ON THIS DATE (7TH JUNE) 102 YEARS AGO : TWO IRA MEN EXECUTED BY WESTMINSTER.
Patrick Maher (left), executed by the British on the 7th of June 1921 - 102 years ago on this date.
Ned Foley, executed by the British on the 7th of June 1921.
"Fight on, struggle on, for the honour, glory and freedom of dear old Ireland. Our hearts go out to all our dear old friends. Our souls go to God at 7 o'clock in the morning and our bodies, when Ireland is free, shall go to Galbally. Our blood shall not be shed in vain for Ireland, and we have a strong presentiment, going to our God, that Ireland will soon be free and we gladly give our lives that a smile may brighten the face of 'Dear Dark Rosaleen'. Farewell! Farewell! Farewell!" - the last words of Limerick (Ballylanders) IRA man Patrick Maher, 32 years of age, to his comrades.
Patrick Maher and his comrade Ned Foley were hanged in Mountjoy Jail in Dublin by Westminster on Tuesday 7th June 1921 - 102 years ago on this date - for their 'involvement' in the rescue of Tipperary IRA man Seán Hogan.
Patrick Maher, who worked as a clerk at Knocklong railway station and was about three miles from the scene of the rescue when it happened, was not involved in that operation. The two men were charged with the 'murder' of two RIC men (Peter Wallace and Michael Enright): - Patrick Maher strongly protested his innocence but, even though two juries failed to reach a verdict, he was convicted (by a military court martial) and sentenced to death.
He was one of 'The Forgotten Ten' IRA Volunteers (Kevin Barry, Patrick Moran, Frank Flood, Thomas Whelan, Thomas Traynor, Patrick Doyle, Thomas Bryan, Bernard Ryan, Edmond (Ned) Foley, and Patrick Maher) - Kevin Barry was executed in 1920 by the British and the other nine men were put to death in 1921.
All ten were buried in the grounds of Mountjoy Jail in Dublin, where six of them were placed in the same grave.
John Ellis, the British hangman hired to execute Maher and Foley, had 'proved his worth' to Westminster by previously carrying out other 'jobs' in Ireland for that institution - he and his assistant, Bill Willis, had listed in their bloody CV the names of Roger Casement and Kevin Barry (Ellis later killed himself in 1932, on his second attempt, but Willis lived for a further seven years).
The most poignant appeal for clemency was made by Edward Wallace, the father of RIC Sergeant Peter Wallace, who wrote to the Commander in Chief of British forces in Ireland, Sir Nevil Macready -
"The tragedy will pass heavily on me during the remaining years of my life, if any lives are sacrificed on account of my son's death. My son and daughter join with me in imploring you to be clement and merciful to those who have been tried in connection with the tragedy. May God forgive those who were really guilty. I do."
Thousands of people had gathered outside Mountjoy Jail in Dublin in protest against the executions, but to no avail (it should be noted that at the time, Munster and a small part of Leinster were under British 'martial law' and those executed there were shot as soldiers, but Dublin was under civilian law and that is why those executed in Mountjoy were hanged).
On Sunday, 14th October 2001, nine of those men were reinterred in Glasnevin Cemetery in Dublin by representatives of a 26-county state in an 'official' ceremony and, on Friday 19th October 2001 this state made the final arrangements to do the same for the tenth man, Patrick Maher, who was reburied in his home parish of Glenbrohane in Limerick (at the request of his family) on Saturday, 20th October 2001.
Both reinterments were carried out by a state which none of the ten men were fighting for - a 26-county free state - as the objective of the republican campaign - then (1920/1921) and now (2023)- was and is for a free Ireland, not a partially-free Ireland.
And, to add insult to injury, the then Free State 'minister for justice', John O'Donoghue, was the 'official figurehead' present, on both occasions, during which he delivered the graveside orations.
Irish republicans are looking forward to the day when those moral and political misappropriations can be corrected.
'RESURGENT ULSTER : NORTHERN SPEAKERS ADDRESS DUBLIN MEETING...'
From 'The United Irishman' newspaper, April 1955.
A large and enthusiastic audience accorded a warm welcome to a group of Ulster republicans who came to speak at a public meeting on Saturday, 19th of March (1955), in O'Connell Street in Dublin.
Frank McGlade deplored the insincerity of the party politicians in the 26 Counties who had made the long-suffering people of the North the scapegoat and pawn in their political game each time they sough election.
Referring to the activities of the 'B Specials', P McParland, from Bessbrook, in County Armagh, stated that apparently the death of Arthur Leonard was necessary, before many people of the 26 Counties were aware of their existence.
But the people of Ulster had been the subject of attack from this private army which was at the disposal of the Unionist clique for 30 years, and he deplored the deliberate attempts being made to relegate the struggle for freedom to a sectarian level.
Ireland had only one enemy - England, and the IRA had made this clear in the recent raids on British Army barracks and on British soldiers...
(MORE LATER.)
ON THIS DATE (7TH JUNE) TEN YEARS AGO : A PERSONAL REFLECTION.
Ruairí Ó Brádaigh (far left, and his funeral service, above), pictured in 1954 : from this blog, June 2013 - 'Funeral arrangements : Reposing at Smyth's Funeral Home, Roscommon, on Friday 7th June 2013, from 5.30pm to 8.00pm, followed by Removal to the Sacred Heart Church. Requiem Mass on Saturday at 11.30am with Burial afterwards in St. Coman's Cemetery. Family Flowers only. House private Saturday morning. Donations, if desired, to CABHAIR (Irish Republican Prisoners’ Dependants Fund), 223 Parnell St, Dublin 1 and to the Roscommon-Mayo Hospice.'
'Born in Longford in 1932 to a republican family, Ruairí Ó Brádaigh studied at UCD where he gained a degree in commerce. During his time at UCD he became involved with Sinn Féin and joined the IRA, of which his father had also been a member. Although by profession a teacher, Ruairí spent most Of his time as a training Officer for the IRA and in 1954 was appointed to the Military Council Of the IRA, eventually being IRA Chief Of Staff until 1962.
He was elected as Sinn Féin TD in the Longford – Westmeath constituency in 1957. In 1970 Ruairí Ó Brádaigh led the walkout from the Sinn Féin Ard Fheis after the majority voted in favour of the abolition Of Sinn Féin's policy of abstention. He became President of Provisional Sinn Féin which he held until his resignation in 1983. In 1986, Ruairí Ó Brádaigh again led a walk out, this time from the Provisional Sinn Féin Ard Fheis, when they voted to drop the abstention policy. He and several supporters established Republican Sinn Féin..' (from here.)
"In the coming year we must present to the whole Irish people our framework of a federation of the four provinces of Ireland - in a post British withdrawal situation - with maximum devolution of power and decision-making to local level, with the complete separation of church and state and the building of a pluralist society and with neutrality and non-alignment in foreign affairs as the best hope for all the people of this island...this requires massive political and structural change on both sides of the border in order that all of us may escape from the political strait-jacket North and South designed for us in the Westminster parliament and imposed on us by the English ruling class to our detriment.
Such a solution remains our only hope of growing and developing naturally as a people and enjoying our cultural heritage. God speed the day...!" - Aitheasc an Uachtaráin Ruairí Ó Brádaigh don 85ú Ard-Fheis de Shinn Féin in Óstlann an Spa, Leamhcán, Co. Atha Cliath, 21ú agus 22ú Deireadh Fómhair, 1989 (Presidential Address of Ruairí Ó Brádaigh to the 85th Ard Fheis of Sinn Féin in the Spa Hotel, Lucan, County Dublin, 21st and 22nd October 1989).
And I still go looking for him at the Ard Fheis ; I miss him. But, thankfully, that which he stood for and represented is still here.
