MAYBE NOT THE WORST , BUT DEFINITELY IN A BAD PLACE.....

'THERE WILL BE ANOTHER DAY.....' By Peadar O'Donnell ; first published in January 1963.

I escaped from prison in March 1924 and made my way to Donegal , where I took shelter for a few weeks in mountain townlands. I often walked alone in the shadow of the hills and it was then that the sense of gloom and doom in my novel , Adrigoole , entered my mind : it disturbed me to recall how often I had billeted a considerable number of men on these homes in the Black and Tan days but I was more aware now of the weakness of this economy - my eyes were sharper.

I noticed how the heather ate its way into land that had fallen into feeble hands and it saddened me that mountains should renew their grip on fields that had been won from them by desperate , hopeful men.

We talked of many things by the firesides at night : one day the people would have to face the arrears of land annuity , but the bailiff was not yet at the gable , and Republicans would be in no hurry to go in and make their peace. Free Staters would go in at the first word of warning from their government , for they wouldn't want their Republican neighbours to make a mock of them for fighting their way back , not only into the Empire , but under landlordism as well. It never once occurred to me that the people had any choice but take on the burden of arrears as part of the price of defeat.......

(*The battle is not over yet : Republicans and , indeed , Irish Republicanism , may be 'down' [at a low ebb] but we have been here before....)

(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 Taoiseach mentioned why the available members of the Cabinet had been summoned to Dublin , at the joint request, apparently , of the Minister for Justice and the Minister for Defence , and said we will start the questioning with Mr. Berry. He proceeded to do so and I gave the result of my enquiries that morning , that nothing unusual was happening and nothing was in the pipeline. When their turn came the Chief of Staff and the Commissioner had nothing to add.

We left without being given any clear idea of what had precipitated the meeting - the possibility of a 'coup' had been vaguely referred to - but it became apparent in following days that the two inexperienced , newly appointed security Ministers had added two and two to some information that they had been fed and had come up with a sum of five. The warning that I had been given on his appointment in May as to Mr. O' Malley's impulsiveness flew danger signals in my mind and I was to have further causes of uneasiness on that score within a matter of days."

JULY 7TH 1970:
"A picket of eleven persons , the leaders of which were Mairin de Burca and Seán Kenny , Secretaries of Official Sinn Féin, paraded outside my home with placards some of which read - 'Peter Berry Beria in Disguise' and 'Twentieth Century Felon Setter....' etc......."
(MORE LATER).

ON THE ONE ROAD.......BUT GOING TO TWO SEPARATE DESTINATIONS !


The CABHAIR group and Republican Sinn Féin are two of the separate organisations that are 'housed' within the one Movement which operates from a premises in Dublin's Parnell Street - number 223 - and , as per usual within any 'family' , when 'outings' etc are being organised , discussions re same are held first to ensure that there is no 'crossover' or clashes but , occasionally , these do happen.

This coming Sunday (10th June 2012) is one such occasion : months ago , the CABHAIR group organised that one of its '6-a-year' fundraising events will be held on Sunday 10th June in a venue which is sometimes used by RSF for its own activities - a hotel on the Dublin/Kildare border which , by pure coincidence, is practically within shouting (!) distance of the area where RSF members and supporters will be on that same Sunday - the small town of Sallins , in County Kildare.

At about 2pm on that Sunday , six people (and a good few supporters) appointed by CABHAIR , will be in the above-mentioned hotel to hold a 650-ticket raffle and , at €2 a ticket - all of which have been sold - it's an event which the organisers felt they should not postpone or interfere with in any way , as funds are always required for the families of our imprisoned political colleagues. Some within the CABHAIR Committee and its supporters body are a wee bit miffed that RSF , an organisation on friendly terms with it , should be so careless (!) as to hold an event on that same day , at the same time and in such close proximity to its event but neither group could or would 'give way' - with the result that two Irish Republican events will be held that same Sunday within spittin' distance of each other : the CABHAIR fund-raising raffle and the RSF-organised Wolfe Tone Commemoration at Bodenstown , near Sallins , in County Kildare.


Some of those attending the Commemoration will have been sold tickets by the raffle committee and/or its supporters and , when the Bodenstown event finishes that day , they intend to drop-in to the 'raffle hotel' some of whom , with a bit of luck, will collect a few bob prize money and all of whom will be looking for a pot of tea (!) and a bite to eat : it's when the 'tea' is finished and a different (??!) liquid starts to flow that the real entertainment will begin....

We will post the names of the winners , the amounts they won and the winning ticket numbers on this page on Sunday (or... HIC !......Monday) but the 'entertainment'-end of the get-together will never be mentioned by us. Unless , that is , we're short of a blog post sometime in the near future..... !

A 'GOOD APPLE' IN A BASKET OF ROTTEN ONES......



Those of us behind this blog have , over the years, met a good few members and ex-members of the Leinster House institution , mostly when protesting about one of the many idiotic proposals they support but Mick Wallace is a member of that institution that some would have considered to be a wee bit more 'grounded' in his approach to political issues - someone who , if you like, who would be more in touch with 'common issues' than other Leinster House members (the late Tony Gregory would have fitted into that category as well) and , whilst we have no quarrel with an 'ordinary Joe Soap' attempting to 'remove from Caesar that which Caesar declares to be his' , we have a problem when a millionaire property developer attempts to do it , regardless of how well 'grounded' he or she actually is or professes to be.

