1169 And Counting.....

Friday, August 01, 2008

EIGHT IRISH REPUBLICAN COMMEMORATIONS/FUNCTIONS IN THIS , THE EIGHT MONTH OF 08.....

(UPDATE : the President of Republican Sinn Fein, Ruairí Ó Brádaigh, will be interviewed by journalist Tom McGurk on RTE Radio One - in a rare but welcome breach of that radio stations 'Section 31' mentality - next Saturday , August 9 , 2008 , between 9am and 10am . RTÉ Radio One is available to listen to online using Windows Media Player or Real Player)

1) August 9th : on the Anniversary of Internment (August 9th [Saturday]) a white-line picket will be held on the Falls Road in Belfast in support of the POW's in Maghaberry Jail.

2) August 10th : the annual Goss and Gaughran Commemoration will be held on Sunday August 10th at 2.30pm in St Patricks Cemetery in Dundalk , County Louth. The Lisdoo Arms is the assembly point , and Des Dalton is the main speaker .

3) August 10th : the unveiling of the Memorial to IRA Captain Michael Danford will take place on Sunday August 10th at Ballysimon Road in Limerick . The event is organised by 'The Limerick Republican Graves Association' .

4) August 16th : a Republican Commemoration will be held in Croom , County Limerick , on Saturday August 16th , where Seamus Ó Suilleabháin will be the main speaker . The assembly point is in Croom Village at 3pm.

5) August 22nd : the Thomas Harte Cumann of Republican Sinn Fein has booked the ballad group 'The Foggy Dew' to play at a social function on Friday August 22nd . The venue is 'The Forester's Club' , North Street , Lurgan in County Armagh . All Welcome!

6) August 24th : a Commemoration in honour of all 22 Hunger Strikers will be held in the Garden Of Remembrance in the Old Jail in Wexford on Sunday August 24th at 3pm.

7) August 29 : a 'Welcome Home!' function will be held on Friday August 29th in Bundoran in County Donegal for Gerard Mooney - details to follow at a later date.

8) August 30th : the Annual H-Block Hunger Strike Commemoration will be held on Saturday August 30th in Bundoran in county Donegal . The assembly point is the East End , it starts at 3pm and the Speakers are Dan Hoban, Micheál Óg Lavelle and Bob Loughman.

(Postscript: in order not to ruin our snappy (!) headline , we are only now mentioning two other August '08 events - a Social Function in aid of the County Roscommon IRA Commemoration Committee , held on Friday August 1st in the Croghan Bar in County Roscommon and the monthly Dublin Raffle , organised by 'The Second Sunday Crew' , which will be held in a Social Club on the Dublin/Kildare border on Sunday August 10th next . The aforementioned 'snappy' headline took our 'Junior' hours to conjuer up and we hadn't the heart to ruin it on him ;-) ....)

Thanks!
Sharon.

Wednesday, July 30, 2008

THE IRA : the new IRA is younger , more radical and has seen little of life other than violence.......
By Ed Moloney.
From 'Magill' magazine, September 1980.

Another principal , if rarely admitted reason for switching to a long war of attrition strategy is that support for widescale IRA activity has declined significantly in recent years . The war-weariness and pessimism evident in the nationalist areas of the North is also reflected in the attitudes of many in the Movement itself who see little to be gained by continuing the fight * . (* '1169..' Comment : that whole paragraph should be read with the author's name firmly in mind - Moloney had indeed got his contacts in the Movement but was not of the Movement.)

But that sort of thinking is less true of the new IRA ; they are the younger , more radical types who have seen little of life other than violence , dawn raids , interrogations , rioting , shooting and bombing . They have taken over the mantle of militant republicanism from the men and women of the 'forties , 'fifties and 'sixties and are increasingly impatient with what many of them see as conservative political and military elements in the old Dublin leadership . And the IRA they have created is much more ruthless and doesn't need mass popular support .

With the prospect of a 'long war' in front of them what then keeps the IRA going ? Prime among the motives for continuing the campaign is the hope that in the harsh economic climate of the 1980's the cost of the North of Ireland to the British will get so high that they will be forced into looking for a way out . There's no doubt that the cost of shoring up a degenerating economy in the North combined with the damage caused by the Provisional IRA's campaign and the cost of the security and prison services has become increasingly burdensome for the British - last year's subvention to the North from Westminster (ie the money the British have to find to make up the difference between income from taxes and public spending in the North) was equivalent to the five year refund demanded from the EEC budget by Margaret Thatcher.......
(MORE LATER).

RESISTANCE ON ALL FRONTS.
IRIS talks to a spokesperson authorised to speak on behalf of the Irish Republican Army.
From 'IRIS' magazine , July/August 1982.

IRIS: " Recently there was considerable publicity given to alleged IRA attempts to obtain sophisticated heat-seeking missiles . To what extent does the present lack of such weaponry limit the IRA's operational capacity in rural areas ? "

IRA: " I would say that if that type of weapon was available to IRA units you would find that we would be able to physically clash with the British face-to-face , that is, do what they are always saying we can't do - 'stand up and fight' . There would be a whole new phase of the war , a totally new game altogether. At present there are massive areas of the occupied territory , such as in South Armagh and in parts of Fermanagh , particularly around Lisnaskea , Donagh and Maguiresbridge , where the Brits don't use vehicles at all . They supply all their outposts by helicopter . The same applies to large areas on the Fermanagh/Donegal and West Tyrone/Donegal borders. Without helicopters , which this kind of missile is designed to attack , there would be a complete inability to continue supplies without mounting a massive operation to secure the area using hundreds of men . So the effect of our lack of this weapon is obvious ."
(MORE LATER).

