JACKIE GRIFFITH , 1921 - 1943 ; A STAUNCH REPUBLICAN .......



.......After his jail-break from Mountjoy Jail (on Sunday , 2nd November , 1942) , Jackie Griffith laid low in Dublin for a few weeks . Then , on 26th December 1942 , he cycled to Carlow to work from there as Leinster Co-ordinator for the IRA .......



In that position , in Carlow , Jackie Griffith met , and worked with , another Irish Republican legend - Charlie Kerins ; a Kerry man , (from Tralee) who was (within a year of meeting Jackie Griffith , while the latter was working as Leinster Co-ordinator) to become Chief-of-Staff of the IRA . In June 1944 , Charlie Kerins was arrested by the Free Staters and accused , before a Free State Military Tribunal , with the shooting dead of Free State Detective Sergeant Denis ('Dinny') O'Brien , who was executed by the IRA on 9th September 1942 as he left his home in Ballyboden , Rathfarnham , Dublin .

When his 'trial' was over , the 'Court' was adjourned for a few hours to allow for Charlie Kerins to consider making a plea of mercy on his own behalf ; when the circus re-convened , Charlie Kerins did indeed take the floor - he stated : " You could have adjourned it for six years as far as I'm concerned , as my attitude towards this Court will always be the same ."

The Free Staters sentenced Charlie Kerins to be put to death by hanging ....... (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.

INCHIGEELA.......

".......The attack on the RIC Barracks was not going as planned ; we should have caught them off-guard , but two carelessly-aimed shots put paid to that ......."



" Now they were settled down behind their loop-holed steel shutters , and were busy with rifle and small hand grenades . Two of their comrades were in houses in the village when the firing started . One of them , a man named Tobin , tried to get back to barracks , but he was shot down . He later recovered from rather serious wounds caused by shotgun slugs . The other RIC man in the village hid himself and was not found . A useless and prolonged exchange of fire was maintained by some of our men with the barracks garrison . The RIC bombs exploded with great violence quite near some of the Volunteers . At length a humorist amongst them remarked - " Those things must be all empty ! " This evoked a hearty laugh which the RIC Sergeant must have heard , for he shouted : " Fire away , lads , glass is cheap , " to show that his own morale was sound .

In vain we waited for news from a party of picked men who had been sent to breach one of the gables . Later we learned that , just as they had started to work with a will to break down the wall , some Volunteer had come and shouted an order to them to retire by the way they had come . This they had reluctantly obeyed , and when the IRA Officer in charge , who had gone on a circuit of the barracks , returned , they had gone . Mystified ,he , with others , started a search for the men . They had taken the tools with them , and by the time they were located it was rather late in the morning ........" (MORE LATER).

THE BUTCHER BOYS .

FROM THE BOOK ' The Shankill Butchers : A Case Study of Mass Murder ' , by Martin Dillon . Published by HUTCHINSON .

(Reviewed by Niall O'Flynn , and published in ' The Evening Press ' newspaper , Tuesday , 1st August , 1989 , page 6 ).

(5 of 16).


According to Martin Dillon , the author of this book - " Lennie Murphy was prepared to shoot anyone ; man , woman or child . Or a blind man . As long as he could reasonably establish the religion of the victim . " Victim after victim was killed in the same brutal way - hacked through the throat with a butcher's knife . So callous were Murphy's men , so brutalised , that , while their victims waited , it was not unknown for gang members to stop for a cup of tea or to watch football on TV .

Belfast is so much a city divided that , tragically , sectarian gangs are able to identify the religion of intended victims simply by the streets on which they are walking or working . Even on public routes , people travel towards either Protestant or Catholic housing estates . " Hundreds of people " , estimates Martin Dillon , had their fate sealed by this ghettoisation - and this was the basis on which The Shankill Butchers operated and selected their victims .

(MORE LATER).

---

JACKIE GRIFFITH , 1921 - 1943 ; A STAUNCH REPUBLICAN .......



.......At 21 years of age (in 1942) , Jackie Griffith was arrested by the Free Staters and sentenced to 33 years in Mountjoy Jail . The Republican prisoners in that jail wanted out .......



A metal bar on one of the cell windows was worked-on until it was fit to be pulled free - in late October 1942 it was ready to be removed . Three of the Republican prisoners were picked for the escape attempt ; Jackie Griffith , Frank Kerrigan and Jim Smith , and the early hours of Sunday morning , 2nd November 1942 was chosen as the date for the escape .

Early on that Sunday morning , a 'rope' ( canvass , sheets etc ) was thrown out of the cell window and the three men climbed down into the prison yard and scaled the wall - it was hours later before their absence was noted . The three men had split-up on escaping , and went their separate ways ; Jackie Griffith was placed in a safe-house in Margarets Place (near Grand Canal Street Upper , in Dublin - between South Lotts Road and Bath Avenue ) .

His first call was to the Dublin Brigade IRA and he was put back on active service . He kept his head down in Dublin for the first few weeks following his jail-break , then , as arranged , on 26th December 1942 , he used a pushbike to get to Carlow (a distance of some fifty miles) , where he was to be based by the IRA while working to co-ordinate the Leinster area for that organisation ....... (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.

INCHIGEELA.......

".......We were in place around the RIC Barracks ; those inside knew nothing about our presence ......."


" It had previously been noticed that most of the RIC men visited pubs and other houses , and there was a great chance of finding the barracks door open , and only one or two of the garrison inside , unprepared . This was the case when we arrived . A local scout brought three Volunteers by the route we had taken . One of them saw an RIC man in front of the barracks , and quite close to him . What did he do ? Fired two shots at him and , to make matters worse , missed him altogether ! The RIC man , of course , dashed for the door which was wide open , and shut it behind him .

Two Volunteers , one my uncle , who saw him run , fired hurriedly in an effort to stop him . They had little chance of hitting him , since they were taken by surprise , the distance was short to the doorway , and the light none too good . Those two first shots closed the door , in more senses than one , against an easy victory . The RIC man had only come out to take the air . Had he been let alone he might have strolled up the village street . In that case , we could easily have grabbed him and pulled him in to our gateway , without raising any alarm . Had he remained loitering around the barracks gate , any two men , ostensibly on their way home , could have seized him .

A few more , with revolvers , through the open doorway , would almost certainly find inside men who were totally unprepared . But not now ......." (MORE LATER).

THE BUTCHER BOYS .

FROM THE BOOK ' The Shankill Butchers : A Case Study of Mass Murder ' , by Martin Dillon . Published by HUTCHINSON .

(Reviewed by Niall O'Flynn , and published in ' The Evening Press ' newspaper , Tuesday , 1st August , 1989 , page 6 ).

(4 of 16).



As a teenager , Lennie Murphy began to keep company with men in the Shankill district while , at local discos , it was he who decided who got in and who was turned away . In one early incident , a man who bumped against him at a bar , spilling his drink , was later badly beaten by his gang . Murphy joined the junior wing of the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) in 1969 and was in the midst of the violence when Protestant mobs invaded Catholic streets that summer , when hundreds of homes were burned . Says Martin Dillon , author of a new investigation of the gang's activities --


-- " He often talked overtly while drinking in the 'Bayardo Bar' of his hatred for all Catholics because they were 'scum and animals ...' He was beginning to develop into what one UVF man later called a "Super Prod " , which was shorthand for saying that Murphy was more anti-Catholic , anti-Nationalist and anti-Republican than even the most bitter man on the Shankill Road . "


(MORE LATER).

