ON THIS DATE (28TH MARCH) 139 YEARS AGO : AN IRISH REPUBLICAN HERO IS BORN.
Terence MacSwiney, pictured, left, his wife Muriel and their daughter, Máire, photographed in 1919.
' "If I die I know the fruit will exceed the cost a thousand fold. The thought of it makes me happy. I thank God for it. Ah, Cathal, the pain of Easter week is properly dead at last..." - Terence MacSwiney wrote these words in a letter to Cathal Brugha on September 30, 1920, the 39th day of his hunger strike. The pain he refers to is that caused by his failure to partake in the 1916 Easter Rising. Contradictory orders from Dublin and the failure of the arms ship, the Aud, to land arms in Tralee left the Volunteers in Cork unprepared for insurrection...' (from here.)
In his book 'History of the Irish Working Class', Peter Beresford Ellis wrote : "On October 25th, 1920, Lord Mayor of Cork, Terence MacSwiney - poet, dramatist and scholar - died on the 74th day of a hunger-strike while in Brixton Prison, London. A young Vietnamese dishwasher in the Carlton Hotel in London broke down and cried when he heard the news - "A Nation which has such citizens will never surrender". His name was Nguyen Ai Quoc who, in 1941, adopted the name Ho Chi Minh and took the lessons of the Irish anti-imperialist fight to his own country..."
Terence MacSwiney, born on the 28th March 1879 - 139 years ago on this date - was the Commandant of the 1st Cork Brigade of the IRA and was elected as the Lord Mayor of Cork. He died after 74 days on hunger strike (a botched effort to force feed him hastened his death) in Brixton Prison, England, on the 25th October, 1920, and his body lay in Southwark Cathedral in London where tens of thousands of people paid their respects. He summed-up the Irish feeling at that time (a feeling and determination which is still prominent to this day) - "The contest on our side is not one of rivalry or vengeance but of endurance. It is not those who can inflict the most but those who can suffer the most who will conquer. Those whose faith is strong will endure to the end in triumph." And our faith is strong.
''SINN FÉIN IS EVERYTHING ITS NAME IMPLIES - GOVERNMENT OF THE PEOPLE, BY THE PEOPLE, FOR THE PEOPLE....!'
From 'The United Irishman' newspaper, October 1954.
ECONOMICS TODAY.
As modern society is highly organised and people tend to crowd into cities to earn a living, industry has become of paramount importance. We are no longer just an agricultural race, with cottage industries to supply our needs. The medium of exchange is highly complicated and, in the hands of unscrupulous men and under foreign influences, large numbers of our people are exploited so that individuals may amass fortunes, and trade is depressed or expanded to suit the British economy.
To some, this may seem far-fetched but, with a little reflection, they will realise the advantage to Britain of holding Ireland's purse strings. To achieve a balanced economy in Ireland, and give effect to the clause of the 1916 Proclamation which states "equal rights and equal opportunities" for all her citizens - compare this with the empty cliches of the 1937 Free State Constitition - and above all to bring social and economic life into line with Christian teaching is, next to achieving independence, the most important object of Sinn Féin.
The means whereby this can be achieved will naturally lie in the hands of the elected representatives of an All-Ireland parliament, but to show that the Sinn Féin organisation is not lacking in ideas as to how it can be done, a general programme has been drawn up and is presented to the people of Ireland for their criticism, and is available in a pamphlet entitled 'Sinn Féin Social and Economic Programme', price 6d, from 3 Lower Abbey Street, Dublin, or from any Cumann.
As the achievement of the objects of Sinn Féin can only be by stages, the most important one is to win the battle of the polls, but to fight an election requires an enormous amount of personal energy and large sums of money. Many an election is won on catchcries and vituperation, but that is not the method of Sinn Féin - we want everyone who votes for a Sinn Féin candidate to know why he votes for him, and what Sinn Féin really stands for. It is not enough that public meetings be held and handbills be distributed - personal canvass on a large scale by well-informed and enthusiastic men and women will win more votes than any loud-voiced oratory or 'smart' handbill.
We must wean the people from the factional approach to elections, and make the issue for or against a Free United Ireland. (Next - 'ELECTION MACHINE', from the same source.)
ON THIS DATE (28TH MARCH) 126 YEARS AGO - BIRTH OF AN INSPIRATIONAL REPUBLICAN.
Stood
By the Republic
By the oath of Fenians
By young Irelands dream
By the creed of Tone
For him no stepping stone
But the green branch blooming
For the northern shores of Derry
To the Kingdom of Kerry
Man-of Oak
Maguire.
Tom Maguire (pictured), who held the rank of commandant-general in the Western Command of the Irish Republican Army and led the South Mayo flying column, was born on this date (28th March) in 1892 - 126 years ago today.
He died in his 101st year in 1993 : we wrote about the man in an earlier post this month, so we won't repeat ourselves. Except to say that he remains an inspiration for Irish republicans to this day.
"TO EVERY GENERATION ITS DEED..."
From 'The United Irishman' newspaper, February 1955.
COMMENTS...
That was a very stirring account of the First Dáil in 'The Sunday Press' of January 23rd. It ended - 'It was a time of glorious courage in the hearts of the common people whose rewards have lasted into our own time." The glorious courage was born of the sacrifices of Easter Week, bouyed by the fighting and sacrifices of the men of the Irish Republican Army and cracked by the betrayal of the men who signed the Treaty.
The courage was further shaken when men who had voted against the Treaty, after a year or two, slipped into the 'Dáil' , and operated England's little 26-County establishment. Then, during what was known in the 26 Counties as 'the Emergency' and in the Six Counties as 'the war', nearly all the courageous had their courage protected in the Curragh Camp, or in the 'Joy', or in Derry and Belfast, and some of the very courageous died for it.
But the rewards have lasted, for there is courage still and it grows apace. (Next - 'IS THIS THE YEAR?', from the same source).
GROWING UP IN LONG KESH...
SIN SCÉAL EILE.
By Jim McCann (Jean's son). For Alex Crowe, RIP - "No Probablum". Glandore Publishing, 1999.
I remember with horror Basher Burn's 'tackle' on a comrade from Limerick. It was a Second Team match against Cage 12, but Basher's fundamental understanding of football (any type of football) was that in most ball games, the ball was round. Armed with this knowledge, Basher put his name down for the Second Team of Cage Eleven and those poor fools picked him for the team. He had one basic tackle : the fellow from Limerick was running down towards our goal with the ball, when 'Hard and Low' McGlow shouted for Basher to stop him.
