A HISTORY OF ARMAGH JAIL .......
The women's prison in the North of Ireland is situated in the centre of the Protestant/Loyalist city of Armagh .
It was built in the 19th century , a huge granite building which today sports all the trappings of a high-security jail such as barbed wire , guards , arc-lamps , and closed circuit television cameras .
First published in the booklet ' STRIP SEARCHES IN ARMAGH JAIL' , produced , in February 1984 , by 'The London Armagh Group' .
In Ireland and in Britain , tens of thousands of people marched in opposition to the British Government's policy of internment : but the shooting dead of 14 unarmed people without any provocation on Bloody Sunday (January 30 , 1972) spelt out clearly that in the North of Ireland mass political peaceful and even pacifist protest by those supporting nothing more than equal civil rights for Catholics would not be tolerated by the British government .
Internment and particularly Bloody Sunday convinced many young people that the British government had no intention of listening to anyone who could not force them to listen . Armed raids on the Catholic ghettoes continued and , as one woman described it , "...anyone who could walk on two legs was making petrol bombs .. " . Not surprisingly , women began to be sentenced to long terms of imprisonment .
Special Category Status was won in 1973 due to hunger strikes by two male political prisoners in Crumlin Road Jail - this meant that all political prisoners could now wear their own clothing , associate freely , receive food parcels and visits every week , organise their own recreation and education and obtain 50 per cent remission of sentence . In Armagh , Special Category Status allowed women the chance to take education and examinations . CSE and RSA exams were sat and classes in Irish , maths , geography , dressmaking , art , music , physical education and handicrafts were held . The prisoners could walk freely from one side of the prison to the other .
There was a kitchen on the wing , and with twice-weekly food parcels (if relatives could afford them) the demoralising prison food was supplemented . As one political prisoner was later to say - " It was'nt a holiday camp but at least you did'nt feel like you were dying from the neck up ....... "
(MORE LATER).
ELECTION INTERVENTIONS.......
Despite the fact that SINN FEIN has been contesting local elections in the 26 counties for more than two decades , much comment has been passed and incorrectly interpreted about Republican involvement in elections - north and south of the British-imposed border - in the past several months .
Here we review Republican interventions in the electoral process for the past century and more .
From 'IRIS' magazine , Volume 1 , Number 2 , November 1981 .
The First Dail was making its presence felt , against the background of an increasingly escalating IRA campaign , to the point where even British political commentators were beginning to refer to the Dail and Sinn Fein as the "...de facto government in three-quarters of Ireland .. " . In the local government elections of 1920 Sinn Fein won an overwhelming endorsement of their position : in Ulster , both Tyrone and Fermanagh County Councils , with twenty three town councils , were out of Unionist control ; the Unionists had a majority in only twenty two councils .
In the meantime the British government had passed their 'Better Government of Ireland Bill' - a throw back to the 'Home Rule' days with the added mixture of two domestic bicameral parliaments in Ireland - one for the six north easterly counties and the other for the remaining twenty-six counties . An all-Ireland council with equal representation for the 'two parts' of Ireland was to provide a forum for six and twenty-six county interests and there were to be provisions whereby various functions of both 'parliaments' could be transferred to the all-Ireland Council .
The Westminster Parliament was to retain control of all 'imperial concerns' including trade , customs and excise , defence and foreign affairs . As can be seen , the 'powers' devolved to the two partitionist parliaments were very limited . Finally , the 'Act' declared that if the majority of members of either 'parliament' had not taken their oath of allegiance to the British Crown within fourteen days of the date fixed for the opening of the 'parliaments' , then the assembly in question would be dissolved and that 'part' of Ireland would be administered as a British Crown colony.......
(MORE LATER).
23 DAYS IN HELL : THE STORY OF THE O'GRADY KIDNAPPING .......
The Gardai had in their possession a clue which could have led them to the O'Grady kidnappers and their captive some ten days earlier .
A card found in a rucksack after the Midleton shoot-out led them directly to the gang once they checked it out - but this was ten days later , by which time John O 'Grady had lost two of his fingers .
First published in 'MAGILL' Magazine , May 1988 .
By Michael O'Higgins .
The gardai knew that Dessie O' Hare would be travelling in a green BMW car ; they knew its registration number , and the road it would be on at lunchtime on Friday November 27 (1987) . An armed checkpoint was set up . The BMW was now driving towards that checkpoint . Word spread quickly down the garda line to be ready - members of the State Army were there as back-up .
As the car came nearer it swerved , as if the driver had braked suddenly . Dessie O' Hare was driving , Martin Bryan was in the passenger seat . O' Hare rolled down the window - " How's it going? " Inspector Moriarty asked O' Hare , who nodded in reply . Moriarty asked him where they were coming from . O' Hare muttered "Kilkenny." At this stage Moriarty did not recognise the driver as O' Hare , who was dressed in a grey suit and collar and tie - he looked more like a solicitor than the 'Border Fox' . He had blonde highlights in his hair as well .
Moriarty's hesitation may also have been grounded in the fact that the gardai had been told to expect O' Hare to be in the passenger seat . Moriarty turned his attention to the passenger , Martin Bryan , asking him a couple of questions to which Bryan made no reply . He was then ordered out of the car . Bryan moved as if to open the seat belt but produced a gun : at that very moment Sergeant Joseph D'Arcy , who was behind a wall covering Inspector Moriarty , recognised O' Hare and shouted - " That's him . Get him out of the car ." Moriarty jumped back when Bryan produced the gun ; Detective Sergeant O' Rourke already had his hand on his revolver - the BMW rushed forward in a wheel-spin .
From their concealed positions the State Army and the gardai opened fire ; the BMW came to a halt when it crashed into the garda car and a State Army landrover , which had been spread across the road . There was a pause . Dessie O' Hare pointed a gun out the window and started firing at the State soldiers and the gardai to his right . One of the two shots he managed to fire grazed a Lieutenant's leg : the firing started again . The BMW was hit thirty-six times in all . Dessie O' Hare was slumped over towards Martin Bryan , who was already dead . Inspector Moriarty ordered his men to stay in position , as he and Detective Sergeant O' Rourke approached the car.......
(MORE LATER).
( To the person seeking more information on Tom D : I can only suggest you enter his full name in our 'Searchbox' ...and hope for the best ! Thank you for the visit . Sharon )
Thursday, November 03, 2005
A HISTORY OF ARMAGH JAIL .
The women's prison in the North of Ireland is situated in the centre of the Protestant/Loyalist city of Armagh .
It was built in the 19th century , a huge granite building which today sports all the trappings of a high-security jail such as barbed wire , guards , arc-lamps , and closed circuit television cameras .
First published in the booklet ' STRIP SEARCHES IN ARMAGH JAIL' , produced , in February 1984 , by 'The London Armagh Group' .
Before the 1970's , Armagh Jail was hardly heard of ; it served as hostel/prison/'drying-out' institution for women criminalised for the usual survival 'crimes' such as theft , alcoholism and prostitution . Few prisoners were in the jail : in fact , in 1969 , the total was 8 !
Armagh Jail hit the headlines in 1970 when Bernadette Devlin MP was sentenced to six months for leading the people of the Bogside in Derry against the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) . She was no criminal , nor was she termed one . She carried out her constituency work from her 11 ft by 8ft cell .
A mandatory sentence of six months in jail for anyone whom an RUC member said had been rioting brought a handful of political prisoners to Armagh ; they were allowed two letters per month , one visit per week and no touching of visitors was permitted . Although the Civil Rights Movement had been widely supported internationally and propaganda proclaimed that the British Army was in the North of Ireland to protect Catholics from a bigoted anti-Catholic 'police force' , Catholics - who were perceived as potential Irish nationalists by the Unionists - were gradually being transformed by the propaganda machine into 'the baddies' .
When internment was introduced by them on August 9 , 1971 , the British government locked up hundreds of actual and potential political opponents without any 'crimes' having been proven or even claimed to have been committed .......
(MORE LATER).
ELECTION INTERVENTIONS.......
Despite the fact that SINN FEIN has been contesting local elections in the 26 counties for more than two decades , much comment has been passed and incorrectly interpreted about Republican involvement in elections - north and south of the British-imposed border - in the past several months .
Here we review Republican interventions in the electoral process for the past century and more .
From 'IRIS' magazine , Volume 1 , Number 2 , November 1981 .
Early in January 1919 , Sinn Fein representatives convened the constituent assembly promised in their election manifesto ; the successful candidates in all Irish constituencies , of whatever political complexion , were invited to take their seats in Dail Eireann at its opening session on 21st January 1919 ; as expected , only the members of parliament elected as Sinn Fein candidates attended .
They approved a provisional constitution , endorsed a declaration of independence , appointed delegates to the Peace Conference in Versailles , sanctioned a message to the free nations of the world and adopted a democratic programme of social and economic reform .
While , initially , merely a de jure government , the 1st Dail were quickly successful in establishing some really workable ministries . In particular , the Ministry of Finance , which raised £358,000 in a ' Dail Eireann National Loan' . By 1920 virtually all local bodies switched their allegiance from the (British) 'Local Government Board' to the Dail Local Government Ministry , and in agriculture , where a Land Bank , which advanced small loans for land purchase , flourished .
The most successful aspect of the 1st Dail machinery was in the system of 'Dail Courts' or 'Sinn Fein Courts' , which made decisions in various spheres from land to criminal activity and which managed to supplant to a very large degree the British judicial system .......
(MORE LATER).
23 DAYS IN HELL : THE STORY OF THE O'GRADY KIDNAPPING .......
The Gardai had in their possession a clue which could have led them to the O'Grady kidnappers and their captive some ten days earlier .
A card found in a rucksack after the Midleton shoot-out led them directly to the gang once they checked it out - but this was ten days later , by which time John O 'Grady had lost two of his fingers .
First published in 'MAGILL' Magazine , May 1988 .
By Michael O'Higgins .
After being interviewed by Free State Detectives , Tony McNeill was handed notes made out by them and 'invited' to sign them - he declined , and asked that a reference to him 'going down for 25 years' be changed to read 'a long time' . McNeill did'nt want to give the trial judges any ideas .
Gerry Wright was a broken man ; he was arrested immediately after the shoot out at Carnlough Road under Section 30 of The Offences Against The State Act and taken to the Bridewell Station for questioning , where he made statements admitting providing food and shelter for the kidnappers . In the beginning he had become involved because O' Hare and his gang had promised to 'take care' of the man who had shot his brother . As the kidnap progressed the gang had coerced and threatened him , and he was afraid and could see no way out .
27. " Fading , fading , fading fast .. "
It was hard information and very specific - Dessie O' Hare was expected to travel in a green BMW car , registration number 220 EID , on the main Kilkenny to Urlingford road at lunchtime on Friday , November 27 , 1987 . The gardai seem to have got the information around eleven o'clock in the morning . Gardai were recalled from other operational duties and told to report to the Balief Cross , fifteen miles outside Kilkenny to set up a roadblock . The (FS) Army was contacted just after eleven o'clock and asked to provide a company platoon of thirty-two troops as back-up . The roadblock was in position by 12.30 pm .
Nearly an hour later the gardai received a message over the radio to expect the car in the next fifteen to twenty minutes ; there were two garda patrol cars and a (FS) Army landrover blocking the road . Armed gardai and soldiers were in position . Inspector Moriarty from the Tipperary Garda Division and Detective Sergeant P.J. O' Rourke set up a check-point about seventy yards in front of the roadblock . An unmarked patrol car was hidden up a lane further down the road . Once the BMW drove up to the checkpoint the hidden car would move out on the road cutting off its retreat .
They saw the BMW approaching in the distance . " Here we go . This is it , " O' Rourke said to his men .......
(MORE LATER).
The women's prison in the North of Ireland is situated in the centre of the Protestant/Loyalist city of Armagh .
It was built in the 19th century , a huge granite building which today sports all the trappings of a high-security jail such as barbed wire , guards , arc-lamps , and closed circuit television cameras .
First published in the booklet ' STRIP SEARCHES IN ARMAGH JAIL' , produced , in February 1984 , by 'The London Armagh Group' .
Before the 1970's , Armagh Jail was hardly heard of ; it served as hostel/prison/'drying-out' institution for women criminalised for the usual survival 'crimes' such as theft , alcoholism and prostitution . Few prisoners were in the jail : in fact , in 1969 , the total was 8 !
Armagh Jail hit the headlines in 1970 when Bernadette Devlin MP was sentenced to six months for leading the people of the Bogside in Derry against the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) . She was no criminal , nor was she termed one . She carried out her constituency work from her 11 ft by 8ft cell .
A mandatory sentence of six months in jail for anyone whom an RUC member said had been rioting brought a handful of political prisoners to Armagh ; they were allowed two letters per month , one visit per week and no touching of visitors was permitted . Although the Civil Rights Movement had been widely supported internationally and propaganda proclaimed that the British Army was in the North of Ireland to protect Catholics from a bigoted anti-Catholic 'police force' , Catholics - who were perceived as potential Irish nationalists by the Unionists - were gradually being transformed by the propaganda machine into 'the baddies' .
When internment was introduced by them on August 9 , 1971 , the British government locked up hundreds of actual and potential political opponents without any 'crimes' having been proven or even claimed to have been committed .......
(MORE LATER).
ELECTION INTERVENTIONS.......
Despite the fact that SINN FEIN has been contesting local elections in the 26 counties for more than two decades , much comment has been passed and incorrectly interpreted about Republican involvement in elections - north and south of the British-imposed border - in the past several months .
Here we review Republican interventions in the electoral process for the past century and more .
From 'IRIS' magazine , Volume 1 , Number 2 , November 1981 .
Early in January 1919 , Sinn Fein representatives convened the constituent assembly promised in their election manifesto ; the successful candidates in all Irish constituencies , of whatever political complexion , were invited to take their seats in Dail Eireann at its opening session on 21st January 1919 ; as expected , only the members of parliament elected as Sinn Fein candidates attended .
They approved a provisional constitution , endorsed a declaration of independence , appointed delegates to the Peace Conference in Versailles , sanctioned a message to the free nations of the world and adopted a democratic programme of social and economic reform .
While , initially , merely a de jure government , the 1st Dail were quickly successful in establishing some really workable ministries . In particular , the Ministry of Finance , which raised £358,000 in a ' Dail Eireann National Loan' . By 1920 virtually all local bodies switched their allegiance from the (British) 'Local Government Board' to the Dail Local Government Ministry , and in agriculture , where a Land Bank , which advanced small loans for land purchase , flourished .
The most successful aspect of the 1st Dail machinery was in the system of 'Dail Courts' or 'Sinn Fein Courts' , which made decisions in various spheres from land to criminal activity and which managed to supplant to a very large degree the British judicial system .......
(MORE LATER).
23 DAYS IN HELL : THE STORY OF THE O'GRADY KIDNAPPING .......
The Gardai had in their possession a clue which could have led them to the O'Grady kidnappers and their captive some ten days earlier .
A card found in a rucksack after the Midleton shoot-out led them directly to the gang once they checked it out - but this was ten days later , by which time John O 'Grady had lost two of his fingers .
First published in 'MAGILL' Magazine , May 1988 .
By Michael O'Higgins .
After being interviewed by Free State Detectives , Tony McNeill was handed notes made out by them and 'invited' to sign them - he declined , and asked that a reference to him 'going down for 25 years' be changed to read 'a long time' . McNeill did'nt want to give the trial judges any ideas .
Gerry Wright was a broken man ; he was arrested immediately after the shoot out at Carnlough Road under Section 30 of The Offences Against The State Act and taken to the Bridewell Station for questioning , where he made statements admitting providing food and shelter for the kidnappers . In the beginning he had become involved because O' Hare and his gang had promised to 'take care' of the man who had shot his brother . As the kidnap progressed the gang had coerced and threatened him , and he was afraid and could see no way out .
27. " Fading , fading , fading fast .. "
It was hard information and very specific - Dessie O' Hare was expected to travel in a green BMW car , registration number 220 EID , on the main Kilkenny to Urlingford road at lunchtime on Friday , November 27 , 1987 . The gardai seem to have got the information around eleven o'clock in the morning . Gardai were recalled from other operational duties and told to report to the Balief Cross , fifteen miles outside Kilkenny to set up a roadblock . The (FS) Army was contacted just after eleven o'clock and asked to provide a company platoon of thirty-two troops as back-up . The roadblock was in position by 12.30 pm .
Nearly an hour later the gardai received a message over the radio to expect the car in the next fifteen to twenty minutes ; there were two garda patrol cars and a (FS) Army landrover blocking the road . Armed gardai and soldiers were in position . Inspector Moriarty from the Tipperary Garda Division and Detective Sergeant P.J. O' Rourke set up a check-point about seventy yards in front of the roadblock . An unmarked patrol car was hidden up a lane further down the road . Once the BMW drove up to the checkpoint the hidden car would move out on the road cutting off its retreat .
They saw the BMW approaching in the distance . " Here we go . This is it , " O' Rourke said to his men .......
(MORE LATER).
Wednesday, November 02, 2005
UDR'S ROTTEN APPLES.......
Five members of the 'Ulster Defence Regiment' , formerly based at Drummad Barracks in Armagh , have been charged with murder , and the recent visits to this barracks by both the Duke of Edinburgh and Mrs Thatcher caused an uproar in the North .
But how exceptional are the 'Drummad Five' ? Just how many 'rotten apples' are there in the 'Ulster Defence Regiment' , which is now the principal back-up force to the RUC in the North of Ireland ?
We have chronicled herewith almost one hundred cases where members of the 'Ulster Defence Regiment' (UDR) have been charged with serious offences , mostly involving firearms or explosives . It is a directory of Dishonourable Discharge that is unmatched in the 'security forces' of any country in Europe and probably not even in South America . And even this list does not claim to be exhaustive .
From 'The Phoenix' magazine , 30 March 1984 .
JOHN THOMPSON , jailed for three years at Belfast Crown Court in May 1974 for manslaughter of Phillip Lowrey . The killing was described in court as "...an accident.. " .
GERALD TODD of Belfast , sentenced to one year (suspended) in January 1973 for the illegal possession of a sub-machine gun .
DENIS GEORGE WARTON of Loughgilly , County Armagh , jailed for six months in September 1977 for armed robbery .
