1169 And Counting.....

Saturday, February 23, 2008

"...and STAY DOWN , Anne.."

The anti-'royal' picket held today (Saturday 23 February 2008) by Republican Sinn Fein at the entrance to Croke Park - which Anne Windsor flew over in her helicopter - was very well received by most of the thousands of people who were in the area . Unusual (!) for a republican event , proceedings began a half hour earlier than advertised (ie 3PM rather than the advertised time of 3.30PM) due to no reason other than everybody was actually ready before time!
Between 3PM and 4.45PM , about fifty republicans took part in a noisy , colourful and successful street protest opposite Quinns Pub , near the Clonliffe Road entrance to Croke Park . The thousands of passers-by were left in no doubt about the reason for the demonstration - the presence on Irish soil of a member of the British 'royal family',Anne Windsor (given the title 'Princess Royal' in 1987 , and tenth in line of 'succession' to the British throne) , whilst the administration , establishment and parliamentery structure which she represents continues to claim jurisdictional control - militarily enforced - over six Irish counties.
Over eight hundred leaflets were distributed , dozens of copies of the 'SAOIRSE' republican newspaper were sold and good contacts for future use were made.
It was a valuable political exercise made in pursuit of a valuable objective - that of demanding a complete British military and political withdrawal from this isle. We publish four photographs from todays event with this report , while four more can be viewed on this thread and three more here. A full report and more photographs will be published in the March 2008 issue of 'Saoirse' , which will be published on the fifth of that month .

RSF placard and the Tri-Colour...

The youth get the message...

Special Branch harassment...

RSF anti-'royal' picket , Croke Park , Saturday February 23 , 2008.

Thanks!
Sharon.

Thursday, February 21, 2008

NO WELCOME HERE FOR BRITISH 'ROYALTY'!

Anne Windsor was the Colonel-in-Chief of the Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters Regiment of the British Crown Forces (29th/45th Foot) until it became the 2nd Battalion of the Mercian Regiment (Worcesters and Foresters) last August. In 1916, the 178 (Forester) Brigade was sent to Dublin in an attempt to suppress the Easter Rising. The same women is presently associated with British political and military imperialism by virtue of the following positions which she holds :
* Colonel-in-Chief, The King’s Royal Hussars
* Colonel-in-Chief, The Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters Regiment (29/45 Foot)
* Colonel-in-Chief, The Royal Corps of Signals
* Colonel-in-Chief, The Royal Logistic Corps
* Colonel-in-Chief, The Royal Army Veterinary Corps
* Commandant-in-Chief, The First Aid Nursing Yeomanry (Princess Royal’s Volunteer Corps)
* Colonel, The Blues and Royals
* Royal Colonel, The Royal Scots Borderers, 1st Battalion Royal Regiment of Scotland
* Royal Colonel, The 52nd Lowland Regiment, 6th Battalion Royal Regiment of Scotland
* Rear Admiral and Chief Commandant for women, Royal Navy
* Honorary Air Commodore, RAF Lyneham
* Honorary Air Commodore, University of London Air Squadron
* Royal Honorary Colonel, University of London OTC
* Commodore-in-Chief, Portsmouth.
Join Republicans in opposing the presence of Anne Windsor.

Wednesday, February 20, 2008

(For details on the Anne Windsor protest to be held in Dublin on Saturday February 23rd next , click here.)

BALLYMURPHY INTERVIEW.......
From 'IRIS' magazine , July/August 1982.

On conditions in the Ballymurphy area since 1954 , Anne Stone said : " It was a slum until they started doing these repairs recently . It was just used as a transit camp . Right enough , there was mass unemployment and the people sort of lost hope . In some ways Ballymurphy has improved since then . We're proud of Ballymurphy . Since the early days we've had every chance to leave it but there's no way we would leave . What I like about Ballymurphy is that it's still part , in some ways , of 'old Belfast' - the people all cling together .

For instance , say someone dies in a middle-class place no-one worries about them , but if someone dies here there would be someone round collecting for their family , and letters of sympathy . " However , in other ways, say the Stones , community spirit has suffered , in particular because of 'the feuds' between republicans and the 'Sticks'.

" I'd like more amenities for the young people , " says Anne Stone , " especially those born since this outbreak of 'the troubles' began . Now , our youngest girl's fourteen , and from 1971 she's been dragged out of her bed thousands of times wrapped only in a blanket , even when she was dying of 'flu on one occasion . These children have seen nothing else , only Brits and RUC coming and dragging them out of their beds during early morning raids ."

[END of 'BALLYMURPHY INTERVIEW']
(NEXT - 'BALLYMUN INTERVIEW' : from 1982)

REPUBLICAN MOURNERS DEFEAT RUC.......
Between December 1983 and May 1987 , over 25 republican or nationalist funerals were systematically attacked by the RUC as a matter of deliberate British policy . The objective was to drive mourners off the streets so that later Britain could claim dwindling support for republicanism as 'evidenced' by the small numbers attending IRA funerals . As Jane Plunkett reports , the opposite happened . More and more people came out to defend the remains of republican dead , the RUC were exposed as being as brutal and sectarian as ever , and these two factors , combined with damaging international news coverage , eventually forced the British government to reverse its policy of attacking republican funerals .
From 'IRIS' magazine , October 1987.

The RUC and the British Army had doubled their numbers to prevent Larry Marley (video link here) being buried . It took seven hours of determined resistance , including sporadic fierce fighting , before Larry Marley was at last laid to rest . Several times in North Belfast , the RUC attempted to close in around the hearse , but they were held back by rows of resolute men and women with arms linked . At the bottom of the Falls Road , almost two thousand people waited for several hours for the cortege , while others congregated elsewhere .

The London 'Guardian' newspaper reported that it was - "...the biggest display of republican support since the hunger-strikes . In scenes reminiscent of the mid-1970's , old women shook their fists at British soldiers leading a column of 35 Land Rovers at the front of the funeral procession up the Falls Road . Patients at the Royal Victoria Hospital came out into the streets in their dressing gowns and slippers to give support..." The world's press watched events in Belfast , incredulously . Television pictures of armed RUC men attacking mourners , Soweto-style, flashed round the world .

