1169 And Counting.....

Saturday, December 15, 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.

Friday, December 14, 2007

THE CATHOLIC HIERARCHY - PROPPING-UP THE ORANGE STATE........

At a press briefing on May 3rd, 1983, Bishop Cathal Daly declared that a vote for Sinn Fein was 'a wasted vote' , and that people should think seriously before risking being seen as 'supporting violence' . As polling day approached , the rising crescendo of calls from Bishop Daly and other members of the Catholic hierarchy became increasingly explicit in their support for the SDLP. Against the background of this intervention into the arena of nationalist party politics , Patricia Collins sketches the role played by the leadership of the Catholic Church over the past fourteen years against nationalist resistance .
From 'IRIS' magazine , July 1983.

Against the political upheavals of the late 1960's and 1970's , the Catholic hierarchy was often left confused : some priests who spoke out against internment in 1971 were swiftly moved to remote country parishes , yet in the aftermath of Bloody Sunday dozens of clergymen flocked to Derry to be among the mourning crowds .

Bishop William Philbin rarely made any statements on the political crisis , despite the trauma of events for nationalists , except to unilaterally condemn IRA actions . In September 1969 he had asked Belfast nationalists to pull down the barricades and they followed him , but after 1969 he repeatedly urged his flock to 'stop supporting violence' , but this time with little success . However , while Bishop Philbin was consistent in his unashamedly pro-British stance , other clergymen tried the subtle approach : in 1976 , a team from the Irish Council Of Churches, chaired by Dr Cahal Daly (then Bishop of Ardagh and Clonmacnoise) , published a report entitled 'Violence In Ireland' in which that word is defined thus - " It is essential to distinguish between the lawful use of force and the unlawful use of force , which is violence."

The State , argued Daly's report , "...has the right to use such force as is necessary to restrain wrong-doers , for anyone else to use force is unlawful and therefore constitutes 'violence' . There is no justification in the present situation in Ireland * for the existence of any paramilitary organisations . The Churches jointly remind their members that they have a prima facie moral obligation to support the currently-constituted authorities in Ireland against all paramilitary powers . " ('1169...' Comment : *throughout our on-going centuries-long struggle for full independence , the 'establishment' [whether represented by collar , suit or uniform] has never failed to fall back on the imperialist mantra that 'there is no justification for using violence against the State...' : as similarly-oppressed people the world over will confirm , the mere presence of an agressive , corrupt imperial power is justification enough.)
(MORE LATER).

THE POLITICS OF REPRESSION .......

Repression is not just bullets and the kick on the door at dawn. Repression is an integrated imperialist policy to deal with a risen people which encompasses all facets of social and political life.
From 'IRIS' magazine , July/August 1982.

Every border crossing to the 26 counties is controlled by a fortress-like checkpoint ; the inshore coastal zones and Lough Neagh are patrolled by minesweepers and fast patrol boats , and dozens of helicopters equipped with sophisticated surveillance equipment are constantly in the air over nationalist areas , day and night . 'Phantom' jets regularly fly over the whole North-East , taking high-altitude photographs which can show up arms dumps etc .

Every nationalist townland , village or housing estate has a permanent British garrison protected by massive fences and anti-rocket meshes . Armoured jeeps and heavily armoured personnel carriers cruise through the little streets of Belfast , Derry and other nationalist areas . On the border , Saracen armoured cars, which are more resistant to landmines , are used . This vast panoply of armed repression is matched by a series of control measures directed at the nationalist population as a whole . Most adults in the nationalist community have been held for some time by the British forces - thousands of young men and women have passed through prison since 1969 and for those outside there is a daily round of harassment and intimidation by the forces of the State .

Tens of thousands have had their homes raided or destroyed . Most of those arrested have been psychologically abused , brutally assaulted or tortured in the notorious 'interrogation centres' . The intelligence agencies are highly active and the amount of information collected on nationalist areas is quite staggering in its sheer volume and detail . In this area the new technology of political control is vitally important because it allows the British Army to wage a counter-insurgency war within the tighter constraints of a mainly urban European situation quite different from its previous colonial campaigns . A computerised intelligence system is less visible but even more effective than the purely brutal methods employed by the British in their long history of colonial wars * . ('1169...' Comment * : that 'long history' encompasses a bloody trail left behind by the British in more than 56 countries and includes the approximate six million native people murdered by the British for resisting . And that 'long history' is not over yet...) In fact the whole fabric of social life in the occupied area of Ireland has been torn apart . The nationalist people live under a permanent state of siege.......
(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 8th , 1984 , the RUC deployed in massive numbers to obstruct the funerals of IRA Volunteers Willie Fleming and Danny Doherty in Derry. ('1169...'Comment : apologises for the sight of certain pro-system politicians in that link : those same useless , conniving and treacherous politicians are now calling on people to inform to the British forces on those whom , like Volunteers Willie Fleming and Danny Doherty , refuse to accept British mis-rule in Ireland.) In the vicinity of the Fleming family home in the tiny Gobnascale area , the RUC fought hand to hand with heavily outnumbered mourners but , later , in the Creggan area , when faced with a determined thousands-strong crowd , the RUC stayed cautiously well back and the funeral passed off without further incident . The protection of the crowd enabled the IRA to fire a rifle salute and to provide a uniformed Guard of Honour for their fallen comrades .