---

JACKIE GRIFFITH , 1921 - 1943 ; A STAUNCH REPUBLICAN .......



.......Back in Dublin in the early 1940's , Jackie Griffith was a member of the Dublin Brigade IRA ; his involvement was known by the Free Staters .......


When he was 21 years young( in 1942) he was jumped-on by at least three men in Benburb Street , in Dublin - he fought with them as best he could but was overpowered eventually . They were from the Special Branch (political police) and they arrested him . The Branchmen were apparently aware that , a few days before they jumped him , Jackie Griffith had , on behalf of the IRA , purchased a number of weapons from a Free State soldier who had removed them from the Free State Army Barracks at Islandbridge in Dublin .

His grandparents house in Ringsend was raided and about forty revolvers and ammunition for same was found ; Jackie Griffith was prosecuted before a Free State Military Court in Collins Barracks and was sentenced to thirty-three years in Mountjoy Jail .

He was not the only Republican prisoner in that prison at the time - and all wanted out to carry on the fight . A plan of escape was put together ....... (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.

INCHIGEELA.......

".......We were on our way - through the meadow , pass the small bog , and out on to the Lios Bui road at Judy's Gully......."


" We kept to the road , and passed southwards to Ahacunna and crossed the Toon Road and river at Doire Airgid Bridge . That lovely road led upwards through the rocks and groves of Doire Airgid , through Cluan Siar and Cooleen of the hazel glens , until it brought us out on the main Macroom-Inchigeela road at Ros Mor . Near here we met the others , who had preceded us , and we all moved on to Carraigacurra . Here some were directed to cross the River Lee and go westwards by the fields until they reached positions immediately across the road from the RIC Barracks .

With these went my uncle and I . The others went on to the village to meet some men from Ballingeary and to close in from the north and west . Groups were detached to block roads and hold the barricades against enemy interference . The RIC Barracks , a detached building , stood on the road side , facing east . It overlooked a field across the road from it . We came from the southern side of that field and passed by the front of the barracks , sheltered by the road fence . With two others , I was allotted a position in a gateway , with a slanting view of the front of the barracks . My uncle was nearer the barracks , behind the road fence . We had got into our places silently and no one was the wiser .

It had been impressed on every man engaged in the actual encircling movement that no one was to make a move which would betray our presence to the enemy ......." (MORE LATER).

THE BUTCHER BOYS .

FROM THE BOOK ' The Shankill Butchers : A Case Study of Mass Murder ' , by Martin Dillon . Published by HUTCHINSON .

(Reviewed by Niall O'Flynn , and published in ' The Evening Press ' newspaper , Tuesday , 1st August , 1989 , page 6 ).

(3 of 16).



A murderer at the age of 20 , the use of a knife was to become the trademark of Hugh Leonard Thompson Murphy , the leader of The Shankill Butchers . A flamboyant womaniser , only five-foot-six tall , Lennie Murphy began his bullyboy 'career' early . Ironically nicknamed " Murphy the Mick " by his primary-school classmates on account of his Catholic-sounding surname , he was a belligerent child who , by the age of ten , was threatening other children and relieving them of their pocket-money at knifepoint .

He ran rackets even at school - threatening other pupils , stealing their meal tickets and selling them to other boys at a reduced rate . He first came to the notice of the RUC at 12 years of age , when he was convicted of shopbreaking and larceny ........


(MORE LATER).

---

JACKIE GRIFFITH , 1921 - 1943 ; A STAUNCH REPUBLICAN .......



....... At 17 years young , Jackie Griffith was a member of an IRA Unit in England , where he met Jack McCabe , one of the best (but lesser-known) fighters for Irish Freedom .......


Jack McCabe was one of the main explosives experts for the IRA at that time (ie early 1970's) and that was how he was to meet a gruesome death - he was mixing explosives in the garage of his house ( on the Swords Road , in Dublin ) when a spark from the shovel he was using set the mixture off . His eyes were blown out of his head and his testicles were blown off but , before he died (on 30th December 1971) he managed to devise a safe method of mixing explosives to ensure that the same mistake would not be made again . Even on his death-bed , and in great agony , Jack McCabe's thoughts were with those he knew would follow in his footsteps ....

However ; back to Jackie Griffith - he was active with Jack McCabe and others in the 1939 bombing campaign in England and , following the end of same , he returned to Ireland and lived with his grandparents in Ringsend in Dublin ; he got a job in the near-by bottle-glass plant and became involved in trade union matters within the factory . He was by now a member of the Dublin Brigade of the IRA .

His Republican activities were now known to the Free Staters ....... (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.

INCHIGEELA.......

".......We were about to leave my uncle's house to take part in an operation ; the moon was rising and there was snow on the ground . My uncle Dan was reminded of the ' Battle of Hohenlinden .......'"


" Underneath the verse in the grubby shopkeepers window was a parody on it , praising the quality of his rotten tea . I bought a pound of it and it nearly poisoned me ! Next time I was in town I went into his shop and quoted for him a parody I had made in the meantime :


" But thievish '-----' where e'er he go ,
the public shall the robber know .
And lower still the price shall go -
of tea that's rotting rapidly . "


It was time for us to go . Taking our guns , we went outside . Dan locked the door and , stooping , placed the key in a crevice of the old wall . It is remarkable how a small action is still fresh in the memory after the passage of years , while a major event is hardly remembered . The little incident impressed itself on my youthful mind . The man of fifty-five , leaving his comfortable house and excellent farm on a night of snow . Behind him his good fire and his books , his greatest pleasure . Before him , the rude elements of mid-winter , and the wrath of an empire whose reactions would be ruder still . He had already had ample experience of that rudeness . His offensive weapon now was a dilapidated fowling-piece , and his allies a few badly-armed youths ....

We went down the moonlit meadow , along the edge of a small bog , and climbed out on the Lios Bui road at Judy's Gully . We were not going back now ......." (MORE LATER).

THE BUTCHER BOYS .

FROM THE BOOK ' The Shankill Butchers : A Case Study of Mass Murder ' , by Martin Dillon . Published by HUTCHINSON .

(Reviewed by Niall O'Flynn , and published in ' The Evening Press ' newspaper , Tuesday , 1st August , 1989 , page 6 ).

(2 of 16).


A CATALOGUE OF HORROR -


* Thomas Madden : suspended by a rope from a wooden beam , a nine-inch double-bladed knife was used on his body as a sculptor would chip away at a piece of stone . In all , there were 147 stab wounds on his body , and a pathologist's report indicates that it was the work of one man , working clinically . A woman heard him screaming " Kill me , kill me ...."

* Francis Crossan : beaten with fists , feet and a wheel brace , Lennie Murphy (one of the 'Butchers') killed him by hacking at his throat with a knife , almost severing his head from his body .

* Sisters Frances Donnelly and Marie McGrattan / and teenagers Gerard Grogan and Thomas Osborne : all shot in cold blood in a robbery on a drink wholesalers . Murphy himself killed three of them , the two boys after hearing they were Catholics , and Marie McGrattan as she knelt on the floor .

* Student and songwriter Stephen McCann : dragged from his girlfriend , tortured at knifepoint , shot , and finally all but decapitated .

* Protestant Alexander Maxwell : killed for gatecrashing a party celebrating Lennie Murphy's release from prison . He was beaten and kicked . To kill him , Murphy drove a car over , and back over , the hapless victim .


