THE BOUNDARY COMMISSION , 1921-1925 .......
A British 'sleight-of-hand' which caused a mutiny within British forces in Ireland.......
....... on 9th November 1921 , the Divisional Commissioner of the RIC in the Six Counties , a Lieut.-Colonel 'Sir' Charles Wickham , sent a 'secret' circular to his men stating that Westminster was considering hiring more UVF men to work as 'Special Constabulary' ; a copy of his circular ended up in the hands of Michael Collins who threw it at the Brits during the Treaty of Surrender negotiations (on 23rd November 1921) and told them that that circular , alone , could end the Negotiations - so the Brits instructed 'their' man in the Six Counties , 'Sir' James Craig (the Stormont 'Prime Minister') to withdraw and dis-own Wickham's circular .......
'Sir' Charles Wickham had an interesting background - he spent 23 years as the man in charge of the 'B' Specials , and was also Head of the RUC for a period . He was born in 1879 , in England , and was educated at Harrow and Sandhurst , where he no doubt picked-up his 'stiff upper lip' . At 20 years young he joined the British Army and served in the Boer War and in the 'First World War' .
Between the years 1918 and 1920 he served as a Lieutenant-Colonel with the British military 'mission' in the Russian Civil War , following which (at 41 years young) he was the 'Divisional Commissioner for Ulster' in the RIC , from 1920 to 1922 .
It was at that time in his 'career' that he helped to establish the Ulster Special Constabulary . At 43 years young he was appointed as the Inspector-General of the RUC , a position he held until 1945 when , at 66 years of age , his paymasters in Westminster formed the opinion that the 'johnnies' in the 'colonies' would benefit from a spot of ' Wickham-ism ' .......
(MORE LATER).
THE POLITICS OF H-BLOCK .......
By Vincent Browne .
From 'MAGILL' magazine , December 1980 , pages 26 and 27 .
Re-published here in 10 parts .
(4 of 10).
Perhaps the most important of these has been has been the failure of successive political initiatives on the part of the British Government . An indication of the Catholic frustration with the stalemate is the refusal of the SDLP to participate in another round of elections for another convention or assembly which does'nt offer them guaranteed power-sharing . Also the renewed interest by the SDLP in the all-Ireland dimension . Whatever else the SDLP may be , it is a good barometer of feeling within the Catholic community , even if it lags behind on the more hard line issues , such as H-Block .
Then , of course , there has been the continued tale of brutality and torture emanating from Castlereagh - it was'nt difficult to link this with the H-Block issue , as virtually all the prisoners of H-Block have graduated through Castlereagh and many of them have undoubtedly been brutalised and made to sign forced confessions .
And finally there was the apparent reasonableness of the demands of the prisoners ; whatever else the Catholic community thinks of the Provisional IRA , they know that there is a political motivation involved in their campaign and the refusal to acknowledge this by the authorities seems merely vindictive .......
(MORE LATER).
NORAID'S UNTOLD MILLIONS .......
Irish-Americans have long had complex and contradictory relations with Ireland and the 'Irish Question' . On Saint Patrick's Day , all the ambiguities are apparent .
This year (ie 1987) , on Saint Patrick's Day , the latest book by Irish writer , Jack Holland was published in New York , exploring the tangled web of links between Irish-Americans and the Irish in Ireland , the IRA and the Irish government .
' The American Connection ' describes the activities of leading Irish-American politicians , of romanticising writers and of gun-runners .
In this edited extract , the author tells how Noraid was set up and how it has resisted pressures to disclose all the sources and uses of its funds .
First published in 'MAGILL' magazine , April 1987 .
Re-published here in 31 parts .
(27 of 31).
While Sean Flynn , an IRSP Belfast City Councillor , was in America , he undertook a tour of his own , organised by a small left-wing support group , the H-Block Armagh Committee , based in New York . Outside the INAC circuit , Sean Flynn spoke to mainly small , radical groups , not prime fund-raising sources . However , INAC people would occasionally show up .
On one occasion , on the West Coast , Flynn met a NORAID supporter who was a millionaire warehouse owner ; the wealthy Irish-American at first assumed that Flynn was just another IRA or Sinn Fein activist on the 'stomp' looking for dollars , not realising his left-wing background . Flynn mentioned the need for funds to cover the funeral expenses of two of the hunger strikers , and the millionaire generously offered to write a cheque out the following morning for whatever the cost was .
Flushed with this offer , the IRSP spokesman invited the would-be patron along to hear him speak that evening : the millionaire showed-up , only to find himself in the company of radicals , blacks , and various leftist politicos . He was appalled when Flynn spoke , comparing North of Ireland Catholics and their struggle with that of the blacks in South Africa .
The millionaire got up to leave - he told Sean Flynn their morning appointment was cancelled . Shocked , Flynn asked why . " I don't like niggers , " he was told .......
(MORE LATER).
Wednesday, January 19, 2005
THE BOUNDARY COMMISSION , 1921-1925 .......
A British 'sleight-of-hand' which caused a mutiny within British forces in Ireland.......
....... the 'Special Constabulary' had been formed , mainly from the ranks of the 'Ulster Volunteer Force' (UVF) , a pro-British militia - but the UVF was still in existence , with a British Colonel , F.H. Crawford , in charge of it . It had 20,000 armed members , and the politicians in Westminster were looking at Crawford and his organisation , and wondering if they could use it , too .......
The RIC was in favour of such a move by Westminster ; on the 9th November 1921 , the Divisional Commissioner of the RIC in the Six Counties , a Colonel 'Sir' Charles Wickham , stated , in a 'secret' circular which he sent to other RIC bosses in the Six Counties -
- " Owing to the number of reports which have been received as to the growth of unauthorised Loyalist defence forces , the (British) Government have under consideration the desirability of obtaining the services of the best elements of these organisations . They have decided that the scheme most likely to meet the situation would be to enrol all who volunteer and are considered suitable into Class 'C' (of the 'Special Constabulary') and to form them into regular military units .
There is no necessity to produce the maximum possible number of units ; what is required is to ensure that every unit recommended for formation can be constituted from a reliable section of the population . "
Note how the supposed 'neutral' RIC described the UVF paramilitary organisation as a "... loyalist defence force .." and as " .. a reliable section of the population ... " - the Brits were then , and still are today , 'in charge' of said Loyalist paramilitary organisations , and use them to carry-out 'jobs' which Westminster wants done , but not 'officially' . Also , about two weeks after 'Sir' Wickham wrote and dispatched his 'secret' circular , a copy of it found its way into the hands of Michael Collins who , on 23rd November 1921 , whilst attending Treaty negotiations with the British in London , produced it to the startled Brits and told them it may very well signal the end of the 'negotiations' .
Westminster called-in its top man in the Six Counties - 'Sir' James Craig , the Stormont 'Prime Minister' - and told him that the 'secret' circular would have to be withdrawen ; Craig then instructed his 'Minister for Home Affairs' , a Mr. Richard Dawson Bates (a UVF man himself) to withdraw the circular . However , by way of a 'two-fingered salute' to his political masters in Westminster , when he returned to Belfast , Craig increased the number of 'A Specials' by 700 men , and the 'B Specials' by 5,000 men ! If they could'nt 'hire' " ... from a reliable section of the population ... " in one way , then they'd find another way to do it !
Colonel 'Sir' Charles Wickham had an interesting background - a Brit through and through .......
(MORE LATER).
THE POLITICS OF H-BLOCK .......
By Vincent Browne .
From 'MAGILL' magazine , December 1980 , pages 26 and 27 .
Re-published here in 10 parts .
(3 of 10).
The Provos themselves eventually agreed on a broad front strategy and took part in a Relatives Action Conference in the Green Briar Hotel , Belfast , in September 1979 . Even then they were ambiguous about their commitment to co-operation with other groups . The Chairperson of the meeting was a committed Provo and although there was a rule that no person could speak more than once , Gerry Adams , Vice President of Provisional Sinn Fein , spoke on at least ten occasions and managed to dominate preceedings .
Resolutions from other organisations were hindered and of course any criticisms of the Provo campaign went unheard . In spite of this a broad-based National H-Block movement got off the ground , with support from the IRSP , the Peoples Democracy , Bernadette McAliskey's organisation in mid-Ulster and a number of other small groups , as well as Provisional Sinn Fein .
The progress of the campaign has been classically successful ; there was a gradual build up of activity , with demonstrations attracting greater and greater support . But of course it was'nt just the astute organisation of the campaign which led to the vast volume of support it has won across the Northern Catholic community .
Other factors were of greater significance .......
(MORE LATER).
NORAID'S UNTOLD MILLIONS .......
Irish-Americans have long had complex and contradictory relations with Ireland and the 'Irish Question' . On Saint Patrick's Day , all the ambiguities are apparent .
This year (ie 1987) , on Saint Patrick's Day , the latest book by Irish writer , Jack Holland was published in New York , exploring the tangled web of links between Irish-Americans and the Irish in Ireland , the IRA and the Irish government .
' The American Connection ' describes the activities of leading Irish-American politicians , of romanticising writers and of gun-runners .
In this edited extract , the author tells how Noraid was set up and how it has resisted pressures to disclose all the sources and uses of its funds .
First published in 'MAGILL' magazine , April 1987 .
Re-published here in 31 parts .
(26 of 31).
The Irish Republican Socialist Party (IRSP) sent over one of its leading members , Sean Flynn , a Belfast city councillor , to meet INAC officials in New York ; he was asking for one-third of the money , since in the cold arithmetic of death , approximately one-third of the ten men who died on hunger-strike were INLA members . Sean Flynn also pointed out that Liz O'Hara had played an important part in the tour which raised the money .
Sean Flynn met INAC officials in New York ; he told them that the families of two of the dead INLA men still owed money for the funerals of their sons . In one case , they did'nt have enough to cover the cost of their electricity bills and travelling expenses . When Flynn went to the home of a prominent INAC member , he was told that NORAID knew nothing about giving money to the IRSP .
Their meeting deteriorated into a shouting match , and Sean Flynn was asked to leave .......
(MORE LATER).
A British 'sleight-of-hand' which caused a mutiny within British forces in Ireland.......
....... the 'Special Constabulary' had been formed , mainly from the ranks of the 'Ulster Volunteer Force' (UVF) , a pro-British militia - but the UVF was still in existence , with a British Colonel , F.H. Crawford , in charge of it . It had 20,000 armed members , and the politicians in Westminster were looking at Crawford and his organisation , and wondering if they could use it , too .......
The RIC was in favour of such a move by Westminster ; on the 9th November 1921 , the Divisional Commissioner of the RIC in the Six Counties , a Colonel 'Sir' Charles Wickham , stated , in a 'secret' circular which he sent to other RIC bosses in the Six Counties -
- " Owing to the number of reports which have been received as to the growth of unauthorised Loyalist defence forces , the (British) Government have under consideration the desirability of obtaining the services of the best elements of these organisations . They have decided that the scheme most likely to meet the situation would be to enrol all who volunteer and are considered suitable into Class 'C' (of the 'Special Constabulary') and to form them into regular military units .
There is no necessity to produce the maximum possible number of units ; what is required is to ensure that every unit recommended for formation can be constituted from a reliable section of the population . "
Note how the supposed 'neutral' RIC described the UVF paramilitary organisation as a "... loyalist defence force .." and as " .. a reliable section of the population ... " - the Brits were then , and still are today , 'in charge' of said Loyalist paramilitary organisations , and use them to carry-out 'jobs' which Westminster wants done , but not 'officially' . Also , about two weeks after 'Sir' Wickham wrote and dispatched his 'secret' circular , a copy of it found its way into the hands of Michael Collins who , on 23rd November 1921 , whilst attending Treaty negotiations with the British in London , produced it to the startled Brits and told them it may very well signal the end of the 'negotiations' .
Westminster called-in its top man in the Six Counties - 'Sir' James Craig , the Stormont 'Prime Minister' - and told him that the 'secret' circular would have to be withdrawen ; Craig then instructed his 'Minister for Home Affairs' , a Mr. Richard Dawson Bates (a UVF man himself) to withdraw the circular . However , by way of a 'two-fingered salute' to his political masters in Westminster , when he returned to Belfast , Craig increased the number of 'A Specials' by 700 men , and the 'B Specials' by 5,000 men ! If they could'nt 'hire' " ... from a reliable section of the population ... " in one way , then they'd find another way to do it !
Colonel 'Sir' Charles Wickham had an interesting background - a Brit through and through .......
(MORE LATER).
THE POLITICS OF H-BLOCK .......
By Vincent Browne .
From 'MAGILL' magazine , December 1980 , pages 26 and 27 .
Re-published here in 10 parts .
(3 of 10).
The Provos themselves eventually agreed on a broad front strategy and took part in a Relatives Action Conference in the Green Briar Hotel , Belfast , in September 1979 . Even then they were ambiguous about their commitment to co-operation with other groups . The Chairperson of the meeting was a committed Provo and although there was a rule that no person could speak more than once , Gerry Adams , Vice President of Provisional Sinn Fein , spoke on at least ten occasions and managed to dominate preceedings .
Resolutions from other organisations were hindered and of course any criticisms of the Provo campaign went unheard . In spite of this a broad-based National H-Block movement got off the ground , with support from the IRSP , the Peoples Democracy , Bernadette McAliskey's organisation in mid-Ulster and a number of other small groups , as well as Provisional Sinn Fein .
The progress of the campaign has been classically successful ; there was a gradual build up of activity , with demonstrations attracting greater and greater support . But of course it was'nt just the astute organisation of the campaign which led to the vast volume of support it has won across the Northern Catholic community .
Other factors were of greater significance .......
(MORE LATER).
NORAID'S UNTOLD MILLIONS .......
Irish-Americans have long had complex and contradictory relations with Ireland and the 'Irish Question' . On Saint Patrick's Day , all the ambiguities are apparent .
This year (ie 1987) , on Saint Patrick's Day , the latest book by Irish writer , Jack Holland was published in New York , exploring the tangled web of links between Irish-Americans and the Irish in Ireland , the IRA and the Irish government .
' The American Connection ' describes the activities of leading Irish-American politicians , of romanticising writers and of gun-runners .
In this edited extract , the author tells how Noraid was set up and how it has resisted pressures to disclose all the sources and uses of its funds .
First published in 'MAGILL' magazine , April 1987 .
Re-published here in 31 parts .
(26 of 31).
The Irish Republican Socialist Party (IRSP) sent over one of its leading members , Sean Flynn , a Belfast city councillor , to meet INAC officials in New York ; he was asking for one-third of the money , since in the cold arithmetic of death , approximately one-third of the ten men who died on hunger-strike were INLA members . Sean Flynn also pointed out that Liz O'Hara had played an important part in the tour which raised the money .
Sean Flynn met INAC officials in New York ; he told them that the families of two of the dead INLA men still owed money for the funerals of their sons . In one case , they did'nt have enough to cover the cost of their electricity bills and travelling expenses . When Flynn went to the home of a prominent INAC member , he was told that NORAID knew nothing about giving money to the IRSP .
Their meeting deteriorated into a shouting match , and Sean Flynn was asked to leave .......
(MORE LATER).
Tuesday, January 18, 2005
THE BOUNDARY COMMISSION , 1921-1925 .......
A British 'sleight-of-hand' which caused a mutiny within British forces in Ireland.......
....... in November 1920 , recruitment commenced for the 'Special Constabulary' ; three months later (ie January[23rd] 1921) , the RIC (pro-British 'police force') got a call telling them that a pub in Clones , County Monaghan , was being destroyed by armed men - the RIC , thinking it was an IRA Unit 'closing-down' the pub because it served and sheltered enemy forces , 'tooled-up' and hit the road .......
The RIC pulled-up outside the premises - and opened fire on those inside ! And what a pity that those RIC men were'nt better shots or more heavily armed , or both , for those inside the pub were members of the 'Special Constabulary' , doing what they did best : looting ! One of them was shot dead by the RIC gunfire .
