PROSE AND CONS.
By prisoners from E1 Landing, Portlaoise Prison, 1999.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS :
Grateful thanks to the following for their help, support, assistance and encouragement, and all those who helped with the typing and word processing over the past few months. Many thanks to Cian Sharkhin, the editor of the book, Mr Bill Donoghue, Governor, Portlaoise, Mr Seán Wynne, supervising teacher, the education unit in Portlaoise Prison and the education staff, especially Zack, Helena and Jane. Education officers Bill Carroll and Dave McDonald, Rita Kelly, writer, print unit, Arbour Hill.
First Print : November 1999, reprinted March 2000, illustrations by D O'Hare, Zack and Natasha. Photograph selection : Eamonn Kelly and Harry Melia.
PHYSICAL CONFINEMENT.
At the rectangular window I look
cracked squares of plain glass obscure my full vision,
the early May evening is beautiful
brightness has entered my place of confinement
and I contemplate
how anyone can stand this doghouse
without losing some of their sanity
is a treasure indeed
in someway or other it takes its toll
maybe not consciously, but it erases some tissue.
A cell to remove cells, a place of isolation
a futile experience to rehabilitate
a mockery to the taxpayer
The evening stretches and I am still here physically
the quietness has laboured
apart from the odd radio, here or there
a shadow has descended, on the left side of the window
another day has almost passed
I stretch and relieve myself
another part of this inhuman, degrading locker
my brain is disassociated from confinement
again I have travelled.
Paul Dillon.
(Next : 'Time', by Paul Dillon.)
CHILEAN FIGHTERS NEED YOUR HELP NOW....
The following piece was published in the 'Socialist Republic!' newspaper in September 1986.
The Chilean people have recently created an armed wing of their struggle against the Pinochet dictatorship - the 'Manuel Rodrigues Patriotic Front'. Although very little has been published in the press, their often spectacular actions of sabotage and attack on the regime forces have proven very successful. The following is a testimony of one of the fighters in the aftermath of one such operation.
THE HOSPITAL.
"The priest moves me to the hospital where they prepare to operate. I wake up hours later in the convalescent ward. I see the doctor and then a policeman interrogates me. He asks my name and angrily screams "Terrorist!" and continues to insult me. The woman doctor comes to my defence and asks the policeman what he would do if a son or a brother of his was in my condition, because to any one of them the same could happen.
Hours later the finger-print people arrive and they try to interrogate me. The woman doctor throws them out, telling them that the patient is her charge and as long as that is the case she will make sure he isn't disturbed. After a while instructions come from the hospital administrator that I am being moved to a new ward. This is a manoeuvre to allow the agents to interrogate me without being disturbed ; I'm moved and the interrogation begins. They insult me and to frighten me they load their guns, then they threaten me about my wife and children but that brings no results, so they threaten me with the CNI and torture.Two days later the CNI arrive.
They bring photographs of my relatives, taken from my sister's house , and use them to put pressure on me to talk. When they start to take me to one of their secret headquarters so that they can torture me at will, the carabinieros in the room load their guns and stop them, managing to throw them out of the hospital.
Hours later, with the agreement of the hospital administrator and the carabinieri, I'm taken to the barracks. I'm not being threatened any more, although the interrogation continues..." (MORE LATER).
STUNNING SILENCE....
The British publishing group 'Macmillan' must have been sorely disappointed by the media's reaction, or lack of it, to the launch last month of Paul Foot's book 'Who Framed Colin Wallace?' By Eamonn McCann, from 'Magill' magazine, June 1989.
Whatever about the credibility of the story's subject - Colin Wallace - Paul Foot's track record in such matters ought to have made the publication worthy of mention at least. His 1971 book 'Who Killed Hanratty' demolished the evidence on which teenager James Hanratty had been sent to the gallows for the 'A6 murder'. His 'Helen Smith Story' challenged official accounts of the still-mysterious death of a British nurse in Saudi Arabia. 'Murder at the Farm' was instrumental in persuading (British) Home Secretary Douglas Hurd to send the case of three men convicted of the murder of newsboy Carl Bridgewater back to the courts for re-trial.
Paul Foot was named Journalist of the Year by Granada Television's 'What The Papers Say' in 1972 and Campaigning Journalist of the Year in the British Press Awards in 1980. The fact that he was joining his own credibility to that of Colin Wallace ought in itself to have made the story interesting, particularly to his fellow-journalists. (MORE LATER).
ON THIS DATE (30TH SEPTEMBER) 21 YEARS AGO : DEATH OF A LEGEND.
Michael Flannery (pictured, left) - born in North Tipperary in 1902, died in New York on the 30th September 1994, age 92. He joined the Irish Volunteers in 1916 (as did his brother, Peter) and often recounted how, as a teenage POW in a British prison in Ireland that year, he stood on a bucket at the window in his cell and watched the storm clouds gather over Dublin as the men of the Rising were executed. He had three brothers and three sisters but spent his youth separated from them and the rest of his family - he was constantly 'on the run' from the British and, still only in his early teens, was known as a skilled guerrilla fighter, having learned to kill enemy forces "...without regret and without bitterness. I felt anger but not bitterness towards them. I hated their actions but always said 'God have mercy on your soul' as they died." One of those who served with him, Jack Moloney, described him as "..cool as a cucumber under fire. He had brains to burn, and he never got angry. You couldn't shake him."
He stayed through to the Republic and fought for the Anti-Treaty side but, on the 11th November 1922, he was captured in Tipperary by Free State soldiers and spent nearly a year and a half in Mountjoy Prison (C Wing) during which time he witnessed the execution of IRA men like Dick Barrett, Joe McKelvey, Liam Mellowes and Rory O'Connor. His internment was interspersed with periods of solitary confinement and culminated in a 28 day hunger strike during which he was transferred to the Curragh prison camp in Kildare (Tintown camp #3, prisoner #886). He was eventually released on the 1st May 1924 and went to America in 1927 on behalf of the Republican Movement, sailing from Cobh in Cork and arriving in New York on the 14th February of that year. His job and intention was to help to organise, firstly, those in New York who, like himself, had remained true to Irish republicanism. He married Margaret Mary Egan ((known as 'Pearl') in Rockville Center, New York in 1928, and settled in Jackson Heights in that city, earning a wage as an insurance actuarial. Tipperary-born Margaret was a research chemist, educated at University College Dublin and University of Geneva. The couple had no children, but helped to raise and educate fourteen of their nephews and nieces both in Ireland and America.
As part of his work for the Movement, he formed the 'Congress for Irish Freedom', and then the New York-based 'Irish Northern Aid Committee' ('Noraid') . In 1982, Michael Flannery and four other Noraid officials (Thomas Falvey, Daniel Gormley, George Harrison and Patrick Mullin) were charged in New York of gunrunning to the I.R.A. but were subsequently acquitted. The trial of the 'Brooklyn Five' ran from 23rd September to 5th November, during which the defence reportedly asserted that the men were acting at the behest of the Central Intelligence Agency. He died in New York on the 30th September 1994 and is buried in Mount Saint Mary's Cemetery in Flushing, New York with his wife Margaret, who died on the 12th November 1991.
The 'National Irish Freedom Committee' ('Cumann Na Saoirse Náisiúnta') , which he co-founded in 1987, hold an annual testimonial awards dinner in Astoria, New York, every spring at which the 'Michael Flannery Spirit of Freedom Award' and the 'Pearl Flannery Humanities Award' are presented.
