ON THIS DATE (4TH NOVEMBER) 19 YEARS AGO : BRITISH PARAMILITARIES CHANGE NAME AND UNIFORM.
On the 10th October, 1969, 'The Hunt Report' recommended that the RUC (which had been formed on the 5th April 1922) should be changed into an unarmed force, that the 'B Specials' (the 'Ulster Special Constabulary') should be disbanded and a new reserve force be established, to be known as the 'Ulster Defence Regiment'. The RUC name was given to the then-existing RIC force on the 1st June 1922 in an attempted sleight-of-hand manoeuvre to present an existing pro-British paramilitary force as a 'new entity' and that 'new entity' - the RUC - was, in turn, amalgamated into the 'new' PSNI on the 4th November 2001 - 19 years ago on this date.
This was another tweaking of the name and uniform of a paramilitary outfit (and they've done it again!), as the 'police force' in that part of Ireland are still administered by Westminster and are as anti-republican as they were when they bore the 'RIC' name, and maintain the same structure and objective as when they were known by that latter name.
The more gullible in Leinster House and elsewhere among us (although they are well salaried to be so or, at least, to give the impression that they are that gullible) profess themselves convinced that a new day has dawned, ignoring the fact that the shadow in the room is caused by an elephant that they themselves have encouraged.
'BRITISH OCCUPATION CHALLENGED...'
From 'The United Irishman' newspaper, June, 1955.
However, the electors of Mid-Ulster and Fermanagh-South Tyrone realised quite clearly that no matter what English law says or does, a vote for Philip Clarke and Tom Mitchell was a vote for the unity and freedom of Ireland and an end to British rule in Ireland. Although no other Sinn Féin representatives were elected in the other constituencies, the electors voted with the same clear realisation - that a vote for Sinn Féin was a vote for a united and free Ireland.
The political situation in the North of Ireland has for many years been confused by a general classification of all Catholics as 'nationalists' and all Protestants as 'unionists'. This has been demonstrated to be false in this election ; we interpet 'nationalist' to mean one who believes in the freedom and unity of the nation and separated from English influence and control, and 'unionist' to mean one who believes in Ireland remaining subject to English power and control and domination by the English Parliament at Westminster. Previous elections in the North of Ireland have been contested on a purely sectarian issue - Catholic versus Protestant. The 'status quo' was never seriously challenged and the 'castle catholics' could with safety vote for the 'nationalist' candidate. The issue in this election was really serious - England's 'right' to rule in Ireland was challenged and only the brave and the Irish voted for Ireland.
It now remains for the people in the 26 Counties to follow the lead given by the North : *vote Sinn Féin at every opportunity, organise branches of Sinn Féin in every area in Ireland*. A united people cannot be defeated. (* '1169' comment - if you "vote/organise" for that grouping now, you will be doing so to benefit an organisation that has accepted/works with the Free State and Westminster administrations in Ireland, and will be prolonging the British military and political presence in this country and/or shoring-up the capitalist political situation that exists here.)
(END of 'British Occupation Challenged' ; NEXT - 'The West's Awake', from the same source.)
ON THIS DATE (4TH NOVEMBER) 46 YEARS AGO : JUDITH THERESA WARD WAS 'CONVICTED ON ALL COUNTS' IN AN 'UNPROFESSIONAL TRIAL'.
Judith Ward (pictured), an 'IRA activist', was arraigned on the 3rd October 1974 at Wakefield Crown Court, West Yorkshire, England, on an indictment containing 15 counts : Count 1: causing an explosion likely to endanger life or property on the 10th September 1973, at Euston Station, Count 2: a similar count relating to the explosion on the motorcoach on the M62 on the 4th February 1974, Counts 3-14: twelve counts of murder relating to each of the persons killed in the explosion on the motorcoach and Count 15: causing an explosion as before on February 12, 1974, at the National Defence College at Latimer.
She pleaded "not guilty" to all counts but, on the 4th November 1974 - 46 years ago on this date - she was convicted on all counts, by a majority of 10 to two on Count 1 and unanimously on all the others. She was sentenced to five years' imprisonment on Count 1, 20 years' imprisonment concurrently on Count 2, life imprisonment for the murder Counts 3-14 and to 10 years on Count 15, to be served consecutively to the 20 years on Count 2, making a determinate sentence of 30 years.
It took eighteen years of campaigning to have her conviction quashed, which it was on the 11th May 1992 and it transpired that she had changed her 'confession' several times and that the police and the prosecution selected various parts of each 'confession' to assemble a version which they felt comfortable with! One of the main pieces of forensic evidence against her was the alleged presence of traces of nitroglycerine on her hands, in her caravan and in her bag. Thin layer chromatography and the Griess test were used to establish the presence of nitroglycerine but later evidence showed that positive results using these methods could be obtained with materials innocently picked up from, for instance, shoe polish, and that several of the forensic scientists involved had either withheld evidence or exaggerated its importance.
Her book, 'Ambushed - My Story' makes for interesting reading and allows the reader to draw comparisons with the injustices suffered by the Maguire Seven, the Birmingham Six and the Guildford Four ; a total of 18 innocent people, including Judith Ward (13 men, 3 women and two children) who, between them, spent a total of 216 years in prison. Anne Maguire, a mother of 5 children, was menstruating heavily and denied all toiletries for a week, and was beaten senseless and Carol Richardson, who didn't even know she was pregnant, miscarried in Brixton Prison days after her arrest. Pat O'Neill, who had minutes before entered the Maguires house to arrange for a baby-sitter when the police arrived, was told by a cop to swear that he saw a big cardboard box on Maguires table or else he would be done, but he refused to lie - he served eleven years. On his release, he found his marriage was broken beyond repair and that his six children had left the family home.
How many more Irish children will have to 'leave the family home' before the British eventually give a date for their political and military withdrawal from Ireland, because the situation as it now (and still) exists here is that their very presence continues to be objected to by Irish republicans and continues to give rise to unrest. And, if our history is to be used as a yardstick, that will always be the case.
'IN THE NAME OF THE LAW.'
Confidence in the Garda Siochana continues to erode as more incidents of questionable Garda 'evidence' emerge. By Sandra Mara. From 'The Magill Annual', 2002.
As Pat Byrne's tenure as Garda Commissioner draws to a close, he could be forgiven for wishing he could fast-forward his retirement and hand over the poisoned chalice, particularly in the light of Abbeylara, allegations of garda corruption in Donegal, the Dean Lyons affair and numerous other 'occasions of sin' for the guardians of law and order in Ireland (sic).