PATRICIA SHIRLEY WHYTE , UDR 'Greenfinch' , of Limavady , charged in February 1984 for attempted murder of a local woman in the same month .
WILLIAM MICHAEL WORKMAN of Islandmagee , County Antrim , sentenced to five years in March 1977 for possession of a sub-machine gun and three other guns . Known to be the 'Training Officer' of the East Antrim UVF .
KENNETH YOUNG of Portadown , sentenced to five years in February 1978 for shooting up (Catholic) Obins Street area on July 12 , 1977 .
[END of ' UDR'S ROTTEN APPLES ' .]
(Tomorrow - 'A History of Armagh Jail' : from 1984.)
ELECTION INTERVENTIONS.......
Despite the fact that SINN FEIN has been contesting local elections in the 26 counties for more than two decades , much comment has been passed and incorrectly interpreted about Republican involvement in elections - north and south of the British-imposed border - in the past several months .
Here we review Republican interventions in the electoral process for the past century and more .
From 'IRIS' magazine , Volume 1 , Number 2 , November 1981 .
The poor people and the young people , always supportive of Irish Republicanism , were voting in greater numbers (in the December 1918 election) than before ; this , allied with the number of prominent nationalists of 'the old school' who came out publicly in support of Sinn Fein candidates and the failure of the 'Nationalist Party' to muster an election machine , in no less than 26 constituencies , meant that these constituencies , representing nearly a quarter of the total Irish electorate , went to Sinn Fein even before polling day .
The Sinn Fein election manifesto made it clear that Sinn Fein stood for an Irish Republic and that its elected candidates , refusing to attend at Westminster , would form a National Assemby in Dublin . The results of the election were Sinn Fein 73 seats , Unionists 26 . The Nationalist Home Rule Party retained only six seats , four of which it held thanks to an electoral pact with Sinn Fein . Of the Unionist vote there was a Unionist majority in only four of the nine Ulster counties and in only one of these , County Antrim , was it as high as two to one .
Equally interesting was that although Sinn Fein with a vote of 485,105 had won nearly all the nationalist seats, 237,293 nationalists voted for the 'Nationalist Party' and , presumably , against Sinn Fein . Despite this , however , for the first time in Irish history a party demanding total sovereign independence for Ireland had received a massive national mandate from the Irish people and the Republic , proclaimed in arms in 1916 , was ratified by popular vote . The old 'Nationalist Party' , which had dominated Irish (constitutional) politics for over thirty-five years and held sixty-eight seats in the British House of Commons had been virtually obliterated , at least in terms of seats .
Sinn Fein won 47 per cent of all votes cast and almost 65 per cent of the votes cast in what afterwards was to become known as ' the 26 counties ' .......
(MORE LATER).
23 DAYS IN HELL : THE STORY OF THE O'GRADY KIDNAPPING .......
The Gardai had in their possession a clue which could have led them to the O'Grady kidnappers and their captive some ten days earlier .
A card found in a rucksack after the Midleton shoot-out led them directly to the gang once they checked it out - but this was ten days later , by which time John O 'Grady had lost two of his fingers .
First published in 'MAGILL' Magazine , May 1988 .
By Michael O'Higgins .
A £100,000 reward for the capture of Dessie O' Hare had been offered by the Free State Cabinet ; the gardai , meanwhile , were raiding houses of known INLA sympathisers ; on the morning of November 11 , 1987 , eleven armed Detectives with uniformed back-up support called to a house in Le Fanu Drive in Ballyfermot , Dublin - they knocked on the door but got no reply . Detective Sergeant Michael Carolan kicked the door down . Tony McNeill was asleep in the living room on a couch . He gave the Detectives a false name , but was recognised by some of the raiding party who put it to him that he was 'Anthony McNeill' ; he made no reply . There was a gun in his jacket , and a letter addressed to " ...those I love , especially my mother .. " .
In that letter was a poem dedicated to his three-year-old-son , entitled - ' A Bright Star' . McNeill was arrested under Section 30 of the Offences Against the State Act and taken to Ballyfermot Garda Station : once there , he made a half-hearted bid to escape - he was said to be consumed with remorse . " I wish I was dead, " he told Detectives , who claimed that he broke down in tears while in custody and pleaded with them to contact his family to re-assure them that he had played no part in the severing of John O' Grady's fingers and that he had argued against cutting off the fingers and , when it happened , had prayed for John O' Grady .
He was asked if he had tried to prevent the other gang members cutting off John O' Grady's fingers - " No ," he replied , " but when he (Dessie O' Hare) gets wired up nobody could stop him . He acts like he is in Vietnam . " Tony McNeill was said to be co-operative in garda custody , freely admitting his involvement in the kidnap . He refused , however , to discuss specific incidents . " I will have to live with these fellows in Portlaoise, " he told them . One of the detectives asked him " How in the name of Christ did you get involved with O' Hare ? " " I used to think he was a socialist , but I know now he is one dastardly bastard , " he responded .......
(MORE LATER).
Five members of the 'Ulster Defence Regiment' , formerly based at Drummad Barracks in Armagh , have been charged with murder , and the recent visits to this barracks by both the Duke of Edinburgh and Mrs Thatcher caused an uproar in the North .
But how exceptional are the 'Drummad Five' ? Just how many 'rotten apples' are there in the 'Ulster Defence Regiment' , which is now the principal back-up force to the RUC in the North of Ireland ?
We have chronicled herewith almost one hundred cases where members of the 'Ulster Defence Regiment' (UDR) have been charged with serious offences , mostly involving firearms or explosives . It is a directory of Dishonourable Discharge that is unmatched in the 'security forces' of any country in Europe and probably not even in South America . And even this list does not claim to be exhaustive .
From 'The Phoenix' magazine , 30 March 1984 .
JOHN THOMPSON , jailed for three years at Belfast Crown Court in May 1974 for manslaughter of Phillip Lowrey . The killing was described in court as "...an accident.. " .
GERALD TODD of Belfast , sentenced to one year (suspended) in January 1973 for the illegal possession of a sub-machine gun .
DENIS GEORGE WARTON of Loughgilly , County Armagh , jailed for six months in September 1977 for armed robbery .
PATRICIA SHIRLEY WHYTE , UDR 'Greenfinch' , of Limavady , charged in February 1984 for attempted murder of a local woman in the same month .
WILLIAM MICHAEL WORKMAN of Islandmagee , County Antrim , sentenced to five years in March 1977 for possession of a sub-machine gun and three other guns . Known to be the 'Training Officer' of the East Antrim UVF .
KENNETH YOUNG of Portadown , sentenced to five years in February 1978 for shooting up (Catholic) Obins Street area on July 12 , 1977 .
[END of ' UDR'S ROTTEN APPLES ' .]
(Tomorrow - 'A History of Armagh Jail' : from 1984.)
ELECTION INTERVENTIONS.......
Despite the fact that SINN FEIN has been contesting local elections in the 26 counties for more than two decades , much comment has been passed and incorrectly interpreted about Republican involvement in elections - north and south of the British-imposed border - in the past several months .
Here we review Republican interventions in the electoral process for the past century and more .
From 'IRIS' magazine , Volume 1 , Number 2 , November 1981 .
The poor people and the young people , always supportive of Irish Republicanism , were voting in greater numbers (in the December 1918 election) than before ; this , allied with the number of prominent nationalists of 'the old school' who came out publicly in support of Sinn Fein candidates and the failure of the 'Nationalist Party' to muster an election machine , in no less than 26 constituencies , meant that these constituencies , representing nearly a quarter of the total Irish electorate , went to Sinn Fein even before polling day .
The Sinn Fein election manifesto made it clear that Sinn Fein stood for an Irish Republic and that its elected candidates , refusing to attend at Westminster , would form a National Assemby in Dublin . The results of the election were Sinn Fein 73 seats , Unionists 26 . The Nationalist Home Rule Party retained only six seats , four of which it held thanks to an electoral pact with Sinn Fein . Of the Unionist vote there was a Unionist majority in only four of the nine Ulster counties and in only one of these , County Antrim , was it as high as two to one .
Equally interesting was that although Sinn Fein with a vote of 485,105 had won nearly all the nationalist seats, 237,293 nationalists voted for the 'Nationalist Party' and , presumably , against Sinn Fein . Despite this , however , for the first time in Irish history a party demanding total sovereign independence for Ireland had received a massive national mandate from the Irish people and the Republic , proclaimed in arms in 1916 , was ratified by popular vote . The old 'Nationalist Party' , which had dominated Irish (constitutional) politics for over thirty-five years and held sixty-eight seats in the British House of Commons had been virtually obliterated , at least in terms of seats .
Sinn Fein won 47 per cent of all votes cast and almost 65 per cent of the votes cast in what afterwards was to become known as ' the 26 counties ' .......
(MORE LATER).
23 DAYS IN HELL : THE STORY OF THE O'GRADY KIDNAPPING .......
The Gardai had in their possession a clue which could have led them to the O'Grady kidnappers and their captive some ten days earlier .
A card found in a rucksack after the Midleton shoot-out led them directly to the gang once they checked it out - but this was ten days later , by which time John O 'Grady had lost two of his fingers .
First published in 'MAGILL' Magazine , May 1988 .
By Michael O'Higgins .
A £100,000 reward for the capture of Dessie O' Hare had been offered by the Free State Cabinet ; the gardai , meanwhile , were raiding houses of known INLA sympathisers ; on the morning of November 11 , 1987 , eleven armed Detectives with uniformed back-up support called to a house in Le Fanu Drive in Ballyfermot , Dublin - they knocked on the door but got no reply . Detective Sergeant Michael Carolan kicked the door down . Tony McNeill was asleep in the living room on a couch . He gave the Detectives a false name , but was recognised by some of the raiding party who put it to him that he was 'Anthony McNeill' ; he made no reply . There was a gun in his jacket , and a letter addressed to " ...those I love , especially my mother .. " .
In that letter was a poem dedicated to his three-year-old-son , entitled - ' A Bright Star' . McNeill was arrested under Section 30 of the Offences Against the State Act and taken to Ballyfermot Garda Station : once there , he made a half-hearted bid to escape - he was said to be consumed with remorse . " I wish I was dead, " he told Detectives , who claimed that he broke down in tears while in custody and pleaded with them to contact his family to re-assure them that he had played no part in the severing of John O' Grady's fingers and that he had argued against cutting off the fingers and , when it happened , had prayed for John O' Grady .
He was asked if he had tried to prevent the other gang members cutting off John O' Grady's fingers - " No ," he replied , " but when he (Dessie O' Hare) gets wired up nobody could stop him . He acts like he is in Vietnam . " Tony McNeill was said to be co-operative in garda custody , freely admitting his involvement in the kidnap . He refused , however , to discuss specific incidents . " I will have to live with these fellows in Portlaoise, " he told them . One of the detectives asked him " How in the name of Christ did you get involved with O' Hare ? " " I used to think he was a socialist , but I know now he is one dastardly bastard , " he responded .......
(MORE LATER).
Tuesday, November 01, 2005
UDR'S ROTTEN APPLES.......
Five members of the 'Ulster Defence Regiment' , formerly based at Drummad Barracks in Armagh , have been charged with murder , and the recent visits to this barracks by both the Duke of Edinburgh and Mrs Thatcher caused an uproar in the North .
But how exceptional are the 'Drummad Five' ? Just how many 'rotten apples' are there in the 'Ulster Defence Regiment' , which is now the principal back-up force to the RUC in the North of Ireland ?
We have chronicled herewith almost one hundred cases where members of the 'Ulster Defence Regiment' (UDR) have been charged with serious offences , mostly involving firearms or explosives . It is a directory of Dishonourable Discharge that is unmatched in the 'security forces' of any country in Europe and probably not even in South America . And even this list does not claim to be exhaustive .
From 'The Phoenix' magazine , 30 March 1984 .
BRIAN ROBERTS , sentenced to life in January 1983 for killing of Liam Canning at Alliance Avenue on August 9 , 1981 . The killing was claimed at the time by the 'Ulster Freedom Fighters' (UFF) .
THOMAS SIMPSON of Belfast , jailed for 18 months in April 1976 for illegal possession of two rifles and 40 rounds of ammunition . Known to be a member of the UVF .
WILLIAM SMITH of Belfast , sentenced to nine months (suspended) for illegal possession in March 1973 .
DAVID STONE of South Derry , jailed for 12 months in February 1974 for using a gun to intimidate a woman into with-holding from the RUC the names of people involved in an assault .
LAURENCE TATE of Moygashel , County Tyrone , jailed for 12 years in December 1975 for bombing a Catholic pub in Dungannon .
(MORE LATER).
ELECTION INTERVENTIONS.......
Despite the fact that SINN FEIN has been contesting local elections in the 26 counties for more than two decades , much comment has been passed and incorrectly interpreted about Republican involvement in elections - north and south of the British-imposed border - in the past several months .
Here we review Republican interventions in the electoral process for the past century and more .
From 'IRIS' magazine , Volume 1 , Number 2 , November 1981 .
The political atmosphere in Ireland to the British 'Conscription Act' meant that tolerance to IRA activities increased , and increased still further when the British Government arrested Sinn Fein leaders on the 'strength' of a 'German Plot' , which the British Government declared in a sensational proclamation " ...would be put down .. " .
Sinn Fein , having been given notice of the pending arrests through an IRA contact in Dublin Castle , simply made its political leadership open for arrest , while those with military associations went 'on the run' . The result was as they had correctly anticipated and in a by-election in East Cavan , Griffith , back in prison , won easily with a majority of 1,204 .
Continued arrests and harassment increased the popular prestige of Sinn Fein and the Volunteers while the anti-conscription campaign permitted a vehicle for recruitment and spreading Republican influences . The British , temporarily abandoning their conscription idea , initiated a voluntary recruiting campaign and one indication of the weight of nationalist opinion of the old 'Redmonite' school was that , despite an efficient counter campaign by Sinn Fein , 14,013 voluntary recruits were secured for the British Army . The winning over of such nationalist votes was to be the principle task which faced Sinn Fein in the General Election called for December 1918 .
Sinn Fein faced many diverse disadvantages in this election , including censorship and the arrests of consecutive Sinn Fein election directors . But the quickness with which the election was called was certainly in its favour , as was the greatly enlarged new register which almost trebled the previous Irish electorate and the extension of the vote to all males over twenty-one and to women over thirty .......
(MORE LATER).
23 DAYS IN HELL : THE STORY OF THE O'GRADY KIDNAPPING .......
The Gardai had in their possession a clue which could have led them to the O'Grady kidnappers and their captive some ten days earlier .
A card found in a rucksack after the Midleton shoot-out led them directly to the gang once they checked it out - but this was ten days later , by which time John O 'Grady had lost two of his fingers .
First published in 'MAGILL' Magazine , May 1988 .
By Michael O'Higgins .
26.. " ONE DASTARDLY BASTARD ..."
Dessie O' Hare had gone to ground ; two days later , on November 8 , 1987 , he resurfaced in Dunleer , County Louth , at around 8.30 PM ; he had been driving through the town with his wife when he decided he wanted a mineral drink . He went into Lorchide's Chip Shop and ordered a tin of coke , attracting the attention of a number of customers who thought he looked a nervous wreck . Suddenly O' Hare threw the can of Coke on the ground ; across the road , Claire O' Hare was out of the car and making a run for it . Dessie O' Hare pulled out a gun and fired a shot from inside the chipper , then he ran out the door and fired down the road , shouting " Come back you bitch ..." .
Dessie O' Hare then went over to the car and took out a shotgun - he fired a shot into the chipper where astonished customers were looking on . A passer-by was told to " ...get out of the fucking way .. " if he did'nt want the same . Meanwhile , Claire O' Hare had run for cover into the Millrace Pub - Dessie jumped into the car and , as the proprietor of the pub came out to the door to investigate , O' Hare fired more shots at the pub from the car , shouting " Get the fucker out .. " - he fired one or two more shots into the pub before driving away . Claire O' Hare was hysterical . Later she was taken to Our Ladys Hospital in Drogheda for treatment , from where she was arrested under ' Section 30 of the Offences against the State Act ' and taken to the Bridewell Station in Dublin .
There was another meeting of the (Free State) Cabinet Committee on Security , this time attended by the (FS) Minister for Finance , Ray MacSharry : there were fears , given the state of his mind , that Dessie O' Hare might make an attempt to kill John O' Grady . The Cabinet sub-Committee offered a £100,000 reward for the capture of Dessie O' Hare .......
(MORE LATER).
Five members of the 'Ulster Defence Regiment' , formerly based at Drummad Barracks in Armagh , have been charged with murder , and the recent visits to this barracks by both the Duke of Edinburgh and Mrs Thatcher caused an uproar in the North .
But how exceptional are the 'Drummad Five' ? Just how many 'rotten apples' are there in the 'Ulster Defence Regiment' , which is now the principal back-up force to the RUC in the North of Ireland ?
We have chronicled herewith almost one hundred cases where members of the 'Ulster Defence Regiment' (UDR) have been charged with serious offences , mostly involving firearms or explosives . It is a directory of Dishonourable Discharge that is unmatched in the 'security forces' of any country in Europe and probably not even in South America . And even this list does not claim to be exhaustive .
From 'The Phoenix' magazine , 30 March 1984 .
BRIAN ROBERTS , sentenced to life in January 1983 for killing of Liam Canning at Alliance Avenue on August 9 , 1981 . The killing was claimed at the time by the 'Ulster Freedom Fighters' (UFF) .
THOMAS SIMPSON of Belfast , jailed for 18 months in April 1976 for illegal possession of two rifles and 40 rounds of ammunition . Known to be a member of the UVF .
WILLIAM SMITH of Belfast , sentenced to nine months (suspended) for illegal possession in March 1973 .
DAVID STONE of South Derry , jailed for 12 months in February 1974 for using a gun to intimidate a woman into with-holding from the RUC the names of people involved in an assault .
LAURENCE TATE of Moygashel , County Tyrone , jailed for 12 years in December 1975 for bombing a Catholic pub in Dungannon .
(MORE LATER).
ELECTION INTERVENTIONS.......
Despite the fact that SINN FEIN has been contesting local elections in the 26 counties for more than two decades , much comment has been passed and incorrectly interpreted about Republican involvement in elections - north and south of the British-imposed border - in the past several months .
Here we review Republican interventions in the electoral process for the past century and more .
From 'IRIS' magazine , Volume 1 , Number 2 , November 1981 .