We know from having met Mick at various protests that his 'heart' is generally in the right place but, even so , we're happy that we don't work for him. However , Leinster House is the wrong venue for a man like Mick to associate in , as it's so stuffed to its rafters with unprincipled chancers and those of the morally-criminal class that fleas from them were bound to land on him. Which , unfortunately , they have. He genuinely did , we think, enter that kip in Kildare Street in the hope of effecting some change in the manner which it operates but , instead , appears to have been changed , himself, by it. As we have always maintained on this blog , it's not (only/just) the man or woman in that 'Rich Man's Club' that is at fault , but the actual operating system in this corrupt State that gives succor to the well-presented semi-political 'Wide Boys' and Spivs that enrich themselves in such a maggot-infested environment. In short , Mick , a chara - you only have yourself to blame.

APOLOGISES FOR THE LATER-THAN-USUAL POST....


.....BUT , yesterday, our SSP ('Sometimes Service Provider') once again considered it too hot/wet to plug the damn thing in on their end until about 11pm last night - by which time we had already given up on it! One wet/hot day in this State and everything comes to a standstill. But sure maybe that's why the world loves our attitude so much.....!

Thanks for reading, Sharon.

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CHEAP.....AND GONNA GET CHEAPER !

THE BIGGEST , CHEAPEST BROTHEL IN EUROPE !

 

I don't write this post as a sore loser , or a begrudger or because I'm in a vindictive mood (well...no more than usual , anyway !) but rather as someone who has seen the same mistake being made over and over again and , despite repeated warnings to the victim, someone who has recently witnessed same again : scare tactics and a pro-administration and business-friendly media manipulated enough victims into the path of the cushion-covered snare it had hidden in the undergrowth and obtained the result that their employers in the IMF and the EU ordered : a 'YES' vote for more austerity for the unemployed and the low paid , to secure the continued comforts of the 'protected class' ie the politicians themselves and their 'friends' ('interests' , rather...) in the banking and property-speculating industries.

Although over three million people (3,144,828) in this State were entitled to vote on the 'Austerity Treaty' , only slightly more than one-and-a-half million (1,584,179) of those actually did so and , of that latter figure , 955,091 voted for more 'austerity' (after being told by the 'Establishment' , amongst other frightening lies , that the ATM's would soon be cashless!) whilst 629,088 voted 'NO'. I hope you will forgive me for grabbing a wee bit of consolation out of this disappointing scenario , and it's this : in the Dublin Mid-West area where myself and other supporters and members of Republican Sinn Féin (and other pro-democracy and anti-capitalist organisations) actively canvassed for a 'NO' vote and where we put thousands of leaflets through letterboxes and fixed dozens of posters to lampposts , we gave the Fianna Fail / Fine Gael / Labour etc political pimps a real going-over (!) for their money - 16,590 were frightened into voting for continued 'austerity' whilst 16,585 agreed with us and voted 'NO' : next time , we'll start our canvass earlier and finish a wee bit later! But , for now, those of us who lament the fact that we have , once again , prostituted ourselves to the 'Money Men' of the IMF and the EU , will have to re-group and prepare ourselves for the next round.

Down , but far from out......!

Thanks for reading, Sharon.

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'YES' SIDE A GOOD REASON TO VOTE 'NO' ON 31/5/12.

'THERE WILL BE ANOTHER DAY.....' By Peadar O'Donnell ; first published in January 1963.

There is no way of telling now what section of the people considered themselves bound by that decision , but it happened that some time later , maybe even a year later, local volunteers censoring outgoing mails for intelligence reasons came across letters addressed to the estate office of the Marquess of Conyngham and the 'Irish Land Commission' and money in them , and they sent those letters back with a note to say this was no way to behave in face of the decision of the people. Word of this warning went abroad through the townlands and people came to look on it that loyalty to the Republic was, somehow , involved in the repudiation of landlordism : as if it was an aspect of the refusal to recognise the British court. The rent itself was no great hardship on the people , for it bore but lightly on their economy, but the decision to abolish it interpreted the Republican struggle to them and gave them an active part in it. Within the Republic they created their own landlordless Republic , and they were proud of it. By the time the Free State courts came to be established six , seven and even eight years of arrears had accumulated.......

(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.
"I had a number of photostat copies made of my aide memoire for the Minister with whom I discussed it in detail : he had come to Office , as Minister for Justice, in the previous month and he was hearing some of the background for the first time. I doubted to him whether it was wise to give such detail to Counsel but I recognised that this would be a political decision."

JULY 5 , 1970 :

"I had a phone call from Dr. Nolan , Secretary to the Cabinet , to be in the ante-room to the Cabinet chamber at 3.00pm on this , Sunday , afternoon and to inform the Commissioner , Garda Siochana, to be there too.

When I arrived the Chief of Staff was there also ; I had been given no idea of the purpose but I had taken the precaution of phoning the Head of 'S Branch'as to whether there had been any subversive actions , or activities, in the pipe line and he had said 'nothing unusual'. I had asked him to check with Military Intelligence and he came back with the same answer.

When the Chief of Staff , the Commissioner and myself were brought into the chamber we saw the Taoiseach , the Tanaiste , Mr Childers ; the Minister for Finance , Mr. Colley ; the Minister for Agriculture , Mr. Gibbons ; the Minister for Education , Mr. Faulkner ; the Minister for Defence , Mr.Cronin and the Minister for Justice , Mr O'Malley......."

(MORE LATER).

NO MORE FISCAL RECTITUDE - VOTE AGAINST IT : VOTE NO !

'NO' vote , as cast on Thursday 31st May 2012.

AN OPPORTUNITY FOR 'PAYBACK' !
This Treaty is about trying to shore-up a failed currency - the Euro. In this State , that failure is compounded by the activities of the gangster politicians ,property speculators and bankers who , although already wealthy and financially comfortable , wanted more and , because they move in the same 'circles' , closed ranks to protect each other's backs as their joint efforts bankrupted the State. Those who still have jobs , and those who have lost them , are now being penalised for the mistakes and the outright greed of that 'elite'.