Finally, I couldn't mention Michael without also commending those who, already referenced, above, worked alongside him in supporting the Cause of Irish republicanism - Pat Mullin, George Harrison, Tom Falvey and Danny Gormley. Legends all!
ON THIS DATE (30TH SEPTEMBER) 22 YEARS AGO : EX-REPUBLICANS TRIP THEMSELVES UP (ONCE AGAIN!).
Gerry Adams ( aka 'Crown Steward and Bailiff of the Manor of Northstead'), pictured, left, looking at his "national responsibility".
"Since the partition of Ireland, successive Dublin governments have run away from the Northern problem and thus have been part of the problem. Now it must become part of the solution. Dublin must assume its national responsibility" - from the Provisional Sinn Féin newspaper 'AP/RN', 30th September 1993, page 6, 'editorial column'. The Leinster House administration ('Dublin government') claims jurisdiction over the 26-county State only ; since when has it had a "national responsibility"?
ON THIS DATE (30TH SEPTEMBER) 36 YEARS AGO : SELECTIVE CONDEMNATION FROM ROME.
On the 30th September, 1979, Pope John Paul II ,the spiritual head of the Catholic Church, became the first Pope to visit Ireland. Those half-hoping that such an influential person might use the occasion to highlight the many injustices inflicted by Westminster on the Irish were to be disappointed : instead, we got the opposite - a pro-establishment, pro-Westminster/Free State and anti-Republican rant, during which, in an address to the Irish nation, the man said - "On my knees I beg you to turn away from the paths of violence and return to the ways of peace..."
No mention of the British military and political presence in Ireland ; no reference to the continuing claim of British jurisdiction over six Irish counties ; not a word about "the paths of violence" which lead to and from Number 10 Downing Street. Condemnation, only, for those attempting to resist foreign occupation. However , we salute those who wear a similar collar and are not afraid to speak the truth - "Sometimes, I'm jealous of the Palestinians. They have one enemy, the Israelis. The Israelis are stealing Palestinian land and the Palestinians are resisting it and so they fight..." If that particular institution had more people like that active within it, it might not be in the troubled position it's in today. However, better late than never - that particular religious leader has about three years in which to prepare a speech highlighting the continuing British interference, politically and militarily, in this country. Those thinking that he might just do so haven't a prayer...
ON THIS DATE (30TH SEPTEMBER) 73 YEARS AGO : FREE STATE RAIDING PARTY STORM WEDDING RECEPTION.
Ireland, 1942 : IRA Volunteers Paddy Dermody (who was the then Commanding Officer of the IRA's Eastern Command) and Harry White were both on the run from the Free Staters and, on the 30th September, 1942 - 73 years ago on this date - decided to 'take a day off' and attend a wedding reception in a house near Mount Nugent in Cavan : Paddy's sister, Jane, was getting married that day to Michael Tuite, a small farmer (their union produced eleven children - nine sons and two daughters). The house reception was in full swing when an armed Free State raiding party burst in, acting on information from two of their own type who had been observing proceedings and had seen the two IRA men enter the house. A gun battle said to be reminiscent to that of any such encounter during the 1920's ensued and one of the musician's, a man named Finnegan, was shot in the leg. A Free State Detective, a Mr. M.J. Walsh, was in the house and moved past a window when one of his colleagues outside mistakingly fired at him, a wound from which he died later, in hospital. At the same time, Paddy Dermody was killed instantly by a bullet in the back, just as he and Harry White were about to try and escape through a different window.
Harry White was on his own now, in a house which was surrounded by armed Staters, some of whom were coming in. He dived through a window into the night and shot his way through an armed cordon : hit twice in the leg, he collapsed in a clump of whins half-a-mile from the house. For two cold October nights he lay wounded under the stars as Free State soldiers scoured the area for him. A sympathetic soldier found him, fed him, got him to shelter and finally escorted him by bicycle to Dublin - he was back on active service for the IRA.
Later on that same month (October, 1942) as part of what the Free Staters called 'an ongoing investigations into major criminal activity',a detective Garda Mordaunt was one of a number of armed Free Staters who went to house number 14 on Holly Park in Donnycarney, Dublin, to arrest a group of wanted men. Just prior to the arrival of the Gardai the men escaped from the house and during the course of a search for them detective Garda Mordaunt became separated from his colleagues. It was a short time later that he was missed, and on a search being made for him, his body was discovered in the garden of a house in an adjoining street - he had been fatally wounded by a firearm and Harry White was one of those considered to be responsible.
It was October 1946 before Harry White was finally captured on a lonely mountain farm on the Derry side of the Sperrins. Four days later, he was 'released' from Crumlin Road Jail, bundled into an RUC car and driven to a bridge on the Armagh-Monaghan road : a Garda car stopped on the other side and he was bundled across the border without the slightest pretence of judicial process. Six weeks later, at the 'Special Criminal Court' in Dublin, he was sentenced to death. Sean McBride was his defence counsel and, under cross-examination, a detective admitted he and his companions had fired on three men in a passageway near the house. Of thirty to forty bullets fired in the lane, only two were ever produced - neither of those was the bullet that killed State detective Mordaunt . Instead , a pathologist claimed that the hole in Mordaunt's skull was too small to have been made by a shot from any of the Gardai's .45 revolvers, despite the fact there was evidence some had weapons of smaller calibre. Evidence was produced that Garda fire had hit targets well away from the lane. The State Appeal Court reduced Harry White's conviction to 'manslaughter', on the basis that the Gardai had not identified themselves as such before opening fire...(...more on this event can be read here.)
ON THIS DATE (30TH SEPTEMBER) 98 YEARS AGO : LET ME CARRY YOUR CROSS FOR IRELAND....
The funeral procession in Dublin, 30th September 1917, (pictured, left) for Thomas Ashe, an IRB leader who died on the 25th September that year, after being force fed by his British jailers - he was the first Irish republican to die as a result of a hunger-strike and, between that year and 1981, twenty-one other Irish republicans died on hunger-strike. The jury at the inquest into his death found "..that the deceased, Thomas Ashe, according to the medical evidence of Professor McWeeney, Sir Arthur Chance, and Sir Thomas Myles, died from heart failure and congestion of the lungs on the 25th September, 1917 and that his death was caused by the punishment of taking away from the cell bed, bedding and boots and allowing him to be on the cold floor for 50 hours, and then subjecting him to forcible feeding in his weak condition after hunger-striking for five or six days.."
Michael Collins organised the funeral and transformed it into a national demonstration against British misrule in Ireland ; armed Irish Republican Brotherhood Volunteers in full uniform flanked the coffin, followed by 9,000 other IRB Volunteers and approximately 30,000 people lined the streets. A volley of shots was fired over Ashe's grave, following which Michael Collins stated - "Nothing more remains to be said. That volley which we have just heard is the only speech which it is proper to make over the grave of a dead Fenian ."
The London-based 'Daily Express' newspaper perhaps summed it up best when it stated, re the funeral of Thomas Ashe, that what had happened had made '100,000 Sinn Féiners out of 100,000 constitutional nationalists.' The level of support shown gave a boost to Irish Republicans, and this was noted by the 'establishment' in Westminster - 'The Daily Mail' newspaper claimed that, a month earlier, Sinn Féin, despite its electoral successes, had been a waning force. That newspaper said - '..It had no practical programme, for the programme of going further than anyone else cannot be so described. It was not making headway. But Sinn Féin today is pretty nearly another name for the vast bulk of youth in Ireland...'