The Class Of '76:(Top row L. to R.) Charlie Fagan (Arthur's brother) , Dickie Glenholmes (Jnr) , Ciaran 'Zack' Smyth (served 9 years in jail) , Philip Rooney (served 8 and a half years) , Seany McVeigh (served 10 years). (Bottom row L. to R.) Eugene Gilmartin (serving life in the H-Blocks) , Arthur O Faogain.

SHEDDING DREAMS.......
The ghettos of Belfast and Derry are filled with stories such as this one. It is not unique. Young men and women, because of the partition of this country by the British, are killed, imprisoned and maimed.
By Artur O Faogain.
From 'IRIS' magazine , October 1987.

" We all looked forward to Christmas that year , as we did every year . Sitting together , glasses filled, we enjoyed each other's company . Shaking the cold from my legs I opened the door to rejoin them . There they sat , laughing, oblivious of the coming nightmare . Blasted against a wall of the bar , I twisted and broke . 'I'm sorry , son,' my father said when I awoke . 'Your legs...' . 'I know' , I replied . Luckily no-one else was seriously hurt . I didn't go out much in my wheelchair . Friends would call up and we'd talk for hours . I felt so cheated.

The British Government announced that political status would end on March 1st 1980 , but I don't think any of my friends took much notice of the announcement . Frank Stagg died that February and the IRA finally admitted the ceasefire was over . Hardly a week went by without the arrest of one of my friends - Castlereagh Interrogation Centre had just finished refining its methods and , with the arrival of the enthusiastic dictator, Roy Mason, in September , its efficiency became infamous . The ghettos of Belfast and Derry suffered as Mason proved his policies 'worked' : people awoke to find neighbours or friends in Castlereagh , and everybody feared that early morning knock . By 1977 the British system of oppression was complete .

Judges sounding like parrots , seated on benches repeating 'Guilty!' , endorsed Castlereagh's methods with a mass of convictions that imprisoned my generation . Listening to the news , the long sentences depressed me . Their time for release would never come , I thought , and, visiting them over the last number of years I have observed how different they have become . No longer the wide-eyed teenagers with adventure in mind......."
(MORE LATER).

Sunday, July 27, 2008

Francie Brolly's 'bunting...'

Kevin Lynch, an INLA Volunteer , died at 1.00 a.m. on Saturday August 1st 1981 in the hospital of Long Kesh after seventy-one days on hunger strike. He was the seventh hunger-striker to die that year . A Commemoration in memory of the man and in honour of that which he gave his life for has been held every year in his hometown of Dungiven , in North Derry, organised by local republicans and supported by the vast majority of the townspeople. A 'republican' Stormont representative , a Mr Francis Brolly , has now voiced 'reservations' about the manner in which this commemoration is held , and has stated his preference for "bunting" to be displayed rather than the National Flag -
did ten men die on hunger-strike in 1981 in order that the Butchers Apron be replaced with "bunting" ?
Have 22 men died on hunger-strike between the years 1917 and 1981 for "bunting" ?
Have we endured over eight hundred years of struggle for the 'right' to display "bunting" on our own streets ?
While you ponder those questions , have a listen to this piece of music (note the title) by that same Stormont 'republican' representative and then have a read of how he laughs at those that are not politically financed by the British Crown.
"Take it down from the mast..." , Mr Brolly.....
Sharon.

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

THE IRA : the new IRA is younger , more radical and has seen little of life other than violence.......
By Ed Moloney.
From 'Magill' magazine, September 1980.

Although the re-organisation of the IRA has undoubtedly revitalised the Provos the most significant aspect of that development is that it demonstrated for the first time since the start of the IRA's campaign that the initiative in security matters was now with the British .

In 1970 , 1971 and 1973 the Provisional IRA had toyed with the concept of 'cells' or 'active service units' : in 1973 they actually formed a number of such units with 40 men in Andersonstown in West Belfast . But those changes , if they had come about would have been voluntary ; this latest re-organisation was a matter of survival to the organisation , and made it a more efficient killing organisation but it has necessitated a drastic reduction in the numbers of active service Volunteers in their ranks .

A joint RUC/British Army assessment last winter put the IRA's strength throughout the North of Ireland at around the 300 mark with perhaps as many as 3,000 active sympathisers providing safe houses , transport etc . To put that into proper context the strength of the 1st Battalion of the Belfast Brigade of the IRA in 1972 was 300 with the same in reserve ; the total strength of the IRA in that year was between 1,500 and 2,000 . Instead of growing , as guerrilla armies have to if ultimate victory is to be realised , the Provisional IRA is actually declining in strength.......
(MORE LATER).

The Class Of '76:(Top row L. to R.) Charlie Fagan (Arthur's brother) , Dickie Glenholmes (Jnr) , Ciaran 'Zack' Smyth (served 9 years in jail) , Philip Rooney (served 8 and a half years) , Seany McVeigh (served 10 years). (Bottom row L. to R.) Eugene Gilmartin (serving life in the H-Blocks) , Arthur O Faogain.

SHEDDING DREAMS.......
The ghettos of Belfast and Derry are filled with stories such as this one. It is not unique. Young men and women, because of the partition of this country by the British, are killed, imprisoned and maimed.
By Artur O Faogain.
From 'IRIS' magazine , October 1987.

" The cries and moans of bewildering pain drew people quickly to the scene . The bomb's work 'efficiently' done , the old public house collapsed . People dug in hope , lights glaring, as the black bodybags filled . Five coffins side-by-side stretched across the street . The British Army watched noisily from the air . Loyalist attacks like this continued throughout the summer .

