.....for six decades , Brian O'Higgins explained Irish Republicanism to generations of young people , and was hounded by the British and Free Staters for doing so .....

On 10th March , 1963 , at 80 years of age , Brian O'Higgins died in Dublin. Again, like so many men and women mentioned in these columns, he deserves to be remembered as much outside the Movement , as he is within it. People like that are the backbone of the Movement - their efforts and the sacrifices they make are second-nature to them ; they don't seek, or expect, financial gain ; they don't make plans to sit at the so-called 'top table' with the same people who have worked for years to 'tame' them .
Men and women like Brian O'Higgins are not for turning - the Brits and Free Staters are aware of that , label them as 'dissidents and terrorists', purchase half of them and turn them on the other half . And unfortunately, that 'divide and conquer' trick still 'fools' those that are willing to be fooled .....


".....maybe it's better they don't know. They won't break my spirit. I won't let them do that. They can do what they will with me , but I won't concede my spirit . Yes , that's it. Calm down , fight back, show them your spirit , settle down, and get ready for them... There's a bible in the corner- flick through it and stop thinking about it. Six hours ! Take heart ... The prophet Sirach : 'Blessed is he whose heart does not condemn him, and who does not give up hope' .
Remember that . Remember those words . I'm alright. I won't give up hope . No , I won't give up hope " .

-----'The Writings of Bobby Sands' , from an article entitled 'Alone and Condemned' , first published on 13th January , 1979 .


Democratic decisions by the Irish people were made in every general election from the introduction of the secret ballot in 1872 . In each election from then until 1918 , the wish of the Irish people to govern themselves was expressed through the ballot box . In eleven general elections in succession through almost half a century , Irish voters used the ballot to show their will . Sixty per-cent of those elected by the county and borough constituencies in Ireland in 1874 were Home Rulers .

As more people qualified to vote , this demand grew accordingly . Over eighty per-cent of Irish representatives from 1885 onwards were elected to win self-government for the Country . Britain failed to accept the ballot results and , in 1920, when Britain partioned Ireland, they again ignored the votes of the people whom they insisted in keeping under the Butchers Apron ('Union Jack'). Constituencies which in every election for years had voted for Irish self-government were kept within the Unionist state established at that time.
And now we have the stomach-turning sight of so-called 'Irish Republicans' protesting because the British will not hold elections to a British Parliament (Stormont) !

.....they would crawl over a spinning grave to get a British pension .....
Disgusting.

.....during the round-up of Irish Republicans in May 1918 (the so-called 'German Plot' arrests) , Brian O'Higgins(36) was lifted and imprisoned in Birmingham, England - while in prison , he was elected to represent West Clare in the First Dail Eireann......

In the Spring of 1919 , Brian O'Higgins was released and went to West Clare, where he became a Justice in the Dail Courts . He took the Republican side in the Civil War , having opposed the Treaty, and was arrested in February 1923 - this time he ended up in the Curragh. On his release , he reported back to the Republican Movement and , in 1932, he published the first 'Wolfe Tone Annual ' , which he continued to produce until 1962.

With Joe Clarke's help, Brian O'Higgins published a newspaper, 'The Wolfe Tone Weekly' , which was first published in September 1937 but was quickly suppressed by the Fianna Fail administration. Brian O'Higgins published dozens of articles, books and pamphlets during the 1940's and 1950's on Irish history , songs and poems , under his own name and a pen-name, 'Brian na Bamban' ; for six decades, he explained Irish Republicanism to generations of young people, and was hounded by the British and Free Staters for doing so ..... (MORE LATER)>


"....I'm so scared , I can't even think right. I wish I was at home.I wonder what the family are doing now ? Sitting around the fire in a nice warm room having tea . Jesus , it's getting colder . My feet are blue. I wonder what they are thinking ? What would they think if they knew what is to happen to me ? It would only make it worse , they would suffer, they would worry so much, but maybe they have secretly been expecting this , and never said so. Maybe it's better they don't know ..... " .

---- Bobby Sands, first published on 13th January, 1979. (MORE LATER)>


In 1921 , British General Sir Hubert Gough stated-
" Law and order (in Ireland) have given place to a bloody and brutal anarchy in which the armed agents of the Crown violate every law in aimless and vindictive and insolent savagery . England has departed further from her own standards, and further from the standards even of any nation in the world , not excepting the Turk and Zulu, than has ever been known in history before " .

--- and that from a Brit 'insider' ! At least Gough spoke his mind- the shameless 21st Century-version would deny everything and then go running for his/her 'spin-doctor' and then their lawyer....

.....during the round-up of Irish Republicans in May 1918 (the so-called 'German Plot' arrests) , Brian O'Higgins(36) was lifted and imprisoned in Birmingham, England - while in prison , he was elected to represent West Clare in the First Dail Eireann......

In the Spring of 1919 , Brian O'Higgins was released and went to West Clare, where he became a Justice in the Dail Courts . He took the Republican side in the Civil War , having opposed the Treaty, and was arrested in February 1923 - this time he ended up in the Curragh. On his release , he reported back to the Republican Movement and , in 1932, he published the first 'Wolfe Tone Annual ' , which he continued to produce until 1962.

