1169 And Counting.....

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

THE IRA : the new IRA is younger , more radical and has seen little of life other than violence.......
By Ed Moloney.
From 'Magill' magazine, September 1980.

ED MALONEY : " Why did the IRA kill Sir Richard Sykes, the British ambassador to the Hague ? "

IRA : " We have carried out bombings and shootings in Germany over the last two years as well. Last Spring we executed Sir Richard Sykes . He was involved in intelligence gathering against our organisation but he was also a leading propagandist in the same way as Peter Jay was in America . Sykes was also the man who conducted the investigation into our attack on the British ambassador to Dublin , Ewart Biggs.

Richard Sykes was a very important person and what that attack , and others , have shown, is the IRA's capability to operate abroad and against the enemy, not the host country , and gained our struggle attention there. "
(MORE LATER).

HOPE IN THE SHADOWS.......

For some Northern nationalists the Anglo-Irish Agreement ('Hillsborough Treaty',1985) only makes their lives more dangerous , for others it offers hope on a road to nowhere. Fionnuala O'Connor visited a (Provisional) Sinn Fein advice centre in the Ardoyne and Seamus Mallon's office in Newry.
From 'MAGILL' magazine, December 1986.

Tom Fleming says he first got involved in republicanism as a vigilante when Ardoyne streets were burned out and people were evacuated into the local school in 1969 : " You had to get those people their welfare benefits . I learned to do it by picking up the phone ..."

When things quietened down he went back to his job in the Electricity Service but left for good rather than go to work half a mile away on the loyalist Shankill. " And after the street burnings , those of us living in non-loyalist areas were marked men. If you move out you're surrounded by loyalists on all sides and they can see anybody coming in and out on a regular basis. They know you're a nationalist . "

It's a subject that nationalist Ardoyne can go on about all day - the safest ways in , the best ways out at night ... " Up at the top , people living in Mountainview (on the other side of the Crumlin from Ardoyne proper) feel very unsafe when they're walking out of the Star , the local pub . " The UVF's killing of a local man in the grounds of Holy Cross Monastery is only the most striking recent incident - over the years a string of Ardoyne nationalists have been picked off . And , most notably , between 1974 and 1976 the Ardoyne Provos notch up their own tally of killings.......
(MORE LATER).

Sunday, April 19, 2009

UNWARRENTED , UNNECESSARY AND UNCALLED FOR GARDAI INTERFERENCE ENDS A GOOD NIGHT IN A BAD WAY....

[An update on the arrest of 'Seán' can be found at the bottom of this post , plus we have added two extra pics related to the function.]

PHOTO UPDATES - TUESDAY MORNING 21 APRIL 2009, 12.40AM : 3 PHOTOGRAPHS , SHOWING THE TWO UNIFORMED TROUBLEMAKERS INVOLVED AND 'SEAN' BEING HANDCUFFED....

First , for the benefit of our many readers who reside outside this State , a quick up-date on the accepted pub-closing times here: on any Saturday night in any pub in the 26-County State , last drinks are to be served by 12.30AM and normal practice is that 'Drinking-Up' time of usually 20 minutes or one-half hour is permitted after that time.
Last night (Saturday 18th April 2009) at exactly 12.30am two uniformed members of the Free State Garda Siochana, one male , one female, entered the 79'r pub in Ballyfermot , walked past the many customers that were in the downstairs bar , made their way to the stairs leading up to the function room and were asked at the top of those stairs by RSF security people what the problem was : the male cop replied that there was "reports of trouble on the premises" and that they were there to "sort it out" . They were told that there was no trouble at all on the premises , either in the bar , the lounge or the function room , but the two cops pushed past the RSF security people and practically ran into the function room , where the band was playing its second-last song , before finishing up proper by singing our National Anthem .
The cops were met with loud whistling and a slow-hand clap , and laughter, the group kept singing and everyone at the function carried-on singing along , talking to friends and finishing their drinks . The pub bouncer and one or two members of the pub staff entered the function room and asked those present to please finish their drinks as quickly as possible as the cops - both uniformed and plain clothes (Special Branch) - were outside the premises as well as inside , and were apparently determined to disrupt what remained of the event. It should be noted that two car loads of the State political police (six men) had been outside the premises since 7.30pm , stopping anyone entering the pub and demanding their names and addresses , regardless of whether those customers were going to the bar , the lounge or the ballad session .