In the latest round of events, the legal team acting for Donegal publican Frank McBrearty and his family (which now numbers five barristers and two solicitors) secured leave from the High Court to take an action designed to compel the Garda Commissioner to fully investigate allegations of perjury by five of his officers in District Court proceedings against the McBreartys between December 1998 and April 1999.
Martin Giblin SC, for the McBrearty family, instructed by Ken Smyth of Binchy's Solicitors, told Mr Justice O'Neill that his clients were the subject of intense garda attention following the death of Raphoe man Richie Barron in 1996. Mr Barron was found by two local men on a roadway close to his home in the early hours of 14th October 1996 ; seriously injured and lying in a pool of blood, Mr Barron was taken to hospital by ambulance but subsequently died from his injuries... (MORE LATER.)
'RETURN TO SINN FÉIN.'
From 'The United Irishman' newspaper, November 1954.
A plea for a return to Sinn Féin principles of self-reliance was made at the Irish Club in Eaton Square last night by Professor John Busteed, who lectured on the future of Ireland.
Suggesting that emigration should be regarded as a test of the efficiency of the national economy (sic), Professor Busteed said that, on present figures, out of every 1,000 boys aged 14 now, 350 would have left the country in twenty years, and out of every 1,000 girls, 390 would have left.
That was a phenomenon that existed nowhere else in the world ; Denmark, for instance, had three times the national (sic) income of Ireland and had no emigration problem. When the Free State was set up there were 1,220,000 at work, of whom over half were employed in agriculture. Today the total was 1,200,000, and the number engaged in agriculture had declined from 650,000 to 480,000. (From an 'Irish Independent' London letter, 27-9-1954.)
(END of 'Return to Sinn Féin' ; NEXT - 'British Garrisons And The Ban', from the same source.)
'ROLLING STONES' (/'STROLLIN' BONES!') WRONG - TIME IS NOT ON OUR SIDE....
...we won't be posting our usual contribution, and probably won't be in a position to post anything at all, next Wednesday, 11th November 2020. This coming weekend (Saturday/Sunday 7th/8th) is spoke for already with a 650-ticket raffle to be run for the Dublin Executive of Sinn Féin Poblachtach in a different venue than usual, due to the Covid 19 issue, and in a slightly different format.
But, closed venues and social distancing etc or not, work on this gig began yesterday, Tuesday 3rd November 2020, and the paperwork 'autopsy' into it will be held on Monday, 9th, so - between the three of us - we're booked up solid with our 'pay-the-bills/day-job' work and the work on the raffle, and Ard Fheis paperwork, even though the Ard Fheis itself has been defered. Then it's straight on to the December 2020 Cabhair raffle and the Cabhair Christmas Day Swim and loads of other stuff which one committee or another will no doubt be looking to have done!
But it's all for a good Cause and we don't mind helping out. Check back here for us on Wednesday 18th November 2020 ; sure you'd never know what it is that we'll be givin' out about!
Thanks for reading - Sharon and the '1169' team.
...and we're still in 'Lockdown 2' in this State, but most citizens are less compliant than they were during the first 'Lockdown' and, in our opinion, with good reason ; State politicians grant themselves exemptions from Covid rules for golf society/business meetings and for attending other such business/political meetings in the State and abroad but insist that the rest of us comply! They provide faulty PPE and declare that clothes are not essential items (!), resulting in State 'officialdom' losing more of whatever 'authority' it had left. And they continue to pay themselves their full salary while offering the rest of us a State payment which is, for most people, inadequate to meet their needs. There is general unrest and resentment here as a result, and that unrest and resentment is growing...
ON THIS DATE (28TH OCTOBER) 44 YEARS AGO : IRISH REPUBLICAN LEADER ASSASSINATED BY PRO-BRITISH DEATH SQUAD.
"We must take no steps backward, our steps must be onward, for if we don't, the martyrs that died for you, for me, for this country, will haunt us forever" - Máire Drumm, (pictured).
On the 28th October 1976 - 44 years ago on this date - the then Sinn Féin Vice President, Máire Drumm, was shot dead in her hospital bed by a pro-British loyalist death squad. She was born in the townland of Killeen, South Armagh, on the 22nd October 1919 to a staunchly republican family (the McAteer's) and her mother had been active in the Tan War and the Civil War.
In 1940, Máire joined Sinn Féin in Dublin but, in 1942, she moved to Belfast, which became her adopted city, and she continued her republican activities. Every weekend, she would carry food parcels to the republican prisoners in Crumlin Road Jail and it was here that she met Jimmy Drumm, who she married in 1946. When the IRA renewed the armed struggle in the late 1950s, Jimmy was again interned without trial from 1957 to 1961, and Máire became more actively involved in the civil rights movements of the 1960s. She worked tirelessly to rehouse the thousands of nationalists forced from their homes by unionist/loyalist pogroms.
In 1972, she became Vice President of the then Sinn Féin organisation and, due to her dedication and the dedication of her family to the republican struggle, they were continuously harassed by the RUC, British Army and by loyalist paramilitaries.
The British Army even constructed an observation post facing their home in Andersonstown and, at one point, her husband and son were interned at the same time. Her husband, Jimmy, became known as the most jailed republican in the Six Counties and Máire herself was also jailed twice for 'seditious' speeches, once along with her daughter.
In 1976, at only 57 years of age, her eyesight began to fail and she was admitted for a cataract operation to the Mater Hospital, Belfast. On the 28th October 1976, as Máire lay in her hospital bed, loyalist killers wearing doctors white coats walked into her room and shot her dead. Máire Drumm, freedom fighter and voice of the people, was buried in Milltown Cemetery.
'BRITISH OCCUPATION CHALLENGED'.
From 'The United Irishman' newspaper, June, 1955.
In spite of attempts by the unionists, the 'nationalists' and the so-called 'national press' to misrepresent the policy of Sinn Féin, the republicans and the separatists in the north rallied to the cause of Irish freedom and unity and elected two representatives to the republican parliament of the 32 Counties. The results are a striking vindication of Pearse's dictum that "the great, silent suffering mass of the Irish people are always ready to assert their right to freedom. The people have never failed Ireland. Always it has been the leaders who have failed the people."
On nomination day, the unionists tried to stampede the electors by declaring that votes cast for Mitchell and Clarke would be thrown away - that they would be completely discounted and the unionist candidate elected, but the republican electors were not deceived nor intimidated by the unionist tactics. Now that the smoke and fire of battle has cleared away, the unionists are regretting their rash threat and cannot decide what to do.
