....the British 'Cairo Gang' in Dublin , 1920 ....
... the operation to wipe out 'The Cairo Gang' was set for Sunday 21st November , 1920 , as it was felt that the GAA match due to take place in Dublin that day would provide 'cover' in which the IRA units could escape in ....
British Army Captain Leonard Price , a Major Dowling , a Captain Keenlyside and two British Army Colonels, Woodcock and Montgomery, were staying in premises at 28 Pembroke Street in Dublin when , at 9am on Sunday 21st November 1920, eight armed IRA Volunteers entered the building ; Price and Dowling were in a room by themselves sorting paperwork when the IRA entered the room and shot them dead - one of the Dublin Volunteers , Andrew Cooney , gathered up the sheets of paper and left the building .
At the same time , British Captain Keenlyside and the two Colonel's found themselves confronted by some of the same IRA unit and a struggle ensued between Keenlyside's wife (no doubt present as part of what her husband probably considered a 'working holiday') and IRA Volunteer Mick O'Hanlon ; another IRA man , Mick Flanagan, pushed Mrs. Keenlyside out of the way and shot her husband dead . (MORE LATER)>
" Take an ordinary prisoner . His main aim is to make his period of imprisonment as easy and as comfortable as possible . The ordinary prisoner will in no way jeopardise a single day of his remission . Some will even grovel , crawl, and inform on other prisoners , to safeguard themselves or to speed up their release . They will comply to the wishes of their captors , and unlike the lark, they will sing when told to and jump high when told to move .
Although the ordinary prisoner has lost his liberty he is not prepared to go to extremes to regain it , nor to protect his humanity . He settles for a short date of release . Eventually , if incarcerated long enough, he becomes institutionalised , becoming a type of machine , not thinking for himself , his captors dominating and controlling him . That was the intended fate of the lark in my grandfathers story ; but the lark needed no changing , nor did it wish to change , and died making that point " .
----'The Lark and the Freedom Fighter' , by Bobby Sands , 1979.
(Each time I read the part about becoming "institutionalised , not thinking for himself, being dominated and controlled " , I picture Martin McGuinness and his colleagues shrivelling up in a grovelling position when sharing the same space with the Unionists or the Brits , in an attempt to appear less threatening - sickening !)
As President of the World Bank , James Wolfensohn , in launching its 2001 edition of its 'World Development Indicators' , pointed out re Cuba -
'Infant mortality rate was eleven in 1000 births in 1990 , then seven in 1000 by 1999 ; the sixth lowest in the world . Mortality rate for under 5's was thirteen per 1000 in 1990 , then eight per 1000 in 1999 - Latin America average 38 . Net primary enrolment for Cuban children reached one-hundred per cent in 1997 , up from ninty-two per cent in 1990 - higher than in the U S . Public spending on education in Cuba is 6.7 per cent of gross national income - the average youth (ages 15-24) illiteracy rate in Cuba is zero (seven per-cent in Latin America).
Public spending on health care accounts for 9.1 per-cent of its GDP (similar to Canada) , and Cuba has a ratio of 5.3 doctors per 1000 population , the highest in the world ' .
For all its faults , the Cuban leadership has apparently recognised at least one golden rule - stroke , fiddle and rip-off the system for your own personal benefit, by all means, but don't hog all the wealth ; let some of it trickle down to Joe Soap ......
Friday, June 20, 2003
.....the British 'Cairo Gang' in Dublin , 1920 .....
This gang of trained assassins settled quitely in bording houses and hotels in Dublin, and set about compiling a 'hit-list' of Irish Republicans for assassination : but the IRA were one step ahead of them .....
A Sergeant Mannix of the Dublin Metropolitan Police Force,stationed at Donnybrook, was an IRA agent, and obtained the names and addresses of all the 'Gang' members and passed the list on to his IRA contact, Frank Thornton. A situation then developed that 'The Cairo Gang' were monitoring the movements of the IRA members that they intended to assassinate while being monitored themselves by the IRA Intelligence Department !
The Dublin Brigade of the IRA and the IRA Intelligence Department decided to work together on a plan to wipe out 'The Cairo Gang' , and a meeting was held at which Michael Collins , Dick McKee , Liam Tobin , Peadar Clancy , Tom Cullen , Frank Thornton and Oscar Traynor were present : the operation was to take place on Sunday morning, 21st November 1920 , as the then Leinster champions, Dublin and Tipperary, were to play in a GAA match, and large crowds would be in Dublin for the occasion, providing 'cover' for the IRA teams to escape in . (MORE LATER)>
"..... the lark refused , and the man became angry and violent . He began to pressurise the lark to sing , but inevitably he received no result . So he took more drastic steps . He covered the cage with a black cloth , depriving the bird of sunlight . He starved it and left it to rot in a dirty cage , but the bird still refused to yield . The man murdered it .
As my grandfather rightly stated , the lark had spirit - the spirit of freedom and resistance . It longed to be free , and died before it would conform to the tyrant who tried to change it with torture and imprisonment . I feel I have something in common with that bird and her torture, imprisonment and final murder . She had a spirit which is not commonly found , even among us so-called superior beings, humans " .
----Bobby Sands, 3rd February , 1979 .
In an 'Editorial' comment published on 6th May , 2001 (page 16), 'The Sunday Business Post' stated -
" The H-Block prisoners , and in particular the hunger-strikers, were people of extraordinary calibre and commitment, no less than the freedom fighters of earlier years that are celebrated as the heroes of our limited independence " .
---- And it should also be noted that Bobby Sands and the other hunger-strikers did not join or support the policies of the SDLP - the Provos today have policies similar to (if not borrowed from) the SDLP , yet the Provos still claim that Sands and the other men died for what Adams and Family are up to now . Each of the 22 hunger-strikers supported the use of arms to overthrow British rule and establish Irish democracy : Provisional Sinn Fein has condemned the use of armed struggle against British rule.
The Provos have retreated from the struggle , an indication that they have been purchased by partition.
This gang of trained assassins settled quitely in bording houses and hotels in Dublin, and set about compiling a 'hit-list' of Irish Republicans for assassination : but the IRA were one step ahead of them .....
A Sergeant Mannix of the Dublin Metropolitan Police Force,stationed at Donnybrook, was an IRA agent, and obtained the names and addresses of all the 'Gang' members and passed the list on to his IRA contact, Frank Thornton. A situation then developed that 'The Cairo Gang' were monitoring the movements of the IRA members that they intended to assassinate while being monitored themselves by the IRA Intelligence Department !
The Dublin Brigade of the IRA and the IRA Intelligence Department decided to work together on a plan to wipe out 'The Cairo Gang' , and a meeting was held at which Michael Collins , Dick McKee , Liam Tobin , Peadar Clancy , Tom Cullen , Frank Thornton and Oscar Traynor were present : the operation was to take place on Sunday morning, 21st November 1920 , as the then Leinster champions, Dublin and Tipperary, were to play in a GAA match, and large crowds would be in Dublin for the occasion, providing 'cover' for the IRA teams to escape in . (MORE LATER)>
"..... the lark refused , and the man became angry and violent . He began to pressurise the lark to sing , but inevitably he received no result . So he took more drastic steps . He covered the cage with a black cloth , depriving the bird of sunlight . He starved it and left it to rot in a dirty cage , but the bird still refused to yield . The man murdered it .
As my grandfather rightly stated , the lark had spirit - the spirit of freedom and resistance . It longed to be free , and died before it would conform to the tyrant who tried to change it with torture and imprisonment . I feel I have something in common with that bird and her torture, imprisonment and final murder . She had a spirit which is not commonly found , even among us so-called superior beings, humans " .
----Bobby Sands, 3rd February , 1979 .
In an 'Editorial' comment published on 6th May , 2001 (page 16), 'The Sunday Business Post' stated -
" The H-Block prisoners , and in particular the hunger-strikers, were people of extraordinary calibre and commitment, no less than the freedom fighters of earlier years that are celebrated as the heroes of our limited independence " .
---- And it should also be noted that Bobby Sands and the other hunger-strikers did not join or support the policies of the SDLP - the Provos today have policies similar to (if not borrowed from) the SDLP , yet the Provos still claim that Sands and the other men died for what Adams and Family are up to now . Each of the 22 hunger-strikers supported the use of arms to overthrow British rule and establish Irish democracy : Provisional Sinn Fein has condemned the use of armed struggle against British rule.
The Provos have retreated from the struggle , an indication that they have been purchased by partition.
Thursday, June 19, 2003
Serving British soldiers , former British soldiers, RIC members and ex-members, carpenters, plumbers, electricans, landlords(and landladies), servants , busdrivers and taximen , businessmen and women , postmen and housewives - and the IRA ; all the above, and others, combined their knowledge and skills to great effect on the morning of Sunday, 21st November , 1920 : it was on that morning , 83 years ago, that thirteen senior British intelligence officers were executed in Dublin ......
The IRA Intelligence Department at that time was an extremely efficient machine, run by Michael Collins , and the British were well aware of that fact ; Sir Henry Wilson wanted it and Collins eliminated , and sanctioned the use , in Ireland, of 'The Cairo Gang' , a unit of British agents which specialised in political assassinations - they got their name , and their reputation, from 'hits' in the Middle East, carried out on the instruction of Wilson and others in Westminster.
'The Cairo Gang' lived quietly in boarding houses and hotels in Dublin , never drawing attention to themselves, and set about compiling a 'hit-list' of Irish Republicans for assassination ; the IRA , however, were one step ahead of them ...... (MORE LATER)>
" My Grandfather once said that the imprisonment of the lark is a crime of the greatest cruelty because the lark is one of the greatest symbols of freedom and happiness . He often spoke of the spirit of the lark relating to a story of a man who incarcerated one of his loved friends in a small cage.
The lark , having suffered the loss of her liberty, no longer sung her little heart out, she no longer had anything to be happy about . The man who had committed the atrocity, as my grandfather called it, demanded that the lark should do as he wished : that was to sing her heart out , to comply to his wishes and change herself to suit his pleasure or benefit . The lark refused , and the man became angry and violent ...... "
----'The Lark and the Freedom Fighter' , by Bobby Sands - first published on 3rd February , 1979. (MORE LATER)>
At their foundation in 1986, and since then , the 'Progressive Democrats' (PD's) stated that their intention was to reform the libel laws, abolish the Free State Senate, eliminate God from the Free State Constitution , to end the dual mandate and to curtail Free State ministerial pensions until members had either reached 55 years of age or left Leinster House ; and the result of this 'wish list' ... ?
