of the key period of the nineteenth century , left Ireland an open economy , linked closely to Britain and drastically subservient to her economically . But the fact remains that those industries already mentioned - linen , ship-building , brewing and distilling - did prosper and no satisfactory reasons why others could not , would seem to be apparent.......
(MORE LATER).

DIVIS FLATS : Building Towards A Demolition Campaign .......
Divis Flats , at the bottom of the Falls Road in West Belfast , have acquired a reputation for 'trouble' - of all kinds - and social deprivation ever since they were built in the 1960's . They have also endured some of the severest British repression meted out during the past 14 years , and replied with some of the fiercest resistance . Local resident and community activist Jim Faulkner examines the new resurgence of morale in the flats complex and the prospects it faces in its biggest battle yet - for total demolition .
From 'IRIS' magazine , November 1983 .

The inevitable consequence for those on supplementary benefits is high debt , with the NIHE and the NIES routinely using the Payment For Debt Act to deduct arrears at source from unemployment benefits . In some of these cases , a family with , say , three children is left after deductions with less than £30 a week to feed and cloth themselves .

Both Sinn Fein and the locally-backed 'Welfare Rights' project have been trying over the last year to tackle these problems by providing support and getting people to understand how the system works and how to take on the bureaucratic agencies that run those schemes and , to this end , a 'Benefit Take-Up Campaign' was launched in Divis Flats recently , on similar lines to a recent campaign in the Ballymurphy area which netted over £100,000 for people in that area .

Financially the Divis Flats campaign has already been a success , but additionally it has helped people to fight for what is theirs of right and not to regard it as a sort of 'charity' . However , the biggest problem in Divis is the flats themselves - they simply aren't fit to live in . In surveys carried out in the area since 1981 by a local study group , an overwhelming 96 per cent of householders stated that they didn't wish to continue living in Divis . 2,000 people live on top of each other in 12 blocks totalling 700 flats and a further 100 flats in the tower block . Then there's the British Army observation post on top of that tower block.......
(MORE LATER).

Tuesday, September 25, 2007

THE DESTRUCTION OF IRISH TRADE
The early Irish were famous for their excellence in arts and crafts, especially for their wonderful work in metals, bronze, silver and gold. By the beginning of the 14th century trading ships were constantly sailing between Ireland and the leading ports of the Continent.

COMPETITION WITH ENGLAND
This commerce was a threat to English merchants who tried to discourage such trade. They brought pressure on their government, which passed a law in 1494 that prohibited the Irish from exporting any industrial product, unless it was shipped through an English port, with an English permit after paying English fees. However, England was not able to enforce the law. By 1548 British merchants were using armed vessels to attack and plunder trading ships travelling between Ireland and the Continent(unofficial piracy).

ENGLISH MEN, ENGLISH SHIPS, ENGLISH CREWS, ENGLISH PORTS AND IRISH GOODS
In 1571 Queen Elizabeth ordered that no cloth or stuff made in Ireland could be exported, even to England, except by English men in Ireland. The act was amended in 1663 to prohibit the use of all foreign-going ships, except those that were built in England, mastered and three-fourths manned by English, and cleared from English ports. The return cargoes had to be unloaded in England. Ireland's shipbuilding industry was thus destroyed and her trade with the Continent wiped out.

TRADE WITH THE COLONIES
Ireland then began a lucrative trade with the Colonies. That was "cured" in 1670 by a new law which forbade Ireland to export to the colonies "anything except horses, servants, and victuals." England followed with a decree that no Colonial products could be landed in Ireland until they had first landed in England and paid all English rates and duties.

Ireland was forbidden to engage in trade with the colonies and plantations of the New World if it involved sugar, tobacco, cotton, wool, rice, and numerous other items. The only item left for Ireland to import was rum. The English wanted to help English rum makers in the West Indies at the expense of Irish farmers and distillers.

IRISH WOOL TRADE CURTAILED, THEN DESTROYED
When the Irish were forbidden to export their sheep, they began a thriving trade in wool. In 1634 The Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, Lord Stafford, wrote to King Charles I: "All wisdom advises us to keep this (Irish) kingdom as much subordinate and dependent on England as possible; and, holding them from manufacture of wool (which unless otherwise directed, I shall by all means discourage), and then enforcing them to fetch their cloth from England, how can they depart from us without nakedness and beggary?"

In 1660 even the export of wool from Ireland to England was forbidden. Other English laws prohibited all exports of Irish wool in any form. In 1673, Sir William Temple advised that the Irish would act wisely by giving up the manufacture of wool even for home use, because "it tended to interfere prejudicially with the English woolen trade."

George II sent three warships and eight other armed vessels to cruise off the coast of Ireland to seize all vessels carrying woolens from Ireland. "So ended the fairest promise that Ireland had ever known of becoming a prosperous and a happy country."

LINEN TRADE REPRESSED
Irish linen manufacturing met with the same fate when the Irish were forbidden to export their product to all other countries except England. A thirty percent duty was levied in England, effectively prohibiting the trade. English manufacturers, on the other hand, were granted a bounty for all linen exports.

