REPUBLICAN SINN FÉIN POBLACHTACH 'EVE OF ALL-IRELAND RALLY' , DUBLIN , SATURDAY 18TH SEPTEMBER 2010 : brief report and some pics....

On a damp , dark, grey and drizzly Saturday afternoon in Dublin , hundreds of Irish Republicans , on-lookers , the curious ,tourists - and the Special Branch (Political Police)- all stood outside , around, on the traffic isle and across the road from the GPO , in O' Connell Street , for between sixty and ninty minutes , as Republican Sinn Féin Poblachtach held its Annual 'Eve Rally' , at which a 'state-of-play' address is given to the crowd.

Led by a Piper (from the Glens Of Antrim) , followed by representatives from Cumann na mBan and Na Fianna Éireann , those that had assembled at the Garden of Remembrance in Parnell Square fell-in behind an RSF Colour Party and marched down O'Connell Street to the GPO , where a small stage and lectern had been assembled.
The Chairperson , Andy Connolly , Dublin, welcomed those present and took a few minutes to explain to tourists and locals alike the reason why Irish Republicans continue to hold street rallies , to recruit , organise and 'steady' themselves - because of the on-going political situation in the North-East of this country, in part of which the British writ still holds and is being enforced ,
financially ,politically and militarily , despite the impression giving by the 'establishment' and the media , that 'we have moved on from all that...' : Andy stated that before we can 'move on' , Westminster will have to 'move out'!

A Speaker representing the 'Southern Contingent' [!](Cork), Lita Ni Chathmhaoil , outlined some of the history behind the decades-old 'Eve Rally' , mentioning Cork Republicans who had risen-up to challenge Westminster over its interference in this country and assured those listening that Irish Republicans from Cork will be out in support of their Republican colleagues next year , when a British 'queen' is due to grace us with her presence (!) , a theme also used by the Speaker representing the 'Northern Contingent' (County Down , one of the six occupied Irish counties), Fergal Moore , who , to loud applause, gave a guarantee that, win or lose at the match on Sunday, Irish Republicans will 'win out' in the end when it comes to the 'match' between them and the British and pro-British forces ranged against them , as they have, amongst other attributes, historical rights , natural justice and sheer perseverance in their 'armoury'.

The Chairperson asked the Piper to play a Lament for the Dead , following which he outlined the political position of Republican Sinn Féin Poblachtach , thanked Cumann na mBan ,Na Fianna Éireann , the RSF Colour Party , the two Speakers and the crowd for standing their ground against both the bad weather and the Political Police (who were being their normal intrusive selves) and asked all those present to stand to attention as the Piper played the National Anthem , bringing proceedings to a close.
We publish with this post six more photographs from today - please note that a full report and more photographs will be published in the October 2010 issue of 'SAOIRSE' , which goes to print on Wednesday the 6th of that month :


At the front of the crowd.


Lita Ni Chathmhaoil ,'Southern Contingent'(!)....


....and Fergal Moore , 'Northern Contingent' (!)


Cumann na mBan rep and RSF Colour Party.


Piper , RSF Colour Party and Cumann na mBan.


Piper and RSF Banner , Dublin 'EVE RALLY' , Saturday 18th September 2010.

Finally - this blog offers it congratulations to all who took part today in, once again , visibly and vocally bringing Republicanism on to the streets of Dublin : 'Well Done' to Republican Sinn Féin Poblachtach for keeping the Flag flying!
Thanks!
Sharon.

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AN EXPERIMENT IN JAMES STREET : THE DEATH OF NIALL RUSH.......
From 'MAGILL' magazine , September 1984.
By Derek Dunne.

At Burton Hall , Niall Rush received a deep intra-muscular injection of a slow-acting tranquilliser. The drug involved is intended as a slow release , and normally lasts two to four weeks. He went once a month for this treatment.

On his way back from Burton Hall later that afternoon , he called into the Institute of Clinical Pharmacology in James Street to see Joe Claffey who was undergoing a drug test and, from there , he went back into town by bus. He had borrowed one pound from a friend in Iona Road that morning to cover the bus fare out to Burton Hall and back. He rejoined his Spanish friends in Bowe's Pub , arriving there shortly before Shay O' Brien, at 5.10pm.

All the usual people were not there on account of the time , and also because it was a Monday. Niall drank about three pints of Heineken with his friends and at 7pm he left to get a bus to the ICP Clinic in the grounds of James Street Hospital . That day he was going in to complete the second phase of a two-part test - it was three weeks earlier , in early May 1984, that Niall had gone in for the first phase.......
(MORE LATER).






THE PETER BERRY PAPERS....... The Top Secret Memoirs of Ireland's Most Powerful Civil Servant : Dirty Tricks, Election '69/ Spying on a Unionist Politician/ Keeping the (State) Taoiseach informed/ The Garda Fallon Murder/ Advice to Jack Lynch- 'Fire the pair of them...'/ Vivion De Valera's advice to O'Malley/ Rumours of a Coup D'Etat/ The Internment Plot, November 1970/ Secret Meeting with William Craig.
From 'MAGILL' magazine , June 1980.

The Berry Papers are of rare historical interest ; not alone do they reveal items of major interest but they convey vividly the inner-workings of government. They document the meeting with the (State) Taoiseach , Jack Lynch, at Mount Carmel nursing home on October 17th , 1969, where he was informed by Mr. Berry of Captain Kelly's promises of money to members of the IRA for purchase of arms in Baileboro , Cavan, on October 4th , 1969 - Mr Lynch has denied that he was informed (Mr Berry gave evidence of this meeting at a secret session of the (State) Committee of Public Accounts in February 1971 but the Committee did not call Jack Lynch as a witness to reply to this assertion).

The significance of this meeting is that it transpired that Jack Lynch was informed of the genesis of the arms plot , some six months before he has insisted was the first occassion he became aware of what was going on. Lynch made no attempt between October 17 , 1969 , and April 20 , 1970, either to investigate further the reports he was given or to intervene and have the affair brought to an end.