The political atmosphere in Ireland to the British 'Conscription Act' meant that tolerance to IRA activities increased , and increased still further when the British Government arrested Sinn Fein leaders on the 'strength' of a 'German Plot' , which the British Government declared in a sensational proclamation " ...would be put down .. " .
Sinn Fein , having been given notice of the pending arrests through an IRA contact in Dublin Castle , simply made its political leadership open for arrest , while those with military associations went 'on the run' . The result was as they had correctly anticipated and in a by-election in East Cavan , Griffith , back in prison , won easily with a majority of 1,204 .
Continued arrests and harassment increased the popular prestige of Sinn Fein and the Volunteers while the anti-conscription campaign permitted a vehicle for recruitment and spreading Republican influences . The British , temporarily abandoning their conscription idea , initiated a voluntary recruiting campaign and one indication of the weight of nationalist opinion of the old 'Redmonite' school was that , despite an efficient counter campaign by Sinn Fein , 14,013 voluntary recruits were secured for the British Army . The winning over of such nationalist votes was to be the principle task which faced Sinn Fein in the General Election called for December 1918 .
Sinn Fein faced many diverse disadvantages in this election , including censorship and the arrests of consecutive Sinn Fein election directors . But the quickness with which the election was called was certainly in its favour , as was the greatly enlarged new register which almost trebled the previous Irish electorate and the extension of the vote to all males over twenty-one and to women over thirty .......
(MORE LATER).
23 DAYS IN HELL : THE STORY OF THE O'GRADY KIDNAPPING .......
The Gardai had in their possession a clue which could have led them to the O'Grady kidnappers and their captive some ten days earlier .
A card found in a rucksack after the Midleton shoot-out led them directly to the gang once they checked it out - but this was ten days later , by which time John O 'Grady had lost two of his fingers .
First published in 'MAGILL' Magazine , May 1988 .
By Michael O'Higgins .
26.. " ONE DASTARDLY BASTARD ..."
Dessie O' Hare had gone to ground ; two days later , on November 8 , 1987 , he resurfaced in Dunleer , County Louth , at around 8.30 PM ; he had been driving through the town with his wife when he decided he wanted a mineral drink . He went into Lorchide's Chip Shop and ordered a tin of coke , attracting the attention of a number of customers who thought he looked a nervous wreck . Suddenly O' Hare threw the can of Coke on the ground ; across the road , Claire O' Hare was out of the car and making a run for it . Dessie O' Hare pulled out a gun and fired a shot from inside the chipper , then he ran out the door and fired down the road , shouting " Come back you bitch ..." .
Dessie O' Hare then went over to the car and took out a shotgun - he fired a shot into the chipper where astonished customers were looking on . A passer-by was told to " ...get out of the fucking way .. " if he did'nt want the same . Meanwhile , Claire O' Hare had run for cover into the Millrace Pub - Dessie jumped into the car and , as the proprietor of the pub came out to the door to investigate , O' Hare fired more shots at the pub from the car , shouting " Get the fucker out .. " - he fired one or two more shots into the pub before driving away . Claire O' Hare was hysterical . Later she was taken to Our Ladys Hospital in Drogheda for treatment , from where she was arrested under ' Section 30 of the Offences against the State Act ' and taken to the Bridewell Station in Dublin .
There was another meeting of the (Free State) Cabinet Committee on Security , this time attended by the (FS) Minister for Finance , Ray MacSharry : there were fears , given the state of his mind , that Dessie O' Hare might make an attempt to kill John O' Grady . The Cabinet sub-Committee offered a £100,000 reward for the capture of Dessie O' Hare .......
(MORE LATER).
Monday, October 31, 2005
UDR'S ROTTEN APPLES.......
Five members of the 'Ulster Defence Regiment' , formerly based at Drummad Barracks in Armagh , have been charged with murder , and the recent visits to this barracks by both the Duke of Edinburgh and Mrs Thatcher caused an uproar in the North .
But how exceptional are the 'Drummad Five' ? Just how many 'rotten apples' are there in the 'Ulster Defence Regiment' , which is now the principal back-up force to the RUC in the North of Ireland ?
We have chronicled herewith almost one hundred cases where members of the 'Ulster Defence Regiment' (UDR) have been charged with serious offences , mostly involving firearms or explosives . It is a directory of Dishonourable Discharge that is unmatched in the 'security forces' of any country in Europe and probably not even in South America . And even this list does not claim to be exhaustive .
From 'The Phoenix' magazine , 30 March 1984 .
MALCOLM NESBITT of Belfast , sentenced to three years in October 1977 for armed robbery of a pub .
ALBERT MAURICE PARKHILL of Coleraine , suspended sentence in February 1978 for 'robbery' of six rifles from UDR armoury and membership of UVF . Pleaded conversion to Christianity and was suffering from multiple sclerosis .
WILLIAM RAMSEY of Belfast , five years in February 1975 for armed intimidation of Catholics during the UWC strike .
BEN REDFERN , JOHN LITTLE , SAMUEL HUNTER DAVIDSON and GREGORY ALLEN , all from South Derry area , all sentenced to life with an 18-year minimum , in January 1979 , for sectarian murder . REDFERN for murder of John Bolton , James Chivers and Joseph McAuley , the others for murders of Bolton and McAuley . Other concurrent sentences for robbery , arson etc .
(MORE LATER).
ELECTION INTERVENTIONS.......
Despite the fact that SINN FEIN has been contesting local elections in the 26 counties for more than two decades , much comment has been passed and incorrectly interpreted about Republican involvement in elections - north and south of the British-imposed border - in the past several months .
Here we review Republican interventions in the electoral process for the past century and more .
From 'IRIS' magazine , Volume 1 , Number 2 , November 1981 .
The three by-election losses by Sinn Fein in early 1918 (Waterford , South Armagh and East Tyrone) showed that while Sinn Fein was still a very vital political force , its strength lay not in clear policies or organisation but in the enthusiasm , discipline and organisational abilities of the Republican volunteers . The extension , by the British Government , of the Conscription Act to Ireland on April 9th , 1918 , was to make things easier for Irish Republicans .
The Catholic Bishops in Ireland unanimously condemned conscription as did local public bodies all over Ireland and the 'Irish Nationalist Party' left the British House of Commons in a block and returned to Ireland .
Such an endorsement of abstentionism was obviously welcome to Sinn Fein and on April 18th , 1918 , an unprecedented conference representing all sections of nationalist opinion issued - in consultation with the Irish Catholic Hierarchy - a call for " ...all true Irishmen to resist [conscription] by the most effective means at their disposal . " The Catholic Hierarchy , for their part , declared conscription to be "...an oppressive and inhuman law .. " and stated that the Irish people had the right to resist it by all means consonant with the law of God .......
(MORE LATER).
23 DAYS IN HELL : THE STORY OF THE O'GRADY KIDNAPPING .......
The Gardai had in their possession a clue which could have led them to the O'Grady kidnappers and their captive some ten days earlier .
A card found in a rucksack after the Midleton shoot-out led them directly to the gang once they checked it out - but this was ten days later , by which time John O 'Grady had lost two of his fingers .
First published in 'MAGILL' Magazine , May 1988 .
By Michael O'Higgins .
24. " T'was the luck of God I did'nt kill him ... "
Eddie Hogan was at liberty for less than twenty-four hours . Shortly after five o'clock gardai in Cahir Garda Station received a report that a suspicious person had been seen walking at Ballydrehid , four miles outside Cahir , Tipperary ; Detective Garda Ignatius Seery and Garda James Lynch drove out in their patrol car . Since his escape , Eddie Hogan had stuck to the fields and had only been on the road a few minutes when the gardai met him . They stopped the car and shouted at him - " Gardai . We want to talk to you . "
By this stage it was perfectly obvious that whatever Hogan wanted to do he did not want to talk to the gardai ; he broke into a run , but was caught by Garda James Lynch . Both gardai accompanied him back to their car , but Hogan tried to break free - a fierce fight followed , during which Hogan kicked Lynch and then head-butted him . There was a struggle in which all three men fell to the ground . Hogan struggled with Seery , trying to get possession of his gun , which went off twice within inches of killing someone .
Seery succeeded in releasing Eddie Hogan's grip on the arm in which he held the gun ; at that point Hogan bit into Seery's right thigh , cutting right through the mans trousers - Seery roared in agony . His legs were straddled over Hogan's shoulders ; he began hitting Hogan on the head with the butt of his revolver and eventually Hogan stopped biting . Lynch and Seery got him lying on his chest and managed to handcuff him .
In custody , Hogan drank tea and smoked cigarettes - he assured the gardai there would be no allegations of brutality : " It was either me or ye out there , " he told them , and inquired about Detective Martin O' Connor whom he had shot at Carnlough Road the previous day . He was relieved to hear that his condition was stable - " T'was the luck of God I did'nt kill him . I'd have been gone for twenty-five years if I had . " The gardai asked him about the cutting off of John O'Grady's fingers . " It's war and everything is justified in war , " they were told .
Both Fergal Toal and Eddie Hogan were questioned extensively about their involvement in the kidnapping of John O' Grady . Neither man replied to any of the questions .......
(MORE LATER).
Five members of the 'Ulster Defence Regiment' , formerly based at Drummad Barracks in Armagh , have been charged with murder , and the recent visits to this barracks by both the Duke of Edinburgh and Mrs Thatcher caused an uproar in the North .
But how exceptional are the 'Drummad Five' ? Just how many 'rotten apples' are there in the 'Ulster Defence Regiment' , which is now the principal back-up force to the RUC in the North of Ireland ?
We have chronicled herewith almost one hundred cases where members of the 'Ulster Defence Regiment' (UDR) have been charged with serious offences , mostly involving firearms or explosives . It is a directory of Dishonourable Discharge that is unmatched in the 'security forces' of any country in Europe and probably not even in South America . And even this list does not claim to be exhaustive .
From 'The Phoenix' magazine , 30 March 1984 .
MALCOLM NESBITT of Belfast , sentenced to three years in October 1977 for armed robbery of a pub .
ALBERT MAURICE PARKHILL of Coleraine , suspended sentence in February 1978 for 'robbery' of six rifles from UDR armoury and membership of UVF . Pleaded conversion to Christianity and was suffering from multiple sclerosis .
WILLIAM RAMSEY of Belfast , five years in February 1975 for armed intimidation of Catholics during the UWC strike .
BEN REDFERN , JOHN LITTLE , SAMUEL HUNTER DAVIDSON and GREGORY ALLEN , all from South Derry area , all sentenced to life with an 18-year minimum , in January 1979 , for sectarian murder . REDFERN for murder of John Bolton , James Chivers and Joseph McAuley , the others for murders of Bolton and McAuley . Other concurrent sentences for robbery , arson etc .
(MORE LATER).
ELECTION INTERVENTIONS.......
Despite the fact that SINN FEIN has been contesting local elections in the 26 counties for more than two decades , much comment has been passed and incorrectly interpreted about Republican involvement in elections - north and south of the British-imposed border - in the past several months .
Here we review Republican interventions in the electoral process for the past century and more .
From 'IRIS' magazine , Volume 1 , Number 2 , November 1981 .
The three by-election losses by Sinn Fein in early 1918 (Waterford , South Armagh and East Tyrone) showed that while Sinn Fein was still a very vital political force , its strength lay not in clear policies or organisation but in the enthusiasm , discipline and organisational abilities of the Republican volunteers . The extension , by the British Government , of the Conscription Act to Ireland on April 9th , 1918 , was to make things easier for Irish Republicans .
The Catholic Bishops in Ireland unanimously condemned conscription as did local public bodies all over Ireland and the 'Irish Nationalist Party' left the British House of Commons in a block and returned to Ireland .
Such an endorsement of abstentionism was obviously welcome to Sinn Fein and on April 18th , 1918 , an unprecedented conference representing all sections of nationalist opinion issued - in consultation with the Irish Catholic Hierarchy - a call for " ...all true Irishmen to resist [conscription] by the most effective means at their disposal . " The Catholic Hierarchy , for their part , declared conscription to be "...an oppressive and inhuman law .. " and stated that the Irish people had the right to resist it by all means consonant with the law of God .......
(MORE LATER).
23 DAYS IN HELL : THE STORY OF THE O'GRADY KIDNAPPING .......
The Gardai had in their possession a clue which could have led them to the O'Grady kidnappers and their captive some ten days earlier .
A card found in a rucksack after the Midleton shoot-out led them directly to the gang once they checked it out - but this was ten days later , by which time John O 'Grady had lost two of his fingers .
First published in 'MAGILL' Magazine , May 1988 .
By Michael O'Higgins .
24. " T'was the luck of God I did'nt kill him ... "
Eddie Hogan was at liberty for less than twenty-four hours . Shortly after five o'clock gardai in Cahir Garda Station received a report that a suspicious person had been seen walking at Ballydrehid , four miles outside Cahir , Tipperary ; Detective Garda Ignatius Seery and Garda James Lynch drove out in their patrol car . Since his escape , Eddie Hogan had stuck to the fields and had only been on the road a few minutes when the gardai met him . They stopped the car and shouted at him - " Gardai . We want to talk to you . "
By this stage it was perfectly obvious that whatever Hogan wanted to do he did not want to talk to the gardai ; he broke into a run , but was caught by Garda James Lynch . Both gardai accompanied him back to their car , but Hogan tried to break free - a fierce fight followed , during which Hogan kicked Lynch and then head-butted him . There was a struggle in which all three men fell to the ground . Hogan struggled with Seery , trying to get possession of his gun , which went off twice within inches of killing someone .
Seery succeeded in releasing Eddie Hogan's grip on the arm in which he held the gun ; at that point Hogan bit into Seery's right thigh , cutting right through the mans trousers - Seery roared in agony . His legs were straddled over Hogan's shoulders ; he began hitting Hogan on the head with the butt of his revolver and eventually Hogan stopped biting . Lynch and Seery got him lying on his chest and managed to handcuff him .
In custody , Hogan drank tea and smoked cigarettes - he assured the gardai there would be no allegations of brutality : " It was either me or ye out there , " he told them , and inquired about Detective Martin O' Connor whom he had shot at Carnlough Road the previous day . He was relieved to hear that his condition was stable - " T'was the luck of God I did'nt kill him . I'd have been gone for twenty-five years if I had . " The gardai asked him about the cutting off of John O'Grady's fingers . " It's war and everything is justified in war , " they were told .
Both Fergal Toal and Eddie Hogan were questioned extensively about their involvement in the kidnapping of John O' Grady . Neither man replied to any of the questions .......
(MORE LATER).
Friday, October 28, 2005
UDR'S ROTTEN APPLES.......
Five members of the 'Ulster Defence Regiment' , formerly based at Drummad Barracks in Armagh , have been charged with murder , and the recent visits to this barracks by both the Duke of Edinburgh and Mrs Thatcher caused an uproar in the North .
But how exceptional are the 'Drummad Five' ? Just how many 'rotten apples' are there in the 'Ulster Defence Regiment' , which is now the principal back-up force to the RUC in the North of Ireland ?
We have chronicled herewith almost one hundred cases where members of the 'Ulster Defence Regiment' (UDR) have been charged with serious offences , mostly involving firearms or explosives . It is a directory of Dishonourable Discharge that is unmatched in the 'security forces' of any country in Europe and probably not even in South America . And even this list does not claim to be exhaustive .
From 'The Phoenix' magazine , 30 March 1984 .
EDWARD McILWAINE of Belfast , sentenced to 15 years in February 1979 for kidnapping , assault and possession with intent . One of the Shankill Butchers .
ALASDAIR McKENDRY of Ballymena , charged in August 1983 with armed robbery , illegal possession of arms and UVF membership .
WILLIAM McVEIGH of 7th Battalion UDR HQ , jailed for three years in October 1973 for possession of a revolver in suspicious circumstances .
EDGAR MEEHAN of Castlederg , sentenced (in Dublin) to six months in March 1976 for illegal possession of a sub-machine gun and 35 rounds of ammunition in County Donegal .
RONNIE NELSON 'BILLY' YEARL , SAMMY ANDERSON and BILLY McCLEANAGHAN , all of Cookstown-Maghera area , sentenced to 10 years each in April 1978 for 'robbing' 320 guns , 9,500 rounds of assorted ammunition , grenades and a rocket from Magherafelt UDR armoury , plus robbery and sectarian arson attacks . Also known to be members of the UDA .
(MORE LATER).
ELECTION INTERVENTIONS.......
Despite the fact that SINN FEIN has been contesting local elections in the 26 counties for more than two decades , much comment has been passed and incorrectly interpreted about Republican involvement in elections - north and south of the British-imposed border - in the past several months .
Here we review Republican interventions in the electoral process for the past century and more .
From 'IRIS' magazine , Volume 1 , Number 2 , November 1981 .
An interesting insight into how the IRA viewed the new Sinn Fein Movement , in which some of them held executive positions , is given in a letter from the IRA Army Executive , which had come to light some months earlier : " The principle duty of the executive is to put the Volunteers in a position to complete by force of arms the work begun by the men of Easter week . The Volunteers are notified that the only orders they are to obey are those of their own executive . "
IRA Volunteers were reminded that , in the past , the conjunction of Fenianism with constitutional politics had led to the abandonment of physical force as a policy * and were warned to join Sinn Fein only in order to propagate the principles of their own organisation which was the only one to which they owed allegiance . (' 1169 ... ' Comment - * - ...it happened again , beginning in 1986 , when a section of people deserted the Movement to enter constitutional politics . The leadership of that group are now paid salaries and expenses by Westminster , Stormont and Leinster House , and will soon be issuing instructions for their followers to 'police' the occupied Six Counties on behalf of Westminster . Their actions can only be described as treachery and , I believe , will be recorded as such by history. )
Sinn Fein , attempting to win 'moderate nationalists' to its side was much embarrassed by this letter and by the increasing actions of armed Volunteers throughout the country : in particular , the actions of groups of IRA Volunteers , especially in the West of Ireland , in commandeering private land (with compensation for the owners ) in the name of the Irish Republic and ploughing it up for food cultivation as a necessary precaution against famine , caused some discomfort to the Sinn Fein Executive , especially , given the criticism of these and other "...ill-considered agitations.. " by the Catholic Cardinal Logue and by many constitutional nationalists .
