..... John Martin and his friend John Mitchel left the 'Repeal Association' and assisted William Smith O'Brien to found the 'Irish Confederation' Movement ......

Also , at this time,the well-known Fenian James Fintan Lalor was agitating on the land issue in Ireland and John Martin wrote articles in support of Lalor's position and had same published in John Mitchel's newspaper , 'The United Irishman' . Mitchel was arrested in 1848 , and his newspaper was shut down ; almost immediately, John Martin founded his own newspaper, which he called 'The Irish Felon' , and continued on where Mitchel's 'paper had been forced to leave off - on 24th June, 1848, he wrote in his first issue :

" I regard the Act of Union as a usurpation and refuse to acknowledge the authority of the London parliament. So long as such a 'government' presumes to injure and insult me , and those in whose prosperity I am involved , I must offer to it all the resistance in my power ...... " (MORE LATER)>


".... key in the door. It's open. Oh dear God.... "Grub up ! What are you gaping at , son ? Take it " . (You'll pay some day,you bastard, you'll pay.) "Don't stir.Take it in, you tramp ". Got it. He's shutting the door. Slam! Keys jingling. They're going, they're leaving. Thank God. Thank God, they've gone. Don't give up hope, there's hope still. Cold food, no knife, no fork, only a plastic spoon. I'm not hungry, my stomach's turning. Nerves again . I must calm down . Meet them with dignity. That's a word:'dignity'. They can't take that from me either.
Naked as I am , treated worse than an animal,I am what I am. They can't and won't change that " .

----- 'The writings of Bobby Sands' , April 1981.


On November 19th , 1994 ( a Friday , if memory serves...) Archbishop Carey , the most senior ranking member of the British establishment after the so-called 'royal' family, preached at a live televised service for peace and reconciliation in Christ Church Cathedral in Dublin , stated - " As an English churchman , I am aware of just how much we English need to ask forgiveness for our often brutal domination and crass insensitivity in the 800 years of history of our relationship with Ireland " .
Well said , Sir , but two questions :
1) Did you pass those comments up the line of the British establishment ?

2) Do you not agree that it would be better for you and yours to withdraw from Ireland before asking for "forgiveness" ?

A child born at Loughborne , near Newry in County Down, on 8th September, 1812, grew up to become a prominent member of the 'Young Ireland' movement, a journalist and a politician ; the mark he left on Irish history is perhaps not as well remembered as it should be .....

The son of a Presbyterian cleric, John Martin was educated in Dr.Hendersons school in Newry, where he 'learned his lessons' with,and from ,the young Fenian John Mitchel ; the two young men were of similar mind in relation to the British presence in their country, and formed a friendship that was to last to the end of their days.
John Martin joined Daniel O'Connell's 'Repeal Association'in the early 1840's , and listened as that organisation and its leadership repeatedly condemned the 'Young Ireland' group, stopping short of labelling them as a 'terrorist' body ; Martin and John Mitchel left the 'Repeal Association' and assisted William Smith O'Brien to found the 'Irish Confederation' movement ..... (MORE LATER)>


" They're watching again. Ignore them. Let on you don't see them.Jesus, its freezing.Its so quiet, its ghostly. Walk again, keep moving, get your body warm. How long left now ? What time is it ? I'm losing track . Have a guess. Five hours left, maybe less. I must be ready . I'm shaking again. Don't fail now . Get it right, they'll be back. I'm depressed ! Jesus Christ ! I'm cracking, I'm going insane.... I wish I had someone to talk to , even for a few minutes.
Keys ! The jingle of keys. Footsteps ! They're coming back. Jesus its not time yet. They've tricked me, they're coming for me now. Don't fail , remember your spirit. "Blessed is he who does not give up his hope" . Jesus , Mary and Joseph , watch over me and protect me. Key in the door. It's open. Oh, dear God..... "
---- 'The writings of Bobby Sands' ,April 1981. (Will finish above paragraph tomorrow).


In a book about the 'Second World War' , author Clive Ponting stated that 74,000 tonnes of German bombs were dropped on Britain, killing 51,000 civilians ; and nearly two million 'allied' bombs were dropped on Germany, killing 600,000 civilians. Henry Stimson, then U S Secretary for War(and not regarded as a sensitive soul) spoke of "the appalling lack of conscience and compassion that the war had brought about, the complacency, the indifference , and the silence with which we greeted the mass bombings in Europe and, above all, Japan " .
Not long after he said the above, the atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki , partly on Stimsons orders !
Is it about war and sacrifice that it's said "can make a stone of the heart" ....?

.... once again , Edward Duffy was arrested by the British - in Mayo , on 11th March 1866, and was locked-up in Mountjoy Jail , Dublin .....

In May 1867 , Edward Duffy was 'tried' before what the British called a 'Special Commission' in Dublin , and sentenced to fifteen years penal servitude ; he was sent under guard to Millbank Prison in England, which he shared with other Fenian and IRB prisoners, including Jeremiah O'Donovan Rossa . The Irish prisoners were treated like animals by the British and, being weak from a lung disease, it was too much for Edward Duffy - he died, aged 27, in Millbank Prison in London , on 17th January, 1868.
His body was returned for burial in Glasnevin Cemetery in Dublin , where he rests today; a proud, committed and resolute Irishman , he deserves to be better remerbered than is the case .


"....a lifetime of worry and hardship that only she knows the entirety and toll of. And I said: "I'm sorry that you have suffered through my sufferings, mother" . As ever, she replied: "Don't be humble. You're my son, and I'll always stand by you" .My father,quiet as always in his own way, stood beside her. "Take heart, son" , he said, "take heart" " .
-----'The Writings of Bobby Sands' , April 1981 .


The Indian Chief 'Sitting Bull' could quote Melville and Shakespeare , speak German and Chinese and had studied Caesar on the 'art' of war . His enemies were convinced that he was a white man in disguise ; they found it hard to believe that the leader of a people which they described as "red savages" was better educated than they were .....
At the same time as 'negotiations' were under way with Sitting Bull , U S soldiers threw scalps taken after a massacre of Cheyenne across the stage of the Denver Opera House during the intermission , and received thunderous applause for doing so - "savages" alright .....

..... the two Fenians, Edward Duffy and James Stephens, were arrested by the British in Sandymount , Dublin, on 11th November 1865, and locked-up in Richmond Jail ; but not for long .....

The British released Edward Duffy in January 1866, as they apparently believed he was dying (to let him die in jail would create a martyr)- he suffered constantly from ill-health due to chronic lung trouble ; James Stephens was, by this stage, already a free man as he had escaped two weeks after his arrest (see'1169...' archives) and was in hiding in Dublin.
Edward Duffy effectively took charge of the IRB after James Stephens departed for Paris, in early 1866 and , during the following few months, with the assistance of Ellen O'Leary (John O'Leary's sister) , Duffy planned for a Rising ; again , through the use of informers, the British knew what Duffy was up to and, once more, arrested him, this time in Mayo , on 11th March, 1866 , and locked him up in Mountjoy Jail, Dublin.
In May , 1867 , Edward Duffy was put on 'trial' ..... (MORE LATER)>>



" The smile, the soft warm tender smile of my wife, kept coming up out of the darkness in front of me , and I heard her plaintive gentle voice: "I miss you, and I love you, come home" . And my son lay sleeping like an angel , innocent and unaware of his mother's hardship and loneliness, with no father to tuck him into bed, to love or emulate as he grew; and he sighed as only an innocent sighs, and rolled over in his dreamy sleep.
Then came the faces of my family , my sisters and brother, growing up in my absence. And I knew just how much I loved them , and how I longed to share this short life with them and my poor mother. Lord, my poor tortured mother , grey and marked with a lifetime of worry and hardship that only she knows the entirety and toll of . And I said : ..... " .
(MORE LATER)>>


... a dispute between the U S Army and the Lakota Sioux , over a cow, in 1854, led to thirty-five years of war ...

At around the same time that the war with the Lakota Sioux began, the Santee Sioux were pressed into reservations, having given up twenty-six million acres of land in exchange for barren lands and small cash payments. When the crop failed , the Santee survived on credit from white merchants at the U S Government-run store , but when their credit was cut off they were left to their own devices ie starve. One of the trader's , on hearing of the Santee's plight , responded -"If they are hungry, let them eat grass" .
Soon after, the Santee went on the rampage across Minnesota- the 'let-them-eat-grass' trader's body was found later stuffed with grass in his mouth.
A bit of 'cop-on' , a little bit of humanity, would have solved both the above issues ; the same in Ireland - the conflict will continue so long as the British claim jurisdiction over any part of this Country. After over 800 years, that much should be obvious .
We Irish don't eat grass....

Yet another Irish rebel not afforded a proper mention in our history books....

A child born at Ballaghadereen , County Mayo, in 1840, grew up to be one of the most determined Irish rebels of his generation ; he was what would be known today as a 'public relations consultant', but did not use his 'people' skills for personal gain - he used his gift in the service of the Irish struggle , which he had devoted himself to.
By 1863, at just 23 years young, Edward Duffy was full-time Organiser for the Fenians in Connaught. In August 1865 , the British launched an offensive against the Fenians and the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB) - through the use of informers , the British were aware that at least 85,000 rebels were prepared to fight in Ireland under the command of James Stephens, the Fenian leader, who was in contact with supporters in America for arms and equipment for that body of men; trained soldiers in America had also offered their service to the Irish cause.
(Periodicals of the time also mentioned the hundreds of ex-Union and Confederate army men that were in Ireland- a show of strength which worried the British). The IRB's newspaper, 'The Irish People' , was closed down in September 1865 by the British , and Edward Duffy and James Stephens went on the run , but were arrested on 11th November 1865 at Fairfield House in Sandymount, Dublin - both men were locked up in Richmond Jail; but not for long ..... (MORE LATER)>


"My thoughts were of my home and family , my wife and son. I tried to visualise the fading faces of my mother and father whom I have not seen for a long time , whom I fear I will not see again. Then came an old companion of mine: depression !
It tore at my heart and engulfed me with its unseen shroud of misery. The more I thought of home and family, the deeper I plunged into its darkest depths".
----'The writings of Bobby Sands' , April 1981 , and first published in 'Republican News' on 6th January 1979. (Will finish above paragraph tomorrow ...)


