In the small town of Attybrack , near Annacarty , in County Tipperary , a child born in the year 1890 was to know of no other way of life except that of with a gun in both hands .......
At about twenty-three years young , Dinny Lacey joined the 'Irish Volunteers' and met , amongst others , Sean Treacy (six years later [ie 1919] that same man , Sean Treacy , was one of the two IRA leaders [the other being Dan Breen] that shot two RIC men dead in Soloheadbeg in County Tipperary - the IRA wanted the quantity of gelignite which the British 'policemen' were guarding . Sean Treacy was himself shot dead in Dublin's Talbot Street on 15th October 1920 , by a British intelligence officer named Price).
It was through Sean Treacy that Dinny Lacey was sworn in to The Irish Republican Brotherhood (in 1914) ....... (MORE LATER).
WHERE MOUNTAINY MEN HAVE SOWN :
war and peace in rebel Cork ,
in the turbulent years 1916-21.
By Micheal O'Suilleabhain : published 1965.
A QUIET PERIOD.......
"....... I was home from Rockwell College for the Christmas holidays when the results of the 1918 Election became known . I felt safe there from the influenza which was on the rampage through Europe ....... "
" But the influenza had killed a few of the Volunteers in our district . The Volunteers and Cumann na mBan had helped the people immensely . Where an entire household became ill , or were otherwise handicapped , units from each organisation took over the duties of nursing , heating and food supply until the family was on its feet again .
Their fearless and efficient assistance won the hearts of people hitherto bitterly opposed to them . Undoubtedly they saved many lives , and where necessary they helped to coffin and bury the dead . I heard the tale of disaster with regret , since all the victims were my neighbours and comrades . To cheer me up , other contemporary incidents were related .
During the epidemic , many remedies and medicines were tested and suggested . Whether or not it was suggested by the medical profession , or at a meeting of shareholders , I cannot tell , but whiskey proved , if not an effective , at least a popular and palatable medicine ! Nor have I any evidence to show that even a single dealer , licensed or otherwise , audibly expressed the opinion that it was worthless ......." (MORE LATER).
FERDINAND and IMELDA MARCOS ;
A specially-blended , gold-scented lifestyle in the PHILIPPINES .
(From a 'Hot Press' magazine article by Gordon Thomas , 1988 .)
(3 of 12).
Until today (ie 1988) the private tastes and whims of the couple have remained a matter for speculation . But the truth is more mind-boggling than any gossip . The couple were not only public monsters , pillaging everything , and from everybody , they could . They were also house devils , living out a rancid fantasy life together .
" They hated each other , fighting like tigers . It was money and greed that glued them together , " said their former butler , Mike Pedrosa , " she would chase him up and down stairs until he locked himself in his quarters - screaming for his doctors to sedate her . "
In the palace basement was a private hospital where both Imelda and her husband were often treated until they calmed down . It had six doctors and twelve nurses on round-the-clock duty . The cost of running the clinic came to over £1 Million Punts (one-and-a-quarter million Euros approximately) a year ....... (MORE LATER).