Against such a background Sinn Fein fought and lost three by-elections in the early part of 1918 ; however , none of these by-elections - a consoling factor for Sinn Fein - could be said to provide a representation of a cross section of the country as a whole . All three defeats were at the hands of the old Home Rule Nationalist Party - one in Waterford and the other two in South Armagh and East Tyrone . None of those three results were seen as decisive defeats for Sinn Fein , given the lack of organisation in the northern counties and the fact that the Waterford by-election , caused by the death of John Redmond , was contested by his son .......
(MORE LATER).
23 DAYS IN HELL : THE STORY OF THE O'GRADY KIDNAPPING .......
The Gardai had in their possession a clue which could have led them to the O'Grady kidnappers and their captive some ten days earlier .
A card found in a rucksack after the Midleton shoot-out led them directly to the gang once they checked it out - but this was ten days later , by which time John O 'Grady had lost two of his fingers .
First published in 'MAGILL' Magazine , May 1988 .
By Michael O'Higgins .
23. "They tore the bloody shirt of my back ... "
Catherine Ryan had spent a pleasant evening with her friend Charles Barret ; they had dinner , met friends and finished off the night in Shaughnessy's Pub , in Kilfinane . They left at 10.30 pm and Ryan dropped off Barret at Buttevant - as she drove towards Tipperary she heard on the late news that the search for the two kidnappers was concentrated in Tipperary . She stopped in Ard Patrick and rang her friend , Charles Barret , who re-assured her that there was nothing to worry about . She ended the call by saying she would ring him when she got home safely .
Just outside Tipperary the road was blocked by a tree ; she stopped to clear it out of her way . Fergal Toal appeared and took the car , and he took Catherine Ryan as a hostage . He wanted to drive to Dublin but , after driving around back roads for three hours , he still had'nt left the county of Tipperary . He was chatting away with Ryan in the car and found out that she was a nurse ; he asked her to examine a cut on his little finger which he was concerned about . The finger was grazed and a little bit of the skin was off the knuckle . The radio news gave details of his escape and Ryan asked him if the report was accurate . " They tore the bloody shirt off my back , " Toal replied .
At one point Fergal Toal drove through a roadblock and within minutes was spotted by a garda patrol car which gave chase ; Toal crashed the car which turned over on its roof and skidded for forty yards . He got out of the car and threatened to kill Ryan , but was surprised from behind by Garda Pat Whelan who put one arm around Toal's neck and put a machine gun to his back with his other hand . For Fergal Toal it was all over .......
(MORE LATER).
Five members of the 'Ulster Defence Regiment' , formerly based at Drummad Barracks in Armagh , have been charged with murder , and the recent visits to this barracks by both the Duke of Edinburgh and Mrs Thatcher caused an uproar in the North .
But how exceptional are the 'Drummad Five' ? Just how many 'rotten apples' are there in the 'Ulster Defence Regiment' , which is now the principal back-up force to the RUC in the North of Ireland ?
We have chronicled herewith almost one hundred cases where members of the 'Ulster Defence Regiment' (UDR) have been charged with serious offences , mostly involving firearms or explosives . It is a directory of Dishonourable Discharge that is unmatched in the 'security forces' of any country in Europe and probably not even in South America . And even this list does not claim to be exhaustive .
From 'The Phoenix' magazine , 30 March 1984 .
EDWARD McILWAINE of Belfast , sentenced to 15 years in February 1979 for kidnapping , assault and possession with intent . One of the Shankill Butchers .
ALASDAIR McKENDRY of Ballymena , charged in August 1983 with armed robbery , illegal possession of arms and UVF membership .
WILLIAM McVEIGH of 7th Battalion UDR HQ , jailed for three years in October 1973 for possession of a revolver in suspicious circumstances .
EDGAR MEEHAN of Castlederg , sentenced (in Dublin) to six months in March 1976 for illegal possession of a sub-machine gun and 35 rounds of ammunition in County Donegal .
RONNIE NELSON 'BILLY' YEARL , SAMMY ANDERSON and BILLY McCLEANAGHAN , all of Cookstown-Maghera area , sentenced to 10 years each in April 1978 for 'robbing' 320 guns , 9,500 rounds of assorted ammunition , grenades and a rocket from Magherafelt UDR armoury , plus robbery and sectarian arson attacks . Also known to be members of the UDA .
(MORE LATER).
ELECTION INTERVENTIONS.......
Despite the fact that SINN FEIN has been contesting local elections in the 26 counties for more than two decades , much comment has been passed and incorrectly interpreted about Republican involvement in elections - north and south of the British-imposed border - in the past several months .
Here we review Republican interventions in the electoral process for the past century and more .
From 'IRIS' magazine , Volume 1 , Number 2 , November 1981 .
An interesting insight into how the IRA viewed the new Sinn Fein Movement , in which some of them held executive positions , is given in a letter from the IRA Army Executive , which had come to light some months earlier : " The principle duty of the executive is to put the Volunteers in a position to complete by force of arms the work begun by the men of Easter week . The Volunteers are notified that the only orders they are to obey are those of their own executive . "
IRA Volunteers were reminded that , in the past , the conjunction of Fenianism with constitutional politics had led to the abandonment of physical force as a policy * and were warned to join Sinn Fein only in order to propagate the principles of their own organisation which was the only one to which they owed allegiance . (' 1169 ... ' Comment - * - ...it happened again , beginning in 1986 , when a section of people deserted the Movement to enter constitutional politics . The leadership of that group are now paid salaries and expenses by Westminster , Stormont and Leinster House , and will soon be issuing instructions for their followers to 'police' the occupied Six Counties on behalf of Westminster . Their actions can only be described as treachery and , I believe , will be recorded as such by history. )
Sinn Fein , attempting to win 'moderate nationalists' to its side was much embarrassed by this letter and by the increasing actions of armed Volunteers throughout the country : in particular , the actions of groups of IRA Volunteers , especially in the West of Ireland , in commandeering private land (with compensation for the owners ) in the name of the Irish Republic and ploughing it up for food cultivation as a necessary precaution against famine , caused some discomfort to the Sinn Fein Executive , especially , given the criticism of these and other "...ill-considered agitations.. " by the Catholic Cardinal Logue and by many constitutional nationalists .
Against such a background Sinn Fein fought and lost three by-elections in the early part of 1918 ; however , none of these by-elections - a consoling factor for Sinn Fein - could be said to provide a representation of a cross section of the country as a whole . All three defeats were at the hands of the old Home Rule Nationalist Party - one in Waterford and the other two in South Armagh and East Tyrone . None of those three results were seen as decisive defeats for Sinn Fein , given the lack of organisation in the northern counties and the fact that the Waterford by-election , caused by the death of John Redmond , was contested by his son .......
(MORE LATER).
23 DAYS IN HELL : THE STORY OF THE O'GRADY KIDNAPPING .......
The Gardai had in their possession a clue which could have led them to the O'Grady kidnappers and their captive some ten days earlier .
A card found in a rucksack after the Midleton shoot-out led them directly to the gang once they checked it out - but this was ten days later , by which time John O 'Grady had lost two of his fingers .
First published in 'MAGILL' Magazine , May 1988 .
By Michael O'Higgins .
23. "They tore the bloody shirt of my back ... "
Catherine Ryan had spent a pleasant evening with her friend Charles Barret ; they had dinner , met friends and finished off the night in Shaughnessy's Pub , in Kilfinane . They left at 10.30 pm and Ryan dropped off Barret at Buttevant - as she drove towards Tipperary she heard on the late news that the search for the two kidnappers was concentrated in Tipperary . She stopped in Ard Patrick and rang her friend , Charles Barret , who re-assured her that there was nothing to worry about . She ended the call by saying she would ring him when she got home safely .
Just outside Tipperary the road was blocked by a tree ; she stopped to clear it out of her way . Fergal Toal appeared and took the car , and he took Catherine Ryan as a hostage . He wanted to drive to Dublin but , after driving around back roads for three hours , he still had'nt left the county of Tipperary . He was chatting away with Ryan in the car and found out that she was a nurse ; he asked her to examine a cut on his little finger which he was concerned about . The finger was grazed and a little bit of the skin was off the knuckle . The radio news gave details of his escape and Ryan asked him if the report was accurate . " They tore the bloody shirt off my back , " Toal replied .
At one point Fergal Toal drove through a roadblock and within minutes was spotted by a garda patrol car which gave chase ; Toal crashed the car which turned over on its roof and skidded for forty yards . He got out of the car and threatened to kill Ryan , but was surprised from behind by Garda Pat Whelan who put one arm around Toal's neck and put a machine gun to his back with his other hand . For Fergal Toal it was all over .......
(MORE LATER).
Thursday, October 27, 2005
UDR'S ROTTEN APPLES.......
Five members of the 'Ulster Defence Regiment' , formerly based at Drummad Barracks in Armagh , have been charged with murder , and the recent visits to this barracks by both the Duke of Edinburgh and Mrs Thatcher caused an uproar in the North .
But how exceptional are the 'Drummad Five' ? Just how many 'rotten apples' are there in the 'Ulster Defence Regiment' , which is now the principal back-up force to the RUC in the North of Ireland ?
We have chronicled herewith almost one hundred cases where members of the 'Ulster Defence Regiment' (UDR) have been charged with serious offences , mostly involving firearms or explosives . It is a directory of Dishonourable Discharge that is unmatched in the 'security forces' of any country in Europe and probably not even in South America . And even this list does not claim to be exhaustive .
From 'The Phoenix' magazine , 30 March 1984 .
HENRY McCONNELL of Belfast , fined £65 in April 1975 for possession of ammunition in suspicious circumstances .
JOSEPH DENNIS McCONVILLE of Annaghmore , County Armagh , jailed for two years in September 1976 for theft of ammunition from a (British) Ministry of defence firing range .
HENRY McCOSH of Belfast , sentenced to six months (suspended) in February 1974 for possession of a revolver and more than 200 rounds of ammunition in suspicious circumstances .
RODERICK SHANE McDOWELL and RAYMOND THOMAS CROZIER , jailed for 35 years in October 1976 for the Miami Showband massacre . Two other UDR men , WESLEY SOMMERVILLE and HARRIS BOYLE , blew themselves up in the same incident . All four were members of the UVF .
JOSEPH McGRANAGHAN of Belfast , jailed for two years in April 1974 for possession of a revolver (previously 'stolen' from an RUC man) in suspicious circumstances .
JAMES McGUCKEN of Coagh , County Tyrone , fined £100 in December 1976 for assaulting local Catholics .
(MORE LATER).
ELECTION INTERVENTIONS.......
Despite the fact that SINN FEIN has been contesting local elections in the 26 counties for more than two decades , much comment has been passed and incorrectly interpreted about Republican involvement in elections - north and south of the British-imposed border - in the past several months .
Here we review Republican interventions in the electoral process for the past century and more .
From 'IRIS' magazine , Volume 1 , Number 2 , November 1981 .
The turn-out for the funeral of Thomas Ashe (on September 30 , 1917) gave a boost to Irish Republicans ; this was noted by the 'Establishment' in Westminster - 'The Daily Express' newspaper remarked - " The circumstances of Ashe's death and funeral have made 100,000 Sinn Feiners out of 100,000 constitutional nationalists ... " , while 'The Daily Mail' newspaper recalled that , a month earlier , Sinn Fein , despite its electoral successes , had been a waning force . That newspaper said - " It had no practical programme , for the programme of going further than anyone else cannot be so described . It was not making headway . But Sinn Fein today is pretty nearly another name for the vast bulk of youth in Ireland . "
In October 1917 , a Convention in Dublin was able to give more coherence to the political side of the national Movement , when two thousand people including delegates from over a thousand Sinn Fein cumann agreed on a new broadly nationalist constitution and elected a 24-person national executive . Despite the fact that the Movement owed much of its public support to the discipline and organising skill of the Republicans , its weakness , with the election of many anti-physical force constitutionalists to the executive , was becoming obvious to close observers .
However , with the need to build a genuinely broad based national Movement , which drew maximum support from all nationalist tendencies while still permitting the Republicans to manoeuvre in the background , their differences were successfully covered up , at least from the attention of the general populace .
The National Executive contained such diverse personalities as Eoin MacNeill who had tried to cancel the 1916 Rising and Cathal Brugha , an uncompromising Irish Republican who was badly wounded during the 1916 Rising . Interestingly , Eoin MacNeill headed the poll by more than 200 votes over Cathal Brugha who was his closest rival .
Against such political manoeuvrings the IRA stepped-up their raids for arms , and drilling and re-organisation continued .......
(MORE LATER).
23 DAYS IN HELL : THE STORY OF THE O'GRADY KIDNAPPING .......
The Gardai had in their possession a clue which could have led them to the O'Grady kidnappers and their captive some ten days earlier .
A card found in a rucksack after the Midleton shoot-out led them directly to the gang once they checked it out - but this was ten days later , by which time John O 'Grady had lost two of his fingers .
First published in 'MAGILL' Magazine , May 1988 .
By Michael O'Higgins .
Fergal Toal was in Garda custody ; all the gardai had heard the instructions to hold him but none of them , in statements made subsequenty , made reference to being told that a second man had escaped ; the gardai in whose care Toal had been entrusted formed quite different opinions of him . Garda Fallon and Sergeant Merrigan stress that he appeared plausible and co-operative . When he had first 'arrived' into the garda station , he had asked for water to take tablets . Garda Moriarty thought he might be a mental patient !
Two Garda , Moriarty and Fallon , got Fergal Toal ready to put him into a cell . Sergeant Merrigan was standing about ten feet away ; Garda Moriarty took £222 from Toal's pocket with his left hand , whilst taking the mans belt off him with his right hand . Garda Fallon was helping Toal to step out of his jacket . " What are you doing with my money ? " , said Toal in his phoney Cork accent . His belt was caught in one of the loops of his trousers - Garda Moriarty turned around for a second to put the momey in his left hand on the table behind him ; when he looked back he saw Toal over at the door letting himself out to the reception area of the station .
Moriarty ran after him , as did Merrigan and Fallon . Fergal Toal crossed the reception to a door leading out to the narrow hallway to the entrance to the station , but Moriarty caught hold of his shirt . To his " great dismay ," as Moriarty later said , the shirt ripped and came away in his hand . The hallway was too narrow for the other gardai to get past : Toal jumped the seven steps leading up to the station and ran . It was the third time that Fergal Toal and Eddie Hogan had escaped from the gardai .......
(MORE LATER).
Five members of the 'Ulster Defence Regiment' , formerly based at Drummad Barracks in Armagh , have been charged with murder , and the recent visits to this barracks by both the Duke of Edinburgh and Mrs Thatcher caused an uproar in the North .
But how exceptional are the 'Drummad Five' ? Just how many 'rotten apples' are there in the 'Ulster Defence Regiment' , which is now the principal back-up force to the RUC in the North of Ireland ?
We have chronicled herewith almost one hundred cases where members of the 'Ulster Defence Regiment' (UDR) have been charged with serious offences , mostly involving firearms or explosives . It is a directory of Dishonourable Discharge that is unmatched in the 'security forces' of any country in Europe and probably not even in South America . And even this list does not claim to be exhaustive .
From 'The Phoenix' magazine , 30 March 1984 .
HENRY McCONNELL of Belfast , fined £65 in April 1975 for possession of ammunition in suspicious circumstances .
JOSEPH DENNIS McCONVILLE of Annaghmore , County Armagh , jailed for two years in September 1976 for theft of ammunition from a (British) Ministry of defence firing range .
HENRY McCOSH of Belfast , sentenced to six months (suspended) in February 1974 for possession of a revolver and more than 200 rounds of ammunition in suspicious circumstances .
RODERICK SHANE McDOWELL and RAYMOND THOMAS CROZIER , jailed for 35 years in October 1976 for the Miami Showband massacre . Two other UDR men , WESLEY SOMMERVILLE and HARRIS BOYLE , blew themselves up in the same incident . All four were members of the UVF .
JOSEPH McGRANAGHAN of Belfast , jailed for two years in April 1974 for possession of a revolver (previously 'stolen' from an RUC man) in suspicious circumstances .
JAMES McGUCKEN of Coagh , County Tyrone , fined £100 in December 1976 for assaulting local Catholics .
(MORE LATER).
ELECTION INTERVENTIONS.......
Despite the fact that SINN FEIN has been contesting local elections in the 26 counties for more than two decades , much comment has been passed and incorrectly interpreted about Republican involvement in elections - north and south of the British-imposed border - in the past several months .
Here we review Republican interventions in the electoral process for the past century and more .
From 'IRIS' magazine , Volume 1 , Number 2 , November 1981 .
The turn-out for the funeral of Thomas Ashe (on September 30 , 1917) gave a boost to Irish Republicans ; this was noted by the 'Establishment' in Westminster - 'The Daily Express' newspaper remarked - " The circumstances of Ashe's death and funeral have made 100,000 Sinn Feiners out of 100,000 constitutional nationalists ... " , while 'The Daily Mail' newspaper recalled that , a month earlier , Sinn Fein , despite its electoral successes , had been a waning force . That newspaper said - " It had no practical programme , for the programme of going further than anyone else cannot be so described . It was not making headway . But Sinn Fein today is pretty nearly another name for the vast bulk of youth in Ireland . "
In October 1917 , a Convention in Dublin was able to give more coherence to the political side of the national Movement , when two thousand people including delegates from over a thousand Sinn Fein cumann agreed on a new broadly nationalist constitution and elected a 24-person national executive . Despite the fact that the Movement owed much of its public support to the discipline and organising skill of the Republicans , its weakness , with the election of many anti-physical force constitutionalists to the executive , was becoming obvious to close observers .
However , with the need to build a genuinely broad based national Movement , which drew maximum support from all nationalist tendencies while still permitting the Republicans to manoeuvre in the background , their differences were successfully covered up , at least from the attention of the general populace .
The National Executive contained such diverse personalities as Eoin MacNeill who had tried to cancel the 1916 Rising and Cathal Brugha , an uncompromising Irish Republican who was badly wounded during the 1916 Rising . Interestingly , Eoin MacNeill headed the poll by more than 200 votes over Cathal Brugha who was his closest rival .
Against such political manoeuvrings the IRA stepped-up their raids for arms , and drilling and re-organisation continued .......
(MORE LATER).
