.....throughout the Black and Tan War ( 1919 - 1921 ) the I W W U played their part in the liberation struggle and were prominent in the 'White Cross' , the then Republican prisoner-dependent relief organisation(now CABHAIR) and the womens Union also campaigned on behalf of the prisoners during the many prison protests . The I W W U , including Louie Bennett , Maire Johnston , Mary O'Connor and Margaret Buckley, opposed the Treaty of Surrender (December 1921) and supported the republicans in the Civil War .
During the mid-1920's , a more militant and political I W W U campaigned tirelessly for the unemployed and their dependants , demanding relief work for the jobless and the opening of a coal fund and the provision of meals for their families . It opposed the ' Conditions of Employment Bill ' of 1935 , Section 16 of which allowed the Free State Industry and Commerce Minister , Sean Lemass, to prohibit the employment of female workers in industry , fixed the proportion of female workers to the number of other workers and forbade employers to employ more women than men ! However , despite the almost 5,000 women trade unionists it rallied to its cause , the Bill was passed . By 1936 , largely due to the efforts of the I W W U .....(MORE LATER)>>

.....the consultant clinical psychologist stated that the workers at the Windscale nuclear plant pass through the psychiatric casualty system "at a considerable rate " and he condemned "very old fashioned " management attitudes for creating at Windscale that could lead to catastrophe . "I have been surprised , when I have had contact with some staff referred to psychiatry and psychology , that such obviously disturbed people were employed at the plant in the first place . One of my psychiatric colleagues has asked the question whether Windscale actually sets out to employ anxious obsessionals , or whether they just make them that way in the end " .
A windscale spokesperson confirmed that the report , made in 1982, had been received and that management had not acted on it !
It seems that the Brits have their own ' weapons of mass destruction ' .....

Within two years of its formation , many of the I W W U members were involved in the Great Lock-Out of August 1913 and , following the ending of same in February 1914 , almost half the workers failed to get their jobs back . The Irish Women's Workers Union , led by Louie Bennett and Helen Chenvix (both later presidents of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions) and Margaret Buckley (president of Sinn Fein from 1936 to 1949) played a prominent part in the struggle for freedom between 1918 and 1921 .
They took part in the one-day strike organised by the Irish Trade Union Congress on April 23rd , 1918 , called to protest at the proposed introduction of conscription in Ireland and actively campaigned for republican candidates , including Countess Markievicz , who was later appointed Minister for Labour in the First Dail , which prompted the I W W U to declare - " We rejoice that the first woman elected to parliament in Ireland is one to whom the workers can always confidently look to uphold their rights and just cause " .
Throughout the Black and Tan War ......(MORE LATER)>>

If Tony Blair is serious about having a go at Iraq , he should send in workers from Windscale/Sellafield instead of the British Army :
In February 1986 , a Mr Douglas Wilkinson , the then Consultant clinical psychologist at the West Cumbrian Hospital in Cumbria , said that scientists working at the Windscale nuclear plant were " neurotic and unstable " and that management at the plant seem to "breed tension, back-biting and paranoia" among staff ! He issued these findings in an 18-page report he done in 1982 at the request of Windscale medical officers , who asked him to investigate the situation at the plant . His report was based on his findings after treating staff at Windscale over many years ~ he stated that the workers pass through the psychiatric casualty system " at a considerable rate " . (MORE LATER)>>>

In September 1911 , at a meeting in the Antient Concert Room in Brunswick (now Pearse) Street in Dublin , which was attended by dozens of women (many of whom were actively involved in Inghinidhe na hEireann and/or the suffragette movement) the ' Irish Womens Workers Union ' ( I W W U) was formed . The principal speakers in attendance included Countess Markievicz , James Larkin , James Nolan and Hannah Sheehy-Skeffington .
Addressing the assembled women , Countess Markievicz declared -
" Without organisation you can do nothing . The purpose of this meeting is to turn you into a army of women " . Conditions and pay at the time for all workers , but particularly for women employed in the shirt and weaving industries , was appalling . In England , organised workers were being paid up to four times the wage of their Irish counterparts and were not fined for absenteeism and damage to cloth on the same scale as the women workers in Ireland were . Also , the Irish women worked a six-day week with very little holidays . Within two years of its formation .....(MORE LATER)>>

