POLITICOS AND PARAMILITARIES .......
Fionnuala O'Connor on the struggle for the Loyalist leadership as the politicians and their paramilitary allies gear up for a strike .
From 'MAGILL' magazine , March 1986 .
The DUP's Frank Millar is a much-resented thirty-one year-old with no following ; not least because he repeatedly asks the most belligerent of his colleagues if they will themselves lead the fight they so often predict with apparent glee . Last week he told a BBC radio interviewer that no , he could not envisage any circumstances in which he would take to the streets and fight the members of the RUC .
The trouble is that not only do most of Millar's working party colleagues see the inevitability of confrontation with the RUC , but that there are almost as many different destinations envisaged for the campaign - independence , integration , a confederation of the 'British Isles' (including the 'Republic') , power-sharing of some kind - as there are working party members ! Which is perhaps inevitable , given the different elements of Unionism they represent .
Not to mention the state of Unionism , generally . It is pointless to try fitting the 'Ulster' Clubs , for example , into a neat scheme of Unionist opposition ; the old monolith is long gone and while talk of a mass identity-crisis is overdone , there is no doubt that unthinking allegiances have probably had their day . One of the many Official Unionists who have joined their local 'Ulster' Clubs defends their present function as a neutral , extra-party 'meeting-place' : but maintains their eventual place depends on circumstances -
- " Whether they'll 'slot in' behind the political parties as the infantry or take the lead fronted up by Robinson , who knows ? It's very like 1972-74 , when the lead moved from one group to another depending on circumstances ... " .......
(MORE LATER).
FIRE AND BRIMSTONE .......
The Democratic Unionist Party would prefer a Civil War to acquiescence in a role for the Dublin Government in the affairs of the North of Ireland after the Anglo-Irish summit .
FINTAN O'TOOLE spoke to DUP activists about the depth of their opposition to the Anglo-Irish deal and their willingness to resort to violence .
From 'MAGILL' magazine , November 1985 .
The Reverend Ivan Foster , DUP , states - " I have a dread in my heart at ever being under a Roman Catholic regime . I don't anticipate that if we were under a United Ireland tomorrow , that my house would be burned down and I'd be put out on the street and my children butchered , but without a shadow of a doubt , there are those who at this moment dislike me so much , not me as an individual but me as a being , that they are prepared to back those who would plan my murder and kill me , back them by their votes , back them by their support , back them by not turning them in .
Have I not got grounds for fearing therefore a political change that will give greater freedom to those people who feel that way ; freedom to express their opposition , to act out that opposition , act it out business-wise , social-wise , every way ? "
Gregory Campbell , in another world , might have been a socialist ; the Waterside in Derry where he has always lived is no bastion of Loyalist privilege - " My parents were'nt members of any political party , and paid no heed or interest to politics . My father was a serviceman in the navy . We were just the average Protestant family in Northern Ireland (sic) . The thing that pushed me into involvement in politics was the whole Civil Rights scenario , and the whole nationalist complaint and agitation that they were getting a raw deal . That was the clincher for me because I saw on the television screens and read in the papers where people like John Hume and the beginnings of the SDLP were agitating for Catholic rights , and at that same time I saw the type of community that John Hume was from and the type of living standards that they had , which were very similar to my own .
Barry White's biography of John Hume makes great play of the fact that Hume was a working-class Catholic - no bathroom , two up , two down , outside toilet . Well I had the exact same . I saw the nationalists were campaigning for better living conditions , jobs , voting rights , and yet everything that they were campaigning for , I had'nt got either . I had'nt got hot running water , I had to go outside to the toilet , I had all the disadvantages that the urban Catholic had , and yet they were campaigning as if it were an exclusive prerogative of Catholics to be discriminated against . I felt the exact same way ....... "
('1169... ' Comment : if Mr Gregory Campbell was happy with his lot , then that was his business ; but he had no right to insist that others should not seek to improve their living conditions . Or was it because those 'others' were Catholics ? Perhaps he was of the opinion that they were getting a bit 'uppity' ...)
(MORE LATER).
McFARLANE - THE INSIDE STORY .......
Last month , BRENDAN McFARLANE was ordered by a Dutch court to be extradited back to the North to serve out a sentence of 25 years . He is appealing the decision . His companion GERARD KELLY had his plea accepted that his offences were political . BRENDAN McFARLANE has been on the run since he led thirty-seven men in an escape out of the MAZE PRISON in September 1983 . In an exclusive interview with MAGILL at Bylmerbages Prison in Amsterdam , McFARLANE talks about his life , his youth and upbringing , and his involvement with the ARMED STRUGGLE in the North .