'THOUGH THE HEAVENS MAY FALL...'
From 'Magill' Annual, 2002.
Dr Moira Woods (pictured).
The parents are understandably concerned about these delays and might be forgiven for fearing the worst.
Mr Justice Barr, in his ruling of the 3rd April 1998, stated that no absolute mandatory prohibition exists on the publication of information concerning family proceedings on the basis of the in camera legislation.
He pointed out that established practice was that the court concerned had discretion to permit the dissemination of information where the judge "...believes that it is in the interests of justice so to do, due and proper consideration having been given to the interest of the person or persons intended to be protected by the conduct of the proceedings in camera."
The court, he said, was bound by the concept that "...the paramount consideration is to do justice.."
(MORE LATER.)
'WAITING TO FALL...'
If this year sees the end of the 'Age of Tribunals', it won't be a moment too soon.
By John Drennan.
From 'Magill' magazine, January 2003.
But when it comes to time we do have serious concerns - the length of tribunals means politics is set fair to remain in the dock for another decade.
Before our tribunalistas throw their caps into the air and indulge in another bout of huzzas, they would do well to stop and wonder if that's asking too much ; if the consequences will be corrosive rather than correctional.
After all, it can hardly be a matter of pride for the legal profession that tribunals have acted as the foster parents for the rise of Sinn Féin/IRA, whose representatives are being feather-bedded into seats by the belief that 'they're all at it' which is being fostered by our inquiries.
The very length of tribunals has diluted their impact in another critical way ; who can blame Bertie Ahern for his newborn enthusiasm for the things? The Lilliputians over in the Flood Tribunal took five years - and one election - to report on Rambo Burke's disgrace, whilst after five years - and one election - the Gullivers over in the Moriarty Tribunal still haven't reported on the frolics of some historical figure from the last century who went by the name of Charles J Haughey...
(MORE LATER.)
ON THIS DAY NEXT WEEK (WEDNESDAY 14TH JUNE 2023)...
..we'll be recovering from...
BODENSTOWN SUNDAY, JUNE 11th, 2023...ANNUAL WOLFE TONE COMMEMORATION : Sunday, June 11th, 2023, Sallins, County Kildare.
For information on the death of Wolfe Tone , scroll through this piece (article starts on March 9th on that page, just scroll down) which was published on this blog in 2005.
"From my earliest youth I have regarded the connection between Great Britain and Ireland as the curse of the Irish nation, and felt convinced that, while it lasted, this country could never be free nor happy.
My mind has been confirmed in this opinion by the experience of every succeeding year, and the conclusions which I have drawn from every fact before my eyes. In consequence, I was determined to employ all the powers which my individual efforts could move, in order to separate the two countries.
That Ireland was not able of herself to throw off the yoke, I knew ; I therefore sought for aid wherever it was to be found. In honourable poverty I rejected offers which, to a man in my circumstances, might be considered highly advantageous. I remained faithful to what I thought the cause of my country , and sought in the French Republic an ally to rescue three millions of my countrymen." -Theobald Wolfe Tone.
We won't be posting our usual (or any!) contribution on Wednesday 14th June, 2023, as we'll be putting out house back in order after the Bodenstown Commemoration, but we'll be back 'on air' here on the following Wednesday, 21st June 2023.
But if yer that bleedin' desperate for something to read, you can catch me between this and then on Twitter and Facebook as well!
Thanks for the visit, and for reading,
Sharon and the team.
This British executioner and his 'assistant', hired by Westminster and placed in Ireland, had a 'Who's Who' of Irish republicans in his notebook but later became an alcoholic (due to a heavy conscience, hopefully) and failed to 'execute' himself, despite having shot himself in the head. In the early 1930's, drunk again, he used a blade on himself. Successfully.
Due to British interference in Irish affairs, the nationalists in the Occupied Six Counties were the subject of attack by what was in effect a private army which was at the disposal of Westminster, which 'gifted' that army to 'loyal' people in Ireland...
Born in the early 1930's into a republican family, this man studied in Dublin and gained a degree in his chosen field, but a different 'field' soon entered his life and he became dedicated. And sought after...
...and two or three more pieces, which we're working on at the moment!
Thanks for the visit, and for reading - see ye on Wednesday the 7th of June, 2023!
Sharon and the team.
ON THIS DATE (31ST MAY) 11 YEARS AGO : A MISSED OPPORTUNITY FOR PAYBACK!
On (Thursday) the 31st May 2012 - 11 years ago on this date - a vote was held in this State to decide whether to support or not to support a European treaty in relation to fiscal rules which would limit State spending by the Leinster House administration, placing those limitations into State law.
At the time, the Euro currency was in trouble ("the most serious financial crisis at least since the 1930's, if not ever..") and the quickest way for the political and financial 'bosses' to stabilise it (and, by extension, their own profits) was to take more of it from the 'ordinary joe' throughout the EU, by instructing local politicians to cut back on their share of the 'cake'.
But, as expected, when those 'captains of industry' were raking it in during the cyclical 'boom times', they were quite happy to leave us little people to our own devices, sink or swim.
At the time, we stated - 'This Treaty is about trying to shore-up a failed currency - the Euro. In this State, that failure is compounded by the activities of the gangster politicians, property speculators and bankers who, although already wealthy and financially comfortable, wanted more and, because they move in the same 'circles', closed ranks to protect each other's backs as their joint efforts bankrupted the State. Those who still have jobs, and those who have lost them, are now being penalised for the mistakes and the outright greed of that 'elite'... (from here.)
Unfortunately, more of those that voted went with the establishment and the good guys lost, prompting the following from us -
'I don't write this post as a sore loser, or a begrudger or because I'm in a vindictive mood (well..no more than usual, anyway!) but rather as someone who has seen the same mistake being made over and over again and, despite repeated warnings to the victim, as someone who has recently witnessed the same again : scare tactics and a pro-administration and business-friendly media manipulated enough victims into the path of the cushion-covered snare it had hidden in the undergrowth and obtained the result that their employers in the IMF and the EU ordered : a 'YES' vote for more austerity for the unemployed and the low paid, to secure the continued comforts of the 'protected class' ie the politicians themselves and their 'friends’' ('interests', rather..) in the banking and property-speculating industries.
Although over three million people (3,144,828) in this State were entitled to vote on the 'Austerity Treaty', only slightly more than one-and-a-half million (1,584,179) of those actually did so and, of that latter figure, 955,091 voted for more 'austerity' (after being told by the 'Establishment', among other frightening lies, that the ATM's would soon be cashless!) whilst 629,088 voted 'NO'..'
The 'Yes' vote was signed into FS law by the Free State President, Michael D. Higgins, on 27th June 2012 but, 11 years after the fact, the Euro currency is still in trouble, the 'cops' (who are as 'careless' now as they have been in the past..), like the State that employs them and gives them succor, are bent but are still sometimes the only point of rescue for those that the State would rather forget, while those that the decent among us would rather forget are allowed free reign.
And neither Brussels or Leinster House will do anything - except probosculate about it, occasionally - because the careerists in those institutions would be making headlines like that themselves were it not for the fact that they are placed in positions where they can cover for each other.
'RESURGENT ULSTER : NORTHERN SPEAKERS ADDRESS DUBLIN MEETING'.
From 'The United Irishman' newspaper, April 1955.
A large and enthusiastic audience accorded a warm welcome to a group of Ulster republicans who came to speak at a public meeting on Saturday, 19th of March (1955), in O'Connell Street in Dublin.
Prior to the meeting, which was billed for 8pm, the public - many of whom were there from 7pm - were entertained to a programme of national airs on records.