Before leaving the function room at 12.40AM , the two cops stated that those present will have to leave the premises NOW, as they were "breaking the law" by drinking alcohol on a licensed premises after hours. The group were then singing their last song (before singing the National Anthem) and the serving bar in the function room was closed - lights off , 'shutters down' . The by-then approximate 60 people present were finishing the last of their drinks , putting their coats on , saying good-bye to their friends when, at 12.55AM , the two uniformed cops returned , notebooks in hand , and stood there uneasily as the National Anthem was sung by the group and by the remaining crowd . Once again , these two impartial enforcers of law and order had to walk past the punters in the downstairs bar to get to where the ballad session was being held and had practically ran up the stairs to the function room : once inside , they both proceeded to demand the names and addresses of the remaining customers , which immediately started a bit of a shouting match between the two cops , the customers and the RSF people present . One man in particular - we'll call him 'Seán' for now (he is not an RSF member) , as we're not sure whether this incident will be taken further by him or not - objected to the cops about the manner in which people at his table were being bullied by them and a verbal disagreement ensued between most of those still present and those two cops. The RSF people present , the pub bouncer and pub staff were all trying to calm things down and were advising people to vacate the premises ; the RSF people were advising people to do so as it was obvious thet the cops were out to stir things up.

The two uniformed cops left the premises , with those present also leaving . However , once outside on the footpath , we were met by a Special Branch car and two Gardai cars - about six uniformed cops , male and female, and three Special Branch men - 'Seán' was immediately approached by three uniformed cops and two of the Special Branch men and was grabbed by them and told he was being placed under arrest . He objected , as did we all , and an attempt was made by two male uniformed cops to place him in a head-lock whilst one Special Branch man and one uniformed cop attempted to wrestle his arms behind his back : as you can imagine , there was some shouting and pushing going on at this stage , with RSF members and others loudly accusing the cops of engineering this scenario by their intrusive "mini raid" on an up-to-then trouble-free event . RSF people told the uniformed cops that they were wittingly or unwittingly being used by the Special Branch to disrupt a political event - a fund raiser - and were not doing themselves any favours in the area by being seen to do so , as quite a crowd of homeward-bound locals from other venues had gathered to witness their 'local neighbourhood cop' , backed-up by their new-found friends in the Special Branch , rough-up a crowd of local people on the footpath outside a neighbourhood pub. 'Seán' was eventually dragged to a Garda car and bundled inside , despite the on-going protests of those members of the public who were observing all this , and the cop car sped away . A solicitor was contacted there and then and , realising that no more could be done at that time , interested parties exchanged or confirmed their contact details with each other in case this issue is brought further , and the crowds dispersed . Of their own free will, this time .

This was a blatant political action by the Special Branch , carried-out in full view of the public and backed-up by their uniformed colleagues , and came as no great surprise to the RSF people present : the only real surprise is the fact that it was carried-out in full public view as such actions are usually only undertaken when republicans have been isolated ie when and where the republican version can be denied by the State and their operatives. That is not the case in this instance and has had the effect that those who previously would have disputed events as outlined by us will now , at the very least , think twice before accepting the 'official' version .

THE MAIN TWO TROUBLEMAKERS.

THE UNIFORMED FEMALE TROUBLEMAKER WHO HAD TO PROVE SHE WAS AS TOUGH AS HER MALE COLLEAGUES.

'SEAN' BEING HANDCUFFED BY THE TROUBLEMAKERS.

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I am not in any way being dismissive of the above-mentioned facts , but for me not to give a report on how the rest of that event went would be , I feel , to admit that the State had stunned , bullied and/or frightened me into silence and that they had 'won' , that they had obtained their objective ie to disrupt venues where republicans hold functions and to intimidate people into not attending same: and that's not gonna happen!