(MORE LATER).

---

JACKIE GRIFFITH , 1921 - 1943 ; A STAUNCH REPUBLICAN .......


....... Ireland , early 1930's ; Jackie Griffith would have been almost a teenager and would have been a witness to a country in turmoil . Civil War , shootings , street-rallies - he took an interest in Irish Republican politics .......



When he was 17 years young (in 1938) , Jackie Griffith moved to England with his family , as his father had a job waiting for him there ; the IRA bombing campaign in British cities was about to begin , and Jackie Griffith wanted to help - he joined the IRA in England , where he met a legend of the Republican Movement - a man named Jack McCabe .

After the campaign in England , Jack McCabe was ordered back to Ireland where he continued to dedicate himself to the Cause of Irish Freedom ; in late 1969 /early 1970 , Jack organised for a shipment of weapons to be brought in to help defend the Nationalist community in the Six Counties . Amongst the weapons landed was a Schmeisser machine-gun ....... (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.

INCHIGEELA.......

".......Myself , my uncle Dan and a local Volunteer were in my uncle's house at Knocksaharing ; we had been told to wait for a half-an-hour and then head-off to meet up with the rest of our Unit . Dan was examinng his rifle......."


" Dammit , Mick , " he said , " try that front trigger spring . " I tried it and found it broken . " Could you fix it ? " he asked . " I could , " I answered , " but not now . The only thing I can do now is a makeshift job . " Finding a piece of elastic cord , I tied the trigger forward to the trigger guard . " It works all right , " he said , " but do you know what , we have damn bad tools to fight an empire with . " Then musingly , the while he regarded the old gun , he quoted : " Some one of us three , Herminius , shall ne'er again see Rome . " " No matter ," he added brightly , " have a look abroad , Mick , and see what of the night . "

I went to the door and looked out . " The moon is rising , Dan , and there's snow on the ground , " I reported . " Well , well , " he said , " 'twill be like the battle of Hohenlinden . I knew a bloody scut of a shopkeeper one time and he had the first verse of Hohenlinden printed on a card in his shop window - "


' On Linden when the sun was low ,
all bloodless lay the untrodden snow .
And dark as winter was the flow ,
of Iser rolling rapidly .' "

(MORE LATER).

THE BUTCHER BOYS .

FROM THE BOOK ' The Shankill Butchers : A Case Study of Mass Murder ' , by Martin Dillon . Published by HUTCHINSON .

(Reviewed by Niall O'Flynn , and published in ' The Evening Press ' newspaper , Tuesday , 1st August , 1989 , page 6 ).

(1 of 16).


In each country they occupied , the Brits have had their supporters - some of the natives wanted 'in' with the new establishment , in the hope that their new masters would leave them , if not in charge , then at least in a 'managerial' position ; others recognised an opportunity to " settle old scores , " or what they perceived to be " old scores ".......


Between 1972 and 1977 , the ' Shankill Butchers ' killed more people than any other mass murderers in Irish or British criminal history . That is the stark fact - more victims than the Yorkshire Ripper , more than the Moors Murderers . Selecting the targets at random from Belfast's Catholic ghettos , the Butchers dragged dozens of innocent victims to their homes , to their drinking holes and 'romper rooms' , sometimes just to darkened alleys , there to torture , humiliate , and finally , to kill them , slaughtering with butchers' knives .

But now (ie 1989) , ten years after the jailing of the butchers' inner circle , a new investigation has unearthed more than a dozen other murders committed by the gang and never before linked to them ....... (MORE LATER).

---

JACKIE GRIFFITH , 1921 - 1943 ; A STAUNCH REPUBLICAN .......



.......a victim of circumstances , a baby-boy born in Killester (North Dublin) in November 1921 was , for two reasons , to have a short and bloody life .......


Those same two reasons effected many others as well , and still do -- first , because of British interference in Irish affairs and , secondly , because of the failure of some Irish people in recognising that a 'truce' , a 'treaty' , or an 'agreement' will not end the conflict while the British claim of jurisdiction over any part of Ireland remains in force .

Jackie Griffith was born in the same year that a group of ex-rebels sold his freedom for what they mistakingly believed to be their own . The Black and Tans , Civil War , Free State troops on the streets ; mass-rallies , shootings and 'Irregulars' (Anti-Treaty IRA) openly parading in towns and cities - it was into that atmosphere that Jackie Griffith grew up .

Like most young lads of his age , he took an interest in the political situation that was unfolding around him and , again , like many other young lads , he came down firmly on the Irish Republican side ....... (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.

INCHIGEELA.......

".......Early January 1920 ; the Volunteers had full membership , but not all were suited to the task ......."


" Here I must say that credit is due to every man or woman who did his or her best , and went as far along the road as they were able . Some cannot endure what others can , nevertheless they must be honoured for having tried and failed . I always reserved my contempt for the jackeens who held aloof and never helped in any way . But I had the pleasure also of meeting young men and women who never joined the Volunteers but who , in an emergency , came forward and gave us valuable assistance . They were indeed the unknown warriors .

My uncle's house at Knocksaharing was the rendezvous for the men of Kilnamartyra and Ballyvourney that night . The old thatched house had often before been a meeting place , for Fenians as well as the IRA . Our objective was the Inchigeela RIC barracks . Our men had all turned up well before the appointed time , and had been directed to go on to a further point near the Macroom-Inchigeela road . My uncle , a local Volunteer and I were told to wait on for half-an-hour and then follow .

That half-hour was considerably shortened by Dan's humorous stories and comments . First he picked up his shotgun and , having looked through the barrels , tested all its action ......." (MORE LATER).



THE BEATLES AND IMELDA MARCOS - the beat and the beast.......

[From an article by Jackie Hayden , published in 'Hot Press' magazine , 1988].

(3 of 3).


When the 'Fab Four' got to the airport , the elevators and escalators had been turned off and the band and camp followers had to lug instruments , gear and luggage through a hostile mob of several hundred people , baying for blood and waving fists and hurling missiles at them . Six soldiers beat roadie Mal Evans to the floor . Brian Epstein got a sprained ankle and driver Alf Bicknell sustained a broken rib and a damaged spine . Ringo was floored with a punch , and only Paul McCartney escaped relatively bruise-free .

Finally aboard the plane , Brian Epstein was ordered off to be relieved of a large sum of money in "tax". Back at the Palace , Imelda Marcos probably threw out her Beatle -boots too .....


[END of - ' THE BEATLES AND IMELDA MARCOS - the beat and the beast.......].


Tomorrow - ..... The occupied Six Counties between 1972 and 1977 ; 'The Shankill Butchers'.......

---

JACKIE GRIFFITH , 1921 - 1943 ; A STAUNCH REPUBLICAN .



November 1921 - those sent to Downing Street in London by the then Irish Republican leadership were only weeks away from accepting a 26 County Free State , a decision which still has repercussion's to this day ( and that will continue to be the case until the issue is properly resolved by a full British military and political withdrawal from Ireland ).

When Michael Collins and others signed-up to become Free Staters (December 1921), a baby , just a few weeks young , turned-over in his cot ....

That baby was Jackie Griffith , who was born in Killester (North Dublin) in November 1921 and , for two reasons , lived a short and bloody life ....... (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.

INCHIGEELA.