The Berry Papers also document the meeting of April 13th , 1970, where Jack Lynch was informed by Mr Berry , again, of Captain Kelly's activities and, this time, of the involvement of Charles Haughey and Neil Blaney in the arms importation. Lynch , again, took no action at this time.......
(MORE LATER).






ANNUAL EVE OF ALL-IRELAND RALLY, SATURDAY 18th SEPTEMBER 2010.

" One of the largest public rallies seen in Dublin for years was held by Sinn Féin at the GPO on the eve of the All-Ireland Football Final . Headed by a Colour Party and a pipe band , a parade of more than 2,000 people marched from Parnell Square through the main city thoroughfare as a protest against the continued unjust imprisonment of Irishmen without charge or trial .
Contingents from all over the country took part and many carried banners and placards including groups from England and Scotland . In the Ulster section was a strong representation of the Derry supporters who thronged the capital city for the Final . One placard they carried asked - ' Why are Six-County Nationalists interned in the Curragh?' ....."
(From 'An tÉireannach Aontaithe/The United Irishman' newspaper , November 1958)

The Annual Eve Of All-Ireland Rally will be held this year on Saturday 18th September : those attending are asked to assemble at the Garden of Remembrance in Parnell Square at 1.45pm from where the parade will leave for the GPO .

Thanks!
Sharon.

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REPUBLICAN SINN FÉIN PRESENT AT ARAS RUALACH JI / CE MEETING IN CLONDALKIN , DUBLIN ,THURSDAY 9th SEPTEMBER 2010.

Members of the local Maire Drumm / Kevin Barry Cumann of Republican Sinn Féin Poblachtach , Clondalkin , were present at the 'CEEDS' Open Day in Aras Rualach , Clondalkin , at which (some) local politicians were present - all local politicians were invited , but only John Curran (FF) , Paul Gogarty (Greens/Yellows) , Joanne Tuffy (Labour) and Derek Keating (FG) took up the offer , with Frances Fitzgerald (FG) noticable by her absence , having stated that she would be present.




Paul Gogarty and John Curran under questioning in Clondalkin on Thursday 9th September 2010.


A member of the local RSF Cumann - and a current JI employee - was asked to give an outline at the meeting on just how Community Sector (JI/CE) services have already been badly affected by the cutbacks , which he did, and he then highlighted how any extra cutbacks will almost definitely result in some of those services (ie employees in Community Centres , creches , local sporting organisations etc) closing altogether or being forced to scale back their opening hours and/or services offered , resulting in more suffering in the communities that depend on those services and more 'anti-social behaviour' on the part of those who were otherwise being kept occupied when those services were running properly.

That same speaker was recently interviewed (page 5) by a local newspaper regarding this issue , as part of an article dealing with proposed future cutbacks in the overall Community Sector workforce.

Paul Hansard (SIPTU) , Paul Gogarty and John Curran at the Aras Rualach 'Open Day' , Clondalkin, Dublin , 9th September 2010.

The State politicians present were , as expected , 'in agreement' with all those who spoke in favour of the work being done by JI and CE workers and who wanted , at the very least, an end to Community Sector cutbacks and previous cuts to be reversed , but it was not lost amongst those present that it is politicians like that who have presided over and/or 'signed-off' on previous cutbacks , a fact reflected in the questions put to and comments directed at the politicians in the room , resulting in a 'Stagg Moment' for Mr Gogarty , who had to be told that he was not in Leinster House and that his language was not necessary or acceptable.

This is the text of the letter of protest which an RSF representative handed to the politicians present -

Thursday , 9th September 2010.

RE - COMMUNITY SECTOR (JI / CE / SE) CUTBACKS .

The threatened closure of Community Sector-based jobs will be felt in Clondalkin more so than in any other part of the State , as there are more than 50 JI employees alone based in over 30 community organisations in the area. The types of projects supported range from football clubs, community centres, educational services and caring organisations. JI employees provide relevant and essential supports to their sponsor organisations such as childcare, caretaking, maintenance, security and administration/clerical roles and, were it not for the input of JI and CE staff , those projects would not function as they now do , if at all.
Considerable resources have been invested in community development as a means of understanding and responding to social exclusion and poverty in disadvantaged areas and amongst disadvantaged groups in the State.

The history of the Community Development Programme in particular is one of building up a social and economic infrastructure in the most deprived areas – involving the most disadvantaged in a process that allows for ongoing needs assessment and the development of appropriate and effective local responses to social exclusion and poverty issues.
It is easy enough to calculate this investment in financial terms. It is a bit more difficult to quantify the resources invested in terms of the thousands of volunteers and low-paid workers who have given their time and expertise to managing and delivering local projects, services and programmes. These thousand of hours prove excellent value for money and contribute hugely to the stabilisation of the local community structure by providing focus, services and responses where they are needed most.
It is deeply worrying to imagine the inevitable cost that will result if this whole infrastructure is dismantled - if the 'spaces' created for the most excluded to participate are closed down - and if all the volunteers and low-paid workers now involved in managing and delivering projects are told they are no longer required.

A good example of the position that JI workers , for instance , now find themselves in can be seen in the fact that , in 2007 , take-home pay (nett pay) averaged €423.86 cents per week whereas today , three years later , that figure is €425.96 cents - two Euro and ten cents more than they earned three years ago. Also , CE workers now earn 12 Euro less per week than they did in 2009.

The Leinster House administration has confirmed that the Community and Voluntary (C and V) sector will be the principal target for severe cuts in the forthcoming December 2010 State budget and, considering that in the time period to date ie between 2009 / 2010, the 'C and V' sector suffered headline cuts of 18% - 20% , it is obvious that these organisations have absorbed enough 'pain' , as these cuts were obtained through redundancies, 3 day weeks, pay cuts and service reductions.
They were not over-paid employees to start with , and they cannot afford to be made pay for the mistakes and incompetence of State politicians and their business friends.
Republican Sinn Féin Poblachtach in Clondalkin , and throughout this State , will continue to support the Community Sector workers as they face into even more undeserved vicious cutbacks.

Signed -
Matt Mullen (Chairperson)
Maire Drumm/Kevin Barry Cumann ,
Republican Sinn Féin Poblachtach ,
Clondalkin,
Dublin 22.