I suppose we should all have considered ourselves lucky to have escaped unhurt during that warm summer of 1975 but no , not for us the worry of death . We were young . My mother was waiting up for me when I came in late that night - clearing my mouth so as not to sound too drunk , I told her of the news I had heard earlier : 'Paul was shot. But I was talking to a fella who was there and he said Paul walked to the ambulance and he looked alright.' I sat down and waited for her reaction , but she just looked straight at me and said - 'He's dead , son. He died in hospital.' Paul was buried on a sunny day in September as we stood silently by his grave . Silenced by its infinity.

Not long afterwards I started work . My first pay packet , though small , felt like a million . Girls , clothes and music became our priority . The loyalist attacks still continued as did the reprisals . The Sticks and the IRA began a feud that October , similar to the INLA-Stick feud of the previous summer , but bloodier . It too ended with no victor bar the British who , judging correctly that it was safe to do so , gave their sentry posts a fresh coat of paint during the in-fighting . But they were simply waiting for the dust to settle before putting the boot in . While nobody expected to do time over the feud , it was a problem that had to be sorted out , we were told , before getting down once more to the real business of fighting the Brits . But imprisoned some of us were , and still are , because of that feud . The ceasefire started falling apart during the summer and by November it seemed to be over . In Belfast the IRA's response to its ending was minimal . The ceasefire , feuds and sectarian killings had undermined the purpose of the IRA....... "
(MORE LATER).

Monday, July 21, 2008

Henry Joy McCracken 1767-1798.

This month 210 years ago , a 31-years-young Irish Rebel was put to death in Belfast by the British : the injustice which he fought against had blighted Irish democracy for 629 years at the time of his death - that same injustice has now cursed this island for 839 years and is still being fought against by Irish Rebels....

"An Ulster man I am proud to be
From the Antrim glens I come
And though I've laboured by the sea
I have followed fife and drum

I have heard the martial tramp of men
I've seen them fight and die
Ah! Lads it's well I remember when
I followed Henry Joy

I dragged my boat in from the shore
And I hid my sails away
I hung my nets upon a tree
And I scanned the moonlit bay

The boys were out, the red coats too
I kissed my love good-bye
And in the shade of the greenwood glade
I followed Henry Joy

It was for Ireland's cause we fought
For home and sire, we bled
'Though our numbers were few, our hearts were true
And five to one lay dead
And many a lassie mourned her lad
And mother mourned her boy
For youth was strong in the daring throng
That followed Henry Joy

In Belfast town, they built a tree
And the redcoats mustered there
I saw him come as the beat of a drum
Rolled out in the barrack square
He kissed his sister, went aloft
And waved a last good-bye
My God he died, I turned and I cried
They have murdered Henry Joy "
(By the late Tommy Makem)
....and if it takes another 839 years then so be it: this injustice will be put right.
The 1169 Crew.

Friday, July 18, 2008

CROMWELL,WEXFORD - 2nd OCTOBER 1649 :

'Cromwell arrived at Wexford on the 2nd of October 1649 with about 6000 men, 8 heavy siege guns and 2 mortars. On the 6th of October, Cromwell concentrated his force on the heights overlooking the southern end of the town.....the destruction of Wexford was so severe that it could not be used either as a port or as winter quarters for the Parliamentarian forces. One Parliamentarian source therefore described the sack as "incommodius to ourselves". Cromwell reported that the remaining civilians had "run off" and asked for soldiers to be sent from England to re-populate the town and re-open its port.....'
(From here)

The Curse Of Cromwell by William Butler Yeats.

'You ask what - I have found, and far and wide I go:
Nothing but Cromwell's house and Cromwell's murderous crew,
The lovers and the dancers are beaten into the clay,
And the tall men and the swordsmen and the horsemen, where are they?
And there is an old beggar wandering in his pride - -
His fathers served their fathers before Christ was crucified.
O what of that, O what of that,
What is there left to say?

All neighbourly content and easy talk are gone,
But there's no good complaining, for money's rant is on.
He that's mounting up must on his neighbour mount,
And we and all the Muses are things of no account.
They have schooling of their own, but I pass their schooling by,
What can they know that we know that know the time to die?
O what of that, O what of that,
What is there left to say?

But there's another knowledge that my heart destroys,
As the fox in the old fable destroyed the Spartan boy's
Because it proves that things both can and cannot be;
That the swordsmen and the ladies can still keep company,
Can pay the poet for a verse and hear the fiddle sound,
That I am still their servant though all are underground.
O what of that, O what of that,
What is there left to say?

I came on a great house in the middle of the night,
Its open lighted doorway and its windows all alight,
And all my friends were there and made me welcome too;
But I woke in an old ruin that the winds howled through;
And when I pay attention I must out and walk
Among the dogs and horses that understand my talk.
O what of that, O what of that,
What is there left to say? '

Cromwell's dead and gone , but the bastard seeds he and his like have planted live on , in our native gombeen men and women and in the actions and deeds of their foreign counter parts...
The 1169 Crew.

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

THE IRA : the new IRA is younger , more radical and has seen little of life other than violence.......
By Ed Moloney.
From 'Magill' magazine, September 1980.

The 'other' IRA , the 'open' IRA , was to fight the political war . They were mainly IRA men and women well known to the 'authorities' who would pass in to a new 'Civil and Military Administration' , and would be responsible for 'policing' the Republican communities and for pushing Sinn Fein in a 'radical' direction .

To the acute embarrassment of the Provisionals, that GHQ 'think-tank' report was captured by the Dublin Special Branch in December 1977 when the then IRA Chief of Staff,Seamus Twomey, was re-arrested . That day was an especially 'good' one for the Special Branch - they also arrested Seamus McCollum, the man at the centre of an ambitious scheme to smuggle in an arm's consignment from the Middle East.

