ON THIS DATE (6TH DECEMBER) 102 YEARS AGO : A TERRIBLE CATASTROPHE IS BORN.
One of the leaflets (pictured) distributed by Irish republicans in late 1921 to counteract anti-republican propaganda that the 'Treaty (of Surrender)' was "a stepping stone" to that which they had fought for - indeed, one of those who accepted that Treaty, ex-republican Arthur Griffith, declared, in a press release immediately after signing same - "I have signed a Treaty of peace between Ireland and Great Britain. I believe that treaty will lay foundations of peace and friendship between the two Nations. What I have signed I shall stand by in the belief that the end of the conflict of centuries is at hand."
Yet historian Nicholas Mansergh noted that, at practically the same time as Griffith had penned the above, the British were talking between themselves of "...concessions (from the Irish) wrung by devices..some of which can be described at best as devious..every word used and every nuance was so important..."
On Monday 5th December 1921 - the day before the Treaty of Surrender was signed - the then British Prime Minister, Lloyd George, announced to the Irish side in the negotiations that he had written two letters, one of which would now be sent to his people in Ireland ; one letter told of a peaceful outcome to the negotiations, the other told of a breakdown in the negotiations - Lloyd George stated that if he sent the latter one "it is war, and war within three days. Which letter am I to send?"
(Years later, the Minutes of a British Cabinet meeting at which the 'Treaty' was discussed were released, and they showed that the majority of British politicians at the meeting "generally agree" that "the rough treatment to which the Irish extremists had been subjected during the past twelve months... had brought home to the (IRA) men in the field the need for some equitable compromise..." [UK National Archives, CAB 23/27/17]. Those people were also of the opinion "that a Boundary Commission would possibly give Ulster [sic] more than she would lose..")
That 'war letter' meeting took place on the afternoon of Monday 5th December 1921 ; at around 7pm that same evening, the Irish team left the Downing Street meeting to discuss the matter between themselves and returned to Downing Street later that night.
At ten minutes past two on the morning of Tuesday 6th December 1921 - 102 years ago on this date - Michael Collins and his team accepted 'dominion status' and an Oath which gave allegiance to the Irish Free State and fidelity to the British Crown - the Treaty was signed (and it should be noted that Collins and his team did not consult the [32-County] Dáil, the institution on whose behalf they were acting, before they signed it. Also, Mr Collins took the time to write to Kitty Kiernan saying that he did not get to bed until five o'clock that morning. He added - "I don’t know how things will go now but with God's help we have brought peace to this land of ours – a peace which will end this old strife of ours forever." He was wrong about it bringing peace, but was soon to catch up on his sleep. Also, when Mr Arthur Griffith got back to Dublin after his meetings in London, one of his first acts was to organise various meetings with 'representatives of the Southern unionists' [ie anti-republican elements in the country] to guarantee that "their interests would be safeguarded" in his new Free State!) :
On the 16th December (1921), the British so-called 'House of Commons' (by a vote of 401 for and 58 against) and its 'House of Lords' (166 for, 47 against) ascribed 'legitimacy' to the new State and, on the 7th January 1922, the political institution in Leinster House voted to accept it, leading to a walk-out by then-principled members who, in effect, were refusing to assist in the setting-up of a British-sponsored 'parliament' in the newly-created Irish Free State.
Mr Éamon de Valera was reportedly very annoyed when he heard that the 'Treaty' had been signed without his final consent but, later that same day, he dressed-up in his academic robes and, in his capacity as 'Chancellor of the National University of Ireland', he chaired an event to mark the anniversary of the death of Dante Alighieri in 1321. Mr de Valera was later to fully enforce the structure and operation of that same 'Treaty'. Mr Alighieri was known to have penned some verses on 'hypocrisy'...
But, at an IRA convention on the 26th March (1922), at which 52 out of the 73 IRA Brigades were present - despite said gathering having been forbidden by the Leinster House institution (!) - the 'Treaty' was rejected and a statement issued deriding Leinster House for having betrayed the Irish republican ideal.
Within six months, a Civil War was raging in Ireland, between the British-supported Free Staters and Irish republicans who did not accept the 'Treaty' and that vicious fight continued until the 24th May 1923 when the IRA were ordered by their leadership to "..dump arms (as) further sacrifice on your part would now be in vain and the continuance of the struggle in arms unwise in the national interest...military victory must be allowed to rest for the moment with those who have destroyed the Republic.." , but, 'unofficially', Free Staters continued to exact revenge on republicans for some time afterwards and, indeed, are still doing so today, albeit in a different manner.
On the 11th July 1924, the Treaty was registered at the 'League of Nations' by the Free State authorities which, in our opinion, would have been the ideal occasion for a legal challenge to it, based on the fact that, when Michael Collins and his supporters were attempting to 'sell' it to their own side, they made a big deal of the 'Boundary Commission' clause and in particular the part of it which stated that the 'border' could be adjusted "in accordance with the wishes of the inhabitants", which is precisely why Westminster 'took' only six of the nine Ulster counties - a built-in 'majority'.
Also, the British actually took it on themselves to amend the 1921 Treaty of Surrender to allow themselves (ie Westminster) to unilaterally appoint a representative to speak on behalf of the Stormont 'Parliament'.
That Boundary Commission clause ('Article 12') was not properly adhered to by the signatories of the 1921 Treaty thereby, legally, negating the Treaty itself but deep pockets would be required to take such an action.
And the only grouping in this State in a position to mount a challenge like that is the same (Free State) grouping which benefited then and continues to benefit today from that Clause and that which spawned it. For now they do, anyway...