The legal position was made quite clear by the lobby correspondent of the London 'Observer' newspaper on Sunday 29th May, 1955, three days after the election : "Several Sinn Féin candidates were elected in 1918 although they were in prison, but no attempt was made to unseat them, and there has been no change in the law since then..."
(MORE LATER.)
ON THIS DATE (28TH OCTOBER) 169 YEARS AGO : 'REBEL' MP AND BARRISTER (AND PLEDGE-BREAKER) EXPOSED.
It's practically impossible to write about William Keogh (pictured) without mentioning his pledge-breaking colleague and fellow charlatan, John Sadleir. Both men were born into difficult times, but so were many others and not all of them resorted to being 'snake oil' sales people, the path chosen by Keogh and Sadleir.
Their 19th century Ireland was one in which approximately six-and-a-half million people 'lived' in, which was a rise in population of about three-and-a-quarter million since the introduction of the potato into the country in the middle of the 18th Century (ie 1760, population of approximately three-and-a-quarter million ; 1815 - population of approximately six-and-a-half million).
With the potato being in itself highly nutritional and a good basis for an adequate diet, as well as being a prolific crop, the poor were able to get better use from what little land they had and use their land to support more people, which led to an increase in the population. Also, the potato needed less land than, for instance, grain, and allowed the farmer to grow other crop elsewhere which he could then sell. Unfortunately for the Irish 'peasant' farmer (as the British described us) , this 'good fortune' was noticed by the British 'landlords' and rents were increased at the same period that land was scarce (due to the population increase) - the 'rent' for a 'holding' quadrupled between 1760 and 1815, so the 'holding' (ie small farm) was sub-let, usually to the farmers sons, so that the 'rent owed' for that patch of soil could be shared by the family.
However, the Irish spirit was strong, and the British 'landlords' and their agents did not have it all their own way. The so-called 'lower-ranks', the 'wretched people', those who wore 'the mark of slavery', had organised themselves as best they could ; secret, underground oath-bound societies fought back - the Whiteboys, Oakboys, Moonlighters, the Defenders and the Steelboys : fences belonging to British 'landlords' were ripped-up, the 'masters' cattle were taken, his haystacks and crop removed, his 'Big House' attacked and, when possible, levelled and burnt, and he himself, and his minions, put to death when the opportunity presented itself to do so. It was into this 'melting-pot of madness' that a child was born in County Tipperary in 1815 - John Sadleir.
At the time that John Sadleir (pictured) was growing-up, a man named George Henry Moore (who was connected to, and supported by, the Catholic Church Hierarchy) was organising a 'pressure-group' which was to be called the 'Irish Brigade' to lobby Westminster on behalf of the Catholic Church, its members, and its 'flock' - John Sadleir joined the 'Irish Brigade' lobby-group and became a prominent member of it, as did about twenty liberal-minded British MP's, including William Keogh. When John Sadleir was 36 years of age (in 1851) the British administration introduced the 'Ecclesiastical Titles Bill' (on 6th February 1851) making it 'illegal' for any Catholic prelate (ie priest, arch-bishop, bishop etc) to be that which the Vatican claimed him to be - that is, under the 'Ecclesiastical Titles Bill', it was deemed to be 'a crime' to be described as the 'parish priest of XXX', 'arch-bishop of XXX', 'bishop of XXX' etc - in short, the assumption of titles by Roman catholic priests was outlawed by Westminster : the British wanted to curb the activities and influence of the catholic church, but this 'law' was not always followed-up (ie enforced) on the ground (what we in Ireland would call 'an Irish solution to an Irish problem').
However, enforced or not, the 'Titles Bill' was vehemently opposed by John Sadleir and William Keogh and 'The Irish Brigade' (who were by now known by the nick-name of 'The Popes Brass Band', such was their support for the catholic hierarchy) and others, too, were opposed to the 'Bill' - a group known as the 'Tenant Right League', which had been founded in 1850 by 'Young Ireland' Movement leaders Charles Gavan Duffy and Frederick Lucas (to secure better conditions for those that worked the land) also campaigned against 'The Ecclesiastical Titles Bill' : the 'Tenant Right League' was formed in City Assembly House in William Street in Dublin in August 1850, after a four-day conference which was attended by a right mix of people - magistrates, 'landlords', tenants themselves, priests (of both Catholic and Presbyterian persuasion) and newspaper journalists and editors. In his own constituency, where he was entertained to a public banquet on the 28th October, 1851 - 169 years ago on this date - William Keogh declared, in the presence of Archbishop McHale : "I will not support any party which does not make it the first ingredient of their political existence to repeal the Ecclesiastical Titles Act..." and again, in Cork, on the 8th March, 1852, he declared : "So help me God, no matter who the Minister may be, no matter who the party in power may be, I will support neither that minister nor that party unless he comes into power prepared to carry the measures which universal popular Ireland demands..." As the British themselves are fond of saying - 'Fine words butter no parsnips'.
In 1852, 'The Irish Brigade' and 'The Tenant Right League' joined forces to get the 'Ecclesiastical Titles Bill' revoked and, in July that year (1852) the new grouping came together as 'The Independent Irish Party', which declared that "legislative independence is the clear, eternal and inalienable right of this country, and that no settlement of the affairs of Ireland can be permanent until that right is recognised and established...(we will) take the most prompt and effective measures for the protection of the lives and interests of the Irish people, and the attainment of their natural rights..." John Sadleir and William Keogh, two of the more prominent MP's in 'The Independent Irish Party' (of which there were about forty, as the new 'IIP' was joined by Irish MP's in Westminster) , like all the other 'IIP' representatives, took a pledge not to accept any Office in a Westminster administration or to co-operate with same until, among other things, the 'Ecclesiastical Titles Bill' was done away with ; however, the British had seen developments like this elsewhere in their 'empire' and were preparing to manoeuvre things in their own favour.
The new 'Independent Irish Party' was flexing its muscle ; as William Keogh (a barrister and MP for Athlone) put it - "I will not support any party which does not make it the first ingredient of their political existence to repeal the Ecclesiastical Titles Bill. So help me God ..." By this stage, Charles Gavan Duffy had been elected as an 'Independent Irish Party' MP to Westminster, representing the New Ross area of Wexford. The 'IIP', with forty members elected to Westminster, did actually hold the balance of power in 'Lord' Derby's Tory-led government in Westminster and so pressed their claims with that administration regarding the 'Titles Bill' and other matters pertaining to Ireland - but they got no satisfaction from 'Lord' Derby or any of his Ministers, so the 'IIP' 'pulled the plug' and the British government of the day collapsed.
