Thursday, December 06, 2007




These two photographs show five of the thirteen items that will be given as prizes in a CABHAIR raffle , which will be held this coming weekend in a venue in Dublin . The other eight prizes consist of cash in an envelope , ranging from amounts of €200 to €20 . The tickets - all of which have already been sold - cost €2 each.

But don't fret! You can still help CABHAIR - have a look here and here and , if you have a few quid and the time to follow-up either(or both!) of those two suggestions, please do so :CABHAIR does its best , all year round, to assist with the financial problems faced by the families of those imprisoned as a direct result of the political situation on this island and , as to be expected , those financial problems increase at this time of year.

Your assistance would be greatly appreciated,
Thanks!
Sharon.

POST SCRIPT : Sincere best of luck to Michael on his endeavours (which , incidentally , should be shared by all those who are opposed to the political criminality practised by these thugs) .
His website has been off-line recently and , if it's still unobtainable from the above link , you can get a brief substance of his approach here. And you can get the reasons why his idea should be supported here, here and here.
We hope the day is the success it deserves to be!






Wednesday, December 05, 2007



DERRY - A STRATEGY OF NEGLECT.......

" I need hardly point out to you that in Derry , unless something is done now , it is only a matter of time until Derry passes into the hands of the Nationalist and Sinn Fein parties for all time . On the other hand , if proper steps are taken now , I believe Derry can be saved for years to come... " - [British] 'Sir' Dawson Bates to [British] 'Lord' Craigavon , 1934 .
From 'IRIS' magazine , July 1983.

Westminster policy produced the major regional , economic and social disparities that exist today along the line running East and West of the River Bann . Protestant allegiance was maintained in these areas by a system of political and economic patronage which ensured that Protestant employers gave first preference to Protestants in both public sector and private employment .

In 1962 , 97-per-cent of all government-sponsored industrial investment was restricted to the greater Belfast area : by 1964 , of 111 advance factories sponsored by the Stormont administratiion only 16 were located West of the Bann : by 1968 , of 240 government-sponsored firms employing 60,000 , only 10-per-cent were employed West of the Bann .

Not until 1965-69 were any commercial land holdings purchased West of the Bann by the Stormont administration for industrial investment . These disparities in industrial location survive to this day . The 'Matthew Plan' of 1963 , which limited the further expansion for Belfast , totally ignored Derry's potential as the North's second largest city and opted instead for the creation of a new town , 'Craigavon', securely within the unionist heartland . An 'economic development' plan was drawn-up to re-inforce the 'Matthew Plan'.......
(MORE LATER).






TOXIC WASTE IN KILL,COUNTY KILDARE .......
From 'The Phoenix' magazine , May 1983.

In other words , by the time the first inspection was made , an unknown quantity of possibly the most dangerous materials in the country had been deposited illegally in a manner and mixture unknown . In many other countries such developments have provoked major scandals but , in this case , Willie O'Brien , a disposer of industrial waste who is the principal depositor at the site , has not even been asked to give an explanation of what his company dumped , when , and in what quantities !

The scandal was exposed in the first instance when local residents around the site and down the hill almost a mile away in Kill village began to complain of a nauseating smell emanating from the dump . The residents also noticed a steadily increasing traffic of O'Brien's trucks up to the pit . It is thought that the land owner , Patrick Gavin , has , in fact , leased the whole quarry to Willie O'Brien for his disposal operation .

The late night rumbling of heavy trucks through the village and up the hill to the dump noticeably increased during the row at the Raybestos Manhattan dump in Ringaskiddy ,Cork, in 1979 , when residents there opposed the dumping of asbestos waste . Willie O'Brien was also the contractor for the Abbeyleix-based Stonearch Ltd plant , the effluent from which wiped out all life - fish , birds , rats and water hens - in a ten-mile stretch of the River Credogue near Mitchellstown , Cork , in June 1980 . Where the highly lethal effluent , identified as a derivative of chromium, has been dumped since then , is not known.......
(MORE LATER).






REPUBLICAN MOURNERS DEFEAT RUC.......
Between December 1983 and May 1987 , over 25 republican or nationalist funerals were systematically attacked by the RUC as a matter of deliberate British policy . The objective was to drive mourners off the streets so that later Britain could claim dwindling support for republicanism as 'evidenced' by the small numbers attending IRA funerals . As Jane Plunkett reports , the opposite happened . More and more people came out to defend the remains of republican dead , the RUC were exposed as being as brutal and sectarian as ever , and these two factors , combined with damaging international news coverage , eventually forced the British government to reverse its policy of attacking republican funerals .
From 'IRIS' magazine , October 1987.

Condemning the British attack on the funeral of INLA Volunteer Joseph Craven, A Belfast Provisional Sinn Fein spokesperson observed : " If the (P)IRA were to attempt to remove the cap and gloves or the Union Jack flag from an RUC man's coffin , or were to stop and harass mourners , or were to drown out graveside prayers and the oration , they would be condemned by every clergyman and politician in Ireland . (Provisional) Sinn Fein is attacked for refusing to be hypocrites like these others , who all support the violence of the State , the violence of the SAS and the corrupt laws of a colonial power. " ('1169...' Comment : it should be noted that now Mr Adams and Company have no problem in playing their part in that 'State' , will never again suffer at the hands of the SAS [as they are no longer a military or political threat to that State] and have no issue anymore in assisting 'the corrupt laws of a colonial power' . The Provos are , in effect , Free State and British 'rebel pets' .)

Two months later , on February 24th , 1984 , the RUC were again out in force harassing mourners , this time at the funerals of (P)IRA Volunteers Henry Hogan and Declan Martin. Long before dawn , hundreds of RUC members saturated the small North Antrim village of Dunloy and at one point tried to force their way into the Hogan house , but mourners remained calm and dignified and linked arms to form a three-deep human barricade , preventing any RUC attempt to remove the Tricolour.

Once again , the RUC intruded even into the churchyard , but withdrew after Volunteer Henry Hogan's family declared that they would not leave the chapel until the RUC left its grounds . Again the silence was deafening - Irish politicians and church leaders were silent , a 'pattern' they were to keep for the next three years : those who claimed to be the moral and spiritual leaders of the country failed to speak out , and thus allowed the RUC attacks to continue , and stayed silent as they witnessed the injuries and the sufferings of bereaved relatives and friends.......
(MORE LATER).







Tuesday, December 04, 2007


Almost 12 months since it was 'only' thirty years.....