"NO DON'T BASH..." I shouted, but my plea was too late - his basic tackle, the uppercut, stopped and dropped the Limerick man dead in his tracks, but there was something beautiful in the way his limp body arched and spiralled in mid-air before it hit the ground in a crumpled heap, followed by a dull sickening thud. As we all stood looking at Basher with our mouths open in disbelief, he lifted the ball out of the Limerick man's unconscious grasp and, looking over at us, asked, without batting an eyelid, "What do I do now?"
We gathered speechless around the inert Limerick body lying on the ground, and watched as one of his eyes seemed to flicker and a groan came from somewhere deep within him. "He's still breathing," said a voice in the crowd, "quick - give the ball to Cheeser..." And Cheeser, with the ball, ran up the pitch and scored a goal! (MORE LATER).
ON THIS DAY NEXT WEEK...
..that is, Wednesday 4th April 2018, we won't be posting our usual offering - we are booked up from now until Monday evening (Easter Monday, 2nd April) with Easter commemorations in Dublin and the behind-the-scenes work that goes with those events. But we'll be back on Wednesday 11th April 2018 with, among other bits and pieces, a few words about a woman from a Fenian family who was one of the very select group of people who knew about, in advance, the plans for the 1916 Easter Rising. See ya then!
Thanks for reading, Sharon.
RSF EASTER COMMEMORATIONS, DUBLIN, 2018.
The main RSF Easter Commemoration in Dublin will be held on Easter Monday, 2nd April 2018 : we will be assembling at the Garden of Remembrance at 1.45pm and marching from there to the GPO in O'Connell Street, arriving there at about 2pm. But, if you can't get to that one, then, on Easter Sunday in Dublin, a wreath will be laid and the 1916 Proclamation will be read at the Éamonn Ceannt monument in the public park named in his honour in Crumlin at 12 noon and a commemoration will be held in Deansgrange Cemetery (which was established in 1861 and had its first burial in 1865) that same day at the republican plot, at 1pm. Details of the other republican tributes, from Donegal to Cork to New York, can be found here. I'll be at one or more of the Dublin events over the Easter weekend, but I've had no luck in getting a sponsor for the New York one...!
ON THIS DATE (21ST MARCH) 21 YEARS AGO - AN 'IRISH' BOUNCING CZECH IS 'BORN'!
When she was Free State Minister for 'Justice', Nora Owen (Fine Gael) granted citizenship to a Ludka Kozeny, on the 21st March, 1997 - 21 years ago on this date. Ever generous, our Nora had done the same for Kozeny's husband, Viktor (pictured), in 1995.
This was not Viktor's first time to be mentioned in the media ; he was already famous (!) in the Czech Republic as a 'go-getter', a successful 'can-do' business-man, who had persuaded eight-and-a-half million people to 'invest' in his 'Harvard Group Investment Fund', promising them a ten-fold return on their money within a year and a day. But the 'Fund', such as it was, failed, and Viktor legged it! He later surfaced in London's Mayfair area, where he made the headlines again - by spending €16,506 on dinner ('Tasting menu with wine £275, Tasting menu without wine £175, Business lunch menu £70'...) for three people at 'Le Gavroche' restaurant!
Incidentally, when we here at '1169 Towers' (if only!) knew it, 'Le Gav' (which is what it's known as by us regulars) was owned by my old buddies, the Roux brothers. But we won't be dining there again. Unless Nora's paying...
''SINN FÉIN IS EVERYTHING ITS NAME IMPLIES - GOVERNMENT OF THE PEOPLE, BY THE PEOPLE, FOR THE PEOPLE....!'
From 'The United Irishman' newspaper, October 1954.
SPREAD THE PAPER.
Newspapers cost large sums to produce, and need widespread organisation to distribute. With such a large network, distribution would be easier and returns made much quicker, and essential funds would not be a heavy drain on any small group.
'An t-Eireannach Aontuighthe', though enjoying a large sale, does not, as yet, reach all the areas that we wish - the considerable advantage of small groups in every district pressing the sales cannot be overlooked, but the newspaper is not the only means of propaganda : the Sunday morning meeting, the debate and the lecture are others. Where enthusiasm and sincerity reign many new ideas will be forthcoming to instil into our people the age-old ideal.
Remember that Irish republicanism is not a cold and empty formula but a burning flame which, once kindled in the young and unspoilt heart, transforms the man and brings him into spiritual communion with all that was great and glorious in Gaelic Ireland since man first set foot upon her soil.
The story of our race, her heroes and her tragedies must be put before everybody, young and old, and urged upon him the necessity of making one last great effort to achieve her destiny. That is the propaganda of which we speak. (Next : 'ECONOMICS TODAY' , from the same source.)
PUT NOT YOUR TRUST IN PRINCES...
'(Peadar) Kearney was born at 68 Lower Dorset Street, Dublin, in 1883 (and) often walked along Gardiner Street to the Custom House and along the Quays. His father was from Louth and his mother was originally from Meath. He was educated at the Model School, Schoolhouse Lane and St Joseph's Christian Brothers School in Fairview, Dublin. He left school at the age of 14, becoming an apprentice house painter...(he)joined the Gaelic League in 1901, and joined the Irish Republican Brotherhood in 1903...he was a co-founder of the Irish Volunteers in 1913...', and this - 'A descendant of Amhran ha bhFiann composer Peadar Kearney has launched High Court proceedings against a fund-appointed receiver seeking the return of items including an original copy of the national anthem signed by the composer...' (from here and here.)
Peadar Kearney joined the IRB when he was 20 years young (in 1903) and, four years later, along with his friend Paddy Heeney, wrote the words and tune for 'Amhrán na bhFiann' ('The Soldiers Song'). He took part in the 1916 Rising, fighting alongside Thomas MacDonagh at Jacobs Factory, and managed to escape the round-up by the 'authorities' that followed, literally 'living to fight another day'. And he did - he was active again during the 'Black and Tan War', during which he was imprisoned for about a year. Following the 'Treaty of Surrender' - and this is perhaps not as well known as his republican involvement - he took the Free State side and was actually in the 'Collins Convoy' at Béal na mBláth when, in August 1922, those Free Staters were ambushed by the IRA, and Michael Collins was killed.
It's also not as well known as it should be that he worked for the Free State in Portlaoise Prison as a 'Censor' ie removing what the State regarded as 'sensitive content' from letters that republican prisoners were trying to send out to family and friends : his conscience must have troubled him, as he only stuck that job for a week and, in the late 1930's, made public his (new-found) opposition to partition. He died in Inchicore, Dublin, in 1942, at 59 years of age, and was buried in Glasnevin Cemetery. As we said - 'Put not your trust..'
"TO EVERY GENERATION ITS DEED..."
From 'The United Irishman' newspaper, February 1955.
COMMENTS...