---- the 'dual mandate' issue is being discussed now (as is a legal action against the proposed changes) , but the libel laws are still used by the media as a reason not to expose their buddies in the political and business worlds (save for the odd bone thrown to the public dogs), the Free State Senate is still in existence and still used by the politicians , including the PD's, as a 'holding centre' for their friends while they attempt to get their'career' back on track ,elected politicians (again including the PD's) continue to receive pensions from their previous political positions , and God ....well , they all think they're him (or her) !
The IRA Intelligence Department at that time was an extremely efficient machine, run by Michael Collins , and the British were well aware of that fact ; Sir Henry Wilson wanted it and Collins eliminated , and sanctioned the use , in Ireland, of 'The Cairo Gang' , a unit of British agents which specialised in political assassinations - they got their name , and their reputation, from 'hits' in the Middle East, carried out on the instruction of Wilson and others in Westminster.
'The Cairo Gang' lived quietly in boarding houses and hotels in Dublin , never drawing attention to themselves, and set about compiling a 'hit-list' of Irish Republicans for assassination ; the IRA , however, were one step ahead of them ...... (MORE LATER)>
" My Grandfather once said that the imprisonment of the lark is a crime of the greatest cruelty because the lark is one of the greatest symbols of freedom and happiness . He often spoke of the spirit of the lark relating to a story of a man who incarcerated one of his loved friends in a small cage.
The lark , having suffered the loss of her liberty, no longer sung her little heart out, she no longer had anything to be happy about . The man who had committed the atrocity, as my grandfather called it, demanded that the lark should do as he wished : that was to sing her heart out , to comply to his wishes and change herself to suit his pleasure or benefit . The lark refused , and the man became angry and violent ...... "
----'The Lark and the Freedom Fighter' , by Bobby Sands - first published on 3rd February , 1979. (MORE LATER)>
At their foundation in 1986, and since then , the 'Progressive Democrats' (PD's) stated that their intention was to reform the libel laws, abolish the Free State Senate, eliminate God from the Free State Constitution , to end the dual mandate and to curtail Free State ministerial pensions until members had either reached 55 years of age or left Leinster House ; and the result of this 'wish list' ... ?
---- the 'dual mandate' issue is being discussed now (as is a legal action against the proposed changes) , but the libel laws are still used by the media as a reason not to expose their buddies in the political and business worlds (save for the odd bone thrown to the public dogs), the Free State Senate is still in existence and still used by the politicians , including the PD's, as a 'holding centre' for their friends while they attempt to get their'career' back on track ,elected politicians (again including the PD's) continue to receive pensions from their previous political positions , and God ....well , they all think they're him (or her) !
Wednesday, June 18, 2003
....released from the Free State internment camp at the North Dublin Union in 1924 , Katie O'Connor was elected leader of Clann na nGael , a position she was to hold for almost fifty years ......
On one of her visits to England in the late 1920's , in a hall in Gay Street in Liverpool, the 'Countess Markievicz' branch of the Clann was established ; Katie O'Connor and two other Clann leaders, Cissie Cunningham and Kathleen McLaughlin, became firm friends with the 'Markievicz' membership, especially the O/C , Kathleen Walsh and sisters Rita and Kathleen McSweeney .
It was members of Clann na nGael that organised the first van-load of supplies for the nationalist population of Belfast, and other areas, following the August 1969 pogroms. In the 1970's, Katie O'Connor stepped down as Clann leader (her replacement was Maura Lyons) but Katie did not end her support for the Movement - she assisted the IRA and worked with the prisoners organisation, 'An Cumann Cabhrach' (now 'Cabhair').
On 11th January , 1983, at 83 years of age, Katie O'Connor died ; another patriot whose name is not as well known as it should be - she spent sixty-seven years as a 'dissident' and a 'terrorist' . Ar dheis De go raibh a anam dilis.
".....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 ! ".
-----' I Fought a Monster Today' , by Bobby Sands, first published 0n 7th October , 1978.
" Subject to the justification by overriding considerations of public interest , a journalist shall do nothing which entails intrusion into private grief and distress. A journalist shall strive to ensure that the information that he/she disseminates is fair and accurate , avoid the expression of comment and conjecture as established fact and falsification by distortion , selection or misrepresentation " .
------ the 'Code of Conduct' issued by the 'National' Union of Journalists : Bryan Dobson , and all the others who have'nt been collared yet , take note .....
On one of her visits to England in the late 1920's , in a hall in Gay Street in Liverpool, the 'Countess Markievicz' branch of the Clann was established ; Katie O'Connor and two other Clann leaders, Cissie Cunningham and Kathleen McLaughlin, became firm friends with the 'Markievicz' membership, especially the O/C , Kathleen Walsh and sisters Rita and Kathleen McSweeney .
It was members of Clann na nGael that organised the first van-load of supplies for the nationalist population of Belfast, and other areas, following the August 1969 pogroms. In the 1970's, Katie O'Connor stepped down as Clann leader (her replacement was Maura Lyons) but Katie did not end her support for the Movement - she assisted the IRA and worked with the prisoners organisation, 'An Cumann Cabhrach' (now 'Cabhair').
On 11th January , 1983, at 83 years of age, Katie O'Connor died ; another patriot whose name is not as well known as it should be - she spent sixty-seven years as a 'dissident' and a 'terrorist' . Ar dheis De go raibh a anam dilis.
".....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 ! ".
-----' I Fought a Monster Today' , by Bobby Sands, first published 0n 7th October , 1978.
" Subject to the justification by overriding considerations of public interest , a journalist shall do nothing which entails intrusion into private grief and distress. A journalist shall strive to ensure that the information that he/she disseminates is fair and accurate , avoid the expression of comment and conjecture as established fact and falsification by distortion , selection or misrepresentation " .
------ the 'Code of Conduct' issued by the 'National' Union of Journalists : Bryan Dobson , and all the others who have'nt been collared yet , take note .....
Tuesday, June 17, 2003
..... like all other members of Clann na nGael , and its leadership, Katie O'Connor opposed the Treaty of December 1921 , and took the Republican side in the Civil War ; there was no split in the Clann over this issue .....
Katie O'Connor was jailed in Kilmainham in the autumn of 1922 and was subjected to degrading treatment by her Free State captors : she was stripped naked and jeered at by the Staters , who delighted in terrorising their 22 years-young female prisoner. She was the youngest of the women political prisoners , and was transferred along with other female prisoners to the Free State internment camp at the North Dublin Union Workhouse .
When released two years later (1924), Katie O'Connor was elected leader of Clann na nGael and, from then until well into the 1940's ,she travelled throughout Ireland and England setting up branches of the organisation (she was to hold her leadership position for almost fifty years)...... (MORE LATER)>
"..... Monsters do not exist . Nor do devils. There cannot be so many devils . I'm mad . Yes , that's it ; I'm insane. But my pain , suffering, and grief are real . It must be all real . No, I'm right , I know I'm right . I must resist, I have nowhere to run . My tomb may be my grave . I'm surrounded by a barbed wire jungle . The monster roars at me : ' You shall never get out of here . If you don't do as I say I shall 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 ' " .
------- Bobby Sands, 7th October , 1978. (MORE LATER)>
.....the 'famine' of 1877-1878 in the North-Western provinces of India killed 1.3 million people when the harvest failed and surplus grain had been exported to Britain and southern India (shades of the Irish 'famine')......
Salt in their diet could have saved many people : sixty-three per cent of deaths were ascribed to fever and bowel complaints that could have been alleviated by salt , but still the British pressed these provinces for their salt tax and continued their bounty on any salt smugglers. The 'Great Hedge' was of a scale to be comparable to the Great Wall of China. Ghandi organised a 'salt march' in 1930 ; he marched 241 miles to the coast at Dandi , picked up a lump of salt and gave it away without paying taxes - millions followed his example and done the same , thus undermining British 'authority' in the country .
India , like so many other countries, has had its taste of British mis-rule ; Ireland continues to experience that 'bad taste' .....
Katie O'Connor was jailed in Kilmainham in the autumn of 1922 and was subjected to degrading treatment by her Free State captors : she was stripped naked and jeered at by the Staters , who delighted in terrorising their 22 years-young female prisoner. She was the youngest of the women political prisoners , and was transferred along with other female prisoners to the Free State internment camp at the North Dublin Union Workhouse .
When released two years later (1924), Katie O'Connor was elected leader of Clann na nGael and, from then until well into the 1940's ,she travelled throughout Ireland and England setting up branches of the organisation (she was to hold her leadership position for almost fifty years)...... (MORE LATER)>
"..... Monsters do not exist . Nor do devils. There cannot be so many devils . I'm mad . Yes , that's it ; I'm insane. But my pain , suffering, and grief are real . It must be all real . No, I'm right , I know I'm right . I must resist, I have nowhere to run . My tomb may be my grave . I'm surrounded by a barbed wire jungle . The monster roars at me : ' You shall never get out of here . If you don't do as I say I shall 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 ' " .
------- Bobby Sands, 7th October , 1978. (MORE LATER)>
.....the 'famine' of 1877-1878 in the North-Western provinces of India killed 1.3 million people when the harvest failed and surplus grain had been exported to Britain and southern India (shades of the Irish 'famine')......
Salt in their diet could have saved many people : sixty-three per cent of deaths were ascribed to fever and bowel complaints that could have been alleviated by salt , but still the British pressed these provinces for their salt tax and continued their bounty on any salt smugglers. The 'Great Hedge' was of a scale to be comparable to the Great Wall of China. Ghandi organised a 'salt march' in 1930 ; he marched 241 miles to the coast at Dandi , picked up a lump of salt and gave it away without paying taxes - millions followed his example and done the same , thus undermining British 'authority' in the country .
India , like so many other countries, has had its taste of British mis-rule ; Ireland continues to experience that 'bad taste' .....
Monday, June 16, 2003
At the funeral of the Fenian leader Jeremiah O'Donovan Rossa in Glasnevin Cemetery in Dublin , in August 1915, a fifteen-years young girl , from Henrietta Street in Dublin, was moved by the scenes she witnessed ......
One year later, that girl , Katie O'Connor , now aged 16, involved herself in the Easter Rising carrying messages between the different rebel garrisons , and the following year she joined Clann na nGael , the Irish Republican girl scout organisation ( which had been founded by the Kelly sisters in 1910).