At last , the Irish 'establishment' spoke : the attacks on the funeral and on the mourners were "...counter-productive.." , said Dungannon priest Fr. Denis Faul, and he was echoed by the SDLP's John Hume and Seamus Mallon. 'Counter-productive' , that is , to their efforts to persuade nationalists to accept this Irish-based British 'police force' . ('1169...' Comment : ...and weak-kneeded nationalists are still calling for that!) They all failed to straightforwardly denounce the RUC . Ignoring the Marley family who, at a press conference, laid the blame on the RUC , Bishop Cahal Daly - balancing on a self-imposed 'fence' - accused both the (P)IRA and the RUC of "...intrusion into a family's grief.." Then a top UVF loyalist was shot dead by the (P)IRA.......
(MORE LATER).

Saturday, February 16, 2008

(UPDATE:At present,the available information regarding the visit of Anne Windsor has prompted the organisers of the protest to ask those attending the picket to assemble opposite Quinns Pub , at the entrance to Clonliffe Road , at 3.30PM , on Saturday February 23 next. Any change to these arrangements will be posted here.)

AN ENGLISH QUEEN.

Press Release/Preas Ráiteas
For release
16ú Feabhra/February 2008

British Royals not welcome in Ireland
Statement by the Vice President of Republican Sinn Féin Des Dalton

"Republican Sinn Féin will be actively protesting at the presence of a
representative of the British Crown in Croke Park on February 23. Such a
visit must be seen for what it is, part of the normalisation of British rule
in Ireland.
Anne Windsor will visit Croke Park not as a private individual but as the
representative of the British Crown. This is an institution which claims
sovereignty over six of the nine counties of Ulster, enforcing that claim
with an army of occupation.
For this reason no representative of the British Crown is welcome in any part
of Ireland."
(Details of this protest will be announced shortly....*SEE ABOVE*)
---------------------------------------------------

EASTER REPUBLICAN COMMEMORATIONS IN DUBLIN , 2008 -
For details of the three up-coming Dublin Easter 2008 Republican Commemorations , click here, here and here.

Sharon.

Thursday, February 14, 2008

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(NOTE : for details of the three up-coming Dublin Easter 2008 Republican Commemorations , click here, here and here.)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

FROM THIS....

HENRY JOY McCRACKEN :

" It was on the Belfast mountains I heard a maid complain.
And she vexed the sweet June evening with her heart broken strain
Saying "Woe is me, life's anguish is more than I can dree.
Since Henry Joy McCracken died on the gallows tree."

At Donegore he proudly rode and he wore a suit of green
And brave though vain at Antrim his sword flashed lightning keen
And when by spies surrounded his band to Slemish fled
He came unto the Cavehill for to rest a weary head.

I watched for him each night long as in our cot he slept
At daybreak to the heather to MacArt's fort we crept
When news came from Greencastle of a good ship anchored nigh
And down by yon wee fountain we met to say good-bye.

He says "My love be cheerful for tears and fears are vain",
He says "My love be hopeful our land shall rise again".
He kissed me ever fondly, he kissed me three times o'er
Saying "Death shall never part us my love for evermore".

That night I climbed the Cavehill and watched till morning blazed
And when its fires had kindled across the loch I gazed
I saw an English tender at anchor off Garmoyle
But alas! no good ship bore him away to France's soil.

And twice that night a tramping came from the old shore road
Twas Ellis and his yeomen, false Niblock with them strode
My father home returning the doleful story told
"Alas", he says, "young Harry Joy for fifty pounds is sold."

"And is it true", I asked her, "yes it is true", she said.
"For to this heart that loved him I pressed his gory head,
And every night pale bleeding his ghost comes to my side,
My Harry, my dead Harry, comes for his promised bride."

Now on the Belfast mountains, this fair maid's voice is still
For in a grave they laid her on high Carnmoney Hill
And the sad waves beneath her chant a requiem for the dead
And the rebel wind shrieks freedom above her weary head."

...TO THIS.

As Liam Mellows predicted in the Treaty debate,on 4th January 1922 - "Men will get into positions , men will hold power , and men who get into positions and hold power will desire to remain undisturbed and will not want to be removed."
Poor Mellows - even he could not predict just how low - to discuss the drinking habits of fictional characters in a soap opera - that those 'positioned men' will go in order to integrate themselves with their new-found 'friends'. McGuinness and his like are truly an embarrassment to all things Irish , not to mention the shame they continue to visit on Irish Republicanism . He should stick to 'Drama Critic' comments in future and leave the issue of British interference on this isle to those of us that are still prepared to try and solve that problem . Of which he is a part.

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

THE CATHOLIC HIERARCHY - PROPPING-UP THE ORANGE STATE........

At a press briefing on May 3rd, 1983, Bishop Cathal Daly declared that a vote for Sinn Fein was 'a wasted vote' , and that people should think seriously before risking being seen as 'supporting violence' . As polling day approached , the rising crescendo of calls from Bishop Daly and other members of the Catholic hierarchy became increasingly explicit in their support for the SDLP. Against the background of this intervention into the arena of nationalist party politics , Patricia Collins sketches the role played by the leadership of the Catholic Church over the past fourteen years against nationalist resistance .
From 'IRIS' magazine , July 1983.

In his infamous 1983 'St Anne's Speech' , Bishop Cahal Daly stated - " Just as unionists are fully justified in maintaining their political convictions , they are also justified in believing in the right and the duty under law to defend these political institutions against the threat of overthrow by armed uprising . There are some who choose to do so by service in security forces or in the police force . There are also people , and not all of them are unionists , who believe that in any civilised society there must be normal policing ; and who therefore choose policing as a career of service to the whole Northern Ireland community .

The republican paramilitary campaign of assassination of members of the UDR and of the RUC is equivalent to a campaign of shooting fellow Irishmen simply because they have different political convictions from nationalists . " ('1169...' Comment : the UDR and the RUC [and , indeed , the PSNI] were/are British-sponsored , salaried and armed wings of Westminster , whose function was/is to see to it that the British writ in Occupied Ireland runs smoothly . They were/are prepared to use force to enforce that writ) .

What real effects can all of this rhetoric have on the nationalist community ? Militarily oppressed , at the bottom of the economic and political heap , half a million nationalists cannot take kindly to Bishop Daly's remarks on the 'achievements' of the Stormont regime and the right of unionists under law to 'defend their political institutions....... '
(MORE LATER).

BALLYMURPHY INTERVIEW.......
From 'IRIS' magazine , July/August 1982.

On the early days of getting things organised in the then new Ballymurphy estate , Anne Stone said - " We settled in , grateful to get a house . We had our ups and downs . When we came to the 'Murph I never thought you could have bought a full stone of coal , and many's the stone of coal we have bought since . We enjoyed life , our social life then was working , work and more work , to bring up the family . Our annual holiday was the weekend bus run to the All-Ireland final ."