It was a great night , despite the ending .
To an almost-full hall , the organisers welcomed those present and stated that they had sold over 200 tickets for the function in the previous month . They told the audience what the night was about - a fund raiser for the local RSF organisation , one of many which they had held in the area - and the band , the 'Sons Of Erin' , were thanked for being so professional about their business , as they were set-up , tuned-up and ready to go ! And special mention here to a young lad from the audience , Pat , who had brought a tin-whistle with him and joined in with the group , on stage , brilliantly playing along in three songs : he could hold a crowd on his own , never mind with a ballad group to supply 'backing vocals' !
It was highlighted from the stage that the intended raffle had been improved on - as well as the already-advertised two t-shirts , two bodhrons , framed 1916 Proclamation and bottle of whiskey , raffle prizes (on a 'winner-picks-their-own-prize' basis) now included a second bottle of whiskey (thanks to 'G' from the pub) , a POW plaque , made and signed by the CIRA POW's in Portlaoise Prison, one bottle of vodka (thanks to Anto) and , courtesy of the 'Sons Of Erin' group, two Irish rebel CD's. Eleven prizes in total,at no extra raffle-ticket charge!
Attention was also drawn to the intended picket and protest to be held on Sunday 19th April , at 2.30PM , outside No. 16 Moore Street in Dublin city centre , and the reasons for this action were mentioned .

The whole event - apart from the raid - was a huge success , with hundreds of Euro being made by the local RSF people , and new support and contacts being established. The organisers thanked , amongst others, Frankie , Cathy and young Travis* (*for being with us in spirit - all 8 years of him!) and made special mention of the pub management and staff and the audience for not being intimidated by the nuisance presence (at that time, those causing the nuisance were only outside) of the State representatives , who were then content in 'only' trying to turn people away from the venue.
The night was a success in another way , too - it exposed the lie that 'your local neighbourhood cop' is a 'fair and impartial creature' in all circumstances , and showed them up to be the arrogant 'wanna-be-detective-in-plain-clothes' that most of them seek to be . In this instance , they showed - in full view of their neighbours - that that is what they are ; promotion-seeking bullies in uniform , prepared to use those that they live beside as a mere step on the promotional ladder , something republicans had being saying all along. Well done the boys and girls in blue - you reinforced our case for us in public!
We publish a few photo's of the ballad session with this post with, hopefully , a few more to follow as soon as we can get them :

One of the many scenes of State harassment outside the pub , as pictured from within.

Some of the raffle prizes , of which there were 11 in total!

A section of the crowd.

Pat,and his tin whistle , on stage with the group.

Pat,on stage with the 'Sons Of Erin' ballad group.

The signed back of the POW-made plaque.

Part of the audience.

Thanks for reading!
Sharon.

[UPDATE : our information is that 'Seán' was released on 'station bail' this morning (Sunday 19th April 2009) and that he was , at first , denied access to a solicitor by the State Gardai. However , his colleagues outside had already arranged for a legal rep to visit him and that visit went ahead. Our information is that he has been charged with 'disorderly conduct/making a threatening gesture' and the case will be heard in Dublin in early May '09. Our information is that the cops apparently got 'abusive' when he wouldn't allow them to fingerprint him - he had done nothing which warranted him being fingerprinted - and , we believe, they got equally 'abusive' when he refused to be photographed holding a placard which the cops 'insisted' he should hold. On a personal note , I wish to add that the conduct of the State Gardai that night - especially and more so the female Garda - was actually embarrassing to watch : they tried to strut , shape and behave like their male colleagues , yet used the fact that they were female to try and get away with behaviour that their male colleagues wouldn't dare chance themselves. It was disgusting to watch them make fools of themselves like that.]

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

FOR MORE INFO ON THESE TWO PHOTOGRAPHS.....

....see the paragraph at the end of this post...
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THE IRA : the new IRA is younger , more radical and has seen little of life other than violence.......
By Ed Moloney.
From 'Magill' magazine, September 1980.