BEEF, PORK, BUTTER AND CHEESE
In 1665 Irish cattle were no longer welcome in England, so the Irish began killing them and exporting the meat. King Charles II declared that the importation of cattle, sheep, swine and beef from Ireland was henceforth a common nuisance, and forbidden. Pork and bacon were soon prohibited, followed by butter and cheese.

SILK AND TOBACCO
In the middle of the 18th century, Ireland began developing a silk weaving industry. Britain imposed a heavy duty on Irish silk, but British manufactured silk was admitted to Ireland duty-free. Ireland attempted to develop her tobacco industry, but that too was prohibited.

FISH
In 1819 England withdrew the subsidy for Irish fisheries and increased the subsidies to British fishermen - with the result that Ireland's possession of one of the longest coastlines in Europe, still left it with one of the most miserable fisheries.

GLASS
Late in the 18th century the Irish became known for their manufacture of glass. George II forbade the Irish to export glass to any country whatsoever under penalty of forfeiting ship, cargo and ten shillings per pound weight.

THE RESULT
By 1839, a French visitor to Ireland, Gustave de Beaumont, was able to write:

"In all countries, more or less, paupers may be discovered; but an entire nation of paupers is what was never seen until it was shown in Ireland. To explain the social condition of such a country, it would be only necessary to recount its miseries and its sufferings; the history of the poor is the history of Ireland."

CONCLUSION

From the 15th through the 19th centuries, successive English monarchies and governments enacted laws designed to suppress and destroy Irish manufacturing and trade. These repressive Acts, coupled with the Penal Laws, reduced the Irish people to "nakedness and beggary" in a very direct and purposeful way. The destitute Irish then stood at the very brink of the bottomless pit. When the potato blight struck in 1845, it was but time for the final push.....
(From here)

We are no longer bitter to the point of distraction , nor do we seek 'revenge' .
But we continue to demand Justice .
The 1169 Team.

Monday, September 24, 2007

THEY ARE HELD IN BELFAST JAIL .......

From 'The United Irishman' newspaper, January 1958 .

Held Without Charge Or Trial :

Séan Ramsey , 12 Artillery Street , Derry City .
Patrick Molloy , Mahera , County Derry .
David Ramsey , 41 Central Drive , Derry City .
Séan Gallagher , 4 Cedar Street , Derry City .
Brendan McHarry , Crebarkeley , Dungiven , County Derry .
John McCloskey , Cluntygeeragh , Dungiven .
John F. McCloskey , Cluntygeeragh , Dungiven .
Kevin McGill , Crebarkeley , Dungiven .
Jack Hegarty , Draperstown , County Derry .
John McCusker , Kerley , Maghera , County Derry .
Frank Donnelly , Falgatraney , Maghera , County Derry .
Patrick L. Docherty , 134 Taobh an Portaigh , Derry City .
James S. Devlin , Ballyneil , Hoop , Moneymore , Derry .
(MORE LATER).

ECONOMY IN CRISIS - An Historical Perspective.......

By any standards the economy of Ireland , North and South , can be described as being in a sorry mess with crisis , recession and imminent bankruptcy the most constant themes of economic discussion , intermittently over the last decade and ceaselessly in the last three years . In this article , Peter Graham surveys the factors which have produced this economy , and the historical role of foreign and native Irish capital.

From 'IRIS' magazine , November 1982.

Notwithstanding all the foreign influence and interference , there was emerging in Ireland a native land-owning class , which has remained and strengthened its stranglehold on the agricultural economy up to the present day .

The agricultural situation in the north-east of Ireland was of course different - the plantations of vast areas of land there with Protestant settlers made those settlers essential, politically , to their landlords , and thus in a far stronger tenure position than the native Irish tenants further south . This 'security' among northern Protestant farmers by the mid-eighteenth century made it unnecessary for them to espouse the separatist cause as a tool for extracting economic benefit .

The resulting weakness of the north-eastern landlords in their inability to over-exploit or drive off their tenants , also saw the intensified industrial development of the north-east as landlords strove to increase their income by diversification into investment , ultimately into the linen and ship-building industries on which that region's prosperity became based . To insure his political position , the northern industrialist made sure that those who worked in his factories were Protestants . This was not a distinction which saved those workers from any of the hardships of capitalist exploitation of their labour but , stimulated by organised sectarianism , it did keep them aware of their 'advantage' over the Catholics of the same 'class'.......
(MORE LATER).

DIVIS FLATS : Building Towards A Demolition Campaign .......
Divis Flats , at the bottom of the Falls Road in West Belfast , have acquired a reputation for 'trouble' - of all kinds - and social deprivation ever since they were built in the 1960's . They have also endured some of the severest British repression meted out during the past 14 years , and replied with some of the fiercest resistance . Local resident and community activist Jim Faulkner examines the new resurgence of morale in the flats complex and the prospects it faces in its biggest battle yet - for total demolition .
From 'IRIS' magazine , November 1983 .