Meanwhile , while the 'Specials' were out looting and the RIC (when not doing the same !) were mistakingly shooting at them , the 'Ulster Volunteer Force' (UVF) , a Loyalist paramilitary organisation , (from which group the 'Specials' came) were still active ; the new man in charge was British Colonel F.H. Crawford , who had played an active part in the Larne gun-running episode in 1914 .
Westminster estimated UVF membership at 20,000 armed men ; its leader , Crawford , is perhaps better known for signing his name in blood on 'Ulster's Solemn League and Covenant' , and was regarded by those who worked with him as 'a fanatic' .
But rather than be alarmed at this 20,000-strong UVF organisation , the Brits were considering using it for their own advantage - the RIC were known to be in favour of such a move .......
(MORE LATER).
THE POLITICS OF H-BLOCK .......
By Vincent Browne .
From 'MAGILL' magazine , December 1980 , pages 26 and 27 .
Re-published here in 10 parts .
(2 of 10).
The support on the outside for the H-Block protest was minimal and Provisional Sinn Fein seemed unable to muster even a gesture of solidarity . Certainly they were not prepared to co-operate with individuals or organisations that were not also prepared to support the military struggle .
This has been one of the major issues of division within the Provisional Republican Movement for several years ; some of the die-hard elements don't want to co-operate with people who have reservations about the military campaign , while others are more aware of the need for a broad anti-imperialist front .
It was perhaps Bernadette McAliskey more than anyone else who convinced the die-hards within the Provos to co-operate with individuals and groups on a broad front ; she organised the 'Coalisland Conference' in early 1979 and while the Provos attempted to 'pack' the meeting and block votes on issues , it opened their awareness to the possibilities of a 'broad' campaign .
The 'Relatives Action Committee' included many non-Provo supporters and there had been several clashes within it over the question of support for the military campaign .......
(MORE LATER).
NORAID'S UNTOLD MILLIONS .......
Irish-Americans have long had complex and contradictory relations with Ireland and the 'Irish Question' . On Saint Patrick's Day , all the ambiguities are apparent .
This year (ie 1987) , on Saint Patrick's Day , the latest book by Irish writer , Jack Holland was published in New York , exploring the tangled web of links between Irish-Americans and the Irish in Ireland , the IRA and the Irish government .
' The American Connection ' describes the activities of leading Irish-American politicians , of romanticising writers and of gun-runners .
In this edited extract , the author tells how Noraid was set up and how it has resisted pressures to disclose all the sources and uses of its funds .
First published in 'MAGILL' magazine , April 1987 .
Re-published here in 31 parts .
(25 of 31).
According to sources close to the U.S. tour itself , the three relatives raised about a quarter of a million dollars - more than the INAC had been able to collect in any year since 1972 , at least according to its official returns .
But the INAC alleges that no more than $200,000 was collected for the whole year , and that the relatives' tour was only a small part of the overall campaign .
The question of how much money was contributed was to have other ramifications when it came to deciding how it should be divided up , and whether or not the INLA and its political wing , the Irish Republican Socialist Party (IRSP) , were entitled to a share .
The INLA's political wing , the IRSP , met with Sinn Fein and demanded a slice of the $250,000 'cake' that the IRSP claimed had been produced by the U.S. tour , but Sinn Fein reportedly told the IRSP that it must address its requests to the INAC .......
(MORE LATER).
A British 'sleight-of-hand' which caused a mutiny within British forces in Ireland.......
....... in November 1920 , recruitment commenced for the 'Special Constabulary' ; three months later (ie January[23rd] 1921) , the RIC (pro-British 'police force') got a call telling them that a pub in Clones , County Monaghan , was being destroyed by armed men - the RIC , thinking it was an IRA Unit 'closing-down' the pub because it served and sheltered enemy forces , 'tooled-up' and hit the road .......
The RIC pulled-up outside the premises - and opened fire on those inside ! And what a pity that those RIC men were'nt better shots or more heavily armed , or both , for those inside the pub were members of the 'Special Constabulary' , doing what they did best : looting ! One of them was shot dead by the RIC gunfire .
Meanwhile , while the 'Specials' were out looting and the RIC (when not doing the same !) were mistakingly shooting at them , the 'Ulster Volunteer Force' (UVF) , a Loyalist paramilitary organisation , (from which group the 'Specials' came) were still active ; the new man in charge was British Colonel F.H. Crawford , who had played an active part in the Larne gun-running episode in 1914 .
Westminster estimated UVF membership at 20,000 armed men ; its leader , Crawford , is perhaps better known for signing his name in blood on 'Ulster's Solemn League and Covenant' , and was regarded by those who worked with him as 'a fanatic' .
But rather than be alarmed at this 20,000-strong UVF organisation , the Brits were considering using it for their own advantage - the RIC were known to be in favour of such a move .......
(MORE LATER).
THE POLITICS OF H-BLOCK .......
By Vincent Browne .
From 'MAGILL' magazine , December 1980 , pages 26 and 27 .
Re-published here in 10 parts .
(2 of 10).
The support on the outside for the H-Block protest was minimal and Provisional Sinn Fein seemed unable to muster even a gesture of solidarity . Certainly they were not prepared to co-operate with individuals or organisations that were not also prepared to support the military struggle .
This has been one of the major issues of division within the Provisional Republican Movement for several years ; some of the die-hard elements don't want to co-operate with people who have reservations about the military campaign , while others are more aware of the need for a broad anti-imperialist front .
It was perhaps Bernadette McAliskey more than anyone else who convinced the die-hards within the Provos to co-operate with individuals and groups on a broad front ; she organised the 'Coalisland Conference' in early 1979 and while the Provos attempted to 'pack' the meeting and block votes on issues , it opened their awareness to the possibilities of a 'broad' campaign .
The 'Relatives Action Committee' included many non-Provo supporters and there had been several clashes within it over the question of support for the military campaign .......
(MORE LATER).
NORAID'S UNTOLD MILLIONS .......
Irish-Americans have long had complex and contradictory relations with Ireland and the 'Irish Question' . On Saint Patrick's Day , all the ambiguities are apparent .
This year (ie 1987) , on Saint Patrick's Day , the latest book by Irish writer , Jack Holland was published in New York , exploring the tangled web of links between Irish-Americans and the Irish in Ireland , the IRA and the Irish government .
' The American Connection ' describes the activities of leading Irish-American politicians , of romanticising writers and of gun-runners .
In this edited extract , the author tells how Noraid was set up and how it has resisted pressures to disclose all the sources and uses of its funds .
First published in 'MAGILL' magazine , April 1987 .
Re-published here in 31 parts .
(25 of 31).
According to sources close to the U.S. tour itself , the three relatives raised about a quarter of a million dollars - more than the INAC had been able to collect in any year since 1972 , at least according to its official returns .
But the INAC alleges that no more than $200,000 was collected for the whole year , and that the relatives' tour was only a small part of the overall campaign .
The question of how much money was contributed was to have other ramifications when it came to deciding how it should be divided up , and whether or not the INLA and its political wing , the Irish Republican Socialist Party (IRSP) , were entitled to a share .
The INLA's political wing , the IRSP , met with Sinn Fein and demanded a slice of the $250,000 'cake' that the IRSP claimed had been produced by the U.S. tour , but Sinn Fein reportedly told the IRSP that it must address its requests to the INAC .......
(MORE LATER).
Monday, January 17, 2005
THE BOUNDARY COMMISSION , 1921-1925 .......
A British 'sleight-of-hand' which caused a mutiny within British forces in Ireland.......
....... Joe Devlin was amongst those who objected to a Loyalist paramilitary organisation being armed by Westminster (the UVF) and being called a ' police force ' ; Devlin was a busy man - as well as other political jobs , he acted as General Secretary for the United Irish League (UIL)/Home Rule Party , from 1904 to 1920 .......
At 34 years of age , Joe Devlin served as the 'National President' of the Ancient Order of Hibernians , a position he held for 29 years (!) [until he died in 1934] , during which time he forged links between the Ancient Order of Hibernians and the United Irish League .
He first took a seat in Stormont in 1921 (at 50 years of age) [and stayed there until 1934] ; in 1928 (at 57 years of age) he founded , and Chaired , the 'National League of the North ' . Incidentally , he was not related to Bernadette Devlin or Paddy Devlin : end of that Joe Devlin 'tangent' !
Back to basics : in November 1920 , in Belfast , recruitment for the 'Specials' commenced ; the 'calibre' of these 'Specials' can be accurately gauged from an incident on 23rd January 1921 , when the RIC were called-out to investigate a claim that a pub in Clones , County Monaghan , was being destroyed by armed men .
Thinking it was an IRA Unit 'closing down' a pub because it served and sheltered enemy forces , the RIC 'tooled-up' and hit the road .......
(MORE LATER).
THE POLITICS OF H-BLOCK .
By Vincent Browne .
From 'MAGILL' magazine , December 1980 , pages 26 and 27 .
Re-published here in 10 parts .
(1 of 10).
The H-Block issue has caused divisions in Irish society deeper than any exposed during the last decade of troubles in the North . Not alone are the unionist and nationalist communities now sharply polarised again , but there has arisen the spectre of a deep and hostile division between the nationalist community in the North and the vast majority of the people of southern Ireland .
The degree of support for H-Block protestors in the Catholic areas of the North has witnessed no parallel , certainly not since the Civil Rights demonstrations of the late 1960's . The Roman Catholic community's alienation from the Provisional IRA was thought to be almost complete following a succession of atrocities , culminating in the La Mons disaster , and the very obvious support given to the 'Peace People' in 1976 .
Yet it was during the 'Peace Peoples' most notable triumphs on the streets of the Falls and Shankill that the H-Block issue started to germinate .
It was that summer that young Kieran Nugent started on his blanket protest , which seemed doomed to failure and a wall of public indifference .......
(MORE LATER).
NORAID'S UNTOLD MILLIONS .......
Irish-Americans have long had complex and contradictory relations with Ireland and the 'Irish Question' . On Saint Patrick's Day , all the ambiguities are apparent .
This year (ie 1987) , on Saint Patrick's Day , the latest book by Irish writer , Jack Holland was published in New York , exploring the tangled web of links between Irish-Americans and the Irish in Ireland , the IRA and the Irish government .
' The American Connection ' describes the activities of leading Irish-American politicians , of romanticising writers and of gun-runners .
In this edited extract , the author tells how Noraid was set up and how it has resisted pressures to disclose all the sources and uses of its funds .
First published in 'MAGILL' magazine , April 1987 .
Re-published here in 31 parts .
(24 of 31).
Objections were raised to Liz O'Hara's presence on the tour ; could'nt someone with more pure 'republican' connections be found ? Ironically , at the same time that some of NORAID's leaders were expressing these objections , ' The Irish People ' newspaper was praising Patsy O'Hara as a martyr .
In the end , Malachy McCreesh and Bobby Sands' brother , Sean , refused to go on the U.S. tour unless Liz O'Hara accompanied them - whatever INAC's objections were , they had to be put aside in the interests of solidarity with the hunger strikers .
The vexing question of exactly how much cash was raised on that tour was made even more complex than usual with NORAID at this time : because it was in dispute with the U.S. Justice Department over the registration issue , the Committee was refusing to file its six-monthly financial returns . The last period for which those figures were available before 1984 , when the dispute was resolved , was January-July 1981 .
For this period , NORAID disclosed that it raised $92,800 , a startingly small sum considering the huge swell of support it was then getting .......
(MORE LATER).
A British 'sleight-of-hand' which caused a mutiny within British forces in Ireland.......
....... Joe Devlin was amongst those who objected to a Loyalist paramilitary organisation being armed by Westminster (the UVF) and being called a ' police force ' ; Devlin was a busy man - as well as other political jobs , he acted as General Secretary for the United Irish League (UIL)/Home Rule Party , from 1904 to 1920 .......
At 34 years of age , Joe Devlin served as the 'National President' of the Ancient Order of Hibernians , a position he held for 29 years (!) [until he died in 1934] , during which time he forged links between the Ancient Order of Hibernians and the United Irish League .
He first took a seat in Stormont in 1921 (at 50 years of age) [and stayed there until 1934] ; in 1928 (at 57 years of age) he founded , and Chaired , the 'National League of the North ' . Incidentally , he was not related to Bernadette Devlin or Paddy Devlin : end of that Joe Devlin 'tangent' !
Back to basics : in November 1920 , in Belfast , recruitment for the 'Specials' commenced ; the 'calibre' of these 'Specials' can be accurately gauged from an incident on 23rd January 1921 , when the RIC were called-out to investigate a claim that a pub in Clones , County Monaghan , was being destroyed by armed men .
Thinking it was an IRA Unit 'closing down' a pub because it served and sheltered enemy forces , the RIC 'tooled-up' and hit the road .......
(MORE LATER).
THE POLITICS OF H-BLOCK .
By Vincent Browne .
From 'MAGILL' magazine , December 1980 , pages 26 and 27 .
Re-published here in 10 parts .
(1 of 10).
The H-Block issue has caused divisions in Irish society deeper than any exposed during the last decade of troubles in the North . Not alone are the unionist and nationalist communities now sharply polarised again , but there has arisen the spectre of a deep and hostile division between the nationalist community in the North and the vast majority of the people of southern Ireland .
The degree of support for H-Block protestors in the Catholic areas of the North has witnessed no parallel , certainly not since the Civil Rights demonstrations of the late 1960's . The Roman Catholic community's alienation from the Provisional IRA was thought to be almost complete following a succession of atrocities , culminating in the La Mons disaster , and the very obvious support given to the 'Peace People' in 1976 .
Yet it was during the 'Peace Peoples' most notable triumphs on the streets of the Falls and Shankill that the H-Block issue started to germinate .
It was that summer that young Kieran Nugent started on his blanket protest , which seemed doomed to failure and a wall of public indifference .......
(MORE LATER).
NORAID'S UNTOLD MILLIONS .......
Irish-Americans have long had complex and contradictory relations with Ireland and the 'Irish Question' . On Saint Patrick's Day , all the ambiguities are apparent .
This year (ie 1987) , on Saint Patrick's Day , the latest book by Irish writer , Jack Holland was published in New York , exploring the tangled web of links between Irish-Americans and the Irish in Ireland , the IRA and the Irish government .
' The American Connection ' describes the activities of leading Irish-American politicians , of romanticising writers and of gun-runners .
In this edited extract , the author tells how Noraid was set up and how it has resisted pressures to disclose all the sources and uses of its funds .
First published in 'MAGILL' magazine , April 1987 .
Re-published here in 31 parts .
(24 of 31).
Objections were raised to Liz O'Hara's presence on the tour ; could'nt someone with more pure 'republican' connections be found ? Ironically , at the same time that some of NORAID's leaders were expressing these objections , ' The Irish People ' newspaper was praising Patsy O'Hara as a martyr .
In the end , Malachy McCreesh and Bobby Sands' brother , Sean , refused to go on the U.S. tour unless Liz O'Hara accompanied them - whatever INAC's objections were , they had to be put aside in the interests of solidarity with the hunger strikers .
The vexing question of exactly how much cash was raised on that tour was made even more complex than usual with NORAID at this time : because it was in dispute with the U.S. Justice Department over the registration issue , the Committee was refusing to file its six-monthly financial returns . The last period for which those figures were available before 1984 , when the dispute was resolved , was January-July 1981 .
For this period , NORAID disclosed that it raised $92,800 , a startingly small sum considering the huge swell of support it was then getting .......
(MORE LATER).
Friday, January 14, 2005
THE BOUNDARY COMMISSION , 1921-1925 .......
A British 'sleight-of-hand' which caused a mutiny within British forces in Ireland.......
....... in September 1920 , Westminster decided to arm " well-disposed citizens " in the Six County 'State' (ie those that were pro-British) , give them uniforms and call them a 'police force' - these were the 'Special Constabulary' , consisting of members of the UVF , an anti-Irish Loyalist paramilitary organisation .......
In October of 1920 , a Mr. J.R. Clynes of the British Labour Party voiced his concern , in Westminster , that the British Government were actully " arming the Orangemen " to " police their Catholic neighbours ... " in the Six County 'State' , while Joe Devlin ('United Irish League' - UIL) pointed out that 300 of the 'Special Constables' from the Lisburn area , had already " resigned in protest " because their " fellow Constables " would not stop looting their (Catholic) neighbours !