Seoirse Dearle, Ath Cliath, who presided, welcomed the speakers from occupied Ireland to Dublin, and stated that the meeting was for the purpose of affording the republicans of Ulster an opportunity of stating their case to the people of Dublin and Ireland in general and also to refute the allegation that a group of people from Dublin and Belfast were striving to stir up trouble in Ulster at the expense of the people of 'Northern Ireland'.
Speaking on this allegation, Frank McGlade, Belfast, said that the people of Ulster did not care from which county in Ireland eager young men came to their assistance, as the freedom of Ireland was and is the concern of all Irishmen (sic) irrespective of class or creed...
(MORE LATER.)
'THOUGH THE HEAVENS MAY FALL...'
From 'Magill' Annual, 2002.
Dr Moira Woods (pictured).
This is most disturbing.
The five families implicated in this case have spent more than a decade living under the shadow of some of the most dreadful accusations that can be levelled at parents in the matter of the care of their children.
In that time, they have had to persevere in their attempts to obtain a fair hearing of their complaints through the lifetimes of no less than three different configurations of the Medical Council!
The first Medical Council to be made aware of these matters was elected in 1990 and sat for five years ; the second, which initiated the inquiry process, sat from 1995 to 1999 and the third was elected in 1999 and is still sitting.
The public requires to be reassured that there is no reluctance on the part of the present Medical Council to publish the outcome of a process initiated by a previous council - in other words, that there is no political dimension to the delays and reported reluctance comcerning these matters...
(MORE LATER.)
ON THIS DATE (31ST MAY) 225 YEARS AGO : 'UNITED IRISHMEN' LEADER ELECTED.
Farewell my brave United men,
who dearly with me fought,
though tyrant might has conquered right,
full dearly was it bought.
And when the sun of freedom
shall again upon you shine,
oh, then let Bagenal Harvey’s name array your battle line...'
Beauchamp Bagenal Harvey was born in Wexford in 1762, into a fairly well-off (Protestant) family, and was educated at Trinity College in Dublin (his father was a senior civil servant). Beauchamp, by now a barrister, was an outspoken supporter of Catholic emancipation and, at 30 years of age, joined the 'Dublin Society of United Irishmen'. In that same year (1792) his father died, leaving him property in Wexford and Waterford, which yielded an annual rental of £3,000.
Harvey was arrested by the British in late May 1798 and was imprisoned in Wexford Jail but the prison was forcibly taken over a few days later by the United Irishmen and he was set free.
On the 31st of that month - 225 years ago on this date - he was appointed by the approximate four-thousand strong rebel army in that area as their Commander-in-Chief. He gathered his forces and headed for the walled-town of New Ross, intending to set up camp there - they set up a temporary base at Three Rock, just outside Wexford Town, and spent about three days there, drilling and learning basic military manoeuvres.
From New Ross they intended to march on Kilkenny, where they could recruit more fighters. On the 5th June 1798, Harvey sent a despatch rider into New Ross with an instruction to the British general in charge (Johnson) demanding the surrender of the town 'to avert rapine and bloodshed' but the messenger was killed by Johnson's yeomanry. The Irish, numbering approximately four-thousand strong, attacked New Ross and won the fight, and the town, only to lose it when the British re-grouped and drove them out.
However, within hours the Irish had themselves re-grouped and were ready for another attack.
The rebel leaders - Beauchamp Bagenal Harvey, Thomas Cloney, Father Philip Roche and John Kelly - led their army into New Ross again and scattered the British but failed to properly secure the town ; the British again re-grouped, attacked and, for the second time, put the Irish to flight. Feeling that a final victory was within their grasp, the United Irishmen assembled for another push - the third such attack.
They divided into three groups, two of which - each consisting of hundreds of rebels - were dispatched towards Wicklow, to confuse the enemy, while the third contingent, consisting of about three-thousand men and women, headed for New Ross again. The two 'Wicklow' groups put up a fierce struggle against professional British Yeomanry, but were eventually forced to scatter, leaving hundreds of fellow rebels dead or dying. By this time, the largest group (under Harvey) had reached Carrickbyrne Hill, about two-hours march from New Ross ; on their journey from Three Rock to Carrickbyrne Hill they had encountered and defeated armed British contingents and Harvey decided they should set-up base at the Hill and teach the rebel army how to use the captured pieces of artillery which they had taken from the British forces they had met along the way.
After a few days in training, the rebel army were judged to be ready to be moved to the next 'camp', Corbett Hill - the last such stop before they would reach the town of New Ross, and from where they could look down on the town. They knew that there was about three or four-thousand enemy soldiers in New Ross, commanded by a General Johnson and a 'Lord' Mountjoy, the latter in charge of an enemy Brigade from Dublin. Beauchamp Bagenal Harvey wanted to take the town without bloodshed, if possible, and sent a number of his men, under a flag of truce, to let the British know that he was willing to accept their surrender and take prisoners. The British shot the truce party dead. A battle that was to last thirteen hours was about to begin.
The rebels gathered a huge herd of cattle and stampeded the animals towards the town, following immediately behind the terrified beasts. The British outposts fell, and the Irish fought their way into the middle of New Ross , meeting strong resistance - the enemy retreated, re-grouped and, once more, succeeded in forcing the United Irishmen out of the town. Some of the rebel army were reluctant to lose the ground they had gained, and had to be practically dragged away by their own comrades ; one such rebel was Mary Doyle, who ran from body to body of dead and dying enemy soldiers, finishing them off or just making sure they were dead before removing their ammunition belts and weapons which she then distributed to her own side! -
'By 1798 the wearing of the colour green was forbidden by order of the English government, but this order was defied by the women, especially in Wexford. The women of Wexford had their petticoats, handkerchiefs, cap ribbons and all parts of their dress that exhibited a shade of green, torn off and were subjected to the most vile and indecent language by the Yeomen.
Any women who encountered the government troops ran a most terrible risk. In a desperate encounter with a Hessian Captain, Anne Ford of Garrysackle, County Wexford, slew him with a mallet. Peg Kavanagh was one of many women who conveyed despatches and food to Michael Dwyer and Joseph Hall in their hiding place in the Wicklow Mountains. Susan O'Toole, the blacksmith's daughter of Annamore, carried ammunition and provisions to the insurgent chiefs for many a long year. Joseph Hall used to call Susan O'Toole his "moving magazine". William Rooney has immortalised the memory of Mary Doyle, a fearless Wexford insurgent :
But a figure rose before us,
Twas a girl's fragile frame
And among the fallen soldiers
There she walked with eyes aflame,
And her voice rang o'er the sea :"Who so dares to die for Ireland
Let him come and follow me!"' (more here.)
It was during that retreat that Mary Doyle was said to have climbed on to a British cannon and vowed to stay with the gun regardless of what happened - her own comrades could only get her to safety by wheeling the weapon out of the town, with Mary Doyle said to be sitting on the barrel of it!
The town of New Ross was now on fire, with buildings crumbling and hundreds of bodies strewn around ; one of the leaders of the United Irishmen, John Kelly (from Killane), assembled the remnants of the rebel army for one last push, which he led. It was in that last attack that Kelly was badly wounded and Mary Doyle was killed by one of the many fires which now consumed the town.
Both sides were by now exhausted. One of the surviving United Irishmen, Thomas Cloney, described the last battle as a free-for-all "with two confused masses of men struggling alternatively to drive the other back by force alone."
For the third time in 13 hours, the Irish rebels were forced out of their own town - they had lost the battle.
The British 'Lord', Mountjoy', who was in command of a British force from Dublin, was killed during the fight. Beauchamp Bagenal Harvey was captured within a few weeks by the British and was 'tried', convicted and hanged on the 28th June 1798 at the bridge of Wexford. His body was then beheaded, the torso thrown into the River Slaney and his head displayed on a spike at the courthouse in Wexford town.