ED MALONEY : " What is the present attitude of the IRA Army Council to Eire Nua and Federalism ? "

IRA : " The position of the IRA on Federalism is that for a long time we promoted it as the best way of solving the problem by marrying the Unionist tradition to the Irish tradition in a transitional situation.

However , within these last number of years and especially since the loyalists started to promote Six-County independence - which they had anyway for 50 years - we began to examine Federalism again and the dangers involved . It wouldn't break the back of loyalism in Ireland and get rid of the bar to solving the national question and opening the possibilities of establishing a democratic socialist republic *.

What we now advocate is a single national government but with as much decentralisation as possible . On the question of Eire Nua we totally support the way Sinn Fein is progressing and the way it has handled these problems because certain people do cherish certain ideas and even though there are only minor differences between us , on the majority of points we are agreed. "

('1169...' Comment * - the 'Eire Nua' policy was later called a "sop to Unionists" by the Adams leadership and their supporters , who now assist in administering British mis-rule in the Six Counties . And they call those of us who continue to struggle against the British presence "traitors..."!)
(MORE LATER).

HOPE IN THE SHADOWS.......

For some Northern nationalists the Anglo-Irish Agreement ('Hillsborough Treaty',1985) only makes their lives more dangerous , for others it offers hope on a road to nowhere. Fionnuala O'Connor visited a (Provisional) Sinn Fein advice centre in the Ardoyne and Seamus Mallon's office in Newry.
From 'MAGILL' magazine, December 1986.

The Provos' advice centre half-way up the street is a terrace house with plyboard partitions inside and a security grille outside . All day young people tramp up and down the stairs - occasionally they lean in through a door that's never properly closed against the cold to ask if Gerry Adams is around but they don't stop to chat.

(P) Sinn Fein councillor Gerry McGuigan is at home with the 'flu and local republican Tom Fleming takes his messages and minds the shop alone in the chilly front room , chain-smoking beside the phone . A notebook , a biro , a small heater , a plywood counter between him and the draughty door . A frail man in his sixties with a smoker's cough , Tom used to be an electricity worker and a school caretaker but "the movement" became his life in the early days of 'the Troubles' .

This is a routine Monday morning ; several women brought in unsold copies of 'An Phoblacht' and counted over the takings , a neighbour used the phone to complain about the state of the sewers his building work had turned up , a thin woman in an inadequate coat asked Tom to get her an instalments book from the electricity people . He phoned immediately , efficiently - " I'm phoning for Mrs --- of --- Street , that's in the Ardoyne . Could she have a budget book , she's a separated woman and she can't manage without one..." No mention of (P) Sinn Fein , more like the call of a kindly neighbour . The woman was told that she'd have to come down to the electricity office , and Tom made the appointment for her .
(MORE LATER).

TEN YEARS IN ENGLISH JAILS.......
Anne and Eileen Gillespie were arrested in April 1974 following an explosion in a Manchester house where IRA Volunteers were preparing incendiaries , and were sentenced to 14 years imprisonment for earlier bombing attacks in which they had no part , serving the bulk of their sentence in the maximum security wing of Durham Jail. Released at the end of last August , they talked to 'IRIS' about their experience , at their home in Gweedore , County Donegal .
From 'IRIS' magazine, August 1984.

'H' Wing is in the centre of Durham Jail, so that you never see anything other than prison walls . The men are kept all around the area where the women are housed , but what we saw mainly were guard dogs , which kept us awake at night with their howling . This jail is used as a 'cooling off' prison where prisoners from other jails would be brought for 28-day stretches .

It was also used for Irish male POW's - the administration had these awful cages where we used to watch the male POW's exercising . The cages were just like you would find in a zoo , and there was very little communication possible between the men and us , but occasionally we would be able to write to one another . Whenever we managed to speak to each other , we always spoke in Irish ; the prison screws didn't like that at all , and tried to stop us , saying that foreign languages weren't allowed , but we continued anyway , telling them that for us , English was a foreign language .