Asked about the situation in Ballymurphy during August 1969 (British-provoked rioting broke out) , Anne Stone replied : " We arrived back in Ballymurphy on the morning of August 15th . We'd been across in England for our eldest daughter's wedding . The whole place here was ablaze . The people didn't know what was happening then . When we moved into this terrace , of the five houses in it three were non-Catholic . No-one at first knew where they stood or what they believed in , only those who knew what Irish history was all about . "

On their imprisoned son , Liam , she said : " Liam was imprisoned in 1976 on a 15-year sentence , the only man from Ballymurphy still in the Cages, and the longest-serving prisoner from Ballymurphy itself . What's he going to come out to ? All his mates now are in the hell-holes of the H-Blocks. In 1972 he was working three nights a week in Kelly's Bar for pocket money . He was unlucky enough to be there on May 13th , 1972 , when the bar was bombed in a sectarian attack , and he himself was shot . He was in the hospital for three months and came out on crutches . He had been going to St. Mary's grammar school , but when he came out of hospital he just started going to St. Thomas' secondary school . From when he went into Long Kesh our life has been cut in two....... "
(MORE LATER).

REPUBLICAN MOURNERS DEFEAT RUC.......
Between December 1983 and May 1987 , over 25 republican or nationalist funerals were systematically attacked by the RUC as a matter of deliberate British policy . The objective was to drive mourners off the streets so that later Britain could claim dwindling support for republicanism as 'evidenced' by the small numbers attending IRA funerals . As Jane Plunkett reports , the opposite happened . More and more people came out to defend the remains of republican dead , the RUC were exposed as being as brutal and sectarian as ever , and these two factors , combined with damaging international news coverage , eventually forced the British government to reverse its policy of attacking republican funerals .
From 'IRIS' magazine , October 1987.

On Sunday , April 5th , 1987 , members of the (P)IRA's Belfast Brigade fired a volley of shots in final salute to their comrade Larry Marley, who had been shot dead in his home by the UVF on April 2nd . On Monday , the planned day of the funeral , the RUC saturated the Ardoyne area and repeatedly refused to move back from the family home to allow a 20-foot space on either side of the hearse .

On two consecutive days , the family decided to postpone Larry Marley's funeral , because they feared that someone would be killed by the RUC and in order to ensure , in the words of Lawrence Marley Jr , " that my father is buried with honour and dignity ." The RUC pretext for their aggression , once again , was the possibility of a (P)IRA firing party - in fact , photographs of Sunday's firing party were already in circulation . The RUC's real aim still was to humiliate mourners .

Local priests and the Marley family made frantic attempts to contact the Catholic Hierarchy , but got no help . On the second day of the siege , the RUC force was doubled and , by the third day , a sense of crisis permeated nationalist Belfast . Large crowds had attended evening protest meetings in West and North Belfast . On the Wednesday , thousands of people suspended their usual activities , came out of work and journeyed from distant towns , to ensure a dead republican his right to a dignified burial . The British crown forces increased their own numbers in anticipation . Scenes of hand-to-hand fighting were to follow.......
(MORE LATER).

Monday, February 11, 2008

"...young babies and adults , some ninety years of age.."

"Plunket carried out his biggest evictions in November 1860. During the preceding days large numbers of police were drafted into the area. Troops came from the surrounding towns and a company of the 24th Infantry from the Curragh. The local police did not take part. The people were terrified and the scenes of the helplessness and defeat and sadness were indescribable. Such troop movement had never been seen in the area. The eviction process lasted for three days.
On the first day a large eviction force under the command of Col. Knox, the Mayo High Sheriff, proceeded from Cappaduff bridge to begin the grizzly task. The houses were razed to the ground by the crowbar brigade and then handed over to Plunkett's men. Fr Lavelle and the tenants looked on helplessly and made no resistance -- they just accepted the finality of it all. Tenants on adjoining estates were warned not to interfere in any way such as providing shelter or solace to the evicted, so the unfortunates, some as old as ninety years and young babies, had to fend for themselves on the mountainside on a cold, wet November's night.... "
(From here)

"The work of undermining the population is going on stealthily, but steadily. Each succeeding day witnesses its devastation - more terrible than the simoon and more deadly than the plague. We do not say that there exists a conspiracy to uproot the 'mere Irish'; but we do aver, that the fearful system of wholesale ejectment, of which we daily hear, and which we daily behold, is a mockery of the eternal laws of God - a flagrant outrage of the principles of nature. Whole districts are cleared. Not a roof-tree is to be seen where the happy cottage of the labourer or the snug homestead of the farmer at no distant day cheered the landscape. The ditch side, the dripping rain, the cold sleet are the covering of the wretched outcast the moment the cabin is tumbled over him; for who dare give shelter of protection from 'the pelting or the pitiless storm?' Who has the temerity to afford him the ordinary rites of hospitality, when the warrant has been signed for his extinction... ? "
(From 'The Tipperary Vindicator' newspaper , 1844-1849, as quoted here)

"During the famous, or rather infamous, Partry evictions, an old man of eighty and a woman of seventy-four were amongst the number of those who suffered for their ancient faith. They were driven from the home which their parents and grandfathers had occupied, in a pitiless storm of sleet and snow. The aged woman utters some slight complaint; but her noble-hearted aged husband consoles her with this answer: "The sufferings and death of Jesus Christ were bitterer still." Sixty-nine souls were cast out of doors that day. Well might the Times newspaper say: "These evictions are a hideous scandal; and the bishop should rather die than be guilty of such a crime." Yet, who can count up all the evictions, massacres, tortures, and punishments which this people has endured...?"
(From here)
The root cause of the above barbarity is still militarily and politically represented on this isle . Some of the surviving generations of the above victims are determined that the evils which were inflicted on us will not be visited - or , indeed , even have the potential to be visited - on future generations . You can help...

Sunday, February 10, 2008

BOOT-BOYS FOR THE 'UNION' .....

Former British soldier gets 3 years’ jail for urinating on dying woman.