(UPDATE : this swim now has its own 'Jewellery Range'! And , as with all top-class pieces of jewellery , it has a 'history' attached to it...)

It began - properly structured and organised - in 1976 ,as a 'fundraiser with a difference' combined with the need to gain extra publicity for a situation which was then - as now - making world headlines . Those that sat down together in early September 1976 to tighten-up the then 'hit-and-miss' affair were a dedicated team who fully understood that to fail in their business would not only bring derision on them and the issue they sought to highlight , but would give their enemy a publicity coup which they would exploit to the fullest extent . With that in mind , the team persevered - favours were called-in , guarantees were secured , provisions obtained and word dispatched to like-minded individuals in the near-locale . At the appointed time on the agreed day - 12 Noon , Christmas Day 1976 - a soon-to-be 31-years-young event was 'born'.......
The CABHAIR Christmas Day Swim is , thankfully , still going strong and will be , as mentioned , 31-years-young on December 25th next!
Photographs of last years event can be viewed here and , if you can't make it to the actual swim itself , you might consider posting a donation to the following address :
CABHAIR
Irish Republican Prisoners Dependants Fund
223 Parnell Street,
Dublin 1.
Ireland.

Thank You,
Go Raibh Maith Agat,

Sharon.






Monday, December 03, 2007



DERRY - A STRATEGY OF NEGLECT.

" I need hardly point out to you that in Derry , unless something is done now , it is only a matter of time until Derry passes into the hands of the Nationalist and Sinn Fein parties for all time . On the other hand , if proper steps are taken now , I believe Derry can be saved for years to come... " - [British] 'Sir' Dawson Bates to [British] 'Lord' Craigavon , 1934 .
From 'IRIS' magazine , July 1983.

Those members of the 'Londonderry branch of the SDLP' whose abstention on the issue last April led to the defeat of a motion to change the city's 'official' name back to 'Derry' , can justly be said to have done their level best to preserve the remnants of 'Sir'Dawson Bates' loyalist preserve for his equally bigoted unionist successors .

Hailed as the 'Maiden City', the undefiled sanctuary of loyalist supremacy , Derry has exercised a strong symbolic influence in the Orange psyche over the centuries and , after partition , the swift steps taken by unionists - the abolition of proportional representation , the restriction of the franchise , the gerrymandering of electoral boundaries , discrimination in jobs and housing , and of course as always the armed presence of the RUC and 'B'Specials - did indeed serve to 'secure' Derry for 'years to come' .

But the consequences of a history of poverty and neglect imposed on the city in the interests of minority 'rule' are still being felt . In order to secure and maintain not only Derry but the entire Stormont state , systematically pursued policies of economic neglect and discrimination in employment were followed in areas where the nationalist population constituted a majority .......
(MORE LATER).





TOXIC WASTE IN KILL,COUNTY KILDARE .......
From 'The Phoenix' magazine , May 1983.

Lechate containing toxins had flowed from the dump and settled in surrounding ponds in the huge quarry , resulting in dangerous concentrations of rain-water and pollutants . One well on the site , formerly used by Patrick Gavin's parents , was dangerously polluted , so his parents moved out . Boulder-clay beneath the site has prevented any substantial seepage of toxic substances into the ground water and the principle water table .

Instead , the waste has moved on top of this impermeable lair of boulder-clay and settled in the ponds , which have grown in size and have gradually 'moved' to the edges of the site . That , at least , is how the experts from An Foras saw it after surveying the site for two years since 1980 . The Council engineer has his people out testing the water in the nearby wells and rivers for evidence of the pollution spreading . The judge , on hearing this pretty frightening account , took the proper course and closed the pit , remarking in passing that Mr Gavin had neither a permit nor planning permission for this dirty and dangerous business .

Costs to the princely tune of £500 were awarded against Patrick Gavin and there the matter lies . But what was not disclosed was the nature of the dangerous waste dumped over the years because it was only in 1980 that investigations began into the site . The County Council and An Foras acknowledge that there could be many more highly toxic materials in the dump and that they could have been deposited there at any time since 1964 . It could be years before this material shows itself , if it has not already seeped into the ground or surface waters.......
(MORE LATER).






REPUBLICAN MOURNERS DEFEAT RUC.......
Between December 1983 and May 1987 , over 25 republican or nationalist funerals were systematically attacked by the RUC as a matter of deliberate British policy . The objective was to drive mourners off the streets so that later Britain could claim dwindling support for republicanism as 'evidenced' by the small numbers attending IRA funerals . As Jane Plunkett reports , the opposite happened . More and more people came out to defend the remains of republican dead , the RUC were exposed as being as brutal and sectarian as ever , and these two factors , combined with damaging international news coverage , eventually forced the British government to reverse its policy of attacking republican funerals .
From 'IRIS' magazine , October 1987.

On December 6 , 1983 , the Tricolour-draped coffin of PIRA Volunteer Colm McGirr was carried past Coalisland RUC Barracks without interference . Ten uniformed PIRA Volunteers flanked the hearse for part of the route and they fired a final salute at the graves of Colm McGirr and his comrade Volunteer Brian Campbell. So much for recent suggestions by Jack Hermon and British Direct-Ruler Tom King that the RUC are under some absolute obligation to prevent any formal PIRA presence .

The RUC moved cautiously to implement the new strategy : just two days after the funerals of Colm McGirr and Brian Campbell , they tried out the new policy on a funeral that they knew was likely to be small - that of INLA Volunteer Joseph Craven, which took place from the isolated and tiny nationalist ghetto of Bawnmore. During a pre-planned incursion by scores of RUC men , including members of the infamous Divisional Mobile Support Units, and British soldiers from three different regiments , an RUC inspector snatched the Volunteer's black beret and gloves from his tricolour-draped coffin and several mourners were injured attempting to defend the coffin . Two other mourners were arrested and the Volunteer's mother collapsed .

There was no condemnation from the Free State establishment , either of the attack itself or of the presence of armed RUC men within the grounds of the local St Mary's Chapel during Requiem Mass.......
(MORE LATER).







Saturday, December 01, 2007

(UPDATE : A BRIEF REPORT AND SOME PHOTOGRAPHS OF TODAYS ANTI-CENSORSHIP PICKET ON RTÉ CAN BE VIEWED HERE).
Anti-censorship picket on RTE Studios in Dublin, Saturday December 1st , 2007 , from 12 Noon to 1.30pm .