A man cannot justify his break-away from the separatist ideal simply by quoting the isolated dictum of another, especially when the other is a splendid man who died by his guns - 'the effective leader of the insurrection' - James Connolly. He was a soldier, a militant to the last, a member of the Irish Republican Army, unpopular then as now with all but the truly sincere.
The effort of the members of the Republican Movement is not to bring the Six North-Eastern Counties into a set-up which would grant our Northern friends far less compensation when sick or out of work. Our aim is to break the connection with England, so that the people of Ireland can govern themselves and make the best use of the wealth in their own country, and live in a decent and Christian way. We think that there must be Irishmen alive and yet to come with the ability to govern Ireland without foreign intervention, and whose purpose is to the good of Ireland.
The dual-purpose politician who tries to serve two masters - Ireland and England - is like that phenomenon of animals, the dual-purpose cow, which we breed here to trot over to England hoofs, hide and all. (MORE LATER).
ON THIS DATE (21ST MARCH) 75 YEARS AGO : 21 FOR BREAKFAST ON THE 21ST!
Early on Saturday morning, 21st March 1943 - 75 years ago on this date - as the Logue family of Harding Street, Derry, were about to sit down for their breakfast, they noticed a part of their small garden rising up and being pushed back - their garden wall formed part of the perimeter of a neighbouring premises, Derry Jail : a figure pulled himself up from the hole in the ground and began assisting others that were trying to scramble to their feet. Within minutes there were 21 men assembled in the small garden, all of whom rushed into the Logue house and let themselves out through the front door. They ran to near-by Abercorn Place and jumped into a waiting lorry, a furniture removal van, which was driven by an on-the-run IRA man, Jimmy Steele, who had recently liberated himself from Crumlin Road Prison!
Among the escapees were well-known IRA activists Patrick Donnelly, Ned Maguire, Hugh McAteer, Liam Graham and Brendan O'Boyle who, incidentally, was the last man to be helped from the tunnel. Jimmy Drumm was earmarked as the last man and was in the tunnel, yards behind Brendan O'Boyle, when he heard a warning being shouted that the British Army had discovered the exit and were picking-up the men as they emerged - so he turned back, only to discover later that it was a false alarm.
The tunnel had been started in November 1942, in Liam Graham's cell and, out of the 200 or so IRA prisoners in the jail, 22 had been picked by the prisoners themselves as it was felt that that group could more readily 'rally the troops' on the outside as each of them had a high profile in the Movement and were respected by all concerned (except, obviously, by the British and the Staters!). An estimated five tons of clay was removed (although other sources estimated that about 15 tons of clay was shifted) over a five month period and most of it was scattered in the prison grounds, although repeated attempts were made to dispose of some of it via the toilets, which blocked the pipes. A plumbing company was called in on a regular basis over that five month period but, whether they knew what was happening or not, they said nothing and the warders and their bosses knew nothing of the excavation that was then on-going - indeed, during the last few weeks of the dig, the IRA prisoners had held a 'mini-fleadh cheoil' to cover the noise and the constant comings-and-goings from cell to cell and from cell to prison yard.
Jimmy Steele and Harry White had each organised to have about 12 men on stand-by on each side of Britain's border in Ireland to assist with the dispersal of the escapees, the majority of whom were taken to Donegal but, within a day, eleven of their number had been captured by Free State forces and interned in the Curragh. Others were also captured in that county, in a place called Glentown, and they were then held in a FS barracks in Letterkenny and, within a week, only three of the 21 were still at liberty.
That successful escape effort not only helped to refocus world attention on to the then(-as-now) on-going struggle for national liberation in Ireland, but proved to be a massive morale boost for the Republican Movement. it helped to insure that the flame stayed lit, and brought in new recruits who, in turn, passed the mantle to those who hold the same values today.
ON THIS DATE (21ST MARCH) 97 YEARS AGO : 'LAST STOP' FOR SOME BRITISH ARMY SQUADDIES.
'On 21st March 1921, the Kerry IRA attacked a train at the Headford junction near Killarney. Twenty British soldiers were killed or injured. The 'Headford Ambush' was organised by the Kerry No. 2 Brigade Flying Column IRA who, while billeted in the vicinity of Headford on the 21st March 1921, learned that a detachment of British troops were due to return by train from Kenmare to Tralee later that day, and decided to ambush them. The attack was led by Dan Allman (pictured,who was killed in the engagement) and Tom McEllistrim (a future Fianna Fáil TD); perhaps as many as 30 members of the IRA were involved...' (from here.)
'On 21st March 1921, the Kerry IRA attacked a train at the Headford junction near Killarney. Twenty British soldiers were killed or injured...(they)were members of the Royal London Fusiliers, who were obliged to change trains at Headford Junction as they made their way back to Tralee ; consequently, the station was chosen as the natural venue for the ambush. The train in question, however, arrived earlier then expected, before the preparations for the ambush had been completed. Dan Allman and two others who had been on the platform as the train pulled in were forced to take refuge in a lavatory. The soldiers alighted leisurely, and as one of them entered the lavatory and discovered Allman, a scuffle broke out. Allman shot the soldier, and the ambush began.
The IRA fired on the train from both sides of the station. The British attempted to use a machine gun fastened to the front of the train, but this was specifically targeted by the IRA and played no major role in the ambush, which lasted for perhaps 50 minutes. The civilian passengers had disembarked from the carriages before the soldiers, but some were still in the station when the gunfire began : three cattle dealers were killed, and a three year old girl was badly wounded in both legs when a bullet passed through her fathers leg as he sought to shelter her. Two members of the IRA (including Allman) were killed, and the British recorded that they lost seven soldiers on the spot, though members of the IRA claimed that as many as 24 soldiers had been killed.
ON THIS DATE (7TH MARCH) 97 YEARS AGO : BRITISH ARMY PATROL SURRENDER TO IRA FLYING COLUMN.
'On March 7th 1921, the IRA's South Mayo Flying Column (pictured), under the command of Tom Maguire, surrounded a British army patrol at Kilfall between Ballinrobe and Castlebar forcing it to surrender and give up their arms. The patrol were then released unharmed. Tom Maguire’s personal account of the engagement is given in the book 'Survivors' by Uinsean MacEoin...
On May 3rd of 1921, Tom Maguire led an ambush party on an RIC patrol in Tournakeady, Co. Mayo during which four RIC men were killed. Following the engagement, Maguire’s flying column made their escape to the Partry Mountains which lie to the west of Lough Mask. They were pursued by a large force of British soldiers and policemen who used an aeroplane to monitor the progress of the column. A number of skirmishes ensued during which Maguire was wounded and his adjutant killed. There is some dispute about the number of British casualties but fokelore has it that they were substantial. The column managed to escape with no further casualties...