Mr. Devlin stated - " The Protestants are to be armed . Their pogrom is to be made less difficult . Instead of paving stones and sticks they are to be given rifles . " Joe Devlin led a busy life , but died young , at 63 years of age , in 1934 . A barman and journalist at the start of his working life , he was elected as a 'Home Rule MP' (British Parliament) for North Kilkenny in 1902 , at 31 years young , and held his seat until 1906 , when he was elected again , this time for the West Belfast area .
He was that area's representative in Westminster until 1922 ; he acted as General Secretary for the 'United Irish League' (UIL) / Home Rule Party , from 1904 to 1920 , and was also involved with the 'Ancient Order of Hibernians' .......
(MORE LATER).
PASSIONATE FRIEND .......
For the past thirteen years , British solicitor ALISTAIR LOGAN has pursued with dogged determination an almost single-handed campaign to prove the innocence of a number of Irish people convicted of bombings in Britain in the seventies .
DEREK DUNNE talks to him about his motivation and his experiences .
First published in ' IN DUBLIN ' magazine , No. 274 , 19th March 1987 , pages 8 and 9 .
Re-published here in 5 parts .
[ 5 of 5].
When Alistair Logan goes in to see Paul Hill or Gerry Conlon or Patrick Armstrong or Carole Richardson in prison , he says - " They will put their arm around my shoulder and say ' Don't worry , Alistair , the truth will come out .' Now , they are people who are serving an unending sentence for something they have'nt done . And at the moment , they have'nt the remotest prospect of being released .
And yet they have this belief in the truth which is totally at odds with the situation in which they find themselves . When you see the way they behave , you feel ashamed about the comfortableness of your life and the comfortableness of your belief's . "
Alistair Logan has spent the last thirteen of his forty-four years involved with the case ; now , there are very senior 'establishment' figures such as Cardinal Hume , Lord Devlin and Lord Scarman on his side . This intimidates people who hitherto would have tended to put him down and as a result they give Logan a lot of respect these days because they are wary of what he might be able to achieve .
Even people who believed that he was wrong in 1974 and 1984 , have now come to believe that this case has been a miscarriage of justice .
[END of ' PASSIONATE FRIEND ... '].
( Monday , 17th - ' THE POLITICS OF H-BLOCK ' : from 1980 ).
NORAID'S UNTOLD MILLIONS .......
Irish-Americans have long had complex and contradictory relations with Ireland and the 'Irish Question' . On Saint Patrick's Day , all the ambiguities are apparent .
This year (ie 1987) , on Saint Patrick's Day , the latest book by Irish writer , Jack Holland was published in New York , exploring the tangled web of links between Irish-Americans and the Irish in Ireland , the IRA and the Irish government .
' The American Connection ' describes the activities of leading Irish-American politicians , of romanticising writers and of gun-runners .
In this edited extract , the author tells how Noraid was set up and how it has resisted pressures to disclose all the sources and uses of its funds .
First published in 'MAGILL' magazine , April 1987 .
Re-published here in 31 parts .
(23 of 31).
The 1981 Hunger Strike brought feelings to a pitch ; as sympathy increased in the spring of 1981 , NORAID organised a tour by the relatives of the starving men . Bobby Sands' immediate successors on the hunger strike were Francis Hughes , Ray McCreesh , and Patsy O'Hara : Hughes died on May 12th , McCreesh and O'Hara nine days later .
Sands' brother Sean , and Malachy , the brother of Ray McCreesh , were available to come to the United States , and Patsy O'Hara had a sister , Liz , an attractive and vivacious woman who was at the same time outspoken and articulate .
Liz O'Hara was , on the surface , an ideal person to tour the United States ; however , there was a complication : like Bobby Sands , Ray McCreesh and Francis Hughes were both members of the IRA , but Patsy O'Hara belonged to the smaller , left-wing Irish National Liberation Army (INLA) .
Left-wing connections were a liability in Irish-American circles - some INAC activists feared that the 'Marxist' taint would counteract the kind of support the hunger strike was producing .......
(MORE LATER).
A British 'sleight-of-hand' which caused a mutiny within British forces in Ireland.......
....... in September 1920 , Westminster decided to arm " well-disposed citizens " in the Six County 'State' (ie those that were pro-British) , give them uniforms and call them a 'police force' - these were the 'Special Constabulary' , consisting of members of the UVF , an anti-Irish Loyalist paramilitary organisation .......
In October of 1920 , a Mr. J.R. Clynes of the British Labour Party voiced his concern , in Westminster , that the British Government were actully " arming the Orangemen " to " police their Catholic neighbours ... " in the Six County 'State' , while Joe Devlin ('United Irish League' - UIL) pointed out that 300 of the 'Special Constables' from the Lisburn area , had already " resigned in protest " because their " fellow Constables " would not stop looting their (Catholic) neighbours !
Mr. Devlin stated - " The Protestants are to be armed . Their pogrom is to be made less difficult . Instead of paving stones and sticks they are to be given rifles . " Joe Devlin led a busy life , but died young , at 63 years of age , in 1934 . A barman and journalist at the start of his working life , he was elected as a 'Home Rule MP' (British Parliament) for North Kilkenny in 1902 , at 31 years young , and held his seat until 1906 , when he was elected again , this time for the West Belfast area .
He was that area's representative in Westminster until 1922 ; he acted as General Secretary for the 'United Irish League' (UIL) / Home Rule Party , from 1904 to 1920 , and was also involved with the 'Ancient Order of Hibernians' .......
(MORE LATER).
PASSIONATE FRIEND .......
For the past thirteen years , British solicitor ALISTAIR LOGAN has pursued with dogged determination an almost single-handed campaign to prove the innocence of a number of Irish people convicted of bombings in Britain in the seventies .
DEREK DUNNE talks to him about his motivation and his experiences .
First published in ' IN DUBLIN ' magazine , No. 274 , 19th March 1987 , pages 8 and 9 .
Re-published here in 5 parts .
[ 5 of 5].
When Alistair Logan goes in to see Paul Hill or Gerry Conlon or Patrick Armstrong or Carole Richardson in prison , he says - " They will put their arm around my shoulder and say ' Don't worry , Alistair , the truth will come out .' Now , they are people who are serving an unending sentence for something they have'nt done . And at the moment , they have'nt the remotest prospect of being released .
And yet they have this belief in the truth which is totally at odds with the situation in which they find themselves . When you see the way they behave , you feel ashamed about the comfortableness of your life and the comfortableness of your belief's . "
Alistair Logan has spent the last thirteen of his forty-four years involved with the case ; now , there are very senior 'establishment' figures such as Cardinal Hume , Lord Devlin and Lord Scarman on his side . This intimidates people who hitherto would have tended to put him down and as a result they give Logan a lot of respect these days because they are wary of what he might be able to achieve .
Even people who believed that he was wrong in 1974 and 1984 , have now come to believe that this case has been a miscarriage of justice .
[END of ' PASSIONATE FRIEND ... '].
( Monday , 17th - ' THE POLITICS OF H-BLOCK ' : from 1980 ).
NORAID'S UNTOLD MILLIONS .......
Irish-Americans have long had complex and contradictory relations with Ireland and the 'Irish Question' . On Saint Patrick's Day , all the ambiguities are apparent .
This year (ie 1987) , on Saint Patrick's Day , the latest book by Irish writer , Jack Holland was published in New York , exploring the tangled web of links between Irish-Americans and the Irish in Ireland , the IRA and the Irish government .
' The American Connection ' describes the activities of leading Irish-American politicians , of romanticising writers and of gun-runners .
In this edited extract , the author tells how Noraid was set up and how it has resisted pressures to disclose all the sources and uses of its funds .
First published in 'MAGILL' magazine , April 1987 .
Re-published here in 31 parts .
(23 of 31).
The 1981 Hunger Strike brought feelings to a pitch ; as sympathy increased in the spring of 1981 , NORAID organised a tour by the relatives of the starving men . Bobby Sands' immediate successors on the hunger strike were Francis Hughes , Ray McCreesh , and Patsy O'Hara : Hughes died on May 12th , McCreesh and O'Hara nine days later .
Sands' brother Sean , and Malachy , the brother of Ray McCreesh , were available to come to the United States , and Patsy O'Hara had a sister , Liz , an attractive and vivacious woman who was at the same time outspoken and articulate .
Liz O'Hara was , on the surface , an ideal person to tour the United States ; however , there was a complication : like Bobby Sands , Ray McCreesh and Francis Hughes were both members of the IRA , but Patsy O'Hara belonged to the smaller , left-wing Irish National Liberation Army (INLA) .
Left-wing connections were a liability in Irish-American circles - some INAC activists feared that the 'Marxist' taint would counteract the kind of support the hunger strike was producing .......
(MORE LATER).
Thursday, January 13, 2005
THE BOUNDARY COMMISSION , 1921-1925 .......
A British 'sleight-of-hand' which caused a mutiny within British forces in Ireland.......
....... on 2nd September , 1920 , the Stormont 'Prime Minister' , 'Sir' James Craig , demanded that Westminster establish a " special constabulary " in the Six County 'State' ; the Brits looked at the existing ' Ulster Volunteer Force ' (UVF) , a pro-British armed paramilitary organisation , and decided to give them uniforms .......
Nationalists knew the danger of such a move for them - the UVF were not by any means 'neutral' in the conflict . The then ' Daily News ' newspaper stated , re the proposed establishment of the 'Specials' -
" The official proposal to arm "well-disposed" citizens to "assist the authorities" in Belfast raised serious questions of the sanity of the government . It seems the most outrageous thing which they have ever done in Ireland . A citizen of Belfast who is "well-disposed" to the British government is , almost from the nature of the case , an Orangeman , or at any rate , a vehement anti-Sinn Feiner .
These are the very same people who have been looting Catholic shops and driving thousands of Catholic women and children from their homes . " But all words of opposition , or even caution , were ignored .
Sixteen (16) battalions (approximately 10,000 armed men) were organised throughout the Six County area , with about three times that number (ie about 30,000 men) being placed in the areas where the battalion structure did'nt reach : approximately 40,000 fully-armed and , for the most part , militarily-trained men , in all .
It was'nt only Nationalist and Republican's that were aware of the potential for trouble that could come from arming one section of a population - voices were raised in Westminster itself , against such a move .......
(MORE LATER).
PASSIONATE FRIEND .......
For the past thirteen years , British solicitor ALISTAIR LOGAN has pursued with dogged determination an almost single-handed campaign to prove the innocence of a number of Irish people convicted of bombings in Britain in the seventies .
DEREK DUNNE talks to him about his motivation and his experiences .
First published in ' IN DUBLIN ' magazine , No. 274 , 19th March 1987 , pages 8 and 9 .
Re-published here in 5 parts .
( 4 of 5).
The case , Alistair Logan says , " never leaves you , it is always there ... " . He was a middle-class solicitor in the Stock Broker belt in Surrey trying to get established when he took the case on . He had " notions of justice " which were a product of his upbringing and schooling and training as a lawyer .
" I did not believe that this sort of thing could happen , and in that sense I grew-up on the case . I could'nt even understand the Belfast accent when I started and it was three or four weeks before I was getting every second word from Patrick Armstrong (one of those convicted) ." The Guildford Case brought him into the areas of prisoners' rights and into the European Court of Human Rights - areas where he would not otherwise have gone .
The case has changed him in some ways ; " I'm not completely changed and I think the fundamental values still remain . We invest in judges but some of them have shown themselves capable of abusing their position , and that applies to politicians and to police officers . I no longer trust authority and I actually believe that authority will be abused . I can not now read a newspaper without first questioning the political standpoint of the person who wrote the article or the newspaper which published it , and wanting to know what is missing .
It has taught me that there are certain basic things about people which cannot change . "
(MORE LATER).
NORAID'S UNTOLD MILLIONS .......
Irish-Americans have long had complex and contradictory relations with Ireland and the 'Irish Question' . On Saint Patrick's Day , all the ambiguities are apparent .
This year (ie 1987) , on Saint Patrick's Day , the latest book by Irish writer , Jack Holland was published in New York , exploring the tangled web of links between Irish-Americans and the Irish in Ireland , the IRA and the Irish government .
' The American Connection ' describes the activities of leading Irish-American politicians , of romanticising writers and of gun-runners .
In this edited extract , the author tells how Noraid was set up and how it has resisted pressures to disclose all the sources and uses of its funds .
First published in 'MAGILL' magazine , April 1987 .
Re-published here in 31 parts .
(22 of 31).
In the fall of 1980 , NORAID smuggled two former prisoners , Fra McCann and Liam Carlin , into the U.S. to talk about conditions in Long Kesh Prison ; they toured American cities , hosted by one INAC Unit after another , giving interviews to the press and other media . Slowly , interest began to revive , not only through direct contact with the prisoners who had been brought over , but also because Irish-Americans could see the increasingly large demonstrations that were being reported from Belfast and Dublin .
Those demonstrations were in favour of the prisoners' demands for recognition of their political status . The change was reflected in the increase in the funds NORAID reported ; almost $70,000 for the perion between July 1980 and January 1981 , as compared with just over $50,000 for the previous six months .......
(MORE LATER).
A British 'sleight-of-hand' which caused a mutiny within British forces in Ireland.......
....... on 2nd September , 1920 , the Stormont 'Prime Minister' , 'Sir' James Craig , demanded that Westminster establish a " special constabulary " in the Six County 'State' ; the Brits looked at the existing ' Ulster Volunteer Force ' (UVF) , a pro-British armed paramilitary organisation , and decided to give them uniforms .......
Nationalists knew the danger of such a move for them - the UVF were not by any means 'neutral' in the conflict . The then ' Daily News ' newspaper stated , re the proposed establishment of the 'Specials' -
" The official proposal to arm "well-disposed" citizens to "assist the authorities" in Belfast raised serious questions of the sanity of the government . It seems the most outrageous thing which they have ever done in Ireland . A citizen of Belfast who is "well-disposed" to the British government is , almost from the nature of the case , an Orangeman , or at any rate , a vehement anti-Sinn Feiner .
These are the very same people who have been looting Catholic shops and driving thousands of Catholic women and children from their homes . " But all words of opposition , or even caution , were ignored .
Sixteen (16) battalions (approximately 10,000 armed men) were organised throughout the Six County area , with about three times that number (ie about 30,000 men) being placed in the areas where the battalion structure did'nt reach : approximately 40,000 fully-armed and , for the most part , militarily-trained men , in all .
It was'nt only Nationalist and Republican's that were aware of the potential for trouble that could come from arming one section of a population - voices were raised in Westminster itself , against such a move .......
(MORE LATER).
PASSIONATE FRIEND .......
For the past thirteen years , British solicitor ALISTAIR LOGAN has pursued with dogged determination an almost single-handed campaign to prove the innocence of a number of Irish people convicted of bombings in Britain in the seventies .
DEREK DUNNE talks to him about his motivation and his experiences .
First published in ' IN DUBLIN ' magazine , No. 274 , 19th March 1987 , pages 8 and 9 .
Re-published here in 5 parts .
( 4 of 5).
The case , Alistair Logan says , " never leaves you , it is always there ... " . He was a middle-class solicitor in the Stock Broker belt in Surrey trying to get established when he took the case on . He had " notions of justice " which were a product of his upbringing and schooling and training as a lawyer .
" I did not believe that this sort of thing could happen , and in that sense I grew-up on the case . I could'nt even understand the Belfast accent when I started and it was three or four weeks before I was getting every second word from Patrick Armstrong (one of those convicted) ." The Guildford Case brought him into the areas of prisoners' rights and into the European Court of Human Rights - areas where he would not otherwise have gone .
The case has changed him in some ways ; " I'm not completely changed and I think the fundamental values still remain . We invest in judges but some of them have shown themselves capable of abusing their position , and that applies to politicians and to police officers . I no longer trust authority and I actually believe that authority will be abused . I can not now read a newspaper without first questioning the political standpoint of the person who wrote the article or the newspaper which published it , and wanting to know what is missing .
