ON THIS DATE (5TH FEBRUARY) 98 YEARS AGO : REBEL WOMEN SAY 'NO!'.
"As things developed in 1922, we could see that the Free State was toeing the line for Britain. Nearly all the girls stayed republican, but the men seemed to waver...we offer no apology to the rulers North or South of this partitioned land in asserting our rights as freeborn Irish women to repudiate that Treaty and the Imperial Parliament of partitioned Ulster. We fight for an Ireland where the exploitation of Irish workers by imported or native capitalists will be ruthlessly exterminated. (We will) put an end for all time to that state of chaos and social dis-order which is holding our people in unnatural bondage..." - Eithne Coyle, Cumann na mBan President.
On the 5th of April 1914, in Wynn's Hotel in Abbey Street, Dublin, the inaugural meeting of the newly-established 'Cumann na mBan' organisation took place, with Kathleen Lane-O'Kelley in the Chair. Its constitution made no secret of the fact that it was not opposed to the use of force to remove the British military and political presence from Ireland and the organisation also declared that its primary aim was to "advance the cause of Irish liberty (and) teach its members first aid, drill, signalling and rifle practice in order to aid the men of Ireland." It was the first female military force in Ireland.
In 1918, Westminster threatened to conscript Irishmen into its armed forces and the then four-year-old Cumann na mBan organisation campaigned to such an extent against that conscription that its ranks swelled and it found itself ideally placed to assist the then Sinn Féin organisation in its election campaign in December that same year. At this time, Cumann na mBan had approximately 600 active branches in the country, with the majority of its members aged from their late teens to their mid-30's, and all were active on the republican side during the War of Independence that followed, in which an estimated 10,000 women played an active part. In October 1921, the Cumann na mBan leadership recorded that it had at least 12,000 active members in 800 branches.
However, when the 'Treaty of Surrender' was signed in December 1921 (resulting in partition and the creation of two bastard States) the republican forces, including Cumann na mBan, effectively split into three groups - supporters of the Treaty, those who opposed it and those who withdrew in a neutral stance. A group of Treaty-supporting activists left Cumann na mBan and formed themselves into a new group, 'Cumann na Saoirse' and, five years later, when the Fianna Fail party was founded, more Cumann na mBan members left the organisation to join Eamon de Valera in his new party. Also, in the mid-1930's, yet another group from within Cumann na mBan left to form 'Mna na Poblachta' but the Cumann na mBan organisation itself stayed true to its republican principles in 1970 and again in 1986, when opportunists again left the Republican Movement to seek their political (and financial) fortunes in constitutional political assemblies.
Today, the Cumann na mBan organisation remains affiliated to the Republican Movement and can be contacted at 223 Parnell Street in Dublin and/or 229 Falls Road in Belfast. The email for getting in touch with the organisation is sfp1916@gmail.com.
PUTTING (ALLEGED) 'NEW OIL' INTO A SEIZED 'ENGINE'.
You would know not to do that, wouldn't you? If the engine is seized, then 'new' oil won't fix the problem, even though a shyster mechanic might tell you otherwise.
In this corrupt State, Leinster House is the 'engine' and all the candidates beseeching you for your vote in the 8th February 2020 'general election' are the self-declared 'new oil' that 'can fix the engine' and, with your vote, they will 'fix' that 'engine' - for themselves, that is, financially. One term in Leinster House is all they need to secure an income for themselves for life and/or to make business contacts which will ensure for them a paid position in either Brussels or on the Board of some NGO/Quango but the collapsing health service and housing situation etc in this State will continue in a downward spiral. The Leinster House institution is only fit for one purpose - the cutting of deals and throats ; the deals favour those inside that venue and the throats belong to those of us on the outside who, through our taxes (and votes), pay for the life of luxury enjoyed by those inside those gilded walls.
Compromise with George Carlin (pictured, above) - on the 8th of February next, claim your ballot paper and write 'NONE OF THE ABOVE' on it and place it in the ballot box. Don't fall for the slick words of a shyster mechanic.
ON THIS DATE (5TH FEBRUARY) 200 YEARS AGO : DEATH OF A 'UNITED IRISHMAN' FOUNDING FATHER.
"Nor one feeling of vengeance presume to defile
The cause, or the men, of the Emerald Isle..."
- the words of William Drennan (pictured), physician, poet, educationalist political radical and one of the founding fathers of the 'Society of United Irishmen', who was born on the 23rd May in 1754.
As well as his involvement with the 'United Irishmen', William Drennan will be forever associated with the descriptive term 'Emerald Isle' being used as a reference for Ireland, although he himself stated that that expression was first used in an anonymous 1795 song called 'Erin, to her own Tune'.
When he was 37 years of age, a group of socially-minded Protestants, Anglicans and Presbyterians held their first public meeting in Belfast and formed themselves as 'The Belfast Society of United Irishmen' (the organisation became a secret society three years later), electing Sam McTier as 'President', strengthing the link that William Drennan had forged with that revolutionary organisation - Sam McTier was married to Martha, who was a sister of William Drennan.