Tom Maguire was elected to the Dáil elections of 1921, 1822 and 1923. He took the anti-treaty side in the Civil War and was a member of the anti-treaty IRA executive which commanded the anti-treaty army. He was captured by the National Army and though he was told he was to be executed, his life was spared. However, his younger brother Seán aged 17 was executed in Tuam on 11th April 1923 along with six others. These men are known today as the 'Tuam Martyrs'..' (from here.)
In June 1923 General Maguire escaped from Athlone Barracks and was never re-captured. Along with other surviving faithful members of the Second Dáil - the last All-Ireland parliament - he delegated Executive Authority to the Army Council of the IRA in 1938. In December 1969, he recognised the Provisional Army Council as the legitimate successor to the 1938 body -
"The majority of the delegates at the December 1969 IRA Convention, having passed the resolution referred to above, proceeded to elect an Executive which in turn appointed a new Army Council, committed to implement the resolution. That Convention had neither the right nor the authority to pass such a resolution. Accordingly, I, as the sole surviving member of the Executive of Dáil Éireann and the sole surviving signatory of the 1938 Proclamation, hereby declare that the resolution is illegal and that the alleged Executive and Army Council are illegal, and have no right to claim the allegiance of either soldiers or citizens of the Irish Republic.
The delegates who opposed the resolution, together with delegates from units which were not represented at the Convention, met subsequently in Convention and repudiated the resolution. They re-affirmed their allegiance to the Irish Republic and elected a Provisional Executive which, in turn, appointed a Provisional Army Council. I hereby further declare that the Provisional Executive and the Provisional Army Council are the lawful Executive and Army Council respectively of the IRA* and that the governmental authority delegated in the Proclamation of 1938 now resides in the Provisional Army Council and its lawful successors. I fully endorse their call for support from Irish people everywhere towards the realisation of the full freedom of Ireland.."
Dated the 31st day of December, 1969. Signed : THOMAS MAGUIRE, (Tomas Mac Uidhir) Comdt. General."
NOTE - *Following the 1986 division, Comdt. General Thomas Maguire nominated the Continuity IRA as the legitimate IRA. Tom Maguire is one of the many Irish republican men and women that the Republican Movement was, is and always will be guided by : When the majority of (P)IRA and (P)Sinn Féin decided to abandon abstentionism in the 1969/70 split, Ruairí Ó Brádaigh and Dáithí Ó Conaill sought and secured Maguire's recognition of the Provisional IRA as the legitimate successor to the 1938 Army Council. Of the seven 1938 signatories, Maguire was the only one still alive. Likewise in the aftermath of the 1986 split in the Republican Movement, Maguire signed a statement in 1986 which was issued posthumously, in 1996 : he conferred this legitimacy on the Army Council of the Continuity IRA (who provided a firing party at Maguire's funeral in 1993 - he was 101 years of age when he died). And he remains an inspiration for Irish republicans to this day.
ON THIS DATE (7TH MARCH) 95 YEARS AGO - IRA MAN 'ARRESTED' BY THE STATERS. HIS BODY WAS FOUND LATER IN A FIELD.
Robert Bonfield (pictured, left) was born in Youghalarra, Nenagh, County Tipperary in 1903 and was educated by the Christian Brothers at Synge Street, Dublin and, at the age of 17, entered University College, Dublin, to study dentistry, and joined the IRA through contacts in that College. A number of weeks before his death (he was shot dead by Free Staters on the 29th of March 1923) he was arrested at his home by the Staters, but he escaped from their custody (in Portobello Barracks) and went on the run, and remained a free man until his recapture and subsequent 'disappearance'. He was visiting the Seven Churches on Holy Thursday when he was picked up by the Staters (visiting the Seven Churches was a custom in Dublin during that period, when its citizens would visit all seven churches during Holy Week).
After being captured he was dragged towards the Baggot Street corner of Stephen's Green, near the Shelbourne Hotel, and in the direction of both Oriel House and the new CID Headquarters which was just a few hundred yards away on Merrion Square. He was assaulted on several occasions by his escort in full public view and this was the last time he was seen alive ; his body was discovered the following day, Good Friday, by a shepherd at Clondalkin, Dublin - the previous day (Thursday, 29th of March 1923, between 6.30pm and 7pm), a young girl named Bella Brown, who lived near the Red Cow in Clondalkin, heard six shots as she was bringing milk to a neighbour's house. The following day, Friday 30th March 1923, the body of Robert Bonfield was discovered in a field close by - he had been shot several times in the head.
According to testimony given by several witnesses at the inquest there is no doubt that IRA Commandant Bonfield was arrested by members of (Free State) President Cosgrave's personal body guard and later murdered, either by them, or their associate detectives operating out of Oriel House. He was discovered lying on his side at the bottom of a ditch at Dowling's Farm, Newlands Cross - he had been shot a number of times. He was only 20 years of age. His remains were refused admission to his local Parish church in Ranelagh and he was buried in the family plot, St. Paul's section, Glasnevin Cemetery :
'Bonfield was arrested on 07th March 1923 (95 years ago on this date) by a Lieut. Bolger after his house at 103 Moyne Road, Ranelagh was raided and a veritable arsenal (including a Lewis Gun and three revolvers) were seized. He was taken to Portobello Barracks from where he subsequently escaped a couple of nights later. He went to the house of schoolmates of his, Brendan and Kevin Mangan, at Albany Terrace, Ranelagh and had a wash and some food before going on the run. A 'servant girl' who had helped give him the meal probably reported him to the authorities. The following night the Mangan's house was raided by "a group of men in plain clothes accompanied by a man in the uniform of an Army Lieutenant" who were looking for Bonfield. Brendan Mangan was taken to the back garden and interrogated. His parents attempted to intervene and when his mother asked why he was not arrested and charged in the 'proper way', the chilling reply was "We are out to execute, not make arrests".
Mangan's excuses were believed and the group left, which was rather lucky as Bonfield had hidden arms under the floor of the Mangans henhouse and Brendan was aware of this. The Mangans kept the guns hidden for many years and later when the family moved house Brendan transferred the guns to the hen house at their new address. It was only years later when there was an amnesty that his brother Kevin handed in the guns. On the 29th of March 1923, about 2 weeks later, Bonfield was lifted by Cosgraves bodyguard which included Joe McGrath, John O'Reilly (who was either a Colonel, a Commandant or a Superintendent) and an unnamed guard. Two of these men took Commandant Robert 'Bobbie' Bonfield to Clondalkin and shot him...' (from here.)