'Lord' Aberdeen offered John Sadleir IIP MP the position of 'Lord of The Treasury' in the new British administration, and also 'threw a bone' to the other dog, William Keogh IIP MP - that of the Office of British Solicitor-General for Ireland and, despite already having their parsnips well buttered, both men took the offer, and the Catholic Church, subservient as ever to the British, when push came to shove, supported them for doing so! This tore not only the 'Independent Irish Party' asunder (although it did manage to 'hobble' on for another few years, disintegrating along the way) until finally it disbanded in 1858, but it also disappointed Charles Gavan Duffy IIP MP, one of the more prominent members of the party, so much so that, in October 1855, he emigrated to Australia in despair.
Despite success at the polls, and having the 'ear' of the political bosses and the 'respect' of the British 'establishment' and good, favourable media coverage, being well-dressed, well-spoken and well-paid, if you lose your political principles, you're finished - draw your own conclusions....
'IS IT TIME TO ASK QUESTIONS OF THE LEGAL PROFESSION...?'
By John Drennan.
From 'The Magill Annual', 2002.
The law exists to protect us but, as with the moral law of the Church, those who devote their lives to it should be under its closest scrutiny, precisely because they are more empowered by it than anyone else in our society.
It is time that journalism and politics started asking difficult questions of the legal profession. For starters, we can look into the scandal of the family courts, and then go on to ask who benefits the most from our relatively new-found public tribunal culture. Only then will we even begin to redress the balance of power between the people and the courts.
(END of 'Is It Time To Ask Questions Of The Legal Profession?' ; NEXT - 'In The Name Of The Law', from the same source.)
'THE REPUBLICAN POSITION ; STATEMENT ISSUED BY ÓGLAIGH NA H-ÉIREANN AND SINN FÉIN...'
From 'The United Irishman' newspaper, November 1954.
"A Chara,
The following statement has been released for publication. Please publish it in full or not at all...
Those who think in terms of a compromise with the leadership of Fianna Uladh must also realise that when they seek to get an alignment with the latest arrival of the splinter parties they are seeking that which is tantamount to an alignment with either Clann na Poblachta or Fianna Fail, both of which, for their own separate ends, foster and promote the growth of Fianna Uladh, whose advent can only distract our people further.
Its continued existence can but serve to create further dissensions and its leaders appear to do all in their power to retard and obstruct the advance of the Republican Movement.
Issued by the Army Council, Óglaigh na hÉireann, and the Standing Committee, Sinn Féin."
(END of 'The Republican Position ; Statement Issued By Óglaigh na hÉireann and Sinn Féin'. NEXT - 'Return To Sinn Féin', from the same source.)
Thanks for reading - Sharon and the '1169' team. Are you still with us, out there? Hard to know just where we are, in this State, in relation to the health and safety of the citizens of this State, as 'regulated' by Leinster House, that is : we think, as it's a Wednesday, we're somewhere between level 3.5 and level 5 of the 'lockdown'. Not sure. And it could change tomorrow. Or maybe not. Sure we'll see how it goes...
ON THIS DATE (21ST OCTOBER) 141 YEARS AGO : 'FAIR RENT, FIXITY OF TENURE, FREEDOM OF SALE'.
On the 21st October 1879- 141 years ago on this date- a meeting of concerned individuals was held in the Imperial Hotel in Castlebar, County Mayo, to discuss issues in relation to 'landlordism' and the manner in which that subject impacted on those who worked on small land holdings on which they paid 'rent', an issue which other groups, such as tenants' rights organisations and groups who, confined by a small membership, agitated on land issues in their own locality, had voiced concern about.
Those present agreed to announce themselves as the 'Irish National Land League' (which, at its peak, had 200,000 active members) and Charles Stewart Parnell (who, at 33 years of age, had been an elected member of parliament for the previous four years) was elected president of the new group, with Andrew Kettle, Michael Davitt, and Thomas Brennan being appointed as honorary secretaries.
The leadership had 'form' in that each had made a name for themselves as campaigners on social issues of the day and were, as such, 'known' to the British authorities ; for instance, Michael Davitt, who was born into poverty in Straide, Mayo, on the 25th of March, 1846 - at the time of the attempted genocide - was the second of five children, and was only four years of age when his family were evicted from their home over rent owed and his father, Martin, was left with no choice but to travel to England to look for a job. Martin's wife, Sabina, and their five children, were given temporary accommodation by the local priest in Straide. The family were eventually reunited, in England, where young Michael attended school for a few years. His family were struggling, financially, so he obtained work, aged 9, as a labourer (he told his boss he was 13 years old and got the job - working from 6am to 6pm, with a ninty-minute break and a wage of 2s.6d a week) but within weeks he had secured a 'better' job, operating a spinning machine but, at only 11 years of age, his right arm got entangled in the machinery and had to be amputated.
Seán Stephenson, London (Wormwood Scrubbs), 8 years penal servitude.
Manus Canning, Derry (Wormwood Scrubs), 8 years penal servitude.
Joseph Campbell, Newry (Crumlin Road), 5 years penal servitude.
Leo McCormack, Dublin (Crumlin Road), 4 years penal servitude.
JP McCallum, Liverpool (Stafford), 6 years penal servitude.
Kevin O' Rourke, Banbridge (Crumlin Road), 5 years penal servitude.
Eamon Boyce, Dublin (Crumlin Road), 12 years penal servitude.
Philip Clarke, Dublin (Crumlin Road), 10 years penal servitude.
Paddy Kearney, Dublin (Crumlin Road), 10 years penal servitude.
Tom Mitchell, Dublin (Crumlin Road), 10 years penal servitude.
John McCabe, Dublin (Crumlin Road), 10 years penal servitude.
Seán O'Callaghan, Cork (Crumlin Road), 10 years penal servitude.
Seán Hegarty, Cork (Crumlin Road), 10 years penal servitude.
Liam Mulcahy, Cork (Crumlin Road), 10 years penal servitude.
Hugh Brady, Lurgan (Crumlin Road), 3 years penal servitude.
(END of 'In Jail For Ireland' ; Next - 'British Occupation Challenged', from the same source.)
ON THIS DATE (21ST OCTOBER) 217 YEARS AGO : HANGED AND BEHEADED BY THE BRITISH.
'By Downpatrick goal I was bound to fare
on a day I'll remember, feth;
for when I came to the prison square
the people were waitin' in hundreds there
an' you wouldn't hear stir nor breath!