'..he was born on May 23, 1754, at the manse of the First Presbyterian Church, Rosemary Street, Belfast, where his father was minister. A doctor by profession, he became one of the pioneers of inoculation against smallpox. Drennan became one of the founder members of the United Irishmen, and upon moving to Dublin in 1789 was appointed its chairman...after he was tried and acquitted of sedition in 1794, he withdrew from the movement and emigrated to Scotland (but remained) committed to radical politics..he married Sarah Swanwick in 1800, and they had four sons and a daughter...' (from here.)
'When Erin first rose from the dark-swelling flood,
God blessed the green island, he saw it was good.
The Emerald of Europe, it sparkled and shone,
in the ring of this world, the most precious stone.
In her sun, in her soil, in her station thrice blest,
With her back towards Britain, her face to the West,
Erin stands proudly insular, on her steep shore,
And strikes her high harp 'mid the ocean's deep roar...' (from here.)
William Drennan died on the 5th February 1820 - 200 years ago on this date - at 66 years of age, and is buried in Clifton Street Graveyard, Belfast. His coffin was carried by an equal number of Catholics and Protestants, and clergy from different denominations were in charge of the ceremony, as per his request.
'A SACRED TRUST...'
From 'The United Irishman' newspaper, December 1954.
In this period, coming up to Christmas, we especially appeal to you on behalf of An Cumann Cabhrach, to aid the prisoners' dependents. Christmas means so much to all of us in Christian Ireland, and our patriotism has always been so closely linked with our faith, let us not forget our boys in prison.
Send us a subscription, but do a little more ; get your friends to do likewise. If possible, form a small committee and write to An Runaidhe, An Cumann Cabhrach, and obtain collection cards. Small weekly subscriptions from many people will ensure the continuance of the fund, without throwing too great a strain on the pocket of any individual. God knows the demands on the pocket of the working man are manifold, but remember this - every penny you contribute is another blow at British domination in Ireland, and the results even in our own day may reach beyond our wildest dreams.
All subscriptions and communications to : An Runaide, An Cumann Cabhrach, c/o 94 Sean Treacy Street, Ath Cliath. (END of 'A Sacred Trust' ; NEXT - 'IRA Criminal Conspiracy - A Conspirator Speaks And Is 'Boohed' ', from the same source.)
ON THIS DATE (5TH FEBRUARY) 99 YEARS AGO : DEATH OF AN UNWITTING FEMME FATALE.
Kitty O'Shea (pictured), was born as Katharine Wood in 1846, on the 30th January ; she matured into an unwitting femme fatale, and is said to be practically solely responsible for 'the most notorious scandal of the late Victorian Age' - the downfall of Charles Stewart Parnell and the split which followed in the 'Home Rule Movement'.
'Kitty' was a name she would have hated, as it was slang for a woman of loose morals. In fact, she only loved two men in her life and married both of them, though the marriage to Charles Stewart Parnell was to prove tragically short-lived as he died in her arms after a few brief months of happiness. She was born Katharine Wood in 1845, and was known as Kate to her family. Her father was a baronet, a member of the British aristocracy and her brother a Field Marshall, although their grandfather had started life as an apprentice and was a self-made man.
The Woods were closely linked with the Gladstone family and Katharine often acted as a go-between with William Gladstone when Parnell was trying to persuade the British government to grant Ireland independence. She had married William O'Shea at the age of twenty-one, not long after the death of her father, and the marriage had produced a son and two daughters. O'Shea neglected his wife and pursued his own pleasures while she was often left to bring up the children alone, while also looking after her elderly aunt. She played the part of a dutiful wife, however, and hosted dinner parties to help her husband's career. Parnell, an important figure in Irish politics, was always invited, always accepted and yet never showed up.
Annoyed and perplexed by these apparent snubs she went to confront him in person at his office in Westminster in July 1880. The effect was immediate ; "This man is wonderful and different," she was to write later. Parnell was a bachelor who had once loved and been rejected, and never took an interest in women again until he met Katharine. It was a suicidal love as she was married to a fellow Irish MP and was a respectable wife and mother. The power of the attraction between the two, however, was impossible to resist and before long they were living together in her home in Eltham in the suburbs of London.
They had an illicit 'honeymoon' in Brighton and Katharine was to bear three children to Parnell while still married to O'Shea, the first of whom died soon after being born. It is even thought that she bore Parnell a son who could take his name after they finally married, although this child was stillborn. O'Shea knew of the relationship but turned a blind eye to it. Then the Aunt died and left Katharine a large inheritance and he decided to divorce his wife and shame Parnell publicly. The ensuing scandal ruined Parnell's career and his health.