With Joe Clarke's help, Brian O'Higgins published a newspaper, 'The Wolfe Tone Weekly' , which was first published in September 1937 but was quickly suppressed by the Fianna Fail administration. Brian O'Higgins published dozens of articles, books and pamphlets during the 1940's and 1950's on Irish history , songs and poems , under his own name and a pen-name, 'Brian na Bamban' ; for six decades, he explained Irish Republicanism to generations of young people, and was hounded by the British and Free Staters for doing so ..... (MORE LATER)>


"....I'm so scared , I can't even think right. I wish I was at home.I wonder what the family are doing now ? Sitting around the fire in a nice warm room having tea . Jesus , it's getting colder . My feet are blue. I wonder what they are thinking ? What would they think if they knew what is to happen to me ? It would only make it worse , they would suffer, they would worry so much, but maybe they have secretly been expecting this , and never said so. Maybe it's better they don't know ..... " .

---- Bobby Sands, first published on 13th January, 1979. (MORE LATER)>


In 1921 , British General Sir Hubert Gough stated-
" Law and order (in Ireland) have given place to a bloody and brutal anarchy in which the armed agents of the Crown violate every law in aimless and vindictive and insolent savagery . England has departed further from her own standards, and further from the standards even of any nation in the world , not excepting the Turk and Zulu, than has ever been known in history before " .

--- and that from a Brit 'insider' ! At least Gough spoke his mind- the shameless 21st Century-version would deny everything and then go running for his/her 'spin-doctor' and then their lawyer....

...... at 22 years young,Brian O'Higgins left Dublin and went home to Glen na Mona in County Meath - he earned his living by writing for local newspapers .....

By the time he was 30 years of age , Brian O'Higgins was challenging , in writing, the British presence in his country and the native apologists for same. His articles were published in like-minded newspapers such as 'Sinn Fein' , 'Irish Freedom' and 'Nationality' and, in those and other newspapers , he wrote against conscription and recruitment into the British Army .

At 34 years young, Brian O'Higgins fought in the GPO during Easter Week 1916 ; following the surrender , he was imprisoned in Stafford Jail in England and Frongoch Internment Camp in Wales - he was released in February 1917. However , during the round-up of republicans in May 1918 (the 'German Plot' arrests), he was lifted and imprisoned in Birmingham , England - while in prison he was elected to represent West Clare in the First Dail Eireann . (MORE LATER)>


".....eight hours, that's all I've left .It will hurt. I know it will hurt. Everyone says it hurts. Oh God, it's not happening to me. It's not happening . I'm trapped . Entombed! No escape ! Nowhere to hide . And nowhere to run . I'm condemned to face what awaits me in eight hours . I can't appeal , I can't plead , they won't even listen , they just laugh, they're glad , they revel in it . That's why they give me a warning of eight hours , to watch me sweat and worry . They have it well planned .

They're watching me now. They're watching me through that little slit in the cell door . They won't give me peace , but what peace can I find ? I'm so scared , I can't even think right . I wish I was at home ..... " .

---- 'The Writings of Bobby Sands' ,April 1981 . (MORE LATER)>


From my lengthy and ever-increasing 'Do-As-I-Say-And-Not-As-I-Do' file ; this one from the 'Private Eye' report entitled 'Rock Bottom', February 1989 , page 3 -

Thames Television proposed to show, in late April 1988, a programme on the Rock of Gibraltar shootings ('Shoot-to-kill' policy) ; the British Tories condemned the TV station and lashed them for propagating "trial by television" . However ,following the Aberfan disaster in South Wales in 1966, a Labour British Attorney-General set up a full-scale public inquiry under a High Court judge. When the judge quietly suggested that press comment on Aberfan might be restricted until the public inquiry , he was subjected to a volley of abuse by the Tories and their friends in the media , who argued that any restriction on comment was "a gross violation of free speech" .

In 1988 , the same politicians and newspapers demanded the restrictions on comment which they had decried in 1966 !

------- it's only "a violation of free speech " if we say it is ....

In Glen na Mona,Kells, County Meath , in July 1882, a child was born who , even to this day, is remembered among Irish Republicans as a soldier,journalist , author and poet .....

Brian O'Higgins was educated at kilskyre National School , but left to work in a relatives shop in Clonmellon on the Meath/Westmeath border in 1896 , at fourteen years of age . It was around that time that he got to know Tom Daly , who was the Editor of the 'Meath Chronicle' newspaper ; Daly saw in the young Brian O'Higgins a flair for the written word , and encouraged him in that regard .

At 19 years young (in 1901) , O'Higgins was being taught Irish by Michael Cusack (GAA founder) in the Gaelic League ; he had moved to Dublin that year and joined the O'Growney branch of same there. In 1904 , he went back home to Glen na Mona and made a living by writing for 'The Meath Chronicle' , the 'Leinster Leader' and 'The Peasant' . (MORE LATER)>


"The heavy steel door of the punishment cell slammed shut behind me. In a bewildered daze I vaguely heard the jingle of keys and the steady footsteps fading away in the wake of its thunderous echo. An ungodly silence fell, leaving only the sound of my sharp rasping breaths .My eyes flashed at the bareness of my humble surroundings . A wooden board for a bed,a concrete block for a stool , a concrete slab as a table . A bright light burned high above me, reflecting off the chalk-white walls , and the severe cold bored through my body and numbed my bare feet .

Naked , alone and condemned, I began to pace the small freezing cold cell ; my thoughts in an entangled mess , riddled with panic, worry and fear. Condemned ! 'We'll be back in eight hours' , that's what they said . Jesus, what time is it now ? Eight hours , that's all I've left ..... "

------- From 'The writings of Bobby Sands' , April 1981 - first published in 'Republican News' , 13th January 1979 . (MORE LATER)>


For twelve years , a Mr. Davison Budhoo worked for the 'International Monetary Fund' (IMF) as an economist , but resigned in early 1988 over the attempt by the IMF to "crucify" the economy of Trinidad and Tobago , in the Caribbean -- "The IMF was never designed to help the 'Third World' or end poverty . It was established by the Bretton Woods conference of 1944 to restore economic and financial order to the western world . There was no element of compassion for humanity in its formulation . The Funds aim is first and foremost to secure the interests of developed countries " .