For the sodgers were standing, grim an' tall,
round a scaffold built there foment the wall,
an' a man stepped out for death!' (from here.)
Thomas Paliser Russell (pictured) was born in Cork, to an Anglican family (his father was a British Army Officer), on the 21st of November, 1767 and, at just 16 years of age, he joined the British Army and fought under the Butchers Apron in India for about five years, but resigned because of '...the disgust and indignation which filled him on witnessing the extortions, the cruelties, the usurpations and brutalities which were carried out and sanctioned by the government under which he served..' and he returned to Ireland. In the late 1780's he schooled himself in science, philosophy and politics.
In 1791, at 24 years of age, Thomas Russell and a group of like-minded individuals - Protestants, Anglicans and Presbyterians - held a public meeting in Belfast, out of which was formed 'The Belfast Society of United Irishmen' (the organisation became a secret society three years later), and one of his colleagues, Sam McTier, was elected as 'President of the Society'. Also present were Theobald Wolfe Tone (who gave Robert Simms his nickname, 'Tanner'), William Sinclair, Henry Joy McCracken, Samuel Neilson, Henry Haslett, Gilbert McIlveen, William Simms (Robert's brother), Thomas McCabe, Thomas Pearce and Samuel McTier, among others.
He and his comrades set about organising a militant resistance to the English political and military presence in Ireland and his actions brought him to the attention of Westminster and, in 1796, at 29 years of age, he was 'arrested' and imprisoned in Dublin before being transported to Fort George, near Inverness, in Scotland, where he was held until 1802 (forcing him to miss the 1798 Rising).
He took a leadership role in the 1803 Rising and was again imprisoned by the English for same, this time in Downpatrick Jail ; he was 'tried for High Treason', found 'guilty', hanged and then beheaded at the gate of that prison on the 21st October, 1803 - 217 years ago on this date. He was 36 years of age. His last words were "I forgive my persecutors. I die in peace with all mankind, and I hope for mercy through the merits of my Redeemer Jesus Christ." His body lies in Downpatrick Churchyard.
'Into our townlan' on a night of snow,
rode a man from God knows where...'
'IS IT TIME TO ASK QUESTIONS OF THE LEGAL PROFESSION...?'
By John Drennan. From 'The Magill Annual', 2002.
After all, it is much easier to follow legal advice than to make tough decisions oneself, especially when those decisions pose a difficult choice between social morality and tempting political expediency.
If your lawyer makes the nasty choice for you, it's always possible to point the finger later on. This is why politicians and their legal advisors have such a cosy and mutually beneficial relationship. Meanwhile, within the media, the tentacles of the law library have stretched to the point where journalists are now experiencing the curious phenomenon of having incontrovertible facts excised from articles on the grounds that these are 'libellous'. In the ideal discourse of legal ethics, these laws are needed to protect the widows mute and the defenceless chimney sweep but, unfortunately, here in the real world, Ireland's smothering libel laws attract a great deal more Beverley Cooper-Flynns to the Four Courts than they do chagrined chimney sweeps.
Overwhelmingly male? Devotees of an impenetrable scholastic language which is used to exclude the outside world? The preserve of one class? Defenders of the powerful and the wealthy against the voiceless masses? Censors of a free press? Feared by politicians and worryingly unaccountable? These descriptions were all, at one point in modern Irish history, levelled at another large Irish institution whose day has now passed but, in our inimitable way in this State, we are happy to live unquestioningly under the template set up by the new secular 'church' of the legal profession... (MORE LATER.)
'THE REPUBLICAN POSITION ; STATEMENT ISSUED BY ÓGLAIGH NA H-ÉIREANN AND SINN FÉIN...'
From 'The United Irishman' newspaper, November 1954.
"A Chara,
The following statement has been released for publication. Please publish it in full or not at all...
It is of equal importance that there shall be common agreement on the means to be used, the strategy to be employed and the opportunities to be availed of to drive the British out. If political leaders came to agreement on these fundamentals there would be a headlong rush of them back into the ranks of the Republican Movement.
To select any one of the political splinter parties and claim it has some greater merit or that the measure of its national content is greater than some or all of the others is mere pretence. It does not require a very close analysis to reveal the fact that, in matters affecting the artificial division of the national territory or, indeed, on questions affecting the welfare of the nation, there is little if any difference between the parties.
In some cases, such as the 'Anti-Partition League' and the 'Anti-Partition Association' where, ostensibly at least, an effort was made to achieve unity with or amongst political leaders, the effort was fore-doomed to failure simply because of the political manoeuvering for kudos and control by party adherents within these organisations. It must be realised, therefore, that the Republican Movement cannot be aligned with leaders who designedly ascend the political rostrum to gratify personal ambitions or to vent personal spleens in preference to rendering service in the field of national endeavour..." (MORE LATER.)
Thanks for reading - Sharon and the '1169' team. Hope you are as 'safe' as you (hopefully!) have been and that you can make sense of the confusing 'advice/rules and regulations' being dumped on State citizens by the 'experts' in, and associated with, Leinster House. 'Cause their left hand doesn't appear to know what their right hand is doing.
ON THIS DATE (7TH OCTOBER) 98 YEARS AGO : BODIES OF THREE MURDERED NFÉ YOUTHS FOUND IN DUBLIN.
Na Fianna Éireann members (pictured), three of whose Dublin members, all under 18 years of age, were executed by Free State forces in 1922.
On the evening of Friday October 6th 1922, a young Dublin lady, Jennie O'Toole - a member of Cumann na mBan - was pasting republican leaflets on lamp posts on the Clonliffe Road in Drumcondra, Dublin and, when she got near the Distillery Road junction, she was shouted at repeatedly and verbally abused by a local man when he saw the nature of the material involved. That loudmouth was, according to information distributed in Irish republican circles at the time, Free State Army Captain Pat Moynihan, who lived on that same road. Moynihan, an Irish republican 'poacher-turned-gamekeeper', could very well have been watching that street as two of his nieces were expected home on that route from a date to a theatre which they had been on with two anti-republican State operatives, Nicholas Tobin and Charlie Dalton, who both worked for the Free State Army Intelligence Section at Wellington Barracks.
When Charlie Dalton was the same age as one of the NFÉ youths mentioned in this piece - Joseph Rogers (16) - he was recruited by Michael Collins and joined the squad that Collins was then assembling : this IRA unit was permanently housed in Abbey St, Dublin, in a 'front' premises in which a 'legitimate' business operated from - 'George Moreland, Cabinet Maker'- and squad members were paid £4 10s a week to carry out assassinations on a full-time basis. Shortly after his 17th birthday, as a member of that Squad, Charlie Dalton took part in the executions of British Army Major C M Dowling and British Army Captain Leonard Price in their bedrooms in Baggot Street.