His traditional supporters in Catholic Ireland turned away from him when they learned he had been living with a married woman even though he and his beloved Katharine became man and wife after they married at Steyning register office in Sussex, the county where they made their home. In an attempt to revive his flagging fortunes, Parnell went to Ireland and spoke at a public meeting in County Galway. He was caught in a thunderstorm and developed a chill from which he never recovered. Seriously ill, he returned to be with Katharine and died soon afterwards. They had been married for only four months.
It is estimated that half a million people lined the streets of Dublin to pay their respects to Parnell as his coffin was taken to Glasnevin cemetery to be buried near Daniel O'Connell. Later Eamon de Valera and Michael Collins were also laid to rest nearby. On the granite stone above his grave lies just one word – 'Parnell', enough to identify Ireland’s flawed hero whose dream of a free and united country at peace with Britain was destroyed by his love for a married woman.
ON THIS DATE (29TH JANUARY) 226 YEARS AGO : UNSUNG HERO CHARGED WITH DISTRIBUTING "A SEDITIOUS PAPER".
Archibald Hamilton Rowan (pictured), a United Irishman, was 'tried' on a charge of distributing 'a seditious paper' ; on the 16th December, 1792, Rowan (and Napper Tandy, among others) were present at a political meeting/protest in Dublin at which pamphlets entitled 'Citizen Soldiers, To Arms!' were distributed (...but, incidentally, Rowan himself wasn't distributing them, nor was he the author of the pamphlet). Rowan was brought to 'trial' on the 29th January 1794 - 226 years ago, on this date - at the old Four Courts, near Christ Church, Dublin, for this 'offence' and was sentenced to be fined £500, imprisoned for two years, and to "find security for his good behaviour".
'Little about Archibald Hamilton Rowan's beginning in life suggested that he would become a leading political revolutionary...conceived in Killyleagh Castle in Co Down, he was born in 1751 and grew up in England surrounded by wealth and privilege...he lived a charmed and adventurous life, travelling in Europe and America, and lived for a time in France. He could be reckless at times, lost a lot of money at the gaming table, became involved in duels, and 'had scrapes with married women'. He came under the influence of the celebrated radical John Jebb, who held that no man should suffer persecution for his religious and political opinions and that the people have a right to resist tyrannical forms of government.
Rowan married Sarah Dawson in France in 1781, and thereby gained the lifelong love of a steadfast comrade. On his return to Ireland in 1784, he fought an unforgiving ruling class in the pursuit of justice for the poor. He championed the cause of Mary Neal, a child who was raped by the Earl of Carhampton, and denounced the military for the shooting dead of tradesmen in Dublin who were engaged in bull-baiting (...for which, in our opinion, the [British] military should have been commended, not condemned).
In 1794 Rowan landed on the French coast in the run-up to the naval slaughter that became known to history as the 'Glorious First of June'. Such was the tense disposition of the French forces at this time that he was immediately imprisoned as a suspected English spy. From his cell window he watched many men with their hands pinioned carted to the guillotine. At the height of the Terror he was fortunate to escape the guillotine himself. Within days of his release his boots were stained with the blood of revolutionaries guillotined by their erstwhile comrades.
Rowan was a founder of the United Irish Society, and was imprisoned, this time in Newgate Prison, in the Cornmarket area of Christ Church, in Dublin. When he was implicated in a plot initiated by the Committee of Public Safety in Paris to bring a French revolutionary army into Ireland, Rowan successfully escaped from the prison ('1169' comment - he paid a prison officer £100 to allow him out of prison to visit his wife (and sign some paperwork) in near-by Dominick Street and, on the 2nd May 1794, he escaped from custody by jumping out a back window of his house and then laid low for about three days in the Lusk area of Dublin). Had he not escaped he would almost certainly have been hanged. He sailed to Roscoff in a small fishing craft, enduring 11 years of hardship as a political exile in France, America and Germany. Fortunately for Rowan, his wife, Sarah, successfully secured his pardon, and he returned to Ireland in 1806. Without Sarah's tenacity, Rowan would almost certainly never have set foot in Ireland again...' (from here.)
He maintained his quest to free Ireland and continued his fight for justice for the working class but lost heart somewhat when his wife died, in her seventieth year, in late February 1834 ; they were married for 53 years, and were a 'team'. His sorrow was compounded in August that same year when his son, Gawin William, 51 years of age, died, and the poor man never recovered from the pain those deaths caused him : he died, aged 83, on the 1st November that same year, and was buried in the churchyard of St Mary's Church, on the corner of Mary Street and Jervis Street, in Dublin :
"My dear children,
Whilst (in residence) at Wilminoton on the Delaware, in the United States of North America, not expecting to return to Europe, and unwilling to solicit my family to rejoin me there, I was anxious to leave you some memorial of a parent whom in all probability you would never know personally. Under that impression I commenced the following details, uninteresting except to you, who have requested me to transcribe them, that each of you should have a copy.