More on Paddy Murray , editor of the 'The Sunday Tribune' newspaper , whom I wrote about here recently : in his column in that 'paper on December 9th , 2001 ,(page 14) he described himself as - " opinionated , rightwing (with) a slightly dodgy sense of humour , enjoy more pints than average and to completely lack the ability to listen to the other side of the argument " . An odd choice for a newspaper editor ..... Also , writing in the ' The Sunday World' newspaper on February 8th , 1998 , the bould Paddy stated- " I don't mind being called a Free Stater . Because I am a Free Stater " . That's it , Paddy ~ get it off your chest ...
Or was Paddy just licking-up to his boss , Anto O'Reilly (that's Dr A J F O'Reilly, to you) who , in the newspaper that Paddy now edits for him , on October 2nd , 1988 , (page 36) defined patriotism as -
" Doing a superior day's work for a fair day's pay (and) is also about putting together large sums of capital " ! DAMN IT ! If only the men and women of 1916 had stormed a bank instead of a post office , we could have had Tony on our side .....

Peter Barnes and James McCormick were to be made an example of - the question of guilt or innocence was immaterial as long as English ' justice ' had sufficient evidence to give it a pretext for judicial murder .
Pleas for clemency flooded into the British Home Office from all over the world , but were ignored .
On the day of the execution of Barnes and McCormick there were signs of mourning all over Ireland ~ flags flew at half mast on public buildings , cinemas closed , sports meetings were cancelled and public bodies passed resolutions of sympathy .
Peter Barnes , 33 , and James McCormick , 30, were hanged in Winson Green Prison , Birmingham , England, on February 7th , 1940 . They are still commemorated in Ireland to this day .

......Roosevelt knew reporters by name , played water polo with his favourites , sent cards on anniversaries , invited some to Christmas dinner and entertained all at square dances which he organised . He talked to them in the small hours while his wife , Eleanor , made them scrambled eggs in a chafing dish , and his daughter , Anna , " bustled around the table making sure that everyone had enough to eat " . By 1933 , the press felt sufficiently comfortable to ask - and receive - permission to use the White House tennis courts and swimming pool . However , not all the journalists were fooled into believing that Roosevelt was their new best friend - Arthur Krock , then head of the ' New York Times ' washington bureau , accused the FDR administration " of more ruthlessness , intelligence and subtlety in trying to suppress legitimate , unfavourable comment than any other I have known " .
Next time the media tell you why it is , for example , that Iraq ' should be made pay ' - step back and think of who's manipulating who ; and think of FDR .....

Within hours of the August 25th , 1939 , Coventry explosion ,Peter Barnes was arrested at his lodgings at 176 Westbourne Terrace and three days later James McCormick (operating under the alias James Richards) and the tenants of 25 Clara Street , Coventry, Joseph Hewitt , his wife Mary and his mother-in-law Brigid O'Hara , were detained during a raid on the house . All five were charged on suspicion only and, at their 'trial' the following December , three were acquitted while Barnes and McCormick were sentenced to death by hanging . Before sentencing, McCormick , who had remained silent and composed throughout the proceedings , told the court ~ " As a soldier of the Irish Republican Army , I am not afraid to die, for I am dying in a just cause" .
Peter Barnes , who was nowhere near Coventry on the day of the explosion , stated in court ~ " I would like to say that as I am going before my God , as I am condemned to death, I am innocent, and later I am sure it will all come out that I had neither hand , act or part in it . That is all I have to say " . The English establishment , like so many times before and since , in their endeavours ' to teach the Irish a lesson ' , were satisfied with the result as both men were Irish and had republican connections . They were to be made an example of .....(MORE LATER)>>

Bush and Blair know, from past campaigns, the potential power to be gained by manipulating an already supine media ; it was a tactic used to full effect by Franklin Delano Roosevelt , who was popular with the public but not with the media and attempted to change that situation .
In her book entitled ' FDR and the news media ' , Betty Horchin Winfield wrote of how Roosevelt was elected with 57 per cent of the vote in 1932 , yet he had only 41% of American dailies and weeklies editorial support . In 1936 , he got 60 per cent of the vote while his editorial support dropped to 37% and , when he went for the unprecedented third term in 1940 , he went down to 25% editorial support but won the election triumphantly . That situation was much the same in 1944 . Roosevelt knew reporters by name ..... (MORE LATER)>>>