Thomas Patrick Ashe’s activities and interests included cultural and physical force nationalism as well as trade unionism and socialism. He also commanded the 5th Battalion of the Dublin Brigade who won the Battle of Ashbourne on the 29th of April 1916. Born in Lispole, County Kerry on the 12th of January 1885, he was the seventh of ten siblings. He qualified as a teacher in 1905 at De La Salle College, Waterford and after teaching briefly in Kinnard, County Kerry, in 1906 he became principal of Corduff National School in Lusk, County Dublin. Thomas Ashe was a fluent Irish speaker and a member of the Keating branch of the Gaelic League and was an accomplished sportsman and musician setting up the Roundtowers GAA Club as well as helping to establish the Lusk Pipe Band. He was also a talented singer and poet who was committed to Conradh na Gaeilge.
Politically, he was a member of the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB) and established IRB circles in Dublin and Kerry and eventually became President of the Supreme Council in 1917. While he was actively and intellectually nationalist he was also inspired by contemporary socialism. Ashe rejected conservative Home Rule politicians and as part of that rejection he espoused the Labour policies of James Larkin. Writing in a letter to his brother Gregory he said "We are all here on Larkin's side. He'll beat hell out of the snobbish, mean, seoinín employers yet, and more power to him". Ashe supported the unionisation of north Dublin farm labourers and his activities brought him into conflict with landowners such as Thomas Kettle in 1912. During the infamous lockout in 1913 he was a frequent visitor to Liberty Hall and become a friend of James Connolly. Long prior to its publication in 1916, Thomas Ashe was a practitioner of Connolly’s dictum that "the cause of labour is the cause of Ireland, the cause of Ireland is the cause of labour". In 1914 Ashe travelled to the United States where he raised a substantial sum of money for both the Gaelic League and the newly formed Irish Volunteers of which he was an early member.
Ashe founded the Volunteers in Lusk and established a firm foundation of practical and theoretical military training. He provided charismatic leadership first as Adjutant and then as O/C (Officer Commanding) the 5th Battalion of the Dublin Brigade. He inspired fierce loyalty and encouraged personal initiative in his junior officers and was therefore able to confidently delegate command to Charlie Weston, Joseph Lawless, Edward Rooney and others during the Rising. Most significantly, he took advantage of the arrival of Richard Mulcahy at Finglas Glen on the Tuesday of the Rising and appointed him second in command. The two men knew one another through the IRB and Gaelic League and Ashe recognized Mulcahy’s tactical abilities. As a result Ashe allowed himself to be persuaded by Mulcahy not to withdraw following the unexpected arrival of the motorised force at the Rath crossroads. At Ashbourne on the 28th of April Ashe also demonstrated great personal courage, first exposing himself to fire while calling on the RIC in the fortified barracks to surrender and then actively leading his Volunteers against the RIC during the Battle.
After the 1916 Rising he was court-martialed (on the 8th of May 1916) and was sentenced to death. The sentence was commuted to penal servitude for life. He was incarcerated in a variety of English prisons before being released in the June 1917 general amnesty. He immediately returned to Ireland and toured the country reorganising the IRB and inciting civil opposition to British rule. In August 1917, after a speech in Ballinalee, County Longford, he was arrested by the RIC and charged with "speeches calculated to cause disaffection". He was detained in the Curragh camp and later sentenced to a year's hard labour in Mountjoy Jail. There he became O/C of the Volunteer prisoners, and demanded prisoner-of-war status. As a result he was punished by the Governor. He went on hunger strike on the 20th September 1917 and five days later died as a result of force-feeding by the prison authorities. He was just 32 years old. The death of Thomas Ashe resulted in POW status being conceded to the Volunteer prisoners two days later.
Thomas Ashe’s funeral was the first public funeral after the Rising and provided a focal point for public disaffection with British rule. His body lay in state in Dublin City Hall before being escorted by armed Volunteers to Glasnevin Cemetery. 30,000 people attended the burial where three volleys were fired over the grave and the Last Post was sounded. While imprisoned in Lewes Jail in 1916, Thomas Ashe had written his poem 'Let Me Carry Your Cross for Ireland, Lord' which later provided the inspiration for the Battle of Ashbourne memorial unveiled by Sean T. O'Kelly on Easter Sunday, 26th April 1959 at the Rath Cross in Ashbourne :
Let me carry your Cross for Ireland, Lord
The hour of her trial draws near,
And the pangs and the pains of the sacrifice
May be borne by comrades dear.
But, Lord, take me from the offering throng,
There are many far less prepared,
Through anxious and all as they are to die
That Ireland may be spared.
Let me carry your Cross for Ireland, Lord
My cares in this world are few,
and few are the tears will for me fall
When I go on my way to You.
Spare Oh! Spare to their loved ones dear
The brother and son and sire,
That the cause we love may never die
In the land of our Heart's desire!
Let me carry your Cross for Ireland, Lord!
Let me suffer the pain and shame
I bow my head to their rage and hate,
And I take on myself the blame.
Let them do with my body whate'er they will,
My spirit I offer to You,
That the faithful few who heard her call
May be spared to Roisin Dubh.
Let me carry your Cross for Ireland, Lord!
For Ireland weak with tears,
For the aged man of the clouded brow,
And the child of tender years;
For the empty homes of her golden plains,
For the hopes of her future, Too!
Let me carry your Cross for Ireland, Lord!
for the cause of Roisin Dubh. (from here.)
"IF YOU BREAK IT, YOU OWN IT..."
The current crisis concerning asylum seekers/refugees/migrants has grabbed some people's attention to the extent that they have offered their spare room and/or living-room sofa as shelter for those unfortunate people in a generous but, in my opinion, a misguided and short-term 'solution' which seeks to temporarily address one of the symptoms of the issue at the expense of ignoring and/or not addressing the cause of same. This 'Indymedia Ireland' post caught my attention as it reflects my own opinion on this divisive issue -
what exactly is "our fair share"
author by dupedpublication date Sun Sep 27, 2015 21:21Report this post to the editors
what exactly is "our fair share" of refugees anyway?
we didn't start the wars in Libya, Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan
or support corrupt regimes in nigeria and other african countries
which we wanted oil, coltan and other raw materials from
And we didn't sell everyone loads of weapons to kill each other with.
So why are we expected to clean up after other warmongering psychopaths that did this stuff? Last I heard, there is plenty of room in america, Saudi arabia, france, UK.
Give em all green cards and UK/french/saudi passports. If you break it you own it. we are already living with a chronically inefficient and underfunded health service and education system and have a huge unemployment and housing problem. The government has no money for special needs assistants for disabled people, or for the mentally ill.
So where are we expected to get the money to support thousands of new subscribers to these systems all of a sudden?
And if these people are placed in the already unfit for purpose asylum system, how will that affect those already suffering in it at present if we pile thousands of people in with them? And these people will be our responsibility for generations. Have people worked out the total multi generational cost of taking these folk on? No, I thought not.