"JI / CE paying for the mistakes of the Fatcats...." : RSF protest , Clondalkin, 9th September 2010.


This blog congratulates the local community in Clondalkin for voicing its objection to the already imposed and future cutbacks , and for doing so directly to some of the politicians responsible , to the Management and Staff of CEEDS and Aras Rualach , to the local JI and CE workers who made sure they were represented at the meeting , and to Republican Sinn Féin Poblachtach for taking the time and making the effort to assist the local community.
In that sense it was a good day all round except , perhaps , for the politicians and especially Mr Gogarty , who got angry at the wrong people for the wrong reason.....
More comment and photographs here (post dated Friday 10th September 2010).
Thanks!
Sharon.

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AN EXPERIMENT IN JAMES STREET : THE DEATH OF NIALL RUSH.
From 'MAGILL' magazine , September 1984.
By Derek Dunne.

It was coming up to eight o'clock on the morning of Monday May 28th. At 23 Iona Road , John Kennedy was on the point of leaving for work , making van deliveries across the city and into the country. Shortly before he left the house he went into Niall Rush's bedroom to call him. Niall mumbled something to John , fell back to sleep.

About two hours later , he was woken up by Shay O' Brien , a friend of his who called to the house. Shay went down to boil the kettle , make some tea. Niall and Shay sat in the kitchen , had tea and toast , and discussed what they were going to do over the long weekend coming up. Shay was going to Kerry , other people in the house were thinking about going to Donegal , but Niall was undecided. He still had five days to make up his mind. The next five days he planned to spend in the 'Institute of Clinical Pharmacology' in James Street , Dublin.

Around 11.30am , the two left the house to walk into town . Niall was expecting to meet some Spanish students in Bewleys Cafe and talked about going to Burton Hall in Stillorgan , Dublin , meeting Joe Claffey in White Cross Clinic on the way back and made an arrangement to meet Shay in Bowe's Pub in Fleet Street in the city centre at about 5pm.

He then headed-off for Burton Hall in Stillorgan.......
(MORE LATER).





THE PETER BERRY PAPERS....... The Top Secret Memoirs of Ireland's Most Powerful Civil Servant : Dirty Tricks, Election '69/ Spying on a Unionist Politician/ Keeping the (State) Taoiseach informed/ The Garda Fallon Murder/ Advice to Jack Lynch- 'Fire the pair of them...'/ Vivion De Valera's advice to O'Malley/ Rumours of a Coup D'Etat/ The Internment Plot, November 1970/ Secret Meeting with William Craig.
From 'MAGILL' magazine , June 1980.

Peter Berry was incensed by the failure of one of his former (State) Ministers , Brian Lenihan, to accept ministerial responsibility for a decision about the disposition of the Secret Service Fund which was to cause uproar in the Dail (Leinster House) in November 1968. He was also gravely disillusioned by the handling of the arms crisis, at all its stages and , finally, he was dismayed that the (State) Government failed to provide him with the recompense for his premature retirement , which he himself precipitated to ease the pressure on the Government over a kidnap plot which involved him.

Mr Berry's stature as a public servant is not in doubt. (State) President de Valera once referred to him as "an outstandingly fine person". Desmond O'Malley, when (State) Minister for Justice , repeatedly expressed his and the (State) Government's admiration and appreciation for his contribution to the State. In the Dail (Leinster House) on May 9th , 1970, Jack Lynch paid public tribute to his service. His original intention was to retire in January 1970 but he was prevailed upon to continue in office . He made known his fixed intention to retire in July 1970 and reiterated this when the kidnap plot was uncovered in November 1970 but, even then, Jack Lynch attempted to prevail on him not to go but Berry's disillusionment by then had run too deep.

While the narrative on the arms crisis is done in chronological order, his papers on his earlier career are diffused. He had only begun to work on this part of his life story when he died suddenly of a heart attack on December 14th, 1978.......
(MORE LATER).






'LANDLORD' ISSUE TO INCREASE ELECTRICITY PRICES IN 26-COUNTY STATE ?

The main supplier of electricity to houses and business premises in this State , the 'ESB', may soon be increasing its prices - apart from this already-announced 1st October 2010 increase - due to its own administrative incompetence in relation to where its approximate 50,000 substations are built.

Most , if not all, of those substations are built on land not 'owned' by the ESB - five such parcels of land with ESB substations on them are 'owned' by a firm of Dublin solicitors who recently found themselves in the State Circuit Court to answer a case brought against them regarding rent issues by the ESB .

As far as this blog understands ,the ESB took the case in order to , as it thought , 'clear the air' regarding it having to pay rent to the 'owners' for the land or , if instructed by those 'owners' to do so , that it would not be legally obliged to remove its equipment from that parcel of land - if the ESB had got a 'ruling' to that affect it could have used same as a precedent in case any of the 'owners' of the other approximate 50,000 parcels of land got 'uppity' re not having the use of , or proper access to , 'their' land.

The ESB , a semi-State organisation, attempted, we believe, to use 'the Landlords and Tenants Act' to obtain a ruling that it did not 'owe rent' for the land and that it could not be placed under an obligation to remove the substation structure/building if told by the 'owners' to do so - but it lost the case.

The State Court decided that the ESB substation should be classed as 'machinery' which was , in this instance, (stored/kept/housed ?) on land on which rent could be charged , if the 'owners' so decided or , again, depending on the 'owners' - land which could be cleared of that which presently occupies it. The owners of that parcel of land have since begun legal cases in relation to the other ESB substation-landparcels it also 'owns'.

This blog believes that the ESB has appealed to the State High Court in relation to that State Circuit Court decision and we have been told by a 'Legal Eagle' friend of ours that the 'landowners' ".....appear to be on safe ground.." (pardon the pun!) re any 'pay rent/vacate the site' instruction from the 'landowners' : if our friend is correct , and the State High Court supports the decision made by the State Circuit Court , then the ESB will either have to pay rent (and 'back money' ?) on possibly all fifty-odd thousand sites or move its equipment - either way , it's more than likely that the expense incurred by either option will not be paid for out of whatever savings or profits it has ; instead , that cost will be borne by its customers.