The British no longer 'behead and spike' their enemy anymore (at least not in Ireland) but they continue to make enemies of the calibre of the Harvey's and Mary Doyle's of this world and will continue to do so until they realise that their 'days of empire' are over, and should never have even begun.
We don't want their political or military presence in Ireland.
'WAITING TO FALL...'
If this year sees the end of the 'Age of Tribunals', it won't be a moment too soon.
By John Drennan.
From 'Magill' magazine, January 2003.
The counterattack intensified as Moriarty appeared with a set of allegations which may destroy the party which founded the State.
The colourful antics ('1169' comment - just this - !) of Michael Lowry left political insiders wondering if Fine Gael would ever be fit to be in government again. However, even as our tribunalistas honk and clap at the very ripe fish that 'Saint Frank of Shefran' is throwing, we can still hope that the apparent vitality of our tribunals is that of a distempered animal which gambols most vibrantly in the final hours before its death.
One common canard the tribunalistas of 'The Irish Times' advance is that any criticism of the wonderful tribunal - pick any one of the dozen in operation right now - is merely informed by 'greasy till' ethics of time and cost. In fact, our difficulty with tribunals has very little to do with costs, though it should be noted that the Flood Tribunal's claim that it has created a profit for the State is as accurate as a forecast by the Department of Finance...
(MORE LATER.)
Thanks for the visit, and for reading,
Sharon and the team.
ON THIS DATE (24TH MAY) 82 YEARS AGO : 'DRAFT RIOTS' AS WESTMINSTER PUSHES FOR CONSCRIPTION IN IRELAND.
In Ireland, in 1941, conscription was again being discussed in Westminster ; this time for the partitioned six north-eastern counties of Ireland.
It is recorded that, at a meeting between the then 'American Ambassador to Ireland' (sic - the Free State), a Mr. David Gray (who was said to be friendly with the British Ambassador to America, 'Lord' Halifax and Eamonn de Valera, which took place in January 1941, Gray rounded on de Valera "for capitalising on hatred of Great Britain for political reasons and so must take some responsibility for the existing popular state of mind..", by which he meant the Free State policy of so-called 'neutrality' and the then impending strong possibility of conscription by Westminster in the Six Occupied Counties, which de Valera and his State Administration were opposed to.
Grey stated that de Valera "began to talk about his rights. I told him that the only right that he and myself enjoyed was to believe in our religion, and be burned for it if need be. Every other right depended upon force to maintain it, and he was steering a very dangerous course if he thought otherwise.."
Although pro-British in his mindset, Gray recognised the reality of the then existing political situation in Ireland : on the 24th May, 1941 - 82 years ago on this date - he sent a wire-cable (like a 'text message', for our younger readers!) to the American Secretary of State, stating - "Opposition leaders yesterday informed me that conscription without a conscientious objectors escape clause for minority Catholic nationalists will constitute a major irretrievable and probably fatal political blunder at this time and play directly into de Valera's hands with grave possibilities for American interests.
They [the opposition leaders] predict draft riots, the escape of draft dodgers to Southern Ireland who will be acclaimed as hero martyrs by three-quarters of the population and the fomenting of trouble by republicans and fifth columnists.
The clearest-headed leader predicts that de Valera will seize the opportunity to escape from economic and political realities by proclaiming himself the leader of the oppressed minority and with the blessings of the Cardinal will rouse anti-British feeling and call a Holy War. I think it a very likely prediction. All classes of opinion here unite in condemning the move as calamitous.
It appears to be a repetition of the same fatal blunder made during the last war. The weak and failing Ulster [sic] Government is probably seeking to sustain itself by provoking a crisis. Unless Great Britain is prepared from a military point of view to seize the whole country it appears to be madness. So little can be gained and so much lost.
Eighty thousand Irish Volunteers in the British Army will be disaffected, there will be no material number of nationalist conscripts, a government, a popular majority and an army inclined to be friendly to Great Britain rather than to the Axis will become definitely hostile, possibly giving active aid to Germany and most important of all the pro-British opposition will be helpless and the opportunity for dividing the country on the question of the ports will be lost for the duration. The effect on Irish-American opinion at this juncture is not for me to estimate. This is a grave situation."
Shortly afterwards, Churchill wrote -"..the (British) Cabinet is inclined to the view it would be more trouble than it's worth to go through with conscription. No immediate decision will be taken and in the meantime the less made of the affair the better."
As usual, it took the threat of force, or force itself, before the British realised that there would be a consequence to their action.
And it still takes that threat today.
ON THIS DATE (24TH MAY) 100 YEARS AGO : IRA ORDERED TO 'DUMP ARMS'.
"To All Ranks : Comrades - The arms with which we have fought the enemies of our country are to be dumped. The foreign and domestic enemies of the Republic have for the moment prevailed" - 'Dump Arms' order issued by the then newly-appointed IRA Chief of Staff Frank Aiken (pictured), on Thursday, 24th May 1923 : 100 years ago on this date.
"Further sacrifice on your part would now be in vain and the continuance of the struggle in arms unwise in the national interest. Military victory must be allowed to rest for the moment, with those who have destroyed the Republic. You have saved the nation's honour, preserved the sacred national tradition, and kept open the road of independence" - an echo of the above 'Dump Arms' order to the IRA, issued on the same date [24th May 1923] by Éamon de Valera (pictured).
Yet, three years later, that same man actually joined those "who have destroyed the Republic" when, in March 1926, following an extraordinary meeting of the then Sinn Féin organisation, he resigned as leader and, splitting the Movement, brought others with him in forming (on the 23rd March 1926) "a new national movement" - Fianna Fáil.
He and the other defectors stated that they had no option except to leave the Movement after their Ard Fheis motion calling for elected Sinn Féin members to be allowed to take their seats in the Free State parliament (Leinster House), if and when the controversial 'Oath of Allegiance' was removed, was defeated in a vote.
'He was born in New York on the 14th of October in 1882 to Catherine Coll (a young Irish immigrant from County Limerick) and Juan Vivion DeValera, an immigrant of Spanish origin. Little is known of his early childhood except that his family moved from America in 1885 to Ireland where the young Éamon studied at Blackrock College in Dublin and was largely reared by his Grandmother.
He studied languages and mathematics and was, like Michael Collins, a student of English Rule in Ireland. The early 1900's was a time of the great Gaelic cultural revival in Ireland as literature, drama, sport and the language of the Gaelic nation were all revived. The main spearhead of the revival was The Gaelic League which he joined in 1908. He was greatly influenced by the League and learned the Irish language whilst immersing himself in the Gaelic culture.
The Gaelic League was an obvious recruiting ground for the various revolutionary organisations of the time and it was not long before de Valera became a member of the Irish Republican Brotherhood. He was second in command to Thomas MacDonagh of the Dublin Brigade during the Easter Rising of 1916. The Rising failed and the seven leaders, MacDonagh and Pearse among them, were executed, along with 9 other rebels. de Valera was also sentenced to death as an organiser of the revolt but was to escape the firing squad because of the confusion surrounding his ancestry (the English authorities did not want to risk the execution of an American citizen)..'(from here).
New York-born Éamon de Valera died at 92 years of age in Blackrock, Dublin, in 1975, and was buried in Glasnevin Cemetery in Dublin. His 'Dump Arms' colleague, Frank Aiken, also died in Blackrock, Dublin, eight years after de Valera (1983), aged 85 ; 'From an adolescent farmer to a local Sinn Fein activist and provincial guerrilla leader, and eventually to chief-of-staff of the IRA, Frank Aiken has an early, hidden history. As with so many of his political generation, Aiken's path to politics began amid the violent upheaval of the Irish revolution..' (from here).