In 1854, a dispute arose between the U S Army and the Lakota Sioux over the theft of a single cow . The Lakota leader offered two cows to replace it , but the army lieutenant refused the offer, and demanded the surrender of the warrior who had stolen the cow -when his demand was refused , and without any warning, he ordered his soldiers to shoot the Sioux leader, which they did. The ensuing massacre of the soldiers led to 35 years of war !
(MORE LATER)>>

...after his death in 1820, it was disclosed that Leonard McNally had been an informer against the 'United Irishmen' and the IRB for twenty-six years ....

It also emerged that McNally, who had been passing information to the British since 1794, had used his position with the Irish rebels and the British to make even more money for himself ; He had actually charged the going rate to the rebels he defended in court while at the same time selling their defence details to the British !
This despicable and wretched individual died on the 13th February , 1820 . Roaring , I hope .....


"What is 1066, I think ? Obviously it is me, but I can think, speak, smell and touch . I have all my senses, therefore I am not a number , I am not 1066, I am human, I am not a number, I am not 1066 !. Who , or what, is a'Sir' ? It frightened me. It was evil. I sensed its hatred of me, its eagerness to dominate me, and its potential violent nature. Oh, what will become of me ? I remember I once had a family. Where are thay now ? Will I ever see or hear of them again ? " .

--- from 'The Writings of Bobby Sands' , April 1981.


Des Richardson , one of the Fianna Fail back-room 'money men' , launched 'FORUM 2000' in February 1995 ; Bertie Ahern described it as an initiative which- " is a response to the particular requirements of the business sector. Small to medium-sized enterprises will find a voice, a role and a means of contributing to the development of policy in this forum. The interaction between the smaller enterprises and large corporations will contribute to comprehensive and imaginative policies " .
The 'FORUM 2000' intention was to collect £1000 per year from 1000 companies for three years (do the math yourself...).

---- other politicial parties carry out that type of 'fundraising' in a different manner (ie " go round the back door, there, chief , we'll get someone outaya now....").
But full marks to The Soldiers of Destiny - in-your-face , broad daylight and up-front with it : an all-new type of corruption !

....the informer Leonard McNally , a Dublin man, signed himself 'J W' in all dealings he had with his British paymasters , in a 'career' which lasted twenty-six years (!) until he died at 68 years of age , in 1820....

The last dirty deed he carried out on the 'United Irishmen'was to have them bury him as a patriot , as it was not known then that the man was an informer. He received fine oratory and all the trappings befitting a rebel leader.

It was only when McNally's son put in a claim to the British for the continuation of the £300 per annum 'Secret Service' pension, which his father had been in receipt of for the previous twenty-two years, that the facts about Leonard McNally became known : indeed, it was due to the fact that the then British Lord Lieutenant practically shouted from the rooftops that he had not known that the pension was authorised that it became such a public matter.
And then more 'dirt' came out about the informer McNally..... (MORE LATER)>>


" ....it is watching me. More noise directly outside my tomb , a rattle of metal against metal. A square form of light begins to materialise , revealing an entrance as a door swings open. A figure stands in the grey dim light of the doorway. It is a human figure , dressed in what appears to be some sort of black uniform. It stands scrutinising me in silence for several seconds, before letting out a terrifying yell that sends shivers through my body .
" I am Sir!". The words echo around my tomb. " I am Sir!" it bellows again. " I am Sir,you are 1066" . The door slams shut with a loud explosive boom , killing the dim light where the entrance had been. Still afraid to move, I stand in the total darkness " .
---- 'The Writings of Bobby Sands' , April 1981.


Speaking at the so-called 'Forum for Peace and Reconciliation' in Dublin Castle on Friday February 10th , 1995, Ulster Unionist Party member Roy Garland stated that he had been a "leading Officer" in the TARA group, which he described as a "paramilitary group" which was "led by evangelical Christians" !
-- Lord save us , Roy - we believe ya .....

The British , no doubt wary of all their informers and having no respect for any of them anyway, refused to take McNally fully into their confidence ; he was aware that the United Irishmen knew there was an informer in their midst and were actively looking for said informer. McNally's nerve snapped and , in 1798, he asked his British paymasters for help ; they settled his nerves by offering him £300 a year for his 'service' , and he returned to his 'work' for them , within the top ranks of the rebel movement.
Between the years 1794 and 1820 , not suspected for one minute by his 'comrades' in the United Irishmen, McNally shopped people to the British , pointed out 'safe houses' , ruined missions and ensured that funds were 'discovered' by Dublin Castle. All his communications and dealings with the British were done under the initials 'JW' . (MORE LATER)>


"I can hear heavy booming noises echoing all around me like thunder.Somehow it reminds me of heavy doors closing. I check the four walls of my tomb;there appears to be some sort of a door in one of the walls. I can't understand my being here. What , I wonder, will become of me? I know I am a human being, although I'm naked and bearded . I can think and breath. Am I in hell or some sort of limbo ? I can hear heavy footsteps approaching. They stop quite near to me. There is someone or something nearby. I can hear it moving and breathing . It is watching me . "

----from 'The writings of Bobby Sands' , April 1981 - more tomorrow.....

From an article in 'Fortnight' magazine , issue 335 , January 1995 , page 5 (by Robin Wilson , Editor of same) -

"During 1994... Gerry Adams said the difference between himself and Michael Collins was that Mr. Collins had'nt got rid of partition" .

------- thats the type of bull that keeps the new members happy , Gerry - its now almost ten years since you made that statement: have those new members copped on yet ?

Also , at the Provisional Sinn Fein Ard Fheis of that same year when partition ended (ie 1994 !) , Joe Cahill took to the platform and declared that 'Tiocfaidh ar la' was redundant - " because our day HAS come " .
"our Day" was never about the establishment of a British parliament in Ireland , Joe, regardless of whether it functions or not !

Informers , double-agents , touts and 'Steak-Knife' ; not a new development , as I have recorded here before and, now, do so again -

A man born in Dublin in 1752 went on to become one of the most notorious Irishmen ever to involve himself in the struggle....

Leonard McNally moved to England while still a young man and studied to be a barrister;when he 'took silk' and registered himself as a practising barrister , his friend John Philpot Curran persuaded him to transfer his business to the Irish Bar, which he did. McNally made his name with the United Irishmen in his defence in court of William Jackson , Napper Tandy , Wolfe Tone and , later, Robert Emmet and many other Rebel leaders - however , he apparently got rattled when the British arrested the French Government representative, William Jackson, in April 1794, and approached the British 'authorities' in Dublin Castle and offered to pass on information to them in return for 'safe passage' from them for himself. They readily agreed . (MORE LATER)>>


" I must have died last night , because when I awoke this morning I was in hell. I don't really know how I got here. I don't think I've done anything to deserve being here. But I am here, and I am suffering terribly. I think I am in some sort of tomb. I can not see, as everywhere is in total darkness . I have no clothes on , except some sort of rag around my waist.The floor of my tomb is covered in a wet mushy substance , the source or nature of which I don't know. There is a revolting stench lingering in the darkness and the air is warm , heavy and humid. There is something soft and damp lying in the corner , which seems to be some sort of bedding to lie upon " .
-----From 'The Writings of Bobby Sands' ,April 1981 , and first published in 'Republican News' on July 1st, 1978 . (Will finish the rest of above paragraph tomorrow....).

In one of his many print rambles at the time ,John Junor used his then column in 'The Mail on Sunday' (see same,February 24th, 1991, page 19), which he titled 'Lock up the evil bomb-makers' , to call for the re-introduction of internment ; he finished the article by saying- " And if that shoddy third-rater Mr Charles Haughey splutters , as he will , in protest, tell him to get stuffed" .
"shoddy" ? - surely not ....

.....in April 1883, in Green Street Courthouse in Dublin, Judge O'Brien began to hear 'evidence' against thirteen men....

Five of the men - Joe Brady, Dan Curley , Michael Fagan , Thomas Caffrey and Tim Kelly - received the death sentence and the other eight men were sentenced to long periods of imprisonment. (Nineteen year-old Tim Kelly faced three 'trials' before eventually convicted, the jury at the previous'trials' having failed to agree).
Joe Brady , Michael Fagan , Thomas Caffrey , Dan Curley and young Tim Kelly were hanged in Kilmainham Gaol in Dublin between May 14th and June 4th, 1883. One of the informers, James Carey, was shot dead on board the 'Melrose Castle' off Capetown, South Africa, on July 29th, 1883, by Donegal-man Patrick O Donnell ; he was caught and escorted back to Ireland , where he was executed on December 17th, 1883.
Compare the above , and the following paragraph, with the cringe-inducing pleadings of those that claim to be following the footsteps of men like 'the Invincibles' and Bobby Sands ; disgusting.

"....I'm left to pass the day like this, from 7.30 am to 8.30 pm . How I spend my day is determined by the weather. If it's reasonably warm, its possible to sit on the floor,stare at the white walls and pass a few hours day-dreaming. But otherwise,I must spend my day continuously pacing the cell to prevent the cold chilling through to my bones.
Even after my bedding is returned at 8.30 pm , hours will pass before the circulation returns to my feet and legs " .


From 'The Evening Press' newspaper, November 2nd, 1989, page 7 -
In an interview with the 'Ballyfermot People' local 'paper, (the late) Brian Lenihan described Maggie Thatcher as "too ideological" : that from a member of a party which hangs it's backbone up with its coat in the morning ...
Brian went on to describe his (then) good buddy , Charlie Haughey, as "a very flexible politician , much more subtle and intelligent a politician than Thatcher. Charlie is very much on the same line as many continental politicians.If he has any failing its that sometimes in politics you can be too subtle, too clever, too intelligent. That can happen " .
--- he certainly took you for a ride , Brian - now Bertie is taking your fellow Fianna Fail cronies for one !