23 DAYS IN HELL : THE STORY OF THE O'GRADY KIDNAPPING .......
The Gardai had in their possession a clue which could have led them to the O'Grady kidnappers and their captive some ten days earlier .
A card found in a rucksack after the Midleton shoot-out led them directly to the gang once they checked it out - but this was ten days later , by which time John O 'Grady had lost two of his fingers .
First published in 'MAGILL' Magazine , May 1988 .
By Michael O'Higgins .
Fergal Toal was in Garda custody ; all the gardai had heard the instructions to hold him but none of them , in statements made subsequenty , made reference to being told that a second man had escaped ; the gardai in whose care Toal had been entrusted formed quite different opinions of him . Garda Fallon and Sergeant Merrigan stress that he appeared plausible and co-operative . When he had first 'arrived' into the garda station , he had asked for water to take tablets . Garda Moriarty thought he might be a mental patient !
Two Garda , Moriarty and Fallon , got Fergal Toal ready to put him into a cell . Sergeant Merrigan was standing about ten feet away ; Garda Moriarty took £222 from Toal's pocket with his left hand , whilst taking the mans belt off him with his right hand . Garda Fallon was helping Toal to step out of his jacket . " What are you doing with my money ? " , said Toal in his phoney Cork accent . His belt was caught in one of the loops of his trousers - Garda Moriarty turned around for a second to put the momey in his left hand on the table behind him ; when he looked back he saw Toal over at the door letting himself out to the reception area of the station .
Moriarty ran after him , as did Merrigan and Fallon . Fergal Toal crossed the reception to a door leading out to the narrow hallway to the entrance to the station , but Moriarty caught hold of his shirt . To his " great dismay ," as Moriarty later said , the shirt ripped and came away in his hand . The hallway was too narrow for the other gardai to get past : Toal jumped the seven steps leading up to the station and ran . It was the third time that Fergal Toal and Eddie Hogan had escaped from the gardai .......
(MORE LATER).
Wednesday, October 26, 2005
UDR'S ROTTEN APPLES.......
Five members of the 'Ulster Defence Regiment' , formerly based at Drummad Barracks in Armagh , have been charged with murder , and the recent visits to this barracks by both the Duke of Edinburgh and Mrs Thatcher caused an uproar in the North .
But how exceptional are the 'Drummad Five' ? Just how many 'rotten apples' are there in the 'Ulster Defence Regiment' , which is now the principal back-up force to the RUC in the North of Ireland ?
We have chronicled herewith almost one hundred cases where members of the 'Ulster Defence Regiment' (UDR) have been charged with serious offences , mostly involving firearms or explosives . It is a directory of Dishonourable Discharge that is unmatched in the 'security forces' of any country in Europe and probably not even in South America . And even this list does not claim to be exhaustive .
From 'The Phoenix' magazine , 30 March 1984 .
RICHARD LONG of Comber , County Down , sentenced to life in May 1977 for conspiracy to kill Catholics .
TREVOR LYLE , jailed for one month (suspensed for two years) for illegal possession of firearms in June 1976 . Charge reduced from attempted murder .
JEFFREY LYNN of Tobermore , County Derry , jailed for six months in September 1976 for handling stolen property . Originally charged with September 1975 armed robbery of Knockloughrim Post Office - prosecution witness , William Millar , subsequently murdered by fellow members of LYNN'S '5th Batt. UDR' .
WILLIAM McCLANAGHAN of South Derry , sentenced to eight years in May 1978 for bombing a Catholic-owned shop in Draperstown .
WILLIAM McCOMB of Banbridge , jailed for 10 years in November 1976 for possession with intent and armed robbery on behalf of the UVF .
(MORE LATER).
ELECTION INTERVENTIONS.......
Despite the fact that SINN FEIN has been contesting local elections in the 26 counties for more than two decades , much comment has been passed and incorrectly interpreted about Republican involvement in elections - north and south of the British-imposed border - in the past several months .
Here we review Republican interventions in the electoral process for the past century and more .
From 'IRIS' magazine , Volume 1 , Number 2 , November 1981 .
The election of another Sinn Fein candidate , William Cosgrove , in Kilkenny , by a two-to-one majority , led to more repression from the British ; arrests increased and during a period when some political commentators were noting that the lack of really positive Sinn Fein policies was giving rise to serious second thoughts among nationalist voters , the British governments ill-treatment of those arrested became known .
Over forty Irish Republican prisoners were being force-fed in an effort by the British to break a hunger-strike by the prisoners in pursuance of political status . The Republican prisoners , as part of their campaign , were refusing to work or to wear prison clothes - they had smashed their cell windows , demanded segregation from ordinary prisoners and were generally refusing to co-operate with the prisom regime .
Thomas Ashe died after force-feeding and the brutal details of that force-feeding plus the conditions in which the prisoners were being held were read by an outraged public ; Thomas Ashe was buried on September 30th , 1917 , following a funeral attended by some 40,000 people and marked by a day of mourning throughout nationalist Ireland .
All commentators agreed that a new and much needed stimulus had been given to the Sinn Fein Movement ; the British 'establishment' , and it's supporters in the London media , were startled by this turn of events .......
(MORE LATER).
23 DAYS IN HELL : THE STORY OF THE O'GRADY KIDNAPPING .......
The Gardai had in their possession a clue which could have led them to the O'Grady kidnappers and their captive some ten days earlier .
A card found in a rucksack after the Midleton shoot-out led them directly to the gang once they checked it out - but this was ten days later , by which time John O 'Grady had lost two of his fingers .
First published in 'MAGILL' Magazine , May 1988 .
By Michael O'Higgins .
Having escaped to Limerick , Eddie Hogan and Fergal Toal hired a taxi to take them to Tipperary ; they passed through three or four garda roadblocks without incident . Just outside Tipperary the taxi passed another roadblock manned by Garda John Conway - they were waved on but Conway became suspicious and contacted a garda patrol car which then followed the taxi into Tipperary town ; that patrol car was manned by Garda Liam Walsh , Garda Tom Neville and Garda Dan Collins . In Tipperary , the gardai instructed the taxi driver to pull in . Garda Liam Walsh loaded his sub-machine gun .
The description that the Tipperary gardai had of Eddie Hogan and Fergal Toal did not match the two men in the taxi - both were searched and found to be un-armed . However , Toal was speaking with a fake Cork accent and traces of his northern accent were coming through ; both men were polite and co-operative but , because of the suspicions of the gardai and 'the state of the country at the time' , it was decided to take them to the garda station for questioning . The patrol car stopped forty feet from the station entrance ; as they were walking in , Eddie Hogan bolted ; Garda Neville threw his garda cap on the ground and ran after him . Gardai Walsh and Collins rushed Fergal Toal into the station and handed him over to the station orderly team , Garda Andrew Moriarty and Garda Fallon , in the presence of Garda Sergeant Patrick Merrigan .
Walsh and Collins shouted " Hold him ! Another man has escaped ... " : then they ran off to help Garda Neville to find Eddie Hogan , who had run down the road into the Clanwilliam Rugby Club - he ran the length of the pitch and crossed the goal line with Garda Neville in pursuit ; it was a 'good try' by Neville but Eddie Hogan had already disappeared behind the cover of trees beside the pavilion . He escaped over a wall and was gone . The Clanwilliam Rugby Team , who were training , formed an impromptu search party but without success .
Fergal Toal was now in Garda custody - but not for long .......
(MORE LATER).
Five members of the 'Ulster Defence Regiment' , formerly based at Drummad Barracks in Armagh , have been charged with murder , and the recent visits to this barracks by both the Duke of Edinburgh and Mrs Thatcher caused an uproar in the North .
But how exceptional are the 'Drummad Five' ? Just how many 'rotten apples' are there in the 'Ulster Defence Regiment' , which is now the principal back-up force to the RUC in the North of Ireland ?
We have chronicled herewith almost one hundred cases where members of the 'Ulster Defence Regiment' (UDR) have been charged with serious offences , mostly involving firearms or explosives . It is a directory of Dishonourable Discharge that is unmatched in the 'security forces' of any country in Europe and probably not even in South America . And even this list does not claim to be exhaustive .
From 'The Phoenix' magazine , 30 March 1984 .
RICHARD LONG of Comber , County Down , sentenced to life in May 1977 for conspiracy to kill Catholics .
TREVOR LYLE , jailed for one month (suspensed for two years) for illegal possession of firearms in June 1976 . Charge reduced from attempted murder .
JEFFREY LYNN of Tobermore , County Derry , jailed for six months in September 1976 for handling stolen property . Originally charged with September 1975 armed robbery of Knockloughrim Post Office - prosecution witness , William Millar , subsequently murdered by fellow members of LYNN'S '5th Batt. UDR' .
WILLIAM McCLANAGHAN of South Derry , sentenced to eight years in May 1978 for bombing a Catholic-owned shop in Draperstown .
WILLIAM McCOMB of Banbridge , jailed for 10 years in November 1976 for possession with intent and armed robbery on behalf of the UVF .
(MORE LATER).
ELECTION INTERVENTIONS.......
Despite the fact that SINN FEIN has been contesting local elections in the 26 counties for more than two decades , much comment has been passed and incorrectly interpreted about Republican involvement in elections - north and south of the British-imposed border - in the past several months .
Here we review Republican interventions in the electoral process for the past century and more .
From 'IRIS' magazine , Volume 1 , Number 2 , November 1981 .
The election of another Sinn Fein candidate , William Cosgrove , in Kilkenny , by a two-to-one majority , led to more repression from the British ; arrests increased and during a period when some political commentators were noting that the lack of really positive Sinn Fein policies was giving rise to serious second thoughts among nationalist voters , the British governments ill-treatment of those arrested became known .
Over forty Irish Republican prisoners were being force-fed in an effort by the British to break a hunger-strike by the prisoners in pursuance of political status . The Republican prisoners , as part of their campaign , were refusing to work or to wear prison clothes - they had smashed their cell windows , demanded segregation from ordinary prisoners and were generally refusing to co-operate with the prisom regime .
Thomas Ashe died after force-feeding and the brutal details of that force-feeding plus the conditions in which the prisoners were being held were read by an outraged public ; Thomas Ashe was buried on September 30th , 1917 , following a funeral attended by some 40,000 people and marked by a day of mourning throughout nationalist Ireland .
All commentators agreed that a new and much needed stimulus had been given to the Sinn Fein Movement ; the British 'establishment' , and it's supporters in the London media , were startled by this turn of events .......
(MORE LATER).
23 DAYS IN HELL : THE STORY OF THE O'GRADY KIDNAPPING .......
The Gardai had in their possession a clue which could have led them to the O'Grady kidnappers and their captive some ten days earlier .
A card found in a rucksack after the Midleton shoot-out led them directly to the gang once they checked it out - but this was ten days later , by which time John O 'Grady had lost two of his fingers .
First published in 'MAGILL' Magazine , May 1988 .
By Michael O'Higgins .
Having escaped to Limerick , Eddie Hogan and Fergal Toal hired a taxi to take them to Tipperary ; they passed through three or four garda roadblocks without incident . Just outside Tipperary the taxi passed another roadblock manned by Garda John Conway - they were waved on but Conway became suspicious and contacted a garda patrol car which then followed the taxi into Tipperary town ; that patrol car was manned by Garda Liam Walsh , Garda Tom Neville and Garda Dan Collins . In Tipperary , the gardai instructed the taxi driver to pull in . Garda Liam Walsh loaded his sub-machine gun .
The description that the Tipperary gardai had of Eddie Hogan and Fergal Toal did not match the two men in the taxi - both were searched and found to be un-armed . However , Toal was speaking with a fake Cork accent and traces of his northern accent were coming through ; both men were polite and co-operative but , because of the suspicions of the gardai and 'the state of the country at the time' , it was decided to take them to the garda station for questioning . The patrol car stopped forty feet from the station entrance ; as they were walking in , Eddie Hogan bolted ; Garda Neville threw his garda cap on the ground and ran after him . Gardai Walsh and Collins rushed Fergal Toal into the station and handed him over to the station orderly team , Garda Andrew Moriarty and Garda Fallon , in the presence of Garda Sergeant Patrick Merrigan .
Walsh and Collins shouted " Hold him ! Another man has escaped ... " : then they ran off to help Garda Neville to find Eddie Hogan , who had run down the road into the Clanwilliam Rugby Club - he ran the length of the pitch and crossed the goal line with Garda Neville in pursuit ; it was a 'good try' by Neville but Eddie Hogan had already disappeared behind the cover of trees beside the pavilion . He escaped over a wall and was gone . The Clanwilliam Rugby Team , who were training , formed an impromptu search party but without success .
Fergal Toal was now in Garda custody - but not for long .......
(MORE LATER).
Tuesday, October 25, 2005
UDR'S ROTTEN APPLES.......
Five members of the 'Ulster Defence Regiment' , formerly based at Drummad Barracks in Armagh , have been charged with murder , and the recent visits to this barracks by both the Duke of Edinburgh and Mrs Thatcher caused an uproar in the North .
But how exceptional are the 'Drummad Five' ? Just how many 'rotten apples' are there in the 'Ulster Defence Regiment' , which is now the principal back-up force to the RUC in the North of Ireland ?
We have chronicled herewith almost one hundred cases where members of the 'Ulster Defence Regiment' (UDR) have been charged with serious offences , mostly involving firearms or explosives . It is a directory of Dishonourable Discharge that is unmatched in the 'security forces' of any country in Europe and probably not even in South America . And even this list does not claim to be exhaustive .
From 'The Phoenix' magazine , 30 March 1984 .
DAVID LAFFIN of Belfast , sent to Borstal in March 1976 for possession of sub-machine gun and 760 rounds of ammunition in suspicious circumstances . The gun had been stolen from Portadown UDR armoury in 1973 .
NEIL LATTIMER , WILLIAM ROLESTON , DAVID IAN McMULLAN , JAMES HEGAN , WINSTON ALLEN , NOEL BELL and COLIN WARTON , charged in December 1983 with murder of Adrian Carroll . All based at Drumadd Barracks .
THOMAS LEONARD of County Tyrone , sentenced to life in October 1975 for machine-gun murder of James and Mary Devlin at Edenork in 1974 . He was later given concurrent sentences for a series of other offences . LEONARD , who was 'born again' while on remand , refused 'Special Category' status .
ALISTER ROGER LOCKHART of Armagh , jailed for 10 years in May 1975 for a car bombing in Armagh , illegal possession of firearms and other offences . A known member of the UVF .
SAMUEL JAMES LOGAN , appears to have been the first UDR man to appear on a charge in a court . From Derry , he was convicted in September 1971 for illegal possession of a pistol . Arrested by a UDR patrol while returning from a trip to Donegal .
(MORE LATER).
ELECTION INTERVENTIONS.......
Despite the fact that SINN FEIN has been contesting local elections in the 26 counties for more than two decades , much comment has been passed and incorrectly interpreted about Republican involvement in elections - north and south of the British-imposed border - in the past several months .
Here we review Republican interventions in the electoral process for the past century and more .
From 'IRIS' magazine , Volume 1 , Number 2 , November 1981 .
The by-election in Longford was to be contested by Sinn Fein candidate Joe MacGuinness , at the time a prisoner serving penal servitude in Lewes Prison . His name went before the electorate with the simple slogan ' Put him in to get him out' . MacGuinness , incidentally , had no wish to let his name go forward as he felt that to do so would compromise the traditional Republican attitude of contempt for 'parliamentary methods' ; the IRB , mindful of the need to retain a Republican influence over the new political movement , ignored MacGuinness's reservations , with the result that , after a recount , he won by thirty eight votes over the Redmond candidate .
Redmond could clearly no longer afford to consider partition on any terms - the prevailing mood in the country was determinedly against it . He rejected partition but agreed with Lloyd George to an 'Irish Convention' , a device clearly suited to British needs , not least because of American pressure , insofar as it 'passed the buck' from the British government to the Irish unionist and nationalist 'factions' .
While this appeared plausible in British terms , it was of course completely impractical and doomed to failure ; Sinn Fein declared its intention to boycott the proceedings and before the 'Convention' could get down to its deliberations , another Sinn Fein candidate , Eamonn De Valera , was returned as MP for East Clare with a majority of 2,975 over the Redmonite candidate , a popular local man named Lynch . By now released Republican prisoners were being greeted on their return to Ireland by enthusiastic crowds .
Against this background the re-organisation of the IRA continued with predictable counter-measures by the British government , who continued to ignore the open military organisation of the UVF in the North .......
(MORE LATER).
23 DAYS IN HELL : THE STORY OF THE O'GRADY KIDNAPPING .......
The Gardai had in their possession a clue which could have led them to the O'Grady kidnappers and their captive some ten days earlier .
A card found in a rucksack after the Midleton shoot-out led them directly to the gang once they checked it out - but this was ten days later , by which time John O 'Grady had lost two of his fingers .
First published in 'MAGILL' Magazine , May 1988 .
By Michael O'Higgins .
John O' Grady had escaped from the kidnap gang and was hiding in the garden of a house on Kilkiernan Road in Cabra , Dublin : he heard the sounds of two men coming into the garden , and thought they were gang members . In fact they were two Detectives who had pursued O' Grady who they suspected was a member of the kidnap gang - from their conversation , John O' Grady realised that they were gardai , and raised his bandaged hands in the air and said " I am John O' Grady ! "
THE TIPPERARY ESCAPE .
Back at 260 Carnlough Road someone had called an ambulance for Detective Martin O' Connor - he was on the ground calling for his wife Rosy and praying ; he thought he was dying . Gerry Wright had gone into the house and got a blanket to cover O' Connor and had remained standing over him . Detective Sergeant Henry Spring had hoped to telephone for support in the house he had broken into , but there was no telephone . He made his way to 260 Carnlough Road to find his colleague Martin O' Connor on the ground with gunshot wounds , and turned to Gerry Wright who was standing close by and said to him - " You bastard , you walked us into this . "
John O' Grady was put into a garda car - he had read in the newspapers that his family had taken rooms in the Blackrock Clinic in anticipation of his release and he asked the gardai to take him there . The news of his release was broadcast on RTE radio within minutes ; Dessie O' Hare was en route to Cork to supervise the payment of the ransom - O' Hare was listening to the radio and , according to a passenger in the car who later made a statement to the gardai , he beat his fists on the dashboard in rage .