On the 20th April 1923, Frank Aiken was elected as Chief of Staff for the IRA and almost had his tenure brought to an end within two days : on the 22nd of that month, Aiken was holed up in a so-called 'safe house' in Castlebellingham in County Louth with the Quinn brothers, Pádraig and Séan.
The three men were part of the leadership of the IRA's 'Fourth Northern Division' (Frank Aiken was commander of that unit, Pádraig was the quartermaster general and Séan was adjutant general) and, as such, were high on the Free Staters 'Most Wanted' list.
The 'safe house' was surrounded (on the 22nd) by Free State forces and a firefight ensued, during which both Quinn brothers were wounded (Séan died from his wounds, and Pádraig was captured) but, in the melee and confusion of the action, Frank Aiken managed to escape. Three short years later, however, he left Sinn Féin and, working alongside (colluding with, to be more apt) Seán Lemass, Gerry Boland and Countess Markievicz, established a political party - Fianna Fail.
The Republican Movement continued its struggle against the British military and political presence in Ireland and found itself having to do battle, too, with Frank Aiken and his fellow Free Staters who, in their attempts to present the Free State as 'a normal society' rather than that which it was (and, indeed, still is today) - a corrupt and bastardised political entity - tried to control the news of the day :
'Censorship was under the charge of the Minister for the Co-ordination of Defensive Measures, Frank Aiken. It was necessary to prevent publication of matter that might undermine the neutrality of the State and to prevent it becoming a clearing house for foreign intelligence, though over the period of the Emergency, the Act started to be used for more party political purposes such as preventing the publication of the numbers of Irish soldiers serving in the United Kingdom armed forces or industrial disputes within the state. In addition, the information made available to Irish people was also carefully controlled...' (from here).
As the Free State 'Minister for the Co-ordination of Defensive Measures' (as he was from 1939 to 1945), Frank Aiken could (and did) 'authorise and provide for the censorship, restriction, control, or partial or complete suspension of communication' - in other words, he propagandised for Free Statism on behalf of Westminster and, as such - like his Fianna Fail/Free State colleagues - was seen as a persona non grata by the IRA.
Indeed, when his old IRA 'boss', Paddy Rankin, died in 1964, Frank Aiken made the journey from Dublin to Newry to attend the funeral and was told in no uncertain terms when he got there that it was an IRA-organised funeral and his presence might not be appreciated by all concerned. It was recorded at the time that, following that conversation, "..Mr Aiken made a quick retreat up the Dublin Road..".
Free Staters, and the Free State entity itself and the mentality that they and it support and represent, has 'dug in', politically, since de Valera and Aiken, among others, nurtured it into life, and its 'retreat' will not be quick but, for the sake of those of us who respect this country, it has to happen.
And the sooner, the better.
'MUTUAL GOODWILL...!'
From 'The United Irishman' newspaper, April 1955.
Surely it is not difficult to understand that if England at any time in the past 800 years wished to demonstrate her goodwill that the first act would have been to withdraw her armed force.
The slave and moral coward will speak of concessions that followed negotiations, but a little reflection will show how almost all 'negotiations' were conducted immediately after or during an armed insurrection and that virtually all concessions were mere bribes to defeat or detract from the physical force movement.
As for any unrequested gifts that England may have offered - Timeo Danaos et Dona Ferentes - we usually paid dearly for them afterwards.
(END of 'Mutual Goodwill' ; NEXT - 'Resurgent Ulster ; Northern Speakers Address Dublin Meeting', from the same source.)
(1) ON THIS DATE (24TH MAY) 102 YEARS AGO : FIRST ELECTION TO A PARTITIONIST ASSEMBLY HELD IN IRELAND.
'The first election to a devolved legislature in Northern Ireland (sic) took place on 24 May 1921*. A record-breaking turnout delivered 40 Unionist seats in the Northern Ireland’s new House of Commons, with Sinn Féin in second place. At a time of political uncertainty, when the future status (or even location) of the Border was not yet established, the election was a crucial moment in the construction of Northern Ireland's (sic) political infrastructure for the next half-century and more...' (from 'The Irish Times' newspaper, here / *under the terms of the British 1920 'Government of Ireland Act' ie two 'Home Rule Parliaments' for Ireland)
And, today - 102 years later - that institution is still there, still funded by Westminster and, as 'he who pays the piper calls the tune', still doing the bidding of the British political establishment.
Irish republicans are abstentionist in relation to the Stormont institution and the Leinster House assembly in Dublin (and the parent body in Westminster), as both of those 'parliaments' were put in place by acts of, and to the advantage of, Westminster.
Neither 'House' can be of any use in regards to Irish reunification, as both accommodate advocates of the continued partition of this country, regardless of what they may say or put in writing ; as with all career politicians, you have to watch what they do as opposed to what they say.
'THOUGH THE HEAVENS MAY FALL...'
From 'Magill' Annual, 2002.
Dr Moira Woods (pictured).
Following the election of a new 'Fitness To Practice Committee', the inquiry eventually began on 4th October 2000 and concluded, after 43 days of hearings, in May of this year. The complainants were later informed that the 'Fitness To Practice Committee' had concluded its deliberations on 27th July, and that a report was being typed up.
In recent weeks, having heard nothing further, the complainant families have written to the Medical Council seeking a time-frame for information concerning the outcome of the deliberations of the 'Fitness to Practice Committee' and sight of the report on the inquiry.
The complainants have been told informally that they will not be informed of the verdict or given information concerning the deliberations of the 'Fitness to Practice Committee', and that they are not entitled to sight of the report.
Dr. Woods, they have been told, will receive a copy of the report...
(MORE LATER.)
(2) ON THIS DATE (MAY 24TH) 102 YEARS AGO : "ALMOST AN IMPOSSIBILITY" TO DEFEAT THE IRA - BRITISH ARMY GENERAL.On the 24th May 1921 - 102 years ago on this date - British Army General 'Sir' Nevil Macready (pictured) wrote a memorandum to the British Cabinet in which he stated that a full military victory against the guerrilla forces of the IRA was almost an impossibility ; he suggested the introduction of total martial law, the suppression of all newspapers, the licensing of all public traffic on the roads, identity cards and the suppression of any Irish republican parliament!
A proper Gentleman, by all accounts...
However, Macready's political masters in Westminster let it be known that, in their opinion, 'such measures were too extreme' ; in reality, however, there was one over-riding reason why such an order would not be issued to General Macready - Westminster was already voicing its opinion, diplomatically, to as wide an audience as it could get to, that the 'behind-the-scenes' talk about a 'Truce' was the 'answer' to the 'Irish Question' : Westminster was not worried about being too harsh on the Irish - if Macready's demands were met, the British 'spin' would be blown apart and questions would be asked as to why such measures were needed when the issue had been, as Westminster was insinuating, practically settled.
Macready's 'wish list', if implemented, would have led to a fresh wave of American support for the IRA, and the British politicians in Westminster knew it.
British 'King' George V, Lloyd George and General Smuts had sent-out 'peace signals' to the IRA and those they perceived to be its political leaders or representatives - among those 'come-hither' advances was this beauty of political hypocrisy, delivered in Belfast on the 22nd June (1921) by British 'King' George V, who was in Belfast to open the new 'Home Rule Parliament' at Stormont -
"I speak from a full heart when I pray that my coming to Ireland ('1169' comment - yes, he was in Belfast, Ireland...!) today may prove to be the first step towards an end of strife among her peoples, whatever their race or creed.
In that hope, I appeal to all Irishmen to pause, to stretch out the hand of forebearance and conciliation, to forgive and forget and to join in making for the land which they love a new era of peace, contentment and goodwill."