Earlier that month Belgian customs officials had discovered nearly six tons of Russian and French-made automatic rifles and machine pistols as well as Bren guns , explosives , mortars , rockets , rocket launchers and ammunition hidden in electrical transformers on board the MV Towerstream which had just docked from Cyprus. The 'transformers' were addressed to a 'front company' in Dublin established months earlier by Seamus McCollum . The trace back to McCollum's Dun Laoighaire , Dublin , flat and Special Branch surveillance netted an 'added bonus' in the form of Seamus Twomey , who had brazenly eluded capture since his dramatic helicopter escape from Mountjoy Prison in 1973.......
(MORE LATER).

ARMAGH JAIL - NO LET UP IN REPRESSION.......

Arrested on active service in April 1976 and sentenced at her 'trial' eight months later to 14 years imprisonment , Belfast republican Mairead Farrell became one of the first women POW's to take part in the protest for political status . Later on she was involved in the 'no wash' escalation of the protest in Armagh Jail , and in December 1980 she was one of three women prisoners to join the first hunger-strike . Here , in a smuggled communication to this magazine , she writes about the strip searches , prison work and isolation that are features of the prison regime's repression in Armagh.
From 'IRIS' magazine , July 1983.

" The facilities are available in Armagh Jail for the implementation of a full-time education programme - it would not need a major shift in NIO policy , but would basically be an acknowledgement of the reality that there is no work to be done in the prisons and that an alternative needs to be found.

Eventually the NIO are going to have to look at this problem realistically as they are only avoiding the inevitable . With so much monitoring of republicans , the constant strip searching and the introduction of new rules every day under the guise of 'security' , it seems very contradictory to me that the prison administration would even consider housing ordinary prisoners in the same area as us .

They formally deny that we are in a separate category but we nonetheless merit special treatment as 'High Security Risk' prisoners . It is obvious that those ordinary prisoners feel as uncomfortable with republicans as we do with them - hence their decision to remain in their cells regardless of the Screws' attempts to shift them out by coercion and threats....... "
(MORE LATER).

Friday, July 11, 2008

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

CONCLUSION

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

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

Wednesday, July 09, 2008

THE IRA : the new IRA is younger , more radical and has seen little of life other than violence.......
By Ed Moloney.
From 'Magill' magazine, September 1980.

The IRA of the 1980's which resulted from the re-think was no longer the victorious 'people's army' of the early 1970's which would push the British into Belfast Lough , but a small , highly organised band of politically dedicated guerrillas prepared to fight for years.

One current IRA Army Council member summed-up the new strategy in the following way : " The IRA has the ability to force the British out but by that I don't mean militarily . But we can make Ireland so unpopular an issue they will be forced to leave. Even at the lowest level the IRA has the capability to be a major de-stabilising force and we're prepared for the long haul ; 30,40 or even 50 years if necessary." ('1169...' Comment : what rubbish! Within three years of those words been spoken [that is, by 1983] plans were enacted by the then new leadership to begin the process of winding down the struggle . In 1986 a further step along the constitutional road was taken , leading to where the Provisionals are today : salaried administrators for Westminster's interests in Ireland!)

In late 1976 the IRA's General Headquarters Staff established a 'think-tank' which was to examine ways of implementing this new thinking and to report back directly to the Provisional IRA Army Council : the 'think-tank' itself was dominated by two Northern radicals , both former IRA Brigade Commanders recently released from jail. In early 1977 it reported back to the IRA Army Council and recommended that the IRA should be split into two - one part was to be responsible for fighting the war and was to consist in the main of new 4 or 5 person 'cells' or Active Service Units and the old British Army-style organisation of companies , battalions and brigades were to be largely scrapped. The 'cells' were to be responsible in the first instance to local IRA Commands or Brigades but ultimately to a new 'IRA Northern Command' which would replace IRA GHQ as the main IRA co-ordinating body .

The 'other' IRA , the 'open' IRA , was to fight the political war.......
(MORE LATER).

ARMAGH JAIL - NO LET UP IN REPRESSION.......

Arrested on active service in April 1976 and sentenced at her 'trial' eight months later to 14 years imprisonment , Belfast republican Mairead Farrell became one of the first women POW's to take part in the protest for political status . Later on she was involved in the 'no wash' escalation of the protest in Armagh Jail , and in December 1980 she was one of three women prisoners to join the first hunger-strike . Here , in a smuggled communication to this magazine , she writes about the strip searches , prison work and isolation that are features of the prison regime's repression in Armagh.
From 'IRIS' magazine , July 1983.

" This repressive attitude is mirrored in all areas , and in none more so than in the area of prison work . Throughout Europe many prisons have abolished prison work due to the economic recession - since work is so scarce on the outside it is impossible to secure contracts for work within the prisons.

The same position applies to Armagh Jail , with no industry prepared to supply a contract , yet instead of the prison administration taking a sensible view of the situation by providing educational and vocational training during the day , they demand that POW's sit at sewing machines all day every day , doing nothing but stitching prison-issue jeans which aren't even saleable.

Such work is monotonous , and one would think that the prison administration's interest would be in keeping minds occupied and in providing some type of mind-stimulating alternative to demeaning work which can only increase tension and discontent throughout the jail. It is hypocritical of the NIO to even speak of work inside the prisons when tens of thousands in the occupied six counties remain unemployed....... "
(MORE LATER).

The Class Of '76:(Top row L. to R.) Charlie Fagan (Arthur's brother) , Dickie Glenholmes (Jnr) , Ciaran 'Zack' Smyth (served 9 years in jail) , Philip Rooney (served 8 and a half years) , Seany McVeigh (served 10 years). (Bottom row L. to R.) Eugene Gilmartin (serving life in the H-Blocks) , Arthur O Faogain.