Peter Barnes was born in Banagher , County Offaly , in 1907 .
At the age of 14 he joined the local slua (group) of Na Fianna Eireann and , in 1924 , at 17 years young, he joined the IRA . Peter Barnes was one of the first to volunteer for active service , at 32 years of age, in England , when the 1939 bombing campaign began . In June of that year he travelled to England and was appointed Transport Officer , operating mainly between Glasgow , Liverpool and London .
James McCormick was born in Mullingar , County Westmeath , in 1910 .
The McCormick family moved to Tullamore , in County Offaly, after the mother died , and it was in that town that James joined the IRA . In early 1939 , James McCormick volunteered for active service in England where , after acting for some time as Operations Officer in London and Birmingham , he was posted to Coventry (in May 1939) and , in August 1939 , was appointed Coventry O/C .
On August 25th , 1939, in one incident during the IRA bombing campaign , a bomb at the busy Broadgate Centre in Coventry killed five people and injured many more .
The bomb was concealed in the carrier-bag of a pushbike which was left standing at the kerb outside Astley's shop in the city centre . It was being transported to it's target some miles outside Coventry , but exploded prematurely due , apparently, to a defect in the timing device . Within hours of the explosion , Barnes was arrested .......( MORE LATER)>>

According to a book entitled "Landslide:The Unmaking of the President 1984-' 88" , by then Washington journalists Jane Mayer and Doyle McManus , Ronald Reagan "was lazy. He was'nt interested in the job . All he wanted to do was watch movies and television" . The then U S Chief of Staff , Howard Baker (who replaced Donald Regan in the job) briefly considered a proposal that the U S's Constitutions' 25th Amendment be invoked to remove Reagan from Office ~ Baker's aid , James Cannon , sent Baker a memorandum on March 1st , 1987 , which read- " Consider the possibility that Section 4 of the 25th Amendment to the Constitution might be applied" . The '25th' provides that a President can be removed from Office if the Vice President and a majority of the Cabinet certify that he/she is unable to perform his/her duties . When questioned about the above , Ronald Reagan replied "No truth at all" . But then again , some would say that Reagan would'nt know the truth even if it WAS in the script .....

.....Thomas Miller Beach (alias Major Henri Le Caron) was privy to the negotiations which led to the 'New Departure' in October 1878 : an alliance between the Fenians led by John Devoy , the Land League under Michael Davitt and the Irish Parliamentary Party led by Charles Stewart Parnell .
John Devoy commissioned the informer Beach to carry messages and instructions to Fenians in Europe and , in 1881 , Beach was sent to Paris with same for John O'Leary and Patrick Egan~ on his way through London he passed the details in his possession to Robert Anderson , from the British Home Office , who copied the information , and Beach carried on as if nothing had happened .
Beach returned to England permanently in December 1888 . By this time , the British government had established a Special Commission on ' Parnellism and Crime' , in order to discredit Parnell , and informed the informer Beach that it would be necessary for him to come out in the open and speak against Parnell ; all concerned understood that such a move would end Beach's career as an informer . His testimony to the commission in February 1889 did not damage Parnell as much as it damaged , shocked and embarrassed the IRB leadership , who were astonished that " one of their own" was a British agent all along . Beach spent the next five years in England , in hiding , his only injury being a nervous breakdown shortly before he died . His autobiography , ' Twenty-Five Years in the Secret Service' , was published in 1892 . The informer Beach died on April 1st , 1894 - not the last high-ranking informer considered to be "one of our own"......

.....in his speech , Ramsey Clark stated - " The (U S) President has no power to kill whomever he wants , to bomb civilian populations after deliberately building up a hate campaign against the country and timing it for prime television " . Clark said the compensation he was seeking on behalf of the fifty-five Libyans would total between $75 Million and $100 Million , and that U S pilots would be sued for not refusing to carry out Reagan's illegal order to bomb Tripoli in peacetime .
Will Bertie Ahern be sued because he is allowing U S bombers to fly from Shannon ?
Will Bush be sued for "building up a hate campaign" against Iraq ?
Will U S pilots end up in court "for not refusing to carry out illegal orders" ?
And what about the groundcrew at Shannon ? Will they be sued ?
It's most unlikely , but should a court-case be instigated here then watch the gutless wonders in Leinster House run for cover while simultaneously blaming each other .