Blaming the Irish for the situation, but willing to forgive us for trying to defend ourselves. The 'king' should have stuck to collecting stamps, and more's the pity he wasn't introduced to his doctor sooner than he was...
However - those 'peace signals' bore fruit - a message from Richard Mulcahy, IRA Chief of Staff was circulated to all active personnel - "In view of the conversations now being entered into by our Government with the Government of Great Britain, and in pursuance of mutual conversations, active operations by our forces will be suspended as from noon, Monday, 11 July..."
Then, in London, on the 6th December that year (1921), the 'Treaty of Surrender' was signed, bringing this cursed Free State into being and succeeding only in 'kicking the can down the road' - to this day, Westminster continues to claim jurisdictional control over part of Ireland, a claim enforced politically and militarily.
We have had other 'Treaty's ' since then : 1973 (Sunningdale), 1985 (Hillsborough) and 1998 (Stormont) - and no doubt we will suffer more of them in the future. But until such time as any offered treaty contains a date for British military and political withdrawal from Ireland, it will not 'solve the Irish problem' ; Irish republicans have not endured an 854-years long struggle for freedom only to now say to Westminster, as those in the Free State 'parliament', and system, have said - 'Stay if you want, just treat us better'.
WAITING TO FALL.
If this year sees the end of the 'Age of Tribunals', it won't be a moment too soon.
By John Drennan.
From 'Magill' magazine, January 2003.
A good start for any Irish opposition party seeking popular support - at least up until about four months ago - would have been to issue the crie de couer - 'First kill all the lawyers.'
The 'Moriarty Tribunal' looked as if it had disappeared to the legal equivalent of Tír Na nÓg and the 'Flood Tribunal' appeared to be enjoying the quaint slumber of the lost souls in limbo.
The situation was so grave that some cheeps of dissent were even heard in 'The Irish Times' - now there's a rare sound - though the fretfull noises emanating from Michael McDowell were rather more significant within the new political context - 'Where McDowell goes, Fianna Fail follows'.
Then the miracle occurred ; just as the waves began lapping above the knees of our 'Tribunal Canutes', the tide was swept back by the Flood Tribunal interim report...
(MORE LATER.)
Thanks for the visit, and for reading,
Sharon and the team.
...and we're back (-'ish'!).
We're finishing up, and recovering from, the past few weeks of family madness - the three of us who publish this blog had a right mixture of different events, ranging from Christenings (3), funerals (2), 21st birthday parties (2) and two or three other gigs which ya would have to be over 21 to hear about...!
And then there was my other family - the Girl Gang - who, in between all the above craziness, had our own 'business' to attend to as well (...but even if ya are over 21, yis are still not gonna hear about that!).
Anyway - we'll be back here on Wednesday, 24th May 2023 with, among other pieces (in a 7-part post), the following -
The zeal of an Irish republican turncoat - a republican gamekeeper-turned-Free State-poacher - who shocked even his own people with the political spin he performed...
How this State protects itself - 'The complainants have been told informally that they will not be informed of the verdict or given information concerning the case but the person they have complained about will receive a copy of the report...'
From the 1940's - this US Diplomat contacted a colleague in the Free State political 'Establishment' to insist that State ('official') opposition (!) to taking part in 'foreign wars' was objectionable to him and his administration in Washington, as was the State policy of (so-called) 'neutrality'...
From 100 years ago - 'The Republican Movement continued its struggle against the British military and political presence in Ireland and found itself having to do battle, too, with another enemy who, in their attempts to present the Free State as 'a normal society', were just as vicious in their attempts to destroy the Republic...'
From 1955 - 'Goodwill' from Westminster : 'Timeo Danaos et Dona Ferentes...'
102 years after it was first 'trialed', that British entity in Ireland is still there, still funded by Westminster and, as 'he who pays the piper calls the tune', still doing the bidding of the British political establishment...
Check back with us on Wednesday, 24th May 2023 for all the above and more, 'cause something else might catch our attention between this and then!
Thanks for the visit, and for reading - see ye on Wednesday the 24th May, 2023!
Sharon and the team.
ON THIS DATE (3RD MAY) 107 YEARS AGO : THREE REPUBLICAN DISSIDENTS EXECUTED BY THE BRITISH.
Pictured - Pádraig Pearse, Thomas J Clarke and Thomas MacDonagh.
On the 29th April 1916, a republican 'surrender document' was circulated between the combatants, which read - 'In order to prevent the further slaughter of Dublin civilians and in the hope of saving the lives of our followers now surrounded and hopelessly outnumbered, the members of the Provisional Government present at headquarters have agreed to an unconditional surrender, and the commandants of the various districts in the City and county will order their commands to lay down arms..' -
- the document (above) was signed by, among others, Patrick Pearse and Thomas MacDonagh, and it signalled the end of six days of fighting between approximately 20,000 British troops (including, in their ranks, Irish men) and a volunteer rebel force of about 1,500 Irish men and women (and other nationalities). At about 3.45pm on Saturday, 29th April 1916, the Rising was brought to an end - Pádraig Pearse surrendered to British Brigadier-General Lowe, James Connolly surrendered on behalf of the 'Irish Citizens Army' and Ned Daly surrendered to British Major De Courcy Wheeler.
It is not mentioned as often as it should be, but before the surrender of Ned Daly and his forces, all of whom fought bravely in the North King Street area of Dublin, the British Officer who was in command of that particular engagement, Lieutenant Colonel Henry Taylor of the South Staffordshire Regiment, had lost 11 of his men with a further 28 having being wounded. Following the surrender of Daly and the Dublin 1st Battalion, Taylor - who was to claim later that he was acting under orders from his superior, Brigadier-General William Henry Muir Lowe - ordered his men, who were enraged over having lost so many of their number, to 'flush out' any remaining enemy forces.
Taylor's troops began breaking into local houses and, before their bloodlust was satisfied, they shot and/or bayoneted 15 boys and men to death, all of whom were 'rebel fighters', according to the British. Approximately 590 people died during the six days of the 1916 Rising, of which 374 were civilians (including 38 children, aged 16 or younger), 116 British soldiers, 77 Irish rebel soldiers and 23 members of the British 'police force' which operated in Ireland at that time ('1169' comment - the objective has not yet being obtained, as not one of those rebel/dissident fighters took up arms to 'achieve' a so-called 'Free State' : the aim then, as now, is to secure a Free Ireland).
Padraig Pearse, Tom Clarke and Thomas MacDonagh, three of those in command of the republican dissidents during the Rising, were court-martialed by the British on the 2nd May 1916 and sentenced to death and, the next day - 3rd May 1916, 107 years ago on this date - they were taken to the Stonebreakers' Yard in Kilmainham Jail and, at dawn, were shot dead by a British Army firing squad.
It was these executions that prompted British Prime Minister Herbert Asquith to warn General Maxwell that 'a large number of executions would sow the seeds of lasting trouble in Ireland' - that was the Westminster elite once again missing the point in regards to their 'Irish outpost' : 'lasting trouble in Ireland' is, unfortunately, guaranteed by the fact that it is the British military and political presence here that brings 'trouble', not the manner in which that presence treats its 'subjects'.
Before he was executed, Padraig Pearse stated : "We seem to have lost. We have not lost. To refuse to fight would have been to lose ; to fight is to win. We have kept faith with the past, and handed on a tradition to the future. If you strike us down now, we shall rise again and renew the fight. You cannot conquer Ireland. You cannot extinguish the Irish passion for freedom. If our deed has not been sufficient to win freedom, then our children will win it by a better deed..."