The Divis Youth And Cultural Development Group provides a place for young people to meet , play pool , listen to music and discuss their future . It is an important development where one-third of the 2,000 population is under 16 years of age . The Divis Education Project, which was formed about three years ago by social and community workers to tackle truancy (or 'beaking' as it is known locally) , has formed a new committee with more local involvement and set up a craft workshop for unemployed teenagers - with facilities for making harps and other ornaments as well as practical household goods and furniture .

The workshop has attracted so much interest among the huge numbers of young unemployed that people have had to be turned away for lack of space and financial resources , and a fundraising drive has been undertaken to expand facilities over the nect couple of years . The project has also set up a library in Divis Flats , including books in Irish to reflect the great interest in the language locally . Two Irish language classes a week are held at the Education Project's school ('Crazy Joe's') and the local Sinn Fein cumann also holds classes there .

Sinn Fein has opened an advice centre in the Flats (where its Belfast housing department is based) where voluntary workers deal with the array of day-to-day social , housing , benefits and Brit/RUC harassment problems faced by the local people , over eighty per cent of whom are in receipt of some degree of state benefits , while over sixty per cent of the working population is unemployed . Debt to the 'Housing Executive' and to the electricity service is a major worry for people ; the exorbitant cost and inefficiency of the old , gas central heating means that residents use electric heaters and 'Supersers' to heat living-rooms and bedrooms , with some families facing quarterly electricity bills of £150 to £200 , money they haven't got.......
(MORE LATER).

Saturday, September 22, 2007

ANNUAL BOBBY SANDS LECTURE .

The theme for this years Bobby Sands Lecture is 'The Fenians and the Manchester Martyrs' .
The main Speaker will be Peig Galligan, and the event will be held on Monday September 24 2007 , in Wynn's Hotel,Lower Abbey Street,Dublin, from 7pm to 9.30pm .

Please Note : as usual , there is no Admittance Charge , although a collection for financial contributions will be held on the way out to help towards the cost of hiring the room.
ALL WELCOME!
Thank You ,
Sharon.

Blowing our own trumpet...

A big 'Thank You' to Mick for including our wee blog in his choice of 'Top 20 Irish Political Blogs' , which he recently compiled for Iain Dale's forthcoming book.
The question now is who will play little old me in the film based on the book.....
;-)

Friday, September 21, 2007

THEY ARE HELD IN BELFAST JAIL .......

From 'The United Irishman' newspaper, January 1958 .

HELD WITHOUT CHARGE OR TRIAL :

Brendan Lennon , Francis Street , Lurgan , County Armagh .
Hugh Brady , 28 Waring Street , Lurgan . (Held after serving a four-year sentence)
Brendan Lavery , 124 Edward Street , Lurgan . (Held after serving a four-year sentence)
Eamonn McConville , Derrymacash , County Armagh . (Held after serving a four-year sentence)
Kevin Breen , 17 Clarendon Park , Marlin , Lurgan .
Patrick Duffy , 23 Clara Street , Lurgan .
Arthur Thornbury , 47 Brown Street , Lurgan .
Gerald Magill , Cherrymount , Lurgan .
John J. Rafferty , 13 Cusher Green , Mountmorris , County Armagh .
Thomas Mellon , 24 Elmwood Terrace , Derry City .
Canice O' Kane , Drumsurn , Limavaddy , County Derry .
Thomas Toner , Dungiven , County Derry .
Sean Keenan , 8 Saint Columb Street , Derry City .
John O' Hagan , Desertmartin , County Derry .
James McReynolds , Chapel Road , Dungiven , County Derry .
Art Kerr , 19 North Street , Derry City .
(MORE LATER).

ECONOMY IN CRISIS - An Historical Perspective.......

By any standards the economy of Ireland , North and South , can be described as being in a sorry mess with crisis , recession and imminent bankruptcy the most constant themes of economic discussion , intermittently over the last decade and ceaselessly in the last three years . In this article , Peter Graham surveys the factors which have produced this economy , and the historical role of foreign and native Irish capital.

From 'IRIS' magazine , November 1982.

Charles Stewart Parnell and Michael Davitt saw the benefits for nationalism in linking it to the new economic force in farming - the native-tenant-turned-landowner who , in turn , found the national cause a useful rallying call . The rural population which continued its nationalist zeal within Fenianism and into the next century , and supplied the blood spilt in the Tan War, was largely that of the small farmers and the declining agricultural labourers .

Those who had gained most from the Land War and the subsequent enabling legislation from Westminster financing their purchase of land , were by that time solid farmers repelled by any further revolution . For them , increasing their newly-won private property was , and has remained , their priority . The nationalisation of land , which Michael Davitt himself preached as the real economic freedom for the rural population , remains anathema for them today , as it was then .