....a reward of £1000 was offered by the British for information leading to the arrest of those responsible for the assassination of Lord Frederick Cavendish and Thomas F.Burke in Dublin's Phoenix Park on May 6th, 1882 , but the reward offer went unanswered ....

....then , in November 1882, six months after the British lost their men, Superintendent John Mallon of the 'G Division' of the Dublin Metropolitan Police,arrested a member of the Invincibles, Robert Farrell, and Mallon told him that they knew the identity of those that had carried-out the assassinations and advised Farrell to save himself - this was the same line that those previously arrested had been told .
Unfortunately , Robert Farrell fell for it ; within weeks, twenty-six men were arrested. The 'G' man, John Mallon, needed additional witnesses and evidence to build a substantial case against the men and reverted to form - three of the twenty-six men ( Michael Kavanagh , James Carey and his brother, Peter) turned informers . In April 1883 , in Green Street Courthouse in Dublin, Judge O'Brien began to hear 'evidence' against thirteen men ...... (MORE LATER)>>


" A stretch of tarmac surrounded by barbed wire and steel is the only view from my cell window. I'm told it's an exercise yard. I would'nt know. In my fourteen months in H-Block 5, I have'nt been allowed to walk in the fresh air . I'm on 'cellular confinement' today. That is the three days out of every fourteen when my only possessions, three blankets and a mattress, are removed , leaving a blanket and a chamber pot " .

---- from 'The Writings of Bobby Sands' , April 1981 , and first published in 'Republican News' on September 16th, 1978.(Will finish the remainder of the above paragraph tomorrow).



'The Sunday Press' , October 29th, 1989 -
- Charlie McCreevy stated : " I'm a born-again TD.The thing is not to think too much, to flow with the tide. Thinking is a handicap" (!).
You've made a comfortable living out of ignoring your handicap, Charlie ...

In November 1881 , a group was formed in Dublin with the objective of "removing all the principal tyrants from the country" ; they called themselves 'The Irish National Invincibles' and, within a few months, they were to make world headlines.....

'The Invincibles' consisted mainly of former Fenians and decided to announce their presence in a dramatic fashion - on May 6th, 1882, they assassinated two of Britains top officials in Ireland : Chief Secretary Lord Frederick Cavendish and Under Secretary Thomas F. Burke in the Phoenix Park in Dublin, just yards from the Viceroy Lodge.

The British offered a reward of £1000 for information leading to the arrest of those responsible and put their top man in Dublin, Superintendent John Mallon of the 'G Division' of the Dublin Metropolitan Police, on the case. He arrested dozens of 'suspects' and repeatedly questioned those who were known to be in the Phoenix Park that night , but to no avail. (MORE LATER)>>


"Two hours. Time waits for no man.I'm exhausted. God,I'm tired. I wish I could lie down and go to sleep, and wake up out of this nightmare. They're watching me again.Keep walking. I'm sure they don't even feel guilty. Money consoles their conscience. That is their purpose in life, to gain as much of it as possible . They're mindless, merciless parasites .
Torture mongers. Yes, that's what they are . Some day their turn will come . They'll have to answer for everything !" .

----- from 'The Writings of Bobby Sands' , April 1981 , page 25. (First published in the old 'Republican News' on January 13th, 1979).
"Money consoles their conscience......" ~ enough to buy a holiday home in Donegal, perhaps......


In September 1989, speaking about his memoirs,John Stalker stated that he felt "a strongly hostile feeling at middle and senior levels of the (RUC) Special Branch....downright obstructiveness was unfortunately not rare... a kind of war had obviously been declared between the Branch and my team ". He spoke of "resentful RUC officers who were particularly skilled at promising much but actually delivering very little " .
Re the fact that his inquiry terms of reference were controlled by the then RUC Chief Constable, John Hermon , Stalker said- "What I objected to was having the man, whose force I was investigating, drawing up the parameters of those inquiries" .

-----Full marks, John ; but what did you expect ?

...the killing by Robert Emmet's men of the British Lord Chief Justice in Ireland, Lord kilwarden, and Kilwardens nephew, in Thomas Street in Dublin in 1803 ,put paid to the proposed rising ,and it was abandoned......

Robert Emmet ordered his followers to disband, and he went into hiding but was captured in August 1803 ; on September 19th , he was brought to 'trial' in Dublin's Green Street Courthouse and found guilty of treason - he was sentenced to be hanged. He delivered his famous 'Speech from the Dock' which has inspired generations of Irish rebels. The next day, September 20th 1803, Robert Emmet was hanged in Thomas Street in Dublin ; within weeks, twenty-one of his comrades were executed for their part in the Rising (including Thomas Russell, who was hanged outside Downpatrick Jail on October 21st, 1803).
The events outlined above took place two-hundred years ago,and form only a small, but not insignificant,part, in the history of Irish Risings against British rule in Ireland ; the final chapter has yet to be written, but will not be drafted in Stormont.....

" I fought a monster today and once more I defeated the monster's army. Although I did not escape,I survived to fight another day. It was hard:harder today than ever before, and it gets worse every day. You see I am trapped and all I can do is resist. I know some day I will defeat this monster, but I weary at times. I think and feel that it may kill me first " .
------ from 'The Writings of Bobby Sands' (page 31) : first published in the old 'Republican News' , October 7th, 1978.


'Magill' magazine, December 1997, page 28 -
Fra Browne , former Provo Councillor in County Louth, stated that Provisional Sinn Fein was teeming with "spin doctors" :
"These people kept telling me that the Movement had changed and that I needed to change.But I said that I had'nt changed and the Movement had'nt changed. It was only the people at the top who had changed" .
....that's what happens when you 'change your structures' .......

....after returning to Dublin in October 1802 , Robert Emmet made contact with , amongst others, Myles Byrne, Michael Dwyer, Jemmy Hope and Thomas Russell and , with their help, set up several arms depots in Dublin city ; Emmet then toured Ireland , seeking support for a rising .....

In May 1803 , Robert Emmet sensed an opportunity for a push against the British when war broke out between England and France ; it looked likely that the French would be in a position to invade England within a couple of months, and Emmet worked with an August 1803 uprising against the British in mind .
However , his hand was forced when one of his Dublin city arms-dumps exploded on July 16th, 1803, and badly injured one of his men, who was captured by the British; within days, Emmet's Rising had begun, but it was short-lived.

The killing by Emmet's men of the British Lord Chief Justice in Ireland, Lord Kilwarden, and Kilwardens nephew,in Thomas Street in Dublin, threw Robert Emmet's plans into confusion - his plan, which was well thought out and put together, was to place Dublin Castle under siege, take over the Pigeon House British fort and Islanbridge Barracks ; in doing so, the rebels in the rest of the country would rise up . Kilwardens death, and the British re-action to it, put paid to the proposed rising and it was abandoned ..... (MORE LATER)>>


'Fortnight' magazine, September 1991 , page 14 -
--- Archbishop Robin Eames said: " Here (in the Six Counties) we cannot allow it to go by default to say that it's a religious war, which blatantly it's not; it is a crisis situation in which the religious element coincides so much with these other issues as to make violence almost inevitable.There is a very definite religious element- there is a religious identity to this, but it is no more (than that).It is sociological, cultural, political, economic-it is a much wider question than that " .
....so the British are not the self-proclaimed 'peace-keepers' between the 'warring Irish' , as they like to portray themselves internationally .
- which is what Republicans have being saying all along...

.... in 1802, Robert Emmet met Napoleon to seek assistance for a Rising in Ireland ....

Emmet quickly became frustrated at what appeared to be Napoleon Bonaparte's posturing on the issue of an armed insurrection against the British in Ireland , and was left with the opinion that the French were more interested in making the British believe in the possibility of a French-organised armed campaign than an actual campaign itself . Robert Emmet then began to study military text books and experimented with rockets and explosives in an attempt to leave himself less dependant on the French.
He grew more disillusioned with the French in March 1802 , after they concluded the 'Peace of Amiens' with England in that month, and he returned to Dublin in October 1802. He made contact with, amongst others, Myles Byrne , Michael Dwyer , Jemmy Hope and Thomas Russell and , with their help, set up several arms depots in Dublin city, before touring the country to organise support for a rising. (MORE LATER)>>


In an article entitled 'Appeal to young people' ( AP/RN ,September 12th, 1991, page 14) ,one of the Provos' lesser-known suits, Larry O'Toole (Dublin North) declared - " If our structures (in Provisional Sinn Fein) do not suit their(young people) needs, we must change them accordingly " .

----- Right, so : you accept new members who don't like, say , 'policy x' - so you change it. Then , next month, you take in more new members who don't like the new version of 'policy x' , so you change it again . But that might upset the first batch of new members, so.....
....but what if a third batch of new members join, and their view of 'policy x' is different again ?
Rather than be just another 'catch-all' Leinster House party, Larry, would it not be better to stand by your principles ? To say to possible new members- ' This is what we stand for; take it or leave it' ?
Or has your party no principles? No bottom line? Don't stand for anything in particular ?
That would explain your comments .....

In the summer of 1798 , the 'United Irish Rising' collapsed ; one of its best known leaders, Thomas Addis Emmet, had a younger brother who was determined to follow through the push for Irish freedom - Robert Emmet .....

Within weeks of the 1798 Rising being crushed, Robert Emmet began preparations for another armed insurrection in Ireland , and made contact with the French Government to seek assistance ; the British were aware that Robert Emmet had made this move , and ordered his arrest . However, Emmet knew that the British Government were looking for him , and left Ireland for France, in 1801.