......Thomas Miller Beach (alias Henri Le Caron) began his 'career' as an informer in 1866 , when he notified the authorities of a Fenian raid to be undertaken in Canada by Captain John O'Neill and his men , whose confidence he had won . The raid went ahead as planned but was defeated by the Canadian authorities on June 1st, 1866 .
While on a visit to England in 1867 , Beach made himself known to the British Home Office and was put in touch with a Mr Robert Anderson , to whom he relayed extensive information on Fenianism in Ireland , England and America ; his arrangement with Anderson lasted for years . Meanwhile , he had obtained high rank and responsibility in the IRB and , prior to the second abortive attack on Canada , was actively responsible for locating suitable places for the Fenians to stash their weapons . In April 1870 , the Fenians walked into a carefully prepared ambush and the Canadian operation fell apart ~ the Fenians had long suspected that there was a traitor in their ranks , but suspicion never fell on Beach , such was his standing among the Fenian leadership and rank-and-file .
A founder-member of Clan na Gael in America , Beach was privy to the negotiations .........(MORE LATER)>>

Ramsey Clark was Attorney General for the United States from 1967 to 1969 ; In April 1988 , he gave a speech in Washington in which he announced that he had filed a lawsuit against Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher , seeking compensation for fifty-five Libyans killed or injured in a U S bombing raid on Tripoli in 1986 . He was suing Thatcher because she allowed the U S bombers to fly from British bases , and Reagan because he built up a hate campaign to justify killing Libyans in a bombing raid timed , he said, for U S television news primetime . In his speech , Clark stated - " The (U S) President has no power to kill .........." (MORE LATER)>>>>>

A Mr. Thomas Miller Beach , who was born in Colchester , in England, in 1841 , is one man that is well-remembered by Irish Republicans for his 'career' in the Movement~but for all the wrong reasons.....
........for almost a quarter of a century , Thomas Miller Beach (alias Henri Le Caron) was one of the most 'successful' informers in the pay of the English secret service : he infiltrated the IRA and thwarted nearly all their plans for insurrection .
He was an apprentice draper , and went to America when he was aged 20 (1861) : once there , he enlisted in the 8th Pennsylvanian Reserves in the Union Army and , during the Civil War in that country (1861-' 65) was wounded and was eventually promoted to the rank of Major . While in the Northern Army he became friendly with the Fenian , Captain John O'Neill , and it was this friendship which gained him entry into the Fenian Brotherhood . He moved and settled in Nashville , Tennessee , where he studied medicine . Beach/Le Caron's career as an informer began in 1866 ; ......(MORE LATER)>>>

And a belated "congrats" to Paddy Murray on his new job as Editor of 'The Sunday Tribune' newspaper - its a good read , but was better when Vincent Browne was in charge . However , I doubt if the (Indo) owners of the 'Trib' could afford to have Browne back in the hot seat(financially or otherwise....) as the newspaper lost over EURO1.5 million in its last financial year .
Anyway , I digress - I suspect that the newspaper will go down-market in the near future : perhaps not a 'page 3' dumb-down , but it will , I think, move to an even more anti-republican position than it already occupies . The following quote from new Editor Paddy Murray himself , as lifted from his newspaper on December 3rd , 2000 ('Artlife' section , page 11) is a sign of things to come ~ "(Tom) Barry [ Irish Rebel leader] will never figure in my list of heroes - David Beckham [an English footballer] on the other hand , will figure on that list " .
Beckham over Barry ? Bend it like the latter , Paddy .......

......Mary Anne McCracken won improvements for poor house women , in the clothing trade and in childrens education - she helped develop the idea of an infants' school which flourished for a brief period. She was bitterly opposed to slavery and seen in that issue a parallel with the 'climbing boys' , who were young boys used by chimney sweeps as helpers ; and she fought hard for better conditions for other children who worked in factories . During the early 1840's she assisted Dr Richard R. Madden , the historian of the United Irishmen , with detailed accounts of the lives of her brother and Thomas Russell .
In her last years she saw the republican principles for which she had fought and for which those she had loved had died , once again being widely espoused throughout Ireland by the Fenian movement . Mary Anne McCracken died on July 24th , 1866 , at 97 years of age , and deserves to be remembered as much as her brother , Henry Joy McCracken .