If passed , this Treaty will put in place in the Constitution of this State an eleven-page 'rule book' , compiled by a joint committee representing the EU Bank and the IMF , which will guarantee that those two foreign institutions will have 'first call' on any financial 'profit' made in this State - at the expense of the working class and the unemployed. Those in favour of that particular arrangement are of the same parasitic breed as , for example , Proinsias De Rossa and John Bruton , two of the many politically unprincipled chancers who now make a fine living for themselves in a backroom on the seventh or eight floor of the EU building in Brussels or some similar outhouse : in short , a 'YES' vote on 31st May 2012 will secure the futures of useless lumps of political waste like those two whilst condemning this and at least two future generations to a life of poverty.

The 'YES' side consist of the same groups that implored you to 'VOTE YES TO LISBON : YES TO JOBS' and are employing the same scare tactics this time - despite the fact that the 'Lisbon YES' has left this State with an 'official' figure of 436,700 unemployed people , a figure which would be approaching 600,000 had emigration not been forced on our young people. This 'Fiscal Treaty' , if passed, will secure jobs for the political class in this State but will ensure emigration or low-paid jobs for the rest of us : on Thursday 31st May 2012 , tell them 'NO' , that lifestyle is not acceptable - 'VOTE NO!'

Thanks for reading, Sharon.

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GONE OVER TO "THE OTHER SIDE...."

'THERE WILL BE ANOTHER DAY.....' By Peadar O'Donnell ; first published in January 1963.

While the British Government had an easy way of overcoming default , the individual landlord had either to invoke the courts or go without his rent : in the half light of the independence movement - 1918 to early 1919 - the landlord's agent could still use the British court and get a decree , and the bailiff , if he was tricky , plucky and lucky, could find a way to collect on it. But this was a dangerous flash-point of country unrest , for let any populous countryside once clash with the bailiff on this issue and Dublin might bawl its head off in vain. And this happened and it happened in Donegal , where a bailiff seized a few head of cattle for arrears of rent due to the estate of the Marquess of Conyngham and young men cutting turf saw him and set themselves across his path. The bailiff stood his ground and people gathered - but the bailiff had a case to make : Sinn Féin had no policy against rent so what harm if his decree came from a British court , or would it in fact be alright if he got one from Sinn Fein - would they let him pass then ? They would not and here was their judgement - from that day onwards the bailiff's office was abolished. Let him go home and live off his bit of land like his neighbours. On the following Sunday this matter was raised at a meeting in the village hall and 'wild ideas' were expounded - the landlord was a scarecrow of the past and landlordism was a wornout historical myth which was binding nowhere , and least of all in Ireland. The land annuity was only the other side of that rent penny and people should disown that too. Henceforth let no man pay rent for land and the people raised their hands and pledged themselves to practice and protect this freedom. Joe Sweeney , the local IRA Commandant and one of the St Enda pupils in the Rising , was friendly to their decision and sheltered it.......

(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.

" Part Two dealt with events from August 1969 to the period preceeding 18th April and Part Three dealt with the period 18th April to 22nd April , and included an account of my conversation with Chief Supt. Malone (immediately after my talk with Mr Haughey) in which he told me that Mr. Haughey's personal assistant , Tony Fagan , had been on the phone requesting that Chief Supt. Fleming should phone Mr. Haughey and it recapitulated what I had told him ie that Mr. Haughey had been on the phone to me asking that the cargo should be let go through Dublin Airport to the North , and it also mentioned my instructions that Chief Supt. Fleming should not talk to Mr. Haughey or Mr. Fagan. Part Three also mentioned that I had been in a dilemma as to whether the Taoiseach could possibly be speaking with two voices , his public statements as to the Government's peaceful intentions towards the North contrasted with the repeated actions of some of his principal Ministers in trying to bring in arms and his own failure to take any more than token action when informed in October 1969 by me of Capt. Kelly's activities with the IRA - the Baileboro meeting , etc - and it also mentioned my decision to consult the President as to the proper course of action for me to take when I became possessed of information of national concern. Part Four dealt with the history of Albert Luykx and how he came to be given a 'certificate of character' by me on the instructions of Mr. O Morain at the request of Mr. Blaney : this was to be the item on which the first trial was brought to an abortive conclusion on September 29th when Mr. Albert Woods , Counsel for a defendant , criticised in very strong language the Judge's conduct of the proceedings. The incident , also, had a catastrophic effect on proceedings which I was about to take in the civil courts for defamation of character by 'The Irish Times' and 'The Irish Press' on September 15th....."

(MORE LATER).

MARTIN McGUINNESS......

....GOES....

.....OVER.....

....TO THE....

.....OTHER SIDE.

From this to this : "Unfortunately, tiny and unrepresentative groups are still out there, which believe that it is a good idea to try to destabilise not just the peace process but these institutions. What they to come to terms with is that there is no prospect of destabilising the peace process, and there is no prospect whatsoever of breaking up the unity of these institutions. Some considerable time ago, the First Minister and I committed ourselves to the principle that, no matter what happens, we are going to remain firm, solid and united, and we are going to consistently express our unreserved condemnation of those who would try to disrupt the lives of our people and the prospects for economic progress in the future......whether you call it Derry or Londonderry, the city will have a wonderful opportunity in 2013.......so, there is a responsibility on citizens all over this island, North and South — wherever they see groups or organisations that are committed to the destruction of the peace process or the political institutions that the people of Ireland voted for in 1998 — to help the Garda and the PSNI in whatever way that they can, so that we can undermine the activities of those people....."

(More here , if you think you can stomach it...)