What is the agendas here? I know the likes of Peter Sutherland are up to no good, and that they couldn't give a flying fuck about poor brown people, just low wages, engineering a lack of social cohesion and hence weakening resistance to corporate edicts such as TTIP
Germany needs young people to keep it's economy going, but we don't. So why should we help them solve a problem of their own making here. They didn't break their asses trying to help us when we needed it. They just blackmailed us into bailing out their banks bad gambling debts
Cold and callous or calling it as it is? The theme of the post -'responsibility' - is accurate and, in my opinion, should be heeded as the forced displacement of populations by greedy and imperialist forces is only starting. And, as heartbreaking as it may be, there just isn't enough spare rooms and sofas to go around.
Thanks for reading, Sharon.
THE IRA MAN WAS ON HIS OWN NOW...
...in a house which was surrounded by armed Staters, some of whom were coming in. He dived through a window into the night and shot his way through an armed cordon : hit twice in the leg, he collapsed in some bushes half-a-mile from the house. For two cold October nights he lay wounded under the stars as Free State soldiers scoured the area for him. Then an armed Free Stater stumbled on him...
Check back here on Wednesday, 30th September 2015.
PROSE AND CONS.
By prisoners from E1 Landing, Portlaoise Prison, 1999.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS :
Grateful thanks to the following for their help, support, assistance and encouragement, and all those who helped with the typing and word processing over the past few months. Many thanks to Cian Sharkhin, the editor of the book, Mr Bill Donoghue, Governor, Portlaoise, Mr Seán Wynne, supervising teacher, the education unit in Portlaoise Prison and the education staff, especially Zack, Helena and Jane. Education officers Bill Carroll and Dave McDonald, Rita Kelly, writer, print unit, Arbour Hill.
First Print : November 1999, reprinted March 2000, illustrations by D O'Hare, Zack and Natasha. Photograph selection : Eamonn Kelly and Harry Melia.
DEAFNESS.
Most of them pretend they are deaf
until they hear the till
the Judge shouts from the bench
Yes! they will
"That's right, My Lord
there's a ringing in my ears,
it wasn't there before I joined the army
but now it's my greatest fear
I can't concentrate on what I do
I argue with the wife,
this message that lies between my ear drums
plays havoc with my life
I'm cross with the kids
people think I'm lying,
they don't realise at times
all I'm doing is crying"
On the field of fire
the bullets whizzed in and out,
the Captain said he called for hours
I wondered why he didn't shout,
"You've been disobeying orders lately
do you know that, McGuire?"
I pondered to myself
was he calling me a liar...?
Paul Dillon.
(Next : 'Physical Confinement', by Paul Dillon.)
CHILEAN FIGHTERS NEED YOUR HELP NOW....
The following piece was published in the 'Socialist Republic!' newspaper in September 1986.
The Chilean people have recently created an armed wing of their struggle against the Pinochet dictatorship - the 'Manuel Rodrigues Patriotic Front'. Although very little has been published in the press, their often spectacular actions of sabotage and attack on the regime forces have proven very successful. The following is a testimony of one of the fighters in the aftermath of one such operation.
THE RETREAT.
"I get up and when I turn the corner I see a CNI car with two people inside. I take a deep breath and try to walk as normally as possible. One of those in the car says 'That one, with the jacket' and they get out of the car with their guns ready to shoot and they corner a young lad against the wall. He appears to be a student. I carry on walking for another block and I meet the main cordon. I am unable to go back so I carry on walking straight toward them. I go past the cars and the agents standing there - they take no notice and I keep going. I cross the street.
Seven blocks further on I feel faint. I see the sky falling in on me, then the trees, the houses and the ground. Sometime later I wake up in a church. The people's hands have delivered me from the enemy."
(MORE LATER).
STUNNING SILENCE....
The British publishing group 'Macmillan' must have been sorely disappointed by the media's reaction, or lack of it, to the launch last month of Paul Foot's book 'Who Framed Colin Wallace?' By Eamonn McCann, from 'Magill' magazine, June 1989.
While engaged in his job as 'press officer', Colin Wallace became aware that action to end the homosexual abuse of adolescent boys at Kincora was being blocked by the intelligence services, presumably in the hope of using the situation for blackmail or information-gathering purposes. When Wallace finally baulked at these malpractices he was first transferred out of the North of Ireland and then forced out of the British Army, and then a most elaborate effort went into framing him for the killing of a friend in Sussex in 1980.
Wallace's tale has been covered piecemeal in the past in both British and Irish media and this is the main explanation offered by a number of likely journalists for their attitude that notwithstanding the mildly dramatic manner of its publication, there wasn't much news in Paul Foot's book but, actually, there is significant new matter in it - hitherto unpublished details of what was happening in Kincora and 'raw' data about the operations against 'unsound' politicians, as well as much the most detailed and meticulous examination so far of the evidence on which Wallace was convicted of manslaughter.
Paul Foot draws the strands of this untidy tale together for the first time and puts the story in the context of other recent revelations about the British secret services, such as the Pointing, Wright and Massiter events. (MORE LATER).
ON THIS DATE (23RD SEPTEMBER) 39 YEARS AGO : "A THUNDERING DISGRACE".
Ireland, 1970's : turmoil in the country, due to the then-as-now unwanted political and military interference here by Westminster. The Leinster House administration was headed-up at the time by Fine Gael's Liam Cosgrave , and among the many harsh laws introduced, enforced and 'improved on' by the Blueshirts was a censorship act, 'Section 31'.
The then Free State President was a Fianna Fail man, Cearbhall Ó Dálaigh , said to be a compromise candidate by the powers-that-be at the time, as he fitted the requirements dictated by the 'establishment' (ie 'a safe pair of hands') - he was previously the Free State Attorney General and Chief Justice of the FS Supreme Court, and was given the Office, unopposed, in 1974, following the death of Erskine Hamilton Childers. But it was that legal training which raised a red flag with him in relation to a piece of legislation which the Blueshirt Leinster House administration wanted him to 'rubber stamp' - the 'Emergency Powers Act', and the fact that Ó Dálaigh and Cosgrave didn't agree with each other, socially or politically, came into play : Ó Dálaigh refused to simply 'sign off' on the 'EPA' without first testing its constitutionally.
On the 23rd of September, 1976 - 39 years ago on this date - Ó Dálaigh spent four hours consulting with a bunch of posh suits known as the Free State 'Council of State' on whether or not it would be best practice to refer the legislation to the Free State Supreme Court to test its constitutionality before he could declare it to be 'the law' and it was decided that that would be the best thing to do, a decision which annoyed the Blueshirt administration. Just over three weeks later (ie on the 15th October 1976) the FS Supreme Court declared that the 'EPA' was a legitimate piece of legislation and it was only then that Ó Dálaigh deemed it necessary to sign-off on it, which he did, reluctantly (or so it was alluded at the time) but that 'victory' wasn't enough for Cosgrave and his people - they considered themselves to have been disrespected by the actions of Ó Dálaigh and, three days later (ie on the 18th October 1976) , they could contain themselves no longer : it was on that date that the Free State Minister of Defence, Paddy Donegan, was opening a new Free State army barracks in Mullingar, County Westmeath (having, seemingly, forgot that Ó Dálaigh was the Commander-In-Chief of said army!) that he made a remark (he was concussed at the time, he later claimed!) which was to haunt him for the rest of his life. He 'kicked himself up the transom' , if you like, which wouldn't have caused as much damage as firing a shotgun over dwellings in which people lived - more about that 'eccentric' (!) Free State politician can be read here...
RAFFLES...
...AND RALLIES!