It has taught me that there are certain basic things about people which cannot change . "
(MORE LATER).
NORAID'S UNTOLD MILLIONS .......
Irish-Americans have long had complex and contradictory relations with Ireland and the 'Irish Question' . On Saint Patrick's Day , all the ambiguities are apparent .
This year (ie 1987) , on Saint Patrick's Day , the latest book by Irish writer , Jack Holland was published in New York , exploring the tangled web of links between Irish-Americans and the Irish in Ireland , the IRA and the Irish government .
' The American Connection ' describes the activities of leading Irish-American politicians , of romanticising writers and of gun-runners .
In this edited extract , the author tells how Noraid was set up and how it has resisted pressures to disclose all the sources and uses of its funds .
First published in 'MAGILL' magazine , April 1987 .
Re-published here in 31 parts .
(22 of 31).
In the fall of 1980 , NORAID smuggled two former prisoners , Fra McCann and Liam Carlin , into the U.S. to talk about conditions in Long Kesh Prison ; they toured American cities , hosted by one INAC Unit after another , giving interviews to the press and other media . Slowly , interest began to revive , not only through direct contact with the prisoners who had been brought over , but also because Irish-Americans could see the increasingly large demonstrations that were being reported from Belfast and Dublin .
Those demonstrations were in favour of the prisoners' demands for recognition of their political status . The change was reflected in the increase in the funds NORAID reported ; almost $70,000 for the perion between July 1980 and January 1981 , as compared with just over $50,000 for the previous six months .......
(MORE LATER).
Wednesday, January 12, 2005
THE BOUNDARY COMMISSION , 1921-1925 .......
A British 'sleight-of-hand' which caused a mutiny within British forces in Ireland.......
....... on 7th October 1924 , Stormont 'Prime Minister' , 'Sir' James Craig , delivered a speech in that institution in which he 'reminded' the Westminster Government that there were 40,000 armed men in the Six County 'State' who were , like him , not prepared to accept an " unfavourable " decision by the Boundary Commission .......
'Sir' James stated that he and his men would take any steps necessary " to defend their territory ... " (sic) ; he was referring to the 'Ulster (sic) Special Constabulary Association' , which was organised in three groups - the full-time A Specials , the part-time B Specials , and an 'on-call' (" loose category ") of C Specials .
The A Specials lived in barracks' and were used as re-inforcements for the RIC ; the B Specials concentrated on street-patrols and setting-up checkpoints , while the C Specials had no specific duties but were 'on call' as an armed militia .
Incidentally , when 'Sir' James Craig (Stormont 'Prime Minister') demanded the establishment of " a special Constabulary " for the Six County area (which he did , at a meeting in London on 2nd September 1920) he had only to wait six days for a reply - on 8th September 1920 , Westminster agreed that a force of " loyal citizens " should be raised - the then 'Ulster Volunteer Force' (UVF) , an armed pro-British paramilitary organisation in the Six Counties was , effectively , to become a ('legitimate') force of ' Special Constabulary ' - with a simple change of uniform !
It is arguably the position that this was the first instance of Westminster treating the Six County 'State' as a separate unit from what they alleged to believe was the 'United Kingdom' . However - the fact that Westminster was about to 'dress-up' a Loyalist militia as a ' Police Force ' , and arm same , sent shock-waves into the Nationalist community .......
(MORE LATER).
PASSIONATE FRIEND .......
For the past thirteen years , British solicitor ALISTAIR LOGAN has pursued with dogged determination an almost single-handed campaign to prove the innocence of a number of Irish people convicted of bombings in Britain in the seventies .
DEREK DUNNE talks to him about his motivation and his experiences .
First published in ' IN DUBLIN ' magazine , No. 274 , 19th March 1987 , pages 8 and 9 .
Re-published here in 5 parts .
( 3 of 5).
Alistair Logan received death threats from the 'National Front' and went to the police with them - they fell over laughing . He says they could have found out who had written the threats - they were posted in West Glamorgan and one of them indicated that one of the people responsible was related to one of those who had been injured in the pub in Guildford .
Friends and relatives have said to Alistair Logan that he has become " obsessive " about the case , but he would say it was a matter of conscience and determination . People , he says , tend to look at the case in hand rather than the wider issues : " If you are a believer in a democratic system and an impartial system of justice , cases of this nature are extremely important , because ultimately it depends on power and it's power which has caused these people to go into prison . "
In the event of the latest appeal failing , Logan would be prepared to go on doing it . At present , the case takes about one day out of every week , and he finances the entire campaign himself , flying to Ireland to attend meetings and so on .
" One of our battles is to keep the case in the public eye and it's very difficult to do that . There are so many other things going on ....... "
(MORE LATER).
NORAID'S UNTOLD MILLIONS .......
Irish-Americans have long had complex and contradictory relations with Ireland and the 'Irish Question' . On Saint Patrick's Day , all the ambiguities are apparent .
This year (ie 1987) , on Saint Patrick's Day , the latest book by Irish writer , Jack Holland was published in New York , exploring the tangled web of links between Irish-Americans and the Irish in Ireland , the IRA and the Irish government .
' The American Connection ' describes the activities of leading Irish-American politicians , of romanticising writers and of gun-runners .
In this edited extract , the author tells how Noraid was set up and how it has resisted pressures to disclose all the sources and uses of its funds .
First published in 'MAGILL' magazine , April 1987 .
Re-published here in 31 parts .
(21 of 31).
NORAID's lawyers and F.A.R.A. representatives met in court ; the battle was waged for four years - in 1981 , the courts found against NORAID , ordering it to register as an agent of the IRA . While appeals were heard , NORAID refused to file returns , in protest .
The wrangle lasted until the U.S. Justice Department threatened to sue NORAID for contempt of court in late 1983 ; early in 1984 , the court gave the Committee ninty days to comply with its ruling . Finally , something of a compromise was reached : NORAID agreed to file as an agent of the IRA , but with the stipulation that it be allowed to add that it had done so only under the court order .
The court agreed , and NORAID registered in the summer of 1984 , naming its " foreign principal " as the IRA " ... as ordered by the court ... " . During the period in which NORAID was facing the court order to file as an agent of the IRA , it was undergoing the greatest resurgence of sympathy and support it had ever experienced .......
(MORE LATER).
A British 'sleight-of-hand' which caused a mutiny within British forces in Ireland.......
....... on 7th October 1924 , Stormont 'Prime Minister' , 'Sir' James Craig , delivered a speech in that institution in which he 'reminded' the Westminster Government that there were 40,000 armed men in the Six County 'State' who were , like him , not prepared to accept an " unfavourable " decision by the Boundary Commission .......
'Sir' James stated that he and his men would take any steps necessary " to defend their territory ... " (sic) ; he was referring to the 'Ulster (sic) Special Constabulary Association' , which was organised in three groups - the full-time A Specials , the part-time B Specials , and an 'on-call' (" loose category ") of C Specials .
The A Specials lived in barracks' and were used as re-inforcements for the RIC ; the B Specials concentrated on street-patrols and setting-up checkpoints , while the C Specials had no specific duties but were 'on call' as an armed militia .
Incidentally , when 'Sir' James Craig (Stormont 'Prime Minister') demanded the establishment of " a special Constabulary " for the Six County area (which he did , at a meeting in London on 2nd September 1920) he had only to wait six days for a reply - on 8th September 1920 , Westminster agreed that a force of " loyal citizens " should be raised - the then 'Ulster Volunteer Force' (UVF) , an armed pro-British paramilitary organisation in the Six Counties was , effectively , to become a ('legitimate') force of ' Special Constabulary ' - with a simple change of uniform !
It is arguably the position that this was the first instance of Westminster treating the Six County 'State' as a separate unit from what they alleged to believe was the 'United Kingdom' . However - the fact that Westminster was about to 'dress-up' a Loyalist militia as a ' Police Force ' , and arm same , sent shock-waves into the Nationalist community .......
(MORE LATER).
PASSIONATE FRIEND .......
For the past thirteen years , British solicitor ALISTAIR LOGAN has pursued with dogged determination an almost single-handed campaign to prove the innocence of a number of Irish people convicted of bombings in Britain in the seventies .
DEREK DUNNE talks to him about his motivation and his experiences .
First published in ' IN DUBLIN ' magazine , No. 274 , 19th March 1987 , pages 8 and 9 .
Re-published here in 5 parts .
( 3 of 5).
Alistair Logan received death threats from the 'National Front' and went to the police with them - they fell over laughing . He says they could have found out who had written the threats - they were posted in West Glamorgan and one of them indicated that one of the people responsible was related to one of those who had been injured in the pub in Guildford .
Friends and relatives have said to Alistair Logan that he has become " obsessive " about the case , but he would say it was a matter of conscience and determination . People , he says , tend to look at the case in hand rather than the wider issues : " If you are a believer in a democratic system and an impartial system of justice , cases of this nature are extremely important , because ultimately it depends on power and it's power which has caused these people to go into prison . "
In the event of the latest appeal failing , Logan would be prepared to go on doing it . At present , the case takes about one day out of every week , and he finances the entire campaign himself , flying to Ireland to attend meetings and so on .
" One of our battles is to keep the case in the public eye and it's very difficult to do that . There are so many other things going on ....... "
(MORE LATER).
NORAID'S UNTOLD MILLIONS .......
Irish-Americans have long had complex and contradictory relations with Ireland and the 'Irish Question' . On Saint Patrick's Day , all the ambiguities are apparent .
This year (ie 1987) , on Saint Patrick's Day , the latest book by Irish writer , Jack Holland was published in New York , exploring the tangled web of links between Irish-Americans and the Irish in Ireland , the IRA and the Irish government .
' The American Connection ' describes the activities of leading Irish-American politicians , of romanticising writers and of gun-runners .
In this edited extract , the author tells how Noraid was set up and how it has resisted pressures to disclose all the sources and uses of its funds .
First published in 'MAGILL' magazine , April 1987 .
Re-published here in 31 parts .
(21 of 31).
NORAID's lawyers and F.A.R.A. representatives met in court ; the battle was waged for four years - in 1981 , the courts found against NORAID , ordering it to register as an agent of the IRA . While appeals were heard , NORAID refused to file returns , in protest .
The wrangle lasted until the U.S. Justice Department threatened to sue NORAID for contempt of court in late 1983 ; early in 1984 , the court gave the Committee ninty days to comply with its ruling . Finally , something of a compromise was reached : NORAID agreed to file as an agent of the IRA , but with the stipulation that it be allowed to add that it had done so only under the court order .
The court agreed , and NORAID registered in the summer of 1984 , naming its " foreign principal " as the IRA " ... as ordered by the court ... " . During the period in which NORAID was facing the court order to file as an agent of the IRA , it was undergoing the greatest resurgence of sympathy and support it had ever experienced .......
(MORE LATER).
Tuesday, January 11, 2005
THE BOUNDARY COMMISSION , 1921-1925 .......
A British 'sleight-of-hand' which caused a mutiny within British forces in Ireland.......
....... on 3rd December 1925 at a meeting in Downing Street in London , Free State President William Cosgrave and his 'Minister for Home Affairs' , Kevin O'Higgins , agreed that there should be no change to Britains imposed 'border' in Ireland , that the 'Council of Ireland' be scraped and that monies received from the Brits by way of financial compensation for the damage that Westminster's Black and Tans caused in Ireland would be re-paid ! Those Free State gombeens also agreed to continue paying land annuities to the British Exchequer ....... !
On their return to Dublin a few days later , Cosgrave and O'Higgins , after selling-out to the Brits once more , stuck their chests out and declared - " Today we have sown the seeds of peace ... " ! Bullshit 'spin-doctors' .
And to ensure that nobody could find out just how those " seeds of peace " had been 'won' , it was not only agreed that the Boundary Commission be revoked , but also that its 'findings' be kept hidden ; it was only published 44 years later , in 1969 !
Another episode relating to the Boundary Commission centres around the speech which the Stormont 'Prime Minister' , 'Sir' James Craig , delivered in said institution on 7th October 1924 , in which he 'reminded' the Westminster Government that he had 40,000 armed men who , like him , were not prepared to accept an " unfavourable " decision by the Boundary Commission and would take any steps necessary " to defend their territory ... " (ie - the Six County 'State') .
'Sir' Craig was referring to the 'Ulster (sic) Special Constabulary Association ' .......
(MORE LATER).
PASSIONATE FRIEND .......
For the past thirteen years , British solicitor ALISTAIR LOGAN has pursued with dogged determination an almost single-handed campaign to prove the innocence of a number of Irish people convicted of bombings in Britain in the seventies .
DEREK DUNNE talks to him about his motivation and his experiences .
First published in ' IN DUBLIN ' magazine , No. 274 , 19th March 1987 , pages 8 and 9 .
Re-published here in 5 parts .
( 2 of 5).
Alistair Logan was practicing in Guildford about three years at that time and was slightly afraid of taking the case ; firstly because it was so big , secondly because of the " attitude of the community ... " and thirdly because , unless he was prepared to go around saying that it was a " terrible job to have to act on behalf of these bastards .. " - under sufference - he was in trouble .
" If one was going to say that one had serious doubts about whether or not these people were guilty of the offences , it was going to cause a lot of trouble ... " At that time , as now , there was considerable anti-Irish hysteria in Britain due partly to the bombing campaign that was being carried out by the people later captured at Balcombe Street ; Alistair Logan was threatened by the National Front because of his involvement in defending his clients -
- " I was ostracised . I was sentenced to death by the National Front . I got hate mail . My car was done over . I published a letter in 'The Times' in which I asserted the innocence of the people involved and I got formal notification of sentence of death by the National Front . There was very great detail as to how they were going to carry it out - I would be taken out to one of the army ranges and dismembered whilst I was alive , and a variety of other things would be done to me . "
That letter from the National Front was " the straw that broke the camel's back ... " and his marriage broke up .......
(MORE LATER).
NORAID'S UNTOLD MILLIONS .......
Irish-Americans have long had complex and contradictory relations with Ireland and the 'Irish Question' . On Saint Patrick's Day , all the ambiguities are apparent .
This year (ie 1987) , on Saint Patrick's Day , the latest book by Irish writer , Jack Holland was published in New York , exploring the tangled web of links between Irish-Americans and the Irish in Ireland , the IRA and the Irish government .
' The American Connection ' describes the activities of leading Irish-American politicians , of romanticising writers and of gun-runners .
In this edited extract , the author tells how Noraid was set up and how it has resisted pressures to disclose all the sources and uses of its funds .
First published in 'MAGILL' magazine , April 1987 .
Re-published here in 31 parts .
(20 of 31).
The U.S. Justice Department was not allowing this decline in INAC support to prevent it from pressing forward with its aim of proving NORAID in violation of FARA statues and of reducing its fund-raising efforts even more . Early in 1976 , it was decided that there was now enough evidence to file suit against the INAC to demand that it declare as its 'foreign principal' not the Belfast Northern Aid Committee or the Green Cross , but the Irish Republican Army .
An attack on NORAID was also launched from a different quarter - the year 1977 witnessed the first St. Patrick's Day appeal from the most powerful Irish-American politicians ; Senators Edward Kennedy and Daniel Moynihan , New York State Governor Hugh Carey , and House Speaker Tip O'Neill , directed at Irish Americans , asking them to stop supporting organisations connected to violence .
Though NORAID was not actually named in their statement , it was obviously the target . NORAID's lawyers fought back , accusing the U.S. Government of using FARA as an excuse to interfere with their fund-raising .......
(MORE LATER).
A British 'sleight-of-hand' which caused a mutiny within British forces in Ireland.......
....... on 3rd December 1925 at a meeting in Downing Street in London , Free State President William Cosgrave and his 'Minister for Home Affairs' , Kevin O'Higgins , agreed that there should be no change to Britains imposed 'border' in Ireland , that the 'Council of Ireland' be scraped and that monies received from the Brits by way of financial compensation for the damage that Westminster's Black and Tans caused in Ireland would be re-paid ! Those Free State gombeens also agreed to continue paying land annuities to the British Exchequer ....... !