It would perhaps be some small mercy if it was possible to declare that Mr. McGuinness thought that he could ride two horses at the same time but , having listened to the above-linked 'Youtube' piece , such a declaration is not possible , and all the more so when it is taken into account that he spent at least several decades in the company of Irish Republicans before he abandoned those people for a half-crown's worth of political 'respectability'. This creature is just another one in a long line of turncoats (two-a-penny , unfortunately , in Irish history , especially in respect of this issue) but , even so , he would have been well-versed regarding knowledge of the other spies/British plants/operatives that trod the same path before he embraced that particular route. But , as with those other political pimps, the lure of easy money , a nice office , good suits and a large pension , not to mention the 'friendship' offered to him by Free State political parasites , loyalist and unionist gangsters and British 'Establishment' figures proved too much for him and he capitulated. And now he seeks to blame those who will not join him "on the other side" for the conflict. He has been purchased and fully intends to stay purchased : just another unprincipled career politician in a long line of such lackeys that are now unable to do Irish Republicanism any real damage. But that won't stop them from trying - they owe that much , at least , to their new 'friends'......

Thanks for reading, Sharon.

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REASONS TO VOTE 'NO' ON MAY 31ST 2012 - HAVE YOUR SAY ON WEDNESDAY 23RD MAY , WYNNS HOTEL , DUBLIN.

PUBLIC MEETING RE 'FISCAL TREATY' , DUBLIN , WEDNESDAY 23RD MAY 2012.

On Wednesday 23rd May , RSF will hold a public meeting in relation to the 'Fiscal Treaty' , which is due to be put to a public vote in this State on May 31st. Wynns Hotel , Lower Abbey Street , Dublin , is the venue for this meeting , which starts at 7.30pm , and which will be addressed by RSF President Des Dalton, 'SAOIRSE' Editor Ruairí Óg Ó Brádaigh and Andy Connolly, Chairperson Comhairle Ceantair Átha Cliath , Sinn Féin Poblachtach. Anyone who wants to contribute can do so either from the floor or from the top of the room as all speakers will be listened to.

Tell this man.....

....and his fellow-IMF employee.....

.....where to go , by voting 'NO!', on Thursday 31st May 2012 !

Thanks for reading, Sharon.

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2012 CABHAIR TESTIMONIAL - BRIEF REPORT AND PICS.

CABHAIR TESTIMONIAL 2012.

One of the six Belfast Crystal pieces awarded to the Honorees on the night.

The CABHAIR 2012 Testimonial was held yesterday (Saturday 19th May) in the Academy Plaza Hotel in Dublin city centre and was a fantastic success : over 100 people were 'fed and watered' , (re-)introduced to the six Honorees and/or their representatives and shared a few drinks and a four-course meal with them in the upstairs lounge for about two hours before we were ushered to the downstairs function room where , after another round of drinks , the main proceedings began.

CABHAIR flag-stand on display in the function room.

The event was expertly Chaired by Dan Hoban , Mayo , who had , as usual, done his homework , although he 'stores' most of it in his head - Dan has personal recollections of 'time' spent in the company of the Honorees and/or their representatives , and entertained the full room with brief stories of same , including the many occasions when he and those comrades shared meals of a different type in surroundings that were not as salubrious !

A section of the crowd at the 2012 CABHAIR Testimonial.

RSF President , Des Dalton , Joe O'Neill (Donegal) and Mary Ward were amongst those who shared memories of past engagements with the Honorees and it was clear to all present that the six people being honoured had put their lives 'on hold' in order to ensure the survival of the Republican Movement : jobs/careers had been turned down and/or lost , family life had suffered and personal socialising always involved and included the promotion of Irish Republicanism.

Some of those in attendance at the CABHAIR Testimonial.

A few of the many items for sale at the CABHAIR 'shop'.

Crowd section....

....and another few of them !

Myself and the other '1169..' rep really enjoyed ourselves in such great company , we met old friends (hello South Armagh!) got introduced to new friends and heard the history of each of the Honorees , from the stage and in conversation with them before and after they were presented with their piece of Belfast Crystal - and we can confirm that, once again , CABHAIR has made a very fitting and wise choice in the calibre of those it made the award to. A full report and more pics will be published in the June 2012 issue of 'Saoirse' , which goes to print on Wednesday 30th May next. And I'll leave it at that for now - considering that I only got home from the Testimonial at 3pm this afternoon , you're doing well that I'm able to put this wee piece together....!

Thanks for reading, Sharon.

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FOUNDED IN 1953 BY AN IRA MAN 'WITH A DIFFERENCE...'

'THERE WILL BE ANOTHER DAY.....' By Peadar O'Donnell ; first published in January 1963.


The Irish countryside never knew James Connolly , but it stirred the live embers of Fenian radicalism that was its own share of the natural tradition of struggle : it was the young men of the countryside who broke John Redmond in a series of by-elections , and opened the way for Sinn Féin , but city-minded Sinn Féin was darkly suspicious of the 'wild men on the land' and were alert for any talk of breaking down estate walls. The Republican Government sent special commissioners to trouble spots , honest men who wanted to see the clearances of the past restored to the people in a pattern of family farms , but they saw this process as a function of government which must wait on recognition of the Republic for fulfilment - ' First of all win the war....bear in mind that the eyes of the world are on us , a people fighting for pure ideals...'

Many an IRA man in jail in 1922 and 1923 cursed his use as a defender of pure ideals to patrol estate walls , enforce decrees for rent , arrest and even order out of the country leaders of local land agitations. There was only one broad arrow of the conquest from which the countryman could free himself without drawing Dublin on him - he could withhold his land annuity. The Irish Land Commission collected this money and paid it over to Britain ; when tenants defaulted , the Land Commission could invoke the courts but if it failed to do so effectively Britain could recoup itself by withholding the amount of the shortage from grants from central funds to Irish local councils - the local rate then took up the burden. No general revolt against land annuities was preached , nor even locally except in the Rosses of Donegal.