It was not at that time, nor is it now my intention to vindicate the act which occasioned (my) then exiled situation ; though I felt a strong self-justification, in the consciousness that if I had erred, it had been in common with some of the most virtuous and patriotic characters then in Ireland..." (from here.)
One of our less-sung heroes, without a doubt.
'A SACRED TRUST...'
From 'The United Irishman' newspaper, December 1954.
What of their families and dependents? What is to become of them? What if it be our turn tomorrow?
There is only one answer to these questions, and it rests with you and I ; these people are a sacred trust to the Irish people, and a generous people will not be unmindful of the depth of the sacrifices being made for them. We are not appealing for aims, for it would be unworthy of those gallant men (...and women) that their dependents should have to beg their bread. It is a duty on each one of us to ensure that none of these are in want because the breadwinner is imprisoned by the foreigner.
As the struggle develops many more will be imprisoned or may fall in battle, and the strain on our resources will be heavy. But we must shoulder the burden if we are determined to carry the day. Money, unfortunately, is a dire necessity in the National Movement, as it is in every other undertaking. In time of war it is even more urgent ; money for guns and ammunition, money for food and clothing, money for publicity and administration, money for the alleviation of distress.
Yes, once again, we are appealing for funds, for ours is the Army of the Irish people, and must be sustained by them. Appeals were never made in vain in the past and we know that this appeal shall not be in vain... (MORE LATER.)
ON THIS DATE (29TH JANUARY) 38 YEARS AGO : LOYALIST DEVIANT SHOT DEAD IN BELFAST.
John Dunlop McKeague (pictured), who had been a prominent Loyalist activist, and an 'activist' in other areas, too, was shot dead by the 'Irish National Liberation Army' (INLA) in his shop on the Albertbridge Road, Belfast, on the 29th January, 1982 - 38 years ago on this date. That he survived as long as he did is testament to his colleagues in the War Office in Westminster, who only 'threw him to the wolves' when they feared he was about to do the same to them.
'Loyalists have harboured within their ranks some of the most notorious deviants in Northern Ireland's (sic) history. These include John McKeague, who led the Red Hand Commando terror group for a short time in the early Seventies. British military intelligence was aware of McKeague's taste for young boys and used it to blackmail him into becoming an informer...he was aware through his links with other loyalist paedophiles, particularly the Orangeman William McGrath, of the child abuse going on at Kincora's boys' home in east Belfast.
In 1982 McKeague was about to go public about the role of British intelligence in blackmailing paedophiles like McGrath, Kincora's housemaster, when he was shot dead by the INLA...when McGrath's regime of abuse became public, he was allowed to retire to the outskirts of loyalist east Belfast. None of the loyalist paramilitary groups took any action against him...' (from here.)
'In a British intelligence document called 'Folio 4782/9/76 LB', McKeague was supposedly the mastermind of the Protestant Unionist plot to launch a coup d'état in Northern Ireland (sic). A key aide of Paisley was being blackmailed over personal problems which caused him to be depressed causing his wife to have a nervous breakdown...using Paisley's aide there was active recruitment to a new loyalist paramilitary force among former members of the B Specials. Rather than being under DUP authority the group would be under the control of McKeague himself. The DUP aide met with the UDA who were also to take part in the coup and the meeting was tape recorded secretly so to blackmail the DUP if they contemplated pulling out. At the time Paisley and the DUP were organizing a strike with other unionists and loyalists under the 'United Unionist Action Council' umbrella.
McKeague was good friends with William McGrath who was a fellow rapist and sex abuser of young boys at Kincora. McGrath, a preacher who once accompanied Paisley to meet Chichester Clark in 1969 to form a 'People's Militia', was the founder of Tara, a bizarre group of British Israelites who recruited many young loyalists who believed in an Armageddon uprising by the Catholic population...' (from here.)
The Westminster 'establishment' and its political camp followers, including its 'royal family', in England and elsewhere, is overflowing with perverts and misfits who use insider knowledge against one another for political advantage ; in Ireland, and its other colonies, the British political 'top table' use such information to organise 'murder gangs' to carry-out politically-based killings. John McKeague, an evil individual, was 'encouraged' in that manner and was protected by Westminster until he became too hot to handle. His 'licence' was withdrawn on the 29th January, 1982 - 38 years ago, on this date.
'WOMEN AIDING WOMEN.'
From 'USI News' magazine, February 1989.
On January 25th last (1989), the workers in the Dublin Women's Refuge went on strike. Claire Casey looks at the reason why and the implications involved for all women :
At the time of going to press there is a very serious situation prevailing in a Dublin Women's Aid Refuge. The workers in the refuge served maximum strike notice on the management which expired without settlement on January 25th (1989) ; the workers are now on strike. 'Women's Aid' is an organisation which provides refuges all around the country for victims of domestic violence and their children. These refuges are run by women and are in very heavy demand and any disruption of the invaluable service they provide must be a grave cause for concern.