(Incidentally, decades after the 'Treaty of Surrender' had been signed, the diary kept by a prominent British Army officer and politician, a 'Sir' Henry Wilson, was opened [after his death] and, in it, he had opined about that 'Treaty'- "The Agreement [sic] is complete surrender...a farcical oath of allegiance...withdrawal of our troops...a Rebel Army! The British Empire is doomed..."
If only it truly was, Mr Wilson. If only...)
'AMERICAN NOTES...'
From 'The United Irishman' newspaper, April 1955.
The New York GAA have given the use of Gaelic Park for a field day in aid of the 'Prisoners Dependents Fund' on March 27th.
The president of the New York GAA, John Kerry O'Donnell, and the other officers of the New York Council, have given of their time to help plan the event, and preparations are also now nearing completion for the biggest Easter Commemoration that New York has had for years, and the 'Clan na Gael-IRA Veterans of America Inc' will direct the proceedings.
An active committee representative of many organisations in overseeing arrangements for the function to be held at the Pythian Temple, West 70th Street, New York, on Easter Sunday night : Barney Rooney is the General Chairman (sic)...
(MORE LATER.)
ON THIS DATE (6TH DECEMBER) 98 YEARS AGO : A 'CON' ARTIST IS BORN!
Con Houlihan, pictured, a sports writer who sometimes strayed into other subjects, was born on this date - 6th December - in 1925, 98 years ago on this date.
One of those 'other subjects' that Mr Houlihan occasionally visited was politics (he was a Fine Gael supporter, it seems) which prompted us to post a piece on this blog a few years ago in connection with a highly coloured article (!) that the man wrote after he happened to share street-space with Ruairí Ó Brádaigh -
'Not so much (or at all, even) 'speaking ill of the dead' in this piece as highlighting the straws an 'artist' will clutch at when they attempt to stray onto another 'canvass'. And Mr. Houlihan was indeed an 'artist' when it came to discussing and dressing-up/colouring in matters of the field and had wonderful turns of phrase which he employed with great timing.
But he done himself no favours when he attempted to 'stray' on to the well-trodden anti-republican 'canvass', where he was not as sure-footed as he was 'on the field' - indeed, the only way he could sustain an 'away trip' of that nature was to use a straw man argument in the hope that those as unfamiliar with that particular 'turf' as he was would consider him to be as good a 'pol corr' as he was a sports writer.
The first fault with Mr. Houlihan's effort in this piece is that a radio station would not be played through the same loudspeakers on the same stage at the same time as an Irish republican was addressing an Irish republican gathering. It just wouldn't happen, simple as and, whilst some might dismiss this example as 'nit picking', it is from such 'little acorns' that mighty deceptions spring from.
It was a 'straw man' introduction that the author invented in order to 'colour' the gathering as "inflamed with hatred..indoctrinated by bigots in pubs and cafes or by mob orators..", before bringing in the standard 'Nazi' comparison.
All standard fare for any 'straw man' author - invent a 'connection' then rage against it. Mr. Houlihan got his answer days later from that particular "bigot (of a) mob orator" but the damage had been done : through deliberate misrepresentation, one anti-republican had 'confirmed' to others of that ilk just how right they were to despise Irish republicans and republicanism in general and, job done, Con parked his 'straw weapon' (in the back of the net, no doubt) to be (ab)used another day. Which he did, by the way - and often - but I'll not go into that here , as I have no desire to 'speak ill of the dead'..' (from here.)
Mr. Houlihan died on the 4th August, 2012, at 86 years of age. He was a fantastic sports writer, so I'm told (regular readers will know that I'm not big into sports or those that write about it etc) but I knew Ruairí, and I know how republicans carry themselves at rallies and protest marches etc and considered it fitting, and necessary, to repeat the above piece on the 'Con Almighty's' birthday.
IRELAND ON THE COUCH...
A Psychiatrist Writes.
'Magill' commissioned Professor Patricia Casey to compile an assessment of Irish society at what may emerge as the end of a period of unprecedented growth and change.
This is her report.
From 'Magill Magazine' Annual, 2002.
Further evidence for the ongoing role that Catholicism has in people's lives came from the study by Greally and Ward, published in late 2000, which surveyed 1,010 people in the Irish Republic (sic) as part of a larger, longitudinal European study.
The results are fascinating, not least because many of them are counter-intuitive and challenge the much-vaunted belief that the churches are empty and that our '20-somethings' have no interest in religion.
According to the results, Ireland is still the most religious country in Europe and there has been little change in weekly mass attendance during the 1990's, with the decline to the present level of 63 per cent occurring before the crop of clerical sexual scandals came to public attention.
The attitudes to the priests working in parishes at the coalface remain very positive, and the cohort now in their 20's have higher regard for these priests than any other age group, even when compared with their grandmothers born in the 1930's.
However, the institutional Church has suffered a serious decline in confidence since the last survey in 1991, with just 28 per cent having a great deal of confidence in the institutional Church...
(MORE LATER.)
6TH DECEMBER...
1919 :
IRA Volunteer Edward Malone, of Dunbrin, Athy, in County Kildare (a nephew of well-known cleric Reverend JJ Malone), was back in a British prison (Ship Street Barracks), having been in 'court' the previous day (5th December).
He had been charged with possession of 10 detonators, a document "likely to cause disaffection", a document "likely to prejudice discipline within the RIC" (!) and possession of a Winchester Rifle.
Volunteer Malone refused to recognise the 'court' but was sentenced anyway - to two years imprisonment with hard labour (but one year was remitted later).
==========
1919 :
John Charles Byrne (pictured) , aka 'Jack Jameson/Keith Prowse', a former British Army soldier who had been recruited into 'British Intelligence' by a Mr Basil Thomson of the London Metropolitan Police, arrived in Dublin on the 6th December, 1919, posing as a socialist theatre worker/musical instrument salesman, and let it be known that he could be helpful to the Irish republican Cause.