The distressed young lady, Jennie (pictured), encountered three young lads, members of Na Fianna Éireann, who offered to take over the work : Edwin Hughes (17), who lived at 107 Clonliffe Road, Drumcomdra, Brendan Holohan (17), 49 St.Patrick’s Road, Drumcondra and Joseph Rogers (16), 2 Upper St.Patrick’s Road, Drumcondra. It appears to be the case that Free State Captain Moynihan met Nick Tobin and Charlie Dalton and told them that republicans were in the area, pasting leaflets, and that Tobin and Dalton contacted a near-by Free State Army barracks for a search party and arranged to meet them in the area. Dalton could very well have known who he was hunting, as young Brendan Holohan and Joseph Rogers were near-neighbours of his and the nature of his job would have dictated that he familarise himself with local Republican activists.
The three young boys were still pasting leaflets on poles on that route which took them in the vicinity of Free State Captain Pat Moynihan's house when, shortly after 10.30pm on that Friday night, the 6th of October 1922, a Free State Army truck screeched to a halt beside them and they were violently thrown in to the back of it and taken to Wellington Barracks, where they were interrogated and released. Their Free State captors included Charlie Dalton and Nick Tobin. The next day - Saturday 7th October 1922, 98 years ago on this date - the three young lads were lifted again by the Free Staters and soon found themselves standing in waste ground just off the Naas Road in an area known then as 'The Quarries', in Clondalkin, Dublin (near to the Naas Road/Monastery Road junction, not far from what is now the 'Red Cow Roundabout') : each of them was riddled with bullets and had a coup de grâce delivered to 'finish the job' - a shot to the head. The youngest of the three lads, 16-years-old Joseph Rogers, was the son of well know Dublin Bookmaker Mr. Thomas Rodgers and had served two years of his apprenticeship as a mechanical engineer - his body was identified by his older brother, Michael. The remains of Edwin Hughes (17) was identified by his older brother, Gerald, and 17-year-old Brendan Holohan's body was identified by his father Michael. Their bodies were taken to Tallaght Aerodrome on the Belgard Road in Tallaght, Dublin, and the inquest into their deaths was later held in Clondalkin Library.
At the inquest, Dr Frederick Ryan, who performed the post mortem, described the wounds that killed them ; "Joseph Rogers' overcoat was saturated with blood. He had 16 wounds altogether. There was an entrance wound in the back of the skull, about an inch and a half from the ear. There was no exit wound. It was possible for a man to inflict this wound while both were standing. There was no singeing. In the left upper jaw there was an entrance wound, but no corresponding exit wound. There were superficial wounds on the left side of the body corresponding to the nipple, on the left side of the abdomen, a punctured wound on the left side of the nose, an entrance and exit wound at the base of the left index finger, superficial wounds on the left arm, an entrance and exit wound in the middle of the left thigh, a large contused wound on the left shin bone, and an incised wound on the left knee, probably caused after death. Regarding Brendan Holohan there was a bullet hole through the peak of his cap, but no mark on his head. The coat was torn on the right elbow, and there was a wound through the flesh of the arm, corresponding with the perforation in the sleeve. There were two entrance wounds, four inches from each other, in the right chest...(but no exit wounds). They were clean cut, such as might be made by an instrument of the same diameter as a pencil. The clothing was perforated at the place corresponding with these wounds. There was a wound over the right shoulder blade, which was an old one. There was an entrance wound in the lower portion of the abdomen, and a bullet lodged in the surface over the left hip bone and the shin. There was a wound in the back of the skull in the occipital protuberance, which took a downward direction into the neck and severed the spinal cord. This was sufficient to cause death immediately. If a man was standing on top of a ditch he could have been shot in the head, otherwise he must have been lying down."
In the case of Edwin Hughes (17), he said "The first wound, on the right-hand side corresponding to the second rib, took a horizontal direction and pierced the great vessels of the heart. There was no exit wound to it. There was no singeing. Another bullet pierced the overcoat on the right side, but there was no mark on the inner coat or vest. There were wounds in the abdomen and on the left thigh. On the right knee and right arm there were superficial wounds, such as might be caused by grazing bullets. The clothes were cut as if by barbed wire. The abdomen wound might possibly be caused by a prod of some instrument, but that was not probable."
But this crime did not go unnoticed - Dermot MacGiolla Phadraig, a Na Fianna Éireann training officer, was passing by the area at the time on Saturday 7th October 1922 and witnessed the executions and a Charles Byrne, an undercover man for the IRA in Oriel House, was also passing by and actually spoke to one of the Free State gunmen, Charlie Dalton (pictured) and, in November 1922, an inquest was held at which the prosecution demanded that a verdict of murder be brought against Charlie Dalton but, apparently, the jury were 'reminded' by the State that they were living in 'exceptional times' and, following that and possibly other 'reminders', the jury declined to entertain the prosecution.
In an effort to suggest that 'justice will be done', Dalton was then 'arrested' by his colleagues in the CID but was never charged with an offence related to the 'Quarrie Killings'. Incidentally, Nick Tobin, one of the Free State 'Quarrie Gunmen', was in charge of a Free State raiding party later on that same month (October 1922) when they went to kill more republicans who, they were told, were operating an IRA bomb-making factory from house number 8 in Gardiner Place, in Dublin city centre: Nick never made it back to his Free State base that day, having been shot dead by 'accident' by his own colleagues.
The Na Fianna Éireann organisation is still active to this day and, as in 1922, continues to support the republican position : Na Fianna Éireann (literally 'Warriors of Ireland') has had several subtitles in its history ; Irish National Youth Movement, Irish Republican Youth Movement, Irish Republican Scouts etc but its central ethos has never changed. It has always had the object of educating the youth of Ireland in national ideas and re-establishing the independence of the nation.
The goal of the organisation on its foundation in 1909 was "...to re-establish the independence of Ireland by means of training the youth of Ireland to fight Ireland’s fight when they are older and the day comes...". Members are trained in scouting skills and parade drill and receive education regarding republicanism and Irish history and heritage. In short, the NFÉ organisation instills a sense of pride, worth and value into those who join - worthy character traits which they carry with them into adulthood, and they will continue to do so, regardless of how many 'Charlie Dalton'-types try to 'persuade' them otherwise. (Incidentally, Jennie O'Toole later accepted the 1921 'Treaty of Surrender' and accepted various political positions in the Free State administration.)