Obviously the link to Britain was economically , as well as politically , the dictator of Ireland's agricultural economy . And so it was Britain's foreign wars and foreign trade , its laissezfaire phases , its uncaring attitude to the 'Famine', its penal legislation and so on , that set the pace and direction for all economic development . For most of Ireland , that was in agricultural terms.......
(MORE LATER).

DIVIS FLATS : Building Towards A Demolition Campaign .
Divis Flats , at the bottom of the Falls Road in West Belfast , have acquired a reputation for 'trouble' - of all kinds - and social deprivation ever since they were built in the 1960's . They have also endured some of the severest British repression meted out during the past 14 years , and replied with some of the fiercest resistance . Local resident and community activist Jim Faulkner examines the new resurgence of morale in the flats complex and the prospects it faces in its biggest battle yet - for total demolition .
From 'IRIS' magazine , November 1983 .

Much has been happening on the political front in West Belfast's Divis Flats complex since the Assembly and Westminster elections mobilised local residents to work and vote for Sinn Fein: people who had never taken much interest in political activity before could then be seen addressing election manifestos , canvassing , making tea for election workers and generally feeling part of the fight .

Sinn Fein's victories have renewed hope that the day will be hastened when the flats will be totally demolished and we can all live on the ground in decent homes again .

The victories also showed those that attempt to live in Divis Flats what they themselves could achieve by coming together and working hard to achieve what they want and they have not looked back since - they have gone on to form new groups to tackle the many problems faced by the Divis Flats community . One of those groups is the Divis Youth and Cultural Development Group which has recently opened a new 'Drop-In' centre for the youth of the area in an attempt to tackle the epidemic of joyriding and other anti-social activity going on in the flats.......
(MORE LATER).

Thursday, September 20, 2007

Wednesday, September 19, 2007

THEY ARE HELD IN BELFAST JAIL .......

From 'The United Irishman' newspaper, January 1958 .

SHORT-TERM PRISONERS :

J.J. Woods , Omagh , County Tyrone - 12 months.
Dan Moore , Newry , County Down - 12 months .
L. Magill , Lurgan , County Armagh - 18 months .

ON REMAND :

J. Gallagher , Omagh , County Tyrone .

HELD WITHOUT CHARGE OR TRIAL :

James McWilliams , B.A. , 4 Abbey Place , Armagh .
Peter McGuinness , 25 Malachy's Park , Camlough , County Armagh .
James Loughran , 13 Shankill Street Place , Lurgan , County Armagh .
Joseph Haughian , 17 Silverwood Drive , Lurgan .
Seamus McKavanagh , Clonrolla North , Lurgan .
Aiden McKenna , 131 Edward Street , Lurgan .
James McVeigh , Derrymacash , Lurgan .
Michael McAleese , Derrymacash , Lurgan .
Dermot O' Hare , 4 Cherrytree Walk , Lurgan .
Patrick McGuinness , 62 Arthur Street , Lurgan .
Ronnie McAlinden , 158 Shore Road , Lurgan .
(MORE LATER).

ECONOMY IN CRISIS - An Historical Perspective.......

By any standards the economy of Ireland , North and South , can be described as being in a sorry mess with crisis , recession and imminent bankruptcy the most constant themes of economic discussion , intermittently over the last decade and ceaselessly in the last three years . In this article , Peter Graham surveys the factors which have produced this economy , and the historical role of foreign and native Irish capital.

From 'IRIS' magazine , November 1982.

The changeover from tillage to grazing in Irish agriculture , hastened by the 'Famine' which made wholesale land clearances possible and which continued throughout the nineteenth century , was itself an economic force which demanded that the landless agricultural labourers were of no further use , and that the samall cottier with his few acres of potatoes - which , in non-'famine' years actually made him 'independent' - had to be driven off the land , which could then be consolidated into large cattle-rearing ranches . This at least was the dominant trend in spite of the long survival of numerous small-holdings .

The Land War, and the eventual winning of peasant-ownership , left the agricultural labourers and the remaining small-holder tenants very much in the same , or even worse , economic distress . The more prosperous native 'tenant' now became the 'landowner' himself , self-sufficient on his acreage in one nuclear family , conservative politically , socially and economically , the direct forebear of today's big farmer .

Charles Stewart Parnell and Michael Davitt were watching these developments with interest.......
(MORE LATER).

Tuesday, September 18, 2007

" Squelching a half-starved rat...."

Victims of the Great Hunger...
'The Times' editorial of September 30, 1845, warned; "In England the two main meals of a working man's day now consists of potatoes." England's potato-dependence was as excessive as Ireland's. Grossly over-populated relative to its food supply, England faced famine unless it could import vast amounts of alternative food. But it didn't take merely Ireland's surplus food; or enough Irish food to save England. It took more; for profit and to exterminate the people of Ireland. British Queen Victoria's economist, Nassau Senior, expressed his fear that existing policies "...will not kill more than one million Irish in 1848 and that will scarcely be enough to do much good." When an eye-witness urged a stop to the genocide-in-progress, Trevelyan replied: "We must not complain of what we really want to obtain." Trevelyan insisted that all reports of starvation were exaggerated, until 1847. He then declared it ended and refused entry to the American food relief ship Sorciére. Thomas Carlyle, influential British essayist, wrote; "Ireland is like a half-starved rat that crosses the path of an elephant. What must the elephant do? Squelch it - by heavens - squelch it." 'Total Annihilation' suggested The Times leader of September 2, 1846; and in 1848 its editorialists crowed "A Celt will soon be as rare on the banks of the Shannon as the red man on the banks of Manhattan..."