By DEREK DUNNE .
First published in 'MAGILL' magazine , April 1986 .
Brendan McFarlane is still visibly shaken and emotional when he talks about the 1981 hunger-strike : he had smuggled a 'crystal' radio into his cell and had an aerial hooked-up to it - he left it on at night so that he could hear the news in the morning . He listened to the BBC news at 2am , and learned that Bobby Sands had died at 1.17am ; " I was shattered , " he says .
He was considered the 'soft underbelly' by the British , in relation to the hunger strike ; he knew each of the men personally and had a close friendship with Sinn Fein leaders on the outside , especially Gerry Adams . During this time he became pale , tense and nervous . The ten men who died on hunger strike are never far from his mind - " There's not a day goes by but I don't think of them . It was a traumatic experience and it took a lot out of me mentally and physically . I never experienced anything like it in my life , and I don't think I ever will . Just talking with guys two and three and four days before they died . It's very hard to see it , to feel it ...the pressure ... the dedication they had . I've never seen anything like it anywhere . "
After it was over , the men began to re-group and build on the concessions that they had gained from the hunger strike ; they as good as had their five demands , even if they were known by another name . Out of that came the Armalite/Ballot Box strategy - Brendan McFarlane says that "...it came out of the forces of the establishment lined up against the Republican Movement . It was progress on a big scale . Otherwise how could we get 43 per cent of the Nationalist vote ? " ('1169...' Comment - "progress on a big scale" ? Not as far as this scribbler is concerned . It gave the 'wannabe' politicians in the Movement the leverage to eventually 'water down' the actual objectives [as opposed to the then stated objectives] of the Sinn Fein organisation ; 'nationalists' [as opposed to Republicans] began to show an interest in the organisation as they [correctly] figured it was attempting to 'turn its back ' on what they termed "violence" and which we considered , and still do , as self-defence in a just war . If "progress" can be measured in "votes" , then Fianna Fail , for instance , or the Unionist partys , are much more 'progressive' ! And what "per centage" had Wolfe Tone got ? Or Padraig Pearse ? )
Brendan McFarlane subscribes to the idea that no matter what military operations are carried out by the IRA , their support will not fall below a certain level .
But if the men were building on the reforms gained , they were also thinking of escape - Brendan McFarlane was instrumental in the planning of the mass break-out from Long Kesh (re-named the Maze) in September 1983 . He led thirty-seven men through the wire .......
(MORE LATER).
(Please Note - the '1169...' crew will be 'shutting up shop' on Friday 15th July next for at least/about/hopefully (!) one week [maybe two - if the cash stretches... !] - we are off to the 'Sometimes Sunny Southeast' ; Waterford , for a bit of a break . Leave your e-mail address (on the back of a €50 note !) in the 'Guestbook' and we might send you a postcard . And you might also get spammed ... - Sharon :)
Monday, July 11, 2005
POLITICOS AND PARAMILITARIES .......
Fionnuala O'Connor on the struggle for the Loyalist leadership as the politicians and their paramilitary allies gear up for a strike .
From 'MAGILL' magazine , March 1986 .
The Unionist political parties and the 'Ulster' Clubs have worked together on plans for a one-day strike ; the push came from the DUP , through their representatives on the joint Official Unionist /DUP anti-agreement working party .
Peter Robinson and Harold McCusker duly went off to meet the Clubs' Steering Committee - the UDA's John McMichael among them . " Well , they needed us , did'nt they ? " says a cynical Clubs man . " They need someone to do the blockades , cut the power , stop the milk ... " He would'nt be drawn on the details , nor on whether he - and the politicians - had in mind a re-run of the unsavoury scenes in the 1974 strike's first uncertain week , when the presence of large numbers of paramilitaries at barricades on the streets over successive days convinced the workers to stay at home .
What is becoming clearer is that the DUP people on the joint political working party want a full-scale strike after their rehearsal , and they want it soon . Frank Millar's statement on the 'Panorama' programme constituted the first public comment from within the joint Unionist working party on the risks and difficulties of the present campaign , especially for Official Unionists ; he wound-up ringingly .... " I am re-echoing the oft-repeated declaration of Mr. Molyneaux and Dr. Paisley that violence has no part to play in the Anglo-Irish Agreement - that we as politicians are resolved , as we can only be resolved , to defeat that Agreement by way of political action .