This is the type of issue that risks being oversimplified - there is a lot at stake and it is important to bring to light some of the facts of the situation. The immediate and glaring reason that the workers at the refuge have given for the strike is the dismissal of the refuge co-ordinator, Wenda Edwards, who has worked at the refuge for 14 years. Her co-workers believe her to be eminently competent in her job ; the management committee who fired her say that two former residents of the refuge had made complaints about her. This committee is made up of 9 women out of a maximum of 12, and it hasn't held an AGM of the organisation in over 20 months. It has blocked committee membership for two ex-residents of the refuge on the grounds that one woman would need good "social contacts" and the other would have to commit herself to raising £40,000 to £50,000 per year - this from a committee which does not raise any funds... (MORE LATER.)
'OMAGH'.
From 'The United Irishman' newspaper, November 1954.
Thou are not conquered yet, dear land, thou are not conquered yet ;
on this I stake my very soul,
on this my life I bet.
The sacred blood that flowed today
on Omagh's virgin plain
from Heaven fell to sanctify
the ancient cause again.
The British lion is rampant now
and loudly grow his roars,
while lurking 'mid the Ulster hills
he licks his latest sores ;
His savage claws are raised again
in wounded pride and hate,
and only streams of Irish blood
his hellish thirst can sate.
Oh Ireland, take them to your heart -
those men who love you best,
who've grappled with the Saxon crew
in freedom's endless quest ;
let traitorous knaves and cringing slaves
go whimpering on their way,
but let the free hail liberty - with them, the IRA. (By M. Ó Cinnéide.)
(END of 'Omagh' : Next - 'IRA Prisoners Remanded. Elaborate Security Precautions By Northern 'Police' '. From the same source.)
Thanks for reading, Sharon.
ON THIS DATE (22ND JANUARY) 97 YEARS AGO : THREE REPUBLICAN PRISONERS EXECUTED BY THE FREE STATERS.
Three Anti-Treaty IRA Volunteers ('Irregulars', as the Staters called them), who had been captured by Free State forces on the 7th January, 1923, and 'found guilty' of having arms and ammunition in their possession "without proper authority", were executed on this date (22nd January) in 1923 - James Melia (pictured), aged 20, of 2 Bridge Street Dundalk, Thomas Lennon, aged 19, from Dowdallshill, Dundalk and Joseph Ferguson, aged 27, of Giles Quay, Bellurgan, Dundalk.
"Considerable moral courage, not to speak of physical courage, was required of anyone having anything to do with Sinn Féin and the IRA here...their task would have been more pleasant if it had to be carried out in the heart of England itself because treachery and the very bitter hatred that was part and parcel of the Irish loyalist would not be encountered, or at least would be expected and prepared for..." (from here.)
That the three young men mentioned above (and, indeed, tens of thousands of other men and women) were brave and had the moral courage to make a stand against both British and their proxy forces in the Free State is without question. Also without question is that those who sought to destroy the republican struggle and its (on-going) objectives had, and have, the 'moral courage' of a de Vichy administration.
'MacDonagh and MacBride
And Connolly and Pearse
Now and in time to be,
Wherever green is worn,
Are changed, changed utterly :
A terrible beauty is born...'
The struggle continues.
'A SACRED TRUST.'
From 'The United Irishman' newspaper, December 1954.
"The whole of this wooden building is reeking with plum-pudding. I hear a distant sound of loud applause and stamping of feet, reminding me of Conciliation Hall...I wish them all a merry Christmas, and many happy returns of the same. But I doubt if it will ever return to me. I am sitting all day, shrunk together in my cell, dismally ill, and wrapped in coats, like a man on the box-seat of a coach..." - it is a gloomy picture that John Mitchel paints of his first Christmas in an English prison.
To those of us who have not spent a Christmas in prison or, in fact, have never been in prison at all, it is hard to imagine the state of mind of those who must endure it. Particularly hard is it for those who have families and dependents, who face a cheerless Christmas bereft of their loved ones.
It is no new thing in Irish history for the men to be in prison, and this generation, and this year, are no exception but, despite cynicism and slave-mindedness, there are still men to be found who will sacrifice all - family, position and friends - to serve the ideal of 'Ireland a Nation'. Do not think that these men have not counted the cost, or have set out lightly on the hard road to freedom. Do not think that they are fools or fanatics, or both. They are ordinary men of all walks of life, who have put into practice the principles so many of us affirm... (MORE LATER.)
ON THIS DATE (22ND JANUARY) 48 YEARS AGO : DEATH OF A POACHER-TURNED-GAMEKEEPER.
"Garda Special Branch - Britain’s lackeys : Gombeen men lured down from the mountains of Kerry by the smell of fresh meat.." - so summarised Brendan Behan the men of Special Branch over 50 years ago. Some things have changed since then, they now have the odd female detective and on rare occasions you may even hear a Dublin accent from the men in the (Ford) Mondeo. To republican activists they are synonymous with harassment and thuggery..." (from here.)