He was eventually put in contact with Michael Collins, who contacted one of his agents in London (Art O'Brien), who had supplied Mr Byrne with a cover note of introduction to Collins. The two men discussed the new 'benefactor', who had met with Collins twice and left an uneasy feeling behind him, on both occasions, with Collins and Squad members.
Mr Byrne was given false information by the IRA and, when that information was acted on by British operatives, the jig was up for the 'benefactor' : his body was found in Drumcondra, in Dublin, on the 7th March 1920.
'British Intelligence' later described him as "..the best Secret Service man we had...".
==========
1920 :
On the 6th December, 1920 (listed as 'October 1920' by some sources) as a Republican Court was in session in the village of Craggaknock, near Kilkee, in County Clare, armed and semi-uniformed men burst in to the building and stopped the proceedings.
The Black and Tans had arrived.
They were looking for one person in particular - an IRA man named William Shanahan (pictured) - they knew he had been there, but was no where to be found now.
But they wanted blood, so they opened-up on the unarmed civilians in the room, killing a local man, a Mr Thomas Curtin.
A local doctor stated that "the bullet had caused a wound about three to four and a half inches long. It had ripped up the skull, the coverings of the brain and the brain itself. The wound was about one inch wide. An ordinary rifle bullet was used, at about 500 yards range..."
==========
1920 :
On Monday, 6th December 1920, as Dublin Corporation was holding its monthly meeting in 'City Hall' in Dublin, British Auxiliaries stormed the venue, led by a Captain William King, and 'arrested' six elected political representatives - Michael Staines, Thomas Lawlor, Joseph Clarke, James V. Lawless, James Brennan and Michael Lynch.
Their intention was to disrupt Irish political life in Ireland, as they were aware that not all politicians supported 'the Crown'. They then "requisitioned" (under DORA 'legislation') the 'City Hall' building and another political institution, 'Municipal Buildings', for use by the British political and military forces.
==========
1920 :
On the 6th December, 1920, having been instructed by his betters (!) in Westminster to do so, British Army Lieutenant-General 'Sir' Henry Hugh Tudor ('KCB, CMG etc!') issued a notice to the British 'police force' in Ireland, the RIC, to, basically, 'calm down'.
That grouping, the RIC, had 'unofficially' been given carte blanche by Westminster to run riots in Ireland and terrorise the population, in order to 'restore and maintain law and order'. Britain's version of 'law and order', that is - the order was effective, for a few days, and then ignored. Westminster, too, ignored the fact that it had issued the order in the first place.
==========
1922 :
On the 6th December, 1922, Free State forces finally took over the town of Kenmare (pictured), in County Kerry.
The town had been held by the rebels (IRA) since September, 1922, and the Staters had tried, twice, to take it from them, but failed on both occasions. But, on the 6th December that year, the Leinster House Free State administration sent in three military columns of their armed forces to 'secure' the town, which they did, this time, and 'arrested' fourteen rebels in the process.
==========
1925 :
In order to 'legitimise the new Irish State in Northern Ireland' (sic) in the political eyes of the world, Westminster and its offspring in Leinster House needed to present the 'Stormont Government' (sic) in the Occupied Six Counties as 'an agreed positve advancement'.
So those three anti-republican, pro-British political institutions came up with a 'Tripartite Agreement' which all three would get on board with and sign off on.
In a speech in Dublin, Mr Éamon de Valera (playing the rebel) loudly objected, calling the 'Agreement' a "mediated crime" and described those in Leinster House as "Free Staters who had sold our countrymen for the meanest of all considerations – a money consideration..".
However, within two years, Mr de Valera and his followers had accepted political office in the Free State 'parliament' and Establishment...!
==========
BEIR BUA...
The Thread of the Irish Republican Movement from The United Irishmen through to today.
Republicanism in history and today.
Published by the James Connolly/Tommy O'Neill Cumann, Republican Sinn Féin, The Liberties, Dublin.
August 1998.
('1169' comment - 'Beir Bua' translates as 'Grasp Victory' in the English language.)
Republican Sinn Féin, likewise, follows in the traditions of Tone, Emmet, the Fenians and Pearse.
We accept the programme of previous generations of republicans - 'Ireland Free'. No compromising 'interim settlement' is acceptable.
"The task we take up again is just Emmet's task of silent unattractive work, the routine of correspondence and committees and organising. We must face it as bravely and as quietly as he faced it, working on in patience as he worked on, hoping as he hoped, cherishing in our secret hearts the mighty hope that to us, though so unworthy, it may be given to bring to accomplishment the thing he left unaccomplished, but working on even when that hope dies within us..." - Padraig Pearse.
The Union Creed Of The United Irishmen :
"I believe the land, or any part of it, cannot become the property of any man, but by purchase, or as rewards for forwarding and preserving the public liberty.
I believe our present connection with England must be speedily dissolved.
I believe that old age, pregnant women and labour should be honoured.
I believe that treason is the crime of betraying the people.
I believe religious distinctions are only protected by tyrants.
I believe applying the lands of the church to relieve old age, to give education and protection to infancy, will be more acceptable to a united people, than maintaining lazy hypocrites and ravenous tithe-gatherers.
In this faith I mean to live, or bravely die..."
(MORE LATER.)
Thanks for the visit, and for reading.
Sharon and the team.
THE BRITISH 'DORA' IN IRELAND.
...and we're back, after our 'working holiday'!
We had an eventful break (!), and enjoyed the two gigs laid on by the Movement, during and after the working days, but would ask that they be spaced-out better next year.