The 420,000 who voted for us want us to do whatever is necessary to defeat the Anglo-Irish Agreement and we have undertaken to do that . We are confident we can do that . I think they equally expect us to give them the assurance that we know where we are intending to go , that we have a coherent , well-thought-out strategy and that our intention at all times is to steer a steady course through danger to safety . "
Frank Millar is highly articulate , perhaps the Unionist most aware of British perceptions of Unionist behaviour and the most capable of tailoring a campaign to suit . He is also a much-resented thirty-one year-old with no following .......
(MORE LATER).
FIRE AND BRIMSTONE .......
The Democratic Unionist Party would prefer a Civil War to acquiescence in a role for the Dublin Government in the affairs of the North of Ireland after the Anglo-Irish summit .
FINTAN O'TOOLE spoke to DUP activists about the depth of their opposition to the Anglo-Irish deal and their willingness to resort to violence .
From 'MAGILL' magazine , November 1985 .
Jim Allister , the DUP's Chief Whip and former 'Personal Assistant' to Ian Paisley , says that his own parents "...had to move north out of the Irish republic (sic) where they were born . "
" I live in Fermanagh , " says Ivan Foster , " I have always lived in Fermanagh . That's only a hop and a skip across the border . I know the Protestants across the border , and I know what they endured . Nothing visible , but what they had to put up with when they went to the mart , when they went to the shop , when they were looking for financial assistance . Whenever anyone else had a problem , they had ten problems . It was civilised behaviour , it may have forbade the use of the scythe and the billhook , but it did'nt stop the manifestation of that animosity towards them .
And I think it has been subdued so much over the last forty , fifty years because there was still a section of Ireland that had to be re-taken , as it were , and it was no good pretending to be the best of friends while at the same time you were openly hammering the life out of Protestants . So the very existence of the Protestant majority in the north (sic) was the greatest guarantee that the Protestants in the south were at least given some degree of freedom .
Even if that were not the case , you can't tell me that the people who are prepared to back murderers will not do me any harm if they get the chance ....... "
(MORE LATER).
McFARLANE - THE INSIDE STORY .......
Last month , BRENDAN McFARLANE was ordered by a Dutch court to be extradited back to the North to serve out a sentence of 25 years . He is appealing the decision . His companion GERARD KELLY had his plea accepted that his offences were political . BRENDAN McFARLANE has been on the run since he led thirty-seven men in an escape out of the MAZE PRISON in September 1983 . In an exclusive interview with MAGILL at Bylmerbages Prison in Amsterdam , McFARLANE talks about his life , his youth and upbringing , and his involvement with the ARMED STRUGGLE in the North .
By DEREK DUNNE .
First published in 'MAGILL' magazine , April 1986 .
The 3 Republican prisoners - Brendan McFarlane , Pat McKeon and Larry Marley - had escaped from Long Kesh , but were re-captured almost immediately . They were deemed to have left Cage 11 , Long Kesh , voluntarily , lost their political status and were transferred to the H-Blocks ; Brendan McFarlane had his clothes taken from him and was told to do prison work - he refused and joined others 'on the blanket ' : the men were locked in their cells , with no association . Their new environment was very restricted .
The prisoners shouted to each other from cell to cell , passing information , learning Irish , and so on . They sang and played quizzes to keep their spirits up ; they had reckoned that it was going to be a short protest . Towards the end of 1978 , forced washes and hair cuts were being introduced . Brendan McFarlane resisted and got a busted eye . As the men in H-Blocks began to be moved from cell to cell , they were learning from the writing on the wall . For example , the past tense of an Irish verb might be on one wall , the future tense on another and the present tense on another - "Jailic" , they called it ! In the beginning , they were scratched out . Later on , they were written in shit . Gradually , they came to accept that it was going to be a long-term struggle and resigned themselves to it .
Thirty-two men were put in isolation in an attempt to break the protests - it had the opposite effect and even more men went 'on the blanket.' Outside the prison , the Republican leadership was less than enthusiastic about taking on the political status issue in a major way for fear that it would hijack the entire Movement , and everything else would take second place . By the end of 1979 , the prisoners decided to take matters into their own hands : a hunger strike was decided and Brendan McFarlane volunteered - he was'nt chosen . The hunger strike went on for seven weeks and was called off coming up to Christmas in 1980 . The men believed that their five demands had been acceded to ; these included association , their own clothes , visits , parcels and remission . However , the deal did'nt stand up .
With the failure of the hunger strike , the men on the inside formulated another strategy , which both Brendan McFarlane and Bobby Sands were instrumental in shaping . McFarlane took over as 'Officer in Command' of the H-Blocks , representing over 400 men , on 1st March 1981 , when Bobby Sands went on hunger strike . Sands had passed the leadership to him , and it had also been ratified by the men .