On their return to Dublin a few days later , Cosgrave and O'Higgins , after selling-out to the Brits once more , stuck their chests out and declared - " Today we have sown the seeds of peace ... " ! Bullshit 'spin-doctors' .
And to ensure that nobody could find out just how those " seeds of peace " had been 'won' , it was not only agreed that the Boundary Commission be revoked , but also that its 'findings' be kept hidden ; it was only published 44 years later , in 1969 !
Another episode relating to the Boundary Commission centres around the speech which the Stormont 'Prime Minister' , 'Sir' James Craig , delivered in said institution on 7th October 1924 , in which he 'reminded' the Westminster Government that he had 40,000 armed men who , like him , were not prepared to accept an " unfavourable " decision by the Boundary Commission and would take any steps necessary " to defend their territory ... " (ie - the Six County 'State') .
'Sir' Craig was referring to the 'Ulster (sic) Special Constabulary Association ' .......
(MORE LATER).
PASSIONATE FRIEND .......
For the past thirteen years , British solicitor ALISTAIR LOGAN has pursued with dogged determination an almost single-handed campaign to prove the innocence of a number of Irish people convicted of bombings in Britain in the seventies .
DEREK DUNNE talks to him about his motivation and his experiences .
First published in ' IN DUBLIN ' magazine , No. 274 , 19th March 1987 , pages 8 and 9 .
Re-published here in 5 parts .
( 2 of 5).
Alistair Logan was practicing in Guildford about three years at that time and was slightly afraid of taking the case ; firstly because it was so big , secondly because of the " attitude of the community ... " and thirdly because , unless he was prepared to go around saying that it was a " terrible job to have to act on behalf of these bastards .. " - under sufference - he was in trouble .
" If one was going to say that one had serious doubts about whether or not these people were guilty of the offences , it was going to cause a lot of trouble ... " At that time , as now , there was considerable anti-Irish hysteria in Britain due partly to the bombing campaign that was being carried out by the people later captured at Balcombe Street ; Alistair Logan was threatened by the National Front because of his involvement in defending his clients -
- " I was ostracised . I was sentenced to death by the National Front . I got hate mail . My car was done over . I published a letter in 'The Times' in which I asserted the innocence of the people involved and I got formal notification of sentence of death by the National Front . There was very great detail as to how they were going to carry it out - I would be taken out to one of the army ranges and dismembered whilst I was alive , and a variety of other things would be done to me . "
That letter from the National Front was " the straw that broke the camel's back ... " and his marriage broke up .......
(MORE LATER).
NORAID'S UNTOLD MILLIONS .......
Irish-Americans have long had complex and contradictory relations with Ireland and the 'Irish Question' . On Saint Patrick's Day , all the ambiguities are apparent .
This year (ie 1987) , on Saint Patrick's Day , the latest book by Irish writer , Jack Holland was published in New York , exploring the tangled web of links between Irish-Americans and the Irish in Ireland , the IRA and the Irish government .
' The American Connection ' describes the activities of leading Irish-American politicians , of romanticising writers and of gun-runners .
In this edited extract , the author tells how Noraid was set up and how it has resisted pressures to disclose all the sources and uses of its funds .
First published in 'MAGILL' magazine , April 1987 .
Re-published here in 31 parts .
(20 of 31).
The U.S. Justice Department was not allowing this decline in INAC support to prevent it from pressing forward with its aim of proving NORAID in violation of FARA statues and of reducing its fund-raising efforts even more . Early in 1976 , it was decided that there was now enough evidence to file suit against the INAC to demand that it declare as its 'foreign principal' not the Belfast Northern Aid Committee or the Green Cross , but the Irish Republican Army .
An attack on NORAID was also launched from a different quarter - the year 1977 witnessed the first St. Patrick's Day appeal from the most powerful Irish-American politicians ; Senators Edward Kennedy and Daniel Moynihan , New York State Governor Hugh Carey , and House Speaker Tip O'Neill , directed at Irish Americans , asking them to stop supporting organisations connected to violence .
Though NORAID was not actually named in their statement , it was obviously the target . NORAID's lawyers fought back , accusing the U.S. Government of using FARA as an excuse to interfere with their fund-raising .......
(MORE LATER).
Monday, January 10, 2005
THE BOUNDARY COMMISSION , 1921-1925 .......
A British 'sleight-of-hand' which caused a mutiny within British forces in Ireland.......
....... with 'their man' on the Boundary Commission (Eoin MacNeill) gone from that body (and , indeed , gone from Leinster House as well !) the Free State President , William Cosgrave , and his 'Minister for Home Affairs' , Kevin O'Higgins , arrived in Downing Street in London for a meeting with British Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin and Stormont 'Prime Minister' 'Sir' James Craig - that was on the 25th November 1925 . Within nine days (ie by the 3rd December 1925) , the Free Staters had been 'sold' another 'pup' by the Brits ....... !
On the 3rd December 1925 , all those present at a meeting (ie all those mentioned in the intro.) agreed that the 'border' , as fixed 5 years earlier in the ' 1920 Government of Ireland Act ' and as stated in the 1921 Treaty of Surrender , would so remain , and an agreement was signed to that effect by those present . But the Brits , no doubt smelling fear and relief at the same time from the Free Staters , wanted more 'concessions' .......
.......they pushed for , and got , a separate agreement that the 'Council of Ireland' (a 'talking-shop' which the 1921 Treaty promised to set-up) be scraped (even though it had not , in fact , ever been established !) , and , as a final insult to the Free State muppets , the Brits demanded that they repay the compensation which Westminster had paid to them for damage which the Brits themselves had caused in Ireland during the Black and Tan War !
And , in for a (British) penny , in for a (British) pound - no doubt by now realising the 'calibre' of the men they were up against , the Brits also insisted , and again, got , a commitment from the Free Staters that they would continue to pay land annuities to the British Exchequer !
The British Government 'leak' of mis-information to the 'London Morning Post' newspaper (on 7th November 1925) had worked as intended ; put the fear of God into the Free Staters and paid handsome dividends to the Brits . That is , of course , unless you believe the Free State version of how that meeting went .......
(MORE LATER).
PASSIONATE FRIEND .
For the past thirteen years , British solicitor ALISTAIR LOGAN has pursued with dogged determination an almost single-handed campaign to prove the innocence of a number of Irish people convicted of bombings in Britain in the seventies .
DEREK DUNNE talks to him about his motivation and his experiences .
First published in ' IN DUBLIN ' magazine , No. 274 , 19th March 1987 , pages 8 and 9 .
Re-published here in 5 parts .
( 1 of 5).
In 1975 , eleven people were wrongly convicted of the Guildford and Woolwich pub bombings in Britain the previous year . In the past eighteen months , there have been numerous television programmes about the case and British Home Secretary Douglas Hurd has finally sent the convictions back to the Court of Criminal Appeal for reconsideration .
One man , solicitor Alistair Logan , was mainly responsible for that gain , but his single-mindedness has cost him dearly ; it is now generally accepted that the eleven people are innocent , and should not be in jail . But Alistair Logan did'nt even want the case in the first instance - " I was on the panel of legal aid solicitors and they rang me up one morning and asked if I'd take the case of the Guildford bombers - thats exactly how they put it - and I said 'No' . I was a sole practitoner at the time and I felt that a case of that size would be too big for me to handle .
And they rang me back two hours later and said nobody else would take the case , so I said 'okay'....... "
(MORE LATER).
NORAID'S UNTOLD MILLIONS .......
Irish-Americans have long had complex and contradictory relations with Ireland and the 'Irish Question' . On Saint Patrick's Day , all the ambiguities are apparent .
This year (ie 1987) , on Saint Patrick's Day , the latest book by Irish writer , Jack Holland was published in New York , exploring the tangled web of links between Irish-Americans and the Irish in Ireland , the IRA and the Irish government .
' The American Connection ' describes the activities of leading Irish-American politicians , of romanticising writers and of gun-runners .
In this edited extract , the author tells how Noraid was set up and how it has resisted pressures to disclose all the sources and uses of its funds .
First published in 'MAGILL' magazine , April 1987 .
Re-published here in 31 parts .
(19 of 31).
Other NORAID activists were brought before the courts in places as far apart as Butte , Montana , and Baltimore to face weapons-smuggling charges ; on February 14th , 1974 , Federal Agents scored a 'coup' in New York - Treasury Department Agents arrested James Conlon and Michael Larkin , accusing them of conspiring to smuggle twenty thousand dollars' worth of arms , purchased at a Maryland gun shop owned by William Westerfund .
Westerfund was also arrested , as were two other Irish-American activists , Harry Hillick and Kieran MacMahon . Involved were one hundred Armalite rifles , which they were alleged to have obtained from William Westerfund .
All went to prison - James Conlon , who was in poor health , died soon after his release . From around this time , in the mid-1970's , NORAID's filings show a sharp decrease in funds . in 1975 , their returns reveal that for the first time the yearly collections dropped below $200,000 ; during 1975 , $174,000 was reported . The following year the amount fell to $119,500 , and the decline continued into 1977 , when the INAC registered collections of only $108,000 .......
(MORE LATER).
(If Mr. Peter Knox from Australia is reading this : I am unable to locate any further information on that person - I tried a number of times to contact you on the e-mail address you gave me , but my letters were , as Elvis would say , 'returned to sender' ! Sorry its not better news ; Sharon ).
A British 'sleight-of-hand' which caused a mutiny within British forces in Ireland.......
....... with 'their man' on the Boundary Commission (Eoin MacNeill) gone from that body (and , indeed , gone from Leinster House as well !) the Free State President , William Cosgrave , and his 'Minister for Home Affairs' , Kevin O'Higgins , arrived in Downing Street in London for a meeting with British Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin and Stormont 'Prime Minister' 'Sir' James Craig - that was on the 25th November 1925 . Within nine days (ie by the 3rd December 1925) , the Free Staters had been 'sold' another 'pup' by the Brits ....... !
On the 3rd December 1925 , all those present at a meeting (ie all those mentioned in the intro.) agreed that the 'border' , as fixed 5 years earlier in the ' 1920 Government of Ireland Act ' and as stated in the 1921 Treaty of Surrender , would so remain , and an agreement was signed to that effect by those present . But the Brits , no doubt smelling fear and relief at the same time from the Free Staters , wanted more 'concessions' .......
.......they pushed for , and got , a separate agreement that the 'Council of Ireland' (a 'talking-shop' which the 1921 Treaty promised to set-up) be scraped (even though it had not , in fact , ever been established !) , and , as a final insult to the Free State muppets , the Brits demanded that they repay the compensation which Westminster had paid to them for damage which the Brits themselves had caused in Ireland during the Black and Tan War !
And , in for a (British) penny , in for a (British) pound - no doubt by now realising the 'calibre' of the men they were up against , the Brits also insisted , and again, got , a commitment from the Free Staters that they would continue to pay land annuities to the British Exchequer !
The British Government 'leak' of mis-information to the 'London Morning Post' newspaper (on 7th November 1925) had worked as intended ; put the fear of God into the Free Staters and paid handsome dividends to the Brits . That is , of course , unless you believe the Free State version of how that meeting went .......
(MORE LATER).
PASSIONATE FRIEND .
For the past thirteen years , British solicitor ALISTAIR LOGAN has pursued with dogged determination an almost single-handed campaign to prove the innocence of a number of Irish people convicted of bombings in Britain in the seventies .
DEREK DUNNE talks to him about his motivation and his experiences .
First published in ' IN DUBLIN ' magazine , No. 274 , 19th March 1987 , pages 8 and 9 .
Re-published here in 5 parts .
( 1 of 5).
In 1975 , eleven people were wrongly convicted of the Guildford and Woolwich pub bombings in Britain the previous year . In the past eighteen months , there have been numerous television programmes about the case and British Home Secretary Douglas Hurd has finally sent the convictions back to the Court of Criminal Appeal for reconsideration .
One man , solicitor Alistair Logan , was mainly responsible for that gain , but his single-mindedness has cost him dearly ; it is now generally accepted that the eleven people are innocent , and should not be in jail . But Alistair Logan did'nt even want the case in the first instance - " I was on the panel of legal aid solicitors and they rang me up one morning and asked if I'd take the case of the Guildford bombers - thats exactly how they put it - and I said 'No' . I was a sole practitoner at the time and I felt that a case of that size would be too big for me to handle .
And they rang me back two hours later and said nobody else would take the case , so I said 'okay'....... "
(MORE LATER).
NORAID'S UNTOLD MILLIONS .......
Irish-Americans have long had complex and contradictory relations with Ireland and the 'Irish Question' . On Saint Patrick's Day , all the ambiguities are apparent .
This year (ie 1987) , on Saint Patrick's Day , the latest book by Irish writer , Jack Holland was published in New York , exploring the tangled web of links between Irish-Americans and the Irish in Ireland , the IRA and the Irish government .
' The American Connection ' describes the activities of leading Irish-American politicians , of romanticising writers and of gun-runners .
In this edited extract , the author tells how Noraid was set up and how it has resisted pressures to disclose all the sources and uses of its funds .
First published in 'MAGILL' magazine , April 1987 .
Re-published here in 31 parts .
(19 of 31).
Other NORAID activists were brought before the courts in places as far apart as Butte , Montana , and Baltimore to face weapons-smuggling charges ; on February 14th , 1974 , Federal Agents scored a 'coup' in New York - Treasury Department Agents arrested James Conlon and Michael Larkin , accusing them of conspiring to smuggle twenty thousand dollars' worth of arms , purchased at a Maryland gun shop owned by William Westerfund .
Westerfund was also arrested , as were two other Irish-American activists , Harry Hillick and Kieran MacMahon . Involved were one hundred Armalite rifles , which they were alleged to have obtained from William Westerfund .
All went to prison - James Conlon , who was in poor health , died soon after his release . From around this time , in the mid-1970's , NORAID's filings show a sharp decrease in funds . in 1975 , their returns reveal that for the first time the yearly collections dropped below $200,000 ; during 1975 , $174,000 was reported . The following year the amount fell to $119,500 , and the decline continued into 1977 , when the INAC registered collections of only $108,000 .......
(MORE LATER).
(If Mr. Peter Knox from Australia is reading this : I am unable to locate any further information on that person - I tried a number of times to contact you on the e-mail address you gave me , but my letters were , as Elvis would say , 'returned to sender' ! Sorry its not better news ; Sharon ).
Friday, January 07, 2005
THE BOUNDARY COMMISSION , 1921-1925 .......
A British 'sleight-of-hand' which caused a mutiny within British forces in Ireland.......
....... rumours were being spread that the Boundary Commission had decided to order the Free Staters in Leinster House to cede some of its territory to Stormont ; the Free Staters declared that that would not happen but then , days later , its one and only representative on that three-person Commission , Eoin MacNeill , resigned from that body . The rumours persisted and , three days after he resigned from the Boundary Commission , Eoin MacNeill 'resigned' (or was 'pushed' ?) from the Free State Government itself . The Brits , however , had more 'humble-pie' for their serfs in Leinster House to digest .......
A little-known clause in the ruling of the British 'Judicial Committee of the Privy Council ' came into play - this stated that the Boundary Commission was fully within its rights to continue with its brief even if it was reduced in size ie from three to two members ! The 'all new' (ie two-member !) Boundary Commission then reminded the Free State President , William Cosgrave , that he had given a pledge to them , in September 1924 , that he would accept the Commission's findings , which he had because , being the 'cute hoor' Free Stater that he was , he reckoned (and was probably led to believe by the Brits) that the Commission would insist on no territorial change being made , which would allow the Free Staters in Leinster House to shrug their shoulders , rub their hands , fraudently claim
annoyance and say - ' Ah , well , sure we tried our best .... '
But now , by all accounts , it seemed that the Free State would have to hand over some of its territory to the Six County 'State' - the 'get-out' plan was back-firing on them ! On the 25th November 1925 , one day after Eoin MacNeill had washed his hands of the whole lot of them , Free State President William Cosgrave and Kevin O'Higgins , the Free State 'Minister for Home Affairs' , went to Downing Street , in London , where they held a meeting with the then British Prime Minister , Stanley Baldwin , and the Stormont 'Prime Minister' , 'Sir' James Craig . The Free Staters were , by this stage , in a state of controlled panic - as well the Brits knew .