" We started the new year , 1920 , badly . It is said that first attempts are always the worst , and certainly our first effort at the capture of an RIC barracks was a lamentable one . The sympathetic youth of today who question me about " battles long ago " say feelingly : " Ah , ye had very poor equipment compared with that of the enemy , and ye also lacked men . "

Well , on the night of January 2 , 1920 , our equipment was indeed poor , but quite good enough for the work in hand . Neither was it lack of men that caused the failure . The fact of the matter was that it was due to a surplus of indifferent men . Up to that time the numerical strength of the Volunteers had increased to a peak point . True , it had been higher because of the Conscription menace to the youth generally but , that scare having passed , it had dropped again .

Yet it needed a little taste of war to separate the chaff from the grain and to reduce further mere numbers to a fighting unit of quality . In plain words we had , up to that very night , been carrying a lot of 'passengers' ......." (MORE LATER).



THE BEATLES AND IMELDA MARCOS - the beat and the beast.......

[From an article by Jackie Hayden , published in 'Hot Press' magazine , 1988].

(2 of 3).


When questioned at their hotel by the military police regarding when The Beatles would arrive at the party , Brian Epstein did a casual " What party ? " doubletake and refused to wake the lads . Even the British Embassy failed to persuade him that their absence would be taken as an unforgiveable snub ....

Not surprisingly , the local media magnified the insult . An attempted apology by Epstein on national T V was cut off in mid-grovel . In the middle of the night , the police hauled tour manager Vic Lewis to the Manila 'Bridewell' (prison) . Next day , the hotel withdrew all services to The Beatles .

All their security was cancelled and there was no police escort to the airport ... (MORE LATER).

---

JOSEPH DENIEFFE , 1833 - 1910 : 'Irish Republican Brotherhood' Founder .......



....... Chicago , in the early 1860's ; Irish Rebel Joseph Denieffe found himself on a fund-raising tour when there was a falling-out between the Rebel leadership.......


He stayed in America , spreading the word and building contacts for the Irish Republican cause . In 1904 , at seventy-one years of age , he wrote a number of articles for the New York newspaper , ' The Gael ' ; those articles were later published as a book , entitled - ' A Personal Narrative of the Irish Revolutionary Brotherhood ' , , and is a fantastic read for those interested in the history of the on-going struggle for full Irish freedom .

At 77 years of age , Joseph Denieffe died in Chicago , on 20th April , 1910 . He gave sixty-three years of his life to the Irish cause , working for the most part either in the background or underground , never seeking the limelight . He is not as well-known as he should be but , like all true Irish Republicans , his objective was to promote and further the Irish cause , not himself .


" This land of mine , the old man said ,
will be alive when we are dead .
My fathers words still ring divine -
"God Bless this lovely land of mine." "


[End of - JOSEPH DENIEFFE , 1833 - 1910 : 'Irish Republican Brotherhood' Founder .]



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.......

".......Two RIC men had waited outside the house , while the other two entered the kitchen . They were armed with revolvers and were curious as to who was in the house . Donncadh MacNeilus drew the hinged bolt on his Parabellum rifle and let it crash home with a wallop . The RIC Sergeant knew the sound ......."


" He turned pale , and for a few seconds stood motionless . Then , turning , he walked out of the kitchen , followed by his comrade . Quickly , the four RIC men reached the end of the short boreen , recovered their bicycles and rode away . They left in good time , as Donncadh , with a loaded .45 revolver , was edging forward to attack . That Sergeant appeared to have been gifted with no small share of commonsense .

Our programme for September was cancelled by GHQ , IRA . While they commended us for our enterprise , they advised that it was better to wait until other areas were ready for a more widespread operation ."


[END of - ' A QUIET PERIOD....... '].




THE BEATLES AND IMELDA MARCOS - the beat and the beast.......

[From an article by Jackie Hayden , published in 'Hot Press' magazine , 1988].

(1 of 3).


While Mark Chapman has gone down in ignominious history as the man who shot John Lennon , how many remember that Imelda Marcos came astonishingly close to causing the deaths of all four Beatles and their entourage ?

The near-fatal incident occurred during The Beatles' last world tour and involved a dangerous cocktail of oriental pomposity , Brian Epstein's carelessness and The Beatles' collective hostility towards authority . ('1169...' comment - tell that to 'Sir' Paul ...) With the 'Fab Four' scheduled to play two gigs at Manila's ' Araneta Coliseum ' , Imelda Marcos organised a party at the Malacanang Palace for three-hundred children and assorted Palace favourites to meet The Beatles .......

(MORE LATER).

---

JOSEPH DENIEFFE , 1833 - 1910 : 'Irish Republican Brotherhood' Founder .......



....... March 1858 : Joseph Denieffe was back in America on a fund-raising tour , having played his part in establishing the Irish Republican Brotherhood in Ireland on St. Patricks Day , 17th March , 1858 . But all was not well between the Irish Rebels .......


James Stephens accused John O'Mahony and his people in America of being - " Irish tinsel patriots (who make) speeches of bayonets , gala days and jolly nights , banners and sashes , bunkum and filibustering , responding in glowing language to glowing toasts on Irish National Independence over beakers of fizzling champagne . "

It was in the middle of the above turmoil that Joseph Denieffe found himself in America in the early 1860's . Fund-raising in those circumstances was not possible , but he stayed in that country , perhaps hoping that , when things settled down .....

Joseph Denieffe never 'lost the faith'; he was now living in Chicago and was in his early-thirtys . He continued his work for Irish Freedom , even though the immediate momentum had been lost ....... (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 travelling the four miles , on my bicycle , to meet Donncadh MacNeilus and others ; I was almost there when I passed a four-man RIC patrol . I arrived at the meeting-house and was told of a near clash ......."


" A few minutes before , the lads had been seated in exactly the same positions . The RIC patrols had been the subject of discussion . " Traitors they are , " said the man of the house , " prowling about the country , dragooning the people like the old yeomen did . They should be shot at every door . "

Just then his wife entered the room . " There are two RIC men in the kitchen , " she said , " and two more outside . " So saying , she returned to the kitchen quickly . In all the old farmhouses , because of the big open hearth and chimney , a corridor called 'the entry' connected the parlour and kitchen . As our hostess returned to the kitchen , the RIC Sergeant stood just inside the kitchen door .

He could see into the parlour but could not see the table . Nevertheless , it was plain that he suspected from her hurried movements to and from that room that she had given warning to some party . Meanwhile , the other RIC men had moved further into the kitchen . At the warning , Donncadh MacNeilus had quickly arisen , a long Parabellum rifle in his right hand . Remembering that the gun had not a cartridge in its breech , he swiftly drew the hinged bolt with his left hand and let it home again with a crash .

That sinister sound smote on the RIC Sergeant's ear with telling effect ....... " (MORE LATER).



IT COULD HAPPEN TO A BISHOP.......


[From ' The Sunday Business Post ' newspaper , 16th February 1992 , page 22].


When John P. Hayden was Editor of 'The Westmeath Examiner' newspaper (which he was for seventy-two years !) he supported Charles Stewart Parnell during what became known as that man's 'Divorce Crisis'.

The then Bishop of Meath (not named in the article) objected to Hayden using the newspaper to support Parnell and a verbal row began between the two men . While the 'verbal's' were still being exchanged , a waterworks upgrade was proposed for the town of Mullingar , and the newspaper Editor and the Bishop again dis-agreed over the benefits or otherwise of the new water-works system .