'ULSTER LETTER...'
From 'The United Irishman' newspaper, June, 1955.
Remember, men (sic) of Ulster, that it was in your Province that Irish republicanism was born and that protestant and catholic imperialists joined forces to crush the republicans in 1798. In that war the United Irishmen represented the first unification of Irishmen (sic) of different religious denominations and their protestant leader, Wolfe Tone, in his campaign to substitute the common name of Irishman for protestant, catholic and dissenter set the pattern of republican policy for posterity.
Thus it is to this day. Do you agree with that policy?
(END of 'Ulster Letter' ; Next - 'In Jail For Ireland', from the same source.)
ON THIS DATE (7TH OCTOBER) 42 YEARS AGO : 'THE MONSTER RETREATS...'
"...don't let them beat you. I need to hear those voices. They anger the monster. It retreats. The voices scare the devils. Sometimes I really long to hear those voices. I know if they shout louder they will scare the monster away and my suffering will be ended. I remember, and I shall never forget, how this monster took the lives of Tom Ashe, Terence MacSwiney, Michael Gaughan, Frank Stagg and Hugh Coney, and I wonder each night what the monster and his black devils will do to me tomorrow. They always have something new. Will I overcome it ? I must. Yes, I must..."
On this date - 7th October, in 1978 - an article by Bobby Sands entitled 'I Fought a Monster Today' was first published :
"I fought a monster today and once more I defeated the monster's army. Although I did not escape, I survived to fight another day. It was hard. Harder today than ever before, and it gets worse every day. You see I am trapped and all I can do is resist. I know some day I will defeat this monster, but I weary at times. I think and feel that it may kill me first.
The monster is shrewd. It plays with me; it humiliates me, and tortures me. I'm like a mouse in comparison to this giant, but when I repel the torture it inflicts upon me I feel ten feet tall for I know I am right. I know that I am what I am, no matter what may be inflicted upon me, and it will never change that fact. When I resist it doesn’t understand. You see it doesn’t even try to comprehend why I resist. Why don’t you give in to me, it says. Give in, give in to us, the monsters army jibes. My body wants to say yes, yes, do what you want with me, I am beaten, you have beaten me, but my spirit prevails.
My spirit says no, no, you cannot do what you want with me. I am not beaten, you cannot do what you want with me. I refuse to be beaten. This angers the monster. It goes mad, it brutalises me to the point of death, but it does not kill me. I often wonder why not, but each time I face it, death materialised before me. The monster keeps me naked, it feeds me, but it didn’t feed me today, because it had tried so hard to defeat me and failed, this angered it once more. You see I know why it won’t kill me. It wants me to bow before it, to admit defeat.
If you don’t do as I say, I will never release you. I refuse.
My body is broken and cold. I'm lonely and I need comfort. From somewhere afar I hear those familiar voices which keep me going: we are with you, son. We are with you. Don’t let them beat you. I need to hear those voices. They anger the monster. It retreats. The voices scare the devils. Sometimes I really long to hear those voices. I know if they shout louder they will scare the monster away and my suffering will be ended. I remember, and I shall never forget, how this monster took the lives of Tom Ashe, Terence MacSwiney, Michael Gaughan, Frank Stagg, and Hugh Coney, and I wonder each night what the monster and his black devils will do to me tomorrow.
They always have something new. Will I overcome it? I must. Yes, I must. Tomorrow will be my seven hundred and fortieth day of torture - an eternity. Yes, tomorrow I’ll rise in the H-Blocks of Long Kesh. Yes, tomorrow I’ll fight the monster and his devils again!"
The sectarian realities of ghetto life materialised early in Bobby's life when at the age of ten his family were forced to move home owing to loyalist intimidation even as early as 1962. Bobby recalled his mother speaking of the troubled times which occurred during her childhood ; "Although I never really understood what internment was or who the 'Specials' were, I grew to regard them as symbols of evil". Of this time Bobby himself later wrote: "I was only a working-class boy from a Nationalist ghetto, but it is repression that creates the revolutionary spirit of freedom. I shall not settle until I achieve liberation of my country, until Ireland becomes a sovereign, independent socialist republic..."(..from here.)
The fight for the same Cause that Bobby Sands died for in 1981 is on-going today, as six Irish counties remain under the jurisdictional control of Westminster, which enforces that control with political and military occupation.
'IS IT TIME TO ASK QUESTIONS OF THE LEGAL PROFESSION...?'
By John Drennan. From 'The Magill Annual', 2002.
The Lindsay Tribunal, for instance, has been so unimpressive that the Irish haemophiliacs are on the point of declaring no confidence in whatever findings it may issue. Given that the tribunal is not investigating the circumstances of 95 per cent of the infections, it is not difficult to understand why they are taking such a negative position. Meanwhile, the Flood Tribunal is set to last for a decade and cost £100m.
Most are agreed that prosecutions or jail sentences for corruption are unlikely and, with the possible exception of Michael Lowry, this is also likely to be the case with the Moriarty Tribunal. Even then, however, Lowry is likely to be prosecuted under the Revenue Acts rather than as a direct result of any tribunal report.
Against a backdrop such as this, the relationship of utter thralldom between the Dail (sic -Leinster House) and the law library was epitomised by the call by Fine Gael, Labour and the Greens for a tribunal of inquiry into the McBrearty affair. Perhaps the same people should read up on the transcripts of the 'Kerry Babies Inquiry'.
These calls represent another example of how the principle of the separation of powers, in which a healthy democracy gives equal rights to the parliament, the government and the courts, has been abrogated to the point where attorney-generals are now more powerful than ministers. The legal profession directs, and ministers duly sue Brigid McCole or Kathryn Sinnott and ignore the plight of HIV-positive haemophiliacs... (MORE LATER.)
ON THIS DATE (7TH OCTOBER) 177 YEARS AGO - THE 'DOC' BACKS DOWN.
The 'Monster Meetings' (pictured) held by Daniel O'Connell were a great success, despite all the 'misfortunes' (as the British would have it) that the Irish people were suffering in their daily lives ; the desire, the demand, for a British withdrawal had not gone away. But, after the Tara 'Monster Meeting' (held on the 15th August 1843) the British decided such meetings were not to the benefit of the 'Union' and were not to be allowed. A 'Monster Meeting' planned for Clontarf, in Dublin, which was to take place on Sunday, 8th October, 1843, was, on Saturday 7th October - 177 years ago on this date - banned by the British authorities ; the day before the event was due to take place.