SHEDDING DREAMS.
The ghettos of Belfast and Derry are filled with stories such as this one. It is not unique. Young men and women, because of the partition of this country by the British, are killed, imprisoned and maimed.
By Artur O Faogain.
From 'IRIS' magazine , October 1987.

" They will all be out soon . Between now and February * 1987 , one by one, they will all be released . Just two more years then freedom ; teenage friends , now grown men . A whole generation gone missing. And yet for two the torment will continue - one imprisoned for life , and me crippled for it . The Brits have stolen our time .

On a cold , clear January night in 1975 , a group of friends walked slowly down an empty street . Laughing , shouting , kicking and pushing , eager for the future . Stopping on a corner , one spoke - "I wonder how many of us will be here by this time next year?" These words , spoken in a lighthearted way , give that moment a poignance that only years later I understood . It was as if we had all accepted a violent fate for ourselves , both 'romantic' and eventful . Our minds were filled with images of events and people that we would someday portray in those dark empty streets .

To be IRA Volunteers was our dream and to take on the British Army was our goal . Motives were all around us , in memories and surroundings - we had all witnessed the sectarian riots of the late 1960's and 1970's . We had all witnessed , too , the British Army's arrival as 'protectors' , and internment and its ensuing turmoil . Gun-battles at night and funerals during the day . The resistance of our people and the oppression of them by the Brits....... "

(* " I wrote 'Shedding Dreams' in 1985 before the release from prison of friends that I grew up with . Their release gave me great heart but sadness still persists . For although most were released one is still held , under the 'Secretary of States Pleasure' . Sammy was 17 the last summer he was free - he's now 29. The British 'direct ruler' must get great pleasure from that fact . Last October [1986] another friend , Sammy's cousin , Eugene, also got life in prison .")
(MORE LATER).

Sunday, July 06, 2008

" Eighty-six years ago, in December 1922, the Curragh Camp was the scene of a terrible tragedy; it was the execution, by firing squad, of seven young men in the Military Detention Barracks, now the Curragh Prison. The full story of the events of the week from 13 December 1922, when the men were arrested, to 19 December 1922, when they were executed, is not now known. All of the people involved are dead, and with them their stories. It appears that all official records of the executions have been lost or destroyed....."
(From here)

FOR THE RECORD.....

Between 17 November 1922 and 2 May 1923 , seventy-seven Republican prisoners were removed from their prison cells and shot dead by order of the Free State administration . In this post we name those 77 men and list where each man was executed and the date of same : we do so in the hope that , after the search engines have archived this information it will be retrieved by those who , like us , are of the opinion that these men should not be forgotten.

1922 :
James Fisher , Dublin , November 17.
Peter Cassidy , Dublin , November 17.
Richard Twohig , Dublin , November 17.
John Gaffney , Dublin , November 17.
Erskine Childers , Dublin , November 24.
Joseph Spooner , Dublin , November 30.
Patrick Farrelly , Dublin , November 30.
John Murphy , Dublin , November 30.
Rory O Connor , Dublin , December 8.
Liam Mellows , Dublin , December 8.
Joseph McKelvey , Dublin , December 8.
Richard Barrett , Dublin , December 8.
Stephen White , Dublin , December 19.
Joseph Johnston , Dublin , December19.
Patrick Mangan , Dublin , December 19.
Patrick Nolan , Dublin , December 19.
Brian Moore , Dublin , December 19.
James O' Connor , Dublin , December 19.
Patrick Bagnel , Dublin , December 19.
John Phelan , Kilkenny , December 29.
John Murphy , Kilkenny , December 29.

1923:
Leo Dowling , Dublin , January 8.
Sylvester Heaney , Dublin , January 8.
Laurence Sheeky , Dublin , January 8.
Anthony O' Reilly , Dublin , January 8.
Terence Brady , Dublin , January 8.
Thomas McKeown , Louth , January 13.
John McNulty , Louth , January 13.
Thomas Murray , Louth , January 13.
Frederick Burke , Tipperary , January 15.
Patrick Russell , Tipperary , January 15.
Martin O' Shea , Tipperary , January 15.
Patrick McNamara , Tipperary , January 15.
James Lillis , Carlow , January 15.
James Daly , Kerry , January 20.
John Clifford , Kerry , January 20.
Michael Brosnan , Kerry , January 20.
James Hanlon , Kerry , January 20.
Cornelius McMahon , Limerick , January 20.
Patrick Hennesy , Limerick , January 20.
Thomas Hughes , Westmeath , January 20.
Michael Walsh , Westmeath , January 20.
Herbert Collins , Westmeath , January 20.
Stephen Joyce , Westmeath , January 20.
Martin Bourke , Westmeath , January 20.
James Melia , Louth , January 22.
Thomas Lennon , Louth , January 22.
Joseph Ferguson , Louth , January 22.
Michael Fitzgerald , Waterford , January 25.
Patrick O' Reilly , Offaly , January 26.
Patrick Cunningham , Offaly , January 26.
Willie Conroy , Offaly , January 26.
Colum Kelly , Offaly , January 26.
Patrick Geraghty , Laoise , January 27.
Joseph Byrne , Laoise , January 27.
Thomas Gibson , Laoise , February 26.
James O' Rourke , Dublin , March 13.
William Healy , Cork , March 13.
James Parle , Wexford , March 13.
Patrick Hogan , Wexford , March 13.
John Creane , Wexford , March 13.
Séan Larkin , Donegal , March 14.
Tim O' Sullivan , Donegal , March 14.
Daniel Enright , Donegal , March 14.
Charles Daly , Donegal , March 14.
James O' Malley , Galway , April 11.
Francis Cunnane , Galway , April 11.
Michael Monaghan , Galway , April 11.
John Newell , Galway , April 11.
John McGuire , Galway , April 11.
Martin Moylan , Galway , April 11.
Richard Hatheway , Kerry , April 25.
James McEnery , Kerry , April 25.
Edward Greaney , Kerry , April 25.
Patrick Mahoney , Clare , April 26.
Christopher Quinn , Clare , May 02.
William Shaughnessy , Clare , May 02.