PLEASE HELP US TO GET A TRUE RESOLUTION TO THE PROBLEM OF BRITISH INTERFERENCE IN IRISH AFFAIRS .
Thank You ,
Sharon.

Monday, September 17, 2007

THEY ARE HELD IN BELFAST JAIL .......

From 'The United Irishman' newspaper, January 1958 .

Sentenced To Penal Servitude :

D.O'Hagan , Belfast - 4 years .
P. McGrogan , Belfast - 4 years .
T. Cooney , Cork - 12 years .
W. Gough , Cork - 10 years .
J.J. Linehan , Cork - 10 years .
P. McStravick , Armagh - 4 years .
D. Donnelly , Omagh , County Tyrone - 10 years .
S. McHugh , Omagh - 8 years .
F. McHugh , Omagh - 6 years .
F. Cullen , Omagh - 5 years .
T. Devlin , Omagh - 6 years .
J. Darcy , Omagh - 5 years .
J. Carroll , Omagh - 5 years .
P. Devlin , Omagh - 6 years .
H. Darcy , Omagh - 5 years .
Matt Monaghan , Derry - 6 years .
P. Fox , Derry - 10 years .
L. McGowan , Derry - 6 years .
J. Smith , Bessbrook , County Armagh - 8 years .
S. Heuston , Keady , County Armagh - 10 years .
(List of those held as 'Short Term Prisoners' , 'On Remand' and 'Held Without Charge Or Trial' next...)

ECONOMY IN CRISIS - An Historical Perspective.......

By any standards the economy of Ireland , North and South , can be described as being in a sorry mess with crisis , recession and imminent bankruptcy the most constant themes of economic discussion , intermittently over the last decade and ceaselessly in the last three years . In this article , Peter Graham surveys the factors which have produced this economy , and the historical role of foreign and native Irish capital.

From 'IRIS' magazine , November 1982.

For economically , as well as nationally , the Ireland of today is very much the victim of its imperialist-dominated history , though its native contribution is not insignificant either . The establishment of landlords in Ireland and the plantation of Ulster, culminating eventually in the Land War of the second half of the nineteenth century , are familiar territory in Irish nationalist history .

Not always so familiar , however , in the restricted area of simple nationalism , is the analysis of the economic developments which have derived from this , and the limited diversification into native industrial capitalism which was one of the results .

Right from the Norman conquest itself in 1169, but more directly from the Cromwellite and Williamite confiscations, there was of course conflict between the usurpers of the land and the dispossessed and this conflict remained the central issue which ultimately culminated in the Land War in the nineteenth century, a conflict which fuelled - more successfully than ever before - a new nationalist strength . However , in the interim period and particularly through the cataclysmic 'Famine', the landlord enemy was not exclusively the foreign occupier , but , through major changes in land ownership , by now included native Catholic Irish , men of 'substance.......'
(MORE LATER).

THE LEFT BEHIND.......

Dick Spring and the Labour Party headed into this election campaign with four years of coalition government behind them . To observe them on the campaign trial you would never guess this , but there is , nevertheless , a noticeable resistence to them , especially amongst traditional Labour voters . Judging from Dick Spring's reception on the campaign trial it is almost certain that the party is in big trouble , at least in the Dublin area .

From 'IN DUBLIN' magazine 'Election Special' , 1987 .
By Derek Dunne.

When this travelling political circus reaches the town of Rush in North County Dublin , one man says that the Labour Party should have pulled out of government long ago ; he is about sixty years of age and sounds very bitter - " I voted Labour last time but never again . You let me down . You said Fianna Fail and Fine Gael were six of one and half dozen of the other and then ye go in with Fine Gael ! Youse are all gangsters . Justin Keating fucked up your seat here and you'll never get it back . What about the PD's ? What about the Provos.......? " It goes on and on , but Dick Spring hasn't time to argue the toss . There are other places to visit . Like the nearest pub .

In the pub , Dick gives a bit of a speech . It's for the benefit of the party workers in the area : " Vote one-two as often as you can between here and the next town . It's a good constituency . Let's not be beaten by fifty or sixty votes . Let's go out there and do it . Vote early and vote often ! " Fightin' talk . In the town of Balbriggan , Dick tells people that he's going to build up a strong Labour Party and that this is "necessary" . One woman says that she's promising nothing , but that she'll think about voting for Labour , to which Dick replies that he isn't promising anything either . Another woman has a problem with bus-fares for her kids going to school and one of the Labour Party people makes a note of it and promises that something will be done .