During the Tan War (1919-1921) Katie O'Connor was a dispatch carrier and , like all other members of Clann na nGael, she opposed the Treaty of December 1921 , and took the Republican side in the Civil War (there was no split in the Clan over this issue) ...... (MORE LATER)>
"... but the monster does not kill me. I often wonder why not ? But each time I face it, death materialises before me. The monster keeps me naked . It feeds me. But it did'nt 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 we don't beat it soon it will murder me . Of this I am certain. It keeps me locked up in a dark smelly tomb and it sends its devils to keep me on edge , to keep the torture going . Each time the door of my tomb opens , the black devils attack me ! They nearly won yesterday . It was inhuman . They beat me into unconsciousness . I think -'is this really happening to me ?' and 'can this happen in this day and age?' " .
---- 'I Fought a Monster Today' , by Bobby Sands , October 1978 . (MORE LATER)>
.... the British 'customs line' in India was over 2,300 miles long , and was guarded by 12,000 men - it was a massive hedge of native trees and bushes, bolstered with rocks when vegetation became too patchy ; it was a ruthlessly policed barrier that cut off an affordable supply of an absolute necessity of life for Indian people : salt !
Famine is common in India and salt depletion is often the fatal ingredient in illness caused by malnutrition - the 'famine' of 1877-1878 in the North-Western provinces killed 1.3million people when the harvest failed and surplus grain had been exported to Britain and southern India (shades of the Irish 'famine') ....... (MORE LATER)>
One year later, that girl , Katie O'Connor , now aged 16, involved herself in the Easter Rising carrying messages between the different rebel garrisons , and the following year she joined Clann na nGael , the Irish Republican girl scout organisation ( which had been founded by the Kelly sisters in 1910).
During the Tan War (1919-1921) Katie O'Connor was a dispatch carrier and , like all other members of Clann na nGael, she opposed the Treaty of December 1921 , and took the Republican side in the Civil War (there was no split in the Clan over this issue) ...... (MORE LATER)>
"... but the monster does not kill me. I often wonder why not ? But each time I face it, death materialises before me. The monster keeps me naked . It feeds me. But it did'nt 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 we don't beat it soon it will murder me . Of this I am certain. It keeps me locked up in a dark smelly tomb and it sends its devils to keep me on edge , to keep the torture going . Each time the door of my tomb opens , the black devils attack me ! They nearly won yesterday . It was inhuman . They beat me into unconsciousness . I think -'is this really happening to me ?' and 'can this happen in this day and age?' " .
---- 'I Fought a Monster Today' , by Bobby Sands , October 1978 . (MORE LATER)>
.... the British 'customs line' in India was over 2,300 miles long , and was guarded by 12,000 men - it was a massive hedge of native trees and bushes, bolstered with rocks when vegetation became too patchy ; it was a ruthlessly policed barrier that cut off an affordable supply of an absolute necessity of life for Indian people : salt !
Famine is common in India and salt depletion is often the fatal ingredient in illness caused by malnutrition - the 'famine' of 1877-1878 in the North-Western provinces killed 1.3million people when the harvest failed and surplus grain had been exported to Britain and southern India (shades of the Irish 'famine') ....... (MORE LATER)>
Sunday, June 15, 2003
.....ex-British Army Quartermaster Sergeant Harry Timothy Quinlisk, from Waterford , Ireland, made it his business to mix in Irish Republican circles ; Michael Collins refused his request to join the IRA as a training officer , and Quinlisk then contacted the British Under-Secretary , claimimg to have information on Collins and the IRA ; there was a £10,000 reward on offer from the British for information leading to the capture of Collins , and Quinlisk was determined to claim it ......
A meeting was duly arranged at Dublin Castle between the representatives of the British administration in Ireland and Quinlisk - however , the IRA had people working for them in the Castle and were notified immediately that Quinlisk had been in contact with the British Under-Secretary. An IRA investigation into the contacts uncovered a telegram and a copy of a despatch which confirmed that Quinlisk was an informer ; arrangements were made to deal with him .
In February , 1920, Quinlisk was 'inadvertently' made aware that Michael Collins was staying in Cork , and went there himself to confirm it ; on 18th February , 1920, IRA Volunteers from Ballyphehane in County Cork shot him dead .
These days , if known (so-called) Irish Republicans meet with representatives of the British administration in Ireland they are praised as 'peace-makers' : but look who's doing the praising ......
" When I resist , it does'nt understand . You see it does'nt even try to comprehend why I resist . 'Why don't you give in to me ?' it says . 'Give in ! Give in to us !' the monster's army jibes . My body wants to say: 'Yes, yes,do what you will 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 ........ " .
----- 'The writings of Bobby Sands' : above article first published on 7th October , 1978 . (MORE LATER).
THE BRITISH IN INDIA .......
.... did not succeed in grabbing all of the Indian landmass , and in the princely states to the west of the country , the last descendants of the Mughal emperors were still clinging on to the fading vestiges of their glory . The British declared that goods passing from the autonomous states into 'British-controlled' territory were subject to custom duties (!) and so a 'customs line' was established , stretching across the whole of India -- an area, which, at the time (1869), extended from the Indus to the Mahanadi in Madras ; over 2,300 miles long ...... (MORE LATER)>
A meeting was duly arranged at Dublin Castle between the representatives of the British administration in Ireland and Quinlisk - however , the IRA had people working for them in the Castle and were notified immediately that Quinlisk had been in contact with the British Under-Secretary. An IRA investigation into the contacts uncovered a telegram and a copy of a despatch which confirmed that Quinlisk was an informer ; arrangements were made to deal with him .
In February , 1920, Quinlisk was 'inadvertently' made aware that Michael Collins was staying in Cork , and went there himself to confirm it ; on 18th February , 1920, IRA Volunteers from Ballyphehane in County Cork shot him dead .
These days , if known (so-called) Irish Republicans meet with representatives of the British administration in Ireland they are praised as 'peace-makers' : but look who's doing the praising ......
" When I resist , it does'nt understand . You see it does'nt even try to comprehend why I resist . 'Why don't you give in to me ?' it says . 'Give in ! Give in to us !' the monster's army jibes . My body wants to say: 'Yes, yes,do what you will 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 ........ " .
----- 'The writings of Bobby Sands' : above article first published on 7th October , 1978 . (MORE LATER).
THE BRITISH IN INDIA .......
.... did not succeed in grabbing all of the Indian landmass , and in the princely states to the west of the country , the last descendants of the Mughal emperors were still clinging on to the fading vestiges of their glory . The British declared that goods passing from the autonomous states into 'British-controlled' territory were subject to custom duties (!) and so a 'customs line' was established , stretching across the whole of India -- an area, which, at the time (1869), extended from the Indus to the Mahanadi in Madras ; over 2,300 miles long ...... (MORE LATER)>
Saturday, June 14, 2003
....on a recruitment visit to Limberg POW camp in Germany in 1915 , Roger Casement rejected the application from Waterford man , Harry Timothy Quinlisk who , as a captured member of the British Army, was being held in the camp as a prisoner ; Casement did not trust Quinlisk, describing him as "a rogue" ......
In November 1918 , Harry Timothy Quinlisk was released and returned to Ireland , and began mixing in Irish Republican circles . The Tan War started in January 1919 and Michael Collins found himself with a price of £10,000 on his head - the British would pay that amount of money to the person who gave them information leading to the capture of Collins ,the then IRA's Director of Intelligence . Quinlisk decided that the money was his ....
Harry Timothy Quinlisk used the fact that he was a 'known face' with Irish Republicans to seek a meeting with Michael Collins , which was eventually arranged : he offered his services to Collins as a training officer for the IRA but, wary of his eagerness and his repeated persistance, Collins turned him down. Quinlisk then contacted the British Under-Secretary for Ireland and asked for a meeting with him , claiming that he had information on Collins and the IRA....... (MORE LATER)>
" 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 " .
----- Bobby Sands , article entitled "I fought a monster today" , first published 7th October , 1978. (MORE LATER)>
OLD HANDS AT 'DIRTY TRICKS' ......
.... as any country that has been blighted by the Brits will confirm !
And they have done it in their own country too :
On 23rd May , 1945, SS Chief Heinrich Himmler "committed suicide" in British custody , according to the British themselves .
But they never said why they carried out two post-mortems on the body (1945 and 1946) , and won't explain why Himmler's file in the British Public Record Office is sealed until the year 2045 !
Himmler's identity card was in the name of Heinrick Hitzinger. No fingerprints or dental records were taken from the corpse because the British buried him with such haste ....
Himmler was born in October, 1900 - at 103 years of age , is it possible he is still in a 'safe house' in Britain , perhaps working as a toy-boy in Buck palace ..... ?
In November 1918 , Harry Timothy Quinlisk was released and returned to Ireland , and began mixing in Irish Republican circles . The Tan War started in January 1919 and Michael Collins found himself with a price of £10,000 on his head - the British would pay that amount of money to the person who gave them information leading to the capture of Collins ,the then IRA's Director of Intelligence . Quinlisk decided that the money was his ....
Harry Timothy Quinlisk used the fact that he was a 'known face' with Irish Republicans to seek a meeting with Michael Collins , which was eventually arranged : he offered his services to Collins as a training officer for the IRA but, wary of his eagerness and his repeated persistance, Collins turned him down. Quinlisk then contacted the British Under-Secretary for Ireland and asked for a meeting with him , claiming that he had information on Collins and the IRA....... (MORE LATER)>
" 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 " .
----- Bobby Sands , article entitled "I fought a monster today" , first published 7th October , 1978. (MORE LATER)>
OLD HANDS AT 'DIRTY TRICKS' ......
.... as any country that has been blighted by the Brits will confirm !
And they have done it in their own country too :
On 23rd May , 1945, SS Chief Heinrich Himmler "committed suicide" in British custody , according to the British themselves .
But they never said why they carried out two post-mortems on the body (1945 and 1946) , and won't explain why Himmler's file in the British Public Record Office is sealed until the year 2045 !
Himmler's identity card was in the name of Heinrick Hitzinger. No fingerprints or dental records were taken from the corpse because the British buried him with such haste ....
Himmler was born in October, 1900 - at 103 years of age , is it possible he is still in a 'safe house' in Britain , perhaps working as a toy-boy in Buck palace ..... ?
Friday, June 13, 2003
During the 'Tan War' , British Intelligence Officers , spies and other agents were executed by the IRA , as were almost sixty informers .....