'A man who urinated on a disabled woman and sprayed her with shaving foam as she lay dying in the street was jailed for three years yesterday.
Anthony Anderson, 27, Hartlepool, was sentenced for outraging public decency when he degraded 50-year-old Christine Lakinski, who had collapsed in July this year.
Teesside Crown Court heard how Anderson, a former soldier, was celebrating his 27th birthday on the day he degraded his victim. She had been visiting friends and was walking home with some laminate flooring when she collapsed, striking her head as she fell.
She was spotted by a girlfriend of one of Anderson’s friends and a group gathered around her body. Anderson kicked her on the foot, then poured a bowl of water over her prone body, but she did not respond. Anderson then told his friends he was going to urinate on the woman as one of them filmed it on his mobile phone. In an ordeal lasting around 30 minutes Anderson also used shaving foam from a can to further degrade his victim.
Outside court, Ms Lakinski’s family read a statement, which said: “We would like to thank the judge for his decision to jail Anthony Anderson.
We hope that prison will give him time to reflect on his disgusting actions as well as the opportunity to look at his conscience.
We remain totally shocked that anyone could behave in such an appalling way.”

Anderson was with his friends Scott Clement and Simon Whitehead when the humiliation took place, the court heard. The group left her motionless on the pavement and no-one thought to ring an ambulance until they had got ready to go nightclubbing, some 20 minutes later. Paramedics arrived about an hour after she collapsed, and found no sign of life. A postmortem revealed she died from pancreatic failure. Police traced the 999 call to Mr Clement and Anderson was arrested that night in a nightclub.'
(From here.)

A not unusual example of the calibre and mentality of British 'peace-keepers' that have 'served their country' , and not only on these shores . Not only are they unfit for any other job , but they are unfit to belong to the human race. May that poor woman Rest In Peace .

Friday, February 08, 2008

NOT WELCOME!

"Republicans throughout Ireland are strongly opposed to the impending visit by British Queen Elizabeth, who is also the British head of State, and will protest at this extravagant display of pomp and wealth.

But not alone for these reasons. Queen Elizabeth saw fit to award an OBE to Colonel Derek Wilford, Officer Commanding the Parachute Regiment on Bloody Sunday in Derry when they shot dead 14 unarmed civilians. Not exactly an inspiring role model for women? It matters not a whit that some of those armed forces are leaving Irish soil because their place will be taken by MI5 who are deeply embedded here.

There remains one huge obstacle to reconciliation between us and Britain and that obstacle is Partition. Part of the process of putting the past behind us and moving forward would be the removal of the illegal and unjust border that divides our country and our people. Have the courage Elizabeth Windsor and begin the process of handing back what has never belonged to you - the Six northeastern Counties. That would indeed be called a 'historic event'.

It has nothing to do with maturity on our part that we should welcome the Queen of England to our shores, rather it is the same slavish attitude that has always existed in Ireland. Being an occupied and colonised people for so long can make us willing participants in our own domination.

We reject the fraudulent claims of the English Queen to be 'Queen of Northern Ireland' ".
-statement from Cathleen Knowles McGuirk, Vice-President Republican Sinn Féin , June 26 last year , and still relevant now.
The Dublin Executive of Republican Sinn Fein intends to protest the visit of this English queen by holding a peaceful picket at the GPO in O'Connell Street in Dublin on the day of her visit . All welcome!
"There is always more brass than brains in an aristocracy."
- Oscar Wilde.

Wednesday, February 06, 2008

THE CATHOLIC HIERARCHY - PROPPING-UP THE ORANGE STATE........

At a press briefing on May 3rd, 1983, Bishop Cathal Daly declared that a vote for Sinn Fein was 'a wasted vote' , and that people should think seriously before risking being seen as 'supporting violence' . As polling day approached , the rising crescendo of calls from Bishop Daly and other members of the Catholic hierarchy became increasingly explicit in their support for the SDLP. Against the background of this intervention into the arena of nationalist party politics , Patricia Collins sketches the role played by the leadership of the Catholic Church over the past fourteen years against nationalist resistance .
From 'IRIS' magazine , July 1983.

Bishop Cahal Daly stated - " The armalite and the ballot box cannot be carried together ." ('1169...' Comment : Not so much that they "cannot be carried together" as that sections of those who were involved in this struggle and attempted to do so were quickly overcome by how easier (and financially rewarding) political life was when one joined the constitutionalists full time and deserted the revolutionary path.) Bishop Daly had turned his back on centuries of history and in particular on Irish history between 1918-21 . An IRA statement calling on the Bishop to spell out whether he believed the British presence in the North was morally good , was left unanswered .

Eventually , after more attacks on the Republican Movement , culminating in remarks at the funeral of Judge William Doyle in January 1983 , Bishop Cahal Daly summed up the Catholic hierarchy's political stance on 'violence' and the 'legitmacy of the Northern Ireland state' , in a major speech delivered in St Anne's Cathedral , Belfast , on March 22nd , 1983 . Misquoting the philosopher Karl von Clausewitz about war being the pursuit of political aims through other means ( according to Bishop Daly he said that war is 'diplomacy conducted by other means') the Bishop attempted to prove that since 'war' and 'politics' are - contrary to Clausewitz's view - different in nature , a group such as the Republican Movement *, which upholds the right to take up arms against a foreign occupation , cannot "...honestly and credibly claim to be a political movement.." ('1169..' Comment * not to be confused with the group which left the Movement in 1986 and registered itself as a 'political party' with Leinster House shortly afterwards.)

This intellectual balderdash was a poor attempt , in the words of the song , to 'brand Ireland's fight 800 years of crime' . But the bishop was to sink even lower : after saying that "...nationalists must acknowledge that the Stormont regime had notable successes and achievements to its credit .. " , Bishop Daly went on to openly justify the UDR , RUC and the legitmacy of the six-county state in his infamous St Anne's Speech.......
(MORE LATER).

BALLYMURPHY INTERVIEW.
From 'IRIS' magazine , July/August 1982.

William (64) and Anne Stone (55) have been living in their Ballymurphy home since 1954 , and have nine children - five daughters and four sons - aged between 14 and 35 . The eldest son , 26-year-old Liam , has been in the cages of Long Kesh Prison since 1976 .

By Ballymurphy standards , the Stone family have been relatively fortunate in one respect , with William in constant employment . Anne , too , had a part-time job at night in a restaurant , and has been actively involved in the Ballymurphy Tenants' Association since its beginnings . Anne was asked what it was like moving in to the Ballymurphy area : " We were allocated a house in Ballymurphy in 1954 . We lived with our parents at that stage on the Upper Crumlin Road with our four daughters . Just where 'Ballymurphy' was I didn't know . We arrived , and the house was in a deplorable state ."