If we hear more - before or after your next ESB bill arrives in the post - we'll let you know.......




AND FINALLY.......

.......two Republican events taking place this Sunday , 12th September 2010 ,and one postponed event.....

a 1798 Remembrance Day will be held at the Fordtown Memorial Site in County Meath ; those attending are asked to assemble in Fordtown at 3pm. More information regarding this Commemoration can be had by 'phoning 086-7326922.

Republican Sinn Féin in Dublin will be holding one of these in a Dublin hotel - over 600 tickets have been sold already , and about 50 more will be sold between now and Sunday 12th September next.

Due to a double-booking in the 79'r Pub in Ballyfermot , Dublin , the advertised Ballad Session which was to be held on Saturday 25th September 2010 has been postponed untill Saturday 16th October 2010 ; other than the change of date , all details are as were ie group , admission price , raffle etc.


....AND one event to be held on Monday 13th September 2010 -
The Annual Bobby Sands Lecture will be held on that Monday at 7pm in Wynns Hotel , Abbey Street , in Dublin , at which the main address will be delivered by Republican Sinn Féin Poblachtach President , Des Dalton. All Welcome , no admission charge.
Thanks!
Sharon.

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Aitheasc an Uachtaráin Ruairí Ó Brádaigh don 85ú Ard-Fheis de Shinn Féin in Óstlann an Spa , Leamhcán , Co. Atha Cliath , 21ú agus 22ú Deireadh Fómhair , 1989 /
Presidential Address of Ruairí Ó Brádaigh to the 85th Ard-Fheis of Sinn Féin in the Spa Hotel , Lucan , County Dublin , 21st and 22nd October 1989.....

" In the coming year we must present to the whole Irish people our framework of a federation of the four provinces of Ireland - in a post British withdrawal situation - with maximum devolution of power and decision-making to local level , with the complete separation of church and state and the building of a pluralist society and with neutrality and non-alignment in foreign affairs as the best hope for all the people of this island.

This requires massive political and structural change on both sides of the Border in order that all of us may escape from the political strait-jacket North and South designed for us in the Westminster parliament and imposed on us by the English ruling class to our detriment. Such a solution remains our only hope of growing and developing naturally as a people and enjoying our cultural heritage. God speed the day !

Having set ourselves these tasks we should remember that the noblest ideals of each generation shall prevail. Let us move forward to the future and let us not demean the noble sacrifices of the past and present for the cause of 'long-down trodden man'. Sinn Fein Abú ! "

[END of 'Presidential Address'.]
(NEXT : 'An Experiment In James Street - The Death Of Niall Rush' , from 1984.)





THE PETER BERRY PAPERS. The Top Secret Memoirs of Ireland's Most Powerful Civil Servant : Dirty Tricks, Election '69/ Spying on a Unionist Politician/ Keeping the (State) Taoiseach informed/ The Garda Fallon Murder/ Advice to Jack Lynch- 'Fire the pair of them...'/ Vivion De Valera's advice to O'Malley/ Rumours of a Coup D'Etat/ The Internment Plot, November 1970/ Secret Meeting with William Craig.
From 'MAGILL' magazine , June 1980.

Peter Berry was one of the State's most outstanding civil servants. He served in the (State) Department of Justice for 44 years , ten of them as Secretary and all but the first 8 years as co-ordinator of the State's security operations.

His memory was prodigious - he had a capacity for instant recall of incidents and precedents of decades previously. Both because of his remarkable memory and the critical nature of the role he performed for such a long period , Mr Berry's memoirs are of exceptional interest.

He wrote these papers mostly during his retirement , typing all of them himself and relying on his diaries and personal notes which he had assembled over the years. He intended initially that these would be published during his lifetime but later on he decided to leave his papers for posterity. His sharp sense of propriety was offended by the treatment he suffered in his last years in the civil service and by the failure of the (State) Government to meet a promise it made to him on his retirement.......
(MORE LATER).






WHAT A TANGLED WEB WE WEAVE......

Like all career politicians - whether serving time in Leinster House 'till their pension for life comes through or living in Dublin and 'travelling' to work (sic) from Cork - Provisional Sinn Féin are no better or worse than the rest of them.
In May last year , Adams and Mcguinness had a friendly 'meet and greet' meeting with the UK Israeli Ambassador , Ron Prosor, at which , between pleasantries , 'trade matters' were discussed......






....whilst , at the same time , PSF members and supporters were condemning Israel for their continuing slaughter of the Palestinians.

Israel's Zion Evrony asked Adams to condemn his own Party , PSF , for holding protests re his visit to a town in County Monaghan - Adams refused, but this is the same Party leader who had morally contorted himself to 'meet and greet' one Israeli Ambassador and then he, and his Party , went on to compare another Israeli Ambassador to Adolf Hitler's propaganda minister - then , apparently forgetting that he had already met and shook hands with one representative of the Israeli Government , Adams called for another such representative to be expelled - "Ireland needs to send out a clear message to the Israeli government. This behaviour is unacceptable. Summoning the ambassador to talks is not enough. We asked the Government that he be expelled from Ireland."

As we said , Provisional Sinn Féin are no better or worse at this political chichancery than their colleagues in , amongst other such 'establishment' institutions , Leinster House but , unlike their colleagues, they are still trying to 'trade' as the 'outsiders/rebels' of the Irish political field: they're not. They are career-driven opportunists, willing to jump ship if they think a different 'vessel' can offer them a quicker voyage to a full-time political career.

PSF are the same as any other pro-establishment political party , as far as republicanism is concerned , and deserve to be treated with the same contempt.

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Aitheasc an Uachtaráin Ruairí Ó Brádaigh don 85ú Ard-Fheis de Shinn Féin in Óstlann an Spa , Leamhcán , Co. Atha Cliath , 21ú agus 22ú Deireadh Fómhair , 1989 /
Presidential Address of Ruairí Ó Brádaigh to the 85th Ard-Fheis of Sinn Féin in the Spa Hotel , Lucan , County Dublin , 21st and 22nd October 1989.....