I mean, four days recovery time between gigs just isn't enough...!
And meself and the two lads have been busy - we are putting together a 12-piece post for Wednesday, 6th December 2023, mentioning happenstances ("Ya wha', Shar...?!) in connection with Irish history and politics that took place between 1919 and 2002, including...
......what one high-ranking British military and political member of the British 'Establishment' wrote, in the 1920's, about what he considered to be a 'sell out' to the Irish...
...how, in the 1950's, the GAA in New York came together and organised itself in connection with events to organise funds for the Republican Movement in Ireland...
...the birth of a journalistic 'Con' artist and his alleged encounter with a committed Irish republican on a city street...
...from 2002 - "..the institutional Church has suffered a serious decline in confidence.." - but such a "serious decline" is not a death knell...
...and a few more articles mentioning events that took place between 1919 and 1925.
So please do check back with us on Wednesday, 6th December 2023 : and sure we might even tell ya a bit more about the two gigs we attended.
Or we might not...!
Thanks for the visit, and for reading : hope to see ya on the 6th!
Sharon and the team.
ON THIS DATE (22ND NOVEMBER) 100 YEARS AGO : DEATH OF AN IRA HUNGER-STRIKER.
Andrew Sullivan (aka Andy O'Sullivan, pictured), 5th Battalion, Cork 4th Brigade, was one of three IRA men to die on hunger-strike in 1923 - he was 41 years of age at the time (the other two men were Joe Witty, 19 years young, and Dennis Barry, 40 years of age ; Joe died on the 2nd September that year, and Dennis died on the 20th November).
'Captain Andrew Sullivan was born in Denbawn, County Cavan in 1882, the oldest of eight children born to Michael Sorahan and Mary Smith...he eventually became the agricultural inspector for the Mallow area, County Cork and held that position for many years.
During the War of Independence Sullivan was the Commanding Officer for Civil Administration in the North Cork area and later in the 1st Southern Cork division...a supporter of the anti-Treaty side during the Irish Civil War, he was arrested and interred on July 5, 1923. Between 1922 and 1923, hundreds of others in all parts of Ireland were arrested by the (*) British controlled Irish police force (*), without any charge, and were kept in the prisons and internment camps without trial...in the Autumn of 1923 the conditions in the prisons grew worse and the men and women were being treated as convicts rather than political prisoners. To protest their imprisonment and bring public attention to the cruelty they were receiving, the only 'tool' they felt they had at their disposal was a hunger strike...' (from here).
(*)- an accurate description, in our opinion, but the timeline would show that, 'officially', at least, the then existing 'police force' would be acting under instruction from the then 'new' Free State administration in Leinster House rather than 'officially' taking orders from Westminster.
However, as republicans know (and history has since attested to) that 'police force' was a proxy force for Westminster - as, indeed, was the Leinster House 'parliament' that established that 'police force' - so the description 'British controlled Irish police force' is, as we said, accurate.
Also, as regards the POW's being treated as convicts, one of the prisoners, Alfred McLoughlin, who was interned for a year without being told why, managed to get a letter published in 'The Irish Times' newspaper in which he wrote - "I slept on bare boards in the Curragh military prison for five nights..I was handcuffed night and day..I was threatened, with a gun, several times, that I would be shot..." -
"I am one of the Hare Park prisoners referred to. In spite of what General Mulcahy says, I slept on bare boards in the Curragh military prison for five nights – April 24-28. I got one blanket. I was handcuffed night and day (day behind, night in front). The handcuffs were not off for meals ; they were off one wrist for alleged dinner, excluding Thursday, April 26, when they were both off for dinner, but on that day I was hanging handcuffed by the wrists to a kit-rack about six inches from the floor, for four-and-a-half hours. I was threatened with a gun several times [that] I was to be shot..."
W.B. Yeats, 'Lord' Granard and Sir Bryan Mahon campaigned for proper treatment for the prisoners and, in April 1923, the 'International Committee of the Red Cross' carried out an 'investigation' into the conditions in the prisons, reporting (in keeping with those who had facilitated their visit ie the Staters) that "the prisoners were treated like prisoners of war". However, it later emerged that their report was flawed as not one prisoner was interviewed during their 'investigation'!
Anyway - in that particular year (1923), there were about 12,000 Irish republicans interned by the Free Staters and, as stated, above, those men and women "were being treated as convicts rather than political prisoners", and a decision was made, by both the POW's themselves and the leadership outside, to go on hunger strike and, on the 13th October 1923, Michael Kilroy (pictured, a respected republican, at the time) OC of the IRA POW's in Mountjoy Jail, announced that 300 republicans in that prison/internment camp (including ten men who had been elected to a 32-County Dáil Éireann) had voted to go on hunger strike (those 300 men were soon joined by 162 more of their comrades in that institution).
Within days, thousands more imprisoned republicans joined the protest - 70 in Cork Jail, 350 in Kilkenny Jail, 200 in Dundalk Jail, 711 in Gormanstown Prison Camp, 1,700 in Newbridge, 123 in 'Tintown', 3,390 in the Curragh Camp, 100 in Harepark Camp and 50 women in the North Dublin Union prison (good condensed background piece here about that period in our history).
While on hunger strike, Andrew wrote to his brother Michael on the 7th November, 1923 - the 25th day of the protest ; "Dearest Br. Miceal,
Thanks ever so much. I really can't find words to explain adequately my gratitude for your prompt response to my appeal for some cash. I have been very hard up for many things especially smokes and of course I would not ask anyone - besides, I could never bring myself to beg. I am much cheered by the news that Cork is now with us in the fight. I always expected that and should it be a fight to a finish I shall die happy in the thought that my bones will moulder in its confines.