As a publicly-funded institution , RTE leaves a lot to be desired : the coverage it provides could be said to be based on the political 'prevailing winds' of the day . It has consistently and spectacularly failed to either report on what it apparently views as 'delicate' issues or will cover same in a light which is favourable to its own administration and the administration-of-the-day in Leinster House .
Regardless of the importance of the issue - whether it concerns the political situation in the north-east of this isle, the 'Shell To Sea' issue or the State Health Service
(or lack of same) , RTE , it seems , will do its utmost to spare the blushes of its political colleagues and part-paymasters in Kildare Street .
With this in mind , an anti-censorship picket will be placed on the RTE Studios in Donnybrook , Dublin , on Saturday 1st December 2007 , between the hours of 12 Noon and 1.30pm . If you can't make it on the day , check-back here on this blog on the following day where we will publish a piece on how the picket went . Just don't expect it to be covered on RTE.....






Friday, November 30, 2007



REPUBLICAN MARTYRS OF 1957.......
From 'The United Irishman' newspaper, January 1958 .

PATRICK PARLE came from Wexford Town , from where one of his friends had shown the Republican Movement a certificate of voluntary blood donation which stated : " This certificate is granted in recognition of the fact that Patrick Parle gave blood voluntarily for the benefit of others..." . That friend had added his own post script to the certificate - "...Patrick Parle gave the last drops of his blood voluntarily for the benefit of others on November 11 , 1957 , at Edentubber..."

MICHAEL WATTERS from County Louth added his blood too , to all the blood that has been spilled in Ireland so that we would be one nation and one people and one country with full control over our own affairs . He rests in the Republican Plot , Dundalk , beside his young comrades Paul Smith and Oliver Craven .

The greatest monument we can build to those seven martyrs is a free Irish Republic . The way we do it is by combining the strength of all our people to defeat an enemy with the resources of an Empire behind him and agencies of terror at his beck and call . Be proud of the risen nation and of the men and women who died for it !

[END of ' REPUBLICAN MARTYRS OF 1957']
(Next : ' Derry - A Strategy Of Neglect' , from 1983)





TOXIC WASTE IN KILL,COUNTY KILDARE .
From 'The Phoenix' magazine , May 1983.

Most of Ireland's toxic waste has been dumped into a huge quarry near Kill , County Kildare. The place is known as 'Gavins Quarry' and it covers an area of about ten acres not far off the Nass dual carriageway . The principal depositor at this site has been Willie O' Brien , who is probably the largest disposer of industrial waste in the country .

Nobody knows for certain what toxic materials have been dumped here over the past fifteen years , but they do know that Willie O' Brien has been disposing of most of the toxic effluent from the principal chemical manufacturers in Ireland . Now , local residents are beginning to worry about the danger of living in the lee of this huge depository of poison . In March 1983 , after two years of court proceedings , Kildare County Council finally achieved the closure of the dump at Gavin's Quarry , Arthurstown , Kill , when a Patrick Gavin lost his appeal against a previous court order to close the pit .

The court heard the details of a report commissioned by the County Council from An Foras Forbartha which disclosed that traces of highly toxic chromium , cyanide and other heavy metals were found on the site . Properties up to a half-mile from the core of the pit were affected by serious pollution . Any further dumping of any kind would endanger local water supplies and rivers as the dump at this stage was full , the court was told.......
(MORE LATER).





REPUBLICAN MOURNERS DEFEAT RUC.......
Between December 1983 and May 1987 , over 25 republican or nationalist funerals were systematically attacked by the RUC as a matter of deliberate British policy . The objective was to drive mourners off the streets so that later Britain could claim dwindling support for republicanism as 'evidenced' by the small numbers attending IRA funerals . As Jane Plunkett reports , the opposite happened . More and more people came out to defend the remains of republican dead , the RUC were exposed as being as brutal and sectarian as ever , and these two factors , combined with damaging international news coverage , eventually forced the British government to reverse its policy of attacking republican funerals .
From 'IRIS' magazine , October 1987.

The British government desperately wanted to stamp their 'authority' on nationalist areas , to make nationalists feel powerless against the might of the imperial state and thus to demoralise the struggle . That strategy was also to result in the murderous attack on the 1984 internment march , when John Downes was killed by a plastic bullet , in unprecedented heavy RUC shows of strength at recent Bloody Sunday commemorations in Derry and in restrictions , via the new Public Order Order, on rights to protest .

It had its counterpart too in the now-discredited use of paid-perjurers which aimed to demoralise nationalists by the de facto reintroduction of internment without trial and by the spreading of 'black propaganda' about the PIRA . So , in accordance with the new British strategy , there began to be a change in the situation which had held from the early 1970's , whereby the right of the bereaved , even in war , to bury their dead with dignity , was recognised by the PIRA and , on the whole , by the crown forces .

As late as November 1982 , at the funerals in Lurgan of PIRA Volunteers Gervase McKerr , Sean Burns and Eugene Toman, the RUC were nowhere in sight as a ten-member PIRA Colour Party in battledress flanked their comrades' coffins , or later when a Volunteer fired a single shot in tribute . That funeral service passed off peacefully and with dignity , as did a Republican funeral a little over one year later which passed an RUC Barracks with no attempted interference from those inside the structure.......
(MORE LATER).







Thursday, November 29, 2007

Anti-censorship picket on RTE Studios in Dublin, Saturday December 1st , 2007 , from 12 Noon to 1.30pm .

As a publicly-funded institution , RTE leaves a lot to be desired : the coverage it provides could be said to be based on the political 'prevailing winds' of the day . It has consistently and spectacularly failed to either report on what it apparently views as 'delicate' issues or will cover same in a light which is favourable to its own administration and the administration-of-the-day in Leinster House .
Regardless of the importance of the issue - whether it concerns the political situation in the north-east of this isle, the 'Shell To Sea' issue or the State Health Service
(or lack of same) , RTE , it seems , will do its utmost to spare the blushes of its political colleagues and part-paymasters in Kildare Street .
With this in mind , an anti-censorship picket will be placed on the RTE Studios in Donnybrook , Dublin , on Saturday 1st December 2007 , between the hours of 12 Noon and 1.30pm . If you can't make it on the day , check-back here on this blog on the following day where we will publish a piece on how the picket went . Just don't expect it to be covered on RTE.....






Wednesday, November 28, 2007



REPUBLICAN MARTYRS OF 1957.......
From 'The United Irishman' newspaper, January 1958 .

PAUL SMITH was from Bessbrook , County Armagh , and he knew that force of British arms have kept our country divided and unfree . He knew that only by force of Irish arms could Ireland be restored to her rightful owners , the Irish people . He died at Edentubber on November 11 , 1957 .