Elsewhere , tenants defaulted , furtively , and Britain recouped itself , silently - sparks without heat enough to make a blaze..... (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.

JUNE 17TH 1970 :

" The Book of Evidence for the arraignment of Mr. Haughey , Mr. Blaney , Captain Kelly , John Kelly (of Belfast) and Albert Luykx was circulated : within days threats were made on my home telephone to my wife. The Book contained a statement by me as to my telephone conversation with Mr. Haughey on Saturday 18th April and a reference to another telephone conversation with Chief Superintendent Malone of Garda HQ immediately afterwards which the Law Officers thought would be corroborating evidence against Mr. Haughey. In following days I had consulations with the Attorney General's office and was asked to make an aide memoire for the Attorney General which would give an insight into my background knowledge of events that might come up at the trial and of my relations with Mr. Haughey and Mr. O Morain. I did so , and it ran to more than twelve pages. Part 1 dealt with questions of law - matters of privilege and the like - on which I thought that I might require guidance. It also dealt with my relations with Mr. Haughey who had been my Minister from October 1961 to October 1964 and it outlined my association with Mr. O Morain who had been my Minister from March 1968 to April 1970 ; his ill-health , his failure to keep the Taoiseach informed earlier of Mr. Haughey's dealings with subversive elements. Additionally it mentioned my view that while the defendant Albert Luykx was a conspirator he was not a conscious subversive , that he was acting as he did because of being flattered by association with Ministers - indeed , it was a mystery to me and to my colleagues in the Department and the police why Luykx was being prosecuted because it was evident to us that with his political history it was a virtual certainty that no Irish jury would bring a verdict of 'guilty' and if he were not prosecuted his statement to the police could be used in evidence against Mr. Blaney....." (MORE LATER).

ANNUAL IRISH REPUBLICAN REUNION.

CONGRATS to Rose and Tommy , Tess , Pete , Sarah and Brian Mór.....

Since at least 1978 - when the CABHAIR organisation was known as 'An Cumann Cabhrach' - Irish Republicans have sought to officially honour those amongst them who have 'gone that extra mile' by holding an event at which such people can be presented with a small token of acknowledgement by the overall Republican Movement.

The 2012 Honorees are Rose (a sister of Richard Goss) and Tom Doran from Leinster , Tess Moten from Munster , Pete Quinn from Connacht , Sarah Murphy from Ulster and , sadly , posthumously , Brian Mór Ó Baoighill from the USA. The event will be held on Saturday 19th May next, in Dublin city centre , at the Academy Plaza Hotel in Cathal Brugha Street / Findlater Place.

Incidentally , the 'An Cumann Cabhrach' organisation was founded in 1953 by Rita McGlynn , Ella Woods , Donal O'Connor , Tom Gill , Nan Dillon and Tom Doyle - an IRA activist 'with a difference'- and now operates from 223 Parnell Street , Dublin 1 , and is, perhaps , best known for the Christmas Swim which it organises each year , regardless of the weather ! The CABHAIR Testimonial held in that same year of 'the big freeze' (2010) can be viewed here , whilst last year's event can be seen here. Myself and one other '1169...' rep will be present at the event this coming Saturday and hope to publish a brief report and a few pics on this blog before the weekend is out. I said "hope to" because this gig has been known to last for a full weekend (and then some!) and we '1169ers' just hate doing half a story.....!

Thanks for reading,

Sharon.

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GOOD GAMBLE ('YES') , BAD GAMBLE ('NO') !

'JOB' GETS A FEW BOB....!

.....Jimmy O'Brien ('JOB') , a "near local" , or so he told us , and not a regular customer of the hotel in which the usual 650-ticket Irish Republican raffle was held in today : Jimmy was helping a pal of his , Anto , a tour bus driver and a very reliable ticket-seller for us , and had bought a few of our raffle tickets from Anto and has promised to do so again - he won first prize in the raffle (€200) on ticket number 197 , and promptly told his pal that he was staying on for a bit of dinner and a few pints and then getting a Limo home !

The second prize - €100 - was won on ticket number 320 by a lovely young lady from Carlow , Kayla , who gave the envelope straight to her Daddy and asked the poor man if she can "...now , PLEASE , have an iPad...?" (LOL!) and Paddy K from Cabra , in Dublin , won the third prize of €40 on ticket number 253 - although he won't be 'upping his technology' as he entered into an arrangement with his four buddies that they would split any winnings - never mind , Paddy ; you can do the sly thing next time and buy a ticket on the QT !

Adrian , from Kilkenny , won €20 , fourth prize , on ticket number 622 , and he pulled out prize number five ( €20) , ticket number 491 , which was claimed by Keith , from Waterford. One of our regular sellers in the hotel , Seán , was the seller of the sixth prize of €20 , ticket number 601 , which was won by a pal of his , Pat , who then pulled out the seventh prize , €20 , which went to Gary , from Wicklow , on ticket number 438. Our last prize , also €20 , was won by Paul R on ticket number 51, who bought it from 'TEK' , one of our sellers in the hotel. We had the usual good craic today at this fund-raiser , and made arrangements for the next one which , unfortunately , clashes with the annual RSF Wolfe Tone Commemoration - but , thanks to the dedication of those involved , both events , which will be held practically within walking distance of each other, will go ahead as intended.

Also , at the raffle today , we distributed 900 Irish Republican leaflets - 300 'packs' , 3 per 'pack' -

RSF leaflets distributed today , Sunday 13th May 2012.