However, in her book 'Four roads to Dublin: the history of Rathmines, Ranelagh and Leeson Street', Deirdre Kelly came across sources who suggested that the then State 'authorities' believed that a different IRA man had executed Seamus Dwyer - '(IRA man) Frank Lawlor was aware that CID agents were looking for him. He was tracked down to a friends house in Ranelagh and taken from there by the CID. His body was recovered at Milltown Golf Club. Nothing was heard of Lawlor until the 1st of January 1923 when his body was found on Orwell Road...if Frank Lawlor was killed (he was killed by Staters on the 29th December 1922) in revenge for Dwyers death, it appears..that they got the wrong man, as according to IRA officer Séan Dowling it was another man, Bobby Bonfield who shot Dwyer, for which Bonfield was himself assassinated by pro-Treaty forces in March 1923..', and yet another IRA man, Thomas O'Leary, had his name linked by Staters to the Dwyer execution ; both IRA men were shot dead by Leinster House operatives, either because of the whispered 'Dwyer link' or simply due to the fact that they continued to be Irish republicans, unlike those that shot them.
Seamus Dwyer, a member of the Free State political establishment - whether or not he was a member/supporter or leader of the anti-republican CDF organisation, he was a poacher-turned-gamekeeper - was shot dead by the IRA on the 20th December 1922 : on that date, Robert 'Bobby' Bonfield went to James Dwyer's shop at 5 Rathmines Terrace, Dublin, and shot him dead. James (Seamus) Dwyer was once a Sinn Féin and IRA activist but, at the time he was shot, was a pro-Treaty politician. Three months later Bobby Bonfield, 20 years of age, Quarter Master and Acting O/C of the 4th Battalion, 1st Dublin Brigade of the IRA - a known 'anti-Treaty guerrilla'- was killed by Free State forces in revenge for the shooting of Dwyer.
''SINN FÉIN IS EVERYTHING ITS NAME IMPLIES - GOVERNMENT OF THE PEOPLE, BY THE PEOPLE, FOR THE PEOPLE....!'
From 'The United Irishman' newspaper, October 1954.
NEED FOR PROPAGANDA.
Now the first task for Sinn Féin is propaganda. Recent usage of this word has given people the idea that it means only the use of careful mis-statements and clever falsehoods to deceive people and lead them astray : but it has the other meaning, which is the dissemination of truth to prevent them from going astray.
Thus we see that the Catholic Church has its College of Propaganda, whose duty it is to see that Catholic teachings and ideas are broadcast and false doctrines refuted. In these days of fast communications, radio and television, and mass-produced literature, it is essential that we in Ireland see to it that our people are protected against the wholesale influx of harmful foreign ideas and influences, and that they are constantly reminded of their national duties and obligations.
If we are to resume the struggle with England we must be mindful of how thorough and widespread press censorship can be, and how ruthlessly it can be used against us. Measures must be taken now to counter such a move, and the lessons learned in the past borne in mind.
Propaganda has become one of the major weapons of war and we must use it to the full, being weak in other respects. A well organised network of Sinn Féin Cumainn throughout the 32 counties is the first step. (Next : 'SPREAD THE PAPER' , from the same source.)
ON THIS DATE (7TH MARCH) 95 YEARS AGO : TIED TO A LANDMINE, FINISHED OFF BY GRENADES AND MACHINE GUNS.
- an image depicting the Free State army detonating a landmine after they had placed nine republican prisoners near it, on the 7th March 1923 - 95 years ago on this date.
On March 6th, 1923, five Free State soldiers, including Captains Michael Dunne and Joseph Stapleton of Dublin Brigade, were killed in Knocknagoshel, Co Kerry, by a booby trap mine. The target of the trap was a local man by the name of Paddy 'Pats' O'Connor who, according to the IRA, was a notorious torturer of prisoners. O'Connor joined the Free State army because of the treatment of his father by the local IRA, involving a dispute over farmland in the Glansaroon, Castleisland area, and a fine issued because of same by the IRA.
The IRA's local commander, Humphrey Murphy, organised for a 'tip off' letter to be sent to the Free Staters, informing them that a stash of republican weapons were hidden in a specific location at Barranarig Wood near the small town of Knocknagoshel, in North Kerry - in her novel, '1921', Morgan Llywelyn gives this account of what occurred : 'A letter in the handwriting of a known local informer had been delivered (to Free State forces) the evening before..the letter gave the location of a major IRA weapons dump at Barranarig Wood, Knocknagoshel (but) the letter was a forgery. A mine casing packed with shrapnel and an explosive charge was waiting, buried in a lonely field at the supposed dump site. At 2am on March 6th, 1923, five members of the Free State Army – three officers of the 'Dublin Guards' and two enlisted men – were blown apart.' Five men, including Paddy O'Connor, were killed immediately and a sixth man lost both legs. In a press statement after the explosion, the Kerry command of the Irish Free State Army announced that IRA prisoners would clear road obstacles in future.
The 'Dublin Guards', who had been in Kerry since the previous August, were commanded by Major General Paddy O'Daly (pictured, left), a 'poacher turned gamekeeper' ie an ex-IRA man. He was furious over the booby trap and it subsequently became clear that he was responsible for what took place following the Barranarig Wood incident. At around 2am on the 7th March, 1923 - 95 years ago on this date - nine IRA prisoners, many of whom had been tortured, were brought to Ballyseedy Wood where they were told that they were to remove an "irregular (ie IRA) road block" (which had been put in place by the Staters themselves). However, it was clear to the men what was in store for them when they had been shown 9 coffins in the barracks. Each were offered a cigarette and told it would be "the last you'll have".
They were then tied together to the mined 'roadblock' and blown up. Some of the men were still alive and were finished off by grenade and machine gun - Dorothy Macardle described what had happened : "The soldiers had strong ropes and electric cord. Each prisoner's hands were tied behind him, then his arms were tied above the elbow to those of the men on either side of him. Their feet were bound together above the ankles* and their legs were bound together above the knees. Then a strong rope was passed round the nine men and the soldiers moved away..." (*their shoelaces were also tied together). The 'barricade/road block' was a large log, against which was placed a mine.
But the Free State troops weren't aware that one man had been blown clear and managed to escape - his name was Stephen Fuller (who become a FF 'TD' in 1937, and died at Edenburn nursing home in February 1984.). Because the bodies were so badly mangled all nine coffins were filled with the remains of the eight who perished. This was to lead to a near riot in Tralee when the coffins were handed over to the families at the gates of Ballymullen Barracks- the families broke open the coffins to try and identify the remains and 'disturbances' erupted when the crowds realised what had happened. Later on the same day a very similar incident took place at Countess Bridge in Killarney where five IRA prisoners where asked to remove a mined road block which was also blown up. Three of the men who lay wounded were finished off by grenades. Again, amazingly, a fifth man, Tadhg Coffey, survived and escaped.