OLIVER CRAVEN was from Newry , County Down and , out of his own experience , he knew that by force of arms the usurper maintains his rule in our land and that there was no other way to win independence for our nation . He gave his life at Edentubber on November 11 , 1957 .

GEORGE KEEGAN was from Enniscorthy , County Wexford . He followed the path his father had trod 40 years before him , and he followed it through all the way to his death at lonely Edentubber , overlooking the Gap of the North on November 11 , 1957 . He died for the Republican faith which once united Wexford and the North in the days of William Orr and Fr. John Murphy.......
(MORE LATER).





KING OF THE YUPPIE HEARTLAND....... !

Dessie O'Malley would expect to draw his support almost exclusively from middle-class areas , but if he is to succeed in getting the twenty seats he hopes for that support base would also have to include working-class areas , especially in Dublin . On the evidence of one day spent with PD leader O'Malley ,that working-class support is unlikely to be forthcoming.
From 'IN DUBLIN' ELECTION SPECIAL , 1987.
By Derek Dunne.

In Kilbarrack , Dublin , Dessie delivers himself , in response to a question , of the opinion that he is against capital punishment . PD party workers are good on the ground here , and a good crowd is out and about . Dessie tells all that coalition is now a possibility , and states that whether the PD's enter into such an arrangement or not "will depend..." , but he doesn't say on what it will 'depend' .

A woman replies that she will not vote for him on that 'depend' answer , while another voter did not like the PD policies on privatisation . And so on it goes . As he prepares for his next stop , Dessie says - once more - that if he was doing the whole election again , he would run more candidates .
[END of 'KING OF THE YUPPIE HEARTLAND']
(Next : 'TOXIC WASTE IN KILL , COUNTY KILDARE' - from 1983)




REPUBLICAN MOURNERS DEFEAT RUC.......
Between December 1983 and May 1987 , over 25 republican or nationalist funerals were systematically attacked by the RUC as a matter of deliberate British policy . The objective was to drive mourners off the streets so that later Britain could claim dwindling support for republicanism as 'evidenced' by the small numbers attending IRA funerals . As Jane Plunkett reports , the opposite happened . More and more people came out to defend the remains of republican dead , the RUC were exposed as being as brutal and sectarian as ever , and these two factors , combined with damaging international news coverage , eventually forced the British government to reverse its policy of attacking republican funerals .
From 'IRIS' magazine , October 1987.

For many nationalists , the RUC's use of plastic bullets between the years 1983 and 1986 was reminiscent of the way they were used during the 1981 hunger-strike* (* 29,665 fired) , when they were fired at the heads of people taking part in street-corner Rosary groups , at young children such as Julie Livingstone and Carol-Ann Kelly, and at mourners at the funeral of Joe McDonnell.

The RUC's aim at that time was to terrorise protestors off the streets and crush nationalist resistance . That was to be their futile aim , too , when attacking republican funerals .

The British government decided to systematically attack republican funerals as a direct response to the upsurge of nationalist consciousness which took place through the hunger-strike and which was expressed in October 1982 in the success of five Sinn Fein candidates in the Assembly elections. In June 1983 , Gerry Adams was elected MP for West Belfast , the first republican* ever to hold that 'honour'...... ( * '1169...'Comment - ....which philosophy he abandoned in 1986.)
(MORE LATER).







Tuesday, November 27, 2007

WHERE DOES THE TIME GO....?

On A Walk Through Rebel Dublin with the Patriot and Heroine Anne Devlin and Charles Stewart Parnell ,
Charlie Kerins , Charlotte Despard, and Che Guevara , we talked ,with A Servant of the Queen , about A Compact History of Ireland .

It was a Courious Journey, this Oral History of Ireland’s Unfinished Revolution and many of the Milestones in Irish History were discussed , as we passed through Dublin Tenement Life . We had No Faith in the System , so we agreed on a Secret Map of Ireland but promised that , despite the Partition of Ireland and all of the ensuing Raids and Rallies , we would not strive for same On Another Man’s Wound....
.....see what else is available here!
Finally - in answer to the question asked at the top of this post -
keep an account of next years time with one of these -
(Front[right] and back of the RSF 2008 Calendar)
- a 2008 Republican calendar,available from here for a fiver (Euro or Sterling) !
Calendars, books, pamphlets, CD's, tapes, T-Shirts etc - all of a Republican 'flavour' - make great 'stocking fillers' and , indeed , make great presents all year round. Visit the Dublin shop at 223 Parnell Street ('phone 01-8729747) or the Belfast shop at 229 Falls Road ('phone 90319004) to make your choice .
Thanks !
Sharon.






Monday, November 26, 2007



REPUBLICAN MARTYRS OF 1957.......
From 'The United Irishman' newspaper, January 1958 .

Sean Sabhat was from Limerick . One of the last things he wrote before going north to join his fellow-countrymen in the battle for national liberation was that " ...the time for foolish talk is past . " He died manning a machine-gun at Brookeborough in Occupied Ireland some weeks later , on January 1,1957 .

Feargal Ó hAnnluain was from Monaghan . He too died at Brookeborough in County Fermanagh (where the majority of the people want an Ireland united and free) on New Year's Day , 1957 .

(MORE LATER).





KING OF THE YUPPIE HEARTLAND....... !

Dessie O'Malley would expect to draw his support almost exclusively from middle-class areas , but if he is to succeed in getting the twenty seats he hopes for that support base would also have to include working-class areas , especially in Dublin . On the evidence of one day spent with PD leader O'Malley ,that working-class support is unlikely to be forthcoming.
From 'IN DUBLIN' ELECTION SPECIAL , 1987.
By Derek Dunne.

One of the last stops of the day is at a bakery where there are 500 workers : Mr O' Malley , however , does not meet them . Instead , he goes up to the office and is introduced to management . There are twenty-four people in the room - journalists , 'handlers' , hangers-on , 'suits' . But there is an enbarrassed silence surrounding the visit , with darting looks of ' What is he doing here..?'

At around 5.30pm , Dessie is reported as having gone home 'for a bit' . The remainder of the PD entourage is dropped off at the Marino Hotel , where the party itself was founded . The hotel boasts , amongst other things , an indoor swimming pool . A 'High Tea' is laid-on for the PD people , and it is during this that Dessie walks in - he 'has words' with one of his candidates over some personal differences , and the shouting can be heard far and wide . When he comes back to the table he looks very angry .