Asked what were the facilities like at the time , Anne replied - " When we arrived in 1954 we hadn't a school , we had one shop for 600 houses , no bus services . We had nothing . A band of us got together to improve things . We organised voluntary subscriptions , jumble sales , ballots , bus runs - the lot . Ballymurphy was flung up , 600 houses , and it was supposed to have been built for young people with young families ! " Anne was asked about the early days spent getting things organised , and what she witnessed during the 'Civil Rights Riots' . And she was asked about her imprisoned son , Liam.......
(MORE LATER).

REPUBLICAN MOURNERS DEFEAT RUC.......
Between December 1983 and May 1987 , over 25 republican or nationalist funerals were systematically attacked by the RUC as a matter of deliberate British policy . The objective was to drive mourners off the streets so that later Britain could claim dwindling support for republicanism as 'evidenced' by the small numbers attending IRA funerals . As Jane Plunkett reports , the opposite happened . More and more people came out to defend the remains of republican dead , the RUC were exposed as being as brutal and sectarian as ever , and these two factors , combined with damaging international news coverage , eventually forced the British government to reverse its policy of attacking republican funerals .
From 'IRIS' magazine , October 1987.

In March , 1987 , the (P)IRA issued a statement listing 25 funerals since December 1983 at which mourners had been harassed , threatened or physically attacked by the RUC . The (P)IRA statement described British 'Law and Order' Minister Nicholas Scott's words - " Even in war , people are allowed to bury their dead in peace and dignity..." - as "...the height of hypocrisy , coming from the architect of ghoulishness.." , and stated - " The (P)IRA agrees that people should have the right to bury their dead in peace , and operations such as today's * will not recur if the RUC respects nationalist and republican dead." ( * On Friday , March 13th , 1987 , the (P)IRA exploded a bomb at Roselawn Cemetery gates , one hour before an RUC man was to be buried in that cemetery.)

Despite the ritual establishment 'hoo-hah' of condemnation , it was clear that the (P)IRA action at Roselawn accurately reflected the deep anger of many nationalists . It was this anger and the determined and courageous resistance shown by the mourners and bereaved families at three subsequent funerals which finally forced the RUC to retreat .

Initially , the RUC ignored the (P)IRA's warning : the funeral of Derry (P)IRA Volunteer Gerard Logue on March 24th , 1987 , was delayed for two hours by RUC efforts to hijack the coffin . The RUC went to the extent of seizing the keys of the hearse and threatening to drive it themselves . The mourners were squeezed together by the RUC , and then they were brutally batoned by them . The atmosphere throughout was extremely tense , but the determination of the anguished Logue family and of the 3,000 mourners held out , forcing the RUC eventually to back off . But still , the British forces of 'law and order' would not completely abandod their ghoulish policy.......
(MORE LATER).

Monday, February 04, 2008

" DESTROY THE BOATS...!"

'Robert FitzStephen landed at Bannow, near Waterford, in May, 1169, with an army of three hundred archers, thirty knights, and sixty men-at-arms. A second detachment arrived the next day, headed by Maurice de Prendergast, a Welsh gentleman, with ten knights and sixty archers. Dermod at once assembled his men, and joined his allies. He could only muster five hundred followers; but with their united forces, such as they were, the outlawed king and the needy adventurers laid siege to the city of Wexford. The brave inhabitants of this mercantile town at once set forth to meet them; but, fearing the result if attacked in open field by well-disciplined troops, they fired the suburbs, and entrenched themselves in the town. Next morning the assaulting party prepared for a renewal of hostilities, but the clergy of Wexford advised an effort for peace: terms of capitulation were negotiated, and Dermod was obliged to pardon, when he would probably have preferred to massacre. It is said that FitzStephen burned his little fleet, to show his followers that they must conquer or die. Two cantreds of land, comprising the present baronies of Forth and Bargy, were bestowed on him: and thus was established the first English colony in Ireland.....'
(From Here)

Victims of the Great Hunger...
'The Times' editorial of September 30, 1845, warned; "In England the two main meals of a working man's day now consists of potatoes." England's potato-dependence was as excessive as Ireland's. Grossly over-populated relative to its food supply, England faced famine unless it could import vast amounts of alternative food. But it didn't take merely Ireland's surplus food; or enough Irish food to save England. It took more; for profit and to exterminate the people of Ireland. British Queen Victoria's economist, Nassau Senior, expressed his fear that existing policies "...will not kill more than one million Irish in 1848 and that will scarcely be enough to do much good." When an eye-witness urged a stop to the genocide-in-progress, Trevelyan replied: "We must not complain of what we really want to obtain." Trevelyan insisted that all reports of starvation were exaggerated, until 1847. He then declared it ended and refused entry to the American food relief ship Sorciére. Thomas Carlyle, influential British essayist, wrote; "Ireland is like a half-starved rat that crosses the path of an elephant. What must the elephant do? Squelch it - by heavens - squelch it." 'Total Annihilation' suggested The Times leader of September 2, 1846; and in 1848 its editorialists crowed "A Celt will soon be as rare on the banks of the Shannon as the red man on the banks of Manhattan..."

PLEASE HELP US TO GET A TRUE RESOLUTION TO THE PROBLEM OF BRITISH INTERFERENCE IN IRISH AFFAIRS .
Thank You ,
Sharon.

Thursday, January 31, 2008

JANUARY 2008 : (C)IRA TRIBUTE TO DAN KEATING .

In an action that Dan himself would have appreciated , armed Irish Republican Volunteers paid a fitting tribute to life-long Irish Republican Dan Keating, who died at the grand age of 105 on October 2nd ,2007. As stated before , the authors of this blog met Dan on many an occasion and always found the man inspirational. His loss to Irish Republicanism is still being felt , but the legacy he left with us is closely nurtured and will be passed-on to future generations .
Ni seoinini sinn go leir!
(Dan's history and a tribute to the man can be read here and here.)

Wednesday, January 30, 2008

(Unrelated Comment : Once again, we have 'got our foot in the door' : thanks to whoever it was 'out there' who put us forward for nomination - much appreciated ! Now we have to find a 'Blog Awards Judge' to bribe . Or a couple of them....!)

THE CATHOLIC HIERARCHY - PROPPING-UP THE ORANGE STATE........

At a press briefing on May 3rd, 1983, Bishop Cathal Daly declared that a vote for Sinn Fein was 'a wasted vote' , and that people should think seriously before risking being seen as 'supporting violence' . As polling day approached , the rising crescendo of calls from Bishop Daly and other members of the Catholic hierarchy became increasingly explicit in their support for the SDLP. Against the background of this intervention into the arena of nationalist party politics , Patricia Collins sketches the role played by the leadership of the Catholic Church over the past fourteen years against nationalist resistance .
From 'IRIS' magazine , July 1983.