The Bishop snapped - during his sermon at Mass the following Sunday , the Bishop told the congregation that he was now declaring it officially a sin for any of his flock to read The Westmeath Examiner !

......no doubt the old Editor and the Bishop clashed again over that one .......

---

JOSEPH DENIEFFE , 1833 - 1910 : 'Irish Republican Brotherhood' Founder .......



.......In December 1857 , Joseph Denieffe went back to America again to raise funds - in March 1858 , he returned to Ireland with £80 . On 17th March that year (1858) he made his next move .......


Joseph Denieffe , Thomas Clark Luby and James Stephens met , as arranged , on St. Patricks Day in 1858 ; the three Irish Rebels then founded the 'Irish Republican Brotherhood' , a military organisation whose aim was to overthrow British mis-rule in Ireland .

The following day , Joseph Denieffe returned to America to continue his fund-raising activities - but political trouble was brewing in America , too . Talk , and fear , of a Civil War was everywhere . To make matters worse for Joseph Denieffe's fund-raising efforts , James Stephens and John O'Mahony had fallen-out over the direction that armed resistence to the Brits was going .

America was now home to literally millions of Irish men and women who had been forced to leave Ireland because of British mis-rule and the Great Hunger yet , as far as James Stephens was concerned , John O'Mahony and the American leadership had failed to harness the support amongst the Irish for an armed campaign against the British....... (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.......

"....... Donncadh MacNeilus was in our area to help us plan a raid on the RIC ; we were aware that a four-man team of RIC men would leave their barracks , carrying revolvers ......."


" Evidently , their (RIC) bosses calculated that such a number with rifles would invite attention and fall an easy prey to a local IRA group . Sometimes the patrol used bicycles . Either way , they were a menace to a man who moved about alone . One afternoon in the autumn , I went to meet MacNeilus at a certain house about four miles from home . It was accessible by a quiet bye-road , so I took a bicycle . I carried my revolver inside my coat . As I neared the house I rode down a steep hill at a fast rate . Near the foot of the hill the road made a double turn . Rounding the first bend , I ran into the RIC patrol of four men , with bicycles . They had dismounted and were pushing their bikes uphill . Two came first , one on either side of the narrow road . Twenty yards behind and similarly disposed came the other two .

I rushed between both pairs and around the second bend . I believe they hardly saw me . Within a few minutes I was at the house and in the kitchen . The good woman of the house greeted me and pushed me before her into the parlour . There , the man of the house , his son and MacNeilus were seated at a table , calmly drinking tea . " Did ye see those RIC men ? " , was my answer to their greeting . " We did " , they replied . " They were here . "

As I sat at tea with them , they told me of a very near clash ....... " (MORE LATER).



LUDDITES AND THE LONG VIEW .......

(From 'The Sunday Times' , 'News Review' Section , 4th January 2004 , page 8).


From an article by Tom Hodgkinson on technology --


-- " Most of us would not go as far as to smash up our computers , but it's worth remembering that the original luddites of the early 19th century were not , as routinely suggested in schools , uneducated blockheads who did'nt understand machines .

In fact they correctly predicted that the new weaving machines would take away their independence and turn them into wage slaves . So they smashed up the frames . But here follows a word of warning to potential new luddites : the powers that be don't like us very much . The government's response to the frame-breakers was to pass a law in 1812 that made frame-breaking a capital offence .

It then hanged or deported twelve convicted luddites , one of whom was just 12 years old . Luddism , then , is despised by the authorities but it's always hip : there was only one member of parliament at the time who opposed the frame bill and it was the original rock'n'roll poet himself , Lord Byron . "


Right , folks - now that you've read the above : stand up , take ten steps back , place your mobile-phone in your good hand and throw it at that damn computer screen .......

---

JOSEPH DENIEFFE , 1833 - 1910 : 'Irish Republican Brotherhood' Founder .......



.......in the mid-1850's , Joseph Denieffe assisted in the establishment of branches of the 'Emmet Monument Association' in Ireland and America ; another Irish Rebel , James Stephens , was interested in the new organisation .......


James Stephens had taken part in military action against the British in 1848 , with William Smith O'Brien , in the town of Ballingarry in Tipperary , and had fled to Paris to escape an English jail sentence, or worse . He returned to Ireland and , by 1857 , had set-up a branch of the Emmet Monument Association in Dublin .

The leadership of the Emmet Monument Association in America , John O'Mahony and Michael Doheny , then sent one of their most trusted men - Owen Considine - to Ireland to assist in organising a fighting-force in the country . In December 1857 , Joseph Denieffe returned to America on a fund-raising mission ; he stayed there until about March in 1858 and , having raised eighty pounds - a good sum of money in those days - he came back to Ireland .

On St Patricks Day that year (17th March , 1858) , Joseph Denieffe made his next move ....... (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.......

".......At the meeting to discuss the up-coming raid on three RIC Barracks , I met Donncadh MacNeilus for the first time ......."


" He was on the run from the British . He had worked in Cork City as an engineer and had been an active Volunteer . One morning , the RIC came to arrest him . They almost surprised him in bed but he resisted fiercely . He used an automatic pistol , wounding a head 'constable' . The weapon jammed and he was over-powered and taken to Cork county gaol . The Cork Volunteers effected his rescue in a brilliant daylight coup on 11th November 1918 .

Since then he had moved about the western half of the Brigade area , fully armed , and was now staying with us . He was welcome for his splendid personal qualities as well as for his capabilities as an engineer . During the remainder of the summer and until late autumn , I was to see much of him . The barrack attacks were to take place on a date in September and he was busy with us on the details of preparation .

The RIC had , at this period , a special technique of patrol which they practised in the day time - four of them would leave a barracks , sometimes by the back door , and go across country on foot . They carried only revolvers ........" (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 .)

(12 of 12).



The Marcos library is a testament to their vanity . Its shelves are filled with leather-bound books ,none of which have been opened since they came from the printer .

Imelda's bedroom is at the opposite end to her husband's rather sinister sleeping quarters , with its paraphernalia of medical equipment and , incongrously , a toy motor car...

Her bedroom is , said my guide Mario Garcia , " designed for seduction . An endless parade of lovers came and went to this room , trying to satisfy the world's saddest little rich girl . " That they failed to succeed seems absolutely certain .


[END of ' FERDINAND and IMELDA MARCOS ..... '].

.....Such was , and is , the life of the idle rich - "power corrupts .." etc : millionaire life-styles , best of everything and no shortage of anything (except the cop-on to play their cards right) - had they 'filtered-down' a little bit of 'their' wealth , they could ,perhaps, still be enjoying that position today - who knows .......

---

JOSEPH DENIEFFE , 1833 - 1910 : 'Irish Republican Brotherhood' Founder .......



.......At fourteen years young , Joseph Denieffe joined the 'Young Ireland' group , who were organising for a Rising against British mis-rule in Ireland . In 1851 , at eighteen years young , emigration took him to New York - but he did not forget his Republicanism .......


He contacted a number of Irish Fenians in that city - John O'Mahony and Michael Doheny . When he was twenty-two years young in 1855 , he assisted in the establishment of an Irish Republican group in America - the ' Emmet Monument Association ' - which sought to raise an army to force England out of Ireland .