The working-class area of Kilbarrack is next on the agenda.......

(MORE LATER).






REPUBLICAN MOURNERS DEFEAT RUC.......
Between December 1983 and May 1987 , over 25 republican or nationalist funerals were systematically attacked by the RUC as a matter of deliberate British policy . The objective was to drive mourners off the streets so that later Britain could claim dwindling support for republicanism as 'evidenced' by the small numbers attending IRA funerals . As Jane Plunkett reports , the opposite happened . More and more people came out to defend the remains of republican dead , the RUC were exposed as being as brutal and sectarian as ever , and these two factors , combined with damaging international news coverage , eventually forced the British government to reverse its policy of attacking republican funerals .
From 'IRIS' magazine , October 1987.

Funerals became massive , intimidatory displays of British military might , with hundreds of heavily armed , riot-clad RUC men, two or more British Army helicopters and scores of armoured Land Rovers. During the burial of Volunteers Charlie Breslin and Michael and David Devine, Strabane resembled nothing so much as Red Square on May Day - except that this was a funeral . Journalists counted at least 130 RUC Land Rovers parading the streets , sent in from as far afield as Belfast .

Significantly , Finbarr McKenna's funeral was by no means the first at which plastic bullets were used . Those bullets , fired by the RUC during the funeral of Ciaran Fleming in December 1984 inflicted serious head injuries on two people , one of them a BBC Radio Foyle journalist .

In three years of attacks on funerals , many scores of nationalists have been injured by RUC batons , plastic bullets or jackboots . And the sight of scores of RUC men , plastic-bullet guns held at the ready , has been an ever-present threat.......
(MORE LATER).







Saturday, November 24, 2007

WHERE DOES THE TIME GO....?

On A Walk Through Rebel Dublin with the Patriot and Heroine Anne Devlin and Charles Stewart Parnell ,
Charlie Kerins , Charlotte Despard, and Che Guevara , we talked ,with A Servant of the Queen , about A Compact History of Ireland .

It was a Courious Journey, this Oral History of Ireland’s Unfinished Revolution and many of the Milestones in Irish History were discussed , as we passed through Dublin Tenement Life . We had No Faith in the System , so we agreed on a Secret Map of Ireland but promised that , despite the Partition of Ireland and all of the ensuing Raids and Rallies , we would not strive for same On Another Man’s Wound....
.....see what else is available here!
Finally - in answer to the question asked at the top of this post -
keep an account of next years time with one of these -

- a 2008 Republican calendar,available from here for a fiver (Euro or Sterling) !
Calendars, books, pamphlets, CD's, tapes, T-Shirts etc - all of a Republican 'flavour' - make great 'stocking fillers' and , indeed , make great presents all year round. Visit the Dublin shop at 223 Parnell Street ('phone 01-8729747) or the Belfast shop at 229 Falls Road ('phone 90319004) to make your choice .
Thanks !
Sharon.






Friday, November 23, 2007



REPUBLICAN MARTYRS OF 1957.
From 'The United Irishman' newspaper, January 1958 .

They gave their lives for you and me and the generations yet unborn . May they be remembered forever -


SEÁN SABHAT of Limerick City . Gave his life for Ireland on January 1 , 1957 .
PATRICK PARLE of Wexford Town . Gave his life for Ireland on November 11 , 1957 .
GEORGE KEEGAN of Enniscorthy , County Wexford . He gave his life for Ireland on November 11 , 1957 .
PAUL SMITH of Bessbrook , County Armagh . He gave his life for Ireland on November 11 , 1957 .
MICHAEL WATTERS of Edentubber , County Louth . He gave his life for Ireland on November 11 , 1957 .
OLIVER CRAVEN of Newry , County Down . He gave his life for Ireland on November 11 , 1957 .
FEARGAL Ó hANNLUAIN of Monaghan Town . Gave his life for Ireland on January 1 , 1957 .

These are the men who gave their lives for freedom in Ireland in 1957 , one-hundred-and-sixty-seven years after the first Irish Republican martyr , William Orr, was hanged for the 'crime' of wanting his country separated from Britain .

Except for Michael Watters , who was 55 years of age , the rest were young men under 30 . Paul Smith was only 19 , Oliver Craven was 19 , Feargal Ó hAnnluain was 20 , Patrick Parle was 26 , George Keegan was 27 and Sean Sabhat was 28.......
(MORE LATER).






KING OF THE YUPPIE HEARTLAND....... !

Dessie O'Malley would expect to draw his support almost exclusively from middle-class areas , but if he is to succeed in getting the twenty seats he hopes for that support base would also have to include working-class areas , especially in Dublin . On the evidence of one day spent with PD leader O'Malley ,that working-class support is unlikely to be forthcoming.
From 'IN DUBLIN' ELECTION SPECIAL , 1987.
By Derek Dunne.

Back on the election bus , Dessie explains that he was once told never to say a 'billion' when he was appearing on television - that it is better to say 'one-thousand-million' , rather than a 'billion' , because "people have no understanding of that kind of money ."

The next stop are the Sisters Of Charity old folks home in Dublin Four : Dessie is shown around by a nun and looks clearly out of place and uncomfortable , especially when a nun takes him into a corner for a private talk . But there are at least one-hundred votes and he thinks he might swing them . " I want to talk to you very privately over here..." , says the nun , and Dessie spends at least five minutes in the corner with her .

One handler refers to the whole idea of being among the nuns as 'a good move' . By now , Dessie has tired of the bus and prefers to take the car . Michael McDowell has been in the crowd surrounding O' Malley , and is introduced to all not as being a member of the PD's , but as being 'belonging to Dessie O' Malley's party..'.......
(MORE LATER).





REPUBLICAN MOURNERS DEFEAT RUC.......
Between December 1983 and May 1987 , over 25 republican or nationalist funerals were systematically attacked by the RUC as a matter of deliberate British policy . The objective was to drive mourners off the streets so that later Britain could claim dwindling support for republicanism as 'evidenced' by the small numbers attending IRA funerals . As Jane Plunkett reports , the opposite happened . More and more people came out to defend the remains of republican dead , the RUC were exposed as being as brutal and sectarian as ever , and these two factors , combined with damaging international news coverage , eventually forced the British government to reverse its policy of attacking republican funerals .
From 'IRIS' magazine , October 1987.

RUC Chief John Hermon claims that the RUC are present at republican funerals to prevent any appearance by a (P)IRA firing party, but the RUC were aware , as everyone was aware , that the (P)IRA had already paid their last respects to their fallen comrade with a volley of shots the previous Sunday , and had made it clear that they would be playing no formal part in the funeral .