Sights such as these undoubtedly enraged British ministers and unionist politicians, since they contradicted British efforts to present the IRA as a 'criminal conspiracy' and claim that the bankrupt Six-County state was returning to 'normal' . ('1169...' Comment : surreal now to witness the Adams Family attempt to 'normalise' the British presence as they dismiss present-day anti-partition militants as part of a "criminal conspiracy" !)

But the IRA presence at those funerals was not the cause of the RUC offensive at same - the RUC attacked mourners on many occasions when they knew quite well that an IRA Firing Party salute had already taken place , or would not be taking place . The funeral of IRA Volunteer Seán McIlvenna is a prime example of RUC thuggery after the fact.......
(MORE LATER).

Thursday, December 13, 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.

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

THE CATHOLIC HIERARCHY - PROPPING-UP THE ORANGE STATE........

At a press briefing on May 3rd, 1983, Bishop Cathal Daly declared that a vote for Sinn Fein was 'a wasted vote' , and that people should think seriously before risking being seen as 'supporting violence' . As polling day approached , the rising crescendo of calls from Bishop Daly and other members of the Catholic hierarchy became increasingly explicit in their support for the SDLP. Against the background of this intervention into the arena of nationalist party politics , Patricia Collins sketches the role played by the leadership of the Catholic Church over the past fourteen years against nationalist resistance .
From 'IRIS' magazine , July 1983.

Sinn Fein's rising profile has been seen to pose a threat not only to the SDLP- it was also seen by the Catholic hierarchy to be a threat to their influence on the nationalist community . At the end of 1982 , Fr Denis Faul made this revealing declaration - " The Provisionals are now posing as politicians ....they are competing with the Church as moral spokesmen for the Catholic community.." The Church's declared 'battle for the hearts and minds' of half a million nationalists was on !

In the occupied six counties , the Catholic church has often been described as a 'quasi-state within the state' : in urban areas especially , unemployed Catholics could spend their entire lives having little contact with the institutions of the Orange state other than signing on the dole and being harassed by the RUC .

From baptism to burial , the Catholic church was at the centre of a network which includes charities , credit unions , residents' associations and youth groups , and the Catholic hierarchy has tried its best to maintain that system , by fighting to retain control of Catholic schools and displaying increasing awareness of the problems of poverty and unemployment . Bishop Cahal Daly's condemnation , in his 1983 Lenten Pastoral , of "...the great injustice all around us ....(the) bad housing (and) the masses of unemployed and their dependants.." is a far cry from the suggestion his predecessor , Bishop William Philbin, made to a meeting of the Saint Vincent de Paul Society in 1965 , that the Catholic church "...helps people who , although their incomes were adequate , found themselves in distress due to mismanagement of their household budgets.."
(MORE LATER).

THE POLITICS OF REPRESSION .

Repression is not just bullets and the kick on the door at dawn. Repression is an integrated imperialist policy to deal with a risen people which encompasses all facets of social and political life.
From 'IRIS' magazine , July/August 1982.

Every single policy executed by the British state in the North of Ireland is geared towards their over-riding objective - to defeat the PIRA and 'normalise' the situation . ('1169...' Comment : how ironic that matters developed to the point where the PIRA surrendered , changed into 'suits' and joined with their foe in an attempt to normalise the British presence !)

We cannot separate 'reform' from 'repression' as though they were the carrot and the stick - both are part and parcel of the politics of repression . ('1169...' Comment : that statement was , at the time , aimed at the Workers Party , the SDLP and Fianna Fail : it was used to point-out to supporters of those parties the futility of attempting to 'use' Stormont as a 'stepping stone' to Irish unity . However , the 'preacher' turned...) Since British troops were deployed on the streets of the North in 1969 until today , there has been an expansion and refining of military operations against the nationalist people . In a very real sense , Ireland has become a 'laboratory of repression' for Western imperialism as a whole - a place to test weapons , surveillance equipment and counter-insurgency tactics generally .

Including its local forces of the Royal Ulster Constabulary and Ulster (sic) Defence Regiment (UDR) , the British government has 35,000 armed personnel at its command to 'control' a nationalist population of 500,000 - that is a ratio of 1 soldier/RUC member to every 15 people.......
(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.