Yes, Yes- perhaps ; but that was back in 1988 !
Today , in this 21st Century, the initials 'IMF' (bless 'em) stand for 'Idyllic and Magnificent Faculty' .
Don't they ......?

.....in November 1922 , while an appeal against his death sentence was pending in the Free State High Court, Robert Erskine Childers was removed from his cell and shot dead by a Free State firing squad in Portobello Barracks, Dublin .....

His Irish Republican credentials are usually ignored by the 'establishment' , who praise his literary prowess - 'The Riddle of The Sands'(1903) ; 'War and the Arme Blanche'(1910) ; 'The Framework of Home Rule'(1911) ; 'Military Rule in Ireland'(1920) ; and 'The Constructive Works of Dail Eireann'(1921).

Robert Erskine Childers was shot dead by order of his former comrades on 24th November, 1922 , at 52 years of age ; those that pulled the trigger were following instructions from traitors.

FOOTNOTE - Robert Barton signed the Treaty of Surrender but later came to reject it;the Free Staters held a grudge for Childers over that issue :
The 'Court' that passed the death sentence on Childers (on 17th November 1922) came into operation on 15th October that same year and,as well as Childers,passed death sentences on seventy-seven Irish Republicans.


"....or throw scalding water around his naked body. It is also inconceivable for me to describe, let alone for you to imagine,our state of mind just sitting waiting for this to happen. I can say that this physical and psychological torture in the H-Blocks has brought many men to the verge of insanity.We are in a very, very bad state now. What will we be like at the end of the day , or in the years to come ? My mind is scarred deep. It is as equally a worrying thought that we may end up unable to even think at all ! With that in 'your' mind, I will leave off. Think about it, but just don't leave it at that " .

----Bobby Sands, from an article entitled 'The Battle for Survival' , first published in the old AP/RN , 27th January, 1979.


.....a paper produced by senior British civil servants in 1948, as the Free State was about to leave the 'Commonwealth' , concluded - " Now that Eire (sic) will shortly cease to owe any allegiance to the Crown, it has become a matter of first-class strategic importance to this country that the North should continue to form part of His Majestys dominions . So far as can be foreseen , it will never be to Great Britains advantage that 'Northern Ireland' (sic) should form part of a territory outside His Majesty's jurisdiction . Indeed , it seems unlikely that Great Britain would ever be able to agree to this even if the people of 'Northern Ireland' (sic) desired it " .

------Well, that's news to me :I always considered the Brits as a neutral , peacekeeping force.....

......Robert Erskine Childers was one of the principal secretaries to the Irish delegation in London during the Treaty negotiations from October to December 1921 - he strongly opposed that Treaty of Surrender .....

When the split took place, Erskine Childers supported the Republican side during the Civil War and was appointed IRA Director of Publicity and Editor of the Republican newspaper 'The Republic of Ireland' ('Poblacht na hEireann'). In November 1922 , Childers was imprisoned in Wicklow Jail , having been arrested by Free State troops while visiting his cousin, Robert Barton, at Annamoe, in County Wicklow, ; he was quickly transferred to Portobello Barracks in Dublin where he was viciously tortured and , on 17th November 1922, was court-martialled on a charge of possession of a revolver (which had been given to him by his former comrade, Michael Collins). He was sentenced to death.

The death sentence was appealed and, whilst same was pending in the Free State High Court , Childers was removed from his cell and shot dead by a Free State firing squad in Portobello Barracks, Dublin. (MORE LATER)>


"....but you know they never forget . They don't come. The next day is the same, and the next, and the next.You become more and more depressed . For days your thoughts have been the same , a mass of fear, fearing what lies ahead. Consider being in that frame of mind every day ! Knowing in your mind that you're to be beaten nearly senseless, forcibly bathed, or held down to have your back passage examined or probed. These things are common facts of everyday H-Block life.

It is inconceivable to try to imagine what an eighteen-year old naked lad goes through when a dozen or so screws slaughter him with batons,boots and punches, while dragging him by the hair along a corridor, or when they squeeze his privates until he collapses, or throw scalding water around his naked body ..... ".

From 'The Writings of Bobby Sands' , April 1981. (MORE TOMORROW)>



A 1984 report commissioned by the Institute for European Defence and Strategic Studies recognised that Ireland has been of fundamental strategic importance to Britain since Tudor times , both as a potential foothold for the conquest of Britain and from the point of view of safe-guarding the approaches to Britains western ports. A paper produced by senior British civil servants in 1948 , as the Free State was about to leave the 'Commonwealth' , concluded ---" Now that Eire (sic) will shortly...... " (MORE LATER)>

....the Irish Republican , propagandist and world-famous author Robert Erskine Childers married Boston woman Mary Ellen Osgood in 1904 and , six years later, left his job in the British House of Commons to work full-time in politics .....

On 26th July, 1914, Erskine Childers sailed his yacht 'The Asgard' into Howth harbour in Dublin - he was carrying 900 rifles and 14,000 rounds of ammunition for the Irish Volunteers (the material had been purchased in Germany, by Darrell Figgis). At the time of the 'First World War' , when he served in the British Navy, Erskine Childers was, politically, a 'Home Ruler' but , after demobilisation , he embraced Irish Republicanism and vowed to accept nothing less than a British withdrawal from Ireland. In March 1919 , he moved to Dublin and joined Sinn Fein ; he worked with George Gavan Duffy and Sean T.O'Kelly in preparing material to present to the 'Peace Conference' in Paris (see '1169...' archives). He helped in founding a Republican newspaper , ' The Irish Bulletin' , in November 1919 and was appointed Editor of same in March 1921, following the arrest of Desmond Fitzgerald .