And John Hermon's excuse cut no ice with those who recalled that the RUC had already attacked several other republican funerals on the same pretext , again though they were well aware that (P)IRA firing parties had already paid their last tribute .

Since December 1983 , a period of little more than three years , more than a score of republican or nationalist funerals had been attacked as a matter of British policy : sometimes the RUC's pretext was to demand the removal of beret and gloves from the coffin or , when there was no beret , the Tricolour , but they also attacked private funerals , such as that of Volunteer Jim McKernan (in September 1986) , where no flag was on display . The RUC attacked the funerals not just of Volunteers who died on active service but also those of republican veterans . On rare occasions when the RUC gave undertakings to bereaved families that they would allow a dignified burial , they broke those undertakings.......
(MORE LATER).







Thursday, November 22, 2007

Anti-censorship picket on RTE Studios in Dublin, Saturday December 1st , 2007 , from 12 Noon to 1.30pm .

As a publicly-funded institution , RTE leaves a lot to be desired : the coverage it provides could be said to be based on the political 'prevailing winds' of the day . It has consistently and spectacularly failed to either report on what it apparently views as 'delicate' issues or will cover same in a light which is favourable to its own administration and the administration-of-the-day in Leinster House .
Regardless of the importance of the issue - whether it concerns the political situation in the north-east of this isle, the 'Shell To Sea' issue or the State Health Service
(or lack of same) , RTE , it seems , will do its utmost to spare the blushes of its political colleagues and part-paymasters in Kildare Street .
With this in mind , an anti-censorship picket will be placed on the RTE Studios in Donnybrook , Dublin , on Saturday 1st December 2007 , between the hours of 12 Noon and 1.30pm . If you can't make it on the day , check-back here on this blog on the following day where we will publish a piece on how the picket went . Just don't expect it to be covered on RTE.....



Almost 12 months since it was 'only' thirty years.....

It began - properly structured and organised - in 1976 ,as a 'fundraiser with a difference' combined with the need to gain extra publicity for a situation which was then - as now - making world headlines . Those that sat down together in early September 1976 to tighten-up the then 'hit-and-miss' affair were a dedicated team who fully understood that to fail in their business would not only bring derision on them and the issue they sought to highlight , but would give their enemy a publicity coup which they would exploit to the fullest extent . With that in mind , the team persevered - favours were called-in , guarantees were secured , provisions obtained and word dispatched to like-minded individuals in the near-locale . At the appointed time on the agreed day - 12 Noon , Christmas Day 1976 - a soon-to-be 31-years-young event was 'born'.......
The CABHAIR Christmas Day Swim is , thankfully , still going strong and will be , as mentioned , 31-years-young on December 25th next!
Photographs of last years event can be viewed here and , if you can't make it to the actual swim itself , you might consider posting a donation to the following address :
CABHAIR
Irish Republican Prisoners Dependants Fund
223 Parnell Street,
Dublin 1.
Ireland.

Thank You,
Go Raibh Maith Agat,

Sharon.






Wednesday, November 21, 2007

THE COALISLAND STORY : British Torture In Ireland.......
From 'The United Irishman' newspaper, January 1958 .

The London 'Observer' newspaper on December 15 , 1957 , carried an article on brain-washing in which this statement appeared : " The real tortures are isolation and solitary confinement , prolonged interrogation , humiliation..." Now read the story of the Coalisland youths again and see if the description fits .

Britain may have gotten away with torture in Cyprus and other places , but she won't get away with it in Ireland . This isn't Kenya . There are Irish exiles with powerful voices in every corner of the globe and they will see to it that this story is told in full . The Irish people at home will not stand for it either . Our job now is to expose British atrocities in Ireland and tell the world the full story .

[END of 'THE COALISLAND STORY : British Torture In Ireland']
(Next : 'Republican Martyrs of 1957' - from the same source)




KING OF THE YUPPIE HEARTLAND....... !

Dessie O'Malley would expect to draw his support almost exclusively from middle-class areas , but if he is to succeed in getting the twenty seats he hopes for that support base would also have to include working-class areas , especially in Dublin . On the evidence of one day spent with PD leader O'Malley ,that working-class support is unlikely to be forthcoming.
From 'IN DUBLIN' ELECTION SPECIAL , 1987.
By Derek Dunne.

RTE interview Dessie O' Malley walking around ; he now believes that the PD's can get more than twenty seats . One on-looker remarks that he has his work cut out for himself to get that number of seats . Dessie shakes hands with a travelling woman who is standing minding her own business . " Would ya dance with that woman...? " , asks a passing cyclist , which prompts Dessie's handlers to make snide remarks and jokes about the woman's appearance . Of such are the PD's made.

There are ten minutes to spare now , and Dessie is clearly not too enthusiastic about getting on the bus again . It is also clear that he is getting fed up , but they eventually move off . In Ranelagh , the PD's are in the heart of 'Yuppieland' : there are enough middle-class voters here who know the local candidate Michael McDowell and who will vote for him , although it is unlikely that he will be elected.

Dessie , it emerges , believes in diagnostic medicine more than most - he believes that you can have better medical services with less money being involved. One journalist remarks that Dessie O Malley sounds exactly like Margaret Thatcher before she came to power in Britain - that she rose on a middle class vote and proceeded to screw everyone on social welfare . Dessie looks to be heading the same way , and he is the 'Man Of The Moment' . Then he made a comment about people's lack of understanding where money is concerned.......
(MORE LATER).





REPUBLICAN MOURNERS DEFEAT RUC.
Between December 1983 and May 1987 , over 25 republican or nationalist funerals were systematically attacked by the RUC as a matter of deliberate British policy . The objective was to drive mourners off the streets so that later Britain could claim dwindling support for republicanism as 'evidenced' by the small numbers attending IRA funerals . As Jane Plunkett reports , the opposite happened . More and more people came out to defend the remains of republican dead , the RUC were exposed as being as brutal and sectarian as ever , and these two factors , combined with damaging international news coverage , eventually forced the British government to reverse its policy of attacking republican funerals .
From 'IRIS' magazine , October 1987.

The May 1987 attack by the RUC on the funeral of (P)IRA Volunteer Finbarr McKenna was the pre-planned and bloody culmination of a strategy launched by the British government over three years earlier . But , paradoxically , Finbarr McKenna's funeral also signalled that strategy's defeat .