The raffle was held on Sunday, 13th September last, after the usual five day preparation period and, as expected, it was a busy few days for those of us involved and a very successful one for the Dublin Executive of Republican Sinn Féin : all 650 tickets were sold, €440 was handed out in prize money and most of the tickets for the October raffle were distributed. The hotel was packed, as usual, and the fifty tickets that we managed to hold on to for sale on the day were bought up within twenty minutes of us having arrived on site. And that's gonna cause problems for us at the next raffle, which will be held on Sunday 11th October - the hotel will be standing-room only, as the football team from this State are playing a match against Poland on that same date and a team representing the Six Counties are playing against Finland. Plus, Scotland are up against Gibraltar, Denmark are taking on France and, amongst other such fixtures, Serbia are playing against Portugal. A 'full house' in the raffle hotel is always good for business for them, once they have a good supply of food and drink to sell and the same goes for us - it would be good for our 'business' if only we had a good supply of tickets to sell, which we don't, unfortunately. But we're working on solving that problem...!
The 'Eve of All-Ireland Rally', which has been held in Dublin since the 1950's (if not before), took place on Saturday 19th September last, on the traffic isle facing the GPO in O'Connell Street and was, as usual, extremely well organised by the RSF committee behind it as, indeed, it was in the 1950's :
'One of the largest public rallies seen in Dublin for years was held by Sinn Féin at the GPO on the eve of the All-Ireland Football Final . Headed by a Colour Party and a pipe band , a parade of more than 2,000 people marched from Parnell Square through the main city thoroughfare as a protest against the continued unjust imprisonment of Irishmen without charge or trial . Contingents from all over the country took part and many carried banners and placards including groups from England and Scotland . In the Ulster section was a strong representation of the Derry supporters who thronged the capital city for the Final . One placard they carried asked - ' Why are Six-County Nationalists interned in the Curragh?' .....' (From 'An tÉireannach Aontaithe/The United Irishman' newspaper, November 1958.)
The event was Chaired by Josephine Hayden and two RSF members - Des Dalton, President, and Geraldine McNamara, PRO - spoke from the lectern as did one uniformed member from Na Fianna Éireann.
Three-hundred-and-fifty 'leaflet packs', comprising 1,200 printed items of a republican nature, were distributed on O'Connell Street before and during the proceedings and were eagerly accepted by the public, as were the words of Des Dalton in relation to the recent Free State hijacking of a republican icon : "The hijacking of the remains of the executed 1916 leader Thomas Kent by the 26-County Administration is a blatant attempt by that discredited administration to claim ownership of the legacy of the 1916 Rising for its own political advantage. The Irish people will see through this for the empty charade that it is. However, it shows scant respect for the memory of our patriot dead.
The 26-County State came about through the suppression of the All-Ireland Republic proclaimed in 1916; its foundation moment lies in the passage of the Government of Ireland Act of 1920 through the British Parliament at Westminster and not the reading of the Proclamation at the GPO on Easter Monday 1916. They have no legitimacy in commemorating 1916; the 26-County State is a negation of everything that the All-Ireland Republic stood for as articulated in the 1916 Proclamation. In their haste to lay claim to the memory of Thomas Kent and the other patriots of 1916 the Leinster House establishment have accused Irish Republicans of 'hijacking 1916'. How can republicans hijack something they have never abandoned? Irish republicans have faithfully commemorated the events of 1916 since 1917, at times they have faced imprisonment and harassment at the hands of the 26-County State for doing so. Infamously the Leinster House regime banned the 1976 commemoration, prosecuting the daughter of James Connolly, Nora Connolly O’Brien ,for her participation in the commemoration at the GPO as well as Fiona Plunkett, sister of Joseph Plunkett, another of the signatories of the 196 Proclamation.
Consequently these latest attempts ring hollow while the hijacking of the remains of our patriot deed is a distasteful act of political opportunism. 1916 belongs to the Irish people and those who are faithful to its ideals and vision of a New Ireland."
A full report and more pics will be published in the October 2015 issue of 'Saoirse', which goes to print on Wednesday, 7th of that month.
TA GAEILGE BEAG AGAM - NI TIR GAN TEANGA!
Tá Facebook ag glanadh ainmneachaí Ghaeil, agus pobail mionlaigh eile, ón suíomh acu faoin bpolasaí "fíor ainm" agus ag iarraidh ar dhaoine cáipéisí a thaispeáint ag cruthú nach "bréag ainm" atá á n-úsáid acu. Is ionsaí é seo ar chearta bunúsacha teanga agus féiniúlacht dhaoine!
Beidh agóid ann ag ceanncheathrú Facebook i mBÁC 2 ar an 7ú Deireadh Fómhair @ 2 i.n. ('Facebook are deleting the accounts of Irish speakers, and other minority communities, from their site under their misguided 'real name' policy and demanding people show documentation proving they are not using 'fake names'. This represents an attack on basic language rights and people's identities! There will be a protest at Facebook HQ in Dublin 2 on Wednesday 7th October at 2pm.')
As Pádraig Pearse stated - "Tír gan teanga, tír gan anam" ('A country without a language is a country without a soul').
"Facebook is where people come to make real connections with the people they care about. An important part of this is being able to express your true self. We recognise that some people want to be able to define their true gender identity beyond the definitions of just 'male' or 'female' in order express themselves authentically.
Following feedback from our community in Ireland and successful launches elsewhere, we are proud to announce the launch of a custom gender option to help people from Ireland better express themselves on Facebook..."(..from here.) "Better express themselves" on 'Facebook' provided they don't attempt to do so in their own name, in their own language, it seems. Fair play to all who assemble at FB HQ on Wednesday 7th October next to tell the Zuckerberg's of this world to póg mo thóin...!
Thanks for reading, Sharon.
PROSE AND CONS.
By prisoners from E1 Landing, Portlaoise Prison, 1999.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS :
Grateful thanks to the following for their help, support, assistance and encouragement, and all those who helped with the typing and word processing over the past few months. Many thanks to Cian Sharkhin, the editor of the book, Mr Bill Donoghue, Governor, Portlaoise, Mr Seán Wynne, supervising teacher, the education unit in Portlaoise Prison and the education staff, especially Zack, Helena and Jane. Education officers Bill Carroll and Dave McDonald, Rita Kelly, writer, print unit, Arbour Hill.
First Print : November 1999, reprinted March 2000, illustrations by D O'Hare, Zack and Natasha. Photograph selection : Eamonn Kelly and Harry Melia.
THE VALUE OF A SMILE (adaptation).
It costs nothing, but creates much
it enriches those who receive
without impoverishing those who give
it happens in a flash, and the memory sometimes last forever.
None are so rich that they can get along without it,
and none are so poor that they are not richer for its benefits,
it creates happiness in the home
fosters goodwill in business
And is the countersign of friends,
it is rest to the weary, daylight to the discouraged
sunlight to the sad and natures best antidote for trouble.
Yet it cannot be bought, begged, borrowed or stolen
for it is no good to anyone until it's given away.
If in the event that someone you meet is tired,
sad or troubled, why not give them one of your smiles.
The reason people pass one door to patronise another store
is not because the busier place
has better silks or gloves or lace, or better prices
but it lies in pleasant words and smiling eyes.
A smile is such a puzzling thing, it wrinkles up your face
and when it's gone it's hard to find its secret hiding place,
but far more wonderful to see is what a smile can do
you smile at one, she smiles at you
and so, one smile makes two.