After years of Bishop William Philbin's obtuse conservatism , Bishop Cahal Daly, it was expected , would be welcomed as a breath of fresh air . Fr Des Wilson was re-installed in his priestly faculties , while some of the most prominent 'Bishop Philbin's men' were removed , including Fr Toner , who had played an infamous role in trying to demoralise the hunger-strikers.

Four days after the succession of Bishop Daly to the diocese of Down and Connor , the election results - especially in West Belfast and Fermanagh/South Tyrone where Sinn Fein topped the poll - came as a reminder to the Catholic hierarchy of the extent of support for those they called 'the men of violence' . The Church attempted desperately to rationalise the result in two ways : firstly , they implied that Sinn Fein had conned some voters by playing down its support for the armed struggle ('1169...' Comment - ....which the Provisionals now deem as ' unnecessary ' , as is to be expected : the armed campaign seeks to change the state structures of the Six County area , a structure which the Provisionals are now salaried to maintain !) , ignoring the reality that the media had focussed exclusively throughout the campaign on the theme of 'the armalite and the ballot box' .

Secondly , the Church tried to explain the 64,000 people who voted for Sinn Fein in the same way as the SDLP, saying that economic deprivation pushes idle and frustrated young people 'into the hands of the paramilitaries'. The Church was struggling to make up lost ground : while Cardinal Thomas O Fiaich and Dr Edward Daly, Bishop of Derry , issued token statements protesting against strip searches of prisoners and 'security forces excesses' , and Bishop Cahal Daly gave no less than eight major political addresses or interviews in his first seven months of office . His inaugural address had provided the code words - 'turn away from the men of violence' (the IRA) and 'support the men of vision' (the SDLP) . ('1169...' Comment : today that 'code' would read (the RSF organisation) and (Provisional Sinn Fein) respectively...)
(MORE LATER).

REPUBLICAN MOURNERS DEFEAT RUC.......
Between December 1983 and May 1987 , over 25 republican or nationalist funerals were systematically attacked by the RUC as a matter of deliberate British policy . The objective was to drive mourners off the streets so that later Britain could claim dwindling support for republicanism as 'evidenced' by the small numbers attending IRA funerals . As Jane Plunkett reports , the opposite happened . More and more people came out to defend the remains of republican dead , the RUC were exposed as being as brutal and sectarian as ever , and these two factors , combined with damaging international news coverage , eventually forced the British government to reverse its policy of attacking republican funerals .
From 'IRIS' magazine , October 1987.

On February 11th , 1987 , Free State Foreign Minister Peter Barry was claiming , yet again , that the Hillsborough Treaty had "....radically altered the position of Northern nationalists ..." and claimed to have detected "...real progress..." in relations between the British crown forces and Northern nationalists . ('1169...' Comment - these same claims are being made - again , falsely - by the same 'establishment' parties today re the 1998 Stormont Treaty , with one difference : former republicans, now in the service of Westminster , are singing from that same hymn sheet. For shame.)

His remarks could hardly have been directed at those thousands of Northern nationalists who had been to or witnessed any republican funeral in the previous three years !

On Friday , March 13th , 1987 , the (P)IRA's Belfast Brigade exploded a bomb outside the gates of Roselawn Cemetery in East Belfast , explaining that it was "...a warning to the British Government and the RUC to cease their brutality at nationalist (sic) funerals ." That bomb exploded over one hour before the funeral of an RUC man killed in a (P)IRA ambush - a 50-minute warning had been given . The (P)IRA's Roselawn bomb resulted in the tying-up of substantial enemy resources at subsequent funerals of British crown forces executed by the (P)IRA , but its most immediate effect was to expose the hypocrisy of the British : the then 'law and order' British minister , Nicholas Scott, blustered - " Even in war people are allowed to bury their dead in peace and dignity." !
(MORE LATER).

Tuesday, January 29, 2008

LIAM MELLOWS statue ,Eyre Square, Galway.

Over the last few days a 'war of words', of sorts , has been entered into by Irish Republicans , who rightly objected to the mis-use of the above Commemorative statue by "an alliance of community action groups and individuals" calling themselves the 'Galway Alliance Against War' : this group stated their intention to dress the Mellows statue in an "orange boiler suit", an action which , as stated , Irish republicans objected to. A Mr Niall Farrell, representing that group , stated, in a post on 'Indymedia' which he filled with other equally-nonsensical ramblings of a nature one would expect from a bitter spoilt child - "I have a sneaking suspicion that RSF particularly didn’t like the colour of the boiler suit – orange. And I jest not."
The man is , in my opinion, a political clown , hell-bent on making a reputation for himself at any cost, and at any cost to whichever organisation he latches on to. He runs the risk of 'burning bridges' that he , himself , put no effort into assembling and , if left unchecked by his own people , will eventually destroy the solidarity which exists between Irish republicans and , in this instance , the overall 'Alliance Against War' organisation . He is a liability to any non-establishment organisation and his cheap publicity stunt has , in my opinion , the potential to seriously damage relations between progressive groups who share a somewhat common goal. By then , of course , the Farrell's of that group will have moved on , perhaps to wreck havoc in other organisations or , more likely , to nestle their useless arse in a cosy seat in Leinster House .
Myself and other republicans have marched with , and supported , 'Alliance Against War' groups in Dublin many times - indeed , we often assembled with them at the Garden Of Remembrance in Dublin's Parnell Square . However , there was never any attempt by the Dublin group to 'dress-up' any of the statues in that fine venue . It seems that the Dublin group are not as easily mis-lead by Farrell and his likes . What next - a spray-paint job on the Republican Plot in Glasnevin ?

Also- a person calling him/herself 'Dunlo' (not Tom Dunloe,I hope?) , representing the 'Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign' dismissed RSF's objection to the 'Boiler Suit Stunt' as an objection showing "the ugly, aggressive, racist presence of RSF....these troglodytes, these Spinal Taps of republicanism... " etc etc. I can only hope that this 'Dunlo' character will be pulled-up - at the very least - by his own people , for his politically ignorant comments . 'Dunlo' and Mr Farrell share at least one common trait that most organism's of that nature possess : the further away the war and the injustices that flow from that war , the more likely they are to campaign for a just solution . However - the equally important injustice 90 miles up the road is dismissed as 'a terrorist campaign'.
Wrap yourselves in an orange boiler suit , 'Dunlo' and Farrell . But check the garment twice - it might contain a green and white stripe and thus render itself unwearable to both of you.