Dick is uneasy walking around shaking people's hands , as he's not sure where the next attack might come from . There is no urgency or vibrancy to his personal appearances in public , unlike say that of Charlie Haughey, but then Dick's demeanour may be due to the last four years in government with Fine Gael where there has been a war of attrition.......
(MORE LATER).

Sunday, September 16, 2007

"Move NOW or be moved..."

A link to more photographs and a brief report of an "...illegal parade and assembly.." held in Dublin yesterday (Saturday 15 September 2007) in support of Irish Republican POW's .

The Republican Sinn Fein-organised event was a complete success , which drew about 500 on-lookers , to whom dozens of copies of the 'SAOIRSE' monthly newspaper were sold , as well as over 400 leaflets distributed to . Also , new contacts and offers of support were made and received . A few photographs below , more at the above link . Thanks !
Sharon.

Dominick and Des .

Dominick and Joe .

A section of the crowd , on the GPO-side of O'Connell Street.

Saturday, September 15, 2007

EVE OF ALL-IRELAND RALLY , SATURDAY 15 SEPTEMBER 2007 :
Assemble at the Garden Of Remembrance,Parnell Square, Dublin , at 1.45pm for the Parade to the GPO.

Friday, September 14, 2007

THEY ARE HELD IN BELFAST JAIL .......

From 'The United Irishman' newspaper, January 1958 .

Sentenced To Penal Servitude :

E. Boyce , Dublin - 12 years .
T. Mitchell , Dublin , - 10 years .
P. Clarke , Dublin - 10 years .
J. McCabe , Leitrim - 10 years .
S. O'Callaghan , Cork - 10 years .
J.Hegarty , Cork -10 years .
L. Mulcahy , Cork - 10 years .
P. Kearney , Dublin - 10 years.
K. O' Rourke , Banbridge , County Down - 7 years .
E.Timoney , Derry City - 10 years.
P.J. O' Kane , Dungiven , County Derry - 10 years .
P. Collins , Belfast - 4 years .
T. O' Malley , Belfast - 5 years .
C. A. Loy , Newry , County Down - 8 years .
B. G. Loy , Newry , County Down - 8 years .
P. Constantine , Dublin - 8 years.
T.P. Cairns , Newry , County Down - 8 years.
P. Shaw , Dundalk , County Louth - 8 years .
S. Hands , Dundalk , County Louth - 8 years .
P. Duffy , Dundalk , County Louth - 8 years .
J. J. Kelly , Belfast - 8 years .
J. Madden , Cork - 8 years .
D. P. Lewsley , Shore Road , Lurgan , County Armagh - 8 years .
P. J. Monaghan , Dunamorie , County Tyrone - 3 years .
T. Ferron , Belfast - 4 years .
J. J. Corbett , Belfast - 5 years .
T. P. P. Doyle , Dublin - 6 years .
P. J. Hodgins , Dublin - 5 years .
(MORE LATER).

ECONOMY IN CRISIS - An Historical Perspective.......

By any standards the economy of Ireland , North and South , can be described as being in a sorry mess with crisis , recession and imminent bankruptcy the most constant themes of economic discussion , intermittently over the last decade and ceaselessly in the last three years . In this article , Peter Graham surveys the factors which have produced this economy , and the historical role of foreign and native Irish capital.

From 'IRIS' magazine , November 1982.

However , for all this apparent failure of capitalism to deliver , the immediate prospect is not one of revolution towards a socialist alternative which would include nationalisation , the ending of the profit motive , and a planned economy with full employment , but rather one of the continuation of private enterprise , publicly-financed where weakest by the State , and of the further crippling of workers and the unemployed who bear the brunt of this failure .

Undoubtedly , the reasons for this total lack of socialist economic alternative , even in the absence of a strong constitutional force of the left either North or South , rest on political factors originating in Ireland's national history . In the North , the continuation of sectarian discrimination against the nationalist people , in order to maintain the State itself , has eradicated any basis for the growth of class politics . In the Free State , the centrality of the unresolved issue of partition in the political affiliations of the population , coupled with a labour movement historically afraid of that issue , has had a devastatingly similar effect in stifling even the mildest consideration of revolutionary economic solutions .

But of equal importance in considering the position of the Irish capitalist economy - and ultimately in considering its particular weaknesses - is the development of that economy historically.......
(MORE LATER).

THE LEFT BEHIND.......

Dick Spring and the Labour Party headed into this election campaign with four years of coalition government behind them . To observe them on the campaign trial you would never guess this , but there is , nevertheless , a noticeable resistence to them , especially amongst traditional Labour voters . Judging from Dick Spring's reception on the campaign trial it is almost certain that the party is in big trouble , at least in the Dublin area .

From 'IN DUBLIN' magazine 'Election Special' , 1987 .
By Derek Dunne.