The above-listed 77 men did not take up arms in the belief that they were fighting for the establishment of a morally-corrupt so-called 'half-way-house' institution , nor did they do so to assist the British in the 'governance' of one of their 'part' colonies : that which those men and many others fought for remains to be achieved . You can help present-day Irish Republicans to achieve that aim.......

LEST WE FORGET...

Thomas Ashe, Kerry, 5 days, 25 September 1917 (force fed by tube , died as a result).
Terrence McSweeny, Cork, 74 days, 25 October 1920.
Michael Fitzgerald, Cork, 67 days, 17 October 1920.
Joseph Murphy, Cork, 76 days , 25 October 1920 .
Joe Witty, Wexford , 2 September 1923.
Dennis Barry, Cork, 34 days, 20 November 1923.
Andy O Sullivan , Cork, 40 days, 22 November 1923.
Tony Darcy, Galway, 52 days, 16 April 1940.
Jack 'Sean' McNeela, Mayo, 55 days, 19 April 1940.
Sean McCaughey, Tyrone ,22 days, 11 May 1946 (hunger and thirst Strike).
Michael Gaughan, Mayo , 64 days, 3 June 1974.
Frank Stagg, Mayo , 62 days, 12 February 1976.
Bobby Sands, Belfast , 66 days, 5 May 1981.
Frank Hughes , Bellaghy (Derry), 59 days, 12 May 1981.
Raymond McCreesh , South Armagh , 61 days, 21 May 1981.
Patsy O Hara , Derry , 61 days, 21 May 1981.
Joe McDonnell , Belfast , 61 days, 8 July 1981.
Martin Hurson , Tyrone , 46 days, 13 July 1981.
Kevin Lynch, Dungiven ( Derry) ,71 days, 1 August 1981.
Kieran Doherty , Belfast , 73 days, 2 August 1981.
Tom McIlwee , Bellaghy (Derry) , 62 days, 8 August 1981.
Micky Devine , Derry , 60 days, 20 August 1981.

"Dear Christ! the very prison walls
Suddenly seemed to reel,
And the sky above my head became
Like a casque of scorching steel;
And, though I was a soul in pain,
My pain I could not feel."
('The Ballad of Reading Gaol', by Oscar Wilde, written after his release from Reading prison on 19 May 1897.)

Wednesday, July 02, 2008

THE IRA : the new IRA is younger , more radical and has seen little of life other than violence.......
By Ed Moloney.
From 'Magill' magazine, September 1980.

With hindsight the IRA was the net loser from the 1975/76 ceasefire and the subject itself remains a major and bitter bone of contention within the Movement . The ceasefire forced on the Provisionals a major political , military and strategic re-think of which the 1977 military re-organisation was an integral part . It also paved the way for a change in the leadership of the IRA ; the present 7-person Army Council is dominated by Northern 'hawks' and radicals who vow never to speak to Westminster again except from a position of absolute strength ('1169...' Comment - strong handgrip anyway. Almost like Martin is hanging-on for his [political] life....) .

The result of the re-think was two fundamental changes in policy : the first was the concept of 'the long way' which was first outlined by Jimmy Drumm , ironically one of those intimately involved in the ceasefire talks with the British government . That concept was articulated by him at Bodenstown in June 1977 as was the second major change - the political one .

The political change involved pushing the IRA and Sinn Fein in a radical direction and to involvement in trade union , poverty , housing and unemployment issues - what Sinn Fein President Ruairi O Bradaigh now calls "...occupying ground vacated by the Sticks ('Official Sinn Fein') ...." . That particular move has been far from as successful or complete as its architects planned and has caused the greatest tensions within the Republican Movement since the Official/Provisional split of 1970. The fact that it has been at all successful rests entirely on the fact that those responsible for the military rebirth of the IRA were also those backing the advocates of radicalism . In republican politics the sword has always been mightier than the pen and this time in the IRA's history both sword and pen were pointing in the same direction....... ('1169...' Comment : it was obvious to some at the time , and suspected by others , that some of those rising through the ranks of the Movement wanted to 'point the pen' towards constitutionalism and destroy 'the sword' on their way there.)
(MORE LATER).

ARMAGH JAIL - NO LET UP IN REPRESSION.......

Arrested on active service in April 1976 and sentenced at her 'trial' eight months later to 14 years imprisonment , Belfast republican Mairead Farrell became one of the first women POW's to take part in the protest for political status . Later on she was involved in the 'no wash' escalation of the protest in Armagh Jail , and in December 1980 she was one of three women prisoners to join the first hunger-strike . Here , in a smuggled communication to this magazine , she writes about the strip searches , prison work and isolation that are features of the prison regime's repression in Armagh.
From 'IRIS' magazine , July 1983.

" A prime example of this is the continuation of strip searching despite the public outcry it provoked . The NIO have attempted to play down this degrading practice by saying that it is necessary when moving high security-risk prisoners to and from the jail , while a notice displayed in the strip-search area states that all prisoners must be stripped naked leaving and entering the jail because of 'prohibited articles' being smuggled in .