Eight days later (ie on 3rd December 1925) , an 'arrangement' was agreed between the Free Staters and the Brits - and , with the Staters being 'on-the-ropes' , Westminster done them no favours .......
(MORE LATER).
WE FIGHT ON , SAY IRA CHIEFS .......
... and Maggie is still on their hit list .
Twenty years into their campaign against the British Army , the IRA is still as far from victory , or defeat , as ever . Now , its leaders talk exclusinely about their plans .
Margaret Thatcher is still a target , so are some members of the British Royal family , while attacks on British forces in continental Europe will continue . Peace is out , says a spokesman , there is nothing to be gained from a ceasefire .
By Derek Dunne .
First published in 'NOW' magazine , volume 1 , No. 4 , October 1989 , pages 5 and 6 .
Re-published here in 10 parts .
[10 of 10].
In an interview , an IRA spokesperson said - " Life for the bulk of our Volunteers is'nt a bed of roses - there is no difference , except in dates , between what is happening in the Six Counties today and what happened in the Tan War . Had the Republicans of 1921 held out against the threat from Lloyd George of an immediate and terrible war perhaps we , the children of the civil rights generation , would not have inherited this British nightmare , and all the calumny that comes with it , from politicians in their cosy positions in the 26 Counties - positions earned from the sacrifices of the IRA earlier this century . " ('1169...' Comment - ironic now that some of those "cosy politicians" are members of Provisional Sinn Fein and , by their (in)action , are postponing the struggle for a future generation to take up !)
The IRA spokesperson said the IRA was appealing to " ordinary people " to take a 60-year view of the North - " Then they'll appreciate that it is not the IRA who are to blame for the state of things but those in power who have chosen to perpetuate injustice and inequality . " On the subject of killing Protestant members of the British forces , he said -
- " Ulsterisation has all the advantages of allowing the Brits to portray the conflict as being between two indigenous peoples on British soil , whose differences are largely religious , whereas the truth is that the UDR and the RUC (pro-British forces in the Six Counties , comprised mainly of locals) are willing puppets of British imperialist rule and their religion has got nothing to do with it . "
[END of ' WE FIGHT ON ....'].
(NEXT - ' PASSIONATE FRIEND ' : ALISTAIR LOGAN - from 1987).
NORAID'S UNTOLD MILLIONS .......
Irish-Americans have long had complex and contradictory relations with Ireland and the 'Irish Question' . On Saint Patrick's Day , all the ambiguities are apparent .
This year (ie 1987) , on Saint Patrick's Day , the latest book by Irish writer , Jack Holland was published in New York , exploring the tangled web of links between Irish-Americans and the Irish in Ireland , the IRA and the Irish government .
' The American Connection ' describes the activities of leading Irish-American politicians , of romanticising writers and of gun-runners .
In this edited extract , the author tells how Noraid was set up and how it has resisted pressures to disclose all the sources and uses of its funds .
First published in 'MAGILL' magazine , April 1987 .
Re-published here in 31 parts .
(18 of 31).
Another U.S. Grand Jury convened in Philadelphia in 1973 and subpoenaed local members of NORAID ; one of them , Daniel Cahalane , was suspected of purchasing twenty thousand dollars' worth of guns and ammunition in Norristown , Pennsylvania .
Like the men brought to Fort Worth , Cahalane refused to answer the Grand Jury's questions , and on July 27th 1973 he was jailed for contempt . Defence lawyers alleged that Daniel Cahalane and two other local men were the victims of wiretapping .
Two years later , Cahalane , along with four other NORAID activists , was indicted for conspiracy to smuggle weapons and munitions to the IRA ; one of those charged was an ex-steward on the liner 'QUEEN MARY' , who was accused of sending six suitcases of arms and ammunition on the QE2 with an 83 year-old woman .......
(MORE LATER).
A British 'sleight-of-hand' which caused a mutiny within British forces in Ireland.......
....... rumours were being spread that the Boundary Commission had decided to order the Free Staters in Leinster House to cede some of its territory to Stormont ; the Free Staters declared that that would not happen but then , days later , its one and only representative on that three-person Commission , Eoin MacNeill , resigned from that body . The rumours persisted and , three days after he resigned from the Boundary Commission , Eoin MacNeill 'resigned' (or was 'pushed' ?) from the Free State Government itself . The Brits , however , had more 'humble-pie' for their serfs in Leinster House to digest .......
A little-known clause in the ruling of the British 'Judicial Committee of the Privy Council ' came into play - this stated that the Boundary Commission was fully within its rights to continue with its brief even if it was reduced in size ie from three to two members ! The 'all new' (ie two-member !) Boundary Commission then reminded the Free State President , William Cosgrave , that he had given a pledge to them , in September 1924 , that he would accept the Commission's findings , which he had because , being the 'cute hoor' Free Stater that he was , he reckoned (and was probably led to believe by the Brits) that the Commission would insist on no territorial change being made , which would allow the Free Staters in Leinster House to shrug their shoulders , rub their hands , fraudently claim
annoyance and say - ' Ah , well , sure we tried our best .... '
But now , by all accounts , it seemed that the Free State would have to hand over some of its territory to the Six County 'State' - the 'get-out' plan was back-firing on them ! On the 25th November 1925 , one day after Eoin MacNeill had washed his hands of the whole lot of them , Free State President William Cosgrave and Kevin O'Higgins , the Free State 'Minister for Home Affairs' , went to Downing Street , in London , where they held a meeting with the then British Prime Minister , Stanley Baldwin , and the Stormont 'Prime Minister' , 'Sir' James Craig . The Free Staters were , by this stage , in a state of controlled panic - as well the Brits knew .
Eight days later (ie on 3rd December 1925) , an 'arrangement' was agreed between the Free Staters and the Brits - and , with the Staters being 'on-the-ropes' , Westminster done them no favours .......
(MORE LATER).
WE FIGHT ON , SAY IRA CHIEFS .......
... and Maggie is still on their hit list .
Twenty years into their campaign against the British Army , the IRA is still as far from victory , or defeat , as ever . Now , its leaders talk exclusinely about their plans .
Margaret Thatcher is still a target , so are some members of the British Royal family , while attacks on British forces in continental Europe will continue . Peace is out , says a spokesman , there is nothing to be gained from a ceasefire .
By Derek Dunne .
First published in 'NOW' magazine , volume 1 , No. 4 , October 1989 , pages 5 and 6 .
Re-published here in 10 parts .
[10 of 10].
In an interview , an IRA spokesperson said - " Life for the bulk of our Volunteers is'nt a bed of roses - there is no difference , except in dates , between what is happening in the Six Counties today and what happened in the Tan War . Had the Republicans of 1921 held out against the threat from Lloyd George of an immediate and terrible war perhaps we , the children of the civil rights generation , would not have inherited this British nightmare , and all the calumny that comes with it , from politicians in their cosy positions in the 26 Counties - positions earned from the sacrifices of the IRA earlier this century . " ('1169...' Comment - ironic now that some of those "cosy politicians" are members of Provisional Sinn Fein and , by their (in)action , are postponing the struggle for a future generation to take up !)
The IRA spokesperson said the IRA was appealing to " ordinary people " to take a 60-year view of the North - " Then they'll appreciate that it is not the IRA who are to blame for the state of things but those in power who have chosen to perpetuate injustice and inequality . " On the subject of killing Protestant members of the British forces , he said -
- " Ulsterisation has all the advantages of allowing the Brits to portray the conflict as being between two indigenous peoples on British soil , whose differences are largely religious , whereas the truth is that the UDR and the RUC (pro-British forces in the Six Counties , comprised mainly of locals) are willing puppets of British imperialist rule and their religion has got nothing to do with it . "
[END of ' WE FIGHT ON ....'].
(NEXT - ' PASSIONATE FRIEND ' : ALISTAIR LOGAN - from 1987).
NORAID'S UNTOLD MILLIONS .......
Irish-Americans have long had complex and contradictory relations with Ireland and the 'Irish Question' . On Saint Patrick's Day , all the ambiguities are apparent .
This year (ie 1987) , on Saint Patrick's Day , the latest book by Irish writer , Jack Holland was published in New York , exploring the tangled web of links between Irish-Americans and the Irish in Ireland , the IRA and the Irish government .
' The American Connection ' describes the activities of leading Irish-American politicians , of romanticising writers and of gun-runners .
In this edited extract , the author tells how Noraid was set up and how it has resisted pressures to disclose all the sources and uses of its funds .
First published in 'MAGILL' magazine , April 1987 .
Re-published here in 31 parts .
(18 of 31).
Another U.S. Grand Jury convened in Philadelphia in 1973 and subpoenaed local members of NORAID ; one of them , Daniel Cahalane , was suspected of purchasing twenty thousand dollars' worth of guns and ammunition in Norristown , Pennsylvania .
Like the men brought to Fort Worth , Cahalane refused to answer the Grand Jury's questions , and on July 27th 1973 he was jailed for contempt . Defence lawyers alleged that Daniel Cahalane and two other local men were the victims of wiretapping .
Two years later , Cahalane , along with four other NORAID activists , was indicted for conspiracy to smuggle weapons and munitions to the IRA ; one of those charged was an ex-steward on the liner 'QUEEN MARY' , who was accused of sending six suitcases of arms and ammunition on the QE2 with an 83 year-old woman .......
(MORE LATER).
Thursday, January 06, 2005
THE BOUNDARY COMMISSION , 1921-1925 .......
A British 'sleight-of-hand' which caused a mutiny within British forces in Ireland.......
....... the Free Staters in Leinster House had looked-on and allowed Westminster to nominate two of the three representatives to the Boundary Commission (thus breaking the 1921 Treaty) ; then , in a further act of humiliation , ' The London Morning Post ' newspaper reported (on 7th November 1925) that it looked like the Free Staters were going to be ordered by the Boundary Commission to hand-over some of its territory to the Six-County 'State' ....... !
The Brits were 'flying a kite' , or getting their retaliation in first (!) - and it worked ! The Nationalist population in the Free State 'border' counties were being 'fed' with rumours that their areas were to be 'handed-over' to Stormont in return for a couple of 'border fields' in South Fermanagh and/or South Armagh . Within four days (ie by 11th November 1925) the (first) President of the Free State , William T. Cosgrave , was trying to calm things down - he stated that the Free State would not agree to transfer any of its territory to the Stormont administration .
Ten days later (ie on the 21st November 1925) , with the panic-level growing , Eoin MacNeill resigned from the Boundary Commission , a move which only fed the rumour-mill . The Brits jumped in here , again , and fanned the flames by claiming that , before he had resigned , Eoin MacNeill had agreed that the Free State should cede some territory and , whats more , that MacNeill saw nothing wrong about , and had no problem with , Westminster appointing the Stormont representative to the Boundary Commission !
Three days later (ie on the 24th November 1925) Eoin MacNeill , by now the centre of much 'did-he-or-did-he-not' speculation , 'resigned' from the Free State Government itself (pushed or 'resigned' ...?) .
But the Brits were not finished 'stirring' things up just yet ; they had more 'salt' and spied another Free State 'wound'.......
(MORE LATER).
WE FIGHT ON , SAY IRA CHIEFS .......
... and Maggie is still on their hit list .
Twenty years into their campaign against the British Army , the IRA is still as far from victory , or defeat , as ever . Now , its leaders talk exclusinely about their plans .
Margaret Thatcher is still a target , so are some members of the British Royal family , while attacks on British forces in continental Europe will continue . Peace is out , says a spokesman , there is nothing to be gained from a ceasefire .
By Derek Dunne .
First published in 'NOW' magazine , volume 1 , No. 4 , October 1989 , pages 5 and 6 .
Re-published here in 10 parts .
( 9 of 10).
The IRA spokesperson said - " There are academics and leading media personalities trying to revise and re-write Irish history from a hidden anti-nationalist perspective ; if they are successful , the people of the 26 Counties will find themselves even more stateless and souless in terms of their national identity than they are at present . They are at the centre of a struggle for their people , but it is being waged on unequal terms .
Anyone who stands up for Irish culture , Irish language or neutrality , who questions the repressive laws enacted by the State , who questions censorship , immediately feels the heat of the wrath of the revisionists and is made to feel responsible for killing 3,000 people ! What people need to understand is that the IRA , contrary to what a former Minister for Defence said , is not about to walk down O'Connell Street with a thousand AK47 rifles .
The IRA is a small , closely-knit organisation made up of dedicated people - it has not got the resources , nor the might , nor the desire , to over-rule the will of the Irish people . What has kept the IRA going has been the tenacity , comradeship , individual heroism ; and the desire to see peace ....... "
(MORE LATER).
NORAID'S UNTOLD MILLIONS .......
Irish-Americans have long had complex and contradictory relations with Ireland and the 'Irish Question' . On Saint Patrick's Day , all the ambiguities are apparent .
This year (ie 1987) , on Saint Patrick's Day , the latest book by Irish writer , Jack Holland was published in New York , exploring the tangled web of links between Irish-Americans and the Irish in Ireland , the IRA and the Irish government .
' The American Connection ' describes the activities of leading Irish-American politicians , of romanticising writers and of gun-runners .
In this edited extract , the author tells how Noraid was set up and how it has resisted pressures to disclose all the sources and uses of its funds .
First published in 'MAGILL' magazine , April 1987 .
Re-published here in 31 parts .
(17 of 31).
In June 1972 , the U.S. Justice Department subpoenaed five New York members of NORAID to appear before a Grand Jury sitting in Fort Worth , Texas , to investigate alleged arms smuggling across the Mexican border : all the men were in their seventies , of working-class backgrounds , and had been active in NORAID - attending functions and rallies and picketing the British Consulate .
Human-rights lawyers , like Paul O'Dwyer , who took up their case , accused the U.S. Government of deliberately harassing Irish-American activists by forcing them to go some 1,400 miles to testify . There was an outcry not only within the Irish-American community but also among civil libertarians .
Eventually , bail was granted thanks to the intervention of Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas , whom Paul O'Dwyer had gone to see personally . After ten months , the five men were released ; no indictments were ever brought against them .......
(MORE LATER).
A British 'sleight-of-hand' which caused a mutiny within British forces in Ireland.......
....... the Free Staters in Leinster House had looked-on and allowed Westminster to nominate two of the three representatives to the Boundary Commission (thus breaking the 1921 Treaty) ; then , in a further act of humiliation , ' The London Morning Post ' newspaper reported (on 7th November 1925) that it looked like the Free Staters were going to be ordered by the Boundary Commission to hand-over some of its territory to the Six-County 'State' ....... !
The Brits were 'flying a kite' , or getting their retaliation in first (!) - and it worked ! The Nationalist population in the Free State 'border' counties were being 'fed' with rumours that their areas were to be 'handed-over' to Stormont in return for a couple of 'border fields' in South Fermanagh and/or South Armagh . Within four days (ie by 11th November 1925) the (first) President of the Free State , William T. Cosgrave , was trying to calm things down - he stated that the Free State would not agree to transfer any of its territory to the Stormont administration .
Ten days later (ie on the 21st November 1925) , with the panic-level growing , Eoin MacNeill resigned from the Boundary Commission , a move which only fed the rumour-mill . The Brits jumped in here , again , and fanned the flames by claiming that , before he had resigned , Eoin MacNeill had agreed that the Free State should cede some territory and , whats more , that MacNeill saw nothing wrong about , and had no problem with , Westminster appointing the Stormont representative to the Boundary Commission !
Three days later (ie on the 24th November 1925) Eoin MacNeill , by now the centre of much 'did-he-or-did-he-not' speculation , 'resigned' from the Free State Government itself (pushed or 'resigned' ...?) .
But the Brits were not finished 'stirring' things up just yet ; they had more 'salt' and spied another Free State 'wound'.......