Events at the funeral in Magherafelt of IRA Volunteer Antoine Mac Giolla Bhrighde on December 4th , 1984 , suggested that the aim of British policy was nothing less than the banning from funerals of every symbol of the national struggle . As Antoine MacGiolla Bhrighde's coffin , covered only with a Tricolour , was carried from the family home , scores of RUC men kicked and punched their way to the front of the house in an unsuccessful attempt to seize the flag .

On the wishes of the dead man's distressed mother , the Tricolour was removed in the hope of preventing further incidents and injury , but the RUC showed that they had no interest in coming to an accommodation with the bereaved families , and that instead their aim was to impose their 'control' , their 'power' , on Irish republican funerals - for even after the Tricolour was removed , they continued to harass mourners and used their jeeps to 'split' the crowd of mourners and used one of their vehicles to ram the car in which the family of Antoine MacGiolla Bhrighde was travelling in - this was an attempt by the RUC to cut in directly behind the hearse . At this point the family bravely halted the funeral and , after a 20 minute delay , the RUC thugs withdrew in their Land Rovers.

On the 10th December , 1984 , the Bishop of Down and Connor , Cahal Daly, made a well-publicised speech proclaming the 'legitimacy and rightness' of what he termed "..the British dimension in Northern Ireland..."
(MORE LATER).

Tuesday, December 11, 2007

Monday, December 10, 2007

THE CATHOLIC HIERARCHY - PROPPING-UP THE ORANGE STATE.

At a press briefing on May 3rd, 1983, Bishop Cathal Daly declared that a vote for Sinn Fein was 'a wasted vote' , and that people should think seriously before risking being seen as 'supporting violence' . As polling day approached , the rising crescendo of calls from Bishop Daly and other members of the Catholic hierarchy became increasingly explicit in their support for the SDLP. Against the background of this intervention into the arena of nationalist party politics , Patricia Collins sketches the role played by the leadership of the Catholic Church over the past fourteen years against nationalist resistance .
From 'IRIS' magazine , July 1983.

" The gravest danger which has been created for Belfast Catholicism for half a century. " These were the words chosen by Dr Cahal Daly , Bishop of Down and Connor, on January 18th , 1983, to describe 'republican violence' . The occasion was the funeral of Judge William Doyle , executed by the IRA a few days earlier . However , the danger which Bishop Cahal Daly saw the IRA as creating was not of a religious or theological nature - according to this bishop , the IRA has no moral right to use force against British occupation .

Its methods are therefore 'illegal' and 'evil' . According to the Catholic hierarchy , in fact , in Bishop Daly's own words , IRA violence is the "...greatest evil.." in Irish society . But what of the violence of the British Army , the RUC and the UDR - of which there were plenty of examples in the winter of 1982/3 - ? On November 27th , 1982 , at another funeral - that of young Michael Tighe, gunned down by the RUC in Lurgan -the Catholic Bishop of Dromore , Dr. Francis Brooke , spoke in massive contrast of the RUC's "...most difficult and dangerous responsibility.." and of their job of "...restoring law and order in the Province (sic).." . It would certainly seem that in the eyes of the Church there are two distinct types of violence , only one of which is to be condemned .

During this latest phase of the struggle , Northern nationalists have continually been subjected to political haranguing and preaching by the Catholic hierarchy , which has used all the means at its disposal , from the pulpit and the school assembly halls to the newspapers and television screens , to hammer home its message - 'renounce armed resistance , turn away from the Republican Movement'.......
(MORE LATER).

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

While it is almost impossible to establish the origins of particular cancers or leukaemia , and while still-births and miscarriages are by no means exceptional , the fear of a possible relationship to the illegal and lethal dump is one that has sprung to not a few minds .

Both the County medical officer and the local doctor have , however , discounted any relationship between these cases and the dump : as in all such circumstances , only time will tell . It would , however , help to allay these fears and potential alarm if the authorities were to explain to the people of Kill , County Kildare , precisely the present dangers of the dump .
[END of 'TOXIC WASTE IN KILL,COUNTY KILDARE']
(NEXT : 'The Policy Of Repression' , from 1982)

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.

In July 1984 , the British offensive was escalated again at the funeral of PIRA Volunteer William Price in Brockagh , County Tyrone . At least 12 mourners were injured , some requiring hospital treatment , after RUC men jostled and trampled mourners . A number of the wounded suffered blows to the head from plastic-bullet guns or batons . The crown forces' operation involved hundreds of RUC men dressed for a riot , backed-up by a similar number of British soldiers and scores of armoured Land Rovers . As Volunteer William Price's coffin left the family home , mourners linked arms and successfully prevented any RUC incursion .