I asked you for to arrange that I should be buried by my old chief's side in Fermoy. My heart is so set on the freedom (of my people) that my spare moments are always devoted to devising ways and means to expedite that Glorious Dawn.
With that object in view I have decided that if Mallow Republicans provide a Republican Plot in the new Cemetery near the Railway...I shall order my interment there instead of at Fermoy, as the latter place has enough in L. Lynch's and Fitz Gerald's graves to keep aflame the burning torch of Freedom.
Matter wants something in its midst to counter the awful shoneenism that permeates its walls and I came to the conclusion that if I can no longer alive take the same active part in the battle I may at least in my mouldering grave do still some little to help those who come after me with that object in view.
I ordered that nothing should be inscribed besides my name etc by way of epitaph. Over my remains but the simple motto of my late life work...when the Republic so estated functioning and duly recognised then, but not till then, let men dare to eulogise my name in cold press over my grave.
Then too will Lynch's and Emmet's blazon forth. This is rather gruesome but one so often thinks of the apparent inevitable in this struggle that it becomes quite secondary, thoughts of the spiritual world.
In the latter line I am quite at peace, prepared and content. There will be no swerving from the straight rugged path to the goal. I set the motto for the strike, 'Freedom or Death'. I am Prison Adjutant now and by long ways the strongest man on the strike even though judging by the looseness of my clothes I must have dropped at least 3 stone weight. There are 124 of us on strike now.
A large number were shifted to the various camps and many of the leaders were taken from here to Kilmainham. It is all alike to us, we carry on. Of course some weak ones have given in. About 60 out of the total here have gone off and taken food on a promise of release. Immediately they were strong enough in hospital they were thrown back into C wing just as they were before the strike and told they could not be released until a big batch was ready.
Fr. James McCabe came up when they heard of my being on Hunger Strike and with his friend went to G.H.L and found they have me held on suspicion only but have no evidence and would release me if I went off strike and signed the usual form. Of course Fr. James asked me to do this and I sent him out the definite reply "NEVER!" At the same time my profuse thanks for his trouble in my behalf. Well, I must close this long winded letter. Remember the change, Mallow instead of Fermoy, in case I do. Undying Love,
Your Aff Br. Andy."
Finally - from 'The Scotsman' newspaper, 26th November 1923 (page 10) - 'Death of Irish Hunger-Striker : At the inquest on Saturday on Andrew Sullivan, a hunger-striker, who after removal from Mountjoy Prison, Dublin, died on Friday afternoon in a military hospital, a doctor stated that Sullivan went on hunger-strike on October 14, and about a week ago he lost his sight. The jury found that death was due to pneumonia.' We mention that because the Friday in question would have been the 23rd November, 1923 and, on researching the inconsistency, we found the following :
'Many of the newspapers of the time reported Captain Andrew O'Sullivan died on November 22, 1923. That may have been the date he was removed from Mountjoy Prison and brought to St. Bricin's Military Hospital where he was pronounced dead on November 23, 1923...he died on 23 November 1923 at St. Bricin Military Hospital, Dublin City, County Dublin, Ireland, at age 41.5...the information on the death record was provided by Louis A. Burns, coroner for the City of Dublin. Inquest held 24 November 1923...(and) at the inquest on Saturday on Andrew Sullivan, a hunger-striker, who after removal from Mountjoy Prison, Dublin, died on Friday afternoon in a military hospital, a doctor stated that Sullivan went on hunger-strike on October 14, and about a week ago he lost his sight...' (from here).
However, the majority opinion is that the man died on the 22nd November 1923, and we, ourselves, believe that to be the correct date. IRA Captain Andy O' Sullivan, from Cork, died after 40 days on hunger-strike, on the 22nd November 1923, at 41 years of age, 100 years ago on this date.
'AMERICAN NOTES'
From 'The United Irishman' newspaper, April 1955.
Republican Aid Committee : Support for the dependents of the men (sic) in jail is growing steadily among the New York Irish.
The 'Irish Republican Prisoners Aids Fund' has been active here for more than 18 months but, since the sentencing of the eight young IRA men in connection with the Omagh raid, funds have rolled in much faster and steadier.
Also, attendance at affairs held to aid the prisoners has jumped enormously.
The Chairman (sic) of the 'Irish Republican Prisoners Aids Fund' of New York is Liam Cotter (pictured), a Kerry man, the Treasurer is Dr. Frank Monahan, from Cavan, and the Secretary is Chris McLoughlin, from Belfast.
New monthly dances and other social gatherings are held throughout New York, and other Irish clubs, organisations and county groupings have promised support. Some will hold functions, others will make cash contributions to the Central Committee in Dublin through the New York Committee...
(MORE LATER.)
IRELAND ON THE COUCH...
A Psychiatrist Writes.
'Magill' commissioned Professor Patricia Casey to compile an assessment of Irish society at what may emerge as the end of a period of unprecedented growth and change.
This is her report.
From 'Magill Magazine' Annual, 2002.
Whatever the explanation - indifference or scepticism - opting out of this fundamental right has significant consequences.
It is said that counselling is the new religion, replacing the priest, but information from several sources shows clearly that formal religion is not dead but is doing well, in spite of a number of significant problems.
The event of the year, the tour of the relics of Saint Therese, demonstrated the need that the Irish have for traditional forms of worship.
During the ten-week tour, over two million people filed past the casket and huge numbers went to confession again, with predictions that there would be a subsequent revitalisation of the sacrament.
That this could happen in post-Catholic Ireland, as one politician famously dubbed it, astounded us all. There has also been a reported increase in pilgrimages such as those to Lough Derg in recent years...