Col. Eamon Broy, who died on Saturday at his home, Oaklands Drive, Rathgar, Dublin, aged 85, was a former Commissioner of the Garda Siochana. During the War of Independence he was one of Michael Collins’s three 'contacts' among the detective force in Dublin Castle and played a leading part in breaking the secret information system there. A native of Rathangan, Co. Kildare, he joined the old D.M.P. in his youth and was attached to G Division – the secret service arm of the British administration in Ireland. During this period he and his police colleague, David Neligan*, formed the heart of Collins’s intelligence service. Between 1917 and 1921 they fed him with vast amounts of highly classified information and warnings.
Col. Broy was arrested by the British in February, 1921, and imprisoned in Arbour Hill until the Truce. He was subsequently secretary of the then (Free State) Department of Civil Aviation and later adjutant of the first Irish Air Corps, with the rank of commandant. On his promotion to colonel he was made OC of the ground organization of the corps.
In 1922 he became secretary to the D.M.P. and on the formation of the Dublin Metropolitan Garda in 1925 he was appointed chief superintendent. In 1929 he was transferred to the Depot, Phoenix Park, as commandant. In February, 1933, he became chief of the Detective Division in succession to Col. David Neligan and inside a month was appointed Commissioner of the Garda Siochana to replace General Eoin O’Duffy who had been dismissed by the Government.
In the same year Col. Broy established a new force attached to the Special Branch, to deal with the situation arising from the refusal of some farmers to pay rates during the period of the Blueshirt movement. The members were drafted to parts of the country (sic) where the no-rates campaign was in progress. They escorted bailiffs on cattle seizures and were involved in many violent incidents...he retired in 1938...and died on the 22nd January, 1972, aged 85... (from here.)
(*David Neligan was another poacher-turned-gamekeeper ; he was a particularly vicious Free State operative who 'made his name' in the fight against republicans in Kerry during the Civil War. His overall intention was to wreak havoc on the Republican Movement and he had no hesitation in turning his weapon on those he had once fought alongside.)
We have wrote about those 'poachers-turned-gamekeepers' before - here, and here, for instance - and, in time, there will be many other opportunities (and requirements) for other writers to do the same.
'SIMON CALL FOR IMMEDIATE STATE ACTION ON HOMELESS CRISIS.'
From 'USI News' magazine, February 1989.
In its pre-budget submission launched in January 1989, the Simon Community demand that the issue of homelessness be treated as a political priority. At its press conference, Brian Harvey of 'Simon' described homelessness as one of the most avoidable social problems of modern times. However, because successive Irish governments (sic) have failed to adopt a practical approach to the issue, the problem has steadily worsened. Brian Harvey estimated the number of homeless people at between three to five thousand.
In their submission, 'Simon' have outlined a comprehensive programme of action for the homeless, including reinvestment in housing, a responsible level of social welfare payments, realistic help for voluntary organisations, adequate funding for community health services, an integrated system of housing benefit and the repeal of archaic discriminatory laws.
(END of 'Simon Call For Immediate State Action On Homeless Crisis' ; NEXT - 'Women Aiding Women', from the same source .)
'SEÁN TREACY LOOKED DOWN WITH PRIDE'.
From 'The United Irishman' newspaper, November 1954.
On Sunday, 17th October (1954), the 34th anniversary of Seán Treacy's death was commemorated at the cemetery in Kilfeackle, County Tipperary, in the presence of many of his old comrades. Comdt. Seán Treacy of the Third Tipperary Brigade led the first attack on the British forces in the 'Black and Tan War' at Soloheadbeg and, from then until his death in October 1920, his career was one of unceasing struggle against the enemy.
He had one purpose - to hit the invaders as hard and as often as possible, and he carried out that purpose relentlessly until his death in action alone against two lorry loads of British military and auxiliaries in Talbot Street in Dublin ; the street which is now well known by his name, in spite of some traders' opposition.
On the morning of the commemoration an even more fitting tribute was paid in his memory - this time in Omagh, County Tyrone. The raid on the British military barracks was an action after his own heart ; he would have delighted in it, would have exulted in the chance once again to hit and hit hard the enemy occupation forces still in our land. We may be sure that Seán Treacy's spirit looked down in pride and eager sympathy on the men who (after 30 years of futility) were once again getting down to the vital, fundamental issue - to get the invaders out, completely and as quickly as possible.
(END of 'Seán Treacy Looked Down With Pride' ; NEXT - 'OMAGH', by M. Ó Cinnéide, from the same source.)
Thanks for reading, Sharon.
ON THIS DATE (8TH JANUARY) 97 YEARS AGO : FIVE IRA MEN EXECUTED BY FREE STATERS.
In memory of Leo Dowling, Sylvester Heaney, Laurence Sheeky, Anthony O'Reilly and Terence Brady.