Meanwhile , the kidnap gang had escaped the gardai for a second time - Eddie Hogan and Fergal Toal abandoned the Corporation lorry in Blackhorse Avenue and ordered a woman to drive them to Clondalkin , in Dublin South-West - there they called into a house owned by Una Dermody who was having coffee with a friend , Maria Hennessy : they demanded a change of clothes . One of the women cleaned the graze on Fergal Toal's leg , and the gang then took the Saab car belonging to Una Dermody and the two women were taken as hostages - they headed for Limerick , using back roads .
On the way Hogan talked about art and paintings , and conversed with Fergal Toal in Irish ; the two women let them out at Mount St. Laurence cemetery , just outside Limerick - the women then reported what had happened to the first garda they met .......
(MORE LATER).
Five members of the 'Ulster Defence Regiment' , formerly based at Drummad Barracks in Armagh , have been charged with murder , and the recent visits to this barracks by both the Duke of Edinburgh and Mrs Thatcher caused an uproar in the North .
But how exceptional are the 'Drummad Five' ? Just how many 'rotten apples' are there in the 'Ulster Defence Regiment' , which is now the principal back-up force to the RUC in the North of Ireland ?
We have chronicled herewith almost one hundred cases where members of the 'Ulster Defence Regiment' (UDR) have been charged with serious offences , mostly involving firearms or explosives . It is a directory of Dishonourable Discharge that is unmatched in the 'security forces' of any country in Europe and probably not even in South America . And even this list does not claim to be exhaustive .
From 'The Phoenix' magazine , 30 March 1984 .
DAVID LAFFIN of Belfast , sent to Borstal in March 1976 for possession of sub-machine gun and 760 rounds of ammunition in suspicious circumstances . The gun had been stolen from Portadown UDR armoury in 1973 .
NEIL LATTIMER , WILLIAM ROLESTON , DAVID IAN McMULLAN , JAMES HEGAN , WINSTON ALLEN , NOEL BELL and COLIN WARTON , charged in December 1983 with murder of Adrian Carroll . All based at Drumadd Barracks .
THOMAS LEONARD of County Tyrone , sentenced to life in October 1975 for machine-gun murder of James and Mary Devlin at Edenork in 1974 . He was later given concurrent sentences for a series of other offences . LEONARD , who was 'born again' while on remand , refused 'Special Category' status .
ALISTER ROGER LOCKHART of Armagh , jailed for 10 years in May 1975 for a car bombing in Armagh , illegal possession of firearms and other offences . A known member of the UVF .
SAMUEL JAMES LOGAN , appears to have been the first UDR man to appear on a charge in a court . From Derry , he was convicted in September 1971 for illegal possession of a pistol . Arrested by a UDR patrol while returning from a trip to Donegal .
(MORE LATER).
ELECTION INTERVENTIONS.......
Despite the fact that SINN FEIN has been contesting local elections in the 26 counties for more than two decades , much comment has been passed and incorrectly interpreted about Republican involvement in elections - north and south of the British-imposed border - in the past several months .
Here we review Republican interventions in the electoral process for the past century and more .
From 'IRIS' magazine , Volume 1 , Number 2 , November 1981 .
The by-election in Longford was to be contested by Sinn Fein candidate Joe MacGuinness , at the time a prisoner serving penal servitude in Lewes Prison . His name went before the electorate with the simple slogan ' Put him in to get him out' . MacGuinness , incidentally , had no wish to let his name go forward as he felt that to do so would compromise the traditional Republican attitude of contempt for 'parliamentary methods' ; the IRB , mindful of the need to retain a Republican influence over the new political movement , ignored MacGuinness's reservations , with the result that , after a recount , he won by thirty eight votes over the Redmond candidate .
Redmond could clearly no longer afford to consider partition on any terms - the prevailing mood in the country was determinedly against it . He rejected partition but agreed with Lloyd George to an 'Irish Convention' , a device clearly suited to British needs , not least because of American pressure , insofar as it 'passed the buck' from the British government to the Irish unionist and nationalist 'factions' .
While this appeared plausible in British terms , it was of course completely impractical and doomed to failure ; Sinn Fein declared its intention to boycott the proceedings and before the 'Convention' could get down to its deliberations , another Sinn Fein candidate , Eamonn De Valera , was returned as MP for East Clare with a majority of 2,975 over the Redmonite candidate , a popular local man named Lynch . By now released Republican prisoners were being greeted on their return to Ireland by enthusiastic crowds .
Against this background the re-organisation of the IRA continued with predictable counter-measures by the British government , who continued to ignore the open military organisation of the UVF in the North .......
(MORE LATER).
23 DAYS IN HELL : THE STORY OF THE O'GRADY KIDNAPPING .......
The Gardai had in their possession a clue which could have led them to the O'Grady kidnappers and their captive some ten days earlier .
A card found in a rucksack after the Midleton shoot-out led them directly to the gang once they checked it out - but this was ten days later , by which time John O 'Grady had lost two of his fingers .
First published in 'MAGILL' Magazine , May 1988 .
By Michael O'Higgins .
John O' Grady had escaped from the kidnap gang and was hiding in the garden of a house on Kilkiernan Road in Cabra , Dublin : he heard the sounds of two men coming into the garden , and thought they were gang members . In fact they were two Detectives who had pursued O' Grady who they suspected was a member of the kidnap gang - from their conversation , John O' Grady realised that they were gardai , and raised his bandaged hands in the air and said " I am John O' Grady ! "
THE TIPPERARY ESCAPE .
Back at 260 Carnlough Road someone had called an ambulance for Detective Martin O' Connor - he was on the ground calling for his wife Rosy and praying ; he thought he was dying . Gerry Wright had gone into the house and got a blanket to cover O' Connor and had remained standing over him . Detective Sergeant Henry Spring had hoped to telephone for support in the house he had broken into , but there was no telephone . He made his way to 260 Carnlough Road to find his colleague Martin O' Connor on the ground with gunshot wounds , and turned to Gerry Wright who was standing close by and said to him - " You bastard , you walked us into this . "
John O' Grady was put into a garda car - he had read in the newspapers that his family had taken rooms in the Blackrock Clinic in anticipation of his release and he asked the gardai to take him there . The news of his release was broadcast on RTE radio within minutes ; Dessie O' Hare was en route to Cork to supervise the payment of the ransom - O' Hare was listening to the radio and , according to a passenger in the car who later made a statement to the gardai , he beat his fists on the dashboard in rage .
Meanwhile , the kidnap gang had escaped the gardai for a second time - Eddie Hogan and Fergal Toal abandoned the Corporation lorry in Blackhorse Avenue and ordered a woman to drive them to Clondalkin , in Dublin South-West - there they called into a house owned by Una Dermody who was having coffee with a friend , Maria Hennessy : they demanded a change of clothes . One of the women cleaned the graze on Fergal Toal's leg , and the gang then took the Saab car belonging to Una Dermody and the two women were taken as hostages - they headed for Limerick , using back roads .
On the way Hogan talked about art and paintings , and conversed with Fergal Toal in Irish ; the two women let them out at Mount St. Laurence cemetery , just outside Limerick - the women then reported what had happened to the first garda they met .......
(MORE LATER).
Monday, October 24, 2005
UDR'S ROTTEN APPLES.......
Five members of the 'Ulster Defence Regiment' , formerly based at Drummad Barracks in Armagh , have been charged with murder , and the recent visits to this barracks by both the Duke of Edinburgh and Mrs Thatcher caused an uproar in the North .
But how exceptional are the 'Drummad Five' ? Just how many 'rotten apples' are there in the 'Ulster Defence Regiment' , which is now the principal back-up force to the RUC in the North of Ireland ?
We have chronicled herewith almost one hundred cases where members of the 'Ulster Defence Regiment' (UDR) have been charged with serious offences , mostly involving firearms or explosives . It is a directory of Dishonourable Discharge that is unmatched in the 'security forces' of any country in Europe and probably not even in South America . And even this list does not claim to be exhaustive .
From 'The Phoenix' magazine , 30 March 1984 .
THOMAS IRVINE of Belfast , jailed for five years in February 1976 for illegal possession of a firearm . Known member of the UDA .
ALEXANDER IRWIN of Armagh , jailed for three years in November 1975 for possession of bomb-making equipment . Known member of the UVF .
GLYNN JONES of Belfast , sentenced to six months in February 1973 for illegal possession of ammunition .
DEREK KENNEDY of Armagh , jailed for 18 months (suspended) in November 1976 for setting fire to a Catholic school and a Methodist church .
WILLIAM FREDERICK KENNEDY of Belfast , fined £50 in January 1977 for being drunk in charge of a loaded pistol . He had wounded a companion while toying with the weapon in a pub .
DEREK HUGH KINKAID of Belfast , jailed for eight years in December 1974 for armed robbery of post office . Known to have UDA connections .
(MORE LATER).
ELECTION INTERVENTIONS.......
Despite the fact that SINN FEIN has been contesting local elections in the 26 counties for more than two decades , much comment has been passed and incorrectly interpreted about Republican involvement in elections - north and south of the British-imposed border - in the past several months .
Here we review Republican interventions in the electoral process for the past century and more .
From 'IRIS' magazine , Volume 1 , Number 2 , November 1981 .
After he won the February 1917 North Roscommon by-election for Sinn Fein , Count Plunkett declared that he had been considering whether or not to represent the people of Roscommon in "...a foreign parliament .. " but had decided that his place was beside his own people in their own country , "...for it is in Ireland that the battle of Irish Liberty is to be fought .. " .
While the press speculated that the writing was on the wall for John Redmond's party , there was still no proper organisation to oppose him . In an effort to remedy this , ten days after Easter 1917 , over 1,200 delegates attended an 'Irish Assembly' , convened in Dublin's Mansion House by Count Plunkett . Sixty eight public bodies were represented and forty one Sinn Fein cumainn . The only practical step agreed upon was that an organising committee be formed to establish some form of organisation for the next general election .
At the same time there was an affirmation proclaiming Ireland a separate nation and asserting her right to freedom from all foreign control and denying the ' authority' of any foreign parliament in Ireland . The acceptance of such an affirmation was evidence of the continuing hardening of Nationalist thinking which was now taking its national demand far beyond the Home Rule Act on the statute book .
At the same time Count Plunkett had declared that a policy of abstention from Westminster was an indispensable committment for all members of such a new organisation as might form his committee , which , with another by-election pending at Longford , now had the opportunity of a further electoral test .......
(MORE LATER).
23 DAYS IN HELL : THE STORY OF THE O'GRADY KIDNAPPING .......
The Gardai had in their possession a clue which could have led them to the O'Grady kidnappers and their captive some ten days earlier .
A card found in a rucksack after the Midleton shoot-out led them directly to the gang once they checked it out - but this was ten days later , by which time John O 'Grady had lost two of his fingers .
First published in 'MAGILL' Magazine , May 1988 .
By Michael O'Higgins .
In the confusion caused by the shoot-out , John O' Grady had decided to make a run for it . All it needed was for one garda patrol car to arrive from the other end of Carnlough Road and the gang's escape route was blocked . One of the kidnappers , Tony McNeill , hi-jacked a car at gunpoint and calmy drove up Carnlough Road and turned left out of sight .
Eddie Hogan and Fergal Toal also hi-jacked a car about fifty yards up the road ; they were just getting into the car when the second patrol car , manned by Detective Gardai Dick Fahey and Brian Coade appeared - there was an exchange of gunfire . Hogan and Toal reversed the car back up towards Kilkiernan Road and immediately crashed into a bus . The two of them got out and proceeded up Kilkiernan Road on foot . They retreated military style , one giving covering fire while the other ran a few yards and vice versa .
Detectives Fahey and Coade returned fire , and Fergal Toal was hit on the knee - Hogan and the injured Toal then hi-jacked a Dublin Corporation roadsweeper van . The two Detectives , Fahey and Coade , had by now been joined by two more colleagues . Once again the gardai on foot were powerless to do anything ; they commandeered a civilian car but by then the kidnap gang had disappeared .
21. " I AM JOHN O' GRADY . "
John O' Grady had followed the same route as the kidnappers . He had removed his blacked-out glasses and ran up Carnlough Road to the junction where it meets Kilkiernan Road - at the corner he saw a man and a woman at a hall door , and asked them if he could come in but the couple closed the door in his face , so he ran down Kilkiernan Road . He saw a house with a plywood gate at the side , and jumped over the gate . The garden was overgrown . He got down on his hands and knees and climbed into a space in the middle of a patch of brambles . A few minutes later he heard two men come into the garden .......
(MORE LATER).
Five members of the 'Ulster Defence Regiment' , formerly based at Drummad Barracks in Armagh , have been charged with murder , and the recent visits to this barracks by both the Duke of Edinburgh and Mrs Thatcher caused an uproar in the North .
But how exceptional are the 'Drummad Five' ? Just how many 'rotten apples' are there in the 'Ulster Defence Regiment' , which is now the principal back-up force to the RUC in the North of Ireland ?
We have chronicled herewith almost one hundred cases where members of the 'Ulster Defence Regiment' (UDR) have been charged with serious offences , mostly involving firearms or explosives . It is a directory of Dishonourable Discharge that is unmatched in the 'security forces' of any country in Europe and probably not even in South America . And even this list does not claim to be exhaustive .
From 'The Phoenix' magazine , 30 March 1984 .
THOMAS IRVINE of Belfast , jailed for five years in February 1976 for illegal possession of a firearm . Known member of the UDA .
ALEXANDER IRWIN of Armagh , jailed for three years in November 1975 for possession of bomb-making equipment . Known member of the UVF .
GLYNN JONES of Belfast , sentenced to six months in February 1973 for illegal possession of ammunition .
DEREK KENNEDY of Armagh , jailed for 18 months (suspended) in November 1976 for setting fire to a Catholic school and a Methodist church .
WILLIAM FREDERICK KENNEDY of Belfast , fined £50 in January 1977 for being drunk in charge of a loaded pistol . He had wounded a companion while toying with the weapon in a pub .
DEREK HUGH KINKAID of Belfast , jailed for eight years in December 1974 for armed robbery of post office . Known to have UDA connections .
(MORE LATER).
ELECTION INTERVENTIONS.......
Despite the fact that SINN FEIN has been contesting local elections in the 26 counties for more than two decades , much comment has been passed and incorrectly interpreted about Republican involvement in elections - north and south of the British-imposed border - in the past several months .
Here we review Republican interventions in the electoral process for the past century and more .
From 'IRIS' magazine , Volume 1 , Number 2 , November 1981 .
After he won the February 1917 North Roscommon by-election for Sinn Fein , Count Plunkett declared that he had been considering whether or not to represent the people of Roscommon in "...a foreign parliament .. " but had decided that his place was beside his own people in their own country , "...for it is in Ireland that the battle of Irish Liberty is to be fought .. " .
While the press speculated that the writing was on the wall for John Redmond's party , there was still no proper organisation to oppose him . In an effort to remedy this , ten days after Easter 1917 , over 1,200 delegates attended an 'Irish Assembly' , convened in Dublin's Mansion House by Count Plunkett . Sixty eight public bodies were represented and forty one Sinn Fein cumainn . The only practical step agreed upon was that an organising committee be formed to establish some form of organisation for the next general election .
At the same time there was an affirmation proclaiming Ireland a separate nation and asserting her right to freedom from all foreign control and denying the ' authority' of any foreign parliament in Ireland . The acceptance of such an affirmation was evidence of the continuing hardening of Nationalist thinking which was now taking its national demand far beyond the Home Rule Act on the statute book .
At the same time Count Plunkett had declared that a policy of abstention from Westminster was an indispensable committment for all members of such a new organisation as might form his committee , which , with another by-election pending at Longford , now had the opportunity of a further electoral test .......
(MORE LATER).
23 DAYS IN HELL : THE STORY OF THE O'GRADY KIDNAPPING .......
The Gardai had in their possession a clue which could have led them to the O'Grady kidnappers and their captive some ten days earlier .
A card found in a rucksack after the Midleton shoot-out led them directly to the gang once they checked it out - but this was ten days later , by which time John O 'Grady had lost two of his fingers .
First published in 'MAGILL' Magazine , May 1988 .
By Michael O'Higgins .
In the confusion caused by the shoot-out , John O' Grady had decided to make a run for it . All it needed was for one garda patrol car to arrive from the other end of Carnlough Road and the gang's escape route was blocked . One of the kidnappers , Tony McNeill , hi-jacked a car at gunpoint and calmy drove up Carnlough Road and turned left out of sight .
Eddie Hogan and Fergal Toal also hi-jacked a car about fifty yards up the road ; they were just getting into the car when the second patrol car , manned by Detective Gardai Dick Fahey and Brian Coade appeared - there was an exchange of gunfire . Hogan and Toal reversed the car back up towards Kilkiernan Road and immediately crashed into a bus . The two of them got out and proceeded up Kilkiernan Road on foot . They retreated military style , one giving covering fire while the other ran a few yards and vice versa .
Detectives Fahey and Coade returned fire , and Fergal Toal was hit on the knee - Hogan and the injured Toal then hi-jacked a Dublin Corporation roadsweeper van . The two Detectives , Fahey and Coade , had by now been joined by two more colleagues . Once again the gardai on foot were powerless to do anything ; they commandeered a civilian car but by then the kidnap gang had disappeared .
21. " I AM JOHN O' GRADY . "
John O' Grady had followed the same route as the kidnappers . He had removed his blacked-out glasses and ran up Carnlough Road to the junction where it meets Kilkiernan Road - at the corner he saw a man and a woman at a hall door , and asked them if he could come in but the couple closed the door in his face , so he ran down Kilkiernan Road . He saw a house with a plywood gate at the side , and jumped over the gate . The garden was overgrown . He got down on his hands and knees and climbed into a space in the middle of a patch of brambles . A few minutes later he heard two men come into the garden .......
(MORE LATER).
Friday, October 21, 2005
UDR'S ROTTEN APPLES.......
Five members of the 'Ulster Defence Regiment' , formerly based at Drummad Barracks in Armagh , have been charged with murder , and the recent visits to this barracks by both the Duke of Edinburgh and Mrs Thatcher caused an uproar in the North .
But how exceptional are the 'Drummad Five' ? Just how many 'rotten apples' are there in the 'Ulster Defence Regiment' , which is now the principal back-up force to the RUC in the North of Ireland ?