Also , in early 1921, he was elected as TD for County Wicklow in the 32-County Dail Eireann , where he distinguished himself as Minister for Publicity . He was one of the principal secretaries to the Irish delegation in London during the Treaty negotiations from October to December 1921, - he strongly opposed the Treaty of Surrender ..... (MORE LATER)>


".....in short, imagine being entombed, naked and alone, for a whole day . What would it be like for twenty torturous months! Now again , with this in mind, try and imagine just what it is like to be in this situation in surroundings that resemble a pigsty, and you are crouched naked upon the floor on a corner, freezing cold, amid the lingering stench of putrifying rubbish, with crawling, wriggling white maggots all around you, fat bloated flies pestering your naked body, the silence is nerve-wrecking, your mind is in turmoil . You are sitting waiting on the screws coming to your cell to drag you out to be forcibly bathed. You have heard and seen the horrible results of this from many of your comrades at Mass. You know only too well what it means : the skin scrubbed from your body with heavy brushes . The screws have told you that you are next. You wait all day, just thinking. Your mind is wrecked.Maybe they've forgotten, you kid yourself ; but you know they never forget.... " .

------- Bobby Sands .


From'The Evening Press' , 30th November 1988 , page 6 --

Imelda Marcos, wife of the (then) deposed Philippiners leader Ferdinand Marcos,accused Nancy Reagan of betraying them by blocking a 'Presidential Pardon' for her and her husband.

----- " When I could do for them, I had friends. Now I don't know anymore who my friends are. I only know from certain people what is happening in Washington and it is that Nancy Reagan is against a pardon. It was Mrs. Reagan who said to me 'Come to your friends in the U S .You will be safe here' . We were promised asylum. This is not asylum. This is a betrayal. "

Imelda went on to say that Nancy was opposed to granting a pardon because she "has been told that granting these pardons will be very detrimental for Reagans historical position " !

....but, Nancy, honey ; that was screwed-up anyway !

In June, 1870, a child born in London, who was reared at Glendalough House, Annamoe, in County Wicklow (at the home of his cousin, Robert Barton), grew up to be an Irish Republican, a first-class propagandist and a world-famous author .....

Robert Erskine Childers was educated at Haileybury and Trinity College, Cambridge; at 24 years young, in 1894, he was working as a committee clerk in the British House of Commons , and was already a skilled yachtsman . At 33 years of age (in 1903) he published 'The Riddle of The Sands' , a fictional account of German preparations to invade England , based on his experiences on sailing holidays in the Baltic. He married Mary Ellen Osgood , from Boston,in 1904 and, six years later, left his job in the British House of Commons to devote himself to political work. (MORE LATER)>


" For someone who is contented, or unconcerned with any great worry, living what is termed an everyday life, you may find my psychological circumstances hard to comprehend. For two reasons : firstly, my inability to describe the psychological struggle of myself and of my three hundred and fifty comrades ; secondly, it is terribly hard, if not inconceivable, to conjure up in one's imagination the pain and stress of psychological torture or to know its many forms or to understand its various effects.

Imagine how it would feel to be locked-up naked in solitary confinement , twenty-four hours a day, and subjected to total deprivation of not only common, everyday things, but of basic human necessities, such as clothes, fresh air and exercise, the company of other human beings ".

------ 'The Writings of Bobby Sands', April 1981 ; continued later ....


More on Maggie ...
In November 1988, Maggie Thatcher was on a 'tour' of Poland ;

She claimed to believe passionately in free trade unions - this was three days after the sacking of workers at the British Government Communications Centre in Cheltenham for refusing to resign their trade union membership ! The woman then associated herself with workers at Gdansk protesting against the closure "on economic grounds" of the Lenin Shipyard - this within one week of having forced through the closure of the Sunderland Shipyard for ... "economic reasons" ! The grocers daughter verbally lashed the then Premier, Miecazyslaw Rakowski, for rejecting "dialogue" with alienated sections of Polish society- not long after she herself dumped from her own cabinet those she considered "wets" ie Ministers who dared suggest dialogue as a means of resolving social conflict in Britain !

"She was only a grocers daughter ,
who could'nt admit, when she oughta,
....... NO, NO - STOP ......!
My stomach can't handle it :
...the hotel room is starting to spin .....

....the 2nd election results were announced on 12th March, 1875 (the day after the election);.....

The Conservative candidate , Stephen Moore, received 746 votes- John Mitchel won with 3,114 votes total, and was 're-elected' as MP for Tipperary. In a statement he released after the count, Mitchel wrote- "Your county has used her franchise in the best manner possible;that is, in making a desperate protest against the whole system of pretended parliamentary government in Ireland " (NOTE- shades of the present situation with Stormont : "pretended parliamentary government"). However, once again, the British House of Commons showed its contempt for democracy in Ireland, and disqualified John Mitchel as an "undischarged felon" - the Brits awarded the seat to Moore! But , by the time the British could put their man in the seat that belonged to John Mitchel , the winning candidate lay dead in his old home in Newry , County Down ; he died in March 1875, the same month in which he was elected,for the second time that year, as MP for Tipperary .

Once again,thanks this time to John Mitchel, the British had their arrogance exposed to the world .