" To help prosecute the case of the frame-ups of the Birmingham Six by the British injustice system would call into question his (Charles Haughey) political extradition policy to that same system and , despite long meetings with the British, he will accept plastic bullets not alone for the RUC but also for the UDR because he is tied into the same system of oppression.

He has also stood over the collusion by these forces with loyalist death squads, who have killed over 700 Catholics in the past 20 years , by his handing over of security files that find their way as a matter of British policy into loyalist hands.

It is up to Republicans to dismantle the Dublin administration and SDLP scenario of a reformable RUC and a reformable Six County state. Their attempts to construct such a scenario are doomed but the longer they persist in this delusion the more they contribute to the toll of suffering and death......"

(MORE LATER).









MURDERER* , LIAR , OR BOTH.......?
(* '1169...' Comment - their word, not ours.)
From 'MAGILL' magazine, December 1997. By Ursula Halligan.




Before he handed himself over to the British police in 1988 , Seán O'Callaghan gave an interview to 'The Kerryman' newspaper, where he revealed his role in Corcoran's murder* .

He was charged with the murder* of the two RUC men in the North of Ireland and sentenced to a jail sentence of over 500 (five-hundred) years in total , but was released just eight years later and has since been feted as an anti-IRA 'hero' by 'The Sunday Times' , 'The Sunday Independent' and Conor Cruise O'Brien.

Since his emergence as an anti-IRA propagandist , he has repeatedly sought to disguise his part in the murder* of John Corcoran , at a time when he was allegedly engaged in a covert campaign to prevent the IRA from killing people.

He recently participated in a 'Friends Of The Union' conference , organised by the Tory 'peer' Viscount Cranborne and attended by leading unionist politicians, including David Trimble and the 'Rev' Ian Paisley.

[END of 'MURDERER , LIAR , OR BOTH?'.]
(Next - 'The Peter Berry Papers' , from 1980.)




"TO SHOCK AND STUN THE CIVILIAN POPULATION...."
Internment - indefinite imprisonment without trial - was reintroduced into the North of Ireland on August 9 1971 at 4am. Three hundred and forty people were dragged out of their houses across the Greater Ballymurphy area of west Belfast, many of whom would not be released for years. Hundreds of homes were wrecked in the process and the entire community was effectively terrorised by the British Army.

Later that day, as the full horror of what had just taken place began to sink in, loyalists from the neighbouring Springmartin estate began to form into a crowd to taunt their nationalist neighbours across the road in Springfield Park, shouting slogans such as "Where's your daddy?"

John Teggart, the son of Belfast local Danny Teggart , picks up the story : "The crowd in Springmartin, as the night went on, grew to maybe 400. They had been stoning the houses that back onto Springfield Park and a lot of anxiety was building up," he explains.

"At the top end, most of the houses were getting wrecked and stoned, so people had moved out down to the lower end of the park. A man named Bobby Clarke suggested moving out of the area altogether and started to evacuate the youngest first. He went out on his own across the field with an 18-month-old baby and brought her over to Moyard Park. As he was returning a soldier from the Parachute Regiment shot him in the back. Friar Hugh Mullen then phoned the army and told them there was a wounded man on the field and asked their soldiers to stop shooting. He then left the house and, waving a white cloth, went out onto the field to issue the last rites to Bobby. Bobby said he wasn't dying, so Friar Mullen went back towards his house to phone the ambulance, still waving the white cloth. That was when he was shot.

A young man named Frank Quinn then ran onto the field to help and met a barrage of bullets. He did a heroic act helping his neighbours and he was shot in the back of the head.
At the same time as this was going on, my daddy and several other people were down the road near the army barracks.
All of a sudden the paratroopers came out of the main gates of the barracks and started firing at anybody, anybody at all. A young man called Noel Philips was wounded, fell and screamed out. A woman named Mrs Connolly went to help but when she got to him she was shot in the face. The whole left-hand side of her face was taken off with the force of the bullet.

My daddy was wounded in the leg initially according to eyewitness accounts. He was then shot 14 times whilst he lay out in the open, from a distance of less than 50 yards. They also shot an 11-year-old boy in the groin.

The soldiers then came out of the barracks in a Saracen (armoured truck) and two soldiers got out, one with an SLR, one with a handgun. The one with the handgun walked up to Noel Philips, who was lying on the field wounded, and executed him with a bullet behind each ear.

I can say these things with confidence because we have seen the autopsy and there was a 9mm bullet in him from a Browning pistol. This is from experts. And our eyewitness accounts back this up.

Then there was Joan Connolly. One of the soldiers went round the side of the house and claimed later that he found a woman who was obviously dead. It was later found out that she hadn't been shot once, but four times - in the belly, in the shoulder and the thigh, as well as in the face. The other soldier grabbed a man called Gerald Russell from where he was injured behind a pillar and just started shooting him at point-blank range with the rifle. He was shot four times. Then they started piling the bodies into the Saracen, both dead and wounded.

Joseph Murphy, who had been shot in the leg, was taken in and repeatedly beaten. He died a week later. Because the injuries he received during the beating were so bad, he couldn't be operated on. He died from gangrene. The whole of his body was completely black from where he was bruised and he told his wife on his death bed that they shot rubber bullets into his wound as well.

Davy Callaghan, an ex-navy man, was also taken out of the Saracen. There was a gauntlet of paratroopers waiting for him. He was taken out and held on the ground whilst they took it in turns to kick him severely between his legs. He ended up in hospital with a cage round his lower body.

Gerald Russell was taken into a room, where he was beaten repeatedly and hit with rifle butts. They actually put the rifle muzzle into one of his wounds and picked him up with it. They then jumped off the bed repeatedly onto him. This was a man wounded four times. He said while he was there, there was a naked man, thrown onto the floor beside him. He says this man was obviously dead or dying. We believe it was Danny Teggart, my daddy. He said what they did to him, bouncing off the beds, they did to my daddy as well. The dead and the wounded were both beaten.

Six people in the space of around half an hour or an hour were murdered by the paratroopers."

In the two days that followed, another five were killed or were later to die from their wounds - four after being shot and one from a massive heart attack after being subjected to a mock execution.