Richard Birmingham.
(Next : 'Deafness' , by Paul Dillon).
A BRIEF NOTE / REMINDER FOR OUR READERS IN AMERICA....
..in October 2015, Irish Freedom Press and Cumann na Saoirse will launch the American Edition of Ruairí Ó Brádaigh Selected Writings, a single volume compiled of Volume I (launched in January 2015) and II of the Irish edition (which will be launched on Sunday, 22nd November 2015, in Wynn's Hotel, Dublin) . The book will officially be launched at the Annual Michael Flannery Dinner in New York on October 17th next and will be followed by a series of book launches. The main speaker at all these events is the editor of the work mentioned, and Irish republican, Dieter Reinisch.
The 20th Annual Michael Flannery Testimonial Awards Dinner :
The 20th Annual Michael Flannery Testimonial Awards Dinner will be held this year at 7:00pm on Saturday, October 17th, 2015, at Rory Dolans, 890 Mclean Avenue, Yonkers, NY. This year’s honorees are:
The Michael & Pearl Flannery Spirit of Freedom Award - Jack O'Brien, D.C.
The Sr. Sarah Clarke Human Rights Award - Sue Miskill Kramer CT.
The Countdown to 2016 Joseph Plunkett Award - Ken Tierney N.Y.
Cumann na Saoırse Náisiúnta is proud to announce that the 2015 dinner will also serve as the American launch for Ruairí Ó Brádaigh’s new book : Selected Writings & Speeches Vol.1, 1970 - 1986. Dieter Reinisch, who edited this historic new book, will be present at the dinner. He is a researcher at the European University Institute and also serves as a lecturer in Irish History and Celtic Studies at the University of Vienna. He will speak on the historic importance of the life and work of Ruairí Ó Brádaigh and will be available to sign copies afterwards. This year also brings us one year closer to the centenary of the 1916 Rising and to mark the historic occasion and pay a lasting tribute to participants of the Rising, Cumann na Saoirse Náisiúnta has produced a detailed full colour historic banner to mark the occasion. The banner will be unveiled at this year's Testimonial Dinner. Information will also be available for those who wish to participate in promoting this historic project.
We, of Cumann na Saoirse Náisiúnta, thank all of you who have supported this event over the last two decades. In addition to its historic and charitable functions, this event, continues to serve as a meeting place for those of us who have worked together over the decades for the cause of Irish Freedom. Cumann na Saoirse Náisiúnta will produce an 'Ad Journal' to mark this event and a form is attached for those who wish to purchase an advertisement :
Both dinner tickets at $ 50.00 each and Journal ads at $100.00. For additional information please contact Maggie 845-492-7198 (nymayo AT earthlink.net) and/or Jane 718-683-6903 (enright1 AT gmail.com) and for information on the Centennial Banner please call Mary at 732-441-9923.
(Thank you, readers, have a nice day. And I really do wish that I could spend the days mentioned above (and loads of others!) with all of ye in New York!)
RSF MEMBERS ABOUT TO BE INVOLVED IN A DIRTY AND MUDDY EPISODE FROM WHICH THEY WILL FEEL THE PAIN....
Eight members of Republican Sinn Féin will be washing their dirty laundry after the events highlighted in this post have taken place...We only got this information yesterday (Tuesday 8th September) and, once we had verified the source, we put the following promo piece out about it :
'The words 'to hell and back' were actually used by these Republican Sinn Féin members in connection with the 'ordeal' they volunteered for - as RSF members - and the quotes "unbelievable...poorly planned...rip good people off.." were uttered, loudly, by those who know what the RSF members in question went through and will go through, having experienced same themselves. Those 'whistleblowers' also used the words "toughest thing I've ever done...I'd never do it again....tough..." in connection with this dirty, exhausting and muddy episode. On Wednesday 9th September 2015, this blog will blow the whistle and expose, in all its ups and downs and ins and outs, the full story behind this tale of muddy bootprints and we will supply contact details where you can verify our piece and offer support, if you wish, to the RSF people mentioned. All we will say for now is that the members in question are not based in Dublin and that they welcome this publicity...'
The people involved are based in Wexford and are long-standing and active members of Republican Sinn Féin and the reason they're stuck between a rock and a hard place (or soon will be!) is because they have decided to go 'to hell and back' for a good Cause - to raise finance for the Ruairí Ó Brádaigh Memorial Fund! (...and - shame on you! - you thought this post was about something else altogether!)
Eight members of the Wexford RSF cumann will be taking part in the 'To Hell or Back' competition which is being held in Bray, County Wicklow, on Saturday 12th September 2015, an event which has tested the mettle of competitors in the past but which seemingly holds no fear for those courageous Irish republicans : "Our members will participate in 'Hell and Back', an obstacle course that will certainly test the body! We are doing this to raise money for the Ruairí Ó Brádaigh memorial fund and if anyone would like to sponsor one of the participants please contact this page. And a big thanks to those who have already sponsored us..."
However - we have good contacts in the Wexford RSF organisation and, during and after their trip to 'hell' there's bound to be a falling-out of some sort or other, so if it's back-biting gossip your looking for....!
CHILEAN FIGHTERS NEED YOUR HELP NOW!
The following piece was published in the 'Socialist Republic!' newspaper in September 1986.
The Chilean people have recently created an armed wing of their struggle against the Pinochet dictatorship - the 'Manuel Rodrigues Patriotic Front'. Although very little has been published in the press, their often spectacular actions of sabotage and attack on the regime forces have proven very successful. The following is a testimony of one of the fighters in the aftermath of one such operation.
THE CLASH.
"There are three of us in the car, two of my comrades and myself. Suddenly at a crossing we realise that the CNI (secret police) is waiting for us. There is no time to reverse, we have only two choices - to stop and die in a hail of bullets or to try and break out of the encirclement and save our lives. We don't hesitate.
The roadblock consists of about 30 vehicles. We have to try and break through. Each of us knows exactly what to do. Our driver accelerates and we drive through and manage to leave them behind. Then the dramatic chase began. About a mile down the road the comrade sitting next to me is mortally wounded, and almost immediately afterwards bullets enter my stomach. I don't feel them now, although I realise I am wounded, but I feel no pain. We stop the car, and I check my wounded comrade first. It is then that I realise that he is dead. I am hit again and fall to the ground. I know I'm not going to die and I think of my wife, my children. This give me strength to get up and move. My other comrade is also wounded and starts moving back. I follow him and after a few yards he falls to the ground.
'Comrade, get up! Come on, we have to escape' , I shout at him. Already dying, he answers 'No, Companero. I can't go on, I know I'm finished. I know I'm going to die. Try to save yourself'. I feel an intense pain. I try to rest a little before carrying on.... (MORE LATER).
STUNNING SILENCE....
The British publishing group 'Macmillan' must have been sorely disappointed by the media's reaction, or lack of it, to the launch last month of Paul Foot's book 'Who Framed Colin Wallace?' By Eamonn McCann, from 'Magill' magazine, June 1989.
Remarkably, however, neither the 'Irish Press' newspaper nor 'The Irish Times' thought it worthwhile even to send a reporter to discover what this - in all the circumstances not uninteresting - duo had to say. It was left to 'The Irish Independent' to cover the launch, and security correspondent Tom Brady wrote a news story and a background feature piece in the next day's edition. That newspaper was no doubt encouraged by the fact that it was able, quite reasonably, to blow its own trumpet in the process, the paper having in 1980 been the first to break the story of the Kincora scandal which figures prominently in Colin Wallace's narrative.