Sharon.

Saturday, January 26, 2008

The 36th Anniversary of the 'Bloody Sunday' massacre by British crown forces in Derry in 1972 was marked in Dublin on Saturday 26th January 2008 near the GPO in O' Connell Street .
The organisers ensured that a symbolic 14-person picket was maintained for two hours on the traffic isle while other republican activists handed-out over two thousand leaflets entitled 'Remember Bloody Sunday' / 'No to Queen Of England' / and 'No To English Rule In Ireland' . The picket was a great success , and many of the foreign visitors in town were practically queueing up to have photographs taken with the protestors . Over 150 copies of the Republican Movement's monthly newspaper 'Saoirse' were sold . Passing motorists and bus-drivers sounded their horns and shouted support ,whilst pedestrians took a few minutes off from shopping and sight-seeing to congratulate the protestors for helping to keep the issue in the public spotlight.
We publish five photographs of the event with this post, another few can be viewed here and three more here.
Thanks to Republican Sinn Fein for organising this event and to the shoppers and drivers-by for giving such a warm welcome to those who took part. Go raibh maith agat agus slán go fóill anois!

'Bloody Sunday' banner , facing the GPO.

Black Flag protestor .

'Remember Bloody Sunday' .

Des Dalton - "POW Status NOW!"

A black flag flying over Ireland!

Thanks ,
Sharon.

Thursday, January 24, 2008

Turn the sound up for the next few minutes.......

......then read this!

Sharon.

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

THE CATHOLIC HIERARCHY - PROPPING-UP THE ORANGE STATE........

At a press briefing on May 3rd, 1983, Bishop Cathal Daly declared that a vote for Sinn Fein was 'a wasted vote' , and that people should think seriously before risking being seen as 'supporting violence' . As polling day approached , the rising crescendo of calls from Bishop Daly and other members of the Catholic hierarchy became increasingly explicit in their support for the SDLP. Against the background of this intervention into the arena of nationalist party politics , Patricia Collins sketches the role played by the leadership of the Catholic Church over the past fourteen years against nationalist resistance .
From 'IRIS' magazine , July 1983.

In Dublin on February 17th 1983 , the ill-named 'Irish Commission for Justice and Peace' launched their new 'Peace Education Programme' . This was , amongst other things , an attempt by the Catholic hierarchy to act on the high unemployment rate but it was a rather awkward attempt : in parts of the six counties , the St Vincent de Paul Society tried to organise community workshops to 'take people off the dole queue' but , in one such scheme in the Dungannon area , people felt they were being exploited as they were 'bringing down the live register' but were losing what little money they were entitled to in supplementary benefits .

In March 1983 , in an obvious and belated attempt to undermine Sinn Fein's widespread success , through its proliferating advice centres in Belfast , in providing help to nationalist people on the whole range of social issues , Bishop Cahal Daly called his clergy together and asked that at least one priest in each parish involve himself in social issues and , in early April 1983 , he went further - he announced the appointment , for the first time in 120 years , of two auxiliary bishops in the Down and Connor diocese, Canon Patrick Walsh and Fr Anthony Farquhar, to co-ordinate the Church's involvement in social issues , primarily in West Belfast . Without admitting openly that the rising profile of Sinn Fein was the motive for the Church's novel concern , Bishop Daly stated - " We're deeply concerned about the deprivation and unemployment , the whole complex of bad housing , deprived environment , the neglected and

rejected in society." The political thinking of the Catholic hierarchy has never been expressed so often and so loudly as it has during the previous few months : on October 17th , 1982 , the Very Reverend Fr William Philbin, Bishop of Down and Connor , retired and was replaced by Bishop Cahal Daly . If the timing of this move - three days before the Assembly elections - was coincidental , the choice of man was deliberate : an up-front bishop for a front-line diocese . A bishop versed in the social sciences , who could cope with the falling church attendances , and sufficiently articulate to hold his own in the charged political atmosphere of the North of Ireland.......
(MORE LATER).

THE POLITICS OF REPRESSION .......

Repression is not just bullets and the kick on the door at dawn. Repression is an integrated imperialist policy to deal with a risen people which encompasses all facets of social and political life.
From 'IRIS' magazine , July/August 1982.

The policy of 'Ulsterisation' probably proceeded too rapidly , as the RUC was left in an exposed position (vis a vis the IRA ) and the British Army had to resume its 'dominant position' . The Republican prisoners , the IRA and the people themselves all combined to defeat the 'normalisation' policy and thwarted the hoped-for defeat of the resistance by the early 1980's .

The insoluble contradiction in British policy is that it cannot succeed without repression yet repression only breeds increased resistance. The people have not been 'bought off' by 'reforms' which have been paltry enough anyway. The true colours of British intransigence were brought out fully in their cold indifference to the 1981 hunger-strike deaths.

Today , in the wake of the hunger-strike , resistance continues with a new degree of support which far outstrips that of the 'civil rights' period : a new generation of fighters is emerging , and it is evident to everyone * that the only 'British solution' is a British withdrawal....... ('1169..' Comment * : not the case , unfortunately - there are those who now sit comfortably in Leinster House and/or Stormont that once claimed to be fighting for a British withdrawal and , indeed , profess to still seek that outcome. However , they are quite content to assist Westminster in administering its 'rule' in six Irish counties - and accept a salary and pension for doing so - whilst dismissing those who continue to try and 'break the connection' as "dissidents/terrorists with no mandate..." . Those 'half-way housers' - quislings- have always been around , but have always been by-passed by Republicans and left , heavy-hearted as they no doubt are, to console themselves by self-delusion that they done the best they could...)
(MORE LATER).

REPUBLICAN MOURNERS DEFEAT RUC.......
Between December 1983 and May 1987 , over 25 republican or nationalist funerals were systematically attacked by the RUC as a matter of deliberate British policy . The objective was to drive mourners off the streets so that later Britain could claim dwindling support for republicanism as 'evidenced' by the small numbers attending IRA funerals . As Jane Plunkett reports , the opposite happened . More and more people came out to defend the remains of republican dead , the RUC were exposed as being as brutal and sectarian as ever , and these two factors , combined with damaging international news coverage , eventually forced the British government to reverse its policy of attacking republican funerals .
From 'IRIS' magazine , October 1987.