None of the deaths was ever properly investigated. British Military police interviewed their colleagues in the days that followed and those statements were taken at face value by the Royal Ulster Constabulary. Those killed were all said to be gunmen.

"From their interviews there are total discrepancies," says Teggart, "they said that Mrs Connolly (a 45-year-old mother of eight) was a superwoman, that after dropping her gun she jumped over their heads with a submachine gun and starting firing again. They said she used at least two firearms to shoot them."

In a pattern starting to become depressingly familiar, those reports were then reported as fact in the media. Nor has the official story of events been changed to this day. "The only way it's going to change is through the likes of what we're doing with the campaign. Our goal is an independent international investigation, independent of the state. The evidence is there that this was murder, this was a war crime. There were 14 people killed less than six months later in Bloody Sunday by the same soldiers, the same regiment - 1 Para. If Ballymurphy had been dealt with, Bloody Sunday could never have happened."

The campaign has made progress in recent months and now has the full support of both nationalist parties as well as the foreign minister of the Dail (sic) . They are also due to meet the British Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (sic) next month. But perhaps most importantly, the campaign has received important new evidence from the Catholic church.

"They came up with some archives that hadn't been seen before - including a report and witness statements," says Teggart, "one of those reports says that you could indict the paratroopers in Springmartin for shooting dead Frank Quinn."

The Saville inquiry has also boosted the families' confidence and actually recommended that the Ballymurphy killings be investigated.

"You have to remember that Bloody Sunday wasn't an isolated incident. They had already killed 11 people in Ballymurphy before going on to kill 14 in Derry. They then went on to kill five people - three teenagers, the father of the boy shot in the field the previous year and another Catholic priest. This was in May, less than a year later, in the same area just yards from where John McKerr was murdered near the church.

You would think that every murder should be investigated. But if your loved ones are murdered by the state it's an uphill struggle. You have to almost prove what happened before you even get any investigation, and that's the struggle we're involved in at the moment."
(From here.)

...and 'that's the struggle that Irish Republicans are involved in at the moment' , too : in order to ensure that no more 'Ballymurphy Massacre' and/or 'Bloody Sunday' atrocities are visited on us , we are determined to seek the only guaranteed solution - that of a complete British military and political withdrawal from Ireland and , unlike others , we will not compromise on that objective.

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Aitheasc an Uachtaráin Ruairí Ó Brádaigh don 85ú Ard-Fheis de Shinn Féin in Óstlann an Spa , Leamhcán , Co. Atha Cliath , 21ú agus 22ú Deireadh Fómhair , 1989 /
Presidential Address of Ruairí Ó Brádaigh to the 85th Ard-Fheis of Sinn Féin in the Spa Hotel , Lucan , County Dublin , 21st and 22nd October 1989.....

" In the 20 years since 1969 the Dublin administration has been drawn into the British war machine to the position since the 1985 Hillsborough Security Pact where it is now the main pillar of support for British rule in Ireland.

Two separate events within the last few months demonstrate where the politics of collaboration have led Mr Haughey: first , he refused last March to support the case being taken by the Birmingham Six to the European Court of Justice in Strasbourg , then, in August , there was a deafening silence from him when 15-year-old Séamus Duffy was killed on the streets of Belfast by a plastic-bullet wielding terrorist in an RUC uniform.

To collaborate with British rule means accepting responsibility for its actions , and for Mr. Haughey apparently there is no limit to the amount of humiliation and suffering he will turn his back on , as long as it is suffered by other people, in their own country....."
(MORE LATER).






MURDERER* , LIAR , OR BOTH.......?
(* '1169...' Comment - their word, not ours.)
From 'MAGILL' magazine, December 1997. By Ursula Halligan.




From IRA killer to friend of the 'union' : Seán O'Callaghan , from Tralee , County Kerry, joined the IRA in the early 1970's and was on active service in the North , where he took part in the murder* of two RUC members. In 1975, he became disillusioned with the IRA and left to live in England , but rejoined the IRA in 1979, this time as an undercover garda informer , allegedly determined to destroy the IRA from within.

Over the following six years, he leaked information that led to the capture of the IRA gun-running ship, the 'Marita Ann' , to the frustration of an alleged IRA attempt in 1983 to kill British 'Prince' Charles and 'Princess' Diana , and to the kidnapped Don Tidey. He either personally shot dead John Corcoran in 1985 or played a major part in his murder*.

Shortly afterwards , O'Callaghan left the IRA again and then , in 1988 , he handed himself over to the British police.......
(MORE LATER).







SOME UP-COMING REPUBLICAN EVENTS :












29TH ANNUAL HUNGER-STRIKE COMMEMORATION , BUNDORAN , COUNTY DONEGAL , 3 PM ,SATURDAY 28TH AUGUST 2010.
Speakers:
Des Dalton, RSF President,
Leo Martin, Belfast,
Bob Loughman, Emerald Society Police Band.

Chairperson:
Brendan Casey, Ballyshannon.

Bands:
Pride of Eirn,Portadown.
Glens of Antrim Accordion Band.
New York Emerald Society Police Band.
Glens of Antrim Pipe and Drum Band.
Kevin Lynch Flute Band, Dungiven.
Piper from the Glen.

Functions:
Friday 27th 9:00pm Upstairs in the Emerald Bar Bundoran,
music by Póg Mo Thóin, Derry.

Saturday 28th 9:00pm Upstairs in the Emerald Bar, Bundoran,
music by Olta,Lurgan.

Raffle: Saturday 28th at the Function ; prizes on offer -
1st Bronze H-Block Martyrs Plaque,
2nd H-Block Martyrs Mirror.
3rd H-Block Martyrs Bodhron.
4th Irish Turf Celtic Cross.







PICKET FOR POLITICAL STATUS:
This will be held at the GPO in Dublin on Saturday 11th September 2010 from 12.45PM to 1.45PM.



1798 REMEMBRANCE DAY:
This will be held at the Fordtown Memorial Site in County Meath on Sunday 12th September 2010 - assemble in Fordtown at 3PM. For details 'phone 086-7326922.