Five days later 5 more IRA prisoners were killed in a similar explosion - those murders took place at Bahaghs, near Cahirciveen on the 12th March, 1923. The victims were republican soldiers from the Kerry No. 3 Brigade of the IRA : Michael Courtney jnr, Eugene Dwyer, Daniel Shea, John Sugrue and William Riordan, all from the Waterville area. Each of them was first shot in the legs to prevent them escaping, should they survive the explosion, and were then put over a mine and blown up. When the details slowly emerged about what really happened the Free State administration was forced to call an inquiry into the 'incident' and they appointed none other than Major General Paddy O'Daly to oversee the 'court of inquiry' in April, 1923 - it was never going to be anything other than a whitewash. One Free State soldier, Lt W McCarthy, resigned his commission after the incident and called his colleagues "a murder gang". Captain Niall Harrington (Author of 'Kerry Landings') of the Free State 'Dublin Brigade' reported that "the mines used in the slaughter of the prisoners were constructed in Tralee under the supervision of two senior Dublin Guards officers". But neither he nor Lt W McCarthy was ever called to testify, thus, obviously, limiting the amount of 'whitewash' the Staters needed to cover up the truth.
"TO EVERY GENERATION ITS DEED..."
From 'The United Irishman' newspaper, February 1955.
COMMENTS...
"Back to Wolfe Tone", says 'The Times' correspondent, who "desires a united Ireland as much as anyone." It is very heartening to read such splendid sentiments, and we wish that all who express such sentiment could see the way to that united Ireland as we do. We do not believe that James Connolly measured anything more than his conception of economic freedom "by the living standards enjoyed by the lowest economic class in society".
We do not believe that James Connolly would have been content with the most benevolent of conquerors even if they gave the lowest economic class conditions that would satisfy the most critical, nor would the people of Ireland ever accept foreign government, however well-meaning, as a substitute for self-government.
Yes. I'm afraid this "brand of green patriotism rising its head again" is the continuation of seven centuries of struggle - and Tone's, and Fintan Lalor's and O'Donovan Rossa's and Pearse's was the same brand, and the brand is pure certainly, but not sentimental. And the fact that it is raising its head again makes it fairly obvious that the Irish people of 1955 are just as determined to have complete separation as those of 1798, 1803, 1848 and 1916. (MORE LATER).
ON THIS DATE (7TH MARCH) 97 YEARS AGO - LIMERICK CITY CURFEW MURDERS.
'The Limerick City curfew murders of March 1921.
Assassination of Mayor Clancy, ex-Mayor O'Callaghan and Volunteer O'Donoghue.Contributed by Mrs O'Callaghan, Mrs Clancy, and comrades of the murdered patriots. On the morning of March the seventh, 1921, Seoirse ('George') Clancy, Mayor of Limerick, and Michael O'Callaghan, his predecessor in office, were foully murdered by British police in their homes, and in the presence of their wives. The Mayoress, Mrs Clancy, was wounded during the assassination of her husband. The murder of Michael O'Callaghan took place about 1.10am, and that of Seoirse Clancy about 2.30am. Some hours previously, Joseph O'Donoghue of the IRA was murdered and his bullet-ridden body was found in the street in the morning...' (from here.)
'George Clancy, the Mayor of Limerick, and his immediate predecessor, Michael O'Callaghan were shot dead in their homes. Known as 'the Curfew Murders', as their houses were raided during the hours of curfew, their deaths shocked the whole City and Country and became International News. Mrs Clancy was wounded in a vain attempt to shield her husband from assassination and Mrs O'Callaghan also witnessed the murder of her spouse. Both victims were distinguished members of the Community and had been involved in the struggle for Independence. Clancy was an ex University Professor and a friend of James Joyce. He is believed to have provided the background for a character in Joyce’s Classic 'Portrait of an artist as a young man'. O'Callaghan’s grandfather, Eugene O'Callaghan, was Mayor of Limerick in 1843.
The third leading Citizen, Joseph O'Donoghue, was taken from his house that night and found shot dead in a field some hours later... their assailants were in Mufti, wore goggles and had their coat collars turned up but it quickly became obvious that the gang in question were serving members of the Crown Forces. Mrs O'Callaghan gathered what evidence she could collect and demanded an inquest but no inquiry other than a military one was ever carried out. Even the ex British Prime Minister Herbert Asquith stated that members of the RIC (Auxiliaries) were the culprits. However the particular individuals who carried out these attacks were never formally identified with the crimes. Many years later in the 1950's a deceased British Officer was named as one of the murderers but no conclusive proof was ever established as to his involvement.
A further twist to the story of the Murdered Mayors was added when, in February 1982, the Limerick Leader published a picture of 'Black and Tans', taken at William Street Police Station (now demolished). A side note to the photograph by Willie ‘Whack’ Gleeson, alleged that two of the Tans in the photograph, Sergeant Leech and Sergeant Horan, were also involved in the killings. While Leech was implicated in the murder of Joseph O'Donoghue, we don't know what part, if any, Horan played on the night in question. In the summer of 1922 Leech was shot dead at Harcourt Street Station, Dublin...' (from here.)
The two republican politicians were democratically elected by their own people in their own city yet were coldly assassinated by representatives of a foreign occupying force. Joseph O'Donoghue was an Irishman, in his own country, who bravely decided to defend his country from that foreign occupying force. Incidentally, Herbert Asquith was obviously made aware that two members of 'G Coy ADRIC' ('Auxiliary Division Royal Irish Constabulary') played a part in the assassinations, and he was no doubt given the same names as those mentioned in this country at the time - George Nathan and Les Ibbotson. But British 'justice' covered-up for its lackeys in this country, as it had done for centuries before then and as it continues to do to this day.
GROWING UP IN LONG KESH...
SIN SCÉAL EILE.
By Jim McCann (Jean's son). For Alex Crowe, RIP - "No Probablum". Glandore Publishing, 1999.
At the same time as you were grabbing his face you had to shout "C'mere here, where do you think you're going?" This innovation was introduced by Honky Wilson and, on the face of it, it changed the face of 'face collecting' forever.
Strangely enough, I have never seen any reference to 'face collecting' in any GAA handbook or manual - it's not even in 'The Imbeciles Guide to WWF'. Yet. Some people would try and grab their opponents by the nose, but this was frowned upon as mundane. If you think about it, where is the skill in grabbing someone, say, with a big enormous nose or chin, for example? God knows, there was plenty of them about Long Kesh.
I well remember the inter-cage results being put up on the notice board in the study hut of Cage Eleven. This was always waited on with great expectation within the cage, as it was the only true record of the injuries we inflicted upon one another during the course of the season. Oh! And anyone who was remotely interested could find out the scores of the matches, as well... (MORE LATER).