(MORE LATER.)
BEIR BUA...
The Thread of the Irish Republican Movement from The United Irishmen through to today.
Republicanism in history and today.
Published by the James Connolly/Tommy O'Neill Cumann, Republican Sinn Féin, The Liberties, Dublin.
August 1998.
('1169' comment - 'Beir Bua' translates as 'Grasp Victory' in the English language.)
Republican Sinn Féin, likewise, follows in the traditions of Tone, Emmet, the Fenians and Pearse.
We accept the programme of previous generations of republicans - 'Ireland Free'. No compromising 'interim settlement' is acceptable.
"The task we take up again is just Emmet's task of silent unattractive work, the routine of correspondence and committees and organising. We must face it as bravely and as quietly as he faced it, working on in patience as he worked on, hoping as he hoped, cherishing in our secret hearts the mighty hope that to us, though so unworthy, it may be given to bring to accomplishment the thing he left unaccomplished, but working on even when that hope dies within us..." - Padraig Pearse.
The Union Creed Of The United Irishmen :
"I believe in the Irish Union, in the supreme majesty of the people, in the equality of man* (sic), in the lawfulness of insurrection, and of resistance to oppression.
I believe in a revolution founded on the rights of man*, in the natural and imprescriptable right of all the Irish citizens to all the land. I believe the soil, or any part of it, cannot be transferred without the consent of the people, or their representatives, convened and authorised by the votes of every man* having arrived at the age of 21 years..."
(MORE LATER.)
1919 :
A pro-British newspaper in Dublin, 'The Irish Times', carried a report on the 22nd November, 1919, that a Mr Alan Bell had been appointed as a 'Resident Magistrate' by Mr John French, who was the '1st Earl of Ypres' and the British 'Lord Lieutenant of Ireland' (a position he resigned from on the 30th April 1921).
Mr Bell had come to the attention of the IRA before, as he had 'made a name' for himself as an RIC member who was particularly robust (!) in his treatment of Irish republicans.
He kept that demeanour about him in his new position, which gave him even more scope and opportunities to practice his 'robustness' (!) and, determined to further 'prove himself' to his new bosses, he organised the tracking-down and seizure of £71,000 belonging to the Movement.
Michael Collins, the then IRA Director of Intelligence, had instructed his men to observe Mr Bell's routine, and a plan to execute him was drawn-up ;
on March 26th, 1920, Collins ordered that the plan be acted on and, on that morning, Mr Bell was joined on the packed tram at Dalkey Station by three armed IRA men.
As the tram arrived at the corner of Simmonscourt Square at Merrion Road to take on and let-off passengers, another IRA man held it there ; the three IRA men on board rose from their seats and told Mr Bell to step off the tram with them - he refused and repeatedly called on the other passengers to help him.
Only one of the passengers on the packed tram attempted to help him, but he was quickly convinced to stay out of it. Mr Bell was then dragged off the tram by the three IRA men and, when they stepped onto the road, they were met by three other armed IRA men - the six Volunteers pushed Alan Bell across the road where he was shot three times in the head and died instantly. Mr Bell carried a pocket revolver for protection but never got the chance to use it.
The Dail Eireann National Loan recorded £357,000 in its account at the end of 1920, meaning that Dublin Castle had to continue to use its own money to pay its lackies in Ireland to do its bidding.
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1920 :
The Secretary of the Newbridge (County Kildare) branch of the ITGWU, Michael Smyth, was on his way to a Council meeting on the afternoon of Monday, 22nd November, 1920, when he was 'arrested' in Naas by the British 'police force' in Ireland, the RIC.
His republican leanings, which he had at the time - he was later to become a 'Senator' in the Free State administration - had previously brought him to the attention of the British junta in Ireland and he had been 'taken into custody' by the Black and Tans in early July that year and was badly beaten up by them, before being deposited in their barracks in Newbridge, Kildare, and held there for about a week.
He was then imprisoned in the Curragh and, later, Mountjoy Jail in Dublin.
Two men of his acquaintance, Thomas Patterson and Tom Harris, were also 'arrested' that same day, and imprisoned in the Curragh.
When he knew that Michael Smyth was in 'custody', the RIC 'County Inspector' for the Kildare area, a Mr Kerry Supple (whose house on the Sallins Road in Naas had been attacked by the IRA less that a year previously) assembled a raiding party and bustled their way into the Kildare County Council building and went to the room where the meeting was taking place.
They looted the office until they found the Minute Book, documents book and any correspondence to and from Dáil Éireann and removed those items from the premises. That material would have been delived by those 'Irishmen' to their British paymasters in Dublin.
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1920 :
'On the morning of 21 November 1920, Dublin IRA shooting teams simultaneously struck 14 separate premises housing 22 suspected British agents. The scale of the audacious operation was unprecedented, as scores of IRA gunmen shot dead 15 men (12 of whom were pre-targeted), many while still in their beds in fashionable areas of South Dublin...' (From here.)
(14 British intelligence officers were assassinated and, seeking revenge, their comrades drove into Croke Park, in Dublin, that afternoon, and opened
fire on the crowd, killing 14 civilians and wounding 65. 'The Freeman's Journal' newspaper described the Croke Park massacre as 'Amritzar Repeated in Dublin'.)
The following day, the 22nd November - 103 years ago on this date - the British administration in Ireland announced that they were extending their existing 'curfew' (martial law) to now operate from 10pm to 5am (instead of 12 Midnight to 5am), and they ordered their troops to arrest and intern "all known officers" of the IRA.
Within a few days, more than 500 men had been 'arrested' and imprisoned by the British, but the republican campaign continued.