"The sky began to grey as the dawn threatened , and the birds awoke to proclaim the existence of life and nature . In the outer corridor of silence a key jingled and footsteps approached from afar . Depression slipped away unnoticed , as tension attacked my nerves and fear fell with the dawn . Three hundred and fifty naked bodies stirred , a million thoughts and dreams fled , and a nightmare descended as the sun shone clear . Another day began . The footsteps grew louder and louder, and a voice said : "Get up, you bastards". I braced myself and thought- 'Oh for the darkness of a stormy night' " .

----- 'The Writings of Bobby Sands' , April 1981 ; first published in the old 'Republican News' , 6th January 1979 .


From 'The New Nation' magazine, November 1988, page 11 --

The Irish people are aware of the damage that Maggie Thatcher inflicted on us during her terms in Office , but perhaps less well known is the damage she caused in her own country :

Britain under Thatcher witnessed bank interest rates rise to what was then described as "NASA-style curves" ie up four times in one two-month period , a mortgage rate at a crippling 13 per cent , house prices actually falling in London , a balance of payments deficit piling up to £11 billion (at the end of 1988) which was more than 3 times the British Chancellors estimate , a fall of 25 per cent in the price of North Sea oil and inflation climbing to 6 per cent and beyond !

And here is my tribute to that special lady --

" She was only a grocers daughter
who propositioned the Tories
and they bought her,
she lead them all, smiling, to the slaughter
'cept the Irish Republicans, who fought her " !

I really need a room in a hotel after that .....

.....on 16th February 1875,the Irish rebel John Mitchel won a seat in the British parliament , representing Tipperary - however , the British House of Commons had other ideas on Mitchel's victory ......

The British declared that Mitchel's election was void as he was a felon,and stated that a new election to fill the Tipperary seat would be held on 11th March , 1875 . John Mitchel , not being in the best of health, canvassed locally and, as the 'ex-MP' , drew huge crowds, while his election team covered the neighbouring counties ; at the Theatre Royal in Cork , for instance,the following statement was read to a packed house on his behalf - "The first and greatest good which I see in that election is , that it was a magnificent pronouncement in favour of the national right of Ireland , and against the usurpation of the British parliament. The people of Tipperary elected me as the most implacable enemy of British tyranny " .
The (2nd) election results were announced on 12th March, 1875 (the day after the election) ; ...... (MORE LATER)>


THE WOMAN CRIED

Six days he fought
midst dying piles of gory mutilated heroes,
And the English cannon roared
Upon the ghosts of Celtic bones,
a nation's blood was poured.

Thousands fell in screaming bloody terror
whilst the informer hid cowering close by,
But there were none left amongst that bloody fray
to hear the woman cry.

------- Bobby Sands.

From 'The Evening Press', 14th November 1986 (a Friday, I think...) , page 3 --

On 13th November, 1986 (possibly a Thursday) Ronald Reagan confirmed he undertook eighteen months of secret diplomacy with Iran and sent over "small amounts" of weapons in order "to improve relations" ie for Iran to exert pressure to ensure that U S citizens were not kidnapped and held hostage in the Lebanon ! And the U S agents that delivered the "small amounts" of weapons travelled on passports issued by the Free State administration in Dublin .....
..... so we had U S agents (probably CIA) delivering weapons to Iran with the aid of Free State passports in an apparent attempt to bribe the authorities in Iran to put pressure on a militia in Lebanon not to kidnap U S citizens !
See - we play on the world stage with the big boys ; no wonder Bertie is the Statesman he so obviously is !

.....in July 1874 , John Mitchel returned to Ireland after an enforced absence (by the British) of twenty-six years and stated that he would stand for election to the British Parliament if a vacancy arose , but on one condition - that he would not take his seat , if elected ; he then returned to America .....

Shortly afterwards, a vacancy occurred in Tipperary , and his name was put forward as a candidate - his friend, John Martin, went to print with John Mitchel's election address , which he had left in Ireland for just such an occasion , and which finished with the declaration ; "I am in favour of Home Rule- that is, the sovereign independence of Ireland" (which was not what the British understood by the term!). Because he had been nominated to contest the election (due to take place on 16th February 1875) , John Mitchel again left America for Ireland and landed in Cork ; on his arrival , he was greeted by friends and supporters and was told that the election was over and he had been successful - he was now MP for Tipperary . The English House of Commons, however, had other ideas on Mitchel's victory ..... (MORE LATER)>


THE WOMAN CRIED

Cold black water lashed and splashed
and played around a tattered reed,
By dying embers, to God a woman prayed
that the Gael might but succeed.


The silver nails of a rugged boot
scarred a lonely lifeless stone,
'Cross rambling hill he marched afoot,
to fight along with Tone.

----- by Bobby Sands; final two verses tomorrow.


In October 1986 , Fine Gael's Garret Fitzgerald gave an interview to the 'Belfast Telegraph' , in which he said - "The fact is that, over the past year, Northern Nationalists have seen the judicial system operating in a manner .... that is equitable and fair.They have seen the security forces being even-handed in the way they have handled very difficult problems with great courage and dedication. They have seen progress in the willingness on the part of the British Government to tackle more effectively the problems of discrimination which remain " . Asked about the Dublin administration's 'meddlesome interference in the affairs of another country' (or some such similar 'Telegraph'-loaded question) , the Fine Gael man answered- " We have no desire to be involved in the process of Northern Ireland(sic) any more than is necessary to tackle the problem of the IRA and eliminate it " ! .... NOW, NOW , folks- don't be too harsh on Fitzer; he was only speaking his mind(and that of those in Leinster House.....)

In 1875 , when the results of an election held in Ireland did'nt suit the British Government , they did what they do best - they 'waived the rules' .... and then , within weeks, they done it again ....