We have chronicled herewith almost one hundred cases where members of the 'Ulster Defence Regiment' (UDR) have been charged with serious offences , mostly involving firearms or explosives . It is a directory of Dishonourable Discharge that is unmatched in the 'security forces' of any country in Europe and probably not even in South America . And even this list does not claim to be exhaustive .
From 'The Phoenix' magazine , 30 March 1984 .
JOHN GAW of Greenisland , County Antrim , sentenced to 10 years in March 1977 for possession of arms and training UVF East Antrim members . Involved in 76-day UVF trial which ended in 27 men receiving a total of 700 years plus eight "Lifes" for UVF activity .
RONALD GIBSON , MARK MAM and KENNETH SPENCE , all of Newtonabbey , fined £50 each in February 1979 for breaking into local 'Star of the Sea' Roman Catholic Church and shitting on the altar .
JAMES GILLIES of Belfast , jailed for four years in May 1975 for illegal possession of firearm .
THOMAS GRUERS of Magherafelt , fined £50 in February 1981 for firing shots from a Walther pistol during the fracas - apparently between Nationalists and Loyalists - in Portrush .
LOUIS HATHAWAY of Gilford , County Down , fined £100 in August 1979 for possession of a loaded pistol while drunk during anti-internment protest .
RAYMOND HIGGINS of Belfast , jailed for two years in March 1981 for illegal possession of a firearm and attempted rape .
HENRY WILLIAM HUTCHINS of Limavady , jailed for five years in March 1975 for armed robbery . A known member of the UDA .
(MORE LATER).
ELECTION INTERVENTIONS.......
Despite the fact that SINN FEIN has been contesting local elections in the 26 counties for more than two decades , much comment has been passed and incorrectly interpreted about Republican involvement in elections - north and south of the British-imposed border - in the past several months .
Here we review Republican interventions in the electoral process for the past century and more .
From 'IRIS' magazine , Volume 1 , Number 2 , November 1981 .
Among the ranks of Sinn Fein was a mixture of IRA Volunteers who had gone out at Easter 1916 , IRB men who were committed to an Irish Republic at all costs , and many exponents of the orthodox constitutional Sinn Fein doctrine of pre-war days as preached by Arthur Griffith . While a new mood was sweeping the country , Sinn Fein had virtually no organisation at all and nothing like a coherent political organisation needed to co-ordinate the new mood .
However , with the death of J.J. O' Kelly , the MP for Roscommon and a by-election in that constituency scheduled for February 1917 , Sinn Fein had its first opportunity to oppose Redmond's Party : Count Plunkett , father of Joseph Mary Plunkett and of two other imprisoned sons , stood against Redmond's man . Plunkett faced a number of practical disadvantages - his opponent was a well known local man , and Plunkett's 'election machine' was inexperienced . Much of the constituency was snow-bound and Plunkett himself remained in England , where he had been deported , ill , until a few days before polling .
On top of that he remained ambiguous on whether he would take his seat at Westminster if elected . Furthermore , Sinn Fein had contested and badly lost a North Leitrim by-election in 1908 , though it fought that election on Arthur Griffith's dual-monarchy policy .
Now , however , the bulk of 'dissident' Nationalist voters were concerned about one thing only - that was , voting for a candidate who would not accept partition of Ireland in any form and against a party which had shown itself too easy or too willing to be duped into doing so . Count Plunkett won the election for Sinn Fein with a majority of almost twice as many votes as Redmond's man .......
(MORE LATER).
23 DAYS IN HELL : THE STORY OF THE O'GRADY KIDNAPPING .......
The Gardai had in their possession a clue which could have led them to the O'Grady kidnappers and their captive some ten days earlier .
A card found in a rucksack after the Midleton shoot-out led them directly to the gang once they checked it out - but this was ten days later , by which time John O 'Grady had lost two of his fingers .
First published in 'MAGILL' Magazine , May 1988 .
By Michael O'Higgins .
Detective Martin O' Connor , dazed from the beating , stood up and gang member Eddie Hogan used his gun to wave him towards a wall ; O' Connor put his hands on his face which was sore - he could feel blood . He was now about two feet from the barrel of Hogan's gun . He was so uncomfortably close he could make out green masking tape around the stock of the gun - Hogan fired : the shot blew a hole the size of a fist in O' Connor's stomach . His bowel was peppered with gunshot pellets . He felt the tear in his stomach and a severe burning sensation - he staggered backwards , but refused to fall down . Instead , he pulled out his own gun and fired at one of the gang . Hogan shot him again , in the shoulder , shattering his collarbone . O' Connor fell to the ground and crouched in a ball clutching his stomach . Eddie Hogan advanced on O' Connor .
The wounded Detective asked that Hogan not shoot him again ; Hogan kicked him in the side and said " Give me your gun , you pig . " Hogan held O' Connor's gun aloft , head high .
At first it was almost an action replay of Midleton : a Hi-Ace van came down Carnlough Road and was stopped at gunpoint - John O' Grady was pulled by one of the kidnap gang over towards the passenger door . At that moment the first of the patrol cars which had responded to the call was arriving . Detective Garda Gregory Sheehan had been in Phibsboro when he heard the call on the radio . He approached from the same direction in which the Hi-Ace van was travelling . Detective Sheehan got out of the car and shouted - " Armed gardai . Halt ! " Immediately he heard the sounds of bullets whizzing over his head - he fired back : six shots from his Smith and Wesson . The gang member who had been ushering John O' Grady into the Hi-Ace van dived for cover . O' Grady took his one chance . He ran .......
(MORE LATER).
Five members of the 'Ulster Defence Regiment' , formerly based at Drummad Barracks in Armagh , have been charged with murder , and the recent visits to this barracks by both the Duke of Edinburgh and Mrs Thatcher caused an uproar in the North .
But how exceptional are the 'Drummad Five' ? Just how many 'rotten apples' are there in the 'Ulster Defence Regiment' , which is now the principal back-up force to the RUC in the North of Ireland ?
We have chronicled herewith almost one hundred cases where members of the 'Ulster Defence Regiment' (UDR) have been charged with serious offences , mostly involving firearms or explosives . It is a directory of Dishonourable Discharge that is unmatched in the 'security forces' of any country in Europe and probably not even in South America . And even this list does not claim to be exhaustive .
From 'The Phoenix' magazine , 30 March 1984 .
JOHN GAW of Greenisland , County Antrim , sentenced to 10 years in March 1977 for possession of arms and training UVF East Antrim members . Involved in 76-day UVF trial which ended in 27 men receiving a total of 700 years plus eight "Lifes" for UVF activity .
RONALD GIBSON , MARK MAM and KENNETH SPENCE , all of Newtonabbey , fined £50 each in February 1979 for breaking into local 'Star of the Sea' Roman Catholic Church and shitting on the altar .
JAMES GILLIES of Belfast , jailed for four years in May 1975 for illegal possession of firearm .
THOMAS GRUERS of Magherafelt , fined £50 in February 1981 for firing shots from a Walther pistol during the fracas - apparently between Nationalists and Loyalists - in Portrush .
LOUIS HATHAWAY of Gilford , County Down , fined £100 in August 1979 for possession of a loaded pistol while drunk during anti-internment protest .
RAYMOND HIGGINS of Belfast , jailed for two years in March 1981 for illegal possession of a firearm and attempted rape .
HENRY WILLIAM HUTCHINS of Limavady , jailed for five years in March 1975 for armed robbery . A known member of the UDA .
(MORE LATER).
ELECTION INTERVENTIONS.......
Despite the fact that SINN FEIN has been contesting local elections in the 26 counties for more than two decades , much comment has been passed and incorrectly interpreted about Republican involvement in elections - north and south of the British-imposed border - in the past several months .
Here we review Republican interventions in the electoral process for the past century and more .
From 'IRIS' magazine , Volume 1 , Number 2 , November 1981 .
Among the ranks of Sinn Fein was a mixture of IRA Volunteers who had gone out at Easter 1916 , IRB men who were committed to an Irish Republic at all costs , and many exponents of the orthodox constitutional Sinn Fein doctrine of pre-war days as preached by Arthur Griffith . While a new mood was sweeping the country , Sinn Fein had virtually no organisation at all and nothing like a coherent political organisation needed to co-ordinate the new mood .
However , with the death of J.J. O' Kelly , the MP for Roscommon and a by-election in that constituency scheduled for February 1917 , Sinn Fein had its first opportunity to oppose Redmond's Party : Count Plunkett , father of Joseph Mary Plunkett and of two other imprisoned sons , stood against Redmond's man . Plunkett faced a number of practical disadvantages - his opponent was a well known local man , and Plunkett's 'election machine' was inexperienced . Much of the constituency was snow-bound and Plunkett himself remained in England , where he had been deported , ill , until a few days before polling .
On top of that he remained ambiguous on whether he would take his seat at Westminster if elected . Furthermore , Sinn Fein had contested and badly lost a North Leitrim by-election in 1908 , though it fought that election on Arthur Griffith's dual-monarchy policy .
Now , however , the bulk of 'dissident' Nationalist voters were concerned about one thing only - that was , voting for a candidate who would not accept partition of Ireland in any form and against a party which had shown itself too easy or too willing to be duped into doing so . Count Plunkett won the election for Sinn Fein with a majority of almost twice as many votes as Redmond's man .......
(MORE LATER).
23 DAYS IN HELL : THE STORY OF THE O'GRADY KIDNAPPING .......
The Gardai had in their possession a clue which could have led them to the O'Grady kidnappers and their captive some ten days earlier .
A card found in a rucksack after the Midleton shoot-out led them directly to the gang once they checked it out - but this was ten days later , by which time John O 'Grady had lost two of his fingers .
First published in 'MAGILL' Magazine , May 1988 .
By Michael O'Higgins .
Detective Martin O' Connor , dazed from the beating , stood up and gang member Eddie Hogan used his gun to wave him towards a wall ; O' Connor put his hands on his face which was sore - he could feel blood . He was now about two feet from the barrel of Hogan's gun . He was so uncomfortably close he could make out green masking tape around the stock of the gun - Hogan fired : the shot blew a hole the size of a fist in O' Connor's stomach . His bowel was peppered with gunshot pellets . He felt the tear in his stomach and a severe burning sensation - he staggered backwards , but refused to fall down . Instead , he pulled out his own gun and fired at one of the gang . Hogan shot him again , in the shoulder , shattering his collarbone . O' Connor fell to the ground and crouched in a ball clutching his stomach . Eddie Hogan advanced on O' Connor .
The wounded Detective asked that Hogan not shoot him again ; Hogan kicked him in the side and said " Give me your gun , you pig . " Hogan held O' Connor's gun aloft , head high .
At first it was almost an action replay of Midleton : a Hi-Ace van came down Carnlough Road and was stopped at gunpoint - John O' Grady was pulled by one of the kidnap gang over towards the passenger door . At that moment the first of the patrol cars which had responded to the call was arriving . Detective Garda Gregory Sheehan had been in Phibsboro when he heard the call on the radio . He approached from the same direction in which the Hi-Ace van was travelling . Detective Sheehan got out of the car and shouted - " Armed gardai . Halt ! " Immediately he heard the sounds of bullets whizzing over his head - he fired back : six shots from his Smith and Wesson . The gang member who had been ushering John O' Grady into the Hi-Ace van dived for cover . O' Grady took his one chance . He ran .......
(MORE LATER).
Thursday, October 20, 2005
UDR'S ROTTEN APPLES.......
Five members of the 'Ulster Defence Regiment' , formerly based at Drummad Barracks in Armagh , have been charged with murder , and the recent visits to this barracks by both the Duke of Edinburgh and Mrs Thatcher caused an uproar in the North .
But how exceptional are the 'Drummad Five' ? Just how many 'rotten apples' are there in the 'Ulster Defence Regiment' , which is now the principal back-up force to the RUC in the North of Ireland ?
We have chronicled herewith almost one hundred cases where members of the 'Ulster Defence Regiment' (UDR) have been charged with serious offences , mostly involving firearms or explosives . It is a directory of Dishonourable Discharge that is unmatched in the 'security forces' of any country in Europe and probably not even in South America . And even this list does not claim to be exhaustive .
From 'The Phoenix' magazine , 30 March 1984 .
GEOFFREY EDWARDS of Armagh , charged in December 1983 with the murder of Sinn Fein election worker Peter Corrigan , plus four attempted murders including that of Seamus Grew (subsequently shot dead by the RUC) .
MERVYN JOSEPH FALOON of Tandragree , sentenced to five years in February 1978 for shooting into Catholic Obins Street enclave in Portadown on the 'Twelvth' in 1977 .
SAMUEL FARRELL of Enniskillen , sentenced to 18 months in November 1977 for bombing a dance hall in Donegal in 1974 .
WILLIAM FERRIS of Belfast , suspended sentence in February 1974 for possessing a shotgun and ammunition in suspicious circumstances .
JAMES GALLAGHER of Belfast , six months suspended in February 1974 for possession of firearms in suspicious circumstances .
WILLIAM GALLAGHER of Belfast , sentenced to 10 years in April 1979 for five armed robberies . Known to be also a member of the UVF .
ROBERT JOSEPH GAMBLE of Belfast , sentenced to five years in February 1972 for bombing Lisburn Council offices . Fellow bomber killed in the operation . Known to be also a member of the UVF .
(MORE LATER).
ELECTION INTERVENTIONS.......
Despite the fact that SINN FEIN has been contesting local elections in the 26 counties for more than two decades , much comment has been passed and incorrectly interpreted about Republican involvement in elections - north and south of the British-imposed border - in the past several months .
Here we review Republican interventions in the electoral process for the past century and more .
From 'IRIS' magazine , Volume 1 , Number 2 , November 1981 .
Republican intervention in the British electoral process in this century dates back to February 1917 ; a year had passed since the proclamation of the Irish Republic in 1916 , and many of the internees released before Christmas 1916 were back in Ireland . While they and other Republicans had differing political attitudes on future policy , the political climate during the eight months of their imprisonment had changed dramatically ; a number of factors had contributed to this change .
Foremost of these were the executions by the British government of the leaders of the Easter Rising and the loss of credibility by John Redmond's Irish Parliamentary Party among Nationalists . In 1914 a Home Rule Act for all Ireland , without any mention of a separate treatment for any Ulster county , had been passed by the British parliament and signed by the English King . That Act had then been suspended for 12 months or for the duration of the war , a war in which at the behest of John Redmond , many Irishmen had fought on the British side "...for the independence of small nations.. "
Now , with the war over , the British government's only response to such a sacrifice was to amend the Home Rule Act to exclude six of the Ulster Counties and to repudiate the basic nationalist idea of an undivided Ireland . In this climate , the actions of those who had gone out in the 1916 Rising , and the subsequent murders of their leaders was seen in sharp contrast to the collaborationist policies of the Irish Parliamentary Party , especially as such collaboration had achieved far less than had been promised .
Sinn Fein itself had changed ; while still without a coherent policy on social and economic matters and with no clear idea of how it could achieve independence , it at least had rejected partition .......
(MORE LATER).
23 DAYS IN HELL : THE STORY OF THE O'GRADY KIDNAPPING .......
The Gardai had in their possession a clue which could have led them to the O'Grady kidnappers and their captive some ten days earlier .
A card found in a rucksack after the Midleton shoot-out led them directly to the gang once they checked it out - but this was ten days later , by which time John O 'Grady had lost two of his fingers .
First published in 'MAGILL' Magazine , May 1988 .
By Michael O'Higgins .
John O' Grady heard strange voices conversing outside in the living room - the gardai were in the house , but he did'nt know it . Detective Martin O' Connor , the barber Gerry Wright and (gang member) Tony McNeill went downstairs to the living room where Detective Sergeant Henry Spring and (gang member) Fergal Toal were talking . The two Detectives , Spring and O' Connor , exchanged glances ; they did'nt need to say anything . O' Connor turned to Gerry Wright and asked what was going on - how it was that he was able to have lads lying around doing nothing in the middle of the day . Detective O' Connor then left the house to go to the patrol car ; Gerry Wright followed him . O' Connor asked Wright if he was paying tax on the money he got for rent from the lads in the house .
O' Connor sat sideways into the patrol car with his legs on the street , radioed base and asked for urgent plainclothes back-up at 260 Carnlough Road . Gerry Wright ran back into the house , shouting - " He's calling for reinforcements ! " Gang member Tony McNeill was standing with his back to Detective Spring : he turned around with a gun in his hand and shouted - " Get down you bastard ." Spring was forced to the ground at gunpoint ; Eddie Hogan jumped out from under the stairs . Spring was kicked repeatedly in the head and body , and was momentarily stunned . Hogan dragged John O' Grady out from under the stairs , and Tony McNeill ran out after Detective O' Connor , followed closely by Fergal Toal . Detective Spring , who was unarmed , escaped out the back door of the house and jumped over a back wall .
He ran up the neighbours garden to the house but , despite pleas that he was in danger of being shot , he was refused entry , so he smashed one of the windows to get in . Meanwhile , Tony McNeill came up to Detective O' Connor , who was still at the patrol car , and put a gun to his chest .
THE SHOOTING OF DETECTIVE O' CONNOR .
O' Connor's radio call had been picked up by two or three different patrol cars , and all were now racing towards Carnlough Road . Fergal Toal and Tony McNeill were now trying to disarm Detective O' Connor - he was struggling with McNeill over the gun and Toal was punching O' Connor in the face . He put his fingers into O' Connor's mouth and began twisting his lips and head . An ESB meter reader saw O' Connor's head bobbing up and down and approached the car - he was told " Fuck off and mind your own business . This man is trying to steal our car . " Eddie Hogan emerged out of the house with John O' Grady , and told McNeill and Toal to back off so that he could shoot O' Connor in the knees .......
(MORE LATER).
Five members of the 'Ulster Defence Regiment' , formerly based at Drummad Barracks in Armagh , have been charged with murder , and the recent visits to this barracks by both the Duke of Edinburgh and Mrs Thatcher caused an uproar in the North .
But how exceptional are the 'Drummad Five' ? Just how many 'rotten apples' are there in the 'Ulster Defence Regiment' , which is now the principal back-up force to the RUC in the North of Ireland ?
We have chronicled herewith almost one hundred cases where members of the 'Ulster Defence Regiment' (UDR) have been charged with serious offences , mostly involving firearms or explosives . It is a directory of Dishonourable Discharge that is unmatched in the 'security forces' of any country in Europe and probably not even in South America . And even this list does not claim to be exhaustive .