The exiled 'United Irishmen' in Paris took Emmet in, and the group were joined, in 1802, by Thomas Addis Emmet.An appointment was made for Robert Emmet to meet Napoleon , and arrangements were put in place wherby Napoleon's Ministers would assist Emmet in his endeavours . (MORE LATER)>>


....Pope John Paul stated , in November 1980, re the 'Third Secret of Fatima' , that it's contents will not be made public and that it - "should be sufficient for all Christians to know this much- if there is a message in which it is said that the oceans will flood entire sections of the earth , that from one moment to the other , millions of people will perish, there is no longer any point in really wanting to publish this secret message " .
A somewhat obfuscating reply, but the fact that the question was'nt dismissed out of hand must make you think twice .....

....Matt Fitzpatrick, an IRA prisoner in Monaghan County Hospital , was to be rescued from his hospital bed by the IRA .....

All arrangements were made by Dan Hogan , O/C of the Monaghan Brigade, and his staff, who also arranged for IRA units to block the roads used by the escape party after they had passed through.
Not long after 2am on March 30th, 1921, Dan Hogan and his team entered the hospital by a side-door which an employee had left open - telephone lines were cut by some of the IRA men and others overpowered a drowsy sentry in the corridor. The six British Army soldiers in the ground-floor room were disarmed and tied up but only after shots were exchanged ; this alerted the sentry in the ward with Fitzpatrick who opened fire through the door and only surrendered when the RIC 'patient' in the same room threw his revolver away.
Matt Fitzpatrick was lifted on to a stretcher and carried out to one of the waiting cars; other Volunteers gathered up the weapons and ammunition from the British Army and RIC guards . The rescue party then escaped along the pre-arranged route (towards Threemilehouse) while other Volunteers blocked the road behind them .
The whole operation, from entering the hospital to leaving it, took less than fifteen minutes, but it took the 'authorities' a lot longer to live it down.....


From 'An Phoblacht/Republican News' , June 6th, 1991, page 2 -
In the 'Opinion' column of above, the SDLP were lashed for being prepared "to sit down...at a negotiating table with representatives of the government which sanctioned the Coagh killings and Unionist politicians who gloated over them " .
The worm turns in the spinning grave ....the 'Adams Family' now shout "foul" because the Brits won't let them sit in a British parliament !

When on a visit to Fulda in Germany in November 1980 (as reported in the German magazine 'Stimme Des Glaubens') , Pope John Paul was asked why it was that the Third Secret of Fatima still remained unpublished ; he replied - " Because of the seriousness of its contents, in order not to encourage the worldwide power of communism to carry out certain coups, my predecessors in the Chair of Peter have diplomatically preferred to withhold its publication.On the other hand, it should be sufficient for all Christians to know this much - ...." (MORE LATER)>>

....the IRA O/C of the Wattlebridge Company, Matt Fitzpatrick, was badly injured in an IRA raid for arms and had been captured by the British ; he was under heavy guard in Monaghan County Hospital - the IRA decided to rescue him ....

IRA sympathisers in the hospital were asked to observe and monitor the level of security on Fitzpatrick , and it was quickly established that there was one British soldier in his ward and another on guard in the corridor . An armed RIC sergeant was placed as a 'patient' in the bed next to the prisoner, and six more British soldiers were housed in a ground-floor room.
The IRA were told that the guard was changed every 48 hours- it was decided to begin the rescue operation at 2am on the second morning of their shift, when they would be tired and slower to react. Also, transport was required; not only for the necessary escape, but also to carry Matt Fitzpatrick away on a stretcher, as he could not move under his own strength . (MORE LATER)>>


In reviewing Bernard Ingham's book 'Kill The Messenger' , in 'The Sunday Tribune' magazine , June 9th, 1991 (page 2) , Peter Prendergast (former press officer for a Fine Gael administration) stated - " In my experience, no more than about twenty per-cent of what a government is discussing at any time is known to the media. Over time, that might have grown to fifty per-cent. This means that fifty per-cent of what they do is never discovered at all " .
Until , perhaps , the thirty-year disclosure period comes around but , by then , the crooked politician is either dead or has been disgraced already in some other fashion (ie Charlie Haughey , Ray Burke,Michael Lowry etc). And still they continue to draw down their pensions and can make a comfortable living on the 'rubber chicken' circuit...
Meanwhile , we wait for the next batch to be named and 'shamed' .....

In early 1921 , IRA units in the Ulster area carried out many raids for arms on RIC and British Army barracks - in one of these operations , Matt Fitzpatrick, a Volunteer and,at the time, O/C of the Wattlebridge Company IRA, was badly injured and captured by the British....

Fitzpatrick was taken to Monaghan County Hospital under heavy guard and was to be moved to Crumlin Road Jail in Belfast when fit enough ; he was known to the British as a Republican operative and, as such, was marked by the Brits for execution as an example to the IRA .
The O/C of the Monaghan Brigade, Dan Hogan, knew that if Fitzpatrick was moved to the Belfast jail his fate was sealed : a meeting of the IRA Brigade Staff was called and it was agreed that Matt Fitzpatrick would be rescued from the hospital..... (MORE LATER)>>


Shortly before his death , Graham Greene said of religion - " I think its a mystery. It is a mystery which cannot be destroyed; even by the Church ! "
----- the same can be said of the Irish struggle for freedom - "....it cannot be destroyed; even by (so-called) Republicans ". The Provisionals are making a mockery of themselves and their attempts to surrender, without actually saying as much, tarnishes the people that went before them.
They should amalgamate with the SDLP and/or Fianna Fail , and do Republicanism a service.

.....a small group of Irish Republicans left the College of Surgeons during the 1916 Easter Week fighting , to set fire to shops around the Russell Hotel, which was occupied by British troops ; William P.Partridge was one of that group.....

...a young Na Fianna Eireann member, Fred Ryan, was shot dead and Margaret Skinnider was badly wounded on that operation . Putting his own life on the line, Partridge carried the wounded woman back to the College of Surgeons. After the surrender , Partridge was court-martialled, sentenced to fifteen years penal servitude and transferred to prison in England.
However, he was released from Dartmoor Prison in April 1917 , suffering from Brights disease, and he returned to his native Roscommon where he died on July 26th, 1917 , not having reached his 40th birthday .

A quiet unassuming gentleman from all accounts, William P.Partridge deserves his place in Irish history , more so than the 'suits' that, today, have attempted to steal the mantle of Irish Republicanism and prostitute it and themselves before the Brits and the Free Staters.
Thankfully , there are still many like William P.Partridge around , and involved, today .


In 1982 , America's CIA carried out a 'psychological profile' of Libya's Colonel Gadafy ; they found that he was "judged to suffer from a severe personality disturbance" and that he used excessive amounts of sleeping pills and other various 'uppers' .In a follow-up report some years later, the CIA reported that Gadafy wore make-up and high-heel shoes and carried a teddy-bear during a 1984 trip to spain !
Come on, lads - the "severe personality disturbance" part is perhaps believable , but you spoiled the whole report with the 'lipstick,high-heels and teddy-bear' thing .... (what would a psychological profile on Ian Paisley and his (sudden?) fixation on lips reveal?).

.....William P.Partridge , born in Ballaghadereen in County Roscommom during the 1880's , a friend and comrade to the Republican Movement and its leadership, joined the Irish Citizen Army on its formation in November 1913 ; on April 19th, 1916, James Connolly sent Partridge to Tralee in County Kerry to supervise the distribution of the (at least) 20,000 rifles that were to be landed on the Banna Strand , a consignment organised by Roger Casement.
However, Partridge learned on Good Friday that Casement was arrested and 'The Aud'(the ship carrying the rifles) had been scuttled by its crew after it had been intercepted by a British Navy ship . He returned to Dublin.

William P.Partridge was among the Irish Citizen Army contingent commanded by Michael Mallin and Countess Markievicz in St Stephens Green on Easter Monday and the College of Surgeons the following day. During the fighting of Easter Week , the British occupied the Russell Hotel in Harcourt Street and Partridge was among a small group of Republicans who left the near-by College of Surgeons to set fire to shops around the hotel ..... (MORE LATER)>>


The 'Sunday Life' 'newspaper' , June 23rd, 1991,page 12 -
" I would never repudiate the fact that I am an Irishman " - Ian 'Big Lips' Paisley !
The 'Dublin Tribune' newspaper, June 20th, 1991, page 10-
" The everlasting violence in Northern Ireland(sic) is fuelled by lack of job opportunities " - the late Jim Mitchell , Fine Gael.
The former does'nt know what to do about his Irishness , and the latter does'nt understand his Irishness.
Well pucker up , Ian , and understand this - the Brits will wash their hands of you and yours as soon as it suits them.....

A man born in Ballaghadereen in County Roscommon during the 1880's was well known in Republican circles at the time, but history has apparently left him behind......

During his short life, William P. Partridge was a politician , a soldier and a trade union activist : he moved to Dublin some time around 1910 and became involved in James Larkin's newly formed Irish Transport and General Workers Union (ITGWU) . In the municipal elections of 1911 , he was elected to Dublin Corporation .
The 'Great Lock Out' , which began in August 1913, ensured that Partridge and Larkin were kept busy , and also brought James Connolly into contact with the Ballaghadereen man ; in October 1913, William P. Partridge was asked by the ITGWU to do a fund-raising tour of England and to enlist the support of workers in that country for the strike in Ireland.
When the Lock-Out ended in February 1914, James Larkin departed to America; Partridge worked with James Connolly in re-organising the Union and the two men also assisted in organising the 'Women Workers' Union' . (MORE LATER)>


A Derry man, Charles Thomson, was the Secretary of the 'Continental Congress' of America and , as such, helped to transcribe the final draft of the U S Declaration of Independence ; Thomson was the first person to read it, both in Congress and publicly . He also served as Chief Executive of the American Government , a position he held several times between 1776 and 1789, during illnesses of the Congess Presidents. Charles Thomson also designed the 'Great Seal' of the United States - like William P. Partridge , Irishman Charles Thomson has been overlooked in the history books .