(Incidentally, when British PM David Lloyd George was informed on the 22nd that his agents had been killed in Dublin and told of the manner by which they died, he is said to have turned to Patrick Moylett and callously commented "They got what they deserved. Beaten by counter-jumpers...")
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1920 :
"When we had been in position for some time, there was no sign of any activity, but suddenly someone dashed past the end of Mill Lane, at the same time firing a shot. We rushed onto the Main Street at the junction with Mill Lane and opened fire on two Black and Tans who were running up the street towards their barracks. The enemy party escaped, but when we returned to Mill Lane, we found that Paddy McCarthy had been shot dead by the single shot..." - IRA Volunteer William Reardon.
On the 22nd November 1920, IRA Volunteers from the Millstreet Battalion and the column of the Cork No. 2 Brigade IRA attacked British forces who had been terrorising the population of Millstreet, County Cork.
IRA Captain Patrick McCarthy, Newmarket Battalion, Cork No. 2 Brigade, was killed while taking part in that attack on the RIC/Tans, at Upper Mill Lane in Millstreet.
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1920 :
Edward (Edmund/Eddie) Carmody was born in Moyvane, in County Kerry and, at a young age, he moved to Ballylongford, on the North Coast of that county, and got work work on a farm.
When of an age to do so, he joined the IRA (8th Battalion [Ballylongford], Kerry No. 1 Brigade), served his time and worked his way into the position of Quarter Master and then settled into the rank of Lieutenant.
On the 22nd November, 1920, as he was on his way to inspect an arms dump outside Ballylongford, he was surrounded by a gang of Black and Tan members who shot at him. He sustained several wounds but continued to try and escape from them by lying low. It was said that the trail of blood in his wake gave his whereabouts away, and the Tans dragged him onto a road where they proceeded to kick and punch him, slammed their rifle butts into his bloody body, stood him up against a wall and fired more shots into him.
He was then stabbed with bayonets and shot in the face several times.
His lifeless body was then thrown onto a cart and he was paraded through Ballylongford by the Tans and left outside a turf shed inside the barracks yard, from where his father collected his remains the following day.
Another martyr for old Ireland, another murder for the Crown...
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1920 :
'WAR IRELAND – GERMANY - ENGLAND.
War is imminent between England and Germany. England's cowardly and degenerate population won't make soldiers. Not so the Germans. They are trained and ready.
What will England do? She will recruit Irishmen to fight Germany for her. She will then, when finished with them, fling them back to the workhouses of Ireland reeking with foul filthy diseases."
- a leaflet distributed in 1913 by Irish republicans and which was handed out by IRB member Art O'Donnell (pictured) in his village of Tullycrine, Kilrush, County Clare where, in 1890, he was born, one of fifteen children.
When the IRB split months later, Art remained true to his republican beliefs and assisted in re-organising the rebels in the townland of Kildysart, in County Clare, alongside
Sean McNamara, Martin Griffin and Frank McMahon, which they did, and those men armed themselves, trained and drilled, in preparation for 'England's difficulty...'
He was the 'Officer Commanding' of the West Clare Brigade IRA when he 'arrested' by the British in Ennis, County Clare, on the 22nd November, 1920, and detained in Ennis Barracks, before being taken to Limerick Prison and, from there, he was moved to Cork Jail.
He 'rested' in Cork Jail for a while before being put on a boat, with other IRA POW's, and they were delivered to Ballykinlar Camp, just outside Belfast but, thanks to his efforts, the rebel army in his district still functioned, under the command of Jack Coghlan and Commandant Willie Shannon.
He was released under the terms of the December 1921 'Treaty of Surrender'.
Art O'Donnell : the Quiet Idealist.
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1920 :
Éamonn Ó Modhráin (pictured, 'Prisoner A 3/56' in Mountjoy and 'Number 290' in Frongoch Internment Camp in Wales) had a passing interest in Irish history but expanded that interest, in the early 1900's, on hearing representatives of the 'Irish National League' ('Conradh na Gaeilge') speaking in his area, Kildare.
He involved himself in their cultural activities and was soon after to be elected as a 'Branch Secretary' for the organisation, and worked his way up to eventually being elected as its 'Chairperson'.
He maintained his interest in Irish culture, sport and language and also developed an interest in, and support for, Irish republicanism and, in 1914,
he joined the Athgarvan Company of the Irish Volunteers, which brought him further into the 'Person of Interest'-category of British forces.
He was 'arrested' by the British on the 22nd November 1920, as were hundreds of other republicans, in the aftermath of 'Bloody Sunday', was court-martialled and sentenced to sixteen months imprisonment in Mountjoy Jail, in Dublin, for "possession of seditious literature".
He was released under the terms of the 'Treaty of Surrender' in December, 1921.
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1920 :
John Jack 'Rover' McCann was born in Loughshinny, a small village between Skerries and Rush, in County Dublin, in 1886.
He joined the Movement at 28 years of age and was 30 when he took part in 'the Battle of Ashbourne' in April 1916 and, following the Easter Rising, he was captured by British forces and taken to Swords, County Dublin, and from there to Richmond Barracks, in Inchicore, Dublin, where his comrades were being held.
The republican POW's were then transported to Knutsford Jail in the county of Cheshire, in the North West of England, and from there to Frongoch internment camp in Merionethshire, Wales. The 'Rover' and his comrades were released in December 1916 in a 'Christmas Amnesty', and he returned home, still cherishing his republican beliefs.
In the early hours of the 22nd November, 1920, the Black and Tans called to his home, forced him into a nearby field and shot him dead.
RIP.
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1920 :
An RIC patrol was ambushed outside Ardara, in County Donegal, on the 22nd November 1920, resulting in the wounding of four RIC members, two of whom were seriously injured.