ANNUAL BOBBY SANDS LECTURE:
This will be held on Monday 13th September 2010 at 7PM in Wynns Hotel in Abbey Street , Dublin. Free Admission, all welcome!

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Aitheasc an Uachtaráin Ruairí Ó Brádaigh don 85ú Ard-Fheis de Shinn Féin in Óstlann an Spa , Leamhcán , Co. Atha Cliath , 21ú agus 22ú Deireadh Fómhair , 1989 /
Presidential Address of Ruairí Ó Brádaigh to the 85th Ard-Fheis of Sinn Féin in the Spa Hotel , Lucan , County Dublin , 21st and 22nd October 1989.....

" We note the developments in the USA where those who did not recognise the abandonment of principle in 1986 are now seeing it and acting upon it.

The opportunity should also be taken to congratulate the National Graves Association on their stalwart stand. They have clarified their position as a basically Republican organisation as asked by our Ard Fheis two years ago in 1987. And despite the abuse of their name by those who ask permission from British Crown Forces to march and honour Irish men and Irish women whom the same Crown Forces have killed !

This year , 1989, also marks twenty years of British troops on our streets and countryside, guaranteeing imperialist rule at the point of a gun. They are Britain's 'official' terrorists in Ireland and they remain here to hold the Six Counties by physical force in the face of the popular struggle for freedom....."
(MORE LATER).







MURDERER , LIAR , OR BOTH.......?
(* '1169...' Comment - their word, not ours.)
From 'MAGILL' magazine, December 1997. By Ursula Halligan.




It was put to Seán O' Callaghan that a senior garda source had said that they were unable to contact him and that he was not making himself available for questioning , but he denied that was the case , saying that there was no question about his availability to gardaí and that he was unaware of any attempt by them to talk to him - " If the gardaí want to talk to me , it's not a state secret. Any amount of people have my mobile-phone number," he said.

O'Callaghan has travelled from being an IRA killer to friend of the 'union'.......
(MORE LATER).









In the 12th in the 10 , the 34th will be held on the 25th...
(An explanation will be posted here in the near future...)

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Aitheasc an Uachtaráin Ruairí Ó Brádaigh don 85ú Ard-Fheis de Shinn Féin in Óstlann an Spa , Leamhcán , Co. Atha Cliath , 21ú agus 22ú Deireadh Fómhair , 1989 /
Presidential Address of Ruairí Ó Brádaigh to the 85th Ard-Fheis of Sinn Féin in the Spa Hotel , Lucan , County Dublin , 21st and 22nd October 1989.....

" In the Leinster House election at the same time we stated in a leafletting blitz throughout the 26 counties that it was a failed institution that was not going to deliver any solutions to Ireland's problems. The first step towards revbuilding this country is the total withdrawal of British forces and administration from Ireland and a 32-county election for one national parliament. That remains our alternative to the Leinster House cul-de-sac.

Let us take the opportunity at this Ard-Fheis to publicly salute Irish Republican prisoners in Irish , British or other foreign jails. Some of them are now longer in jail than the Fenians in Victorian England , passing the fifteen-and-a-half years highwater mark endured by Tom Clarke, the 1916 signatory , in English jails. We pledge our support to you and extend solidarity greetings to all Basque , Corsican and Breton prisoners and all those imprisoned fighters for justice throughout the world.

It is proper for us also to acknowledge here the good work done in the last year by other branches of the Republican Movement : the women of Cumann na mBan, the youth of Na Fianna Éireann and the dedicated personnel of CABHAIR, the Irish Republican Prisoners' Dependants Fund. Each has a vital role to play in the Movement and all of them have a call on our time , energy and resources. There is a place for every contribution and a role for every person within our ranks....."
(MORE LATER).






MURDERER , LIAR , OR BOTH.......?
(* '1169...' Comment - their word, not ours.)
From 'MAGILL' magazine, December 1997. By Ursula Halligan.




When asked why the gardaí did not intervene to save John Corcoran , Seán O' Callaghan said he never received an explanation. He said it was a "cock-up" and could have been avoided . His own theory is that the gardaí didn't take his warnings seriously , because they believed he could handle the situation on his own , as he had done previously in a similar situation involving another garda informer in Cork. He wouldn't say who that was.

" That's one explanation . The other is that they simply were not going to compromise me. The 'Marita Ann' ( a gun-running ship intercepted by gardaí in 1984) had happened and , if they rescued John Corcoran , then the finger of suspicion would point to me . I'm just guessing this . Someone , somewhere may have deemed that I was a million times more valuable , as an informer, than John Corcoran was to the gardaí..." , he said.
(MORE LATER).






CABHAIR : organising fund-raisers for the Republican prisoners and supporting them on the streets....
This weekend will , yet again, see the CABHAIR organisation hold another function for the POW's that it supports ; one of these will be held on Sunday 8th August 2010 in Dublin and , the day before that , in Belfast, a 'Political Status' march through the streets will be held , assembling at 1.30PM at Dunville Park and marching from there to Castle Street.

We on this blog are proud to be associated with such an organisation , and have met and befriended some of its many members and activists throughout this country , and from abroad. For the most part , it's an organisation that stays mostly 'off radar' , content to work away in the 'back-ground' , doing what it does best - helping to ensure that as much money as possible is available to the families of the Irish Republican prisoners which it supports.

It is maintaining the proud tradition of Irish Republicanism that it has always held , and is to commended for doing so.
Thanks!
Sharon.

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POW FUND-RAISER (and coffee!) IN THE 79'r , SAT 31st JULY 2010.

Hectic! Full house , busy , 'buzzing', noisey , sweaty , great 'craic' , great company - and a great Cause!