'Laurence Sheeky had a remarkable short life. He was just 22 when he was executed in 1923 during a turbulent time in Irish history...(he) was born 1901, the son of Patrick and Margaret Sheeky, in Braystown, Robinstown Co. Meath. He joined the (Free State) Army and in 1922 Private Sheeky was assigned to Baldonnel Aerodrome to guard aircraft.
Around this time the Leixlip Flying IRA Column was founded and its leader, Patrick Mullaney, a teacher from Balla, Co. Mayo, would often visit Baldonnel and became very friendly with the Free State soldiers, Laurence Sheeky amongst them. On the 27th September 1922 the provisional (FS) government granted itself emergency powers, that any civilian charged with taking up arms against the State or even possessing arms could be tried in a military court and face the death penalty. Still, such a sentence did not impact on Laurence's Republican feelings and he decided to join the Flying Column. In December 1922, the Column came under attack after taking over Grangewilliam House in Leixlip and after a fierce gun battle, 20 IRA gunmen were captured, Sheeky and Sylvester Heaney from Dillonstown amongst them as well as Thomas McCann from Duleek Street, Drogheda, who had also been stationed at Baldonnel.
They were put on trial and the death sentence was handed down to Sheeky and Heaney, who was just 19 at the time. Three others would also be put to death. On 8th January 1923, the five were executed by firing squad. Laurence Sheeky's family were never told about his execution and his parents learned of their son's death on their way to Ardee by a family friend who sympathised with them. In 1938, Laurence Sheeky's body was brought home to Co Meath and he was buried in the new cemetery on the Boyne Road with full military honours...
After a skirmish on the border of County Kildare and County Meath, the Meath Anti-Treaty IRA column, consisting of 22 men under Paddy Mullally is captured. The Republicans attack a Free State supply column near Leixlip. One Republican and one Free State soldier are killed in the action and three Republicans are wounded. Five of the Anti-Treaty men, who had previously deserted from the National (FS) Army, are executed in Dublin on 8 January 1923 for "treachery".
Three Meath men were executed in 1923, Two, Laurence Sheeky from Braytown and Terence Brady from Wilkinstown, were executed in Portobello on 8th January 1923 and Thomas Murray from Kilcarn but originaly from Whitecross Co, Armagh was executed on 13th January 1923 in Dundalk Jail. Laurence Sheeky and Terence Brady were executed with comrades Leo Dowling from Askinran Co, Kildare, Sylvester Heavey from Dillonstown Co, Louth and Anthony O`Reilly from Celbridge Co, Kildare. All five who deserted from the National army were arrested in Leixlip Co, Kildare on 1st December 1922 when an attack was carried out on an army (FS) supply lorry which had broken down in the townland of Collinstown on the Maynooth road.
In follow up searches carried out by the Free State army a number of confrontations occurred with insurgents resulting in over twenty insurgents being arrested. During the battles three insurgents were wounded and a Free State soldier killed. Twenty one rifles, a Thompson sub-machine gun, six revolvers, a Lewis sub-machine gun, grenades and a substantial amount of ammunition were recovered. The five - Sheeky, Brady, Dowling, Heavey and O`Reilly - were brought to Kilmainham Jail and Court Marshalled on 11th December 1922. The charges were as follows:
1) "TREACHERY ON THE 1ST DECEMBER 1922 IN THAT THEY AT LEIXLIP, CO, KILDARE ASSISTED CERTAIN ARMED PERSONS IN USING FORCE AGAINST THE NATIONAL ARMY"
2) "TREACHERY COMMUNICATING AND CONSERTING WITH ARMED PERSONS MENTIONED IN THE FIRST CHARGE, IN THE PLACE AND AT THE TIME MENTIONED"
All five were found guilty of both charges and sentenced to death. The men were executed on 8th January 1923 at Keogh barracks and were buried there, however, just a year later, the bodies were handed over to the families for burial in their own home towns...' (from here.)
In memory of those Irish republicans executed by colleagues who were led astray and turned against them.
'WHO HONOURS PEARSE..?'
From 'The United Irishman' newspaper, December 1954.
Padraig Pearse's love of the poor, dumb, suffering people, which he expressed in so many parables, was "Christ-like", according to some of the conscience-jugglers, and his fierce patriotism was "supremely Christian", according to them. Yes, gentlemen ; but allow me to maintain reverence and still pursue the parallelism of Pearse's 'Christ-like' virtures - like Our Lord, Pearse claimed many astonishing things that did not suit 'respectability', nor current rulers.