RTE Radio News and the 'Today at Five' programme covered the launch but it was ignored by all television news and current affairs programmes. The sparseness of the coverage no doubt had something to do with what one senior journalist who did attend the Dublin press conference described as "the pervasive air of scepticism surrounding everything to do with Colin Wallace." And indeed his tale does invite scepticism, and even outright derision.
Briefly, the story is as follows : that while ostensibly engaged as a press officer in Lisburn , he was in fact working under the intelligence services carrying out "psychological warfare" , this job description covering such matters as the dissemination of "disinformation" and the arranging of "dirty tricks" designed not always to disorientate the enemy but quite often to discredit (mainly British Labour) politicians regarded by ultra-right elements in the intelligence services as "unsound". (MORE LATER).
ON THIS DATE (9TH SEPTEMBER) 95 YEARS AGO - SHOT ELEVEN TIMES IN THE STOMACH BY AN RIC MAN.
Ireland, Galway, 1920 :
IRA Volunteer Seamus Quirke, a Cork man, was staying at a house in the docks area in Galway and was active in the on-going fight against the Black and Tans. The day before he was tortured to death by an RIC Sergeant named Fox, who operated from the RIC barracks in Eglinton Street in Galway (that is, on September 8th 1920) a driver for the Tans, a man named Krumm, had visited the houses of the few friends he had in the area and drank as much alcohol as was offered to him in each house, before going for a nightcap in a near-by pub. He was boasting about how handy he was with a weapon and, as proof, he started shooting at bottles he had placed on a wall. This activity caused alarm to local IRA men as they had made plans for that night which didn't include an armed and drunk Tan drawing attention to them and action was taken against him : '...Tom Hynes, the local IRA Intelligence Officer, heard of this and sent his brother Michael to warn any IRA Volunteers that an armed man seemed to be preparing to create trouble. The Volunteers were in the habit of going to the local train station every night to meet the train, watch the British troop movement, collect dispatches and meet Volunteers from other districts, and this night they were also going to collect arms from the Longford area. Krumm and a companion went on to the platform by the gate on the arrivals side. The Volunteers warned the men arriving with the Longford guns, and the train stopped for a moment outside the station while they went out by the signal box with the guns. The train came into the station and as the passengers started to go out the gate Krumm drew his gun and made as if to shoot into the crowd....' (more here.)
It should be noted that Father Michael Griffin (mentioned in the above link) was himself, within weeks, to fall victim to the same thugs that had butchered Seamus Quirke -
- '..about midnight on Sunday 14th November 1920, Fr Griffin was lured from the presbytery by British forces directly, or someone aiding them. He was taken to Lenaboy Castle where he was questioned. After being interrogated, he was shot through the head and his body was taken away by lorry and buried in an unmarked grave at Cloghscoltia, near Barna...on 20th November 1920 his remains were discovered by a local man, William Duffy, while he was attending cattle...' (from here.)
'The Irish Times' newspaper, issue dated 17th November 1920, published the following piece - 'Responding apparently to a 'sick call', the Rev. Michael Griffin, junior Roman Catholic curate for the parishes of Bushy Park and Barna, Galway, went out on Sunday night in the company of three men, who are said to have worn trench coats. He disappeared as completely as if the earth had swallowed him. All efforts to trace his whereabouts have so far proved futile. A civilian search party is putting forward every effort to find some trace of the missing clergyman...' and, on the 27th November 1920, the same newspaper reported - '..later in the night, by the light of a lantern, the water-logged soil was dug up. Beneath two feet of the peaty soil the dead body of Father Griffin was found. He had a bullet wound on the right temple...'
Whether they murder, kill or execute an IRA Volunteer or a priest, the British government and its armed or unarmed representatives are not welcome in Ireland and never will be.
ON THIS DATE (9TH SEPTEMBER) 96 YEARS AGO : ABSENCE OF INFORMERS ANGERS BRITISH FORCES.
"...the people of Fermoy lived on the (British) military. Otherwise they would live by taking in each other's washing.." - part of the excuse uttered by anti-republican elements in an attempt to gloss over the thug-behaviour of British forces regarding the incident in question, as reported in 'The Auckland Star' newspaper (pictured, left) on the 11th of September, 1919.
This particular incident began two days previous to the date mentioned in our headline - on Sunday, 7th September , 1919, the date usually recognised for the first planned, organised and co-ordinated IRA attack against British forces in Ireland since the 1916 Rising. During the Black and Tan war (which started on the 21st January, 1919) IRA units attacked Royal Irish Constabulary ( the RIC - a British 'police'-force in Ireland) barracks on a regular basis to 'relieve' them of their weapons, which were then used against them. The commander of an IRA Brigade, Liam Lynch (Cork No. 2 Brigade) , realised that he could use the frequency of IRA attacks on the RIC to his advantage ; by mounting a surprise attack on those that were endeavouring to protect the RIC - the British Army.
He contacted IRA General Head Quarters to seek approval for this as yet untried 'twist' to an old plan, but the leadership thought it unwise to proceed with the action and turned him down ; at the time, the IRA attacks on RIC barracks' were obtaining the desired results - extra weapons for the IRA with a minimum of casualties : 'if its not broke , don't fix it', was the thinking behind the refusal. But Lynch persisted ; the other IRA Volunteer in charge of the Cork No.2 Brigade, Michael Fitzgerald, was convinced that Lynch's idea was sound, so both men put together a plan of attack which they intended to take back to GHQ. On the strength of that plan and with both Lynch and Fitzgerald insisting that it would work, they got the go-ahead for the operation.
It had been observed that a party of up to twenty armed British soldiers, stationed in Fermoy Barracks in Cork , marched to Mass each Sunday morning to the local Wesleyan Church, about half a mile from their barracks. At that time, Fermoy was a stronghold for the British Army and one of the last places where the British would expect an attack. The IRA plan was to carry-out just such an operation. A number of sites in which to dump the liberated weapons would be needed and these were sourced and secured ; two cars would be required to transport the goods out of the area quickly and that, too, was arranged. Finally, a method to stop those in pursuit of the escaping cars was required and obtained and, on Sunday, 7th September, 1919, the plan was put into action ; twenty-five IRA Volunteers, including Liam Lynch and Michael Fitzgerald, took up position around the Wesleyan Church gates in Fermoy.
The IRA men mingled with the people at the church gates and in the grounds. At the same time, other IRA men were preparing to topple two trees across the road at Carrickbrick, outside Fermoy, the agreed route of escape for the IRA cars. The IRA unit at the Church received word at about 10.45am on that Sunday morning that fifteen armed British soldiers, led by a Corporal, had minutes beforehand left their barracks and were marching towards the Church for 11AM Mass, as per usual ; as the British marched from the road onto the footpath to enter the Church grounds they were surrounded by the IRA Unit, most of whom were armed - some of the Volunteers were only there to load the captured weapons into the cars. Liam Lynch shouted at the British patrol to surrender, telling them that it was just the weapons that they were after this time, and not the soldiers. The British were stunned and surprised to find themselves in that position, and a number of them went to fire their rifles but the IRA men fired first and, in a brief but bloody gun-battle, four British soldiers fell to the ground - one was dead, the other three were badly wounded.