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1920 :
On the 22nd November, 1920, British Army Brigadier General Frank Percy Crozier arrived in Galway on foot of complaints lodged against 'D Company Auxiliaries' and he sacked the drunken Commander of that particular militia (on the 30th, a Lieutenant FHW Guard, formerly of the 'Royal Scots Regiment' and a former officer of the 'Gold Coast Volunteer Corps', took over the position).
While he was in Galway, he 'investigated' the murder of Father Griffin but it was only in May 1921 - after he had resigned his post - that he admitted that his men, the Auxies, were in fact responsible for the death of the priest.
His vehicle was involved in a serious crash on the 23rd, as he was travelling back to Dublin, having sacked the militia Commander, inquired (!) into the death of Father Griffin and inspecting 'G Company Auxiliaries' in Killaloe, in County Clare ; he ended up in the Curragh Hospital for about a month and was then transfered to a convalescent home in Dublin.
FP Crozier was born in 1879 in Warwick Camp, a British Army base in Bermuda and, at 33 years of age, he 'went home to the Mainland' and joined 'The British League for the Support of Ulster and the Union' and was put in charge of the UVF. He was an RIC member ('Service Number 72229') and worked his way through the paramilitary/militia system to the command position in the 'Auxiliary Division RIC'. He was a 'Company Man', in other words.
He was aware of the lawlessness that permeated the 'Auxies' (and, indeed, the whole British military and political system in Ireland) but, until it got so completely widespread, had weakly dismissed such debauchery as 'the workings of a malign influence, an inner crew, a shadowy group of officials, politicians and others..'
On one occasion, when his hand was forced and he had to summarily dismiss about two dozen serving men, a Lieutenant-General, a 'Sir' Henry Hugh Tudor ('KCB', 'CMG' etc) reinstated them 'pending a full inquiry' ; Mr Crozier let it be known that that was done out of fear that any of the dismissed men would talk to the press about their 'extracurricular' activities!
And the poor man was getting it tough at home, as well - in October, 1920, his wife called personally at the British War Office and stated that her husband had left her entirely destitute and that it would be necessary for her to go into the workhouse that night, and she wanted to know his whereabouts with a view to commencing civil proceedings...
No doubt caught between a rock and a hard place, he resigned from the 'British Defence Forces' in 1921, and resigned from this Earth on the 31st August 1937.
Here's hoping he eventually got some peace...!
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1920 :
On the 22nd November, 1920, sixteen-year-old Michael O'Reilly was crossing Capel Street, in Dublin City Centre, when he was shot dead.
It transpired that a British soldier, a Private Hampton, of the Wiltshire Regiment, had 'negligently discharged' his weapon, killing the youth in the process...
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1920 :
On the 22nd November, 1920, RIC members were travelling in a Crossley Tender truck through Dromoland, in the county of Clare, when the vehicle was involved in an accident.
The RIC driver, Edward Roper (25), from Hampshire, in England, who also wore the Black and Tan uniform when not attired as an RIC member, died, after his vehicle smashed into the gate leading into Dromoland Castle, and two of his comrades - Michael Fleming (31), from County Laois, also a Tan, and an ex-Sergeant Major in the British Army 'Irish Guards Regiment' and their comrade Patrick Driscoll (31), from Ballydehob, in Cork, who had joined the RIC nine years previously - died with him.
We have no idea how badly damaged the truck was.
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1921 :
On the 22nd November, 1921, responsibility for 'security, law and order and the administration of justice' (!) was transferred from Westminster to its spawn administration in Ireland, the Stormont regime in Belfast.
A few weeks before that, a new pro-British paramilitary group – the 'Ulster Imperial Guards' – had been formed, which was made up mainly of ex-British Army soldiers and ex-UVF gang members, and James Craig used their presence to pressure Dawson Bates into giving the 'Ulster Special Constabulary' more powers to crack down on Irish people.
Which he did.
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118ú ARD FHEIS 2023.
We'll be extra busy on the last weekend in November 2023, as we have an 'appointment' in Dublin City Centre with our political comrades.
The 118th Ard Fheis of the Republican Movement is being held in a Dublin venue and myself and the two lads have each acquired a 'Visitors Pass' for the day, and we'll be doing some work for same in the days before the event, and in the days after it.
There are 53 motions to be discussed, ranging in topic from 'Political Policy', 'Prisoners' and 'Elections' to 'Organisation and Activities' and 'Publicity and Culture' and more, so it's gonna be a busy five or six days for us, but we're looking forward to meeting our comrades and colleagues, from home and abroad!
We won't be here on Wednesday 29th November 2023, but we will be back with our usual offerings on the following Wednesday, 6th December 2023. And I'll still be on 'X' and Facebook, 'cause yer not gettin' rid of me that easy...!
Thanks for the visit, and for reading ; we'll be back on Wednesday, 6th December 2023.
Sharon and the team.
18 FOR THE 22ND ON 1169...!
Well haven't we been busy bees!
We've put together 18 articles, covering the years 1919 to 2002, for the blog, for Wednesday, 22nd November 2023!
Included in the articles will be a letter which an Irish hunger-striker wrote to his family in the early 1920's, a British operative in Dublin who took the quickest way to his job but never arrived, what a British military raiding party were looking for when they looted the offices of a County Council building, the response of a British Prime Minister on being told of the executions of his team in Dublin, how an inspection of an arms dump went tragically wrong for an IRA man in 1920 and more than a dozen other stories from Irish history.
We'll be with ya on Wednesday, 22nd November 2023 - hope you'll be with us then!
Thanks for the visit, and for reading.
Sharon and the team.