.....the patrol of Black and Tans and RIC men fired on each other, as the RIC men were reluctant to shoot known Sinn Fein members as per instructions issued by the Tans....

The above incident was one of many which was outlined to the Court of Commission - over the following few months numerous accounts of atrocities committed by the RIC, Tans, Auxiliaries and the regular British Army in Ireland were read into the record. In early 1921 , the Court published its interim report which , as expected, put the Brits in the world spotlight and was a major embarrassment to them .
The Commission had set-out to get international media attention focused on British military activity in Ireland and was successful in that . Now , over 80 years later, media attention is fixed on the Six Counties as yet another treaty buckles under the weight of its own contradictions.....


The Dublin administration attempted only once to refer the situation in the Six Counties to the United Nations :
This was when the then Free State Minister for External Affairs, Patrick Hillery,in August 1969, on behalf of the Dublin Administration, sought a meeting of the UN Security Council to discuss the possibility of sending UN troops, or a joint Irish-British contingent, to the Six Counties to monitor the situation. Britain stated its belief that Article 2(7) of the UN Charter (non-intervention in domestic affairs of states) prohibited discussion of the North . Hillery replied by detailing the history of partition and declared that his administration did not "in any way concede(to the British) the right to exercise jurisdiction" in the North (as per then Articles Two and Three of the Free State Constitution).
However ,further consideration of the question was suspended, and that ended the UN 'role' in the North !
In 1998 , the fig-leaf of Articles Two and Three were done away with in the Stormont Treaty in a vain attempt to appease the Unionists and the British ; they grabbed the opportunity with both hands and continue to demand more......

.....the ex-RIC man,Daniel Crowley, told the Court of Commission that the RIC men on patrol with the Black and Tans were there to point out Sinn Fein members so as the Tans could shoot them , and then burn their houses.....

He told the Court of Commission of one incident in which the Black and Tans attempted to shoot members of the RIC patrol which was accompanying them - Crowley spoke of how, on the night of May 21st, 1920, an RIC/Tan patrol, which was heavily armed, raided the home of Maurice Walsh ,the Chairperson of the Clogheen (Tipperary) District Council (a local politician) . The tans had told the RIC members with them that it was their intention to kill Walsh and his family and burn their house ; the ex-RIC man , in his evidence, stated that himself and the other RIC men "reminded him(the man in charge of the Tans) that he was not in the (British) army now, and he said to me that when he left the training depot he was told that he could not be subjected to any discipline whatever if he shot any Sinn Feiners " .
Crowley went on to point out that the issue then developed into a verbal row between the Black and Tans and the RIC, then punches were thrown and, finally, the Tans fired their weapons at the RIC ( I have not been able to determine what injuries both sides caused to each other but, hopefully, they were all good shots !) . .... (MORE LATER)>>


.....it was only in 1989 that the then Stormont Education Minister, Brian Mahwinney, decided not to lower the status of the Irish language in the new curriculum - this still left the language on the fringes in English-medium primary schools and 'a low-status option' at secondary level......

In 1990, the Brits established the 'Ultach Trust' with a fanfare of media present but, five months later (and in a much quieter manner) they withdrew funding from Glor na nGael !
Also , it should be remembered that the 'Education Reform Order' of 1989 , which purported to give the Irish language equal status with French, German, Spanish and Italian as a choice in language studies in secondary schools , still left our first language as a 'lower status' one , said to be 'equivalent to classics' , when schools fulfil their timetabling obligations .
....like the Fianna Fail politician that ordered dozens of young trees to be planted in his ward just weeks before the election (in which he retained his seat) and then , within weeks of his victory, ordered that all the trees be dug up !
Give it to you in one hand........

..... the 'American Commission of Inquiry on Conditions in Ireland' , which was launched in August 1920, started to take evidence in a Washington office on November 19th, 1920....

The British declined an invitation to attend Court sittings, but an undertaking was secured from them that passports and other required travel-passes etc would be issued to people travelling from Ireland to testify ; the British were also asked to state that reprisals against those testifying would not be taken, and gave that commitment.
One of the first witnesses asked to attend the Court was a Catholic priest, Fr Michael Griffin, of Gurteen in County Galway - however, the following day the Court received word that Fr Griffin had been murdered by the Black and Tans. The Court heard evidence from an ex-RIC man (who had resigned in June 1920), Daniel Crowley, who was anxious to speak about British activities in Ireland : he described how, in March 1920, the RIC had been ordered to accompany the Black and Tans on all patrols - the RIC were to help identify 'likely suspects' to the Tans.
Crowley explained - " They (RIC) were to go on an armoured car with a machine-gun , and every man who took a prominent part in the Sinn Fein movement they were to stand up in front of his own house and turn the machine-gun on it. In the armoured car there were put 120 cans of petrol and also 120 Mills bombs, and the reason for this was that they were for burning houses" . (MORE LATER)>>


In 1923,the teaching of Irish in public elementary schools in the Six Counties was restricted by the then Stormont administration to ninty minutes per week. In 1927, British Lord Charlemont , the Stormont Minister of Education (one of Lord McGuinness' predecessors!) told a delegation from Comhaltas Uladh that Irish was dead or dying and French was a more useful language. And so things remained , until March 1989, when the then Education Minister Brian Mahwinney, reversed his own plan to lower the status of Irish in the new curriculum - this still left the Irish language on the fringes in English-medium primary schools and 'a low-status' option at secondary level .... (MORE LATER).

On November 19th, 1920, at the height of the Black and Tan War in Ireland, the 'American Commission of Inquiry on Conditions in Ireland' was due to hold its first session : this body, which successfully focused international attention on the campaign of terror being waged by the British forces against the people of Ireland, was launched in August 1920 by Dr WJ Maloney and Frank Walsh who, in turn were supported by the 32-County Dail Eireann .
Its objective was to ensure that the British would be reluctant to use excessive force in Ireland because to do so would, with the ensuing world-wide publicity, mark them out as the thugs they are. The Commission comprised prominent clergymen , U S Senators and Congressmen, newspaper editors, trade union leaders and members - about 150 people in all; they picked five of their number to act as the Court of the Commission , and were given legal powers to request the attendance of witnesses representing English and Irish opinion, and was to take its evidence at public sessions in a Washington office. (MORE LATER)>>


In a profile of Boris Yeltsin by William Millinship , which was published in 'The Observer' newspaper on June 16th, 1991(page 19) , it was stated that, as a schoolboy during the war, he broke into a church which was being used as an ammunition store, and stole a couple of hand-grenades. Wondering how they worked, Boris 'examined' one of them with a hammer and lost two fingers on his left hand in the explosion !
On February 19th, 1991, he went on television and called for Gorbachov's resignation, and in March he departed from the prepared text of a speech and called for a declaration of war on the country's leadership.....
Are'nt our lot dull in comparison.....
(.....and not only in comparison to Yeltsin ).

.....Alan Bell,the British'Resident Magistrate' in Ireland, was determined to confiscate the funds belonging to the Republican Movement and had already seized over £71,000 ; the IRA was determined to stop him ......

Michael Collins, the then IRA Director of Intelligence, had instructed his men to observe Bell's routine,and a plan to execute him was drawn-up ...
On March 26th, 1920, Collins ordered that the plan be acted on ; on that morning, Bell was joined on the packed tram at Dalkey Station by three armed IRA men and, as the tram arrived at the corner of Simmonscourt Square at Merrion Road to take on and let-off passengers , another IRA man held it there; the three IRA men on board rose from their seats and told Bell to step off the tram with them - he refused and repeatedly called on the other passengers to help him . Only one of the passengers on the packed tram attempted to help Bell, but he was quickly convinced to stay out of it . Bell was then dragged off the tram by the three IRA men and, when they stepped onto the road, they were met by three other armed IRA men - the six Volunteers pushed Alan Bell across the road where he was shot three times in the head and died instantly .
The Dail Eireann National Loan recorded £357,000 in its account at the end of 1920. Dublin Castle had to continue to use its own money to pay its lackies in Ireland to do its bidding......


In June 1991, Amnesty International released a 674-page document reporting on British human rights abuses in the Six Counties, which condemned Britain for same. The then John Major Conservative government responded by saying that it was "necessary in war to have secrecy" . Tory backbencher Ivor Stanbrook MP stated- " Britain is a democracy at war with bloodthirsty terrorists and it is our duty to protect British citizens.We are at war and thats why we use secret tribunals and inquiries. Why should we give our enemies free information ? We have high standards, a record that is better than any other in the world " !
"High Standards"? Probably referring to how well paid their Loyalist hit-squads are....

..... Alan Bell,the British 'Resident Magistrate' in Ireland, organised a raid on February 27th, 1920, on Sinn Fein's Harcourt Street Offices in Dublin, and seized over £71,000 belonging to the Movement ; he suspected there was more than that and he wanted it ........

.... days later he issued an order to all bank managers instructing them to appear before his Commission of Inquiry to be questioned by his Office and to bring with them all files, paper-work, receipts and other similar documentation relating to transactions between their bank and persons acting on behalf of certain named organisations and individuals.

Michael Collins, the then IRA Director of Intelligence, realised that it was only a matter of time before Bell's Office would be in a position to seize all the funds belonging to the Movement, and decided to remove the 'Resident Magistrate' before he could do so ; Collins ordered his Intelligence Officers to trace Bell and work out what, if any, routine he followed- it soon emerged that Bell travelled to work at Dublin Castle from his Dalkey, Dublin home by tram . A plan to execute Alan Bell was drawn-up ....... (MORE LATER)>>


From 'The Sunday Tribune' newspaper,June 9th,1991, page 6 -
In 1975, a British soldier killed a County Tyrone farmer, Patrick McElhone,a civilian, as he ran away from a military patrol. The soldier was charged with murder but acquitted- the trial judge said that although McElhone was an innocent person, the soldier had reason to believe he was a fleeing terrorist and because of the "war or quasi-war situation" in the Six Counties , the British soldier was justified in shooting him !
The British 'Law Lords' later stated- "If he (McElhone)got away (he) was likely sooner or later to participate in acts of violence" .....
.... Anyone out there seen the film 'Minority Report' ?