Daniel O'Connell and others in the leadership of 'The Loyal National Repeal Association' quickly lodged a complaint. They protested at the banning and were arrested by the British and sentenced to a year in prison for 'conspiracy', but this judgement was then reversed in the 'British House of Lords'. When, on that Saturday, the 7th of October 1843, O'Connell noticed that posters were being put up in Dublin by the British 'authorities' stating that the following days meeting had been banned (those posters were issued from Dublin Castle and were written by the 'Prime Minister of Britain and Ireland', Sir Robert Peel, who called the proposed meeting [for the restoration of the Irish Parliament, abolished in 1801] "an attempt to overthrow the constitution of the British Empire as by law established") and O'Connell backed down ; in this scribblers opinion he should have 'stuck to his guns' and ignored the British 'writ' - he should have went ahead with the Clontarf 'Monster Meeting' thereby 'putting it up' to the British but 'moral force only' won the day ; O'Connell issued his own poster that same day (ie Saturday 7th October 1843) as well as spreading the word through the 'grapevine' that the meeting was cancelled. That poster makes for interesting reading -
NOTICE
WHEREAS there has appeared, under the signatures of E.B. SUGDEN, C DONOUGHMORE, ELIOT F BLACKBURN, E. BLAKENEY, FRED SHAW, T.B.C. SMITH, a paper being, or purporting to be, a PROCLAMATION, drawn up in very loose and inaccurate terms, and manifestly misrepresenting known facts ; the objects of which appear to be, to prevent the PUBLIC MEETING, intended to be held TO-MORROW, the 8th instant, at CLONTARF, TO PETITION PARLIAMENT for the REPEAL of the baleful and destructive measure of the LEGISLATIVE UNION.
AND WHEREAS, such Proclamation has not appeared until LATE IN THE AFTERNOON OF THIS SATURDAY, THE 7th, so that it is utterly impossible that the knowledge of its existence could be communicated in the usual official channels, or by the post, in time to have its contents known to the persons intending to meet at CLONTARF, for the purpose of petitioning , as aforesaid, whereby ill-disposed persons may have an opportunity, under cover of said proclamation, to provoke breaches of the peace, or to commit violence on persons intending to proceed peaceably and legally to the said meeting. WE, therefore, the COMMITTEE of the LOYAL NATIONAL REPEAL ASSOCIATION, do most earnestly request and entreat, that all well-disposed persons will, IMMEDIATELY on receiving this intimation, repair to their own dwellings, and not place themselves in peril of any collision, or of receiving any ill-treatment whatsoever. And we do further inform all such persons, that without yielding in any thing to the unfounded allegations in said alleged proclamation, we deem it prudent and wise, and above all things humane, to declare that said MEETING IS ABANDONED, AND IS NOT TO BE HELD.
SIGNED BY ORDER,
DANIEL O'CONNELL,
CHAIRMAN OF THE COMMITTEE. T. M. RAY, Secretary.
SATURDAY, 7th OCTOBER, 1843. 3 O 'CLOCK P.M.
RESOLVED - That the above cautionary notice be immediately transmitted by express to the Very Reverend and Reverend Gentlemen who signed the requisition for the CLONTARF MEETING, and to all adjacent districts, SO AS TO PREVENT the influx of persons coming to the intended meeting. GOD SAVE THE QUEEN.
*They accept and recognise as legitimate* one of the partition institutions of 'government in Ireland' and towards the Stormont regime they adopt attitudes that vary according to individual political outlook ('1169' comment - * that was written in 1954 ; today, in 2020, one such
splinter/faction recognises, operates in and are paid by both of the partition institutions in Ireland, yet still insist that they are a 'republican organisation' following the republican Cause!).
They deny that each institution serves, equally well, the purpose of those who designed partition, and they do not accept the simple truth that both institutions must be abolished before the government of the Irish Republic can be re-enthroned with full governmental control over all Ireland. Without compromising national principles, without reneging the ideals and the cause for which past generations of Irishmen (sic) have made sacrifices, members of the Republican Movement cannot align themselves with such leadership. Even if there exists a common purpose to get rid of England - and it is very open to doubt that such purpose exists in the minds of political leaders - such common purpose is not all-sufficing, nor does it justify republicans in making common cause to a limited and circumscribed extent with party politicians.." (MORE LATER.)
ON THIS DAY NEXT WEEK (WEDNESDAY 14TH OCTOBER 2020)...
..we won't be here!
The last Cabhair monthly raffle was held in April 2020 - and then the Covid issue reared its ugly head. Well, its head and the rest of it is still as ugly as ever but the Cabhair Committee have decided, regardless (and rightly so, in our opinion!), to hold the usual 650-ticket fund-raiser this coming Sunday, 11th October, 2020, albeit in a different venue and format. The 'party atmosphere' and the guaranteed craic that always accompanies this gig will be absent on the 11th, due to the changed circumstances ; it will be more of a 'business type' operation ; eight winning tickets will be picked from the raffle drum, no few drinks, dancing, meal, story-telling, few more drinks (!) etc will be had before or after the raffle, but that's as it has to be, for now, anyway.
And, because we'll be part of the skeleton crew that will be assisting before and after the gig, we won't be in a position to put a blog post together for Wednesday 14th October, 2020 ; but we'll be back on Wednesday, 21st October with, among other items, an article about a meeting that was held in a hotel in the West of Ireland (not this one!) which caused some agitation at the time...!
CABHAIR CHRISTMAS SWIM, 2020.
The 44th successive Cabhair Christmas Swim (1976-2020) will, as usual, be held on Christmas Day at 12 Noon at the 3rd Lock of the Grand Canal, in Dublin (opposite the Kelly's/Blackhorse Inn building in Inchicore, Dublin 8).
The organisers are of course aware of the Covid issue and the current changed circumstances which accompany that issue and have allowed for two possible scenarios re this event : it either goes ahead in full 'party'-type mode ie music, dancing, 'soup' for the adults (!), crowds etc etc, presuming that, by the 25th December 2020, Covid will have been dealth with or it takes place in a restrained manner to take account of Covid-enforced social distancing and other common-sense guidelines ie just the 'bare bones' - the swimmers themselves, one family member with each swimmer, a much-reduced Cabhair Crew on the ground and the public being asked to observe from a safe distance, with no foodstuffs, no 'lemonade or soup' (!) , no music etc on site.
What is certain, however, is that, for the 44th successive year, the Swim will be going ahead!
Thanks for reading - Sharon and the '1169' team. Hope your safer than you were last week (or just as safe), and that you are still 'playing' safe : see you back here on the 21st October next!