A Waterford man , Harry Timothy Quinlisk , joined the British Army in August 1914, rose to the rank of Quartermaster Sergeant and fought in France with the 'Royal Irish Regiment' . He was captured that same year by the Germans and imprisoned in a camp in Limberg . In January 1915, Roger Casement visited the same camp in an attempt to recruit an Irish Brigade to fight against the British in Ireland ; Quinlisk put his name on the list but was rejected by Casement, who described him as " a rogue " ..... (MORE LATER)>
"..... they all glare at me , and then begin to shout at me : " I am a Sir" , " I am a Sir " , "You will conform" , "Conform" , "Conform" . They all grab me and start to beat and kick me while screaming : " You will conform " , " You will conform in H-Block 5 " . I awake , shouting and rolling on a filthy mattress on the floor . " Where am I ? ". "Are you alright?" , asks my cell-mate . "Where am I?" . " You are in your cell , you must've been having a nightmare," he says .
Our cell door opens and a black uniformed figure stands there , " Food", he says . "What was that, Mister?" I ask . "You call me Sir. You're in the H-Blocks now! You're in H-Block 5. Don't forget it, 1066 !" .
----- Bobby Sands , article entitled ' I am Sir, you are 1066' - first published 1st July, 1978.
Is 'Freddie' Scapatticci 'Stakeknife' ?
Is 'Stakeknife' a scapegoat ... ? A question asked , but, in all the 'answers' ...
...no-one asked about...
...the word 'scapegoat' :
The term is believed to have been coined by a famous translator of the Bible, named William Tyndale ; in LEVITICUS 16, there is a reference to two goats, one of which has the sins of the people symbolically laid upon it and is then allowed to escape into the wilderness . Tyndale called this goat the "scapegoat" , from 'escape' and 'goat' . LEVITICUS forms part of the Pentateuch, which Tyndale finished translating in 1530 ; he became a 'scapegoat' himself in the so-called ' Heresy Trials' which were raging at the time - in 1535, he was arrested for heresy and, in 1536, he was strangled and burnt at the stake !
(That's burnt AT the stake, not BY ..... oh forget it ...).
A Waterford man , Harry Timothy Quinlisk , joined the British Army in August 1914, rose to the rank of Quartermaster Sergeant and fought in France with the 'Royal Irish Regiment' . He was captured that same year by the Germans and imprisoned in a camp in Limberg . In January 1915, Roger Casement visited the same camp in an attempt to recruit an Irish Brigade to fight against the British in Ireland ; Quinlisk put his name on the list but was rejected by Casement, who described him as " a rogue " ..... (MORE LATER)>
"..... they all glare at me , and then begin to shout at me : " I am a Sir" , " I am a Sir " , "You will conform" , "Conform" , "Conform" . They all grab me and start to beat and kick me while screaming : " You will conform " , " You will conform in H-Block 5 " . I awake , shouting and rolling on a filthy mattress on the floor . " Where am I ? ". "Are you alright?" , asks my cell-mate . "Where am I?" . " You are in your cell , you must've been having a nightmare," he says .
Our cell door opens and a black uniformed figure stands there , " Food", he says . "What was that, Mister?" I ask . "You call me Sir. You're in the H-Blocks now! You're in H-Block 5. Don't forget it, 1066 !" .
----- Bobby Sands , article entitled ' I am Sir, you are 1066' - first published 1st July, 1978.
Is 'Freddie' Scapatticci 'Stakeknife' ?
Is 'Stakeknife' a scapegoat ... ? A question asked , but, in all the 'answers' ...
...no-one asked about...
...the word 'scapegoat' :
The term is believed to have been coined by a famous translator of the Bible, named William Tyndale ; in LEVITICUS 16, there is a reference to two goats, one of which has the sins of the people symbolically laid upon it and is then allowed to escape into the wilderness . Tyndale called this goat the "scapegoat" , from 'escape' and 'goat' . LEVITICUS forms part of the Pentateuch, which Tyndale finished translating in 1530 ; he became a 'scapegoat' himself in the so-called ' Heresy Trials' which were raging at the time - in 1535, he was arrested for heresy and, in 1536, he was strangled and burnt at the stake !
(That's burnt AT the stake, not BY ..... oh forget it ...).
Thursday, June 12, 2003
.....because of the circumstances of his birth , John Kells Ingram (author of the Irish ballad ' The Memory Of The Dead') felt that he could not publicly voice support for those trying to break the connection with England ....
T.F.O'Sullivan , an authority on Irish ballads and poetry of that period, wrote that, when published ,'The Memory Of The Dead' -
" Immediately attracted widespread attention , and there was a good deal of speculation as to the author . It was generally felt that a great lyric worthy of a great theme had been written " .
Ingram's ballad was translated into Latin by Robert Yelverton Tyrrell in 1870 and into Irish by Douglas Hyde in 1896 . John Kells Ingram died on 1st May , 1907 , at 84 years of age ; he went to his grave proud of his ballad 'The Memory Of The Dead' , which he wrote to perpetuate the memory of the men and women who , in 1798, fought and died for their country .
"..... several naked figures appear at the windows. The building is thirty yards away . I can see that all the figures are bearded , they all seem to be fairly young , but all their faces are pale and haggard . They are young men , but have old men's faces . Am I gazing at death ? These figures keep staring out at nothing , or pacing to and fro . Footsteps again !
I turn, apprehension again gripping me, to await my door being opened again . My new-found curiosity having diminished , I fall deeper into the depths of depression and despair .The thought of what lies on the other side of that door tortures me . The door swings open , and several black uniformed figures stand there , surrounding a very small , fat , evil-looking person who evidently is their leader .
They all glare at me , and then begin to shout at me : ...... (MORE LATER)<
THE SPINNING SUN.....
In April 2002, 'The Sun' 'paper carried a Page One headline - ' MARRY ! TIME FOR CHARLES TO WED CAMILLA ' , adding "Charles and Camilla are a perfect match.So why does'nt Charles marry her ? Marry her , Charles, the people would warm to you if you did so " .
Two telephone numbers , a 'YES, MARRY' and 'NO,DON'T MARRY' were published, and 'SUN' readers were asked to vote on the ssue . The next day , the 'paper published the results - 59,852 readers in total voted , of which only 16,934 voted 'YES,MARRY' .
However ,the 'SUN' put a spin on the result to suit its own agenda : it stated - "POLL BOOST FOR CAMILLA ; public opposition is falling, a SUN poll reveals today.The number backing a wedding is up fifty per-cent on six years ago " !!
...SUPER SOARAWAY FACTS AND FIGURES.....
T.F.O'Sullivan , an authority on Irish ballads and poetry of that period, wrote that, when published ,'The Memory Of The Dead' -
" Immediately attracted widespread attention , and there was a good deal of speculation as to the author . It was generally felt that a great lyric worthy of a great theme had been written " .
Ingram's ballad was translated into Latin by Robert Yelverton Tyrrell in 1870 and into Irish by Douglas Hyde in 1896 . John Kells Ingram died on 1st May , 1907 , at 84 years of age ; he went to his grave proud of his ballad 'The Memory Of The Dead' , which he wrote to perpetuate the memory of the men and women who , in 1798, fought and died for their country .
"..... several naked figures appear at the windows. The building is thirty yards away . I can see that all the figures are bearded , they all seem to be fairly young , but all their faces are pale and haggard . They are young men , but have old men's faces . Am I gazing at death ? These figures keep staring out at nothing , or pacing to and fro . Footsteps again !
I turn, apprehension again gripping me, to await my door being opened again . My new-found curiosity having diminished , I fall deeper into the depths of depression and despair .The thought of what lies on the other side of that door tortures me . The door swings open , and several black uniformed figures stand there , surrounding a very small , fat , evil-looking person who evidently is their leader .
They all glare at me , and then begin to shout at me : ...... (MORE LATER)<
THE SPINNING SUN.....
In April 2002, 'The Sun' 'paper carried a Page One headline - ' MARRY ! TIME FOR CHARLES TO WED CAMILLA ' , adding "Charles and Camilla are a perfect match.So why does'nt Charles marry her ? Marry her , Charles, the people would warm to you if you did so " .
Two telephone numbers , a 'YES, MARRY' and 'NO,DON'T MARRY' were published, and 'SUN' readers were asked to vote on the ssue . The next day , the 'paper published the results - 59,852 readers in total voted , of which only 16,934 voted 'YES,MARRY' .
However ,the 'SUN' put a spin on the result to suit its own agenda : it stated - "POLL BOOST FOR CAMILLA ; public opposition is falling, a SUN poll reveals today.The number backing a wedding is up fifty per-cent on six years ago " !!
...SUPER SOARAWAY FACTS AND FIGURES.....
Wednesday, June 11, 2003
.....John Kells Ingram , author of the ballad "Who Fears To Speak Of '98 " , was not a supporter of the Irish Republican struggle....
He was a student , in Trinity, of political economy and sociology and those in the College with him often discussed the effects of the 1798 Rising ; it is believed that John Kells Ingram wrote the song 'The Memory of The Dead' in one night in March 1843 , following a long discussion with fellow students about the Rising . He then , anonymously, dropped it in the letter-box of 'The Nation' newspaper , which published it on 1st April , 1843.
Although Irish-born , Ingram considered himself a Unionist but was drawn to the scholarly and impassioned reasoning of Thomas Davis and his colleagues in their quest to end what he himself also considered to be British mis-rule in his native land.He was not anti-Irish , as others in his circle were , and was not a staunch supporter of English rule in Ireland ;however , because of his circumstances, he felt he could not articulate publicly his position .... (MORE LATER)>
" A breeze: I feel a breeze coming from the wall behind me . Feeling about , I touch a piece of cloth . I tug it and it falls . A light of great intensity hits my eyes , temporarily blinding me . My tomb becomes illuminated with light , revealing a window divided with concrete bars . Stepping closer , thousands of lights of every size and colour appear in my view . These lights are perched upon mountains of barbed wire that glitter and sparkle on the ink-black horizon .
Another step forward , and still looking straight ahead , a small building looms up in front of me , displaying a dozen or so windows all of which are brightly lit up . Several naked figures appear at the windows ..... "
----- Bobby Sands , 1st July , 1978 : more later ... >
OOOPS ! Did I say that .....
"Partition is unravelling before our eyes "
--- Provisional Sinn Fein Ard Comhairle member Ann Speed , speaking at that organisations 1995 Ard Fheis .(See 'AP/RN', 2nd March 1995 , page 5).
" He has engaged and listened " .
---- Gerry Adams describing Tony Blair ! (See 'AP/RN', 18th December , 1997, page 3).