When the British sent their 'Black and Tan' thugs into Ireland to smash the IRA , they also attempted to hit Republicans by another, perhaps less well known, method - by confiscating funds belonging to the 32-County Dail Eireann.

As a young man in the RIC (Royal Irish Constabulary) , a man from Banagher in County Offaly, Alan Bell, had helped his British pay-masters to investigate the Land League funds during the 1880's. As a reward for his efforts, Bell was appointed as a 'Resident Magistrate' (RM) and served in Athenry, Ballinrobe, Lurgan and Belfast, during the last decade of the 19th Century and the early years of the 20th Century.

Bell rose through the ranks, and was promoted to membership of the British Staff at Dublin Castle in 1920, and worked with British Intelligence where, in February that year, he was put in charge of confiscating the monies built up by the successful Dail Eireann Loan Fund , and any other cash he could find which belonged to Sinn Fein. Alan Bell organised a raid on the then Sinn Fein Offices in Harcourt Street in Dublin on February 27th, 1920 , and seized over £71,000 belonging to the Movement; his information at the time was that there was at least four times that amount in Republican coffers, and he vowed to have it all ...... (MORE LATER)>>


After the Brit establishment lifts its collective jaw from the ground and re-groups in an attempt to 'spin' and/or cover-up the extent of its collusion with Loyalist death-squads in the Six Counties, they should seek out the writings of one Albert 'Ginger' Baker and throw said material on a bon-fire ;
'Ginger' was an ex-British soldier who operated in Belfast in the early 1970's. The gang he led was responsible for the 'Romper Room' murders where Nationalists were beaten, tortured, then mutilated before being shot. Baker was sentenced to life imprisonment in 1974 for a number of those killings, and also admitted his role as a British agent. He said the killings "were designed to fit into a British Intelligence plan to terrorise the Nationalist community and push off support for the IRA" .
'Black-Ops' , I think the Brits call it- but always denied it operated such a policy in Ireland .
Liar,Liar ......

.....James Crossan's friend, Sean Reilly, was asked by the barman if he would drive him and the two Fermanagh men to the border , and he agreed .....

Sean Reilly parked his van about 100 yards from the border and about 300 yards from Mullan British Customs post in Fermanagh ; James Crossan and the young McHugh got out with the three northerners and all five walked towards the border . With the few drinks on him and the time of the day it was - about 3am - Sean Reilly fell asleep in the van.
The sound of gunfire woke him up some time later and he saw flares lighting-up the sky and the area in which he was parked; he got out of the van and saw two RUC men about 30 yards in front of him- they were running towards the British Customs post. It later transpired that the five men (Crossan, McHugh, the barman and the two Fermanagh men),all unarmed, parted company on the Cavan side of the border at about 3.30am and, as Crossan and McHugh were walking back to the van, Crossan was shot dead by a group of RUC men who had positioned themselves on the southern side of the border. Ben McHugh was arrested, and Crossan's body was taken to Enniskillen.
The RUC claimed that they had come across an IRA reconnaissance mission of Mullan British Customs post, which was a total fabrication ; at the inquest (held in Enniskillen) no witnesses were called and no attempt was made to investigate the circumstances of the shooting. The coroner simply justified Crossan's death as "justifiable homicide" .

Baunboy, County Cavan man, James Crossan, was assassinated by the RUC in County Cavan on Sunday , August 24th, 1958.


A book by Shelby Foote, entitled 'The Civil War', gives a fascinating insight into the American Civil War -

Almost three million men fought in the war ; in the Union armies more than one in four were casualties , in the Confederacy more than half suffered the same fate. One in ten able-bodied Northerners were dead or maimed by the end of the war , and one in four Southerners the same. At Cold Harbor, 7,000 men fell in twenty minutes ; in the first post-war year, one-fifth of the Mississippi state budget went to pay for artificial limbs for its returning veterans ! At Shiloh , one hundred-thousand men fought and a quarter of their number were killed or wounded. The musketry was thick enough to denude the trees in a blossoming peach orchard , covering the dead and dying with petals and , by one account, suffocating some of the wounded in flowers ; and where lightning broke the night , it illuminated wild hogs devouring the dead.
Foote's book conjures up a lasting image of what a soldiers lot was like at that period in time ; sad but riveting reading....

At the height of the IRA's border campaign,the RUC,acting on its own information and details believed to be given to it by British Intelligence, targetted Sinn Fein members living close to the border.....
One man that that British police force were particularly interested in,and whose story is perhaps not as well known outside his native County Cavan as it should be, is James Crossan. A native of Baunboy in Cavan, and a prominent Sinn Fein Organiser in the border area, James Crossan and one of his neighbours , Sean Reilly, were in a van on their way to Swanlinbar to finalise details for a meeting to be held the next day, Sunday August 24th, 1958: the meeting was to be held in Ballyconnell.
Having done their business in Swanlinbar,the two men, and a local youth and Sinn Fein member,Ben McHugh, decided to go for a pint ; in the pub they met up with two friends from County Fermanagh. Near the end of the night, the barman asked James Crossan's friend, Sean Reilly, if he would drop him and the two men from Fermanagh to the border, and Reilly agreed ...... (MORE LATER)>>


In an article in the 'The Sunday Telegraph' on 19th May , 1991, (page 20, I think....) , then columnist Geoffrey Wheatcroft wrote - "Fifty years ago Serbs and Croats were massacring each other on a scale that makes the Ulster problem seem as trivial as it indeed is ...." !

In the same article (entitled 'Why division is good for Ireland') Mr/Sir/Lord Wheatcroft also wrote- " Partition has been the greatest boon and benefit Ireland has enjoyed this century. It is the essential condition without which the southern state could not have survived as it has " !
Well , its not cricket, but any of you chaps on for a round of 'Trivial Pursuit' or 'Lets Pretend' ?
You're a gas man , Geoff......

.....it should be noted that, during the 1940's, the Republican Movement was in a bad way, virtually decimated, following the years of internment; the executions and funerals of the six men boosted the Movement and dramatically improved the organisations recruitment capabilities . A terrible price had been paid by Irish Republicans but the Movement re-grouped , once again, and continued the struggle. Today, sixty-odd years after the events outlined above, the Provisionals are crawling over many a spinning grave in an attempt to surrender and apologise to the British and Free Staters in the hope that they may grab a career for themselves from the greasy till; they do so in their own name only - Irish Republicans don't want a reward for doing their duty and don't need words of encouragement from Bush, Blair or Ahern. The 'Adams Family' have put theselves outside the fold, just as Dev and, later, the Stickies , did before them. And if there is any justice , history will record it so .


In November 1975, the British Government announced its intention to withdraw 'Special Category' (ie Political Prisoner) status from POW's sentenced after March 1st, 1976; Special Category status was conceded by the Tory government in 1972 after a hunger-strike by republican POW's. When the then Catholic Cardinal, Tomas O'Fiaich,visited the prison in July 1978 , he announced - " One would hardly allow an animal to remain in such conditions, let alone a human being. The (British) authorities refuse to admit that these prisoners are in a different category from the ordinary, yet everything about their trials and family background indicates they are different. They were sentenced by special courts without juries. The vast majority were convicted on allegedly voluntary confessions obtained in circumstances which are now placed under grave suspicion " .
That was said 25 years ago ; the same problem exists today - the case of 'The Limerick Seven' (see'SAOIRSE', April 2003 issue) which has been described as a "garda driven prosecution" inspired by a political agenda . Unfortunately , as long as the British claim of jurisdiction remains in force re the Six Counties, this type of case will always be with us .

.....the remains of Charlie Kerins, Maurice O'Neill and Thomas Harte were released from Mountjoy Jail; the funerals made their way towards Dublin city centre .....
The hearse carrying the remains of Tom Harte turned left at Dorset Street to go North, to his native Lurgan in County Armagh: the other two hearses, carrying Charlie Kerins and Maurice O'Neill, made their way to Christ Church Cathedral where they were joined by the remains of George Plant. The funeral of Paddy McGrath , escorted by an IRA guard of honour and followed by thousands of republicans, took place from the Franciscan Church on Merchants Quay in Dublin, to Glasnevin Cemetery , where the oration was delivered by Brian O'Higgins (Editor of the 'Wolfe Tone Annual') - McGrath was then re-interred with full military honours in the Republican Plot.
At St. Johnstown Cemetery, near Fethard in County Tipperary, the remains of George Plant were buried following an oration by John McGrath; at the same time, two funerals were taking place in County Kerry- Charlie Kerins was buried in Rath Cemetery , in the Tralee Republican Plot, following an oration by Tomas MacCurtain(son of the assassinated Mayor of Cork) ; and Maurice O'Neill , who was buried in the Republican Plot in Cahirciveen after an oration by Sean Ryan. The remains of Tom Harte were re-interred in the Republican Plot at St.Colemans Cemetery in Lurgan, County Armagh , following an oration by Ruairi O'Drisceoil.

It should be noted that, during the 1940's , the Republican Movement........ (MORE LATER)..


In an article on the 1981 Hunger-Strikers , published in 'An Phoblacht/Republican News' on May 2nd, 1991 (page 7), Brendan 'Bik' McFarlane stated- " Accommodations with British-designed frameworks fly in the face of true justice and freedom" . Over to you, Brendan; speak up, now......
"Constitutional nationalists should, by now, have realised that there is no British solution, there is no partitionist solution and that a new and imaginative approach is required " - Gerry Adams,'AP/RN', May 30th,1991 (page 14) .
------- like Leinster House , Gerry ? or Stormont? Do us all a favour and stay away from Republican graves this Easter, Gerry : you could use the time you save to improve on your "British....partitionist solution" ......