The ' Emmet Monument Association ' decided to send Joseph Denieffe back to Ireland to organise a branch of the 'Emmet Monument Association' there ; by 1856 , a small , active branch of the Association was up and running in County Kilkenny . Its membership included such well-known Irish Rebels as Thomas Clark Luby , Peter Langan and Philip Grey .

On hearing of the establishment of the 'Emmet Monument Association' in Ireland and America , another Irish Rebel , James Stephens , returned to Ireland....... (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.......

"........On my return home from Rockwell College , I was made aware that a plan was being put together to raid three local RIC Barracks on the same day , at the same time . With my friend 'Louth' and my brother Pat , I went to a meeting to discuss the plan , and , on the way there , 'Louth' handed me back my revolver and ammunition ......."


" " You will find a few cartridges missing , " 'Louth' said to me . " Oh , what matter , Louth , you could have used a few more , " I replied . My brother laughed - " His opponent thought that he had used quite enough , " he said .

" What ! Louth , " I exclaimed , " have you become an exponent of the duello ? Who was the gentleman ? Had he blue blood in his veins and all that . Surely it was an affair of honour ? " 'Louth' laughed - " The time and place were all right , " he said . " It was just after daybreak on the bank of the Sullane . My opponent might be described as a gentleman of leisure since he does nothing but saunter along the banks of the river . He might have the blood of kings in his veins for all I know , but he is a water bailiff this long time . As for the affair of honour , it was forced on us . "

" Your brother and I were coming home late one night or early in the morning . A few of the Macroom lads were with us . When the sun rose we decided to have a look around 'Linn na Mullach' to see if we could come by a salmon . The bailiff opened fire on us from cover . We drove him from his cover and tried to catch him , but he got away from us . The Macroom men caught him at home the same day and relieved him of his gun . He must now have recourse to the sword , " he added dryly.....

At the meeting I met Donncadh Mac Neilus for the first time . He had come to our area since he was much wanted by the British ....... " (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 .)

(11 of 12).



My guide around the palace , Mario Garcia , explained that " if Imelda really fancied something she would buy ten dozen . If she was'nt sure , she would purchase five dozen . "

She bought , for example , two chandeliers - one to hang in the ballroom , one to be stored in the basement . Each cost £79,000 pounds . The ballroom is large enough to hold 400 couples . A party often cost as much as £1 million pounds to stage , with orchestras flown in from around the world , along with the food and the celebrities Imelda needed to surround herself with .

During the evening she would change her ball gown two or three times ...... (MORE LATER).

---

JOSEPH DENIEFFE , 1833 - 1910 : 'Irish Republican Brotherhood' Founder .......



.......When Joseph Denieffe was twelve years young , one-million people died in the 'Great Hunger' and the same amount of people emigrated . But the career politicians , the Church leaders and the so-called 'establishment' did not suffer .......


Others noticed that injustice , too . William Smith O'Brien , a follower of Daniel O'Connell's , was one of the many who had grown impatient ; he helped to establish the ' Young Ireland ' group , with the intention of organising an armed Rising against the British.

Joseph Denieffe joined the 'Young Ireland' group in 1847(the year of its formation)-- he was fourteen years young . He worked with William Smith O'Brien (who , as an 'English Gentleman' , was an unusual Irish Rebel - he had been educated at Harrow , had a fine English accent and actually sat in Westminster Parliament for a good few years!) and others for the following four years when , at eighteen years of age(in 1851) , the economics of the day dictated emigration .

He ended up in New York , and contacted a number of Irish Fenians in that city ....... (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.......

".......On arriving home , I found that the feeling everywhere amongst the people was for war......."


".......But war material and weapons were very scarce . It was now accepted that the only available remedy was to acquire them from the enemy . There were three RIC Barracks in our area - Ballyvourney , Ballingeary and Inchigeela . Preparations for a simultaneous attack on the three were now begun . The time was favourable since the quiet period still continued . The IRA Battalion Officers met weekly at a disused farmhouse in the parish of Kilnamartyra , the most central point of the area .

The same old house was ideal in every way as a meeting place for guerrillas . It was set in a lonely little glen among the rocky hills . It could not be detected from any point of the compass , not even from the air , yet it occupied a commanding position and one sentry could watch over every approach to it . We used it for a munition factory as well as for a meeting place . On the evening following my return from Rockwell College , my friend 'Louth' and my brother Pat invited me to a meeting at the old spot . I gladly accepted .

The three-mile walk in the dusk , the prospect of meeting my comrades and the anticipation of a talk by the turf fire in the old kitchen enchanted me . As we set off , 'Louth' handed me my revolver and ammunition ......." (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 .)

(10 of 12).



Back at Malacanang(the Palace) , while her husband sat at his massive partner's desk and plotted how he would have fifteen per-cent on every deal made by anyone in the Philippines - no matter how large or insignificant - Imelda used her solid gold bedside telephone to summon up more treasures . She tried to buy the finest paintings in the world - thinking that would impress Prince Charles (from England) into marrying one of her dimple-cheeked daughters . When Charles heard this , he reportedly blanched and vowed to avoid the Philippines .

When she was not hunting for art , she was stashing away still more clothes . By the time she left the Palace she had over 800 topcoats , 700 suits , 6,500 scarves - and enough Irish linen to cover a football field ....... (MORE LATER).

---

JOSEPH DENIEFFE , 1833 - 1910 : 'Irish Republican Brotherhood' Founder .......



.......at only ten years of age , Joseph Denieffe would have witnessed approximately one million people gathered at the Royal Hill of Tara in County Meath to listen to Daniel O'Connell.......


Imagine the scene as a ten-years-young child must have seen it : shoulder-to-shoulder with people packed together as far as a child could see ; one-million people , defiantly cheering and clapping at a lone figure on a wooden platform as he shook his fist and shouted rebelliously in the direction of Westminster .

It was a day that was to have a life-long effect on young Joseph Denieffe , and thousands of other young boys and girls , and men and women . When he was twelve years young , Joseph Denieffe would have witnessed the 'Great Hunger' (1845 - 1849) when an estimated one million people died on the land and another one million people emigrated in 'coffin ships'.

He would have noticed how Daniel O'Connell and the other career politicians did not suffer , how the Church leaders would bless the dead and pray for the dying before retiring to their big house for a meal , after which they would sleep contently in a warm bed . And a million people died around them ....... (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.......

".......We held a party to celebrate the end of term at Blackrock College ; one of the students , Willie Jones , sung a song penned by the Countess Markievicz , "Battle Hymn"....... "



" Another song was sung by Father Michael Maher . It was " Limerick is Beautiful " , a patriotic song composed by a Limerick man , Michael Scanlan . As is usual , Ireland is depicted as a beautiful woman --


-- " Oh , she I love is beautiful , and world-wide is her fame ,
She dwells down by the rushing tide and Eire is her name .
And dearer than my very life , her glances are to me ,
the light that guides my weary soul across life's stormy sea .


I loved her in my boyhood , and now in manhood's bloom ,
the vision of my life is still to dry thy tears aroon ;
I'd sing into the tomb , or dance beneath the gallow's tree ,
to see her and her hills once more - proud , passionate and free ! "


Although I was leaving for home early next morning , I felt lonely as the concert ended . I knew that I was seeing that good company for the last time. Yet I can always see a clear image of it and hear again those manly voices .

At home again , I found , among the people and the IRA Volunteers , an increasing enthusiasm for learning the art of war ....... " (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 .)

(9 of 12).