" The whole thing is a con-job " .
---- Me , 1998 and now !
He was a student , in Trinity, of political economy and sociology and those in the College with him often discussed the effects of the 1798 Rising ; it is believed that John Kells Ingram wrote the song 'The Memory of The Dead' in one night in March 1843 , following a long discussion with fellow students about the Rising . He then , anonymously, dropped it in the letter-box of 'The Nation' newspaper , which published it on 1st April , 1843.
Although Irish-born , Ingram considered himself a Unionist but was drawn to the scholarly and impassioned reasoning of Thomas Davis and his colleagues in their quest to end what he himself also considered to be British mis-rule in his native land.He was not anti-Irish , as others in his circle were , and was not a staunch supporter of English rule in Ireland ;however , because of his circumstances, he felt he could not articulate publicly his position .... (MORE LATER)>
" A breeze: I feel a breeze coming from the wall behind me . Feeling about , I touch a piece of cloth . I tug it and it falls . A light of great intensity hits my eyes , temporarily blinding me . My tomb becomes illuminated with light , revealing a window divided with concrete bars . Stepping closer , thousands of lights of every size and colour appear in my view . These lights are perched upon mountains of barbed wire that glitter and sparkle on the ink-black horizon .
Another step forward , and still looking straight ahead , a small building looms up in front of me , displaying a dozen or so windows all of which are brightly lit up . Several naked figures appear at the windows ..... "
----- Bobby Sands , 1st July , 1978 : more later ... >
OOOPS ! Did I say that .....
"Partition is unravelling before our eyes "
--- Provisional Sinn Fein Ard Comhairle member Ann Speed , speaking at that organisations 1995 Ard Fheis .(See 'AP/RN', 2nd March 1995 , page 5).
" He has engaged and listened " .
---- Gerry Adams describing Tony Blair ! (See 'AP/RN', 18th December , 1997, page 3).
" The whole thing is a con-job " .
---- Me , 1998 and now !
Tuesday, June 10, 2003
On 1st April , 1843, 'The Nation' newspaper (published by the 'Young Ireland' group) published a ballad entitled 'The Memory of The Dead' ; the song commemorated the 1798 Rising and is perhaps better known by its opening line - " Who fears to speak of '98 " ..... "
The author of the song wanted to remain anonymous and , in his own mind, had reason to......
John Kells Ingram had no sympathy for the Irish Republican cause - he was born the son of a Protestant clergyman , at Templecarne Rectory, near Pettigo in County Donegal , in July 1823. He was educated in Newry and later studied at Trinity College in Dublin and , although he admired the integrity of the Irish rebels and their cause, he was not a supporter . (MORE LATER)>
"It's watching me. Once more the door opens. The dim light gives off a little illumination , revealing the black uniformed figure at the doorway . "I am Sir", it says , "here is your food, 1066". A bowl is thrust into my hands as the door slams. Before the light dies I catch a glimpse of the floor. It is covered in filth and rubbish . There are several maggots clinging to my legs. The walls are covered with a mass of fat bloated flies. Once again I am terror-stricken . I pace the floor, aghast at my surroundings. The bowl in my hand is cold , it contains some sort of porridge or gruel . The smell from it revolts me. I set it down on the floor.
Pacing the floor in total darkness , I become engulfed with depression and despair . I wish I was dead . "But I am dead" , I say aloud. I can't even kill myself , I think " .
----' The Writings of Bobby Sands' , April 1981 - first published in 'Republican News', 1st July 1978 . (MORE LATER)>
On Thursday , 29th May last , the 'Adams Family' loudly protested that the British would not allow elections to be held to the British parliament at Stormont ; in 'AP/RN' on 9th September , 1999, page 10, Gerry Adams described the Stormont Treaty ('Good Friday Agreement') as "British Government policy" and said to Tony Blair's administration that "it must implement British Government policy " in Ireland.
A so-called Irish 'Republican' leader calling on the British to implement its policy in Ireland ?
..... I can't be the only one to be confused...
The author of the song wanted to remain anonymous and , in his own mind, had reason to......
John Kells Ingram had no sympathy for the Irish Republican cause - he was born the son of a Protestant clergyman , at Templecarne Rectory, near Pettigo in County Donegal , in July 1823. He was educated in Newry and later studied at Trinity College in Dublin and , although he admired the integrity of the Irish rebels and their cause, he was not a supporter . (MORE LATER)>
"It's watching me. Once more the door opens. The dim light gives off a little illumination , revealing the black uniformed figure at the doorway . "I am Sir", it says , "here is your food, 1066". A bowl is thrust into my hands as the door slams. Before the light dies I catch a glimpse of the floor. It is covered in filth and rubbish . There are several maggots clinging to my legs. The walls are covered with a mass of fat bloated flies. Once again I am terror-stricken . I pace the floor, aghast at my surroundings. The bowl in my hand is cold , it contains some sort of porridge or gruel . The smell from it revolts me. I set it down on the floor.
Pacing the floor in total darkness , I become engulfed with depression and despair . I wish I was dead . "But I am dead" , I say aloud. I can't even kill myself , I think " .
----' The Writings of Bobby Sands' , April 1981 - first published in 'Republican News', 1st July 1978 . (MORE LATER)>
On Thursday , 29th May last , the 'Adams Family' loudly protested that the British would not allow elections to be held to the British parliament at Stormont ; in 'AP/RN' on 9th September , 1999, page 10, Gerry Adams described the Stormont Treaty ('Good Friday Agreement') as "British Government policy" and said to Tony Blair's administration that "it must implement British Government policy " in Ireland.
A so-called Irish 'Republican' leader calling on the British to implement its policy in Ireland ?
..... I can't be the only one to be confused...
Monday, June 09, 2003
.....for six decades , Brian O'Higgins explained Irish Republicanism to generations of young people , and was hounded by the British and Free Staters for doing so .....
On 10th March , 1963 , at 80 years of age , Brian O'Higgins died in Dublin. Again, like so many men and women mentioned in these columns, he deserves to be remembered as much outside the Movement , as he is within it. People like that are the backbone of the Movement - their efforts and the sacrifices they make are second-nature to them ; they don't seek, or expect, financial gain ; they don't make plans to sit at the so-called 'top table' with the same people who have worked for years to 'tame' them .
Men and women like Brian O'Higgins are not for turning - the Brits and Free Staters are aware of that , label them as 'dissidents and terrorists', purchase half of them and turn them on the other half . And unfortunately, that 'divide and conquer' trick still 'fools' those that are willing to be fooled .....
".....maybe it's better they don't know. They won't break my spirit. I won't let them do that. They can do what they will with me , but I won't concede my spirit . Yes , that's it. Calm down , fight back, show them your spirit , settle down, and get ready for them... There's a bible in the corner- flick through it and stop thinking about it. Six hours ! Take heart ... The prophet Sirach : 'Blessed is he whose heart does not condemn him, and who does not give up hope' .
Remember that . Remember those words . I'm alright. I won't give up hope . No , I won't give up hope " .
-----'The Writings of Bobby Sands' , from an article entitled 'Alone and Condemned' , first published on 13th January , 1979 .
Democratic decisions by the Irish people were made in every general election from the introduction of the secret ballot in 1872 . In each election from then until 1918 , the wish of the Irish people to govern themselves was expressed through the ballot box . In eleven general elections in succession through almost half a century , Irish voters used the ballot to show their will . Sixty per-cent of those elected by the county and borough constituencies in Ireland in 1874 were Home Rulers .
As more people qualified to vote , this demand grew accordingly . Over eighty per-cent of Irish representatives from 1885 onwards were elected to win self-government for the Country . Britain failed to accept the ballot results and , in 1920, when Britain partioned Ireland, they again ignored the votes of the people whom they insisted in keeping under the Butchers Apron ('Union Jack'). Constituencies which in every election for years had voted for Irish self-government were kept within the Unionist state established at that time.
And now we have the stomach-turning sight of so-called 'Irish Republicans' protesting because the British will not hold elections to a British Parliament (Stormont) !
.....they would crawl over a spinning grave to get a British pension .....
Disgusting.
On 10th March , 1963 , at 80 years of age , Brian O'Higgins died in Dublin. Again, like so many men and women mentioned in these columns, he deserves to be remembered as much outside the Movement , as he is within it. People like that are the backbone of the Movement - their efforts and the sacrifices they make are second-nature to them ; they don't seek, or expect, financial gain ; they don't make plans to sit at the so-called 'top table' with the same people who have worked for years to 'tame' them .
Men and women like Brian O'Higgins are not for turning - the Brits and Free Staters are aware of that , label them as 'dissidents and terrorists', purchase half of them and turn them on the other half . And unfortunately, that 'divide and conquer' trick still 'fools' those that are willing to be fooled .....
".....maybe it's better they don't know. They won't break my spirit. I won't let them do that. They can do what they will with me , but I won't concede my spirit . Yes , that's it. Calm down , fight back, show them your spirit , settle down, and get ready for them... There's a bible in the corner- flick through it and stop thinking about it. Six hours ! Take heart ... The prophet Sirach : 'Blessed is he whose heart does not condemn him, and who does not give up hope' .
Remember that . Remember those words . I'm alright. I won't give up hope . No , I won't give up hope " .
-----'The Writings of Bobby Sands' , from an article entitled 'Alone and Condemned' , first published on 13th January , 1979 .
Democratic decisions by the Irish people were made in every general election from the introduction of the secret ballot in 1872 . In each election from then until 1918 , the wish of the Irish people to govern themselves was expressed through the ballot box . In eleven general elections in succession through almost half a century , Irish voters used the ballot to show their will . Sixty per-cent of those elected by the county and borough constituencies in Ireland in 1874 were Home Rulers .
As more people qualified to vote , this demand grew accordingly . Over eighty per-cent of Irish representatives from 1885 onwards were elected to win self-government for the Country . Britain failed to accept the ballot results and , in 1920, when Britain partioned Ireland, they again ignored the votes of the people whom they insisted in keeping under the Butchers Apron ('Union Jack'). Constituencies which in every election for years had voted for Irish self-government were kept within the Unionist state established at that time.
And now we have the stomach-turning sight of so-called 'Irish Republicans' protesting because the British will not hold elections to a British Parliament (Stormont) !
.....they would crawl over a spinning grave to get a British pension .....
Disgusting.
Sunday, June 08, 2003
.....during the round-up of Irish Republicans in May 1918 (the so-called 'German Plot' arrests) , Brian O'Higgins(36) was lifted and imprisoned in Birmingham, England - while in prison , he was elected to represent West Clare in the First Dail Eireann......