If/when George Bush sends his troops in to Iraq , the American public would do well to remember the words of Franklin D.Roosevelt , one year before the U S was plunged into WW2 - " I have said this before, but I shall say it again and again and again : your boy's are not going to be sent into any foreign wars" ~ it looks like Bush will be responsible for the first 'resource war' of the 21st Century.
Remember , also, on his last day in Office as President of the USA , Bill Clinton admitted lying under oath and surrendered his licence to practice law , for five years . He also stole furniture , china and silverware from the White House to the approximate value of EURO 250,000 . He pardoned one of the FBI's ten 'Most Wanted' , whose ex-wife 'donated' almost four million euro's to the Democratic Party's war-chest and a six-figure sum to Hillary Clinton's U S Senate campaign , without consulting the FBI or the U S Attorney Generals Office , as required by U S law .
High Office , a nice suit and the courtship of the Establishment is not a guarantee that the people in question are worthy of the trust placed in them .......

.....Mary Anne MacCracken followed with enthusiastic interest the progress of the American War of Independence and , with her sister-in-law, Rose Ann McCracken , she was sworn into the Society of United Irishmen soon after its formation in Belfast in October 1791 . Following the battle of Antrim in June 1798 and the collapse of the Rising in the North , Mary arranged safe passage for her brother , Henry Joy, on a ship bound for North America .
He was arrested as he was about to board the ship and imprisoned in Carrickfergus Jail - he was transferred to Belfast , where Mary was present at his court-martial , and comforted him in his cell as he awaited execution . She accompanied him to the scaffold .
Five years later , just as she had seen her brother make the supreme sacrifice for liberty , she was to again witness another loved one, Thomas Russell, meet the same end at Downpatrick Jail in 1803 .
She withdrew from radical politics following Russell's execution and joined forces with English prison reformer Elizabeth Fry , to form a 'ladies committee' to demand better conditions in Belfast's workhouse .
(MORE LATER)>>>

Ship-jumper Paul Whelan was not alone.....
Fianna Fail Councillor Gerry Murray , from Charlestown in County Mayo , resigned from Fianna Fail in September 2001 and declared himself an Independent Councillor . He joined Provisional Sinn Fein the following month ....
Murray stated that he was a member of PSF in the late 1970's " but drifted away because of the then weakness of the Sinn Fein organisation in Mayo " . And the reason that their organisation is "stronger" now , Gerry , is because it's full with people like you who will no doubt move on if .......

.....his health never improved and he died in Los Angeles in October 1899 , at the young age of 36 . He was buried in America , but his remains were returned to Ireland in 1901 in accordance with his wishes. They were reinterred in Maynooth . When Padraig Pearse , in his famous oration in August 1915 , referred to O'Donovan Rossa as having "the holiness and simplicity of patriotism of a Michael O'Clery or an Eoghan O'Growney ", he was evoking a name, long since dead, who during his 36 years on this earth had done much to promote the revival of the Irish language : Eoghan O'Growney was born in August 1863 and died in October 1899 and , in my opinion, is not remembered as he should be . He would have been three years of age when a woman , with whom he had a lot in common , died ~ this 97 year-old woman died on July 24th , 1866 , after a lifetime service to the cause of Irish freedom - it has been said that she was passed over by history in favour of her brother , Henry Joy McCracken :
The womens name is Mary Anne McCracken , a social reformer and revolutionary , who was born in High Street , Belfast , in July 1770 . Her father was Captain John McCracken and her mother was Ann Joy . They had six children , the most famous of whom was Henry Joy McCracken . Mary grew up with a love of liberty , and followed with enthusiastic interest the progress of the American War of Independence ....(MORE LATER)>>>

It was around June 2001 that a Mr Paul Whelan , a member of the Fianna Fail 'National' Executive (sic-ie; by this , Fianna Fail means the 26 -County state only) and then president of Roscommon Ogra Fianna Fail resigned and joined Provisional Sinn Fein ! He stated - " We have a party (Fianna Fail) more concerned with staying in power nationally(sic) than any other policy " .
"NATIONALLY" ? - By God , Paul , the Provos'll knock that type of talk out of ya ~or maybe they'll learn it from you ..... (another defection tomorrow ...) >>>

.....and were of great importance to the Irish Revival Movement . O'Growney assisted Eoin MacNeill and Douglas Hyde in the formation of the Gaelic League in July 1893 , and was appointed as first vice president of that organisation . Later that year he began a series of lessons in Irish in the 'Gaelic Journal' and in the 'Weekly Freeman' - these articles were then published in book form in 1894 , under the title 'Simple Lessons in Irish' and became the best-seller of its day and are still regarded by some as the best available such books for Irish beginners .
He suffered ill-health due , it was believed , to his hectic workload as professor , editor , writer and an activist in the Irish Revival Movement , and was advised to emigrate to the warmer climate of California , in America , which he did in October 1894 . He continued to contribute articles , in Irish, to the 'Weekly Freeman' and to American newspapers but, again due to his workload , he resigned as professor of Irish at Maynooth in June 1896 . His health never improved and .....(MORE LATER)>>>