This refers to the incident last November which sparked off the strip searching when two 'YOP's' ('ordinary prisoners') stole the keys of a magistrate's car "for a laugh" while in RUC custody and brought them back into the jail . The two 'YOP's' have since been released . Ironic ? Maybe , but having listened to three women who have endured this disgusting practice daily for months , as have those in the Black informer trial, I can only think of the enormous mental effect this must have at what is already a stressful period .

Each of these women has been stripped over 135 times . This is not 'in the interests of security' , it is psychological torture . The prison administration have agreed it is an unnecessary practice , yet it continues because it's a new-found weapon in the attempt to rob republicans of dignity....... "
(MORE LATER).

OPERATIONAL COMMENTS OF A BRITISH ARMY OFFICER.......

British Lieutenant-Colonel Michael Dewar of the Royal Green Jackets has served in Cyprus , Borneo and Malaya , as well as in the Occupied Six Irish Counties . He has written three previous books - 'Internal Security Weapons And Equipment Of The World' and 'Brushfire Wars' . The extracts reproduced here are from 'The British Army In Northern Ireland' , which was published by 'Arms and Armour Press' in 1985 . The underlined comments in this article are ours . This article reflects the operational thinking of a British military commander , more so than his political or ideological outlook.
From 'IRIS' magazine , October 1987.

British Army covert operations in the North of Ireland result in more preventive that reactive operations . In rural areas , close observation platoons dig into hides for long periods and watch known border crossing-points or known IRA houses. They can then steer other patrols on to the enemy if they see them.

In urban areas , British Army Observation Posts are set up in derelict houses and on rooftops : in one incident , in Belfast , a BA platoon Commander had set up an OP in a derelict semi-detatched house , with a good area of observation and field of fire looking down to the Springfield Road . After the OP had been in position for two days , a shot rang out from what sounded like the other side of the wall against which the three men in the OP were leaning .

After extricating themselves from their cramped positions , they were just in time to see a gunman disappearing around a street corner 150 yards away . It transpired that the gunman had taken up a position very quietly several hours before , in the other of the two semi-detatched houses , which was lived in , and had fired a shot at a BA patrol on the Springfield Road , but missed . This is illustrative of that sort of cat and mouse game that is played out in the backstreets of Belfast .

[END of 'OPERATIONAL COMMENTS OF A BRITISH ARMY OFFICER']
(Next- "Shedding Dreams" ; from October 1987)

Saturday, June 28, 2008

UPDATE : two more photographs , three more POW facts -

1)The Republican prisoners in Maghaberry Jail are locked into their cells for between 21 and 23 hours per day.

2)They are strip-searched constantly - one POW received 1,135 'rubdown searches' and 31 strip searches in a six month period.

3) They are made to chose between daily exercise and education. The right of the prisoners to organise their own education , handcraft , Irish language and history classed etc is denied them. Prison craft they have made is either destroyed or confiscated by prison staff. More information and contact details here.

Burning the Butchers Apron outside the British Embassy in Dublin , Saturday 28 June 2008.

Say it LOUD - "SUPPORT THE FIVE DEMANDS!"
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Republican protestors outside the British Embassy in Dublin , Saturday 28 June 2008.

Between 12.45pm and about 2.30pm today , Saturday 28 June 2008 , approximately 50 Irish republican protestors held a noisy , colourful and peaceful picket outside the British Embassy in Merrion Road , Dublin . The protest was held to highlight the fact that Republican prisoners are again being criminalised by the British Government and in support of the five demands made by the prisoners themselves -

1) Right to free association
2) End to controlled movement
3) Right to full-time education
4) Separate visiting facility
5) Right to organise their own landings.

The protestors were closely monitored by four Special Branch men and seven uniformed Garda , as well as having at least four CCTV cameras , controlled by Embassy staff within the building , trained on their every move. Leaflets were handed out to members of the public in the vicinity and countless car drivers sounded their horns in support as they slowed down to take a look.

Leaflets distributed by republican protestors outside the British Embassy in Dublin.

A 'Union Jack'/Butchers Apron flag was burned by the republicans in the closing minutes of the protest , an act which drew a sustained round of applause from the protestors and passers-by , and illicted much sounding of car-horns from the many vehicles in the area at the time! A 'running commentary' was sustained by Josephine Hayden for almost the entire length of the protest , and main speeches were delivered by Des Dalton and Richard Walsh. The organisers were more than pleased with how the event went , and those present - with the notable exception of the State security teams - were thanked for their presence. A full report and more pics will be published in the July 2008 issue of Saoirse, which will be available on Wednesday the 2nd of that month.

Richard Walsh (left) and Padraig from Blanch!

Josephine Hayden and Des Dalton.

Butchers Apron - going.....

...going....

....gone!

More pics can be viewed here and here.

Thanks!
Sharon.

Thursday, June 26, 2008

PICKET THE BRITISH EMBASSY IN DUBLIN IN SUPPORT OF IRISH POW's !

"This citadel, this house of hell,
Is worshipped by The Law.
It's built upon a rock of wrong
With hate, and bloody straw.

They came and came their job the same
In relays n'er they stopped.
'Just sign the line!' They shrieked each time
And beat me 'till I dropped.

They tortured me quite viciously
They threw me through the air.
It got so bad it seemed I had
Been beat beyond repair.

The days expired and no one tired,
Except of course the prey,
And knew they well that time would tell
Each dirty trick they laid on thick
For no one heard or saw,
Who dares to say in Castlereagh
The 'police' would break the law!"
(Bobby Sands)

Despite what some anti-republican elements would have you believe , there are Irish Republican prisoners on this isle : more information on the POW's can be found here.
The POW Department of the Republican Movement will be placing a two-hour picket on the British Embassy in Ballsbridge, Dublin , on Saturday June 28th 2008 , beginning at 1pm.
Your support would be appreciated!