You work on a building site . You might have had a few jars the night before and maybe you don't feel too well . You might be thinking about getting home for something to eat . But right now you are down a hole , digging it deeper . Suddenly you hear - " How's it goin' lads ? " You look up and there's Dick Spring looking down into the hole , smiling : he asks if the digging is going okay . That can be very un-nerving.

Dick wanders off and starts to 'level' some concrete with a piece of timber , and lets it be known that he once worked on a building site . Nobody mentions that perhaps it might have been a good idea if he had stayed there . Dick gets a hard hat and a sledgehammer and poses for local photographers beside a bucket of concrete . 'Dick The Builder' , photographed filling a bucket of concrete with a sledgehammer . Someone remarks that Dick was known as a very dirty player on the sportsfield and Dick doesn't deny this . Dirty play is now parading as virtue . " Still am . When I don't get my own way , I walk off the pitch."

Later , on the way into a hotel , Dick notices that a poster of Dessie O' Malley has had eyeshadow and lipstick painted in . " Graffiti with taste , " he remarks . The political-circus bus drives on : Malahide , then Swords . At a shopping centre , it's time to talk to the punters again . The reaction is not great for the party leader who claims to represent the working class . Indeed , one woman says she will only vote for him when he gets her husband back to work , another woman says only when he gets her husband back from his job in England , and a third woman says only when he gets her a grant for some building work that she's trying to get done . A nurse says she will vote for Barry Desmond as she admires him , even though she wouldn't agree with everything he has done . But by now the timetable is getting loused up and Dick is led away by his handlers.......
(MORE LATER).

Thursday, September 13, 2007

SUPPORT IRISH POW's IN MAGHABERRY JAIL !

EVE OF ALL-IRELAND RALLY , SATURDAY 15 SEPTEMBER 2007 :
Assemble at the Garden Of Remembrance,Parnell Square, Dublin , at 1.45pm for the Parade to the GPO.

Wednesday, September 12, 2007

THEY ARE HELD IN BELFAST JAIL .

From 'The United Irishman' newspaper, January 1958 .

There are now approximately 250 persons jailed in the Crumlin Road Prison in Belfast . It is impossible to be precise about the figures for they change from day to day . The Stormont Home Affairs Minister , Walter William Buchanan Topping, said on November 29 , 1957 , that 166 persons were being held without charge or trial and were interned : that 27 are being "detained" meaning that charges may be brought against them . W.W.B. Topping said 13 would definitely be charged and the question of charges against the remaining 14 was under consideration . Another 49 prisoners were serving sentences after conviction .

The 49 men sentenced since December 12 , 1956 , had been condemned to a total of 272 years imprisonment . British Minister Topping said that the intention of these young men was to "...blast Ulster (sic) out of their way.." He is wrong . What these young men - and some of them are not so young - are demanding is a free and united Ireland with the shadow of British Imperialism removed forever from the land . Irishmen and women at home and abroad salute the courage of these gallant men . We list here , firstly , the details of those sentenced to 'Penal Servitude.......'
(MORE LATER).

ECONOMY IN CRISIS - An Historical Perspective.

By any standards the economy of Ireland , North and South , can be described as being in a sorry mess with crisis , recession and imminent bankruptcy the most constant themes of economic discussion , intermittently over the last decade and ceaselessly in the last three years . In this article , Peter Graham surveys the factors which have produced this economy , and the historical role of foreign and native Irish capital.

From 'IRIS' magazine , November 1982.

Every economic indicator tells its own story . Unemployment , officially put at more than 250,000 throughout the country , has never been higher . Growth in the Free State , by virture of its dependency on international investment , summarily pulled out by the Western world's recession , is stagnant . The North's economy , similarly , dependent almost totally in recent years on British government public spending , is crumbling as a result of monetarist policy decisions which demand cut-backs in state spending .

Whilst in the North the tight fiscal policies of the British government have brought inflation painfully down to single figures , the Free State - now separated by its independent punt in the European Monetary System - suffers inflation that soars uncontrollably each year by around twenty per cent .

In simple human terms , the economic statistics are translated into the depression of joblessness , either for those losing jobs or those never having had one in prospect . As a result too , come the cuts in real wages of those employed , decimating living standards . Adding to the misery is the severe drop in public services of all kinds , at a time when needed most , and the prospect of further cut-backs as the governments' response to the 'crisis'.......
(MORE LATER).

THE LEFT BEHIND.......

Dick Spring and the Labour Party headed into this election campaign with four years of coalition government behind them . To observe them on the campaign trial you would never guess this , but there is , nevertheless , a noticeable resistence to them , especially amongst traditional Labour voters . Judging from Dick Spring's reception on the campaign trial it is almost certain that the party is in big trouble , at least in the Dublin area .

From 'IN DUBLIN' magazine 'Election Special' , 1987 .
By Derek Dunne.

The reception everywhere to Dick and Ruairi is similar : one man with a child refuses to stop and passes by . " He doesn't care , he's a Sinn Fein man ..." , says someone else , pointing to the child . " Did you see the funny man going by ? " he asks the child , " Did you see the man with the moustache ..." All of those belonging to the Labour Party camp-circus ignore the man and the child .