.....with 98 of the workers suffering from cancer as a result of exposure to plutonium released in the accident . The B-52 , with four H-Bombs on board , got into trouble five hours into its flight and the crew was unable to make an emergency landing . The crew ejected and the aircraft crashed into ice eight miles west of Thule USAF base : the non-nuclear explosives detonated , dispersing the plutonium inside the bombs , which contaminated the ice . U S military personnel were sent in to ' collect ' the contaminated ice , which they then brought back to Thule where 800 Danes were working . None of the military or civilians wore protective masks because this would have made it impossible to breath in the intense cold . The U S and Danish governments attempted to put a good gloss on the incident in a joint statement they issued , which declared that "a major disaster was turned into a classic example of international co-operation " . The spin-doctors claimed that " the radioactivity spread in the area is not a hazard to people or to biological species , nor is any hazard foreseen in the future " . There were reports , at the time , of an unknown number of deaths , including military personnel , as a result of that accident . Still - it improved " international co-operation " , so it was worth it ....( expect more from the 'spin-doctors' in the near future....)

The Catholic Church has , deservedly, had bad press for deeds carried out by it's ' operatives' ; however , not all its members were without conscience -
A child born in Ballyfallon , County Meath , in August 1863 , grew up to be ordained to the priesthood in 1889 , at twenty-six years of age . The child , Eoghan O ' Growney , became a Gaelic scholar and was a founder member of the Gaelic League at thirty years young . Educated at the local national school , St Finians diocesan seminary in Navan , and at Maynooth College , the young O'Growney's interest in Irish was further sparked by the reading of lessons in Irish in ' Young Ireland' , a weekly paper published from ' The Nation' office . He was also encouraged in his love of the language and history by his mother .
With other local Gaelic speakers , he spent holidays in the Gaeltacht to perfect his knowledge of the Irish language , and was a regular visitor to Cork, Kerry , Donegal and Waterford , but spent much of his time on the Aran Islands , on Inis Mean .
He became a curate at Ballynacargy , County Westmeath , and contributed articles in Irish to the 'Gaelic Journal' and was elected Editor of same in September 1891 . That same year, he was appointed a professor of Irish at Maynooth College but managed to continue his association with the 'Journal' - his articles for that newspaper played a large part in the preservation of the language and were of great importance to the 'Irish Revival Movement' . (MORE LATER)>>>

..... the nuclear material in the weapon failed to attain critical mass " .
The U S government deliberately covered up this near-disaster until 1981 when it announced that a nuclear bomb had "temporarily been lost in the '50's near Kirtland air force base" : the USAF refused to comment on what it described as "this event" . It was not until late 1986 that a statement was issued to the Associated Press news agency , confirming that New Mexico and its surrounding stated were nearly obliterated in 1957 . Another USAF disaster that caused concern was that of a B-52 nuclear-armed bomber , which crashed in Greenland on January 1st , 1968 - over 500 workers became sick , with 98 of them suffering from cancer as a result of exposure to plutonium released in the accident ....(MORE LATER)>>>.

.... O'Sullivan placed a barrel of explosives on a cart against the outer wall of the prison : the wall crumbled and the rescuers scrambled in to the prison yard only to discover that Burke was not among the prisoners in the yard ~ however , O'Sullivan and his men were able to make good their own exit in the ensuing confusion and panic . Because the British knew of the rescue attempt , they were now looking for O'Sullivan , who was in hiding in various safe-houses . He eventually made his way to America and settled in New York , where he joined Clan na Gael and remained active in that organisation and in the IRB for the rest of his life .
He played a vigorous part in the Land League during the 1870's and supported the 'New Departure' between the Fenians , Michael Davitt and Charles Stewart Parnell until Parnell's death in 1891 when , like most of the old Fenians, he dropped out of politics and confined his activities to the Clan until the 'Friends of Irish Freedom' was founded in March 1916 .
Jeremiah O'Sullivan died on November 6th , 1922 , at 77 years of age : a Fenian to the very end .....