Lots of the other prisoners picked up odd words , and we would always say the Rosary , so a lot of girls learned how to say their prayers in Irish.......
(MORE LATER).

The above two photographs show three of the prizes that will be won in the raffle on the night of Saturday 18th April next , at a fund-raising Irish Republican ballad session which will be held in the 79'r pub in Ballyfermot , Dublin. There are six raffle prizes in total - the above-pictured two T-Shirts and the framed 1916 Proclamation ,two bodhrons and a bottle of vodka! Doors open at 9pm , admission is just €5 per person and the ballad group on stage are the well-known rebel-rousers 'The Sons Of Erin'. Fine Gael and other self-serving Free Staters can't bear to hear this group singing Irish historical songs , but we Irish Republicans can't get enough of them ! Please come along on the night if you can - thanks for reading!
Sharon.

Monday, April 13, 2009

EASTER 2009 : DEANSGRANGE , THE GPO - AND AN EASTER PAGEANT.

On Easter Sunday , 12th April 2009 , approximately 30 members and supporters of Republican Sinn Féin held a Commemoration in Deansgrange Cemetery,Dublin, under the intrusive eyes of at least 15 members of the State 'Special Branch' political police force. The event was Chaired by Andy Connolly,Dublin, and the main oration was delivered by Seán O Bradaigh. We publish with this post two pictures of the event , and a proper write-up and more pictures will be published in the May 2009 edition of 'Saoirse' , which will be available on April 29th next.

Entering Deansgrange Cemetery , Easter Sunday 12th April 2009.

Seán O Bradaigh delivering the main oration.
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GPO , DUBLIN : EASTER MONDAY 13th APRIL 2009 -
Today , Easter Monday 13th April 2009 , approximately 300 people gathered at and around the GPO in Dublin to mark the 93rd Anniversary of the 1916 Rising. The Commemoration was organised by Republican Sinn Féin , who marched from the Garden Of Remembrance in Parnell Square to the General Post Office in O'Connell Street. The Main oration was delivered by Newry-man Ruairí White, Andy from Dublin Chaired the event , Róisín Hayden from Dublin read the 1916 Proclamation, Declan from Dublin laid the RSF Wreath and for a full list of who else took part you'll want to read the May edition of 'Saoirse' !
Suffice to say the day and, indeed , the weekend of Republican Sinn Féin events in Dublin , went like clockwork , with the small stage , lectern , amps etc and all the various Crews doing their stuff as planned. We publish a few pics here - with a link under the last one to more pics of the Easter Monday Commemoration :

RSF Speakers Lectern , GPO Easter Monday 2009.

Cumann na mBan and RSF Colour Party.

Declan , laying the RSF Wreath at the GPO.

RSF Colour Party and Cumann na mBan member.

Pat , from Cork , testing out the amps!

Roisin Hayden , reading the 1916 Proclamation at the GPO.

RSF 'Political Status' banner at the GPO, Easter Monday 2009.

Séan the Piper plays as the Flags dip...

Wreath inscription , Easter Monday 2009.
(A few more pics can be viewed on our sister blog, here.)
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North Inner City Folklore Project, Easter 1916 Pageant : held on Easter Monday 2009-

"At Liberty Hall, 12 noon, a pageant will take place which will include the unfurling of the flag which the Citizen Army hoisted a week before the Rising. On that occasion a young inner city girl, Molly O Reilly was given the honour by James Connolly. A young woman, Susan Brennan Healy a niece of Molly O Reilly, will receive the flag from James Connolly-Herron a great grandson of James Connolly and re-enact the hoisting of the flag. They will be accompanied by a colour party dressed in the uniforms of Cumann na mBan and the Citizen Army...."

As before , we met the good men and women from the above-named Folklore Project at the GPO today, and listened to , and enjoyed , their Pageant, beautifully scripted and enacted as usual. It was a hard act for us to follow (they had better costumes!) but we tried our best - once Terry and his Team had left the GPO for Moore Street we doubled our efforts in order to keep our crowd from following them!
And Terry - our John says to tell ya that ye will have to slow down a wee bit next year or we will have to speed things up if we're to resolve those 'hard-of-hearing' issues ;-) ! A few pics from the Pageant -

'Folklore' rep addressing the GPO crowd , Easter Monday 2009.