Imelda Marcos would pass the ten-hour flight making phone calls to world leaders like President Ronald Reagan (an old friend) . Once she called Number 10 Downing Street , hoping to get Mrs Thatcher . It was 4 a.m. , London time , and the duty officer refused to connect Imelda to Thatcher .

When he frostily asked why she was calling , she said : "For a chat." On another occasion , she called the Vatican , asking if the Pope would hear her Confession when she next came to Rome. One of the Pope's aides promised to see what could be done .......

(MORE LATER).

---

JOSEPH DENIEFFE , 1833 - 1910 : 'Irish Republican Brotherhood' Founder .



Born in Kilkenny City in 1833 , Joseph Denieffe grew up to become a tailor by trade ; still in his early teens , he witnessed Daniel O'Connell's campaign for the 'Repeal of the Act of Union' and would have been just ten years young when approximately one million people assembled at what was known in its day as a "Monster Meeting" at the Royal Hill of Tara in County Meath on 15th August 1843 .

The young Joseph Denieffe would have heard , on that day , the speech delivered to that vast crowd by Daniel O'Connell , who stated --


-- " We are at Tara of the Kings - the spot from which emanated the social power , the legal authority , the right to dominion over the furthest extremes of the land . The strength and majority of the national movement was never exhibited so imposingly as at this great meeting . The numbers exceed any that ever before congregated in Ireland in peace or war . It is a sight not grand alone but appalling - not exciting merely pride but fear . Step by step we are approaching the great goal of Repeal of the Union , but it is at length with the strides of a giant . "

(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.......

".......A concert was held in Rockwell College on the night before we left for the June holidays . All personnel attended , and the teaching staff mingled with us as never before ......."


" There was no formality . One of the Fathers would call on a student to sing , while the students in turn would call on a Father to favour them with a song , which he invariably did . I remember that all the songs sung , whether Irish or Anglo-Irish , had in them the resurgent spirit of that time . All too soon the hours passed and the last songs were sung . The last was the " Battle Hymn " , composed by the Countess Markievicz for the Citizen Army and sung by a student , Willie Jones --

-- " Armed for the battle , kneel we before Thee ,
Bless Thou our banners , God of the brave !
Ireland is living : shout we exultant ,
Ireland is waking , hands grasp the sword .
Who fights for Ireland , God guide his blows home ;
Who dies for Ireland , God give him peace !
Knowing our cause just , march we triumphant ,
Living or dying , Ireland to free ! "

(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 .)

(8 of 12).


One day , Imelda Marcos took the Presidential Jumbo Jet and went off to New York to call on Van Cleef and Arpels and ask its chief jeweller to repair a ruby bead necklace she had bought there the previous week . The firm did the job at once , charging Imelda the sum of £5000 . It was May 30 , 1983 - an unexceptional day in the life of the deposed First Lady .

By nightfall she had spent £600,000 for jewels at Tiffanys and other stores in New York and bought up an entire collection of Bloomingdales swimwear . Then she took the Presidential jet home ! It , too , was equipped to suit the First Lady - there was a huge bedroom , with a queen-sized bed , a sumptuous bathroom and the most sophisticated communications network outside the U S President's Air Force One .

(MORE LATER).

---

DINNY LACEY , 1890 - 1923 ; IRA GUERRILLA FIGHTER .



....... Dinny Lacey and the 3rd Tipperary Brigade IRA appeared to be able to operate as they wished ; the Free Staters in Leinster House dispatched approximately one-thousand Free State troops to Tipperary to take the IRA Unit on ... and out .......



Dinny Lacey and his IRA Unit were tracked to the Glen of Aherlow area (near the village of Lisveranane , in Tipperary) and were eventually corraled in a house in Ballydavid (near Bansha , Tipperary) ; realising that their only way out was through the ranks of their enemy , they exited the house with all guns blazing .....

Dinny Lacey and his men got as far as the boundry fence of the property when the man beside Lacey was wounded ; stopping to help the injured man , Dinny Lacey was shot dead . The date was 18th February , 1923 - he was thirty-three years of age , and had spent the final ten years of his life 'on-the-run' - 9 years hunted by the Brits and 1 year with the Free Staters on his tail .

He was an outstanding guerrilla leader , uncompromising in his demands - a full British military and political withdrawal from the island of Ireland . SOME DAY .......


" Why are the English there anyway ,
as they kill with God on their side ?
Blame it on the kids and the IRA ,
as the bastards commit genocide . "

--- John Lennon , ' The Luck of The Irish .


[END of - DINNY LACEY , 1890 - 1923 ; IRA GUERRILLA FIGHTER ].




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.......

"....... Ireland , 1919 : on 21st January that year , the First Dail Eireann (a 32-County Body) assembled ......."


" The people had given Sinn Fein authority to set up that parliament . It was now legally accomplished , but yet it was only a gesture , a finger pointing along a certain road . It could not function while an alien parliament with its powerful force behind it still functioned . That force must first be neutralised .

The Volunteers had already undertaken that task , against foreign and native opposition . Now their own parliament directed them to proceed with the good work . Henceforth , the Volunteers would be known as the Irish Republican Army .

In Rockwell College I had been kept well informed of the trend of events in the outside world . On the night before we left for home , after the June examinations , a concert was held in the refectory . It was attended by the entire personnel of the College - directors , teaching staff and students . It gives me the greatest pleasure to think of that night , now half a lifetime distant .

The stern Dean of studies , and the Dean of discipline who hid a great love for the students behind impassive features , now came down and mingled with us for a few joyful hours ......." (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 .)

(7 of 12).



In her teens , Imelda Marcos worked , for pennies , as a nightclub singer , receptionist , bank-clerk and supermarket check-out girl . Then came The Break -- she entered , and won , the ' Miss Manila ' beauty queen competition .

Uncharitable locals say she slept with each of the judges , one of whom was Ferdinand Marcos . The rest is history ...

Within a few years of settling into Malacanang (the Palace) , she had collected over £400 Million worth of jewellery , with diamonds , rubies , sapphires and more , in her collection . At one stage she seemed about to outstrip the Queen of England as the worlds largest single holder of precious stones ....... (MORE LATER).

---

DINNY LACEY , 1890 - 1923 ; IRA GUERRILLA FIGHTER .


....... 6th December 1921 ; the 'Treaty of Surrender' is signed in Downing Street , London . The IRA splits . A few men left Dinny Lacey's IRA Flying Column , but the majority stayed true .......


The 3rd Tipperary Brigade IRA , with Dinny Lacey in command , hit hard ; in the months following the December 1921 sell-out , Lacey's Unit raided the Free State Barracks in Clonmel , County Tipperary , and removed all the equipment (weapons , ammunition etc) they wanted , with the result that they were now 'kitted-out' even better than before .

Dinny Lacey and his men controlled the North Munster area to such a degree that it was practically a 'no-go' zone for the Free Staters , and stayed that way for most of 1922 . Also , during that same year , the townlands around Carrick-on-Suir (outside Clonmel , County Tipperary) were controlled by Dinny Lacey's Unit until December(1922) when the Free State Army forced them out .

The Free State Administration in Dublin's Leinster House had had enough ; they sent a force of approximately one-thousand Free State troops into the area where Dinny Lacey and the 3rd Tipperary Brigade operated from , under orders to hunt the IRA Unit down ....... (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.......