(MORE LATER).
WE FIGHT ON , SAY IRA CHIEFS .......
... and Maggie is still on their hit list .
Twenty years into their campaign against the British Army , the IRA is still as far from victory , or defeat , as ever . Now , its leaders talk exclusinely about their plans .
Margaret Thatcher is still a target , so are some members of the British Royal family , while attacks on British forces in continental Europe will continue . Peace is out , says a spokesman , there is nothing to be gained from a ceasefire .
By Derek Dunne .
First published in 'NOW' magazine , volume 1 , No. 4 , October 1989 , pages 5 and 6 .
Re-published here in 10 parts .
( 9 of 10).
The IRA spokesperson said - " There are academics and leading media personalities trying to revise and re-write Irish history from a hidden anti-nationalist perspective ; if they are successful , the people of the 26 Counties will find themselves even more stateless and souless in terms of their national identity than they are at present . They are at the centre of a struggle for their people , but it is being waged on unequal terms .
Anyone who stands up for Irish culture , Irish language or neutrality , who questions the repressive laws enacted by the State , who questions censorship , immediately feels the heat of the wrath of the revisionists and is made to feel responsible for killing 3,000 people ! What people need to understand is that the IRA , contrary to what a former Minister for Defence said , is not about to walk down O'Connell Street with a thousand AK47 rifles .
The IRA is a small , closely-knit organisation made up of dedicated people - it has not got the resources , nor the might , nor the desire , to over-rule the will of the Irish people . What has kept the IRA going has been the tenacity , comradeship , individual heroism ; and the desire to see peace ....... "
(MORE LATER).
NORAID'S UNTOLD MILLIONS .......
Irish-Americans have long had complex and contradictory relations with Ireland and the 'Irish Question' . On Saint Patrick's Day , all the ambiguities are apparent .
This year (ie 1987) , on Saint Patrick's Day , the latest book by Irish writer , Jack Holland was published in New York , exploring the tangled web of links between Irish-Americans and the Irish in Ireland , the IRA and the Irish government .
' The American Connection ' describes the activities of leading Irish-American politicians , of romanticising writers and of gun-runners .
In this edited extract , the author tells how Noraid was set up and how it has resisted pressures to disclose all the sources and uses of its funds .
First published in 'MAGILL' magazine , April 1987 .
Re-published here in 31 parts .
(17 of 31).
In June 1972 , the U.S. Justice Department subpoenaed five New York members of NORAID to appear before a Grand Jury sitting in Fort Worth , Texas , to investigate alleged arms smuggling across the Mexican border : all the men were in their seventies , of working-class backgrounds , and had been active in NORAID - attending functions and rallies and picketing the British Consulate .
Human-rights lawyers , like Paul O'Dwyer , who took up their case , accused the U.S. Government of deliberately harassing Irish-American activists by forcing them to go some 1,400 miles to testify . There was an outcry not only within the Irish-American community but also among civil libertarians .
Eventually , bail was granted thanks to the intervention of Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas , whom Paul O'Dwyer had gone to see personally . After ten months , the five men were released ; no indictments were ever brought against them .......
(MORE LATER).
Wednesday, January 05, 2005
THE BOUNDARY COMMISSION , 1921-1925 .......
A British 'sleight-of-hand' which caused a mutiny within British forces in Ireland.......
....... the 1921 Treaty of Surrender was unlawfully changed by the Brits on the 9th October 1924 ; 15 days later (on 24th October 1924) , Westminster placed a Mr. J.R. Fisher (a 'safe pair of hands') on the Boundary Commission to sit beside its other 'friend' on that three-person Commission , South-African Judge Feetham , who was also the (British-appointed) Chairperson of that Commission .......
The Free Staters in Leinster House could (and should) have taken a legal case stating that the Boundary Commission was not properly constituted , as per the agreed 1921 Treaty , thereby highlighting , on an international stage , British duplicity - but that would have required 'balls' , excuse the language , and the Free Staters , then, as now , have none .
Plus , on 7th October 1924 (which was two days before Westminster took it on itself to 're-jig' the 1921 Treaty) , 'Sir' James Craig (Stormont 'Prime Minister') had stood up in that 'parliament' and made a speech directed at Westminster - Craig was well-aware that the British would not hesitate to 'cross' their 'friends' , as well as their enemies and he knew they were only days away from appointing a Stormont representative to the Boundary Commission ; so he 'reminded' them of where he stood -
- Craig stated in his speech that an " unfavourable " decision by the Boundary Commission would see him resign as Stormont 'Prime Minister' and take charge of at least 40,000 armed men who were of similar mind with him , and that they would not rule out any steps necessary " ... to defend their territory ..... " .
The chances are that 'Sir' Craig had already been assured by Westminster that he had nothing to fear from the Commission , but what career politician can resist an opportunity for a bit of 'grandstanding' ?
Then came another 'spanner' in the Free State 'works' : on 7th November 1925 , a newspaper in London ('The London Morning Post') reported that the Boundary Commission had apparently decided that the Free State should hand over some of its territory to the (pro-British) Stormont 'parliament' ....... !
(MORE LATER).
WE FIGHT ON , SAY IRA CHIEFS .......
... and Maggie is still on their hit list .
Twenty years into their campaign against the British Army , the IRA is still as far from victory , or defeat , as ever . Now , its leaders talk exclusinely about their plans .
Margaret Thatcher is still a target , so are some members of the British Royal family , while attacks on British forces in continental Europe will continue . Peace is out , says a spokesman , there is nothing to be gained from a ceasefire .
By Derek Dunne .
First published in 'NOW' magazine , volume 1 , No. 4 , October 1989 , pages 5 and 6 .
Re-published here in 10 parts .
( 8 of 10).
Regarding the internal discipline and past mistakes like the blunders which led to a series of accidental deaths last year , the IRA spokesperson was reluctant to be drawn . He said the position had already been publicly stated on internal disciplinary matters - ' We have no intention of going over that ground again ' , he said :
: " All mistakes are regrettable and all damage the IRA in various ways . It is impossible to quantify . "
Asked about how the armed struggle in the North was relevant to the large number of unemployed south of the Border , the IRA spokesperson said the IRA was engaged in armed struggle in the Six Counties and political struggle in the 32 Counties of Ireland .
He acknowledged that they face an uphill battle in trying to get across an understanding of what is happening north of the Border .......
(MORE LATER).
NORAID'S UNTOLD MILLIONS .......
Irish-Americans have long had complex and contradictory relations with Ireland and the 'Irish Question' . On Saint Patrick's Day , all the ambiguities are apparent .
This year (ie 1987) , on Saint Patrick's Day , the latest book by Irish writer , Jack Holland was published in New York , exploring the tangled web of links between Irish-Americans and the Irish in Ireland , the IRA and the Irish government .
' The American Connection ' describes the activities of leading Irish-American politicians , of romanticising writers and of gun-runners .
In this edited extract , the author tells how Noraid was set up and how it has resisted pressures to disclose all the sources and uses of its funds .
First published in 'MAGILL' magazine , April 1987 .
Re-published here in 31 parts .
(16 of 31).
On March 2 , 1974 , Henry Petersen , then Assistant U.S. Attorney General , wrote to the FBI : " As members of your staff are well aware , the Department of State together with the British Government have requested the Government of the United States to make all efforts to halt the shipment of weapons and explosives to Northern Ireland (sic) and punish those individuals who have violated our criminal statutes by engaging in such activities . I cannot express too strongly the seriousness of this situation . "
The authorities were still bent on proving that NORAID supplied money to the IRA directly , as well as being involved in the weapons-smuggling business ; in June 1972 , the U.S. Justice Department subpoenaed five New York members of NORAID to appear before a Grand Jury sitting in Fort Worth , Texas , to investigate arms smuggling across the Mexican border .......
(MORE LATER).
A British 'sleight-of-hand' which caused a mutiny within British forces in Ireland.......
....... the 1921 Treaty of Surrender was unlawfully changed by the Brits on the 9th October 1924 ; 15 days later (on 24th October 1924) , Westminster placed a Mr. J.R. Fisher (a 'safe pair of hands') on the Boundary Commission to sit beside its other 'friend' on that three-person Commission , South-African Judge Feetham , who was also the (British-appointed) Chairperson of that Commission .......
The Free Staters in Leinster House could (and should) have taken a legal case stating that the Boundary Commission was not properly constituted , as per the agreed 1921 Treaty , thereby highlighting , on an international stage , British duplicity - but that would have required 'balls' , excuse the language , and the Free Staters , then, as now , have none .
Plus , on 7th October 1924 (which was two days before Westminster took it on itself to 're-jig' the 1921 Treaty) , 'Sir' James Craig (Stormont 'Prime Minister') had stood up in that 'parliament' and made a speech directed at Westminster - Craig was well-aware that the British would not hesitate to 'cross' their 'friends' , as well as their enemies and he knew they were only days away from appointing a Stormont representative to the Boundary Commission ; so he 'reminded' them of where he stood -
- Craig stated in his speech that an " unfavourable " decision by the Boundary Commission would see him resign as Stormont 'Prime Minister' and take charge of at least 40,000 armed men who were of similar mind with him , and that they would not rule out any steps necessary " ... to defend their territory ..... " .
The chances are that 'Sir' Craig had already been assured by Westminster that he had nothing to fear from the Commission , but what career politician can resist an opportunity for a bit of 'grandstanding' ?
Then came another 'spanner' in the Free State 'works' : on 7th November 1925 , a newspaper in London ('The London Morning Post') reported that the Boundary Commission had apparently decided that the Free State should hand over some of its territory to the (pro-British) Stormont 'parliament' ....... !
(MORE LATER).
WE FIGHT ON , SAY IRA CHIEFS .......
... and Maggie is still on their hit list .
Twenty years into their campaign against the British Army , the IRA is still as far from victory , or defeat , as ever . Now , its leaders talk exclusinely about their plans .
Margaret Thatcher is still a target , so are some members of the British Royal family , while attacks on British forces in continental Europe will continue . Peace is out , says a spokesman , there is nothing to be gained from a ceasefire .
By Derek Dunne .
First published in 'NOW' magazine , volume 1 , No. 4 , October 1989 , pages 5 and 6 .
Re-published here in 10 parts .
( 8 of 10).
Regarding the internal discipline and past mistakes like the blunders which led to a series of accidental deaths last year , the IRA spokesperson was reluctant to be drawn . He said the position had already been publicly stated on internal disciplinary matters - ' We have no intention of going over that ground again ' , he said :
: " All mistakes are regrettable and all damage the IRA in various ways . It is impossible to quantify . "
Asked about how the armed struggle in the North was relevant to the large number of unemployed south of the Border , the IRA spokesperson said the IRA was engaged in armed struggle in the Six Counties and political struggle in the 32 Counties of Ireland .
He acknowledged that they face an uphill battle in trying to get across an understanding of what is happening north of the Border .......
(MORE LATER).
NORAID'S UNTOLD MILLIONS .......
Irish-Americans have long had complex and contradictory relations with Ireland and the 'Irish Question' . On Saint Patrick's Day , all the ambiguities are apparent .
This year (ie 1987) , on Saint Patrick's Day , the latest book by Irish writer , Jack Holland was published in New York , exploring the tangled web of links between Irish-Americans and the Irish in Ireland , the IRA and the Irish government .
' The American Connection ' describes the activities of leading Irish-American politicians , of romanticising writers and of gun-runners .
In this edited extract , the author tells how Noraid was set up and how it has resisted pressures to disclose all the sources and uses of its funds .
First published in 'MAGILL' magazine , April 1987 .
Re-published here in 31 parts .
(16 of 31).
On March 2 , 1974 , Henry Petersen , then Assistant U.S. Attorney General , wrote to the FBI : " As members of your staff are well aware , the Department of State together with the British Government have requested the Government of the United States to make all efforts to halt the shipment of weapons and explosives to Northern Ireland (sic) and punish those individuals who have violated our criminal statutes by engaging in such activities . I cannot express too strongly the seriousness of this situation . "
The authorities were still bent on proving that NORAID supplied money to the IRA directly , as well as being involved in the weapons-smuggling business ; in June 1972 , the U.S. Justice Department subpoenaed five New York members of NORAID to appear before a Grand Jury sitting in Fort Worth , Texas , to investigate arms smuggling across the Mexican border .......
(MORE LATER).
Tuesday, January 04, 2005
THE BOUNDARY COMMISSION , 1921-1925 .......
A British 'sleight-of-hand' which caused a mutiny within British forces in Ireland.......
....... the 1921 Treaty of Surrender was lodged as a legal document with the 'League Of Nations' organisation in Geneva ; the Brits 'broke' that Treaty on 9th October 1924 when they took it on themselves to change Article 12 ('Boundary Commission' clause) of that Treaty . The Free Staters in Leinster House (being , of course , Free Staters !) failed to take Westminster to task for that illegal move .......
The earlier 1920 'Government of Ireland Act' (ie - two 'Home Rule Parliaments' for Ireland) was not referred to , or lodged with , the 'League Of Nations' in Geneva as " it never purported to be an agreement between two nations ... " , that is , the Brits refused to recognise the island of Ireland as a separate entity and considered that 1920 Act to be an " internal arrangement ... " .
However - there was , at the time (ie when the agreed version of the Boundary Commission clause was broke , by the Brits, on 9th October 1924) a legal (if not moral) obligation and/or opportunity (and reason) for the then Free State Administration to state that the then 3 year-old Treaty of Surrender had been broken by the Brits and was therefore invalid . That they did not do so spoke volumes of their future intentions - ie ' lets be grateful we got 26 Counties back and not push our luck with the Brits .....'
Anyway - the 1921 Treaty was changed by the Brits on the 9th October 1924 and , on the 24th October 1924 , J.R. Fisher was put in place , by Westminster , to do its bidding on the Boundary Commission which , as stated here previously , held its first meeting on 6th November 1924 , in London .......
(MORE LATER).
WE FIGHT ON , SAY IRA CHIEFS .......
... and Maggie is still on their hit list .
Twenty years into their campaign against the British Army , the IRA is still as far from victory , or defeat , as ever . Now , its leaders talk exclusinely about their plans .
Margaret Thatcher is still a target , so are some members of the British Royal family , while attacks on British forces in continental Europe will continue . Peace is out , says a spokesman , there is nothing to be gained from a ceasefire .
By Derek Dunne .
First published in 'NOW' magazine , volume 1 , No. 4 , October 1989 , pages 5 and 6 .
Re-published here in 10 parts .
( 7 of 10).
Speaking about informers , the IRA spokesperson stated - " There are so many opportunities for people to avoid the web before they get caught up in it and to extricate themselves ; there is no excuse in a life and death struggle for people to enter into a lengthy and dangerous relationship with the British forces ; we've had occasions where weapons have been bugged and IRA Volunteers have lost their lives , ambushed by the SAS in Dunloy , County Antrim ,in 1983 , for example .
Informers are not acting for the good of the people . We have a responsibility to protect our members , their morale , our organisations , the weapons of the struggle and the welfare of the people generally . " ('1169....' Comment - " Protect ... the weapons of the struggle .... " : the PIRA leadership are now preparing , for the fourth time , to hand over weapons to the Brits - a shameful act which the Provo suits promote as "progress" !)
However , despite adverse publicity surrounding the shooting of informers , the IRA described as " ridiculous " any suggestion that bad publicity would be a deciding factor in a decision on whether to kill an informer or not . The IRA spokesperson said that it is bad for the Movement to have to shoot one of its own members , or shoot someone who originates from the community on whose behalf that Movement is fighting .
Because IRA activity in the 26 Counties is low profile , the problem does not arise so much , said the spokesperson . On top of all that is the added difficulty of coming into conflict with the Dublin Government and its forces , and the media .......
(MORE LATER).
NORAID'S UNTOLD MILLIONS .......
Irish-Americans have long had complex and contradictory relations with Ireland and the 'Irish Question' . On Saint Patrick's Day , all the ambiguities are apparent .