Practically standing-room only in the 79'r Pub in Ballyfermot , Dublin , last night , for the fund-raiser for the families of the CABHAIR-supported Irish Republican prisoners in Maghaberry and Portlaoise Prisons. Three musicians - Paddy Sweeney , Pato Cullen and Peter Kearns - kept the crowds entertained and on their feet with the Irish rebel songs which , between them , they delivered from the stage for well over three hours. The packed house was welcomed by one of the organisers at the start of the night ,and was given an update on the conditions endured by the POW's in Maghaberry : regular strip-searches, inhumane facilities re their toiletries requirements , 23-hour-a-day lock-ups , no gym or exercise yard access and constant harassment of visitors. A loud cheer was raised when it was mentioned from the stage that a protest march for the Prisoners will be held in Belfast next Saturday , 7th August 2010 (1.30pm , Dunville Park , and march to Castle Street) at which , amongst others , an ex-Blanketman will be delivering a speech. It was also mentioned that , next Sunday (8th August 2010) another CABHAIR-organised event , for which over 600 tickets have already been sold , will be held in Dublin.

Ten raffle prizes were offered , and won, on the night : a Bodhrón (pictured above) , two framed mirrors ('Bobby Sands/1981 Hunger-Strikers') three Republican books ('Between Comrades/James Connolly/Great Irish Speeches') a 16-inch by 12-inch GPO Print , 'Political Status' T-Shirt, a bottle of 'Jameson' Whiskey and - a top of the range Morphy-Richards 'Coffee Maker' machine , which was very kindly donated by Liam S.,whom,it is rumoured, used a similar liquid to keep himself awake in 1966 ;-) !

We include a few photographs of some of the crowd at this function , and the raffle prizes which ten of their number won on the night -


A section of the crowd in the 79'r Pub at the POW Fund-Raiser , Saturday 31st July 2010.


'Continuity Not Compromise' T-Shirt raffle prize.


Two of the three books won on the night , and......


....the third one.


16inch by 12inch GPO Print.


Two Irish Republican-themed mirrors.


A bottle of 'Jameson' whiskey , which should only be used in conjunction with.....


.....the Coffee Maker! This prize was donated on the night by a man who is very special to all who know of him...!


And finally -
- another view of some of those in attendance.

We had a fantastic night (and morning!) at yet another extremely well-organised CABHAIR event , at which a sizeable amount of money was raised and will be passed-on to the families of the Republican Prisoners which are supported by that organisation. Thanks to Frank , Robbie , Paddy E. , Pat and Barney and the crew for the Security work , Cathy and crew for the raffle ticket sales and to the staff and management of the Pub. And , again , to Liam S. for helping all of us - and the winner , in particular - to sober up afterwards!
Thanks!
Sharon.

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Aitheasc an Uachtaráin Ruairí Ó Brádaigh don 85ú Ard-Fheis de Shinn Féin in Óstlann an Spa , Leamhcán , Co. Atha Cliath , 21ú agus 22ú Deireadh Fómhair , 1989 /
Presidential Address of Ruairí Ó Brádaigh to the 85th Ard-Fheis of Sinn Féin in the Spa Hotel , Lucan , County Dublin , 21st and 22nd October 1989.....

" We must prepare and organise in all Six Counties to oppose publicly any effort to swallow such a British oath for a future Stormont which would belittle and degrade the Republican cause. Likewise we must oppose any attempt to participate in yet another 'New Stormont' or the Westminster Parliament itself, in the name of Ireland and Irish Republicanism. This is our Republican duty and we must fulfill it at all costs.

In the European election in June last we took a vigorous stand on the undemocratic nature of the emerging superpower that has not only impoverished our people since 1972, as admitted most recently by the 'National Economic and Social Council' report , but is also imposing extradition and other edicts from Brussels and is sucking us into the political wing of NATO. The only proper protest was to refuse to vote for any candidate and thereby say no to a European Imperialist Superpower......."

(MORE LATER).






MURDERER , LIAR , OR BOTH.......?
(* '1169...' Comment - their word, not ours.)
From 'MAGILL' magazine, December 1997. By Ursula Halligan.





Sean O'Callaghan said that, to the best of his knowledge, John Corcoran did leave a message for his family on the tape used by the IRA to record his confession and that he said he loved his family. O'Callaghan said he gave instructions for this tape to be sent to Mrs Corcoran and was told it had been sent , and that he can't understand why she never received it.

Asked if Mrs Corcoran deserved a better response to her questions , O'Callaghan said - "The description of how he [John Corcoran] was killed is true in most of the specifics. I'm just not confirming or denying that it was me that murdered* him. But , what I'm absolutely sure about is that I did absolutely everything I could do to save his life."

O'Callaghan insisted that he warned his garda handler several times that John Corcoran's life was in danger and pleaded for an intervention by them. He said he contacted his handler on several occasions and even gave him the exact location where Corcoran was being held. He said the response was : "Okay , okay, we're working on it. We'll handle it." After the murder* , he said that he was unhappy and upset with his handler and that their relationship was never the same. He said the handler told him to "...put these things out of his mind.."
(MORE LATER).







Renowned political right-winger and the man ultimately responsible for the 2006 'Love Ulster' Loyalist/ UVF / Combat 18 Dublin riots, Michael McDowell (pictured) has, once again, shown his true colours : he has called for an 'Official Holiday' to be held each year on July 12th , the main 'Marching Day' of his politically like-minded colleagues in the 'Orange Order' !

Mr McDowell would appear to be in some 'I-Love-The-Brits-More-Than-You-Do' - competition or other with this 'Irish Royal' (pictured with UDA leader , Jackie McDonald) who has recently called for praise to be heaped on the occupying forces in the North-East of Ireland....

Those two people are mere representations of many in Ireland who would happily deny their own nationhood and its values for a place at, or under, the 'establishment' - any 'establishment' - table , from where those they admire can sneeringly point at them and declare them to be 'our type' of preferred 'subject'.

This wee , insignificant blog takes this opportunity to those of our readers who mistakingly believe that the above actions are common to all Irish people - that is most certainly not the case : that despicable and disgusting point-of-view is only held here by those who have always been morally lost and politically bankrupt and should not be mistaken for 'the voice of the Irish'. We am embarrassed and ashamed for them.




AND FINALLY....

- I'm off now to organise a trip to the hairdressers , so as I can get my hair done in order that I can 'let it down' for this!
If you can make it - I would appreciate if you didn't comment , publicly (!) , on the state of my hair. Or on the state of the rest of me...!
Thanks!
Sharon.

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