In the Spring of 1919 , Brian O'Higgins was released and went to West Clare, where he became a Justice in the Dail Courts . He took the Republican side in the Civil War , having opposed the Treaty, and was arrested in February 1923 - this time he ended up in the Curragh. On his release , he reported back to the Republican Movement and , in 1932, he published the first 'Wolfe Tone Annual ' , which he continued to produce until 1962.
With Joe Clarke's help, Brian O'Higgins published a newspaper, 'The Wolfe Tone Weekly' , which was first published in September 1937 but was quickly suppressed by the Fianna Fail administration. Brian O'Higgins published dozens of articles, books and pamphlets during the 1940's and 1950's on Irish history , songs and poems , under his own name and a pen-name, 'Brian na Bamban' ; for six decades, he explained Irish Republicanism to generations of young people, and was hounded by the British and Free Staters for doing so ..... (MORE LATER)>
"....I'm so scared , I can't even think right. I wish I was at home.I wonder what the family are doing now ? Sitting around the fire in a nice warm room having tea . Jesus , it's getting colder . My feet are blue. I wonder what they are thinking ? What would they think if they knew what is to happen to me ? It would only make it worse , they would suffer, they would worry so much, but maybe they have secretly been expecting this , and never said so. Maybe it's better they don't know ..... " .
---- Bobby Sands, first published on 13th January, 1979. (MORE LATER)>
In 1921 , British General Sir Hubert Gough stated-
" Law and order (in Ireland) have given place to a bloody and brutal anarchy in which the armed agents of the Crown violate every law in aimless and vindictive and insolent savagery . England has departed further from her own standards, and further from the standards even of any nation in the world , not excepting the Turk and Zulu, than has ever been known in history before " .
--- and that from a Brit 'insider' ! At least Gough spoke his mind- the shameless 21st Century-version would deny everything and then go running for his/her 'spin-doctor' and then their lawyer....
In the Spring of 1919 , Brian O'Higgins was released and went to West Clare, where he became a Justice in the Dail Courts . He took the Republican side in the Civil War , having opposed the Treaty, and was arrested in February 1923 - this time he ended up in the Curragh. On his release , he reported back to the Republican Movement and , in 1932, he published the first 'Wolfe Tone Annual ' , which he continued to produce until 1962.
With Joe Clarke's help, Brian O'Higgins published a newspaper, 'The Wolfe Tone Weekly' , which was first published in September 1937 but was quickly suppressed by the Fianna Fail administration. Brian O'Higgins published dozens of articles, books and pamphlets during the 1940's and 1950's on Irish history , songs and poems , under his own name and a pen-name, 'Brian na Bamban' ; for six decades, he explained Irish Republicanism to generations of young people, and was hounded by the British and Free Staters for doing so ..... (MORE LATER)>
"....I'm so scared , I can't even think right. I wish I was at home.I wonder what the family are doing now ? Sitting around the fire in a nice warm room having tea . Jesus , it's getting colder . My feet are blue. I wonder what they are thinking ? What would they think if they knew what is to happen to me ? It would only make it worse , they would suffer, they would worry so much, but maybe they have secretly been expecting this , and never said so. Maybe it's better they don't know ..... " .
---- Bobby Sands, first published on 13th January, 1979. (MORE LATER)>
In 1921 , British General Sir Hubert Gough stated-
" Law and order (in Ireland) have given place to a bloody and brutal anarchy in which the armed agents of the Crown violate every law in aimless and vindictive and insolent savagery . England has departed further from her own standards, and further from the standards even of any nation in the world , not excepting the Turk and Zulu, than has ever been known in history before " .
--- and that from a Brit 'insider' ! At least Gough spoke his mind- the shameless 21st Century-version would deny everything and then go running for his/her 'spin-doctor' and then their lawyer....
.....during the round-up of Irish Republicans in May 1918 (the so-called 'German Plot' arrests) , Brian O'Higgins(36) was lifted and imprisoned in Birmingham, England - while in prison , he was elected to represent West Clare in the First Dail Eireann......
In the Spring of 1919 , Brian O'Higgins was released and went to West Clare, where he became a Justice in the Dail Courts . He took the Republican side in the Civil War , having opposed the Treaty, and was arrested in February 1923 - this time he ended up in the Curragh. On his release , he reported back to the Republican Movement and , in 1932, he published the first 'Wolfe Tone Annual ' , which he continued to produce until 1962.
With Joe Clarke's help, Brian O'Higgins published a newspaper, 'The Wolfe Tone Weekly' , which was first published in September 1937 but was quickly suppressed by the Fianna Fail administration. Brian O'Higgins published dozens of articles, books and pamphlets during the 1940's and 1950's on Irish history , songs and poems , under his own name and a pen-name, 'Brian na Bamban' ; for six decades, he explained Irish Republicanism to generations of young people, and was hounded by the British and Free Staters for doing so ..... (MORE LATER)>
"....I'm so scared , I can't even think right. I wish I was at home.I wonder what the family are doing now ? Sitting around the fire in a nice warm room having tea . Jesus , it's getting colder . My feet are blue. I wonder what they are thinking ? What would they think if they knew what is to happen to me ? It would only make it worse , they would suffer, they would worry so much, but maybe they have secretly been expecting this , and never said so. Maybe it's better they don't know ..... " .
---- Bobby Sands, first published on 13th January, 1979. (MORE LATER)>
In 1921 , British General Sir Hubert Gough stated-
" Law and order (in Ireland) have given place to a bloody and brutal anarchy in which the armed agents of the Crown violate every law in aimless and vindictive and insolent savagery . England has departed further from her own standards, and further from the standards even of any nation in the world , not excepting the Turk and Zulu, than has ever been known in history before " .
--- and that from a Brit 'insider' ! At least Gough spoke his mind- the shameless 21st Century-version would deny everything and then go running for his/her 'spin-doctor' and then their lawyer....
In the Spring of 1919 , Brian O'Higgins was released and went to West Clare, where he became a Justice in the Dail Courts . He took the Republican side in the Civil War , having opposed the Treaty, and was arrested in February 1923 - this time he ended up in the Curragh. On his release , he reported back to the Republican Movement and , in 1932, he published the first 'Wolfe Tone Annual ' , which he continued to produce until 1962.
With Joe Clarke's help, Brian O'Higgins published a newspaper, 'The Wolfe Tone Weekly' , which was first published in September 1937 but was quickly suppressed by the Fianna Fail administration. Brian O'Higgins published dozens of articles, books and pamphlets during the 1940's and 1950's on Irish history , songs and poems , under his own name and a pen-name, 'Brian na Bamban' ; for six decades, he explained Irish Republicanism to generations of young people, and was hounded by the British and Free Staters for doing so ..... (MORE LATER)>
"....I'm so scared , I can't even think right. I wish I was at home.I wonder what the family are doing now ? Sitting around the fire in a nice warm room having tea . Jesus , it's getting colder . My feet are blue. I wonder what they are thinking ? What would they think if they knew what is to happen to me ? It would only make it worse , they would suffer, they would worry so much, but maybe they have secretly been expecting this , and never said so. Maybe it's better they don't know ..... " .
---- Bobby Sands, first published on 13th January, 1979. (MORE LATER)>
In 1921 , British General Sir Hubert Gough stated-
" Law and order (in Ireland) have given place to a bloody and brutal anarchy in which the armed agents of the Crown violate every law in aimless and vindictive and insolent savagery . England has departed further from her own standards, and further from the standards even of any nation in the world , not excepting the Turk and Zulu, than has ever been known in history before " .
--- and that from a Brit 'insider' ! At least Gough spoke his mind- the shameless 21st Century-version would deny everything and then go running for his/her 'spin-doctor' and then their lawyer....
Saturday, June 07, 2003
...... at 22 years young,Brian O'Higgins left Dublin and went home to Glen na Mona in County Meath - he earned his living by writing for local newspapers .....
By the time he was 30 years of age , Brian O'Higgins was challenging , in writing, the British presence in his country and the native apologists for same. His articles were published in like-minded newspapers such as 'Sinn Fein' , 'Irish Freedom' and 'Nationality' and, in those and other newspapers , he wrote against conscription and recruitment into the British Army .
At 34 years young, Brian O'Higgins fought in the GPO during Easter Week 1916 ; following the surrender , he was imprisoned in Stafford Jail in England and Frongoch Internment Camp in Wales - he was released in February 1917. However , during the round-up of republicans in May 1918 (the 'German Plot' arrests), he was lifted and imprisoned in Birmingham , England - while in prison he was elected to represent West Clare in the First Dail Eireann . (MORE LATER)>
".....eight hours, that's all I've left .It will hurt. I know it will hurt. Everyone says it hurts. Oh God, it's not happening to me. It's not happening . I'm trapped . Entombed! No escape ! Nowhere to hide . And nowhere to run . I'm condemned to face what awaits me in eight hours . I can't appeal , I can't plead , they won't even listen , they just laugh, they're glad , they revel in it . That's why they give me a warning of eight hours , to watch me sweat and worry . They have it well planned .
They're watching me now. They're watching me through that little slit in the cell door . They won't give me peace , but what peace can I find ? I'm so scared , I can't even think right . I wish I was at home ..... " .
---- 'The Writings of Bobby Sands' ,April 1981 . (MORE LATER)>
From my lengthy and ever-increasing 'Do-As-I-Say-And-Not-As-I-Do' file ; this one from the 'Private Eye' report entitled 'Rock Bottom', February 1989 , page 3 -
Thames Television proposed to show, in late April 1988, a programme on the Rock of Gibraltar shootings ('Shoot-to-kill' policy) ; the British Tories condemned the TV station and lashed them for propagating "trial by television" . However ,following the Aberfan disaster in South Wales in 1966, a Labour British Attorney-General set up a full-scale public inquiry under a High Court judge. When the judge quietly suggested that press comment on Aberfan might be restricted until the public inquiry , he was subjected to a volley of abuse by the Tories and their friends in the media , who argued that any restriction on comment was "a gross violation of free speech" .
In 1988 , the same politicians and newspapers demanded the restrictions on comment which they had decried in 1966 !
------- it's only "a violation of free speech " if we say it is ....
By the time he was 30 years of age , Brian O'Higgins was challenging , in writing, the British presence in his country and the native apologists for same. His articles were published in like-minded newspapers such as 'Sinn Fein' , 'Irish Freedom' and 'Nationality' and, in those and other newspapers , he wrote against conscription and recruitment into the British Army .