- consisting of two different types of 'VOTE NO ON MAY 31ST' leaflets and a leaflet advertising the above-mentioned Wolfe Tone Commemoration. All-in-all , RSF had a very productive day today - raised a nice few quid for itself and raised awareness of its position in relation to the on-going attempts to impose further poverty measures on the people in this corrupt and warped State.

Thanks for reading, Sharon.

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ONcE UPON A TIME......

'THERE WILL BE ANOTHER DAY.....' By Peadar O'Donnell ; first published in January 1963.


I lost touch with the trade union movement towards the end of 1920 , but I never doubted for a moment that it was on watch waiting its turn , and that all of us who went out from it , and held commands in the IRA , would one day rest ourselves on it. It would have been blasphemy to suggest that men like O'Brien and Foran would desert the independence movement in the wake of the treacherous middle class. It is a very great pity that the Labour leaders of 1921 have not created any literature to explain what influenced them then - they no longer had the excuse that they were the custodians of trade union unity. The simple explanation here , too , is probably the real one : the trade union leaders in 1921 were not aware of the intense IRA loyalty to the Republic * and were probably misled by the superficial views of IRA spokesmen , whose political immaturity ** must have been very clear to them. They may have been discouraged by the knowledge that mass leadership no longer rested in them - the prompter's stool wins a man no public following. Individual trade union leaders still enjoyed great personal prestige and had easy access to leaders on either side , but they no longer had any power to influence events , short of taking their stand on the Republican side..... (* Why didn't those trade union leaders make it their business to find out where exactly the IRA stood in relation to issues that both organisations would have had concerns about ? ** The "political immaturity" mentioned, in this instance , could be said to belong to the TU leaders rather than to the IRA...) (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.

MAY 25TH 1970 :

" Mr Haughey issued a statement to the press : ' I now categorically state that at no time have I taken part in any illegal importation or attempted importation of arms into this country' ".

MAY 27TH 1970 :

" Arrest of Captain James Kelly , John Kelly and Albert Luykx who were charged in the Dublin District Court with conspiring with persons unknown to import arms into the State in contravention of the Firearms Act 1925 between 1st March and 24th April 1970. Next morning , Mr Haughey and Mr Blaney were placed under arrest and were similarly charged. They were remanded on bail. "

JUNE 3RD 1970 :

" I entered a nursing home at 96 Lower Leeson Street in Dublin , attached to St. Vincent's Hospital , for the check-over arranged for in Mount Carmel in the month of November when the surgeon had wanted to 'look inside' at my stomach where he thought there might be incipient carcinoma. It was a time of anxiety for me. I resumed duty on June 15th 1970 , having been given a clean bill of health , but I had been through a period of great mental strain for eight months under the medical adviser's opinion that I have cancer. And on top of that I had found myself placed in the dreadful position in anticipation of having to give evidence in a criminal court against my former Minister , Mr. Haughey , for whom in preceeding years I had had feelings of respect and admiration...." (MORE LATER).


'ONE' STILL HASN'T FOUND WHAT 'ONE' IS LOOKING FOR.....

In Dublin city centre last Saturday (5th May 2012) , whilst helping to distribute leaflet 'packs' for the Hunger-Strikers Commemoration , I couldn't help but to notice the amount of 'chuggers' working in the area : not the best of jobs , definitely , for those in the hi-viz jackets carrying the buckets but , it seems , their office/management colleagues have the easier and better-paid end of it in the bag (/bucket).

In 2002 , Bono helped to set-up the 'DATA' ('Debt , Aids, Trade , Africa')organisation which ,in 2004, helped to set-up the 'ONE' Campaign Group , to 'Make Poverty History' -

- in 2008 , 'DATA' and 'ONE' combined forces under the name 'ONE' - in that same year , the 'new' organisation took in $14,993,873 in public donations , of which more than $8 million was spent on executive and employee salaries and only $184,732 was distributed to three charities.....

"You took HOW MUCH out of it.....??!!"

...which would seem to indicate that the best part of $7 million fell victim to the 'Liza' dimension of this field of work (or maybe it was spent on shoebox-size giftpacks to impress their friends ?) but , whatever about that particular aspect of things , the fact remains that this Bono-related 'charitable' organisation collected over 81 times as much as it donated in 2008 : more than $14 million in the same year (2008) that its management paid themselves over $8 million following which they divided $184,732 of the remaining 'take' between three charities. 'Crumbs from the table' , so to speak , and 'food for thought' next time a 'chugger' attempts to 'mug' you on the streets......!

CLONMEL CROWD......

.....SCRAMBLE TO BUY 'SECOND SUNDAY' RAFFLE TICKETS !

Word has apparently spread in Clonmel and elsewhere in Tipperary following the good fortune of Maire , James and Derek at the monthly Irish Republican raffle last month in a Kildare hotel , and myself and the other five Dubs that run the event for the Republican Movement have been scrambling around for the past week hoping to locate unsold raffle tickets for the event this weekend - but no luck , so far ! All those that take a 'Standing Order'-amount of tickets from us , ranging from between 5 and 25 and 30 and 150 each, have already sold same and , indeed , some of them contacted us , looking for extra tickets!

This raffle will be held on Sunday coming , 13th May 2012, in the usual hotel venue which , no doubt, will be 'populated' by our culchie cousins from Kildare , Tipperary and elsewhere , leaving just us six Dubs to declare eight winners from the lot of them - and a lot of non-winners from outside the Pale to be wished , in our best Dub brogue - 'Ah sure better luck next time....' : all going well , if we get out of the hotel in one piece (!) , I'll post the names of the winners and their ticket numbers here on Sunday evening or sometime on Monday. If , however , you don't hear from me , send out a search party.....!

Thanks for reading, Sharon.