Pádraig Pearse was born in Dublin on the 10th November 1879 to an English father (who worked as a sculptor) and an Irish mother, both of whom encouraged him to learn about and appreciate his roots. At 21 years of age he joined the 'Gaelic League' and his enthusiasm ensured his advancement within that organisation - he was appointed as the editor of their newspaper, 'An Claidheamh Solais' ('The Sword of Light').
Not content with just a newspaper from which to voice his pro-Irish opinion, he founded a school - St. Enda's College in Dublin, at 29 years of age, and structured its curriculum around Irish traditions and culture and tutored in both the Irish and English languages. It was through the League that Pearse met like-minded individuals who also wanted 'to break the connection with England'.
At 35 years of age, in 1914, he was accepted as a member of the supreme council of the 'Irish Republican Brotherhood' (IRB), a militant group that had stated its intention to use force to remove the British military and political presence from Ireland and, during the 1916 Rising - which he was heavily involved in organising - he was in command of the General Post Office (GPO) in Dublin. He was executed at dawn by a British Army firing squad on the 3rd May 1916, in the Stonebreakers' Yard in Kilmainham Jail.
By Pádraig Pearse.
I do not grudge them : Lord, I do not grudge
My two strong sons that I have seen go out
To break their strength and die, they and a few,
In bloody protest for a glorious thing,
They shall be spoken of among their people,
The generations shall remember them,
And call them blessed.
But I will speak their names to my own heart
In the long nights;
The little names that were familiar once
Round my dead hearth.
Lord, thou art hard on mothers :
We suffer in their coming and their going ;
And tho' I grudge them not, I weary, weary
Of the long sorrow. And yet I have my joy :
My sons were faithful, and they fought.
He shall not hear the bittern cry
In the wild sky where he is lain
Nor voices of the sweeter birds
Above the wailing of the rain.
Nor shall he know when loud March blows
Thro' slanting snows her fanfare shrill
Blowing to flame the golden cup
Of many an upset daffodil.
And when the dark cow leaves the moor
And pastures poor with greedy weeds
Perhaps he'll hear her low at morn
Lifting her horn in pleasant meads.
In his address to the court martial, Thomas MacDonagh said : "Gentlemen of the court martial, I choose to think you have done your duty according to your lights in sentencing me to death. I thank you for your courtesy. It would not be seemly for me to go to my doom without trying to express, however inadequately, my sense of the high honour I enjoy in being one of those predestined to die in this generation for the cause of Irish freedom. You will, perhaps, understand this sentiment, for it is one to which an Imperial poet of a bygone age bore immortal testimony : "T'is sweet and glorious to die for one's country."
You would all be proud to die for Britain, your Imperial patron, and I am proud and happy to die for Ireland, my glorious fatherland...there is not much left to say. The Proclamation of the Irish Republic has been adduced in evidence against me as one of the signatories. I adhere to every statement in that proclamation. You think it already a dead and buried letter - but it lives, it lives! From minds alive with Ireland's vivid intellect it sprang, in hearts alive with Ireland's mighty love it was conceived. Such documents do not die.
The British occupation of Ireland has never for more than one hundred years been compelled to confront in the field of flight a rising so formidable as that which overwhelming forces have for the moment succeeded in quelling. This rising did not result from accidental circumstances. It came in due recurrent reasons as the necessary outcome of forces that are ever at work.
The fierce pulsation of resurgent pride that disclaims servitude may one day cease to throb in the heart of Ireland — but the heart of Ireland will that day be dead. While Ireland lives, the brains and brawn of her manhood will strive to destroy the last vestige of foreign rule in her territory. In this ceaseless struggle there will be, as there must be, an alternate ebb and flow. But let England make no mistake. The generous high-bred youth of Ireland will never fail to answer the call we pass on to them, will never full to blaze forth in the red rage of war to win their country's freedom. Other and tamer methods they will leave to other and tamer men ; but for themselves they must do or die. It will be said our movement was doomed to failure. It has proved so. Yet it might have been otherwise.
There is always a chance of success for brave men who challenge fortune. That we had such a chance, none know so well as your statesmen and military experts. The mass of the people of Ireland will doubtless lull their consciences to sleep for another generation by the exploded fable that Ireland cannot successfully fight England. We do not propose to represent the mass of the people of Ireland. We stand for the intellect and for immortal soul of Ireland. To Ireland's soul and intellect, the inert mass drugged and degenerated by ages of servitude must in the destined day of resurrection render homage and free service receiving in turn the vivifying impress of a free people.
Gentlemen, you have sentenced me to death, and I accept your sentence with joy and pride since it is for Ireland I am to die.
I go to join the goodly company of men who died for Ireland, the least of whom is worthier far than I can claim to be, and that noble band are themselves but a small section of the great, unnumbered company of martyrs, whose Captain is the Christ who died on Calvary. Of every white robed knight of all that goodly company we are the spiritual kin.
The forms of heroes flit before my vision, and there is one, the star of whose destiny chimes harmoniously with the swan song of my soul. It is the great Florentine, whose weapon was not the sword, but prayer and preaching ; the seed he sowed fructifies to this day in God's Church. Take me away, and let my blood bedew the sacred soil of Ireland. I die in the certainty that once more the seed will fructify."
Thomas MacDonagh - born on the 1st February 1878, executed by Westminster on the 3rd May 1916 - 107 years ago on this date.
'MUTUAL GOODWILL...!'
From 'The United Irishman' newspaper, April 1955.
In the words of Michael Davitt - "Concessions were never wisely or tactfully made to a cry for justice, but always to the pressure of turmoil or insurrection."
England never had 'goodwill' towards Ireland, and she has none now. The individual or party or group who expect to 'talk' British occupation to death in an atmosphere of 'mutual goodwill' lives in a fool's paradise.
If anyone thinks that England bears any goodwill towards Ireland, then he (sic) had better search the pages of history to find a precedent. The simple fact is that there is no precedent to be found ; instead of goodwill we find ill-will, and how could it be otherwise.
After all, England sent an armed force to conquer Ireland almost 800 years ago, and never once since then has she withdrawn her armed force...
(MORE LATER.)
ON THIS DATE (3RD MAY) 102 YEARS AGO : MAYO MEN ROUT THE BRITISH!
"One is very privileged to speak at the funeral of such a great and good man on this historic occasion. One is also deeply aware of ones lack of qualification to speak..." - Dr. Brian P. Murphy of Glenstal Abbey, historian and author of 'Patrick Pearse and the Lost Republican Ideal', speaking at the funeral of IRA Comdt. General Tom Maguire, who died on the 5th July 1993, at 101 years of age. His family had fought at the Battle of Aughrim in 1691 and another ancestor joined the United Irishmen and fought in 1798.
Tom's own father was in the Fenians, and Tom himself joined the Irish Volunteers shortly after they were formed in 1913. In September 1920 he was appointed O/C of the South Mayo Brigade of the Irish Republican Army. On March 7th 1921 they ambushed a lorry load of British troops, capturing weapons and taking prisoners.
On the 3rd of May 1921 - 102 years ago on this date - 30 men of the South Mayo Brigade of the Irish Republican Army fought against 600 Black and Tans at Tourmakeady. The British losses at that battle were 10 killed with 13 wounded, whereas the Mayo Brigade lost two men that day, their Brigade Adjutant, Michael J. O'Brien and Volunteer Padraig Feeney, who was brother to Tom's future wife, Christina.
Comdt Maguire suffered a gunshot wound to the arm that day while another Volunteer was slightly wounded. The British used aircraft to tackle the IRA Brigade in the aftermath of the ambush and the Maguire family home in Cross, County Mayo, was demolished by the Black and Tans as a reprisal for that attack at Tourmakeady.