In 1981 , it was revealed that in 1957 ,the United States Air Force(USAF) almost ' took out' the state of New Mexico ....
On May 22nd , 1957 , a B-36 bomber 'accidentally' dropped an H-Bomb on land belonging to the University of New Mexico at Albuquerque ; the bomb was a 'Mark 7' , weighing 42,000 pounds . It was described by the Pentagon as the "first droppable thermonuclear bomb to be tested" , and had a pay-load of ten thousand kilotons - a massive 625 times more powerful that that which reduced Hiroshima to ashes ! When questioned , a Pentagon spokesperson stated - " The safety mechanism was apparently moved to the wrong position , causing the weapon to fall out, taking the bomb-bay doors with it "(!) . This master of understatement then declared that the non-nuclear explosives in the bomb " detonated when it hit the ground , but the nuclear material in the weapon failed to attain critical mass " ..... (MORE LATER if we're still here ....)>>>

Jeremiah O'Sullivan , a life-long member of the Fenian movement , was born in Cahirdaniel , County Kerry , in 1845 . At 22 years young , O'Sullivan took part in the Fenian Rising in Kerry in February 1867 and , following the collapse of same, went to London and continued his Fenian activities with the Irish Republican Brotherhood . The head of the Fenians in England , Colonel Ricard O'Sullivan Burke , was captured and imprisoned in the Clerkenwell House of Detention in London , in response to the successful rescue of two Fenians - Colonel Thomas J.Kelly and Captain Timothy Deasy , who were both rescued from a prison van in Manchester in September 1867 .
Jeremiah O'Sullivan and another Fenian ,Captain James Murphy , devised a plan to rescue Burke by blowing a hole in the prison wall while he was at exercise and , after careful planning , arrangements were made to carry out the rescue attempt on December 13th . However , an informer betrayed their plans to the British and Burke was put in a cell during the exercise period ; outside the prison walls , however , the plan went ahead , and O'Sullivan placed a barrel of explosives on a cart against the outer wall of the prison .....(MORE LATER)>>

.......the KHIAN SEA left in the middle of the night , but left three-thousand tonnes of the toxic ash on a remote peninsula outside the capital city ! The ship went to a range of other states , renaming itself the 'FELICIA' and was spotted in 1991 with empty holds having probably dumped the toxic ash in the Bay of Bengal , where the Bangladeshi government have no pollution monitoring units .
A five-year sea trip , sleeping each night with toxic ash ~ they should have followed the example of the Brits , and just dump their rubbish in the Irish Sea .....

....the IRA Volunteers made their escape despite intense searches on both sides of the border .
Following approaches by the British , the Free State administration (Fianna Fail) re-introduced the 'Special Criminal(sic) Court' in November 1961 (on the 22nd of same) , in an attempt to crush the IRA campaign once and for all . The then Justice Minister , Charles Haughey (who was later to give his shirt for Ireland) stated ~ " The government will use every means in its power, including the(Free State) Army ,if necessary , to bring this futile, evil campaign of violence to an end " .
The Special Court sat for the first time that year on November 27th and , by the end of the year, 25 men had been sentenced to various terms of imprisonment : it remained in existence until October 1962 , eight months after the formal ending of the IRA's border campaign . That was by no means the first or last time that a Free State administration turned on its own people at the request of a foreign government .

My previous posts on sea-dumping remind me of the story behind a five-year sea trip by one ship , in order to dump tonnes of toxic ash ~
The Liberian -registered KHIAN SEA left Philadelphia in August 1986 with 13,476 tonnes of toxic ash from the city's municipal incinerators . The ship was destined for the Bahamas , but they turned it away : it was also rejected by Bermuda , Honduras , Guinea-Bissau and the Dominican Republic. In October 1987 , it landed in Haiti , where the import licences said the ship was delivering fertiliser ! In January 1988 , the Haitian government ordered the ash out of the country - the KHIAN SEA left in the middle of the night , but .....(MORE LATER)>>>

.....meanwhile , IRA activities continued ~ during the following year , 1959, twenty-seven operations were carried out and , in 1960 , twenty-six operations were carried out . In April 1961 , the last internees in the Six Counties were freed by the Stormont regime in the belief that the campaign had ended . The IRA , however , was not defeated and the leadership believed that the Army could be re-organised and the fight continued . During the spring and summer of 1961 , as the northern units re-grouped , more effective attacks against the enemy continued along the border .
In the winter of 1961 , as public support for the IRA had all but evaporated , one of the last major actions of the 1956-' 62 campaign took place : in November 1961 , a five-person IRA active service unit ambushed a patrol of eight RUC and B-Specials at Flurrybridge , near Jonesborough in South Armagh , while the crown forces were operating a check-point . The British were stopping and searching people travelling to the near-by Edentubber commemoration . After a fierce gun battle , during which one RUC man was killed and three others wounded , the Volunteers made their escape despite intense searches on both sides of the border . (MORE LATER)>>