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BOBBY SANDS COMMEMORATION , DUBLIN , SATURDAY 5TH MAY 2012 : BRIEF REPORT AND PICS.

HUNGER-STRIKERS COMMEMORATION , DUBLIN , 5TH MAY 2012.

Lectern front used by RSF in Dublin , 5th May 2012.

The Annual RSF-organised Bobby Sands Commemoration was held today in Dublin on the traffic-isle in front of the GPO , watched by a crowd of about two-hundred people in total - not counting the ten uniformed State Garda members and eight of their plain-clothed colleagues. One Garda driver , in particular, must have been afraid of getting a ticket or clamped , maybe, as the only 'safe spot' he could find for his van was six feet away from the speakers lectern.

The parking 'problem' was one of two incidents which RSF had to cope with on the day : the other one was when a lady , recently released from Mountjoy Jail , and fresh from a pub between there and the GPO , insisted that Irish Republicans were "wrong" and she was "right" (in relation to everything, apparently...) but such was the foul language used by this woman she quickly drew upon herself the (unwanted) attention of the Gardai , who 'escorted' her off the traffic-isle and returned her safely to oblivion. The only other possible 'fly in the ointment' was the weather , as it's almost impossible to 'keep the crowd' in an open-air situation like that should the Heavens open which , thankfully , they didn't : we had a cool breeze throughout , overcast at times, but no rain. God , or Bobby , was looking down on us.....!

Anyway - enough chit-chat !

The RSF 'warm-up' speaker - John Horan , Dublin - asked , at 1.35pm, that the RSF 'A Team' ('Amplification Team' !) turn off the music system and turn on the amp equipment : he introduced himself to the crowds , and introduced a 'twist' to proceedings - Irish Republican female hunger-strikers. In his speech , John concentrated on one woman in particular - Dorothy MacArdle - and outlined in good detail her own history , including the fact that , in 1923, Dorothy MacArdle was one of 340 Irish Republican women who went on hunger-strike. He did reference parts of her life story which he and many others - myself included - believe she should have handled differently , but he stressed that those "transgressions" do not take away from the fact that it is not only Irish Republican men who have undertaken a hunger strike.

At about 1.45pm , led by Séan the Piper , an RSF Colour Party , uniformed representatives from Na Fianna Éireann and Cumann na mBan ,the Parade left the Garden Of Remembrance in Parnell Square and marched down O'Connell Street to the GPO , where a small stage with a speakers lectern on top , an amplification system and a separate music system had been set-up : the three uniformed groups were instructed by the Chairperson , Paddy Tidd , to 'form up' facing the pillars of the GPO , following which Paddy introduced himself to the crowd and welcomed and thanked them for attending the Commemoration - he then named each of the twenty-two hunger-strikers who , between the years 1917 and 1981 , died in this on-going struggle. RSF Vice-President , Fergal Moore , and Ard Chomhairle member Cait Trainor also addressed the crowds from the stage , both delivering hard-hitting , in-depth yet concise synopses of the political situation as it exists today in this warped State. We publish with these few words some pics from the event today , and a full report - including the text of the main speeches - and more pics will be published in the June issue of 'Saoirse' , which goes to print on Wednesday 30th May 2012. Incidentally , myself and the other members of the 'Leaflet Team' were correct in our assesment regarding the amount of leaflet 'packs' that could be distributed at this Hunger-Strike Commemoration - we had 700 such 'packs' but wanted (and needed !) at least 1,000 : we all received a call on our mobile phones just before 2.30pm requesting that , between us , we keep at least 50 'packs' , as two girls who live beside the venue where the ballad session is being held tonight wanted same to do a 'door-to-door' with in the area. But , at that stage, we had less than thirty 'packs' left between us.....!

Finally : great job today by RSF members and Colour Party , Séan the Piper , Na Fianna Éireann , Cumann na mBan , Paddy , Fergal , Cait and John and the two-hundred-or-so people that stood with us , despite the heavy State presence - a very fitting tribute was paid to the twenty-two men that were remembered. Few pics now , more in the June 2012 issue of 'Saoirse' :

The RSF Commemoration parade arriving at the GPO , Saturday 5th May 2012.

RSF Colour Party member and Na Fianna Éireann.

Paddy Tidd , Chairing the proceedings.

Cait Trainor , one of the speakers at the Hunger-Strike Commemoration in Dublin today , Saturday , 5th May 2012.

Thanks for reading,

Sharon.

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INNER CIRCLES OF CORRUPTION.

'THERE WILL BE ANOTHER DAY.....' By Peadar O'Donnell ; first published in January 1963.