On August 8th , 1984 , the funeral took place in Newry of PIRA Volunteer Brendan Watters who was killed in a premature explosion . The RUC tried to rush the Tricolour-draped coffin as it was carried from the family's Derrybeg home but , once again , a massive display of British military might and firepower was frustrated by hundreds of unarmed mourners who linked arms to form a human barrier .

The crown forces were well aware that the PIRA had paid their final salute to their fallen comrade two nights before - nevertheless , the RUC made several violent attempts to scatter mourners and to seize the Tricolour from Brendan Watters' coffin , giving up only after the determination of the mourners to stop them had proved unshakeable . Other events in the weeks ahead , at Republican funerals , was proof that Westminster had ordered that any perceived symbol of nationalism at a funeral would be a target.......
(MORE LATER).

Sunday, December 09, 2007

The 13 prizes in the CABHAIR draw held in Dublin this weekend.

The above photograph shows the 13 prizes which were offered in a raffle for CABHAIR which was held this weekend in a Social Club in Dublin .The envelopes contain cash prizes , ranging in value from €200 to €20.
The event went without a hitch , save for there being a shortage of tickets , and the CABHAIR crew are to be congratulated for their work , time and patience in putting such an event together and seeing it through without a fault! Thanks to John and Liam for 'working' the drum ,to Georgina , Paddy and Tony for doing the result sheets and to Antoinette , George , Anne , Tommy and John C. , amongst others, for helping to sell tickets and making themselves available on the day to help out. Much appreciated!
The winning ticket numbers are - 611/379/459/452/522/404/293/431/319/444/086/069 and 564. Go raibh maith agat agus slán go fóill anois!
Sharon.

Saturday, December 08, 2007

Friday, December 07, 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.

The 1963 'Matthew Plan' was re-inforced by the 1970-75 'Matthew/Wilson Economic Development Plan' which , while finally designating Derry as a potential area of industrial growth , suggested that the future lay not with introducing massive investment into areas such as Derry but in encouraging migration from those areas to new centres of growth such as Craigavon .

Similarly the New University of Ulster was located in Coleraine , a politically motivated decision which ensured the relative failure of the NUU as an academic centre of excellence : it was policies such as these that led the architect Coppcutt , who had been brought over from England to design Craigavon , to resign in disgust , saying that the designation of Craigavon as a new city was a consequence of religious and political considerations , and that if Derry was developed instead "...this would indeed be earnest of the sincerity of the desire to prepare Ulster (sic) for the 21st century ."

He added that Craigavon would prevent growth in other regions , and that he and his team were not being asked to make a positive contribution to the growth of the Six County area but to "... engineer propaganda rather than a new city.."
[END of 'Derry - A Strategy Of Neglect']
(Next : 'The Catholic Hierarchy - Propping-up The Orange State' , from 1983)

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

By 1980 , the local County Council took notice of complaints and the long-drawn-out legal procedures began , during which time , of course , the dumpers continued to fill the pit to capacity . The Council are stating that the situation is under control for the present , that the dump is contained by the ponds , and that there is no cause for undue alarm . Local residents , however , are none too happy .

Down in the growing village of Kill , other questions are being asked and fears exchanged : some residents have pointed-out to 'The Phoenix' what they perceive as an unusually high instance of cancer and leukaemia in a small area of Kill . In the past few years , four people under forty have died of cancer and another three of leukaemia , two of these latter children of two and seven years . Since 1981 there have been three full-term babies still-born and a further three badly deformed foeti , miscarried at seven months of pregnancy.......
(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 Catholic Hierarchy continued to practise the same double standards as they did in January 1980 over the body of PIRA Volunteer Kevin 'Dee' Delaney or in 1861 over the Young Irelander Terence Bellew McManus, against whose remains every church door in Dublin was locked , on the orders of Cardinal Cullen.

Though the RUC attacked nationalist funerals , members of the British occupation forces continued to be buried in Catholic churches with full military honours , including the Union Jack flag on coffins during services . The Catholic Hierarchy's attitude to the recent funeral of Derry Volunteer Gerard Logue was very different : two days after the PIRA fired a salute in the grounds of Long Tower Church, local Catholic Bishop, Edward Daly, aligned the hierarchy with the British occupation forces by banning the remains of dead Volunteers from all churches in the city . He also implied that the family of Volunteer Gerard Logue had broken assurances which they firmly denied .

In June 1984 (four months after the funerals of PIRA Volunteers Henry Hogan and Declan Martin) , RUC men with batons drawn confronted mourners taking the coffin of Belfast INLA Volunteer Paul McCann to lie overnight in the local St Peter's Chapel . At the following day's funeral , the British Army and the RUC staged a show of strength , blocked the Falls Road and refused to let the funeral cortege proceed until an INLA guard of honour withdrew.......
(MORE LATER).

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

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)