In that year , 1875, the 'Young Ireland' leader , John Mitchel, was twice returned as MP for Tipperary - and was twice disenfranchised by the Brits !
When his newspaper 'The United Irishman' was suppressed by the British in May 1848, John Mitchel was arrested and charged with treason felony - he was sentenced to transportation to Van Diemens Land (Tasmania) for 14 years but escaped to America in 1853 (see archives). Still viewed by the British as a 'convicted felon' and liable to arrest, he landed in Ireland in July 1874 , after an enforced absence of twenty-six years ! He stated that he would stand for parliament if a vacancy arose , but on one condition - that the electorate be made aware that he would not take his seat in the House of Commons if elected ; he then returned to America . Shortly afterwards , a vacancy occured in Tipperary ...... (MORE LATER)>


THE WOMAN CRIED

From humble home in dead of night
a flitting shadow fled,
The yellow moon caught sharpened pike
where the night shades danced and played.

A bramble clawed at trembling hand
and a night owl watched unseen,
Through bog and glen a United man
marched out to win a dream.

(.... a six-stanza poem by Bobby Sands, published in 1981 : more later).


From 'The Sunday Tribune', 2nd November 1986, page 21 -

After U S Marines invaded Grenada in 1983 , Duane Clarridge, the CIA Organiser of the Contras, drove around Grenada with a car-bumper sticker saying - "Nicaragua Next" ! Clarridge was questioned by a U S Congressional Committee in relation to what he knew about the then situation in Nicaragua , and eventually admitted that - "civilians and Sandinista Officials in the provinces, as well as heads of co-operatives , nurses, doctors and judges " had been killed by the (U S-backed) Contras .
State-sponsored terrorism ; the Brits do it in Ireland , and .......

....by 1645 , Owen Roe O'Neill had a professional Irish Army of five-thousand men armed , trained and prepared for battle .....

The English Army General , Munroe, issued orders in June 1646 that the three Anglo-Scottish armies in the North of Ireland were to converge - his plan was to march south to invade Leinster ; O'Neill had his own plan .....

He moved his men from Cavan to Benburb in County Tyrone , on the River Blackwater, and positioned his army on a hill , with his flank protected by a bog on one side and the rivers Blackwater and Oona on the other side . When O'Neill heard that Munroe was marching on his position , he sent word for Brian O'Neill and Owen O'Doherty , with their men, to follow Munroe and his Army . On 5th June , 1646, Munroe and his men were facing O'Neills forces and by now must have realised that the other O'Neill and O'Doherty were behind them - they were trapped.
Owen Roe O'Neill gave the order to charge and Munroe's army panicked ; the two groups behind Munroe attacked at the same time and the English forces scattered- some tried to cross the Blackwater , others ran for the River Oona ,but most perished in the marshes nearby .The Irish rebels surged into the remainder of the invaders (from two directions) and won the day - Munroe lost more than three-thousand soldiers while the Irish suffered around seventy dead. 'The Battle of Benburb' was a total triumph for the Irish ; however, the victory was only enjoyed for three short years - in August 1649 , Oliver Cromwell got the revenge that the English craved.


"The concrete floor was so cold that to pace the floor would be impossible in one's bare feet. Three small flimsy blankets and lying upon a damp mattress would not provide enough warmth for escape through sleep. This night will be another night, huddled up in the corner, fighting the intense cold amidst despairing thoughts when pain and depression become almost overwhelming . The wind is rising and growing angry ; it will carry the blankets of falling snow in through the paneless windows. I am very, very cold now. I can stand here and freeze at the window gazing upon this barbed-wire jungle of colour and whiteness , or I can retreat to my little den in the corner of my tomb ...... " (continued tomorrow..) .
----'The Writings of Bobby Sands', April 1981 (first published in 'Republican News', 20th January 1979).


....'loyal' shipyard workers from Harland and Wolff physically prevented a rally for Labour candidates in the May 1921 elections from taking place in the 'Ulster Hall' , terming them "Bolsheviks" . At Stormont , Prime Minister Craig (later Lord Craigavon) moved an amendment saying- " The employment of disloyalists (meaning Catholics, in H+W) is prejudicial to the state and takes jobs away from loyalists" .Between January 1975 and December 1979, British governments paid out £103 million in grants and loans to H+W . The Thatcher administration came to power in 1979 , supposedly committed to strict 'no lame-ducks' criteria and to cuts in public spending - however, H+W went on to receive a total of £291 million from public funds !
In 1980 , a £42.5 million hand-out was partly paid for by a temporary suspension of housing repair work and an extra cut-back in welfare services , hitting the North's unemployed the hardest .
...." a cold house " indeed .

' The Battle of Benburb ' was fought in County Tyrone, in Ireland, on 5th June, 1646 ; the English lost more than three thousand soldiers- the Irish lost around seventy ......

Two Irish Chiefs, Rory O'More and Phelim O'Neill, recognised an opportunity to strike-out for Irish freedom in 1641 ; in the winter of that year, civil war was imminent in England between King Charles and the English Parliament . O'Neill and his army took control of Ulster , joined up with Rory O'More and his army and marched south into Louth and Meath ; their success was noted and within months uprisings took place in Munster and Connaught .
Owen Roe O'Neill (an Irish Chief) and his men had been exiled by the English , and had served with distinction in the Spanish Army ; in July 1642 , he returned to Ireland with his troops to join in the fight against English domination : he organised the Irish forces in a professional manner and , by the winter of 1645, had established a base of some five thousand trained soldiers in County Cavan ...... (MORE LATER)>


MODERN TIMES

As the bureaucrats, speculators and presidents alike
pin on their dirty, stinking,happy smiles tonight,
The lonely prisoner will cry out from within his tomb,
and tomorrow's wretch will leave its mother's womb !
----- Bobby Sands , 1979 .