ON THIS DATE (7TH MARCH) 170 YEARS AGO - NEW IRISH FLAG UNVEILED BY 'MEAGHER OF THE SWORD'."Abhor the sword - stigmatize the sword? No, for in the passes of the Tyrol it cut to pieces the banner of the Bavarian, and, through those cragged passes, struck a path to fame for the peasant insurrections of Innsbruck! Abhor the sword - stigmatize the sword? No, for at its blow a giant nation started from the waters of the Atlantic, and by its redeeming magic, and in the quiverings of its crimsoned light, the crippled colony sprang into the attitude of a proud Republic - prosperous, limitless, and invincible! Abhor the sword - stigmatize the sword? No, for it swept the Dutch marauders out of the fine old towns of Belgium - scourged them back to their own phlegmatic swamps - and knocked their flag and sceptre, their laws and bayonets, into the sluggish water of the Scheldt.." - Thomas Francis Meagher, pictured.
Born on the 3rd August 1823, died (in mysterious circumstances) on the 1st July, 1867 :'Does the world even have heroes like Ireland's Thomas Francis Meagher anymore? After fighting for Irish independence ("I know of no country that has won its independence by accident") ,then condemned to death, pardoned and exiled, Thomas Francis Meagher escaped to America,where he became a leader of the Irish community and commanded the Irish Brigade during the Civil War. General Meagher's men fought valiantly at some of the most famous battles of the Civil War, including Antietam, Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville. After the war, Meagher served as Acting Governor of the Montana Territory. In 1867, Meagher disappeared on the Missouri River ; his body was never found..' (from here.)
Thomas Francis Meagher was born in Waterford City (near the Commins/Granville Hotel) on August 3rd, 1823, into a financially-comfortable family ; his father was a wealthy merchant who, having made his money, entered politics, a route which the young Thomas was to follow. At 20 years young, he decided to challenge British misrule in Ireland and, at 23 years of age (in 1846), he became one of the leaders of the 'Young Ireland' Movement. He was only 25 years of age when he sat down with the Government of the Second French Republic to seek support for an uprising in Ireland. At 29 years of age, he wrote what is perhaps his best known work - 'Speeches on the Legislative Independence of Ireland', of which six editions were published.
He unveiled an Irish flag, which was based on the French Tricolour, in his native city, Waterford, on the 7th March 1848 - 170 years ago on this date - outside the Wolfe Tone Confederate Club. The French Minister for Foreign Affairs, Alphonse de Lamartine, and a group of French women who supported the Irish cause, gave Meagher the new 'Flag of Ireland', a tricolour of green, white and orange - the difference between the 1848 flag and the present flag is that the orange was placed next to the staff and the red hand of Ulster adorned the white field on the original. On the 15th April that same year, on Abbey Street, in Dublin, he presented the flag to Irish citizens on behalf of himself and the 'Young Ireland' movement, with the following words : "I trust that the old country will not refuse this symbol of a new life from one of her youngest children. I need not explain its meaning. The quick and passionate intellect of the generation now springing into arms will catch it at a glance. The white in the centre signifies a lasting truce between the 'orange' and the 'green' and I trust that beneath its folds, the hands of the Irish protestant and the Irish catholic may be clasped in generous and heroic brotherhood.."
He was arrested by the British for his part in the 1848 Rising, accused of 'high treason' and sentenced to death ("to be hanged, drawn and disemboweled..") but, while he was awaiting execution in Richmond Jail, this was changed by 'Royal Command' to transportation for life. Before he was deported, he spoke in Slievenamon, Tipperary, to a crowd estimated at 50,000 strong, about the country and the flag he was leaving behind - "Daniel O'Connell preached a cause that we are bound to see out. He used to say 'I may not see what I have laboured for, I am an old man ,my arm is withered, no epitaph of victory may mark my grave, but I see a young generation with redder blood in their veins, and they will do the work.' Therefore it is that I ambition to decorate these hills with the flag of my country.."
In July 1849, at only 26 years of age, he was transported from Dun Laoghaire on the S.S.Swift to Tasmania, where he was considered, and rightly so, to be a political prisoner (a 'Ticket of Leave' inmate) which meant he could build his own 'cell' on a designated piece of land that he could farm provided he donated an agreed number of hours each week for State use. In early 1852, Thomas Francis Meagher escaped and made his way to New Haven, in Connecticut, America, and travelled from there to a hero's welcome in New York. This fine orator, newspaper writer, lawyer, revolutionary, Irish POW, soldier in the American civil war and acting Governor of Montana died (in mysterious circumstances - he drowned after 'falling off' a Missouri River steamboat) on the 1st of July 1867 at 44 years of age. Once, when asked about his 'crimes', he replied - "Judged by the law of England, I know this 'crime' entails upon me the penalty of death ; but the history of Ireland explains that 'crime' and justifies it."
This brave man dedicated twenty-four of his forty-four years on this earth to challenging British misrule in Ireland and, while it can be said without doubt that Thomas Francis Meagher did his best, a 'crime' does remain to be resolved.
ON THIS DAY NEXT WEEK...
..we won't be in a position to post our usual offerings and we may not be able to post until the following Wednesday, 21st March, as the Dublin Executive of RSF are holding a 650-ticket raffle in a hotel on the Dublin/Kildare border on Sunday, 11th March, meaning that we'll be busy with that from Tuesday 6th until Monday 12th. We might, hopefully, slip-in a few words between now and then, but it looks like our next post might not be until Wednesday 21st next. And, I'm told, that next post will include a piece on a Free State Minister for 'Justice' who arranged State citizenship for a certain foreign gentleman (and his then wife, as well!) who was infamous, to put it mildly, in the world of high finance...see ya then!
Thanks for reading, Sharon.
ON THIS DATE (28TH FEBRUARY) 218 YEARS AGO : 'SHEEPSTEALERS' SON BUTCHERED BY THE BRITISH.
'O see the fleet-foot host of men, who march with faces drawn,
From farmstead and from fishers' cot, along the banks of Ban;
They come with vengeance in their eyes. Too late! Too late are they,
For young Roddy McCorley goes to die on the bridge of Toome today...' (From here.)