The shooting ended there - the British surrendered and were relieved of their rifles - fifteen in all - which were loaded into two waiting cars. The Volunteers loading the rifles into the cars got in themselves and both vehicles sped off towards the Lismore Road. Their comrades who were covering the now-disarmed British patrol inched away and withdrew from the area. Within fifteen minutes the British had filled two trucks with armed troops and were driving at top speed on the Lismore Road, minutes behind the two cars they were chasing. When the two IRA vehicles passed the town of Carrickbrick, the IRA men at the side of the road toppled the two trees which they had weakened earlier that morning. The trees fell across the road, blocking it, and the IRA lumberjacks made off across the fields. The two British Army trucks skidded to a halt at the road-block and spent a number of minutes trying to move the trees, but couldn't, so they drove back to try and find a side-road which would take them around the blockage and back out onto the Lismore Road ; they failed there, too! By this time, the rifles had been stashed in the pre-arranged dumps. The operation was successful.
For the rest of that day (Sunday, 7th September, 1919) , and up until evening fell on the following day, hundreds of British troops, in trucks and on foot, raided the nearest towns and practically imposed martial law on the population in their search for the rifles and the IRA men responsible for the operation. Shops, houses and other buildings were searched, and people were stopped, searched and questioned as to their knowledge of events.
No-one knew anything, and the British went back to barracks on early Monday evening (8th September, 1919) , empty-handed. However, that was not the end of the matter ; at about 8pm that Monday, hundreds of British troops stationed in the area were sent into Fermoy town-centre to make the locals pay for their silence. People on the street were pistol-whipped, shops were broken in to and looted and pubs were thrashed. The British troops spent at least two hours on the wrecking spree and then went back to base, having threatened all and sundry that unless they received the information they were looking for by end of business on the following day - Tuesday, 9th September - they would 'call' again, on Wednesday 10th, to make more 'inquiries'. But not one person contacted them with information on the IRA attack so, not convinced that they had made their point, the British officers sent the same number of their troops out on that Wednesday (10th September, 1919) to terrorise the population again.
But this time the IRA were monitoring the situation, and hundreds of civilians, armed with shovels, hammers, sticks and stones etc, were waiting in Emmet Street for the British troops. Following many skirmishes and standoffs, the British troops returned early to base, having been pushed back by people-power, and had to accept the fact that not only were they not getting the information they demanded but that they were not wanted in the area nor, indeed, in the rest of the country. And, although mostly 'confined to barracks' in the Six Counties today, they remain unwanted.
ON THIS DATE (9TH SEPTEMBER) 101 YEARS AGO : "TO PREPARE THE PUBLIC MIND FOR THE GREAT EVENT THAT WAS TO COME".
No. 25 Parnell Square (pictured, left ; known then as Rutland Square) - the headquarters of the 'Gaelic League' (or Conradh na Gaeilge, founded in 1893 by Douglas Hyde) and the 'seat' of the 1916 Rising. On the 9th September 1914, a top-level meeting was held there, in the library, by republican representatives at which a decision was made to challenge the British writ in Ireland.
"Tom Clarke, Pádraig Pearse and Seán Tobin represented both the Volunteers and the IRB, which Pearse had recently joined. Griffith represented Sinn Féin, Jim Connolly represented the Labour movement and the Citizen Army, and I was there as a volunteer and also as Gaelic League Secretary. This was the first decisive arrangement between the Citizen Army and the Volunteers, for instance, and one of the decisions we took at the meeting was that each of us would undertake to do our utmost to strengthen both of these organisations" - the words of one of those in attendance at that historic meeting, Seán T Ó Ceallaigh. Amongst others present was Tom Clarke, Seán Mac Diarmada, Joseph Plunkett, Pádraig Mac Piarais, Thomas MacDonagh, Éamonn Ceannt, James Connolly, Arthur Griffith and William O'Brien.
Speaking in New York in 1926, Ó Ceallaigh declared that the Rising was "a coldly and deliberately planned affair" and he points to this meeting as the moment when the intention to rise during the War was first agreed upon by a group representing "all shades of advanced nationalist political thought in Ireland who pledged themselves and their organisations to do all in their power to carry on the agreement arrived at and to prepare the public mind for the great event that was to come...at that meeting it was decided that a Rising should take place in Ireland if the German army invaded Ireland ; secondly, if England attempted to enforce conscription on Ireland and thirdly if the war were coming to an end and the Rising had not already taken place, we should rise in revolt, declare war on England and when the conference was held to settle the terms of peace, we should claim to be represented as a belligerent nation..."
In 1964, Ó Ceallaigh stated re that meeting - "It was Tom Clarke who proposed the meeting to me and who asked me to fix a safe house to hold it in. The Castle detectives were very active at this time. Virtually every speech I ever made, for instance, since I became a member of Dublin Corporation in 1906, was carefully noted, as I learned later following the Rising. Every member of Sinn Féin, the Volunteers , the Gaelic League, the Fianna, was followed by G-men. We were all quite used to it and, of course, took much pleasure in 'ditching' our shadows when we most wanted to."
Had such a meeting took place today in that venue, the 'G-Men' and 'shadows' would have found it even easier to spy and tout on republicans as representatives of British rule in Ireland now have two offices in that Square....
ON THIS DAY NEXT WEEK (WEDNESDAY 16TH SEPTEMBER).....
...we won't be posting our usual contribution, and probably won't be in a position to post anything at all ; this coming weekend (Saturday/Sunday 12th/13th) is spoke for already with a 650-ticket raffle to be run for the Dublin Executive of Sinn Féin Poblachtach in a venue on the Dublin/Kildare border (work on which begins on the Tuesday before the actual raffle) and the 'autopsy' into same which will take place on Monday evening 14th in RSF Head Office on Parnell Street and then it's straight back to the preparations for the following Saturday's 'Eve of All-Ireland Rally' (details here), work which has already started, including the assembly of 1,000 republican leaflets into various size 'packs' for distribution -
- these 'packs' are distributed before and during the Rally and that particular job on its own should be considered a pensionable one in itself!
Anyway , that's the position - between the three of us we're booked up solid with our 'pay-the-bills/day-job' work and the raffle and the 'Eve Rally' and can't see ourselves being able to get back to posting here until Wednesday 23rd September next. And then it'll be time to finalise work on the Ard Fheis and the Cabhair Christmas Swim and loads of other stuff which one committee or another will no doubt be looking to have done! But it's all for a good Cause and we don't mind helping out.
Thanks for reading, Sharon.
"UNBELIEVABLE...POORLY PLANNED...RIP GOOD PEOPLE OFF.."
The words 'to hell and back' were actually used by these Republican Sinn Féin members in connection with the 'ordeal' they volunteered for - as RSF members - and the above quotes ("unbelievable...poorly planned...rip good people off..") were uttered, loudly, by those who know what the RSF members in question went through and will go through, having experienced same themselves. Those 'whistleblowers' also used the words "toughest thing I've ever done...I'd never do it again....tough..." in connection with this dirty, exhausting and muddy episode. Tomorrow, Wednesday 9th September 2015, this blog will blow the whistle and expose, in all its ups and downs and ins and outs, the full story behind this tale of muddy bootprints and we will supply contact details where you can verify our piece and offer support, if you wish, to the RSF people mentioned. All we will say for now is that the members in question are not based in Dublin and that they welcome this publicity.
Check back with us tomorrow for the full story....
Sharon.