Supermarkets ! You look after the kids all day and then you go out shopping . Now it's getting on towards evening and you're tired . You're pushing the trolley along wishing you were at home . As you reach for that tin of beans , your hand is grabbed , and a Dick is there pumping it up and down , telling you who he is , introducing people to you , asking you for your vote . It rarely dawns on anybody that this man has been Deputy Prime Minister for the last four years . You're so surprised you just stand there and say nothing . Stalking between the shelves of supermarkets looking for innocent voters to accost is pretty safe because of the element of surprise . Dick wonders if it is of any benefit at all .

One woman says she won't be voting at all as she doesn't believe in politics . Another shopper says she wore a blueshirt and is not afraid to say so . A third woman tells Dick that she has been living in uninhabitable conditions for twelve years and , for Dick , this suddenly becomes a priority . Something will be done, he says . But not just now , alas , as it's time to move on to the hotel . Dick spots a building site across the road from the hotel.......
(MORE LATER).

(Patrick K - thanks for the favourable comment ; much appreciated!)

Tuesday, September 11, 2007

Monday, September 10, 2007

RELEASE PRISONERS !
From 'The United Irishman' newspaper, January 1958 .

Portlaoise Town Commission called for the release of prisoners held in the Curragh Concentration Camp as a token of peace and goodwill . The motion was passed by three votes to two , with two members abstaining .

At Mountmellick Town Commission , the Chairman Mr Peter Johnson , said - " I was there (in the Curragh) one time myself and it isn't a very pleasant place to be . I think these men should be all released ." He asked for comments . None came . Expressing disappointment , he then said -

" These men shouldn't be arrested and pegged in behind barbed wire . None of you are going to say anything about it anyway . That is a bad thing ."

[END of 'RELEASE PRISONERS!']
(Next : 'They Are Held In Belfast Jail' - from the same source)

A QUESTION OF LIBERATION .......

Feminists and anti-imperialists in Ireland have often regarded each other's struggles with misunderstanding , mutual suspicion , and sometimes outright rejection . What then is the relationship between them ? Eibhlin Ni Gabhann surveys the emergence of women's liberation groups in Belfast and Dublin over the past decade or so , and some of the questions they have faced .
From 'IRIS' magazine , November 1983.

Rita O' Hare stated : " Women both inside and outside the Republican Movement should also realise the importance of their necessary actions within the liberation struggle , not solely concentrated on women's issues , but active in all possible areas of that struggle .

In the aftermath of national liberation struggles around the world we have seen attempts made to force women who were active in those struggles alongside men back into subordinate roles in the new society . This danger cannot be overcome by standing on the sidelines . It can only be totally negated by the fullest possible involvement of determined women in the heart of that struggle . It is time that all of us faced up to these realities . "

[END of 'A QUESTION OF LIBERATION']
(Next : 'Economy In Crisis - An Historical Perspective' ; from 1982.)

THE LEFT BEHIND.......

Dick Spring and the Labour Party headed into this election campaign with four years of coalition government behind them . To observe them on the campaign trial you would never guess this , but there is , nevertheless , a noticeable resistence to them , especially amongst traditional Labour voters . Judging from Dick Spring's reception on the campaign trial it is almost certain that the party is in big trouble , at least in the Dublin area .

From 'IN DUBLIN' magazine 'Election Special' , 1987 .
By Derek Dunne.

Ruairi Quinn bought everyone lunch in Kitty O' Shea's pub. Dick Spring stated that there will be a second election within eighteen months . " Come on , we're wasting time . Let's go , " says Dick . It's back across the river and onto the Northside Shopping Centre, Charlie Haughey's political heartland . Fianna Fail are having a press conference at 3pm that same afternoon and there are very few photographers still with Dick and Ruairi . In any event , many had been under the impression that they would have to pay for their own lunch and this had the effect of diminishing the numbers somewhat .

Dick wanders in and out , into a shop here , a fast food joint there . Two customers , who appear to be engrossed in some sort of deal , are frozen with horror as they see Dick advance towards them with hand outstretched . One of them tells Dick that he should have run the full term of Office , whilst the other is "disgusted" by what the Labour Party has done but , before the argument can proceed , Dick is pulled away by a handler to sign an autograph . Whatever one may say about Dick Spring , he is not afraid to be challenged about his four years in government ('1169...' Comment -...providing he has a 'handler' present to pull him away to sign autographs..) .

On Water Rates , Dick said he would 'change the system' : one woman said her mother was stopped a pension because she 'had a few pounds from England' , while a second woman cannot get a medical card . Dick replied that he 'will see what we can do' . In reply to men out of work that he meets , he says that what is needed is a strong Labour Party but they seem unimpressed . One of them replied that he used vote Labour until Micko did the dirt on him. And so the travelling circus moves on.......
(MORE LATER).