".......We all lined up in the pub to taste the whiskey that cures influenza . After the first sip , we looked at each other . Then Eamon , having tasted the 'magic brew' , made a noise ......."



" " DAMMIT ! " " DAMMIT ! " , Eamon said again , as he placed his glass sharply on the bar , " who put the whiskey in the water ? " So saying , he turned and walked out the door . Smothering laughter as best they could , all hurriedly replaced their glasses on the counter and followed suit . In the open they gave vent to their feelings . It was some time since they had indulged in a hearty laugh . Now they had the opportunity . The weakest stuff they had ever tasted , 'aqua pura' almost , had proved a better tonic than the most potent !

The holidays over , I returned to Rockwell College . Here , so far , we had seen no sign of the influenza . Within a fortnight it had a firm grip on the place . It was milder than the earlier form of the epidemic , but it caused the death of one student . With a few others , I managed to keep on my feet and we were allowed home . It was near the beginning of March when we were recalled again . Since we had lost a good deal of time we were granted no Easter holidays and we worked on to examination time at the beginning of June . Meanwhile , events of great political importance had happened .

The greatest event was the assembling of the First Dail Eireann or Irish Parliament , on 21st January 1919 . Sinn Fein had contested the General Election on an abstention from Westminster policy and a guarantee to set up our own assembly ......." (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 .)

(6 of 12).



Imelda Marcos had 550 black bras - Cory Aquino has had them all counted - 200 boxes of stockings and 300 boxes of girdles (all made in Manchester , England) . In a corner of Imelda's bedroom is a pile of 400 cartons containing over 2,500 handbags . They were specially made for her by 'Gucci' and other designers . Some have never been used . They are valued at £937,000 .

To pay for these excesses , Imelda Marcos used the Philippines National Bank as if it were her personal charge account . Imelda had once lived on the breadline herself . She was raised in a garage in Manila , where she and her mother slept on planks balanced on milk crates . They relied on the charity of a Catholic foundation to survive ........ (MORE LATER).

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DINNY LACEY , 1890 - 1923 ; IRA GUERRILLA FIGHTER .


.......as Officer Commanding of the IRA's 3rd Tipperary Brigade No. 1 Flying Column , Dinny Lacey took the fight to the British.......



He knew the countryside extremely well and had learned much from Sean Treacy - he hit and disappeared ; three Brit soldiers killed and five wounded at Thomastown (October 1920), two RIC men killed and two wounded at Lisnagaul (November 1920).

He was also known to be tough with his own men , and did not suffer fools , but never asked anything of them which he was not willing to do himself .

When the 'Treaty of Surrender' was signed at Downing Street in London on 6th December 1921 , Dinny Lacey and his men were living 'on the run' ; a handful of his Unit left , two or three of whom joined the Free State Army , with the same number of men just going home . The majority of the IRA Flying Column stayed true , and carried on with the fight for a 32 County Socialist Irish Republic and , as with their fight against the Brits , they did'nt wait to be attacked - they took the fight to the Free Staters ....... (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.......

".......On the way home from a funeral , a group of IRA Volunteers and some friends of theirs stopped-off in a pub which was said to sell a 'special' whiskey which cured influenza . One of the Volunteers , Eamon , was the only one of the group to have tasted whiskey before ......."


" Having once discovered the characteristics of anything , there was little danger that Eamon would keep the knowledge to himself . In other words , he was very outspoken . The publican busied himself with spigot and measure , and soon a row of glasses was ranged along the bar . An oldish man of the neighbours took his glass and , raising it , said " Slainte ! "

Every man grasped his drink and repeated " Slainte ! " All , excepting Eamon , tasted it and lowered their glasses at once . Eyes were cautiously turned right or left , and then slowly left or right . Most of the Volunteers looked puzzled and they tasted again . They had expected that at least it would make them cough . The older men regarded each other , some with a sorrowful look , some with a grim smile . It was their unspoken verdict .

But what would Eamon's verdict be ? Would he accuse the publican directly of putting water in the whiskey ? A loud exclamation focused all eyes on Eamon . He also had tasted ......." (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 .)

(5 of 12).


Cory Aquino has insisted that the palace must remain exactly as it was on that February night two years ago when Marcos and his wife fled for their lives - an extraordinary combination of priceless European antiques and plastic dimestore trash .

There are medieval cabinets from Bavaria , each hand-carved and painted , filled with buttons saying 'Marcos For President'. There is a Renaissance credenza , valued at £590,000 , whose top is covered with packets of pop-corn at 10p a packet . A Cartier jewel box is stuffed with junk jewellery . Outfits created by Emmanuel Ungaro for Imelda are crammed alongside a thousand pairs of her undies .......

(MORE LATER).

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DINNY LACEY , 1890 - 1923 ; IRA GUERRILLA FIGHTER .


....... In 1914 , at twenty-four years young , Dinny Lacey was sworn in to The Irish Republican Brotherhood by Sean Treacy .......



It was Dinny Lacey , Sean Treacy and Dan Breen that organised a much-feared Unit in Tipperary which sought-out the enemy ; Dinny Lacey , in particular , was known to be deeply angry that the 1916 Rising had not taken hold in the rest of the country as much as it had in Dublin . He wanted confrontation with the British , and had no time for 'letting things lie'-- he was in good company !

The Tipperary area was well-organised from an Irish Republican point-of-view ; the IRA were so strong in the area that they were able to set-up and run two small ammunition factories - one each in Knockharding and Shrough . Dinny Lacey was appointed 'Officer Commanding' of the 3rd Tipperary Brigade No. 1 Flying Column , which controlled the South Munster area - it was Sean Treacy's position , but he had been shot dead by the Brits in Dublin .

Dinny Lacey and his ' Flying Column' IRA Unit were relentless in their pursuit of the British ....... (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.......

".......the influenza epidemic was killing people in the country ; many 'cures' were proposed - one of them was whiskey ......."


" I have authority of rumour that at least one publican , entirely devoted to the health and welfare of the general public , evolved a laborious scientific process to ensure that each and every member of his increasing clientele would have at least some small percentage of his life-saving aqua vitae .

On this particular evening , a group of IRA Volunteers and neighbours , on their way home from a funeral , stopped outside his premises . They were tired , and weary from want of sleep . They decided to try some tonic to keep up their spirits . One of the neighbours spoke to the Volunteers : " I know ye do not take strong drink , lads , but by all accounts the whiskey here will do ye no harm . "

All entered the pub and stood alongside the bar . Soon it transpired that there was no other drink in the house but whiskey . After a little discussion , everyone , teetotallers and all , decided to sample the elixir . Standing at the bar , midway in the line of men , was a Volunteer whose Christian name was Eamon . He had already tasted whiskey , a few times , just enough to know what it should taste like ......." (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 .)

(4 of 12).



Exiled now (ie 1988) in Hawaii - though with untold millions of pounds stashed in Swiss bank accounts - the couple continue to plot and scheme to return to Malacanang , their palace . They actually believe they will do so ; that there is a growing ground-swell of Filippinos who would like them back .

Which may explain why President Cory Aquino has ordered that Malacanang should at last be opened to the public -- to show Filippinos how , as they struggled to live on an average annual income of £100 a year , Imelda Marcos spent that much a minute ! For instance , on specially-blended perfumes from Dior and Roches , which she ordered in two-litre bottles ....

Each bottle cost £40,000 ; there are 97 on display in her bedroom ....... (MORE LATER).

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