This year (ie 1987) , on Saint Patrick's Day , the latest book by Irish writer , Jack Holland was published in New York , exploring the tangled web of links between Irish-Americans and the Irish in Ireland , the IRA and the Irish government .
' The American Connection ' describes the activities of leading Irish-American politicians , of romanticising writers and of gun-runners .
In this edited extract , the author tells how Noraid was set up and how it has resisted pressures to disclose all the sources and uses of its funds .
First published in 'MAGILL' magazine , April 1987 .
Re-published here in 31 parts .
(15 of 31).
In early July 1973 , a United States interagency meeting was held to " co-ordinate these investigations in alleviating the Irish problem in the U.S. ." Officials from the U.S. State Department , the Justice Department , the FBI and the Treasury , as well as Brian Ahearn , Counsel for the Registration Unit Administrating F.A.R.A. , discussed the " Irish problems in the U.S. ... "
Among the topics touched on were illegal arms shipments and also " the flow of money ... " from Irish-Americans to Ireland . It is also apparent from memos around this period that the U.S. State Department was not the only agency to ask for and receive information on the INAC collected during the FARA investigation ; the British and Irish police and their 'diplomatic services' were given documents on the FBI's inquiry into the INAC and Irish people on a regular basis .......
(MORE LATER).
A British 'sleight-of-hand' which caused a mutiny within British forces in Ireland.......
....... the 1921 Treaty of Surrender was lodged as a legal document with the 'League Of Nations' organisation in Geneva ; the Brits 'broke' that Treaty on 9th October 1924 when they took it on themselves to change Article 12 ('Boundary Commission' clause) of that Treaty . The Free Staters in Leinster House (being , of course , Free Staters !) failed to take Westminster to task for that illegal move .......
The earlier 1920 'Government of Ireland Act' (ie - two 'Home Rule Parliaments' for Ireland) was not referred to , or lodged with , the 'League Of Nations' in Geneva as " it never purported to be an agreement between two nations ... " , that is , the Brits refused to recognise the island of Ireland as a separate entity and considered that 1920 Act to be an " internal arrangement ... " .
However - there was , at the time (ie when the agreed version of the Boundary Commission clause was broke , by the Brits, on 9th October 1924) a legal (if not moral) obligation and/or opportunity (and reason) for the then Free State Administration to state that the then 3 year-old Treaty of Surrender had been broken by the Brits and was therefore invalid . That they did not do so spoke volumes of their future intentions - ie ' lets be grateful we got 26 Counties back and not push our luck with the Brits .....'
Anyway - the 1921 Treaty was changed by the Brits on the 9th October 1924 and , on the 24th October 1924 , J.R. Fisher was put in place , by Westminster , to do its bidding on the Boundary Commission which , as stated here previously , held its first meeting on 6th November 1924 , in London .......
(MORE LATER).
WE FIGHT ON , SAY IRA CHIEFS .......
... and Maggie is still on their hit list .
Twenty years into their campaign against the British Army , the IRA is still as far from victory , or defeat , as ever . Now , its leaders talk exclusinely about their plans .
Margaret Thatcher is still a target , so are some members of the British Royal family , while attacks on British forces in continental Europe will continue . Peace is out , says a spokesman , there is nothing to be gained from a ceasefire .
By Derek Dunne .
First published in 'NOW' magazine , volume 1 , No. 4 , October 1989 , pages 5 and 6 .
Re-published here in 10 parts .
( 7 of 10).
Speaking about informers , the IRA spokesperson stated - " There are so many opportunities for people to avoid the web before they get caught up in it and to extricate themselves ; there is no excuse in a life and death struggle for people to enter into a lengthy and dangerous relationship with the British forces ; we've had occasions where weapons have been bugged and IRA Volunteers have lost their lives , ambushed by the SAS in Dunloy , County Antrim ,in 1983 , for example .
Informers are not acting for the good of the people . We have a responsibility to protect our members , their morale , our organisations , the weapons of the struggle and the welfare of the people generally . " ('1169....' Comment - " Protect ... the weapons of the struggle .... " : the PIRA leadership are now preparing , for the fourth time , to hand over weapons to the Brits - a shameful act which the Provo suits promote as "progress" !)
However , despite adverse publicity surrounding the shooting of informers , the IRA described as " ridiculous " any suggestion that bad publicity would be a deciding factor in a decision on whether to kill an informer or not . The IRA spokesperson said that it is bad for the Movement to have to shoot one of its own members , or shoot someone who originates from the community on whose behalf that Movement is fighting .
Because IRA activity in the 26 Counties is low profile , the problem does not arise so much , said the spokesperson . On top of all that is the added difficulty of coming into conflict with the Dublin Government and its forces , and the media .......
(MORE LATER).
NORAID'S UNTOLD MILLIONS .......
Irish-Americans have long had complex and contradictory relations with Ireland and the 'Irish Question' . On Saint Patrick's Day , all the ambiguities are apparent .
This year (ie 1987) , on Saint Patrick's Day , the latest book by Irish writer , Jack Holland was published in New York , exploring the tangled web of links between Irish-Americans and the Irish in Ireland , the IRA and the Irish government .
' The American Connection ' describes the activities of leading Irish-American politicians , of romanticising writers and of gun-runners .
In this edited extract , the author tells how Noraid was set up and how it has resisted pressures to disclose all the sources and uses of its funds .
First published in 'MAGILL' magazine , April 1987 .
Re-published here in 31 parts .
(15 of 31).
In early July 1973 , a United States interagency meeting was held to " co-ordinate these investigations in alleviating the Irish problem in the U.S. ." Officials from the U.S. State Department , the Justice Department , the FBI and the Treasury , as well as Brian Ahearn , Counsel for the Registration Unit Administrating F.A.R.A. , discussed the " Irish problems in the U.S. ... "
Among the topics touched on were illegal arms shipments and also " the flow of money ... " from Irish-Americans to Ireland . It is also apparent from memos around this period that the U.S. State Department was not the only agency to ask for and receive information on the INAC collected during the FARA investigation ; the British and Irish police and their 'diplomatic services' were given documents on the FBI's inquiry into the INAC and Irish people on a regular basis .......
(MORE LATER).
Monday, January 03, 2005
THE BOUNDARY COMMISSION , 1921-1925 .......
A British 'sleight-of-hand' which caused a mutiny within British forces in Ireland.......
....... when the (pro-British) 'Prime Minister' of the Stormont 'Parliament' in the Six Partitioned Counties of Ireland , 'Sir' James Craig , refused to nominate a representative to the Boundary Commission , Westminster, at first, refused to establish any such Commission at all and sought legal advice on such a move from one of its own Legal Committees , the 'Judicial Committee of The Privy Council ' , which issued its findings on 31st July 1924 , stating - " If no appointment is made (by 'Sir' Craig) the (Boundary) Commission cannot go on ....... "
What happened next was , in this scribblers opinion , highly dubious and illegal : realising that they would have an 'inbuilt majority' on any Boundary Commission anyway , and could therefore control its conclusion , it seemed foolish not to set it up and use its 'findings' for propaganda purposes : so the Brits actually took it on themselves to amend the 1921 Treaty to allow themselves (ie Westminster) to appoint a representative to speak on behalf of the Stormont 'Parliament' !
It should be noted that the 1921 Treaty of Surrender (which set-up the Free State [and the Boundary Commission]) was lodged with the 'League of Nations' body in Geneva ; as already stated here , Article 12 of said Treaty concerned itself with the specifics of establishing a ' Boundary Commission ' . That set-up , as agreed and outlined in Article 12 , and as lodged in Geneva , was not properly adhered to by the signatories of the 1921 Treaty thereby , at least in this scribblers opinion , negating the Treaty itself .
I can only presume that the Free State administration would have been aware of this probable 'get-out' clause but choose not to take its case to Geneva ; instead , they ignored this breech of the 1921 Treaty despite the fact that they were witnessing war on the streets caused by that Treaty - ie Treaty signed 1921 , while the agreed terms of the 'Boundary Commission' was broke on 9th October 1924 .......
(MORE LATER).
WE FIGHT ON , SAY IRA CHIEFS .......
... and Maggie is still on their hit list .
Twenty years into their campaign against the British Army , the IRA is still as far from victory , or defeat , as ever . Now , its leaders talk exclusinely about their plans .
Margaret Thatcher is still a target , so are some members of the British Royal family , while attacks on British forces in continental Europe will continue . Peace is out , says a spokesman , there is nothing to be gained from a ceasefire .
By Derek Dunne .
First published in 'NOW' magazine , volume 1 , No. 4 , October 1989 , pages 5 and 6 .
Re-published here in 10 parts .
( 6 of 10).
Asked about media speculation , since the seizure of arms on the MV Eksund in late 1987 , that the IRA has 'SAM' surface-to-air missiles and may be preparing to use them , the IRA spokesperson said - " The IRA has Sams , Seans , Pats and Seamuses ; and we propose to use them all . Next question please . "
Another area of controversy involving the IRA recently has been the killing of alleged informers especially in the South ; the rules for such shootings are complex , said the IRA spokesperson , but come down to a number of basic things -
- " A person's age , their experience , how long they have been informing , why they were informing , if their informing led to Volunteers getting killed , injured or arrested . It's all a question of degree - many , many people who have informed and have come forward to the IRA have not been killed . The IRA regularly issues amnesties . I'd like you to quote a time when the British have had an amnesty in armed actions . It's a step the IRA takes reluctantly , to shoot someone . "
Almost invariably , say the IRA , the person they shoot comes from a nationalist area and there is a 'knock-on' effect with their families and the community in general . There is a demoralisation factor in shooting informers and the British are the 'winners' because these people are expendable .......
(MORE LATER).
NORAID'S UNTOLD MILLIONS .......
Irish-Americans have long had complex and contradictory relations with Ireland and the 'Irish Question' . On Saint Patrick's Day , all the ambiguities are apparent .
This year (ie 1987) , on Saint Patrick's Day , the latest book by Irish writer , Jack Holland was published in New York , exploring the tangled web of links between Irish-Americans and the Irish in Ireland , the IRA and the Irish government .
' The American Connection ' describes the activities of leading Irish-American politicians , of romanticising writers and of gun-runners .
In this edited extract , the author tells how Noraid was set up and how it has resisted pressures to disclose all the sources and uses of its funds .
First published in 'MAGILL' magazine , April 1987 .
Re-published here in 31 parts .
(14 of 31).
Also in Bergen County , New Jersey , another NORAID Unit , formed in January 1972 , was dissolved thirteen months later because of the FBI investigation ; the FBI noted - " Individuals did not want to become involved in any political type organisation which would register or be associated with registration as an agent for a foreign power . "
What is interesting about the FBI's memos is that they show the overriding concern to be stopping the fund-raising activities of the INAC ; the interest in finding violations of FARA seems secondary , a by-product of the effort to curtail support for the IRA .
Though NORAID was being called a " terrorist " organisation , it was engaged in the same activities in 1973 as it had been in 1971 when the FBI referred to its leadership as " conservative " and " responsible " . What had changed was the pressure on the American Government to do something to reduce fund-raising among Irish-Americans for the IRA or the IRA's cause , even though this kind of support was legal .......
(MORE LATER).
A British 'sleight-of-hand' which caused a mutiny within British forces in Ireland.......
....... when the (pro-British) 'Prime Minister' of the Stormont 'Parliament' in the Six Partitioned Counties of Ireland , 'Sir' James Craig , refused to nominate a representative to the Boundary Commission , Westminster, at first, refused to establish any such Commission at all and sought legal advice on such a move from one of its own Legal Committees , the 'Judicial Committee of The Privy Council ' , which issued its findings on 31st July 1924 , stating - " If no appointment is made (by 'Sir' Craig) the (Boundary) Commission cannot go on ....... "
What happened next was , in this scribblers opinion , highly dubious and illegal : realising that they would have an 'inbuilt majority' on any Boundary Commission anyway , and could therefore control its conclusion , it seemed foolish not to set it up and use its 'findings' for propaganda purposes : so the Brits actually took it on themselves to amend the 1921 Treaty to allow themselves (ie Westminster) to appoint a representative to speak on behalf of the Stormont 'Parliament' !
It should be noted that the 1921 Treaty of Surrender (which set-up the Free State [and the Boundary Commission]) was lodged with the 'League of Nations' body in Geneva ; as already stated here , Article 12 of said Treaty concerned itself with the specifics of establishing a ' Boundary Commission ' . That set-up , as agreed and outlined in Article 12 , and as lodged in Geneva , was not properly adhered to by the signatories of the 1921 Treaty thereby , at least in this scribblers opinion , negating the Treaty itself .
I can only presume that the Free State administration would have been aware of this probable 'get-out' clause but choose not to take its case to Geneva ; instead , they ignored this breech of the 1921 Treaty despite the fact that they were witnessing war on the streets caused by that Treaty - ie Treaty signed 1921 , while the agreed terms of the 'Boundary Commission' was broke on 9th October 1924 .......
(MORE LATER).
WE FIGHT ON , SAY IRA CHIEFS .......
... and Maggie is still on their hit list .
Twenty years into their campaign against the British Army , the IRA is still as far from victory , or defeat , as ever . Now , its leaders talk exclusinely about their plans .
Margaret Thatcher is still a target , so are some members of the British Royal family , while attacks on British forces in continental Europe will continue . Peace is out , says a spokesman , there is nothing to be gained from a ceasefire .
By Derek Dunne .
First published in 'NOW' magazine , volume 1 , No. 4 , October 1989 , pages 5 and 6 .
Re-published here in 10 parts .
( 6 of 10).
Asked about media speculation , since the seizure of arms on the MV Eksund in late 1987 , that the IRA has 'SAM' surface-to-air missiles and may be preparing to use them , the IRA spokesperson said - " The IRA has Sams , Seans , Pats and Seamuses ; and we propose to use them all . Next question please . "
Another area of controversy involving the IRA recently has been the killing of alleged informers especially in the South ; the rules for such shootings are complex , said the IRA spokesperson , but come down to a number of basic things -
- " A person's age , their experience , how long they have been informing , why they were informing , if their informing led to Volunteers getting killed , injured or arrested . It's all a question of degree - many , many people who have informed and have come forward to the IRA have not been killed . The IRA regularly issues amnesties . I'd like you to quote a time when the British have had an amnesty in armed actions . It's a step the IRA takes reluctantly , to shoot someone . "
Almost invariably , say the IRA , the person they shoot comes from a nationalist area and there is a 'knock-on' effect with their families and the community in general . There is a demoralisation factor in shooting informers and the British are the 'winners' because these people are expendable .......
(MORE LATER).
NORAID'S UNTOLD MILLIONS .......
Irish-Americans have long had complex and contradictory relations with Ireland and the 'Irish Question' . On Saint Patrick's Day , all the ambiguities are apparent .
This year (ie 1987) , on Saint Patrick's Day , the latest book by Irish writer , Jack Holland was published in New York , exploring the tangled web of links between Irish-Americans and the Irish in Ireland , the IRA and the Irish government .
' The American Connection ' describes the activities of leading Irish-American politicians , of romanticising writers and of gun-runners .
In this edited extract , the author tells how Noraid was set up and how it has resisted pressures to disclose all the sources and uses of its funds .
First published in 'MAGILL' magazine , April 1987 .
Re-published here in 31 parts .
(14 of 31).
Also in Bergen County , New Jersey , another NORAID Unit , formed in January 1972 , was dissolved thirteen months later because of the FBI investigation ; the FBI noted - " Individuals did not want to become involved in any political type organisation which would register or be associated with registration as an agent for a foreign power . "
What is interesting about the FBI's memos is that they show the overriding concern to be stopping the fund-raising activities of the INAC ; the interest in finding violations of FARA seems secondary , a by-product of the effort to curtail support for the IRA .
Though NORAID was being called a " terrorist " organisation , it was engaged in the same activities in 1973 as it had been in 1971 when the FBI referred to its leadership as " conservative " and " responsible " . What had changed was the pressure on the American Government to do something to reduce fund-raising among Irish-Americans for the IRA or the IRA's cause , even though this kind of support was legal .......
(MORE LATER).
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