Once again , thousands of mourners , and in particular a bereaved family , had shown to the world that - despite escalating repression - the determination of nationalists in the occupied Six Counties to bury their dead with honour and dignity was as strong as ever . On May 6th , 1987 , the world's TV cameras recorded scenes reminiscent of South Africa as steel-helmeted RUC men batoned and kicked peaceful mourners .

Outside the Royal Victoria Hospital, in full view of horrified staff , the RUC fired at least five plastic bullets at head height into the crowd , on the pretext of a few stones being thrown . Several people were carried into the hospital with blood streaming from head wounds : at least 19 people altogether received hospital treatment and one of them had his shoulder broken by one of the bullets . Many more were too afraid of RUC harassment to seek hospital treatment . Gerry Adams stated that the aim of the RUC attack was "...purely to terrorise the nationalist people off their own streets.." ('1169...' Comment : ....which is not the job of the 'PSNI' , of course..)
(MORE LATER).







Tuesday, November 20, 2007

Anti-censorship picket on RTE Studios in Dublin, Saturday December 1st , 2007 , from 12 Noon to 1.30pm .

As a publicly-funded institution , RTE leaves a lot to be desired : the coverage it provides could be said to be based on the political 'prevailing winds' of the day . It has consistently and spectacularly failed to either report on what it apparently views as 'delicate' issues or will cover same in a light which is favourable to its own administration and the administration-of-the-day in Leinster House .
Regardless of the importance of the issue - whether it concerns the political situation in the north-east of this isle, the 'Shell To Sea' issue or the State Health Service
(or lack of same) , RTE , it seems , will do its utmost to spare the blushes of its political colleagues and part-paymasters in Kildare Street .
With this in mind , an anti-censorship picket will be placed on the RTE Studios in Donnybrook , Dublin , on Saturday 1st December 2007 , between the hours of 12 Noon and 1.30pm . If you can't make it on the day , check-back here on this blog on the following day where we will publish a piece on how the picket went . Just don't expect it to be covered on RTE.....






Monday, November 19, 2007

THE COALISLAND STORY : British Torture In Ireland.......
From 'The United Irishman' newspaper, January 1958 .

A father and son arrested in Fermanagh within the past month were both brutally treated by the RUC : the father is now in the Omagh Mental Hospital . A youth arrested in Kilkeel , County Down , had to be shifted to a mental hospital after his release from the RUC . A noted brain specialist has testified to his condition .

James Donnelly , Leo McGarry , James Hackett , Paddy Timony and Denis Cassin , of Armagh City , who were arrested on December 7 , 1957 , were kept in tubs of cold water for four hours , were then taken out and , while still naked , had their feet stamped on and their bodies punched . Later they were beaten with rubber truncheons . These things are happening in Occupied Ireland . The Coalisland youths may be put in the dock any day now on capital charges but , as yet , they are held uncharged and untried .

In Fermanagh , youths arrested during the last 'round-up' are also uncharged and untried , but this has not prevented Stormont declaring that four of them will be charged and will receive stiff sentences . British 'justice' in Ireland now follows the rule - '...announce the sentence first and then charge and try them.. ' Willing stooges rejoicing in the name of 'judges' are ready to dispense the required sentence whenever called upon.......
(MORE LATER).





KING OF THE YUPPIE HEARTLAND....... !

Dessie O'Malley would expect to draw his support almost exclusively from middle-class areas , but if he is to succeed in getting the twenty seats he hopes for that support base would also have to include working-class areas , especially in Dublin . On the evidence of one day spent with PD leader O'Malley ,that working-class support is unlikely to be forthcoming.
From 'IN DUBLIN' ELECTION SPECIAL , 1987.
By Derek Dunne.

In the South Inner City of Dublin , about half-a-dozen anti- Section 31 protestors emerge as if from the woodwork : Dessie's handlers are panicked . One young protestor stands in the doorway in front of O' Malley demanding to know his view of Section 31 . The entire world and his wife knows Dessie's view on Section 31 . The handlers push Dessie forward , and another handler bursts his trousers when he tries to kick the young protestor who , eventually , is hoisted backwards to disappear from view . Dessie is shook by the affair . It is claimed on the news that he got his suit torn , even though there is no evidence of this . Not one protestor laid a hand on him - he was pushed only by his own people .

He goes on with the canvass : he enters a workshop where there are kids doing all sorts of 'wurk' , but none of them are old enough to vote . Still , it's a great photo opportunity . He moves on to the Winstanley Shoe Co-Op , where he declares that he is very much in favour of self help . He and his team go on what is known as a 'walkabout' in the factory - this is another opportunity for him to meet the people and impress them .

By now , the gardai are on the scene . Here and there people avoid Dessie . Women run into a shop away from him . The reception he gets is anything but friendly and the image of him going to meet the people with a garda escort hardly conforms to the image that the PD's would like to project . One of his handlers remarks ruefully - " People are turning their backs and walking away..." Dessie then goes off to lunch with a priest from the locality , never one to forget the power of prayer . When he emerges , it's with hairbrush in hand , which he sneaks to a handler before anyone can get a photo of it . Another photo opportunity missed ! One woman wishes him the best of luck . The handlers are constantly pushing the other PD candidates into the picture line-up so that they will get their faces across . Most of them are completely unknown.......
(MORE LATER).



THE EAMON BYRNE CASE .......
Eamon Byrne , a 19-year-old Dubliner , was shot dead by a garda detective during an attempted robbery at the B+I terminal in November 1982 . For his family , obtaining justice , or simply the truth , could be a long and expensive process.
From 'The Phoenix' magazine , July 1983 .

The outcome of the inquest on Eamon Byrne hardly came as a surprise . Five years ago , an inquest on 16-year-old Aidan White , who died of meningitis after being illegally detained in garda custody for nearly a week , absolved the garda officers concerned of any responsibility for his death : the jury on that occasion rejected riders from counsel representing the dead boy's mother and the ICCL calling for clearer guidelines on the arrest and detention of juveniles in custody .

In Eamon Byrne's case , the jury also rejected riders from counsel for the dead man's wife and the ICCL , calling for an examination of the procedures for equipping and training garda in the use of firearms . For Elizabeth Byrne , obtaining justice , or simply the truth about her husband's death , could be a long and expensive process .

[END of 'THE EAMON BYRNE CASE']
(Next : 'Republican Mourners Defeat RUC' - from 1987)






Sunday, November 18, 2007

Anti-censorship picket on RTE Studios in Dublin, Saturday December 1st , 2007 , from 12 Noon to 1.30pm .