Trade union leaders in Dublin were undoubtedly on friendly terms with IRA officers , who trusted them absolutely : trade union rooms were used for IRA meetings , which wanted men attended , and Tom Johnson wrote the draft for the Democratic Programme of Dáil Éireann. The Labour Movement did , indeed , demonstrate independently that it had ends of its own to serve - it celebrated the first anniversary of the Russian Revolution by an overflow meeting in the Mansion House in Dublin and it staged demonstrations against British crimes in Ireland ('1169...' Comment : ....whereas today trade unions will avail of the services offered by those same British criminals..) and Tom Foran , General President of the Irish Transport and General Workers' Union , publicly described those demonstrations as dress rehearsals for 'The Workers' Republic'. As an official of Foran's and O' Brien's union , I came within hearing of the buzz of excited talk around union headquarters at Liberty Hall : I was lucky enough , while a student teacher in training in Dublin , 1911-1913 , to become interested in Labour papers and run into Labour meetings. It was my good luck that just then an uncle of mine , Peter Rodgers , home from Butte , Montana , where he was an active 'Wobblie', was on hand to sharpen , still further , my awareness of the class struggle. It did not seem strange to me , therefore , that the people I met at Liberty Hall should emphasise that the real fight would begin when the middle-class tried to duck out of the Republican struggle on terms that would suit them , but betray the Revolution. When that time came the Labour movement - to me that always meant the trade union movement - would take on the role which the Citizen Army played in the period of confusion on the eve of the 1916 Rising : it would be the point of rally for the independence movement in its second hour of crisis. I accepted this view of things eagerly..... (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 Committee of Public Accounts had asked the Manager why documents had been released from the account when the banks re-opened despite the fact that the police had been making enquiries and the Manager's reply was that a request from the Department of Finance to retain all documents did not come until afterwards ie in late September or October. But , as I explained earlier, I had made this request for the retention of documents in the previous May and had been given to understand from the Group Law Agent that the bank would co-operate. The Committee's questioning of the Manager was sharp and his replies and actions in some other respects were commented on. The Report of the Committee has strictures ; on page 59 it has this to say - '.....moreover , the evidence given on behalf of this bank was unsatisfactory and the Committee did not receive from this bank the assistance it had a right to expect in tracing the money that passed through these accounts...' . If the Committee had had knowledge of my request , on behalf of the Minister for Justice , in May 1970, their strictures would , doubtless , have been ever more severe......." (MORE LATER).


INNER CIRCLES OF CORRUPTION.....

.....wheels within wheels greased :

Sean Fitzpatrick and Lar Bradshaw were great friends at the time - 'golf buddies' - and each was seen by their wannabe 'golf buddie' admirers as 'occupying the space' where they , themselves, hoped to exist one fine day : a 'Captain of Industry' , with connections to political bosses , property speculators and the so-called 'Leaders' of society. Life was good for Sean and Lar.

The jobs ('Positions') they held in their respective fields were extremely well paid and included a huge expense allowance as it was recognised , by their Boards , that 'entertaining clients' was an important part of their working day. Sean was a Bank Boss , in charge of 'Anglo Irish Bank' and moved in circles that were even too rich for him - one of his best known 'business deals' that , like 'his' bank , went sour on him , was an investment he made with, amongst other such luminaries , the 'King' of Morocco - both were involved in a (failed) casino and theme park operation in Macau , a so-called 'SAR' of China.

Anyway , back to this particular aspect of his dealings in Dublin : Sean was a Board Director of the Dublin Docklands Development Authority (DDDA) , where his 'golf buddie' , Larry Bradshaw , was the boss and, by pure coincidence , Larry was a Board Director of Anglo Irish Bank , where Sean was the boss ! In 2006 , with hundreds of millions of taxpayer-supplied Euro at his 'disposal' , Larry thought it would be a good idea to spend €412 million to purchase a (contaminated) 25-acre site in Ringsend , Dublin , and Sean's bank (!) was , fortunately (!) on hand to part-finance the 'deal' : the rest , as they say , is history , and is but one signpost on the crooked road that has taken this poxy State to the position it's in - a financial and moral basket case , with our interchangeable 'leaders' in Leinster House - who would be no strangers to lifting their little fingers on a golf course with the likes of Sean and Lar - completely uninterested in any aspect of the above and similar scandals : their one and only concern is to ensure that they remain in Office long enough to qualify for their pension.

But even at this late stage , there is a solution - the alternative is to carry-on as we are , changing the colours every few years of the political and business criminals that have elbowed their way to the taxpayer-funded pension-trough that State politicians and their property-speculating business friends are up to their worthless , non-productive necks in. We owe it to future generations to take a stand now.....

400 X 3 + 250 X 4 + 50 X 5 = 2,450......

RSF leaflets for 5th May 2012.

RSF Head Office has prepared 2,450 Republican leaflets for distribution at this years Bobby Sands Commemoration which will be held in Dublin on Saturday 5th May 2012 : these leaflets have been assembled in 'packs/booklets' , 400 of which will contain three leaflets , whilst 250 will have four leaflets and 50 will have five leaflets , giving a 'pack' total of 700. It was suggested by Head Office that any 'packs' left over be distributed at the function that same night in 'The Barn House' pub , to which the leaflet team replied "God Bless your innocence...." !

Experience has proven to myself and the rest of the leaflet team that the 700 'packs' we have will be gone before the Commemoration is over and , had we had 1,000 packs , we could have distributed them no problem. So , if you're looking for an 'RSF Leaflet Pack' on Saturday 5th May 2012 , your best chance to get one will be between O' Connell Bridge and the Ambassador from 12.30 pm to , hopefully , about 2.30pm. After 2.30pm , your chances are slim to none ! See you in Dublin City Centre that afternoon , or at the gig that night....

Thanks for reading,

Sharon.

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WESTMINSTER CONTINUES ITS SECRET WAR IN IRELAND.

BRITISH GOVERNMENT AND 'LOST' IRISH FILES....

Interesting article here in connection with the on-going 'dirty tricks' campaign which Westminster is running in relation to its political and military interference in Ireland : "The first claims came from those illegally arrested during internment in 1971 and those subjected to "deep interrogation". The (British) MoD decided to settle out of court when crown counsel advised them that they would be likely to lose if a case was brought before a judge. New evidence from the National Archives shows the (British) army continued harming civilians even after the disasters of internment, deep interrogation and Bloody Sunday.... the British preference for claiming to operate within the law, yet bending the meaning of the law to allow repression – as documented in the colonial archives we have now seen – carried on into Northern Ireland... (sic) "

This is not a 'revelation' as far as Irish Republicans are concerned - rather , it is confirmation of our position ie that in order to start to repair the damage she has caused and is causing in Ireland , Britain must first announce a date for its complete military and political withdrawal. No other offer will be entertained.

Thanks for reading,

Sharon.

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