Christ said he was the Son of God ; that is God or madman talking. Pearse said he would answer to God for the bloodshed and destruction of the 1916 Rising. The main thing, as Pearse saw it, was to get Irish political power back into Irish hands. After that, the social and economic conquest could be extirpated. Like Pearse, Irish republicans would be glad to use only moral force if England used ONLY moral force, but England continues to press her conquest with British 'law' and wartime exploitation of the shipbuilding and linen industries, the same industries that are left to rot in peacetime. But her chief weapon in maintaining the conquest is, as ever, armed force. That is why constitutional agitation has failed to bring freedom any nearer in the 30-odd years since the 'Trick Treaty' was forced on us by the enemy under threat of "immediate and terrible war".
Who honours Pearse as Pearse would have wished to be honoured - the politicians who make a virtue of apathy by calling it 'patience'? Or the man who strikes to free his children from shameful bonds?
(END of 'Who Honours Pearse?'. Next - 'A Sacred Trust', from the same source.)
ON THIS DATE (8TH JANUARY) 149 YEARS AGO : BIRTH OF A 40,000-STRONG PRO-BRITISH PARAMILITARY LEADER.
"..James Craig (pictured) was born in Belfast in 1871, son of a distiller. He was a millionaire by the age of 40 – much of his money coming from his adventures in stockbroking...he first distinguished himself in the (British) Army. Everybody had enjoyed the first Boer War so much that they decided to do it all over again and from 1899 Craig served as an officer in the 3rd Royal Irish Rifles. He was, at one point, imprisoned by the Boers and was finally forced home by dysentery in 1901..." (from here.)
Before the British partitioned Ireland in 1921, pogroms by loyalists in Belfast were carried out by the 'Ulster Volunteer Force' (UVF), a loyalist paramilitary outfit, with the British Army and the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) looking on, but not intervening. The loyalist political leader, James Craig , who was concerned at the level of resistance to pro-British misrule, realised that the British hold on the island was slipping but was determined to protect his own patch, in the North-Eastern corner - he insisted that Westminster establish a 'Special Constabulary' to assist the British Army and the RIC and, at a meeting of the British Cabinet on 6th September, 1920, he got his wish ; a force of "well-disposed and loyal citizens" was to be established for operational purposes in the North-Eastern Counties only - the Six County area. This new unit was to be known as the 'Ulster Special Constabulary' and was to be divided into three sub-units ; the A, B and C Specials.
DÁITHÍ Ó CONAILL COMMEMORATION, 12.45PM, WEDNESDAY 1ST JANUARY 2020, GLASNEVIN, DUBLIN.
"Dáithí came from a strong Cork Republican family. His uncle Michael O’Sullivan (17), along with five of his comrades, was bayoneted to death by British Crown forces in March 1921. He joined Sinn Féin at the age of 17 during the local elections in 1955. By the end of the following year he was on active service as a Volunteer in the Irish Republican Army , serving as an organiser under GHQ staff in Co Fermanagh.
On January 1, 1957 he was second-in-command of the Pearse Column during the attack on Brookeborough RUC barracks which resulted in the deaths of two of his comrades, Fearghal Ó hAnluáin and Seán Sabhat. Four others were wounded including the column commander. At 18 years of age Dáithí took command and led a successful withdrawal back across the border – evading 400 RUC, B-Specials, two helicopters and the British army – where they were forced to retire. He was then imprisoned in Mountjoy and the Curragh Concentration camp from where he escaped with his friend and comrade Ruairí Ó Brádaigh in September 1958. He returned to active service and for a period was Director of Operations. He was critically wounded in an ambush by the RUC and B-Specials in Arboe, Co Tyrone on the shores of Lough Neagh in November 1959. He made his escape but was forced to seek help because of loss of blood and his weakened condition. He was captured by Crown Forces and was sentenced to eight years which he served in Belfast’s Crumlin Road Jail. Following his release in 1963 he reported back to active service.
In 1969/70 he again made his talents available to the Republican Movement. Ruairí Ó Brádaigh said of him he possessed the 'ablest mind in the Republican Movement for over 20 years'. The sheer breadth of his ability and intellect was evidenced by his service to the All-Ireland Republic both militarily and politically. He had a central role in framing ÉIRE NUA and remained a tireless advocate of it right up to his death in 1991. Dáithí Ó Conaill never equivocated on what was the cause of the war in Ireland or what was required to deliver a just and lasting peace for all of the Irish people. Speaking in Belfast at Easter 1973 he said: 'Today, the central issue in the war is one of conflict between Ireland’s right to freedom and England’s determination to keep us in subjection. All other issues are subordinate to this basic point. There can be no compromise on the fundamental issue as to who should rule Ireland: the British Parliament or the Irish people. We have had 800 years of British ineptitude in ruling Ireland; we have never known rule by the Irish, of the Irish, for the Irish. Until we do, we shall never enjoy peace and stability in our land.' " (From here.)
The commemoration will be held, as stated, on New Year's Day (Wednesday, 1st January, 2020) in Glasnevin Cemetery in Dublin. Those attending are asked to assemble at the main gates at 12.45pm. Go raibh maith agat.
Thanks for reading, Sharon.