From 'The Phoenix' magazine , 30 March 1984 .
GEOFFREY EDWARDS of Armagh , charged in December 1983 with the murder of Sinn Fein election worker Peter Corrigan , plus four attempted murders including that of Seamus Grew (subsequently shot dead by the RUC) .
MERVYN JOSEPH FALOON of Tandragree , sentenced to five years in February 1978 for shooting into Catholic Obins Street enclave in Portadown on the 'Twelvth' in 1977 .
SAMUEL FARRELL of Enniskillen , sentenced to 18 months in November 1977 for bombing a dance hall in Donegal in 1974 .
WILLIAM FERRIS of Belfast , suspended sentence in February 1974 for possessing a shotgun and ammunition in suspicious circumstances .
JAMES GALLAGHER of Belfast , six months suspended in February 1974 for possession of firearms in suspicious circumstances .
WILLIAM GALLAGHER of Belfast , sentenced to 10 years in April 1979 for five armed robberies . Known to be also a member of the UVF .
ROBERT JOSEPH GAMBLE of Belfast , sentenced to five years in February 1972 for bombing Lisburn Council offices . Fellow bomber killed in the operation . Known to be also a member of the UVF .
(MORE LATER).
ELECTION INTERVENTIONS.......
Despite the fact that SINN FEIN has been contesting local elections in the 26 counties for more than two decades , much comment has been passed and incorrectly interpreted about Republican involvement in elections - north and south of the British-imposed border - in the past several months .
Here we review Republican interventions in the electoral process for the past century and more .
From 'IRIS' magazine , Volume 1 , Number 2 , November 1981 .
Republican intervention in the British electoral process in this century dates back to February 1917 ; a year had passed since the proclamation of the Irish Republic in 1916 , and many of the internees released before Christmas 1916 were back in Ireland . While they and other Republicans had differing political attitudes on future policy , the political climate during the eight months of their imprisonment had changed dramatically ; a number of factors had contributed to this change .
Foremost of these were the executions by the British government of the leaders of the Easter Rising and the loss of credibility by John Redmond's Irish Parliamentary Party among Nationalists . In 1914 a Home Rule Act for all Ireland , without any mention of a separate treatment for any Ulster county , had been passed by the British parliament and signed by the English King . That Act had then been suspended for 12 months or for the duration of the war , a war in which at the behest of John Redmond , many Irishmen had fought on the British side "...for the independence of small nations.. "
Now , with the war over , the British government's only response to such a sacrifice was to amend the Home Rule Act to exclude six of the Ulster Counties and to repudiate the basic nationalist idea of an undivided Ireland . In this climate , the actions of those who had gone out in the 1916 Rising , and the subsequent murders of their leaders was seen in sharp contrast to the collaborationist policies of the Irish Parliamentary Party , especially as such collaboration had achieved far less than had been promised .
Sinn Fein itself had changed ; while still without a coherent policy on social and economic matters and with no clear idea of how it could achieve independence , it at least had rejected partition .......
(MORE LATER).
23 DAYS IN HELL : THE STORY OF THE O'GRADY KIDNAPPING .......
The Gardai had in their possession a clue which could have led them to the O'Grady kidnappers and their captive some ten days earlier .
A card found in a rucksack after the Midleton shoot-out led them directly to the gang once they checked it out - but this was ten days later , by which time John O 'Grady had lost two of his fingers .
First published in 'MAGILL' Magazine , May 1988 .
By Michael O'Higgins .
John O' Grady heard strange voices conversing outside in the living room - the gardai were in the house , but he did'nt know it . Detective Martin O' Connor , the barber Gerry Wright and (gang member) Tony McNeill went downstairs to the living room where Detective Sergeant Henry Spring and (gang member) Fergal Toal were talking . The two Detectives , Spring and O' Connor , exchanged glances ; they did'nt need to say anything . O' Connor turned to Gerry Wright and asked what was going on - how it was that he was able to have lads lying around doing nothing in the middle of the day . Detective O' Connor then left the house to go to the patrol car ; Gerry Wright followed him . O' Connor asked Wright if he was paying tax on the money he got for rent from the lads in the house .
O' Connor sat sideways into the patrol car with his legs on the street , radioed base and asked for urgent plainclothes back-up at 260 Carnlough Road . Gerry Wright ran back into the house , shouting - " He's calling for reinforcements ! " Gang member Tony McNeill was standing with his back to Detective Spring : he turned around with a gun in his hand and shouted - " Get down you bastard ." Spring was forced to the ground at gunpoint ; Eddie Hogan jumped out from under the stairs . Spring was kicked repeatedly in the head and body , and was momentarily stunned . Hogan dragged John O' Grady out from under the stairs , and Tony McNeill ran out after Detective O' Connor , followed closely by Fergal Toal . Detective Spring , who was unarmed , escaped out the back door of the house and jumped over a back wall .
He ran up the neighbours garden to the house but , despite pleas that he was in danger of being shot , he was refused entry , so he smashed one of the windows to get in . Meanwhile , Tony McNeill came up to Detective O' Connor , who was still at the patrol car , and put a gun to his chest .
THE SHOOTING OF DETECTIVE O' CONNOR .
O' Connor's radio call had been picked up by two or three different patrol cars , and all were now racing towards Carnlough Road . Fergal Toal and Tony McNeill were now trying to disarm Detective O' Connor - he was struggling with McNeill over the gun and Toal was punching O' Connor in the face . He put his fingers into O' Connor's mouth and began twisting his lips and head . An ESB meter reader saw O' Connor's head bobbing up and down and approached the car - he was told " Fuck off and mind your own business . This man is trying to steal our car . " Eddie Hogan emerged out of the house with John O' Grady , and told McNeill and Toal to back off so that he could shoot O' Connor in the knees .......
(MORE LATER).
Wednesday, October 19, 2005
UDR'S ROTTEN APPLES.......
Five members of the 'Ulster Defence Regiment' , formerly based at Drummad Barracks in Armagh , have been charged with murder , and the recent visits to this barracks by both the Duke of Edinburgh and Mrs Thatcher caused an uproar in the North . But how exceptional are the 'Drummad Five' ? Just how many 'rotten apples' are there in the 'Ulster Defence Regiment' , which is now the principal back-up force to the RUC in the North of Ireland ? We have chronicled herewith almost one hundred cases where members of the 'Ulster Defence Regiment' (UDR) have been charged with serious offences , mostly involving firearms or explosives . It is a directory of Dishonourable Discharge that is unmatched in the 'security forces' of any country in Europe and probably not even in South America . And even this list does not claim to be exhaustive .From 'The Phoenix' magazine , 30 March 1984 .
SAMUEL COOKEY of Belfast , sentenced to life in March 1977 for possession of home-made machine gun , sawn-off shotgun , 10 short-arms , a SLR and 3,089 rounds of ammunition . Member of UVF .
BASIL CORBETT of Fermanagh , sentenced to two years in March 1983 for 15 sectarian offences including issuing death threats to local Catholics .
GEORGE HENDERSON CORRY of Portadown , fined £50 in June 1975 for being drunk in charge of a gun .
TREVOR CRAIG of Antrim , suspended sentence in June 1978 for attempted armed robbery .
RAYMOND CRAINEY of Armagh , jailed for six months in March 1973 for illegal possession of a pistol and firing it while drunk .
THOMAS CROSSEY of The Maze area , jailed for 18 months in June 1973 for possessing a loaded pistol in suspicious circumstances .
IVAN DALGLEISH and THOMAS CANAVAN of Belfast , each jailed for nine years in March 1974 for bombing a Catholic pub in County Down .
MICHAEL DOHERTY of Belfast , sentenced to four years in February 1984 for illegal possession of three rifles , a silencer , six magazines and 101 rounds of ammunition .
(MORE LATER).
ELECTION INTERVENTIONS.......Despite the fact that SINN FEIN has been contesting local elections in the 26 counties for more than two decades , much comment has been passed and incorrectly interpreted about Republican involvement in elections - north and south of the British-imposed border - in the past several months . Here we review Republican interventions in the electoral process for the past century and more . From 'IRIS' magazine , Volume 1 , Number 2 , November 1981 .
Essentially , Charles Stewart Parnell was not a Republican . That such opposite positions governed the land agitation issue and that the entire Fenian leadership was not in agreement on the land issue is a key to the national question and speaks volumes on how it was possible for such a compromise to be forced upon the radical Republican activists .
The inevitable result was the integration of many ex-Fenians into conventional Parnellism . Involvement with constitutionalism had badly divided the IRB and when Parnell's party itself split in 1887 , the IRB split too . Up to this time regardless of the official IRB attitude there had been a considerable Fenian involvement in constitutional politics - in fact , 21 out of 83 listed Parnellite MP's are believed to have been Fenians , 4 were believed to be Fenian supporters and 2 were regarded as ex-Fenians .
The conditions for a withdrawal from Westminster of Irish MP's to set up an Irish Parliament with massive 'peasant' support had been removed when Gladstone defused the land movement with his 'Land Act' , which had detached a sufficient number of Land Leagues to make the project impossible and anyway Charles Stewart Parnell had never embraced such a policy .
For many prominent Fenians the failure of even partial 'New Departure' policies was taken as an endorsement of their total reliance on a purely physical force strategy - there had been a number of significant physical force actions during the period covered here - and left the Fenians facing yet another bout of Irish/American factionalism as well as on-going problems about finances and war materials . But , as stated earlier , the whole period was to serve as a school of sedition for the next generation .
Republican intervention in the British electoral process in this century dates back to February 1917 .......
(MORE LATER).
23 DAYS IN HELL : THE STORY OF THE O'GRADY KIDNAPPING ....... The Gardai had in their possession a clue which could have led them to the O'Grady kidnappers and their captive some ten days earlier .A card found in a rucksack after the Midleton shoot-out led them directly to the gang once they checked it out - but this was ten days later , by which time John O 'Grady had lost two of his fingers . First published in 'MAGILL' Magazine , May 1988 . By Michael O'Higgins .
Dessie O' Hare had made it abundantly clear to Dr. Austin Darragh that John O' Grady would suffer further if Darragh informed the gardai about the ransom demand ; now it was all over the front page of 'The Irish Independent' newspaper .
Back in the patrol car the two Detectives made small talk with Gerry Wright about boxing and scuba diving , both sports in which Wright had a passionate interest . Gerry Wright was hoping against hope that the gang would have left when they reached his house .
19 . "HE'S CALLING FOR REINFORCEMENTS ... "
At the house , Gerry Wright made a point of rattling the keys in the lock when opening the door ; as he had walked from the patrol car to the house Wright started to change the original story he had given to the gardai in Parkgate Street - he told them there were a couple of people staying in the house but they would be out on an AnCO course . The rattling of the keys gave the gang the briefest of notice of the gardai arriving . They were forewarned and forearmed .
Eddie Hogan grabbed his shotgun and ran in under the stairs beside John O' Grady ; Tony McNeill ran upstairs and jumped into bed , fully clothed . Fergal Toal went to the rear of the house . Gerry Wright led the Detectives into the living room , spread his hands out and said - "See , there is nothing here ." The Detectives looked around the room - there was a two-bar electric fire on as well as a fire in the grate , and the television was on . On one of the chairs there was what looked like a walkie-talkie .
At that moment Fergal Toal walked into the room .
Gerry Wright told him the two men with him were Detectives , who were looking around , and asked him why he was'nt at his AnCO course . At this point , Detective Martin O' Connor went upstairs with Wright ; Detective Henry Spring asked Fergal Toal what AnCO course he was doing - "Labouring , " , came the reply . Detective O' Connor found Tony McNeill in bed , and asked Wright who he was while shaking the bed . "This is one of the lads from AnCO . He must not have gone to school ." O' Connor asked Tony McNeill to get up . He noticed that McNeill was fully clothed - he felt the bed and noted there was no heat from the bedclothes .
John O' Grady was still unaware the gardai were in the house - immediately after the rattling of the door Eddie Hogan had landed in beside him . Hogan was armed and was breathing heavily .......
(MORE LATER).
Five members of the 'Ulster Defence Regiment' , formerly based at Drummad Barracks in Armagh , have been charged with murder , and the recent visits to this barracks by both the Duke of Edinburgh and Mrs Thatcher caused an uproar in the North . But how exceptional are the 'Drummad Five' ? Just how many 'rotten apples' are there in the 'Ulster Defence Regiment' , which is now the principal back-up force to the RUC in the North of Ireland ? We have chronicled herewith almost one hundred cases where members of the 'Ulster Defence Regiment' (UDR) have been charged with serious offences , mostly involving firearms or explosives . It is a directory of Dishonourable Discharge that is unmatched in the 'security forces' of any country in Europe and probably not even in South America . And even this list does not claim to be exhaustive .From 'The Phoenix' magazine , 30 March 1984 .
SAMUEL COOKEY of Belfast , sentenced to life in March 1977 for possession of home-made machine gun , sawn-off shotgun , 10 short-arms , a SLR and 3,089 rounds of ammunition . Member of UVF .
BASIL CORBETT of Fermanagh , sentenced to two years in March 1983 for 15 sectarian offences including issuing death threats to local Catholics .
GEORGE HENDERSON CORRY of Portadown , fined £50 in June 1975 for being drunk in charge of a gun .
TREVOR CRAIG of Antrim , suspended sentence in June 1978 for attempted armed robbery .
RAYMOND CRAINEY of Armagh , jailed for six months in March 1973 for illegal possession of a pistol and firing it while drunk .
THOMAS CROSSEY of The Maze area , jailed for 18 months in June 1973 for possessing a loaded pistol in suspicious circumstances .
IVAN DALGLEISH and THOMAS CANAVAN of Belfast , each jailed for nine years in March 1974 for bombing a Catholic pub in County Down .
MICHAEL DOHERTY of Belfast , sentenced to four years in February 1984 for illegal possession of three rifles , a silencer , six magazines and 101 rounds of ammunition .
(MORE LATER).
ELECTION INTERVENTIONS.......Despite the fact that SINN FEIN has been contesting local elections in the 26 counties for more than two decades , much comment has been passed and incorrectly interpreted about Republican involvement in elections - north and south of the British-imposed border - in the past several months . Here we review Republican interventions in the electoral process for the past century and more . From 'IRIS' magazine , Volume 1 , Number 2 , November 1981 .
Essentially , Charles Stewart Parnell was not a Republican . That such opposite positions governed the land agitation issue and that the entire Fenian leadership was not in agreement on the land issue is a key to the national question and speaks volumes on how it was possible for such a compromise to be forced upon the radical Republican activists .
The inevitable result was the integration of many ex-Fenians into conventional Parnellism . Involvement with constitutionalism had badly divided the IRB and when Parnell's party itself split in 1887 , the IRB split too . Up to this time regardless of the official IRB attitude there had been a considerable Fenian involvement in constitutional politics - in fact , 21 out of 83 listed Parnellite MP's are believed to have been Fenians , 4 were believed to be Fenian supporters and 2 were regarded as ex-Fenians .
The conditions for a withdrawal from Westminster of Irish MP's to set up an Irish Parliament with massive 'peasant' support had been removed when Gladstone defused the land movement with his 'Land Act' , which had detached a sufficient number of Land Leagues to make the project impossible and anyway Charles Stewart Parnell had never embraced such a policy .
For many prominent Fenians the failure of even partial 'New Departure' policies was taken as an endorsement of their total reliance on a purely physical force strategy - there had been a number of significant physical force actions during the period covered here - and left the Fenians facing yet another bout of Irish/American factionalism as well as on-going problems about finances and war materials . But , as stated earlier , the whole period was to serve as a school of sedition for the next generation .
Republican intervention in the British electoral process in this century dates back to February 1917 .......
(MORE LATER).
23 DAYS IN HELL : THE STORY OF THE O'GRADY KIDNAPPING ....... The Gardai had in their possession a clue which could have led them to the O'Grady kidnappers and their captive some ten days earlier .A card found in a rucksack after the Midleton shoot-out led them directly to the gang once they checked it out - but this was ten days later , by which time John O 'Grady had lost two of his fingers . First published in 'MAGILL' Magazine , May 1988 . By Michael O'Higgins .
Dessie O' Hare had made it abundantly clear to Dr. Austin Darragh that John O' Grady would suffer further if Darragh informed the gardai about the ransom demand ; now it was all over the front page of 'The Irish Independent' newspaper .
Back in the patrol car the two Detectives made small talk with Gerry Wright about boxing and scuba diving , both sports in which Wright had a passionate interest . Gerry Wright was hoping against hope that the gang would have left when they reached his house .
19 . "HE'S CALLING FOR REINFORCEMENTS ... "
At the house , Gerry Wright made a point of rattling the keys in the lock when opening the door ; as he had walked from the patrol car to the house Wright started to change the original story he had given to the gardai in Parkgate Street - he told them there were a couple of people staying in the house but they would be out on an AnCO course . The rattling of the keys gave the gang the briefest of notice of the gardai arriving . They were forewarned and forearmed .
Eddie Hogan grabbed his shotgun and ran in under the stairs beside John O' Grady ; Tony McNeill ran upstairs and jumped into bed , fully clothed . Fergal Toal went to the rear of the house . Gerry Wright led the Detectives into the living room , spread his hands out and said - "See , there is nothing here ." The Detectives looked around the room - there was a two-bar electric fire on as well as a fire in the grate , and the television was on . On one of the chairs there was what looked like a walkie-talkie .
At that moment Fergal Toal walked into the room .
Gerry Wright told him the two men with him were Detectives , who were looking around , and asked him why he was'nt at his AnCO course . At this point , Detective Martin O' Connor went upstairs with Wright ; Detective Henry Spring asked Fergal Toal what AnCO course he was doing - "Labouring , " , came the reply . Detective O' Connor found Tony McNeill in bed , and asked Wright who he was while shaking the bed . "This is one of the lads from AnCO . He must not have gone to school ." O' Connor asked Tony McNeill to get up . He noticed that McNeill was fully clothed - he felt the bed and noted there was no heat from the bedclothes .
John O' Grady was still unaware the gardai were in the house - immediately after the rattling of the door Eddie Hogan had landed in beside him . Hogan was armed and was breathing heavily .......
(MORE LATER).
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