As a publicly-funded institution , RTE leaves a lot to be desired : the coverage it provides could be said to be based on the political 'prevailing winds' of the day . It has consistently and spectacularly failed to either report on what it apparently views as 'delicate' issues or will cover same in a light favourable to its own administration and the administration-of-the-day in Leinster House .
Regardless of the importance of the issue - whether it concerns the political situation in the north-east of this isle, the 'Shell To Sea' issue or the State Health service
(or lack of same) , RTE , it seems , will do its utmost to spare the blushes of its political colleagues in Kildare Street .
With this in mind , an anti-censorship picket will be placed on the RTE Studios in Donnybrook , Dublin , on Saturday 1st December 2007 , between the hours of 12 Noon and 1.30pm . If you can't make it on the day , check-back here on this blog on the following day where we will publish a piece on how the picket went . Just don't expect it to be covered on RTE.....






Saturday, November 17, 2007

Almost 12 months since it was 'only' thirty years.....

It began - properly structured and organised - in 1976 ,as a 'fundraiser with a difference' combined with the need to gain extra publicity for a situation which was then - as now - making world headlines . Those that sat down together in early September 1976 to tighten-up the then 'hit-and-miss' affair were a dedicated team who fully understood that to fail in their business would not only bring derision on them and the issue they sought to highlight , but would give their enemy a publicity coup which they would exploit to the fullest extent . With that in mind , the team persevered - favours were called-in , guarantees were secured , provisions obtained and word dispatched to like-minded individuals in the near-locale . At the appointed time on the agreed day - 12 Noon , Christmas Day 1976 - a soon-to-be 31-years-young event was 'born'.......
The CABHAIR Christmas Day Swim is , thankfully , still going strong and will be , as mentioned , 31-years-young on December 25th next!
Photographs of last years event can be viewed here and , if you can't make it to the actual swim itself , you might consider posting a donation to the following address :
CABHAIR
Irish Republican Prisoners Dependants Fund
223 Parnell Street,
Dublin 1.
Ireland.

Thank You,
Go Raibh Maith Agat,

Sharon.






Friday, November 16, 2007

THE COALISLAND STORY : British Torture In Ireland.......
From 'The United Irishman' newspaper, January 1958 .

One by one , the young men were taken out of solitary confinement and the torture and questioning began again - this went on all day . They were told the torture and ceaseless questions would continue until they signed the statements which the RUC had prepared .

Mentally and physically exhausted from the torture , constant questioning , lack of food and sleep , fearful of the continuation and what might befall their families , they eventually 'admitted' anything the RUC wanted them to admit : they signed the RUC-written statements . Any of these days now they may stand in the dock charged with the death of RUC Sergeant A.J. Ovens. The torture-mill confessions will be used to send them - and others - to the scaffold .

The most vicious forms of torture combined with brain-washing techniques are now being practised by the British Crown authorities in Occupied Ireland to obtain 'confessions' . The Coalisland story is not an isolated instance ; we have examples also from Derry , Down , Fermanagh - indeed , from all areas of Occupied Ireland.......
(MORE LATER).





KING OF THE YUPPIE HEARTLAND....... !

Dessie O'Malley would expect to draw his support almost exclusively from middle-class areas , but if he is to succeed in getting the twenty seats he hopes for that support base would also have to include working-class areas , especially in Dublin . On the evidence of one day spent with PD leader O'Malley ,that working-class support is unlikely to be forthcoming.
From 'IN DUBLIN' ELECTION SPECIAL , 1987.
By Derek Dunne.

Outside the Leo Laboratories factory in Dublin , Dessie O' Malley is interviewed by the media and something comes across quite clearly - he says " I'm not necessarily saying that I should be Taoiseach..." He then says that there are precedents for a 'backbencher Taoiseach' , so what he is really saying is that he should be Taoiseach ! He wants to rule Ireland . He smokes in the entrance to the building , dragging heavily on the cigarette . He drags so hard that the cheeks of his face come together .

On the bus , RTE have their cameras and they want an interview , but Dessie is nervous . " Where's the camera ? When are you starting it ? Are you going to use a bright light ...? " The RTE people start to put make-up on him , but he is clearly embarrassed by this - " Ah stop that , now ..." , he chides , as his hair is combed for him . One of his handlers , a female , reflects ruefully - " He always has a bit at the back that sticks out no matter what you do..." , and she's right . The RTE crew tell him to get relaxed .

Then it's " Lights ! Camera ! " Dessie 'switches' himself on , and , in an authoratative voice , begins to moralise on the state of the 'nation' . The Limerick East constituency is good , he tells RTE , and fifty per-cent of the Fianna Fail organisation went over to the PD's . The 'feedback' - in the jargon of politics - is 'very positive' . As the bus moves along Lower Kimmage Road , bemused passers-by are treated to an insight into how RTE 'set up' these type of interviews . Dessie signs a release form for RTE to allow them to screen the interview , but there are no 'fees' , this time . It then occurs to some of us that he may actually have gotten paid for past appearances.......
(MORE LATER).



THE EAMON BYRNE CASE .......
Eamon Byrne , a 19-year-old Dubliner , was shot dead by a garda detective during an attempted robbery at the B+I terminal in November 1982 . For his family , obtaining justice , or simply the truth , could be a long and expensive process.
From 'The Phoenix' magazine , July 1983 .

State Justice Minister Michael Noonan (Fine Gael) , who had been an ardent advocate of an independent garda authority and complaints tribunal before coming to Office , suffered a sudden conversion afterwards . In contrast to Willie Whitelaw, Noonan uttered no statements on the issue , either in Leinster House or out of it . The only politician who did attempt to raise the Eamon Byrne case was independent Leinster House member Tony Gregory, whose constituent Eamon Byrne was .

Tony Gregory found his questions disallowed by the Leinster House Ceann Comhairle (ie the House Chairperson) because the matter was sub judice , when in fact it wasn't , as charges were not preferred against anyone for Eamon Byrne's death . Gregory was later told that it was the preserve of the Dublin City Coroner and his Court.

Meanwhile , neither of these factors prevented the trial going ahead of Byrne's accomplices - the trial was brought forward , in fact , so that the inquest proceedings on Eamon Byrne wouldn't unduly affect its outcome . Subsequently , the survivors of the abortive raid , David and Stephen Conroy , both received seven years for armed robbery in the State Central Criminal Court, on June 17 , 1983 . The outcome of the inquest on Eamon Byrne hardly came as a surprise.......
(MORE LATER).