'Starry Plough' at the GPO.

Pageant crowd scene.

Finally - well done to the RSF members and supporters in Dublin without whom it would not have been possible to organise and hold three Easter events - and one of these - over the one weekend. It took a lot of effort , time and organising , but ye done it , and done it perfectly!
I'm going to recommend that all of ye get at least a free ticket for the next raffle. Between ye , that is... ;-) !
Thanks for reading !
Sharon.

Saturday, April 11, 2009

BALBRIGGAN,COUNTY DUBLIN,WREATH-LAYING CEREMONY,EASTER SATURDAY 11th APRIL 2009.

“RIC Head Constable Peter Burke and his brother, Sgt Michael Burke are attacked by the IRA in a public house (Mrs Smith’s three miles outside Balbriggan, Co. Dublin) . In retaliation, the Auxiliaries carry out reprisals in Balbriggan killing two suspected IRA men…”
(From here.)

An RSF-organised Easter wreath-laying ceremony was held today (Saturday 11th April 2009) on the bridge in Balbriggan , County Dublin , in memory of Séamus Lawless and Séan Gibbons : about forty republicans gathered on both sides of the bridge to take part in and watch the proceedings , which were chaired by Andy Connolly , Dublin RSF , who mentioned , amongst other things , that the men and women who decided to take on the might of the (then) ‘British empire’ did not do so in order that a British-sponsored Administration , staffed and maintained by Irish gombeens , should be established .

Ten Special Branch men were present throughout the proceedings , but their presence did not deter the Republicans from holding a dignified Commemoration , of which we publish four pictures from with this post.
A full report will be published in the May 2009 issue of ‘Saoirse’ , which will be published on April 29 next.

Thanks!
Sharon.

Wednesday, April 08, 2009

THE IRA : the new IRA is younger , more radical and has seen little of life other than violence.......
By Ed Moloney.
From 'Magill' magazine, September 1980.

ED MALONEY : " British undercover surveillance has been responsible for a number of recent arrests of IRA teams in transit , this year . How badly does this activity affect the IRA ? "

IRA : " The Brits are very, very good at undercover work. This is what they are into now . Nevertheless we are totally satisfied that we know why our active service units are caught . While the British are good we always know where they operate and why they operate . Because the population is hostile to them and sympathetic to us they tell us about them . They're not that effective but they're a hindrance and they probably perceive their role as that. "
(MORE LATER).

HOPE IN THE SHADOWS.

For some Northern nationalists the Anglo-Irish Agreement ('Hillsborough Treaty',1985) only makes their lives more dangerous , for others it offers hope on a road to nowhere. Fionnuala O'Connor visited a (Provisional) Sinn Fein advice centre in the Ardoyne and Seamus Mallon's office in Newry.
From 'MAGILL' magazine, December 1986.

No matter how often you hear it described , only going there explains how how closed-in Ardoyne is , how few the streets along which you can drive - or even walk - into those treeless , featureless , straight lines of houses .

Concrete bollards , corrugated iron , mobile but rarely moved barriers ; the sealed entrances have a dual purpose - they keep loyalist murder-gangs out and they make it easier to seal off republican Ardoyne for close inspection by the British Army and the RUC .

'Parc an Ghleanna Ard' , says the street sign ; 'Brompton Park' , says the map . Westminster hasn't yet got around to legalising Irish street-names as part of the 'Anglo-Irish Agreement's' (Hillsborough Treaty's) first and long-heralded package of recognition for the Irish identity . But in the parts of Belfast where the Provos are strongest , Irish street-names predate that Treaty . Sometimes they're Irish only , sometimes politely bilingual , with the Irish version on top , of course. Elsewhere , it's 'Brompton Park' at the end where Ardoyne nears the outside world and 'Parc an Ghleanna Ard' at the other end.......
(MORE LATER).

Sunday, April 05, 2009

Agus Fáilte Abhaile!