(NOTE- there are still Irish Republican prisoners in jails today while so-called republicans meet with the "bureaucrats , speculators and presidents ",in their quest to build a career for themselves).


The Belfast shipyard 'Harland and Wolff' has made the headlines many times since the British partitioned this country (indeed, they not only partitioned the country, but also partitioned Ulster ie from nine counties to six); but the shipyard's 'protestant state for a protestant people'-ethics pre-dates partition :

In 1864 , approximately six-hundred shipyard workers armed with muskets , pistols, axes and other weapons attacked Catholic 'navvies' who were excavating new docks . Neal Fagan, a Catholic, was axed to death. In a similar attack in June 1886, Seamus Curran was murdered. In 1911 , out of a total of 6,809 shipyard workers, only 518 were Catholics , and expulsions were organised to get rid of the Catholics ; in 1912, 1920 , 1935, 1939 , 1969 and 1970 , they were forced to leave . In the May 1921 elections , a massed crowd of "loyal shipyard workers" physically prevented a rally for Labour-party candidates from taking place in the Ulster Hall, terming them "bolsheviks" ....... (MORE LATER)>

....the IRA prisoners planning to escape from Strangeways Prison in Manchester, England, had decided on how to escape and passed details of their plan to the IRA leadership in Dublin ; before they were locked-up for the night , the prisoners were allowed out to exercise in a small yard which itself was enclosed by a railings which, in turn , was surrounded by a forty-foot wall ....

On 15th October 1919 , at around 4.30pm , the six IRA prisoners were let out to the exercise yard as usual - but this time they overpowered the warder and climbed over the railings; they then signalled over the forty-foot wall to their comrades on the other side , who then threw over a rope-ladder . The six men were met on the other side of the prison wall by about thirty IRA Volunteers who had placed themselves at both ends of the street and held captive everyone on the street at that time . 'Safe-houses' in Manchester had already been arranged and the six men were lodged in same and left there for a number of days; they were then moved to Liverpool and put on a B+I steamer - all arrived safely in Dublin .
For the second time within a year , the IRA had used practically the same plan to escape from their captors : a fact which compounded British embarrassment .


MODERN TIMES

And while fat dictators sit upon their thrones
young children bury their parents' bones,
And secret police in the dead of night
electrocute the naked women out of sight.


In the gutter lies the black man, dead
and where the oil flows blackest, the street runs red,
And there was He who was born and came to be
but lived and died without liberty.

----- Bobby Sands, 1979 (last verse tomorrow).


Dr. John Austin Baker, the then Anglican Bishop of Salisbury , England, stated (in 1994) - " No British government ought ever to forget that this perilous moment, like many before it, is the outworking of a history for which our country is primarily responsible. Our injustice created the situation ; and by constantly repeating that we will maintain it so long as the majority(sic) wish it , we actively inhibit Protestant and Catholic from working out a new future together. This is the root of violence " .

-----and the "perilous moments" , the "injustice" and the "root of violence" will remain as long as the British claim of jurisdiction over any part of Ireland remains in place . Dr. Baker , and others, must realise that.....

.... Austin Stack contacted IRA GHQ Staff in Dublin and outlined his plan of escape from Strangeways Prison in Manchester , to them - they approved of the plan....

In September 1919 , Rory O'Connor and Peadar Clancy were sent over to England to help organise the break-out . Messages were sent out from inside Strangeways , to O'Connor and Clancy by the IRA prisoners themselves as they were released , and those still inside the prison were kept up to date by messages passed on by visitors and notes concealed in food parcels . By late September 1919 , only six IRA prisoners remained in Strangeways ; Austin Stack , Piarais Beaslai , Dr. Patrick Walsh , Paddy McCarthy , Con Connolly and Sean Doran . The prison routine was common knowledge now with the prisoners and the IRA on the outside - the prisoners were locked-up in their cells for the evening each day between 5pm and 5.30pm ; before being locked-up,however, they were allowed out to exercise in a small yard which itself was enclosed by a railings which , in turn, was surrounded by a forty-foot wall ...... (MORE LATER)>


MODERN TIMES

It is said we live in modern times
in the civilised year of 'seventy-nine,
But when I look around, all I see,
is modern torture, pain and hypocrisy.


In modern times little children die
They starve to death but who dares ask why ?
And little girls without attire,
Run screaming, napalmed, through the night fire.

---- five-stanza poem written by Bobby Sands , 1979.
(more tomorrow....).

As Dublin's Lord Mayor at the time, Sean Haughey (yes-its him; his old man has a shirt fetish)was interviewed by 'Hot Press' magazine (see same,February 23rd,1995, page 24) during which he stated - " And, generally, in Fianna Fail, we're not inclined to perpetuate privilege. It's not what we stand for as a republican party " . What Sean meant was that Fianna Fail will "perpetuate privilege" if they are sitting when the 'Privileged One' calls.....(and don't get me going on the claim to be a "republican party" ....).Anyway , young Sean went on to complain that the noise outside the Mansion House, from traffic, -"kept me awake at night" ! ( or was it the people shouting "resign, you f#*&£r, resign...? and/or (wha?) was it his conscience that kept him awake ?)
He also stated - "I was'nt allowed to go to see 'In The Name Of The Father' , which is a film I'd loved to have seen.(My wife) heard it was distressing so that was that " !
And proper order too ! (NOTE - No sexist comment/ macho drivel here.....).