The remains of the six men were only released because public opinion began to go against Fiann Fail - thousands of republicans met the remains of their comrades as they emerged through the prison gates , while tens of thousands of people lined the routes to pay their last respects as the funerals made their way to different parts of the country. The remains of Richie Goss were released on the morning of Saturday , September 11th, 1948; his coffin was handed over to his relatives at Portlaoise Prison. Thousands of republicans followed his Tricolour-draped coffin , which was flanked by an IRA guard of honour, as it made its way through Dublin and Drogheda on its way to Dundalk. On Sunday, September 12th, 1948, after mass in St Patricks Cathedral, he was buried with full military honours in the family grave in St Patricks Cemetery, Dundalk, County Louth.
The remains of the other five executed republicans were also handed over to their relatives - in the same week that the remains of Richie Goss were released, a coffin containing the body of George Plant was released from Portlaoise Prison and taken to Christ Church Cathedral in Dublin, while those of Paddy McGrath were handed over to his family at Mountjoy Jail , and removed to the Franciscan Church, Merchants Quay, in Dublin. Also , that same September in 1948, the remains of Charlie Kerins, Maurice O'Neill and Thomas Harte were released from Mountjoy Jail in Dublin, and handed over to their relatives. Escorted by IRA guards of honour and followed by thousands of republicans, including many who had served with them in the IRA, and contingents of Fianna Eireann, Cumann na mBan, Clan na Gaedheal and Cumann na gCailini, the funerals made their way towards Dublin city centre....... (MORE LATER)>>


On April 27th, 1916(three days after the Rising started),the so-called 'newspaper of record', the establishment newspaper,' The Irish Times' , said in an Editorial - " How many citizens of Dublin have any real knowledge of the works of Shakespere ?" ! The 'paper suggested that its readers use the "enforced domesticity" caused by the Rising to renew the mans work.
Yet the same newspaper was'nt shy about reporting the US/British war in Iraq; perhaps it all depends on how big your guns are ......

......George Plant was then brought before the Free State Military Tribunal charged with shooting an informer and was sentenced to death........

The sentence was carried out by a six-man firing squad on March 5th, 1942 ; his remains were reinterred in Fethard in September 1948 .

Maurice O'Neill,a County Kerry man(Cahirciveen) was staying in a house in Donnycarney in Dublin with Harry White, when they were attacked by Staters(November 1942) ; Harry White escaped, but O'Neill was captured and brought before the Military Tribunal , charged with firing on Free State forces. He was sentenced to death and was shot by a Free State firing squad in Mountjoy Jail on November 12th, 1942. His remains were reinterred in Cahirciveen in September 1948.

Charlie Kerins, from Tralee in County Kerry, was IRA Chief of Staff when he was arrested in June 1944, and accused before the Military Tribunal with the shooting of Dinny O'Brien in 1942. No evidence was offered to the Tribunal by the Free State, and non was needed- the Tribunal delayed sentence until later in the day to allow Kerins to make an application to it whereby he might avoid the capital sentence ie plead for his life: Charlie Kerins replied- "You could have adjourned for six years as far as I'm concerned, as my attitude towards this Court will always be the same". He was sentenced to death by hanging. When no Irish person would take the job, De Valera and Boland hired an English hangman; Kerins climbed the scaffold on December 1st, 1944, the last Republican soldier to die on the gallows for Ireland. His remains were reinterred in Rath Cemetery in the Tralee Republican Plot in September 1948.
The remains of those six men were only released because public opinion began to go against Fianna Fail.......(MORE LATER)>>>


On March 2nd, 1993 (a Tuesday, if memory serves....) the then British 'Direct Ruler'for the Six Counties,Patrick Mayhew,stated- "The (British) government will, as I said in December, warmly,solemnly and steadfastly uphold Northern Irelands(sic) status. We are not indifferent, we are not neutral" .
WHAT?? Not a neutral,peace-keeping force? Not indifferent?
Not in Ireland, not in Iraq, and not in any of their other 'adventures' in other countries.

.....in his last letter before facing a Fianna Fail-organised firing squad (September 6th, 1940) , Tom Harte wrote, to his mother - "I am writing my last letter to you, because I thought more of you than any other person on earth .... you know I was always strongly Republican , was always thinking out ways and means of furthering Republican ideals...if I fought for my country, it was for the poor downtrodden people of Ireland... I knew I never showed my feelings much at any time , but you were always loved just the same ....I am going to finish now, asking you to remember me as a son you can be proud of. Say farewell to all for me. Goodbye and God bless you all, your loving son, Tom " .
At 24 years of age , Lurgan-born Tom Harte was shot dead by a Free State firing squad on September 6th, 1940.

Richie Goss was one of the most active IRA members of his time ; when he was arrested in the Casey home in Longford he was Divisional O/C of the North-Leinster/South Ulster area. When he was brought before the Free State Military Court, charged with firing on Free State soldiers, he was sentenced to death: transported from Mountjoy Jail in Dublin to Portlaoise,and made to sit on his own coffin all the way, Richie Goss was shot by a Free State firing squad on August 9th, 1941. His remains were reinterred in Dundalk in September 1948.


George Plant was from Fethard in County Tipperary and had been active in the Tan and Civil Wars ; he was one of the last prisoners to be released by the Free State and emigrated to America. He returned to Ireland in 1939 to take part in the struggle but was arrested in 1941. De Valera ordered that George Plant be taken before a non-jury court to be charged with shooting an informer, but the charges were dropped; he was then brought before the Military Tribunal on the same charge and was sentenced to death ..... (MORE LATER)>>



In February 1993, the then British Minister responsible for the environment and countryside, David MacLean, used the unusual means of a written answer to a parliamentary question to release figures showing that, in one day in February 1993, through one discharge stack, Sellafield had released nearly ten times as much plutonium as is usually discharged in a year ! MacLean described the plant officials' failure to inform the local MP,who was visiting the site at the time of the leak, as "a rather extraordinary discourtesy" !
......there is no truth in the rumour that "the local MP" gave up politics and is now employed as a street lamp.

....Paddy McGrath was brought to a shop in Rathgar Road in Dublin on August 15th 1940 by the then IRA Chief of Staff Stephen Hayes , for a meeting with Tom Harte and Tom Hunt ; the meeting was raided by Free State forces .....

The Free State raiding party, the 'Broy Harriers', was led by ex-IRA man Dinny O'Brien . Paddy McGrath escaped but, instead of making a run for it which he could have,he went back to comfort his friend who had been shot, Tom Harte . The two of them were arrested together and were later put to death together by a Free State firing squad . McGrath was known to be an uncompromising Irish Republican who rejected 'positions of power' which were offered him by De Valera. In 1960, the National Graves Association erected a fine monument to his memory in Glasnevin , which was unveiled by the late Tom Doyle .


Far dearer the grave or the prison
Illum'd by one patriot name,
than the trophies of all who have risen,
on liberty's ruins to fame.

Tom Harte was born in Lurgan on May 14th 1916 , and had three brothers and two sisters. He received his primary education in St Peters School in Lurgan and, on leaving there, became an apprentice painter to Charlie McIntyre. He joined the IRA and went to England as part of the 'Expeditionary Force' to take part in the bombing campaign- he was in London in 1939 with Arthur Conway when he was pulled in for questioning by the British police. He told them his name was Tom Green , from Baileborough in Cavan but was still deported to Dublin . Once back in Ireland, he worked as an Organiser for the GHQ Staff of the IRA . He was wounded when the Staters raided a shop on Rathgar Road in Dublin (August 15th, 1940) and was executed by a Fianna Fail-organised firing squad on September 6th, 1940. In his last letter, which was addressed to his mother, he wrote ...... (MORE LATER)>>



The THORP nuclear plant took fifteen years to build and cost stg£2.8 billion . It was finally finished in 1992 and contains more than a quarter of a million tonnes of concrete , and covers an area twice the size of the Wembley arena. 'Greenpeace' said that every four-and-a-half years , Sellafield and Thorp combined will release into the environment as much radioactivity as the Chernobyl meltdown ! That's two-and-a-quarter Chernobyls so far, and no world headlines ......

The last of the sentenced IRA prisoners were released in April 1948 - three years after the formal ending of the IRA's bombing campaign in England and the Six Counties . However , the remains of the six republican prisoners that were executed by the Free State Military Tribunal were still being held by the Staters in Mountjoy and Portlaoise prisons.
The six men were : Paddy McGrath , Tom Harte , Richie Goss , George Plant , Maurice O'Neill and Charlie Kerins . Paddy McGrath was born into one of the old Dublin Republican families and took part in the 1916 Rising , as did two of his brothers . He was sent to Frongoch Internment Camp after the Rising and served his time there with, amongst others, Michael Collins, Gerry Boland(who signed the execution order on Paddy in 1940) and Dinny O'Brien (who, years later, as a member of the Free State 'Broy Harriers' , was to lead the raid on Rathgar Road in Dublin , in August 1940, in which Paddy McGrath was arrested). Following the Treaty of Surrender in 1922, Paddy took the Republican side , as he did in the Civil War; indeed, he carried a bullet in his chest from a British soldier, when he was shot at the GPO in 1916 - it was too close to his heart to be removed. He undertook a hunger-strike in Mountjoy Prison with Dick MacCarthy, Jer Daly and Jack Lynch to obtain political status and they were released, after 42 days,unconditionally. Paddy was brought to a shop in Rathgar Road in Dublin on August 15th 1940, by the then IRA Chief of Staff, Stephen Hayes , for a meeting with Tom Harte and Tom Hunt; the meeting was raided by Free State forces ...... (MORE LATER)>>


Speaking in Japan in October 1989 , Margaret Thatcher declared- " It is improper for any country to acquire territory through war " ; she did'nt say anything about the kettle and the pot ....
Peggy Noonan , former speech-writer for Ronald Reagan , said of him- "The battle for his mind was like trench warfare in World War One. Never have so many fought so hard for such barren terrain " ! So that's why Maggie and Ronnie got on so well..