'Upon Friday last, a most awful procession took place here, namely the execution of Roger McCorley who was lately convicted at a court-martial, to the place of execution, Toome Bridge, the unfortunate man having been born in that neighbourhood. As a warning to others, it is proper to observe that the whole of his life was devoted to disorderly proceedings of every kind, for many years past, scarcely a Quarter-sessions occurred but what the name of Roger McCorley appeared in a variety of criminal cases. His body was given up to dissection* and afterwards buried under the gallows...thus of late we have got rid of six of those nefarious wretches who have kept this neighbourhood in the greatest misery for some time past...' - from the 'Belfast Newsletter' newspaper, 4th March 1800 (*..a 'politically correct' way of attempting to describe what had actually happened - Roddy McCorley's body was removed from the scaffold and, in front of the hundreds of on-lookers, was disembowelled. The various parts were swept up and disposed of in a hole under the scaffold, at the rise of the bridge, where those going from Antrim to Derry and back again would be forever minded that such was the fate of those "nefarious wretches" who dared stand up to Westminster. Those body parts lay there for fifty-two years). However, the British exposed their own 'nefariousness' by presenting McCorley as a common criminal, a 'felon', yet prosecuting him at a military court martial rather than through the 'assizes' criminal system, which was where those they considered to be 'common criminals' were given 'justice'.
Anyway - that same 'newspaper' ('The Belfast Newsletter') had, one month earlier, published a 'letter to the editor' (signed as being from 'A Christian') in which Roddy McCorley was mentioned as being one of "..a knot of ruffians, who so lately infested the neighbourhood of Ballymena..(guilty of)..murders of the deepest dye, robberies and burglaries of the most calamitous kind.." No change there, then, from those pro-British elements in this country - destroy the character first to make it easier to 'destroy' the person.
A depiction of the murder of Roddy McCorley, 28th February, 1800 - 218 years ago on this date.
Roddy McCorley was an Irish republican activist who was active in 1798 (considered to be "a common rebel", not a leadership figure, and is known to have continued on the fight afterwards until he was captured), a part he would have played even if he had not witnessed his father being put to death by the British for allegedly stealing sheep - the man was one of many hungry Irish 'peasants' murdered by Westminster as an 'example to other Irish troublemakers' : this 'sheepstealer' was a miller by trade, and was proud of his membership of 'The Defenders' - after he was 'given justice' by the British, his wife (a Protestant woman, from the McErlean family) and children were evicted from their hovel.
Roddy McCorley was unfortunate enough to be 'arrested', as he attempted to flee the country, in what the 'authorities' called "a clampdown on a notorious band of outlaws" which, they claimed, was led by Thomas Archer, from Ballymena in Antrim, who had left the notorious 'Antrim Militia', a proper 'band of outlaws' which had been assembled by Westminster in 1793 to 'put down' any inkling of rebellion by the Irish or, as the British put it - "the horrible and unnatural rebellion" (!)
Fifty-two years after he was 'dissected' by the British, his nephew Hugh McCorley found himself in charge of a construction crew who were working on a new bridge across the River Bann, in roughly the same location where the 'common criminal' was put to death in 1800 - he recovered the remains and gave them a proper burial in the graveyard at Duneane Parish, in County Antrim, but left the grave unmarked ; no doubt because he was aware of just what the ghouls in Westminster were capable of.
'The aged persons were telling the tales of bygone feuds and their consequences, and of chiefs who fell victims to their own folly. They were telling of the valiant youths hanged at Toome in those days, and pointed to the very trees on which they had atoned for their rebellious crimes. The young, with the interest peculiar to their years, were listening attentively, and gazed with awe as the stones were removed and the bones presented to view, of him who has been the subject of song, which has kept fresh in his country's memory the events of his short life and his sad end, having been cut down in maturity and vigour of life, before the eyes of those nearest related to him in this world...' And so it continues to this day - the lives and times of those who stood here before us being relayed to those who will stand here after us.
''SINN FÉIN IS EVERYTHING ITS NAME IMPLIES - GOVERNMENT OF THE PEOPLE, BY THE PEOPLE, FOR THE PEOPLE....!'
From 'The United Irishman' newspaper, October 1954.
THE SAME GOSPEL.
Today the aim of Sinn Féin is no more and no less than that. New difficulties and new pitfalls have arisen, but they are no more insurmountable than those which faced our fathers, when Sinn Féin was a new gospel looked upon with suspicion.
That gospel must be preached anew and with no less vigour, for the politics of latter years have induced what we might call a 'sophisticated' attitude in the minds of many people who confuse politics with nationalism and they can only be won over, if at all, by the utter sincerity and transparent honesty of those who teach the doctrine of Sinn Féin. (Next : 'NEED FOR PROPAGANDA' , from the same source.)
"TO EVERY GENERATION ITS DEED..."
From 'The United Irishman' newspaper, February 1955.
COMMENTS.
Mr. J. E. Warnock, Northern Ireland's (sic) Attorney General, has said that he is not particularly anxious about the size and progress of the Irish Republican Army - for that I am sure we are glad. We would indeed be sorry to cause the gentleman any anxiety.
We would like him to know that, and also the people to whom he was speaking at the 'Northern Ireland (sic) Unionist Headquarters' but, since 'The United Irishman' newspaper is considered unwholesome reading for people of the Six Counties, they cannot know how we feel. (MORE LATER).
GROWING UP IN LONG KESH...
SIN SCÉAL EILE.
By Jim McCann (Jean's son). For Alex Crowe, RIP - "No Probablum". Glandore Publishing, 1999.
Two days after the match, Cage 13 officially requested to withdraw from the league! Their request was turned down. They would have to take their medicine. Some screws volunteered to join the 'Sewers Escape Search Team' rather than 'guard' us while we played football.
I was talking to a friend recently who told me that when they played these 'games' in the internee end of Long Kesh, they used to have ambulances at the ready. I suppose that I should make an attempt to say something about the football match, but it's a funny thing - if you ask anyone who played in those matches not one, including myself, can remember anything about the actual playing. No one remembers the scores of the matches but they have all got a story about the fighting. Alas, the football itself is a blur.
The closest I can get to reporting on the actual matches is the not so subtle practice of face collecting - that is not a new kind of tackle in GAA circles, but the likes of Bloggs, Honky, Big Juice and Snakehips Stone elevated it to a level that before then could only be dreamt about and spoken about in the abstract.
I remember a comrade called Lettuce Barnes who, for three days after one of those matches, still had Bloggs' fingerprints clearly visible all over his face. 'Face Collecting Should Only Be Used As A Last Resort' - Geneva Convention, General Council's Office Order 22/64836/73. But in Cage 11 it was used with a reckless abandon. Everyone was at it. As a tactic, we loved it.
The actual execution (for want of a better word) of 'Face Collecting' was that when a player from the opposite team got past you with the ball - or without it - you just stuck out your hand and grabbed him by the face and in one quick flick of the wrist tried to render him unconscious. The recorded cases of whiplash in Long Kesh rose some 356% within the first three months of the start of the inter-Cage matches... (MORE LATER).
Thanks for reading, Sharon.