At 34 years young, Brian O'Higgins fought in the GPO during Easter Week 1916 ; following the surrender , he was imprisoned in Stafford Jail in England and Frongoch Internment Camp in Wales - he was released in February 1917. However , during the round-up of republicans in May 1918 (the 'German Plot' arrests), he was lifted and imprisoned in Birmingham , England - while in prison he was elected to represent West Clare in the First Dail Eireann . (MORE LATER)>
".....eight hours, that's all I've left .It will hurt. I know it will hurt. Everyone says it hurts. Oh God, it's not happening to me. It's not happening . I'm trapped . Entombed! No escape ! Nowhere to hide . And nowhere to run . I'm condemned to face what awaits me in eight hours . I can't appeal , I can't plead , they won't even listen , they just laugh, they're glad , they revel in it . That's why they give me a warning of eight hours , to watch me sweat and worry . They have it well planned .
They're watching me now. They're watching me through that little slit in the cell door . They won't give me peace , but what peace can I find ? I'm so scared , I can't even think right . I wish I was at home ..... " .
---- 'The Writings of Bobby Sands' ,April 1981 . (MORE LATER)>
From my lengthy and ever-increasing 'Do-As-I-Say-And-Not-As-I-Do' file ; this one from the 'Private Eye' report entitled 'Rock Bottom', February 1989 , page 3 -
Thames Television proposed to show, in late April 1988, a programme on the Rock of Gibraltar shootings ('Shoot-to-kill' policy) ; the British Tories condemned the TV station and lashed them for propagating "trial by television" . However ,following the Aberfan disaster in South Wales in 1966, a Labour British Attorney-General set up a full-scale public inquiry under a High Court judge. When the judge quietly suggested that press comment on Aberfan might be restricted until the public inquiry , he was subjected to a volley of abuse by the Tories and their friends in the media , who argued that any restriction on comment was "a gross violation of free speech" .
In 1988 , the same politicians and newspapers demanded the restrictions on comment which they had decried in 1966 !
------- it's only "a violation of free speech " if we say it is ....
Friday, June 06, 2003
In Glen na Mona,Kells, County Meath , in July 1882, a child was born who , even to this day, is remembered among Irish Republicans as a soldier,journalist , author and poet .....
Brian O'Higgins was educated at kilskyre National School , but left to work in a relatives shop in Clonmellon on the Meath/Westmeath border in 1896 , at fourteen years of age . It was around that time that he got to know Tom Daly , who was the Editor of the 'Meath Chronicle' newspaper ; Daly saw in the young Brian O'Higgins a flair for the written word , and encouraged him in that regard .
At 19 years young (in 1901) , O'Higgins was being taught Irish by Michael Cusack (GAA founder) in the Gaelic League ; he had moved to Dublin that year and joined the O'Growney branch of same there. In 1904 , he went back home to Glen na Mona and made a living by writing for 'The Meath Chronicle' , the 'Leinster Leader' and 'The Peasant' . (MORE LATER)>
"The heavy steel door of the punishment cell slammed shut behind me. In a bewildered daze I vaguely heard the jingle of keys and the steady footsteps fading away in the wake of its thunderous echo. An ungodly silence fell, leaving only the sound of my sharp rasping breaths .My eyes flashed at the bareness of my humble surroundings . A wooden board for a bed,a concrete block for a stool , a concrete slab as a table . A bright light burned high above me, reflecting off the chalk-white walls , and the severe cold bored through my body and numbed my bare feet .
Naked , alone and condemned, I began to pace the small freezing cold cell ; my thoughts in an entangled mess , riddled with panic, worry and fear. Condemned ! 'We'll be back in eight hours' , that's what they said . Jesus, what time is it now ? Eight hours , that's all I've left ..... "
------- From 'The writings of Bobby Sands' , April 1981 - first published in 'Republican News' , 13th January 1979 . (MORE LATER)>
For twelve years , a Mr. Davison Budhoo worked for the 'International Monetary Fund' (IMF) as an economist , but resigned in early 1988 over the attempt by the IMF to "crucify" the economy of Trinidad and Tobago , in the Caribbean -- "The IMF was never designed to help the 'Third World' or end poverty . It was established by the Bretton Woods conference of 1944 to restore economic and financial order to the western world . There was no element of compassion for humanity in its formulation . The Funds aim is first and foremost to secure the interests of developed countries " .
Yes, Yes- perhaps ; but that was back in 1988 !
Today , in this 21st Century, the initials 'IMF' (bless 'em) stand for 'Idyllic and Magnificent Faculty' .
Don't they ......?
Brian O'Higgins was educated at kilskyre National School , but left to work in a relatives shop in Clonmellon on the Meath/Westmeath border in 1896 , at fourteen years of age . It was around that time that he got to know Tom Daly , who was the Editor of the 'Meath Chronicle' newspaper ; Daly saw in the young Brian O'Higgins a flair for the written word , and encouraged him in that regard .
At 19 years young (in 1901) , O'Higgins was being taught Irish by Michael Cusack (GAA founder) in the Gaelic League ; he had moved to Dublin that year and joined the O'Growney branch of same there. In 1904 , he went back home to Glen na Mona and made a living by writing for 'The Meath Chronicle' , the 'Leinster Leader' and 'The Peasant' . (MORE LATER)>
"The heavy steel door of the punishment cell slammed shut behind me. In a bewildered daze I vaguely heard the jingle of keys and the steady footsteps fading away in the wake of its thunderous echo. An ungodly silence fell, leaving only the sound of my sharp rasping breaths .My eyes flashed at the bareness of my humble surroundings . A wooden board for a bed,a concrete block for a stool , a concrete slab as a table . A bright light burned high above me, reflecting off the chalk-white walls , and the severe cold bored through my body and numbed my bare feet .
Naked , alone and condemned, I began to pace the small freezing cold cell ; my thoughts in an entangled mess , riddled with panic, worry and fear. Condemned ! 'We'll be back in eight hours' , that's what they said . Jesus, what time is it now ? Eight hours , that's all I've left ..... "
------- From 'The writings of Bobby Sands' , April 1981 - first published in 'Republican News' , 13th January 1979 . (MORE LATER)>
For twelve years , a Mr. Davison Budhoo worked for the 'International Monetary Fund' (IMF) as an economist , but resigned in early 1988 over the attempt by the IMF to "crucify" the economy of Trinidad and Tobago , in the Caribbean -- "The IMF was never designed to help the 'Third World' or end poverty . It was established by the Bretton Woods conference of 1944 to restore economic and financial order to the western world . There was no element of compassion for humanity in its formulation . The Funds aim is first and foremost to secure the interests of developed countries " .
Yes, Yes- perhaps ; but that was back in 1988 !
Today , in this 21st Century, the initials 'IMF' (bless 'em) stand for 'Idyllic and Magnificent Faculty' .
Don't they ......?
Thursday, June 05, 2003
.....in November 1922 , while an appeal against his death sentence was pending in the Free State High Court, Robert Erskine Childers was removed from his cell and shot dead by a Free State firing squad in Portobello Barracks, Dublin .....
His Irish Republican credentials are usually ignored by the 'establishment' , who praise his literary prowess - 'The Riddle of The Sands'(1903) ; 'War and the Arme Blanche'(1910) ; 'The Framework of Home Rule'(1911) ; 'Military Rule in Ireland'(1920) ; and 'The Constructive Works of Dail Eireann'(1921).
Robert Erskine Childers was shot dead by order of his former comrades on 24th November, 1922 , at 52 years of age ; those that pulled the trigger were following instructions from traitors.
FOOTNOTE - Robert Barton signed the Treaty of Surrender but later came to reject it;the Free Staters held a grudge for Childers over that issue :
The 'Court' that passed the death sentence on Childers (on 17th November 1922) came into operation on 15th October that same year and,as well as Childers,passed death sentences on seventy-seven Irish Republicans.
"....or throw scalding water around his naked body. It is also inconceivable for me to describe, let alone for you to imagine,our state of mind just sitting waiting for this to happen. I can say that this physical and psychological torture in the H-Blocks has brought many men to the verge of insanity.We are in a very, very bad state now. What will we be like at the end of the day , or in the years to come ? My mind is scarred deep. It is as equally a worrying thought that we may end up unable to even think at all ! With that in 'your' mind, I will leave off. Think about it, but just don't leave it at that " .
----Bobby Sands, from an article entitled 'The Battle for Survival' , first published in the old AP/RN , 27th January, 1979.
.....a paper produced by senior British civil servants in 1948, as the Free State was about to leave the 'Commonwealth' , concluded - " Now that Eire (sic) will shortly cease to owe any allegiance to the Crown, it has become a matter of first-class strategic importance to this country that the North should continue to form part of His Majestys dominions . So far as can be foreseen , it will never be to Great Britains advantage that 'Northern Ireland' (sic) should form part of a territory outside His Majesty's jurisdiction . Indeed , it seems unlikely that Great Britain would ever be able to agree to this even if the people of 'Northern Ireland' (sic) desired it " .
------Well, that's news to me :I always considered the Brits as a neutral , peacekeeping force.....
His Irish Republican credentials are usually ignored by the 'establishment' , who praise his literary prowess - 'The Riddle of The Sands'(1903) ; 'War and the Arme Blanche'(1910) ; 'The Framework of Home Rule'(1911) ; 'Military Rule in Ireland'(1920) ; and 'The Constructive Works of Dail Eireann'(1921).
Robert Erskine Childers was shot dead by order of his former comrades on 24th November, 1922 , at 52 years of age ; those that pulled the trigger were following instructions from traitors.
FOOTNOTE - Robert Barton signed the Treaty of Surrender but later came to reject it;the Free Staters held a grudge for Childers over that issue :
The 'Court' that passed the death sentence on Childers (on 17th November 1922) came into operation on 15th October that same year and,as well as Childers,passed death sentences on seventy-seven Irish Republicans.
"....or throw scalding water around his naked body. It is also inconceivable for me to describe, let alone for you to imagine,our state of mind just sitting waiting for this to happen. I can say that this physical and psychological torture in the H-Blocks has brought many men to the verge of insanity.We are in a very, very bad state now. What will we be like at the end of the day , or in the years to come ? My mind is scarred deep. It is as equally a worrying thought that we may end up unable to even think at all ! With that in 'your' mind, I will leave off. Think about it, but just don't leave it at that " .
----Bobby Sands, from an article entitled 'The Battle for Survival' , first published in the old AP/RN , 27th January, 1979.