.... and we're back. Already!

Our two-week holiday flew in ; felt more like two days. A group of us girls had been saving our pennies since May '08 for the holiday , and finally decided in early March '09 that we had enough put away in the kitty to make the arrangements - so we ended-up , again, in New York and , once again - we had a Ball!

We stayed in a guest-house near Union Square run by an Irish couple and their family , who spoiled us rotten and constantly forgave us our sins as we stumbled home in the not-so-early hours of the morning , the worst for wear and tear (!) and then, after a few hours sleep , a shower and change of clothes and a good breakfast (supper?) we headed-off to conquer another far-flung corner of our host city! As expected when a group of Ladies are holidaying like this , we literally shopped 'till we dropped - each of us brought over one large suitcase containing just one full change of clothes and one empty smaller case which we knew would pass as 'hand luggage' and , again as expected, each of us brought home the above pieces of luggage, bursting at the seams, plus a bigger suitcase each.
And even then we had to share two newly-purchased medium-sized suitcases between us!
However - enough already of our tales of woe ;-) : I can publish a few pics here of our travels , but most of our photographic memories are for our eyes only....

Just like the Irish - fighting terrorism for centuries.

One of our 3rd Avenue 'home-from-homes' !

One of the dozens of parks we stopped in for a breather - and to plan our next assault on 5th Avenue!

And a big 'Go Raibh Maith Agat' to Pat and family , to Sam , Frankie and Shay from the Bronx , and to Kevin , Mal , Heno and Larry from Queens , to the lads from Brooklyn and to our good friends in Hell's Kitchen : we'll be in touch , as promised , and we're already saving for next year..... !
Finally - we hope to see as many of ye as possible next week and at this event, the week after. We'll be back to normal service this coming Wednesday. We should be finished packing-away our new wardrobes by then....
Thanks for reading!
Sharon.

Sunday, March 22, 2009

" A TERRIBLE BEAUTY...."

"Too long a sacrifice
Can make a stone of the heart.
O when may it suffice?
That is Heaven's part, our part
To murmur name upon name,
As a mother names her child
When sleep at last has come
On limbs that had run wild.

What is it but nightfall?
No, no, not night but death;
Was it needless death after all?
For England may keep faith
For all that is done and said.
We know their dream; enough
To know they dreamed and are dead;

And what if excess of love
Bewildered them till they died?
I write it out in a verse -
MacDonagh and MacBride
And Connolly and Pearse
Now and in time to be,
Wherever green is worn,
Are changed, changed utterly:
A terrible beauty is born...."
(From here.)

REPUBLICAN COMMEMORATIONS FOR EASTER 2009 , DUBLIN .
(Above photograph from here.)

Easter Saturday , 11th April 2009 , 3pm on the bridge in Balbriggan. A bus to this Easter Commemoration will be leaving at 2pm from outside the RSF Offices at 223 Parnell Street and will be returning to the city centre afterwards. (See last year's Easter Saturday Commemoration here.)

Easter Sunday , 12th April 2009 , 1pm at the Cemetery gates in Deansgrange. (See last year's Easter Sunday Commemoration here.)

Easter Monday , 13th April 2009 , Garden of Remembrance , Dublin City Centre at 1.45pm : the parade will leave at that time to arrive at the GPO for 2pm. (See last year's Easter Monday Commemoration here.)

Further details regarding each of the three commemorations will be published on this blog between now and then.
Thanks!
Sharon.
(PLEASE NOTE : this will be our last post until early April as we are taking a short holiday.)

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

THE IRA : the new IRA is younger , more radical and has seen little of life other than violence.......
By Ed Moloney.
From 'Magill' magazine, September 1980.

ED MALONEY : " Does the IRA intend to retaliate against loyalists for recent attacks on republicans and in particular the killings of John Turnly and Miriam Daly? "

IRA : " Firstly , the majority of people assassinated by loyalists have been totally innocent Catholics . This year they have attempted a certain degree of discrimination , and have also attacked republicans and fellow protestants close to the Irish nationalist tradition in an attempt to provoke the IRA into blind or frustrated retaliation.