Nuns and priests of the Corpus Christi parish complained of the RUC's "...insensitive conduct.." and accused them of breaking assurances . Fr Jim Donaghy said in a statement to the press : " As children were leaving church , and as the mourners were assembling for the removal of the remains to the cemetery , the RUC and the soldiers kept their guns trained on them . Later in the cemetery , five RUC men , mounted on Land Rovers , directed their weapons at the backs of those standing at the graveside." Cahal Daly, who that very same morning officiated at a Jubilee Mass at the same chapel , again failed to speak out .

At the funerals of individuals killed during the recent INLA feud, British forces of occupation often outnumbered the mourners : those who attended the funerals of Thomas 'Ta' Power and John Gerard O'Reilly were attacked by the Brits , as were those who attended the funeral of Mary McGlinchey in Bellaghy in February 1987 . Her father had announced in advance that this would be a private burial , but the RUC again staged a show of strength , provocatively walking alongside pallbearers and bationing several mourners during scuffles .

Relatives and mourners were manhandled by the RUC at the funerals of Newryman Thomas Maguire in March 1987 and of Tony McCluskey that same month , in Armagh . Both were private funerals . On February 21st 1987 , the RUC effectively seized control of the burial of Michael Kearney in Belfast , demanding that the Irish Tricolour not be displayed and that there be no guard of honour : mourners were ordered to walk behind the coffin in three lines and they and the coffin itself were flanked on either side by lines of RUC and British soldiers . This , the RUC hoped , would be the shape of things to come.......
(MORE LATER).

Monday, January 21, 2008

IRISH EVICTED FROM THEIR OWN LANDS...

THE DESTRUCTION OF IRISH TRADE.
The early Irish were famous for their excellence in arts and crafts, especially for their wonderful work in metals, bronze, silver and gold. By the beginning of the 14th century trading ships were constantly sailing between Ireland and the leading ports of the Continent.

COMPETITION WITH ENGLAND.
This commerce was a threat to English merchants who tried to discourage such trade. They brought pressure on their government, which passed a law in 1494 that prohibited the Irish from exporting any industrial product, unless it was shipped through an English port, with an English permit after paying English fees. However, England was not able to enforce the law. By 1548 British merchants were using armed vessels to attack and plunder trading ships travelling between Ireland and the Continent (unofficial piracy).

ENGLISH MEN, ENGLISH SHIPS, ENGLISH CREWS, ENGLISH PORTS AND IRISH GOODS.
In 1571 Queen Elizabeth ordered that no cloth or materials made in Ireland could be exported, even to England, except by English men in Ireland. The act was amended in 1663 to prohibit the use of all foreign-going ships, except those that were built in England, mastered and three-fourths manned by English, and cleared from English ports. The return cargoes had to be unloaded in England. Ireland's shipbuilding industry was thus destroyed and her trade with the Continent wiped out.

TRADE WITH 'THE COLONIES'.
Ireland then began a lucrative trade with 'the Colonies'. That was "cured" in 1670 by a new law which forbade Ireland to export to 'the colonies' "anything except horses, servants, and victuals." England followed with a decree that no Colonial products could be landed in Ireland until they had first landed in England and paid all English rates and duties.
Ireland was forbidden to engage in trade with 'the colonies' and plantations of the New World if it involved sugar, tobacco, cotton, wool, rice, and numerous other items. The only item left for Ireland to import was rum. The English wanted to help English rum makers in the West Indies at the expense of Irish farmers and distillers.

IRISH WOOL TRADE CURTAILED, THEN DESTROYED.
When the Irish were forbidden to export their sheep, they began a thriving trade in wool. In 1634 The Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, Lord Stafford, wrote to King Charles I: "All wisdom advises us to keep this (Irish) kingdom as much subordinate and dependent on England as possible; and, holding them from manufacture of wool (which unless otherwise directed, I shall by all means discourage), and then enforcing them to fetch their cloth from England, how can they depart from us without nakedness and beggary?"
In 1660 even the export of wool from Ireland to England was forbidden. Other English laws prohibited all exports of Irish wool in any form. In 1673, Sir William Temple advised that the Irish would act wisely by giving up the manufacture of wool even for home use, because "it tended to interfere prejudicially with the English woolen trade."
George II sent three warships and eight other armed vessels to cruise off the coast of Ireland to seize all vessels carrying woolens from Ireland. "So ended the fairest promise that Ireland had ever known of becoming a prosperous and a happy country."

LINEN TRADE REPRESSED.
Irish linen manufacturing met with the same fate when the Irish were forbidden to export their product to all other countries except England. A thirty percent duty was levied in England, effectively prohibiting the trade. English manufacturers, on the other hand, were granted a bounty for all linen exports.

BEEF, PORK, BUTTER AND CHEESE.
In 1665 Irish cattle were no longer welcome in England, so the Irish began killing them and exporting the meat. King Charles II declared that the importation of cattle, sheep, swine and beef from Ireland was henceforth a common nuisance, and forbidden. Pork and bacon were soon prohibited, followed by butter and cheese.

SILK AND TOBACCO.
In the middle of the 18th century, Ireland began developing a silk weaving industry. Britain imposed a heavy duty on Irish silk, but British manufactured silk was admitted to Ireland duty-free. Ireland attempted to develop her tobacco industry, but that too was prohibited.

FISH.
In 1819 England withdrew the subsidy for Irish fisheries and increased the subsidies to British fishermen - with the result that Ireland's possession of one of the longest coastlines in Europe, still left it with one of the most miserable fisheries.

GLASS.
Late in the 18th century the Irish became known for their manufacture of glass. George II forbade the Irish to export glass to any country whatsoever under penalty of forfeiting ship, cargo and ten shillings per pound weight.

THE RESULT-
By 1839, a French visitor to Ireland, Gustave de Beaumont, was able to write:
"In all countries, more or less, paupers may be discovered; but an entire nation of paupers is what was never seen until it was shown in Ireland. To explain the social condition of such a country, it would be only necessary to recount its miseries and its sufferings; the history of the poor is the history of Ireland."

CONCLUSION:
From the 15th through the 19th centuries, successive English monarchies and governments enacted laws designed to suppress and destroy Irish manufacturing and trade. These repressive Acts, coupled with the Penal Laws, reduced the Irish people to "nakedness and beggary" in a very direct and purposeful way. The destitute Irish then stood at the very brink of the bottomless pit. When the potato blight struck in 1845, it was but time for the final push....

Please help us to push back - your support would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Sharon.