....the following month(July 1936) those arrested on the bus were brought before a Free State military tribunal where eighteen of them , including Sean Glynn, were sentenced to nine months' imprisonment on a charge of IRA membership ,and were taken to Arbour Hill Military Prison in Dublin ....
The Fianna Fail 'Justice minister', Gerry Boland, in a statement, warned that Arbour Hill "was no longer(sic)going to be a holiday camp or hotel for republican prisoners". Conditions in the prison were grim- Free State military guards kept the republican prisoners in solitary confinement and they were punished for trying to speak or otherwise communicate with each other ; the prison was said to be like a tomb, and the system was intended to drive men insane and in some cases succeeded. Several men never recovered from their months of solitude even if they did manage to preserve their sanity. These were the conditions that drove Sean Glynn , who had been in perfect mental health prior to his arrest, first insane and then,on September 13th 1936, to take his own life.
A subsequent inquest and commission of inquiry into his death found that he had been driven insane by the 'silent-system' in Arbour Hill. After his death, somewhat more humane(but by no means pleasant) conditions prevailed for the remaining prisoners. Two days after his death, Sean Glynn was buried in the Republican Plot in Mount St Laurence's Cemetery in Limerick. He was born into a strong republican family in 1911 and, on leaving school, he began work as a labourer. In 1930 he joined the IRA. A committed Volunteer, he rose through the ranks and soon became O/C of 'B' Company of the Mid-Limerick Brigade, a position previously held by his father, John Glynn, during the early 1920's .
At 25 years of age, he was driven to take his own life on September 13th, 1936, by a Fianna Fail administration.



A poem by Brendan O hEithir , entitled 'The Gentle Black and Tan', comes to mind when I attempt to figure out why it is that Free Staters, even today, consider the Brits as a 'neutral' player in the Six Counties :

' Come all you staunch revisionists
and listen to my song,
Its short and its unusual
and it won't detain you long;
its all about a soldier
who has carried historys can,
who dodged Tom Barry and Dan Breen-
the gentle Black and Tan ' .

It's no surprise that the good Rev. J O Hannay once stated that "reading Irish history was a fatal thing to anyone wishing to remain a sound unionist " (ditto for anyone wishing to remain a sound Free Stater ....).

A 25-years young Irish Republican Army prisoner in Arbour Hill Military Prison wrote a letter to his mother which ended- " I feel I cannot stand this any longer. I have been subjected to cruel treatment since I was arrested". The young man, Sean Glynn, from Pennywell Road in Limerick city , then killed himself.

The 1936 Fianna Fail administration , led by Eamonn de Valera, had turned viciously on those it once fought beside; in June that year, the IRA had been declared an "unlawful association" and the annual republican commemoration to the grave of Wolfe Tone at Bodenstown in County Kildare was banned. It was in that atmosphere that Sean Glynn and more than two dozen other republicans boarded a bus in Limerick on Bodenstown Sunday morning to travel to the 'banned' commemoration : the bus was stopped at Dunkerrin, County Offaly, and all passengers were arrested. The following month(July 1936) those arrested on the bus were brought before a Free State military tribunal where eighteen of them, including Sean Glynn, were sentenced to nine months imprisonment on a charge of IRA membership, and were taken to Arbour Hill Military Prison in Dublin - (MORE LATER)>>


In 1991 , when Fianna Fail's Frank Fahey was Free State Minister of State at the Department of Education, with responsibility for Sports and Youth Affairs( a good 'all-rounder', is our Frank!) he gave an interview in 'Hot Press' magazine (April 4th, 1991, page 40) in which he stated - "I feel strongly about this, that Ireland in the future is going to be a country unique as a holiday destination and unique for the creative abilities that we have here. Our economic future is not in manufacturing industry. It's in our ability to become an attractive location for tourism and our ability to be upfront in sport and particularly in music " .
"An attractive location for tourism...a holiday destination (with) sport and music" but with no "manufacturing industry"; let's sit on our pony and traps , doff our caps at the paying visitors and greet them with "top o'the mornin' to ya". Sure would'nt that be grand,Frank.....

....the arrest , in November 1865, of Fenian leaders and, in particular, James Stephens,meant that a planned uprising had to be postponed; the Irish Republican Brotherhood decided to break him out of Richmond Jail ,as he was that organisations military strategist . John Devoy, the IRB's Organiser, put an escape plan together: Ellen O'Leary(John O'Leary's sister) had agreed to mortgage her home and use the money to bribe two somewhat sympathetic warders in Richmond Jail to hand over a set of keys which would enable James Stephens to simply let himself out of the prison! The plan worked; within weeks of his incarceration in Richmond Jail, Stephens had his own set of keys to the place and, on the night of November 24th, 1865, used them successfully- he was met on the outside , as arranged, and taken to a safe house. In the early hours of the 25th , his absence was noticed and the prison was searched but, as O'Donovan Rossa was to recall in his recollections of prison life- it was too late; "the bird had flown" .
The British offered what was then a small fortune - £300 - for information on James Stephens and on how he escaped , but to no avail . Within months he was in Frace , where he continued his work for the Fenians and the IRB .


The health service in this State is constantly under fire from those of us who are reliant on it - no beds, not enough staff, disorganised etc ; those that can afford it go private, the rest of us struggle on as best we can . A report from the 'El Tiempo' newspaper in Columbia , from February 20th, 1991, brought to mind a comparison of how they were then and how we are now - Speaking at a conference on South American medical authorities , a Dr Alaos Miguel Carlo said- "We are in the hands of mad politicians. Over one thousand complaints have been made about the service at Columbia's General Hospital. This famous institution has been officially opened six times by six different party leaders , but it is still not in service because the electricity has not been turned on . At the same time, the six 'opening's' cost over six million pesos, mostly for nibbles and drink" !
Must be South American blood in Leinster House.......

On the night of November 24th, 1865, the head of the Fenian movement and founder of the Irish Republican Brotherhood, James Stephens, escaped from Richmond Jail in Dublin .
Weeks before his imprisonment, the British had been involved in an all-out offensive against the Fenians; their newspaper 'The Irish People' had been suppressed and Fenian leaders John O'Leary, Thomas Clarke Luby and Jeremiah O'Donovan Rossa had been arrested. They were charged with 'treason felony' , which was later changed to 'high treason' , and were put in Richmond Jail , off the South Circular Road in Dublin, to await 'trial'. In November 1865, more leaders of the Fenian movement were arrested- Charles J. Kickham , Edmund Duffy , Hugh Brophy and, perhaps most damaging of all, James Stephens : his detention not only hindered the work of the Fenians, but also slowed development of the IRB , which he had founded in Dublin on St.Patricks Day, 1858 . Stephens had built-up the organisation to such an extent that, by 1865, it was ready to rise up against British rule . (MORE LATER)>>


In 1947, the British government resettled some 8,000 men of the SS Galizien Division in Britain ; they were Ukrainians who supported the Nazi's because of their hatred of the Soviets . So,if, for example, you are a Palestinian who fought with the Iraq's because of your hatred of the United States - you know where to go.
In 1979, John Taylor , OUP , (now Brit Lord somethingorother) was returned in the European elections as one of the three MEP's for the Six Counties. In the European Parliament, he initially joined the British Conservatives in the European Democratic Group(EDG) . However, he left the EDG in 1987 because it supported the (1985) Hillsborough Treaty (2 years on the fence-a sore thing!) and he then joined the European Right Group(ERG) headed by French National Front leader, Jean-Marie Le Pen . At the time , Taylor insisted that he had made the right move , and boasted that the ERG made him their spokesperson because "I controlled their political expression". He later left the ERG(because he found its links with the neo-Nazi German Republican Party an "embarrassent" !) and joined the European Peoples Party (EPP) , the so-called 'Christian Democrat' grouping to which this state's Fine Gael party also belongs.
There is no truth to the rumour that John, having almost run out of groups to join, is to start his own and call it the 'Galizien Group' ......

......indeed, many of the IRA Volunteers that took on the British in a guerrilla war during the 1919-1921 period learned their trade in Frongoch Internment Camp in North Wales. The Irish Republican Brotherhood used their time in the camp to re-organise , and Michael Collins formed his deadly 'Dublin Squad' from those same internees ; his country-wide intelligence network was said to have been as efficient as it was because of the training its operatives received in Frongoch.
On December 23rd, 1916, the last 600 internees in the camp and the two remaining female internees in Aylesbury Jail, Winifred Carney and Helena Moloney , were released ; the sentenced prisoners, including Constance Markievicz, were held in English prisons until the general amnesty in June 1917. Frongoch, the 'Republican University' in North Wales,was first opened to receive Irish'students' on June 9th, 1916. And we're still 'learning' ......


Following the fall of the Ottoman Empire, Kurdistan was established by the League of Nations in 1920 as an independent nation for the then 25 million Kurds, whose homeland it was for well over a thousand years. In 1921, Britain set up the state of Iraq, and annexed the southern half of Kurdistan , while she was at it. Meanwhile, France was drawing up the borders of Syria and the Kurds lost the western part of their country. A year later, Kemal Ataturk founded the Turkish Republic , and took over the northern portion . Iran and the then Soviet Union swallowed up what remained . In that same period of time, Britain divided both Ireland and Mesopotamia, keeping control in each nation of the most industrialized and profitable area ; Ireland was partitioned and Mesopotamia was made into the kingdoms of Iraq and Kuwait .
Now the Brits are back, militarily, in that part of the world and would have us believe that their objective is to "restore democracy" : a word of warning to the 'pro-democracy' (ie puppet) administration that Bush and Blair will set-up ----- watch your backs; before you know it, you'll be the new "Axis of Evil"........