On the 19th May 1921 Tom Maguire was elected to the 2nd Dáil Éireann and sometime afterwards was appointed to the rank of Comdt. General of the Second Western Division, IRA, under a commission signed by Cathal Brugha, the All Ireland Minister for Defence. On the 7th January 1922 at the debate on the Treaty of Surrender, Tom remained loyal to the Republic he had pledged his loyalty to by stating "Ní toil" ("I do not agree").
He was captured in Headford by Free Staters late in 1922 and court-martialed in Athlone in January 1923, but was not executed as he thought he would be. On April 11th 1923, while Tom was still incarcerated, his younger brother Seán, along with six others, were executed in Tuam by the Free State. These men we know today as the 'Tuam Martyrs'.
On June 10th Tom escaped along with five others and while on the run was elected by the people of Mayo South in the General Election of August 1923.
In December 1938 Tom, along with the surviving members of the 2nd Dáil, delegated their executive powers of Government to the Army Council of the Irish Republican Army in accordance with the resolution passed at the First Dáil Éireann meeting of March 11th 1921. In 1969 and again in 1986 Tom Maguire's loyalty to the All Ireland Republic was tested by those who thought they could turn stones into bread like the tempter in the desert, by taking seats in Leinster House and Stormont : in 1969 he recognised The Provisional Army Council of the Irish Republican Army as the legitimate successor to the 1938 body.
The Army convention had "neither the right nor the authority to pass a resolution recognising the British and two partition parliaments..", he declared and, again, in 1986 he held true to the Republic by stating "I do not recognise the legitimacy of any army council styling itself the Council of the Irish Republican Army which lends support to any person or organisation styling itself as Sinn Féin and prepared to enter the partition parliament of Leinster House".
In 1987 Comdt. General Tom Maguire declared in a statement of recognition "I hereby declare that the Continuity Army Council are the lawful Executive and Army Council respectively of the Irish Republican Army, and that the governmental authority, delegated in the Proclamation of 1938, now resides in the Continuity Army Council and its lawful successors".
Comdt. General Tom Maguire served Ireland and Ireland alone.
'THOUGH THE HEAVENS MAY FALL...'
From 'Magill' Annual, 2002.
Dr Moira Woods (pictured).
The media were requested to nominate two journalists to report on the inquiry, but it was expressly stipulated that no cameras or taping equipment would be allowed at the hearings.
The 'Eastern Health Board' applied for a judical review and, in April 1998, Mr Justice Barr delivered a lengthy High Court ruling which, while overturning the 'Fitness to Practice Committee's' decision that the hearings should proceed in public, nevertheless cleared the way for the Medical Council to publish the final report on its own inquiry.
"At the conclusion of the inquiry into the complaints made against Dr Woods the committee and the Medical Council may publish their findings thereon but in terms that the anonymity of the children and their parents shall be preserved," Justice Barr stated.
Further delays were incurred by virture of the fact that the incumbent 'Fitness to Practice Committee' decided it would not have enough remaining time in office to proceed with and conclude an inquiry, and that the matter should therefore be left to the incoming Committee to proceed with...
(MORE LATER.)
ON THIS DATE (3RD MAY) 44 YEARS AGO : TYRANT ASCENDS TO THE THRONE.
Margaret Thatcher formed her first government as Prime Minister of the 'United Kingdom' on the 3rd May 1979, after the general election, and proceeded to cause havoc for the working class and the unemployed until she died in April 2013. If you're a Thatcher 'fan' then turn away now. 'Cause we're not.
Not forgetting that even Margaret Thatcher had parents and, therefore, was loved at one time or another by at least those two people and will be missed by at least two others (her children), the air seems cleaner since 2013 and almost all seems to be now right with the world, despite her best efforts to fully foul the planet.
Her arrogance and her misjudged sense of self-worth was plain for all to see in her dealings in her own country with the trade union movement and in this country with, among her other failings, the 1981 Hunger-Strikers ; she despised both organisations and the representatives of same, the former because she realised that 'ordinary Joe Soaps' had to be 'kept down' if her vision of a fully capitalist society was to come to fruition and the latter because such principled fighters for justice were not only alien to her political belief system but courageous people like Bobby Sands and his comrades also threatened her preferred society.
That Margaret Thatcher, the politician, was a complete hypocrite was perhaps best illustrated in November 1989 when, during an interview she gave to BBC Radio 4's 'World At One' programme, in connection with the 'opening up' of East Germany, she brazenly declared : "You cannot stifle or suppress a people's desire for liberty", which, of course, was exactly what she was attempting to do in Ireland, among other countries.
Three years earlier, during the Westland Helicopter Affair, which led to the resignations of then British Defence Secretary Michael Heseltine and Trade Secretary Leon Brittan, British Labour Party MP Thomas Dalyell Loch described Thatcher as "a sustained, brazen deceiver : I say she is a bounder, a liar, a deceiver, a cheat and a crook."
Well qualified, then, to sit in Westminster.
As stated, her two children no doubt still miss her but, with a bit of practice, their aim will get better.
FUNDS AND FINE GAEL'S LEADER...
Michael Lowry has so far been the focus of media attention about Fine Gael fundraising.
But the party's current leader, Enda Kenny (pictured), hosted a £1,000-a-plate dinner two days before the second mobile phone licence was awarded. And other guests say that one of the bidders for that licence was in attendance.
By Mairead Carey.
From 'Magill' magazine, January 2003.
Enda Kenny said that in 1997 he received no donation over £500, and the following year he received £983 from Fine Gael Castlebar, which was paid to local newspapers, according to the declaration he submitted to the Public Office Commission.
In 1999, he got a cheque from the Castlebar branch of the party for £5,843 but, in 2000 and 2001, he had no donations over £500 to declare.
Ivan Doherty was a former general secretary of Fine Gael but joined Enda Kenny as his 'programme manager' when he became minister. He now works in Washington for the 'National Democratic Institute for International Affairs'. When asked about the fundraiser he replied - "I am not going to make any comment on it whatsoever. I refer you to the press office."
When it was suggested that it was an Enda Kenny fundraiser as opposed to a Fine Gael party event, he replied -
"Then I refer you to Enda Kenny."
Enda Kenny declined to comment further prior to making contact with Ivan Doherty.
(END of 'Funds And Fine Gael'S Leader' ; NEXT - 'Waiting To Fall', from the same source.)
Thanks for the visit, and for reading,
Sharon and the team.
We won't be here next Wednesday, 10th May 2023, as we have a big family get-together in the county of Kildare on the 6th, which myself and the Girl Gang and others have been tasked with organising ; we know it's gonna take us a few days to put the gig together, a few days afterwards to recover (!) and a quare bit of travelling but, having done similar a few times before, we know what we're doing!
We'll be back on Wednesday, 24th May 2023 with a seven-part post which, among other bits and pieces, will include a few paragraphs on Westminster's 'forced march' intentions for Ireland, a 'Dump Arms' order from a man who should never have been listened to and an embarrassing admission by a high-ranking British military figure in relation to his country's 'campaign' in Ireland.
Thanks again for dropping by - appreciated. Hope to see ye all back here on the 24th, and sure I'll probably still be moutin' outta me between this and then, about this and tha', on Twitter and Facebook as well!
Sharon.
Ruairí Ó Brádaigh (far left, and his funeral service, above), pictured in 1954 : from this blog, June 2013 - 'Funeral arrangements : Reposing at Smyth's Funeral Home, Roscommon, on Friday 7th June 2013, from 5.30pm to 8.00pm, followed by Removal to the Sacred Heart Church. Requiem Mass on Saturday at 11.30am with Burial afterwards in St. Coman's Cemetery. Family Flowers only. House private Saturday morning. Donations, if desired, to CABHAIR (Irish Republican Prisoners’ Dependants Fund), 223 Parnell St, Dublin 1 and to the Roscommon-Mayo Hospice.'