On October 15th , 1919 , six IRA prisoners escaped from Strangeways Prison , in Manchester, England ......

The Black and Tan War began in January 1919 ; within months, the British had captured a number of what they considered to be 'diehard' Republicans , and decided that it would be safer for them to hold those prisoners in England. Thirteen IRA prisoners, under the command of Austin Stack, found themselves incarcerated in Strangeways Prison - but none of them wanted to stay !
The men were serving sentences ranging from six months to two years , and all of them had heard about the then recent (March 1919) jail-break from Mountjoy Jail in Dublin , when twenty IRA prisoners used a ropeladder to escape (see '1169...' archives) : Austin Stack decided this was their best bet , and he contacted IRA GHQ Staff in Dublin to outline his plan.... (MORE LATER)>


".....you're going alright, son. Get him out" ...

"Jesus , they're on top of me, kicking and punching...I'm out of the cell, and in the corridor. Jesus , they're dragging me by the hair . My head's on fire, my eye is bleeding, they'll kill me! ."Right, get him into it.Get him into it!" . Jesus , it's stinging the eyes out of me! "Get the brushes". They're scrubbing the skin from my back , my flesh is burning, they're murdering me. My face and body are covered in blood and marks.
"Give it to him right. Give it to him right, so the rest of these bastards will see what they're going to get too " .Jesus! They're killing me. They're killing me. My head's light. Remember your spirit. 'Blessed is he who does not give up his hope' . Don't give in , don't give in , they can't break your spirit, they can't ..... " .
---' The Writings of Bobby Sands' , April 1981.

" If he thinks the SDLP and the Dublin government and ourselves will support Assembly elections, James Molyneaux is living in cloud cuckoo land . And I don't believe for one minute that the British government believes that it is a workable solution because they've made it quite clear that there can be no internal settlement " .
---- Martin McGuinness , speaking on the BBC One television programme ' On The Record' , October 23rd, 1994.
So "Assembly elections" (which , by the way,Martin is now crying out for!) equal an "internal settlement" ; or do they represent a step towards a United Ireland , Martin, as you and your organisation promised ?.

.... in 1854 , John Martin was released from jail in Van Diemens Land on condition that he stayed out of Ireland , which he did ......

In January 1856 , that proviso was lifted and John Martin returned to his native County Down , and again involved himself in the struggle - he was an outspoken supporter of the tenants rights movement and , in May 1870, at the age of 58, he helped to found the 'Home Government Association of Ireland' . In 1871 , to the disgust of the British, he was elected MP for Meath.
His good friend and fellow rebel John Mitchel died in March 1875 and, within a fortnight, John Martin died, aged 63 ; he had lived his life as a thorn in the side of "the most abominable tyranny;the British imperial system" . And helped sow the seeds for more thorn bushes ...


"Here they come , keys jingling and their heavy footsteps clattering. Get ready , face them . Jesus, this is it . This time, dear God, protect me. "Get on your feet, tramp , we're coming" . I'm shaking again . Remember your spirit. They won't break that . Keys in the lock, the door is open. Jesus, there must be a dozen of them . "Right,you, let's go" . "I'm...I'm not going". (Laugh all you want you torture mongers). "What did you say ?" .
"I said I'm not going" . (Some day you will all laugh on the other side of your faces). "You're going alright, son. Get him out" ........ (Will finish this paragraph tomorrow).
---- from 'The Writings of Bobby Sands' , April 1981.


Interesting fact re the 1994 U S Congressional elections : 193 million people were entitled to vote - but , to vote, you had to register , and 61 million citizens did not bother to register. Of the 132 million registered voters, the number who did vote was only 51 million ; 70 per-cent of the voters felt the system was not worth supporting !
Should the U S Military turn on those in the White House - they are, after all, unrepresentative of the people ....

...in the first issue of his newspaper 'The Irish Felon', published on 24th June, 1848, John Martin wrote --

"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. I hope to witness the overthrow , and assist in the overthrow, of the most abominable tyranny the world now groans under- the British imperial system " .

John Martin quickly published a second issue of 'The Irish Felon' , again condemning the British Government and its agents in Ireland, and was arrested, charged with treason and sentenced to ten years in Van Diemens Land (Tasmania) ; he was released six years later (1854) on condition that he stayed out of Ireland , which he did ...... (MORE LATER) >


" A cigarette would be nice. It's so long since I've had a cigarette or warm clothing or slept in a dry bed, I forgot what it's like to live. I must be shocked, I don't even feel the cold any more. I've lost the feeling in my poor tortured feet. It does'nt matter. It won't be long now. It's creeping closer. Two hours. Time waits on 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 feel like the only person left in the world. I'm so isolated . Fear is a terrible thing, but I must keep my head up . My spirit will survive. They expect me to give up , to break down , but they're going to be disappointed . I shall resist. It's only natural that I should be afraid. Who would'nt be ? " .
'The writings of Bobby Sands' , April 1981 , first published in 'Republican News',13th January 1979.

Fine Gael's one-time representative on earth , Eoghan Harris (an Irishman who behaves more like a Unionist that the Unionist's themselves) was addressing members of the 'Harbour Action Group'(who they?) on 4th February 1995 when he let rip with this little gem - " Facts are not the truth. The truth is the sense that what is being said is in accordance with the facts. Resist the temptation to tell the facts. Facts are free agents and should be used sparingly ......" (after that I gave up and lost the will to live !). If you want more , see 'The Sunday Tribune', 19th March, 1995 , page 2 - I can't be bothered .....

Christ, Eoghan- it's no wonder you're so well-in with Fine Gael and the other Unionists; you speak their language .....

..... 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' .....