POLITICAL STATUS FOR REPUBLICAN POW's !

Thanks,
Sharon.

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

THE IRA : the new IRA is younger , more radical and has seen little of life other than violence.......
By Ed Moloney.
From 'Magill' magazine, September 1980.

Without that 1977 re-organisation the IRA would in all probability now be a spent force and its leaders in jail or back home at their fireplaces dreaming of what had been or what might have been . Two factors led to that re-organisation : the most important was the success of the RUC arresting and extracting 'confessions' from IRA Volunteers and leaders : between 1976 and 1977 when the interrogators of Castlereagh and elsewhere were working overtime , over 2,500 people , mostly IRA , were convicted of 'murder' , 'attempted murder' and arms and explosives offences .

Such was the 'success' of the 'criminalisation policy' , as it was called , that the then British Secretary of State , Roy Mason, and his security chiefs at one time thought they had actually pulled it off and defeated the IRA . " We were almost defeated," admitted one present Provo leader . The second important factor was the effect of the post-Feakle ceasefire and peace talks of 1975/76 on the thinking of leading Provisional strategists . That ceasefire brought certain short term gains for the IRA - 'Incident Centres' to monitor British Army infringements of the ceasefire were set up and talks were held between IRA leaders and British civil servants at which the carrot of British withdrawal was dangled tantalisingly over Provo noses .

But the ceasefire also created major long term problems for the Provos : it provoked a bloody loyalist backlash which tied-up IRA resource and questioned long-held republican assumptions about the loyalist community . It also gained the British Army and RUC time to recover from the trauma of 1974 and to collect vital intelligence on an increasingly open and careless IRA . In addition it allowed the British to formulate a radical change in 'security policy' of which the present H Blocks and Castlereagh were part.......
(MORE LATER).

ARMAGH JAIL - NO LET UP IN REPRESSION.......

Arrested on active service in April 1976 and sentenced at her 'trial' eight months later to 14 years imprisonment , Belfast republican Mairead Farrell became one of the first women POW's to take part in the protest for political status . Later on she was involved in the 'no wash' escalation of the protest in Armagh Jail , and in December 1980 she was one of three women prisoners to join the first hunger-strike . Here , in a smuggled communication to this magazine , she writes about the strip searches , prison work and isolation that are features of the prison regime's repression in Armagh.
From 'IRIS' magazine , July 1983.

" Since the installation of the present regime a year ago , there has been a marked increase in pettiness and severe punishments . The manner in which this is employed I can only describe as a two-fold tactic designed to divide republican POW's and break their resistance to the system . The first technique is obvious - constant punishment by long spells in solitary confinement , loss of remission and all so-called 'privileges' , so as to inflict as much suffering as possible in preparation for the second technique .

This involves a relaxation in the situation with a promise of more to come provided 'you keep your nose clean' . It's as though the prison regime model their treatment of prisoners on the principle of 'teaching a dog new tricks' - do what we tell you well and the reward will be yours , with the possibility of bigger and better rewards in the pipeline. Then suddenly the breathing space is over and things revert to the more familiar pattern of harsh punishments , leaving the taste of what life could be like if only republicans would stop being republicans!

When the 'no work' protest ended , these techniques were put into operation immediately in an orchestrated attempt to break the POW's . In the first fortnight , most republican prisoners had received more punishment than would have been possible during a month on protest . This punishment reached the heights in severity with many women spending days , and in some cases months , in solitary confinement . With the failure of this two-fold tactic the prison authorities have to content themselves with continuous punishments meted out on petty pretexts , trying to beat the republican spirit into submission....... "
(MORE LATER).

OPERATIONAL COMMENTS OF A BRITISH ARMY OFFICER.......

British Lieutenant-Colonel Michael Dewar of the Royal Green Jackets has served in Cyprus , Borneo and Malaya , as well as in the Occupied Six Irish Counties . He has written three previous books - 'Internal Security Weapons And Equipment Of The World' and 'Brushfire Wars' . The extracts reproduced here are from 'The British Army In Northern Ireland' , which was published by 'Arms and Armour Press' in 1985 . The underlined comments in this article are ours . This article reflects the operational thinking of a British military commander , more so than his political or ideological outlook.
From 'IRIS' magazine , October 1987.

British Army 'success' in the North of Ireland is based upon accurate and comprehensive intelligence : the intelligence effort is organised by the Battalion Intelligence Officer , whose staff is specially augmented for a North of Ireland tour and which will probably consist of a warrant officer , perhaps two senior NCO's and a number of junior NCO's and riflemen . They will gather their intelligence from the following - patrol reports from the companies of the battalion on the ground , close liaison with the RUC and Special Branch , information provided by the intelligence staff at Brigade Headquarters and from their own contacts among the civil population within the battalion area of responsibility .

Intelligence is , of course , a continuous process . An incoming Intelligence Officer will inherit a great deal of data from his predecessor and will , during his 'shift' , add to it and sift through it . More important , he will cast a fresh eye on the same information and perhaps come up with a solution that had evaded his predecessor .

The main tasks of the Intelligence Cell are to build up and maintain an up-to-date and accurate 'rogues gallery' of all suspected IRA and other republican paramilitary activists and sympathisers in the battalion area , to pinpoint weapons and explosives hides , to provide the RUC with any relevant information that will produce the evidence necessary for an arrest and to collate any useful information that will enhance the battalion's operational capability .

In the early 1970's the emphasis was very much on overt patrolling but today it is public knowledge that there is a greater emphasis on covert operations.......
(MORE LATER).