In March 1993 , the then Bishop of Salisbury said on Network Two (RTE) television - " The island of Ireland is a natural geographic unit . Britain has made a substantial contribution to divisions in Ireland , partly from strategic and political reasons- people had to be planted there who were regarded as loyal to the British state " .
In June 1993 , the then Chairperson of the ' Britain and Ireland Human Rights Centre ' , John McDonnell , stated - " Political violence in Northern Ireland(sic) is inextricably linked with Britains historic role in Ireland and its failure to complete the process of decolonisation " .
This is one issue closer to home that Mr Blair should be concerned about , before throwing in his lot with Bush on the other side of the world .....

The fifth year of the IRA's 'Border Campaign' commenced in 1961 with a decision by the Army Council to organise a final assault against the British forces in the Six Counties .
Following the beginning of the campaign on December 12th 1956 , and the introduction of internment without trial on both sides of the border , attacks on RUC barracks continued throughout 1957 and the early part of 1958 and , with oppression against republicans on both sides of the border at its height and hundreds either interned or imprisoned by the start of 1958 , it was decided by the IRA Executive to abandon attacks on heavily guarded RUC barracks and instead to concentrate on continuous attacks on British armed patrols and installations along the border .
However , by July 1958 , after some initial successes but with many of the leaders and Volunteers interned or in jail , the attacks ceased and plans for a winter offensive had to be called off . During the winter of 1958 , with the IRA border campaign virtually over, the Free State authorities began the unconditional release of internees and , on March 15th of the following year, internment without trial was ended in the State and the last detainees were released . Meanwhile , IRA activities continued ....(MORE LATER)>>

A 'Patrick Coogan' , born in West Belfast , grew up to be a Major in the British Army , earned his stripes(so to speak) ,left the B A and became an author . When the Author Coogan was asked his opinion on his previous position , he stated - " If the British Government abided by the will of the majority of the people in the first place , it would not have partitioned Ireland . Historically , partition has never worked , whether it is in Pakistan , Cyprus or Yemen . It is based on the old principle of 'divide and conquer' " .
....which begs the question - did Patrick join the right Army ?

" Remember Lincoln , going down on his knees in times of trial and the civil war and all that stuff . You can't be , and we are blessed . So don't feel sorry for ... don't cry for me Argentina " ~ Daddy Bush , then U S President , speaking in New Hampshire . George Junior is taking revenge on the wrong man.....

.....that night , at 6.30pm , the three prisoners decided to make another escape attempt , this time with no outside assistance . They again made their way down to the gate and , this time , the bolt cutter worked . They used butter and grease , which they saved from their meals, to help ease the remaining portion of the corroded bolt and two of the men got their revolvers at the ready as the third man pulled on the heavy door ~ the door creaked open sluggishly on its rusty hinges and the three men walked out !
Simon Donnelly had tried to persuade another prisoner , Paddy Moran , who was awaiting trial on the same charges as Teeling ( the execution of twelve British agents on November 21st, 1920) to join the men on the escape attempt , but Moran - who was not involved in the job and had what he considered the perfect alibi for that night- refused to leave the prison except by the front gate as a free man .
Frank Teeling , Ernie O'Malley and Simon Donnelly escaped from Kilmainham Jail in Dublin on February 14th , 1921 . Exactly one month later , Paddy Moran paid with his life for relying on British justice : not the first innocent man to be put to death by the British , and not the last Irish person to be punished by them in revenge .....

A) ~ " In our view , there can be no partial solutions , no partial negotiations and no internal settlements . Peace is only possible within the context of national self-determination " -- Gerry Adams, AP/RN , May 13th , 1993 , page 7 .

B) ~ " If you want to quieten a dissident , give him(sic) a job in parliament " -- a quote from Oliver Cromwell ,according to Joe Bermingham (Labour Party,Kildare) , as published in ' The Sunday Tribune' , May 23rd, 1993, page 13 .
DAMN IT ! can't get a link between A) and B) at all .....