.....a paper produced by senior British civil servants in 1948, as the Free State was about to leave the 'Commonwealth' , concluded - " Now that Eire (sic) will shortly cease to owe any allegiance to the Crown, it has become a matter of first-class strategic importance to this country that the North should continue to form part of His Majestys dominions . So far as can be foreseen , it will never be to Great Britains advantage that 'Northern Ireland' (sic) should form part of a territory outside His Majesty's jurisdiction . Indeed , it seems unlikely that Great Britain would ever be able to agree to this even if the people of 'Northern Ireland' (sic) desired it " .
------Well, that's news to me :I always considered the Brits as a neutral , peacekeeping force.....
Wednesday, June 04, 2003
......Robert Erskine Childers was one of the principal secretaries to the Irish delegation in London during the Treaty negotiations from October to December 1921 - he strongly opposed that Treaty of Surrender .....
When the split took place, Erskine Childers supported the Republican side during the Civil War and was appointed IRA Director of Publicity and Editor of the Republican newspaper 'The Republic of Ireland' ('Poblacht na hEireann'). In November 1922 , Childers was imprisoned in Wicklow Jail , having been arrested by Free State troops while visiting his cousin, Robert Barton, at Annamoe, in County Wicklow, ; he was quickly transferred to Portobello Barracks in Dublin where he was viciously tortured and , on 17th November 1922, was court-martialled on a charge of possession of a revolver (which had been given to him by his former comrade, Michael Collins). He was sentenced to death.
The death sentence was appealed and, whilst same was pending in the Free State High Court , Childers was removed from his cell and shot dead by a Free State firing squad in Portobello Barracks, Dublin. (MORE LATER)>
"....but you know they never forget . They don't come. The next day is the same, and the next, and the next.You become more and more depressed . For days your thoughts have been the same , a mass of fear, fearing what lies ahead. Consider being in that frame of mind every day ! Knowing in your mind that you're to be beaten nearly senseless, forcibly bathed, or held down to have your back passage examined or probed. These things are common facts of everyday H-Block life.
It is inconceivable to try to imagine what an eighteen-year old naked lad goes through when a dozen or so screws slaughter him with batons,boots and punches, while dragging him by the hair along a corridor, or when they squeeze his privates until he collapses, or throw scalding water around his naked body ..... ".
From 'The Writings of Bobby Sands' , April 1981. (MORE TOMORROW)>
A 1984 report commissioned by the Institute for European Defence and Strategic Studies recognised that Ireland has been of fundamental strategic importance to Britain since Tudor times , both as a potential foothold for the conquest of Britain and from the point of view of safe-guarding the approaches to Britains western ports. A paper produced by senior British civil servants in 1948 , as the Free State was about to leave the 'Commonwealth' , concluded ---" Now that Eire (sic) will shortly...... " (MORE LATER)>
When the split took place, Erskine Childers supported the Republican side during the Civil War and was appointed IRA Director of Publicity and Editor of the Republican newspaper 'The Republic of Ireland' ('Poblacht na hEireann'). In November 1922 , Childers was imprisoned in Wicklow Jail , having been arrested by Free State troops while visiting his cousin, Robert Barton, at Annamoe, in County Wicklow, ; he was quickly transferred to Portobello Barracks in Dublin where he was viciously tortured and , on 17th November 1922, was court-martialled on a charge of possession of a revolver (which had been given to him by his former comrade, Michael Collins). He was sentenced to death.
The death sentence was appealed and, whilst same was pending in the Free State High Court , Childers was removed from his cell and shot dead by a Free State firing squad in Portobello Barracks, Dublin. (MORE LATER)>
"....but you know they never forget . They don't come. The next day is the same, and the next, and the next.You become more and more depressed . For days your thoughts have been the same , a mass of fear, fearing what lies ahead. Consider being in that frame of mind every day ! Knowing in your mind that you're to be beaten nearly senseless, forcibly bathed, or held down to have your back passage examined or probed. These things are common facts of everyday H-Block life.
It is inconceivable to try to imagine what an eighteen-year old naked lad goes through when a dozen or so screws slaughter him with batons,boots and punches, while dragging him by the hair along a corridor, or when they squeeze his privates until he collapses, or throw scalding water around his naked body ..... ".
From 'The Writings of Bobby Sands' , April 1981. (MORE TOMORROW)>
A 1984 report commissioned by the Institute for European Defence and Strategic Studies recognised that Ireland has been of fundamental strategic importance to Britain since Tudor times , both as a potential foothold for the conquest of Britain and from the point of view of safe-guarding the approaches to Britains western ports. A paper produced by senior British civil servants in 1948 , as the Free State was about to leave the 'Commonwealth' , concluded ---" Now that Eire (sic) will shortly...... " (MORE LATER)>
Tuesday, June 03, 2003
....the Irish Republican , propagandist and world-famous author Robert Erskine Childers married Boston woman Mary Ellen Osgood in 1904 and , six years later, left his job in the British House of Commons to work full-time in politics .....
On 26th July, 1914, Erskine Childers sailed his yacht 'The Asgard' into Howth harbour in Dublin - he was carrying 900 rifles and 14,000 rounds of ammunition for the Irish Volunteers (the material had been purchased in Germany, by Darrell Figgis). At the time of the 'First World War' , when he served in the British Navy, Erskine Childers was, politically, a 'Home Ruler' but , after demobilisation , he embraced Irish Republicanism and vowed to accept nothing less than a British withdrawal from Ireland. In March 1919 , he moved to Dublin and joined Sinn Fein ; he worked with George Gavan Duffy and Sean T.O'Kelly in preparing material to present to the 'Peace Conference' in Paris (see '1169...' archives). He helped in founding a Republican newspaper , ' The Irish Bulletin' , in November 1919 and was appointed Editor of same in March 1921, following the arrest of Desmond Fitzgerald .
Also , in early 1921, he was elected as TD for County Wicklow in the 32-County Dail Eireann , where he distinguished himself as Minister for Publicity . He was one of the principal secretaries to the Irish delegation in London during the Treaty negotiations from October to December 1921, - he strongly opposed the Treaty of Surrender ..... (MORE LATER)>
".....in short, imagine being entombed, naked and alone, for a whole day . What would it be like for twenty torturous months! Now again , with this in mind, try and imagine just what it is like to be in this situation in surroundings that resemble a pigsty, and you are crouched naked upon the floor on a corner, freezing cold, amid the lingering stench of putrifying rubbish, with crawling, wriggling white maggots all around you, fat bloated flies pestering your naked body, the silence is nerve-wrecking, your mind is in turmoil . You are sitting waiting on the screws coming to your cell to drag you out to be forcibly bathed. You have heard and seen the horrible results of this from many of your comrades at Mass. You know only too well what it means : the skin scrubbed from your body with heavy brushes . The screws have told you that you are next. You wait all day, just thinking. Your mind is wrecked.Maybe they've forgotten, you kid yourself ; but you know they never forget.... " .
------- Bobby Sands .
From'The Evening Press' , 30th November 1988 , page 6 --
Imelda Marcos, wife of the (then) deposed Philippiners leader Ferdinand Marcos,accused Nancy Reagan of betraying them by blocking a 'Presidential Pardon' for her and her husband.
----- " When I could do for them, I had friends. Now I don't know anymore who my friends are. I only know from certain people what is happening in Washington and it is that Nancy Reagan is against a pardon. It was Mrs. Reagan who said to me 'Come to your friends in the U S .You will be safe here' . We were promised asylum. This is not asylum. This is a betrayal. "
Imelda went on to say that Nancy was opposed to granting a pardon because she "has been told that granting these pardons will be very detrimental for Reagans historical position " !
....but, Nancy, honey ; that was screwed-up anyway !
On 26th July, 1914, Erskine Childers sailed his yacht 'The Asgard' into Howth harbour in Dublin - he was carrying 900 rifles and 14,000 rounds of ammunition for the Irish Volunteers (the material had been purchased in Germany, by Darrell Figgis). At the time of the 'First World War' , when he served in the British Navy, Erskine Childers was, politically, a 'Home Ruler' but , after demobilisation , he embraced Irish Republicanism and vowed to accept nothing less than a British withdrawal from Ireland. In March 1919 , he moved to Dublin and joined Sinn Fein ; he worked with George Gavan Duffy and Sean T.O'Kelly in preparing material to present to the 'Peace Conference' in Paris (see '1169...' archives). He helped in founding a Republican newspaper , ' The Irish Bulletin' , in November 1919 and was appointed Editor of same in March 1921, following the arrest of Desmond Fitzgerald .
Also , in early 1921, he was elected as TD for County Wicklow in the 32-County Dail Eireann , where he distinguished himself as Minister for Publicity . He was one of the principal secretaries to the Irish delegation in London during the Treaty negotiations from October to December 1921, - he strongly opposed the Treaty of Surrender ..... (MORE LATER)>
".....in short, imagine being entombed, naked and alone, for a whole day . What would it be like for twenty torturous months! Now again , with this in mind, try and imagine just what it is like to be in this situation in surroundings that resemble a pigsty, and you are crouched naked upon the floor on a corner, freezing cold, amid the lingering stench of putrifying rubbish, with crawling, wriggling white maggots all around you, fat bloated flies pestering your naked body, the silence is nerve-wrecking, your mind is in turmoil . You are sitting waiting on the screws coming to your cell to drag you out to be forcibly bathed. You have heard and seen the horrible results of this from many of your comrades at Mass. You know only too well what it means : the skin scrubbed from your body with heavy brushes . The screws have told you that you are next. You wait all day, just thinking. Your mind is wrecked.Maybe they've forgotten, you kid yourself ; but you know they never forget.... " .
------- Bobby Sands .
From'The Evening Press' , 30th November 1988 , page 6 --
Imelda Marcos, wife of the (then) deposed Philippiners leader Ferdinand Marcos,accused Nancy Reagan of betraying them by blocking a 'Presidential Pardon' for her and her husband.
----- " When I could do for them, I had friends. Now I don't know anymore who my friends are. I only know from certain people what is happening in Washington and it is that Nancy Reagan is against a pardon. It was Mrs. Reagan who said to me 'Come to your friends in the U S .You will be safe here' . We were promised asylum. This is not asylum. This is a betrayal. "
Imelda went on to say that Nancy was opposed to granting a pardon because she "has been told that granting these pardons will be very detrimental for Reagans historical position " !
....but, Nancy, honey ; that was screwed-up anyway !
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