We have absolutely no intentions of getting involved in such a war. They distract the IRA from attacks on Crown Forces and help the British to foster the idea of being 'brokers between two factions' . That's not to say that we wouldn't take retaliatory action against loyalists we knew were specifically in the UVF or UDA, and were in an influential position with regard to these attacks. "
(MORE LATER).

TEN YEARS IN ENGLISH JAILS.......
Anne and Eileen Gillespie were arrested in April 1974 following an explosion in a Manchester house where IRA Volunteers were preparing incendiaries , and were sentenced to 14 years imprisonment for earlier bombing attacks in which they had no part , serving the bulk of their sentence in the maximum security wing of Durham Jail. Released at the end of last August , they talked to 'IRIS' about their experience , at their home in Gweedore , County Donegal .
From 'IRIS' magazine, August 1984.

There was always a great deal of hostility towards us , but at various stages of our sentence it got worse . It really depended on the situation outside - how many British soldiers were killed or injured , how many bombs had exploded etc . If ten British soldiers were killed over in the North of Ireland it mattered to people far less than one policeman being killed in Britain . After Mountbatten was killed we actually thought they'd finish us off !

One of the worse things the prison Screws did was to tell other prisoners that if they were seen talking to us they'd lose remission or would never get parole so , from time to time, we really had a hard time . We weren't physically attacked , but the verbal hostility never eased up the whole time we were there .

There was a very small visiting area in 'H' Wing , and Category 'A' prisoners weren't allowed visits at the same time as other prisoners . So that when we had visits , no-one else was allowed a visit that day , which caused enormous tension - women would come out of the office having been refused a visit because of us and they were angry . They would head straight for us , and that situation happened almost every day . It was seven years before they changed that 'rule' .......
(MORE LATER).

(PLEASE NOTE : this is our last '3-in-1' post until early April , as we are taking a much-needed break. We'll be in touch later- thanks!)

Sunday, March 15, 2009

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

THE IRA : the new IRA is younger , more radical and has seen little of life other than violence.......
By Ed Moloney.
From 'Magill' magazine, September 1980.

ED MALONEY : "What are the reasons for attacks on UDR and ex-UDR men when most Protestants in the North view those attacks as sectarian? "

IRA : " In the RUC Constabular Gazette of June 1979 it was admitted that the UDR and RUC Reserve were the eyes and ears of the British Crown Forces in the North of Ireland . We don't shoot anyone because of their religious beliefs . There have even been a few Catholics in the UDR killed by the IRA , there was one killed by an IRA landmine at Castlewellan this year . We have given notice to UDR men that if they contact us and assure us they are no longer members of the UDR we will not touch them .

The problem has been because of the difficulties the UDR has in recruiting members because of declining morale ; the turnover has been so high and occasionally our intelligence has been mistaken and we have shot by mistake former members . In rural areas it is the UDR and RUC , not so much the British Army , which is repressing our people so our attacks on them will continue . But nobody can show there is a sectarian pattern to our attacks on the UDR . "
(MORE LATER).

SPIES UNDER A SPOTLIGHT.......
'British Intelligence And Covert Action' , by Jonathan Bloch and Patrick FitzGerald. Published by Brandon/Junction ,1983. Reviewed here by Peter Hayes.

Overall , this is an interesting and readable book and is to be recommended , which gives us an opening to mention a new journal/newsletter about "...intelligence , parapolitics and state structures.." called (somewhat curiously) 'The Lobster'. Issue Number One (September 1983) contains an interesting article on British Intelligence involvement in the Kincora Boys Home affair, and numerous 'shorts' on aspects of the dirty world of covert operations that don't really appeal to us but might to those more interested in the nitty-gritty of spy-watching.
[END of 'SPIES UNDER A SPOTLIGHT.......']
(NEXT : 'HOPE IN THE SHADOWS' , from 'Magill' magazine , 1986. Please note that we will not be starting this article until early April , as we are taking a holiday soon - our first decent break since May 2008 !)