Brendan McFarlane did'nt get to see Bobby Sands until almost the end , when he was very weak . All he said to him was " I'm dying ... " .......
(MORE LATER).
(Please Note - the '1169...' crew will be 'shutting up shop' on Friday 15th July next for at least/about/hopefully (!) one week [maybe two - if the cash stretches... !] - we are off to the 'Sometimes Sunny Southeast' ; Waterford , for a bit of a break . Leave your e-mail address (on the back of a €50 note !) in the 'Guestbook' and we might send you a postcard . And you might also get spammed ... - Sharon :)
Fionnuala O'Connor on the struggle for the Loyalist leadership as the politicians and their paramilitary allies gear up for a strike .
From 'MAGILL' magazine , March 1986 .
The Unionist political parties and the 'Ulster' Clubs have worked together on plans for a one-day strike ; the push came from the DUP , through their representatives on the joint Official Unionist /DUP anti-agreement working party .
Peter Robinson and Harold McCusker duly went off to meet the Clubs' Steering Committee - the UDA's John McMichael among them . " Well , they needed us , did'nt they ? " says a cynical Clubs man . " They need someone to do the blockades , cut the power , stop the milk ... " He would'nt be drawn on the details , nor on whether he - and the politicians - had in mind a re-run of the unsavoury scenes in the 1974 strike's first uncertain week , when the presence of large numbers of paramilitaries at barricades on the streets over successive days convinced the workers to stay at home .
What is becoming clearer is that the DUP people on the joint political working party want a full-scale strike after their rehearsal , and they want it soon . Frank Millar's statement on the 'Panorama' programme constituted the first public comment from within the joint Unionist working party on the risks and difficulties of the present campaign , especially for Official Unionists ; he wound-up ringingly .... " I am re-echoing the oft-repeated declaration of Mr. Molyneaux and Dr. Paisley that violence has no part to play in the Anglo-Irish Agreement - that we as politicians are resolved , as we can only be resolved , to defeat that Agreement by way of political action .
The 420,000 who voted for us want us to do whatever is necessary to defeat the Anglo-Irish Agreement and we have undertaken to do that . We are confident we can do that . I think they equally expect us to give them the assurance that we know where we are intending to go , that we have a coherent , well-thought-out strategy and that our intention at all times is to steer a steady course through danger to safety . "
Frank Millar is highly articulate , perhaps the Unionist most aware of British perceptions of Unionist behaviour and the most capable of tailoring a campaign to suit . He is also a much-resented thirty-one year-old with no following .......
(MORE LATER).
FIRE AND BRIMSTONE .......
The Democratic Unionist Party would prefer a Civil War to acquiescence in a role for the Dublin Government in the affairs of the North of Ireland after the Anglo-Irish summit .
FINTAN O'TOOLE spoke to DUP activists about the depth of their opposition to the Anglo-Irish deal and their willingness to resort to violence .
From 'MAGILL' magazine , November 1985 .
Jim Allister , the DUP's Chief Whip and former 'Personal Assistant' to Ian Paisley , says that his own parents "...had to move north out of the Irish republic (sic) where they were born . "
" I live in Fermanagh , " says Ivan Foster , " I have always lived in Fermanagh . That's only a hop and a skip across the border . I know the Protestants across the border , and I know what they endured . Nothing visible , but what they had to put up with when they went to the mart , when they went to the shop , when they were looking for financial assistance . Whenever anyone else had a problem , they had ten problems . It was civilised behaviour , it may have forbade the use of the scythe and the billhook , but it did'nt stop the manifestation of that animosity towards them .
And I think it has been subdued so much over the last forty , fifty years because there was still a section of Ireland that had to be re-taken , as it were , and it was no good pretending to be the best of friends while at the same time you were openly hammering the life out of Protestants . So the very existence of the Protestant majority in the north (sic) was the greatest guarantee that the Protestants in the south were at least given some degree of freedom .
Even if that were not the case , you can't tell me that the people who are prepared to back murderers will not do me any harm if they get the chance ....... "
(MORE LATER).
McFARLANE - THE INSIDE STORY .......
Last month , BRENDAN McFARLANE was ordered by a Dutch court to be extradited back to the North to serve out a sentence of 25 years . He is appealing the decision . His companion GERARD KELLY had his plea accepted that his offences were political . BRENDAN McFARLANE has been on the run since he led thirty-seven men in an escape out of the MAZE PRISON in September 1983 . In an exclusive interview with MAGILL at Bylmerbages Prison in Amsterdam , McFARLANE talks about his life , his youth and upbringing , and his involvement with the ARMED STRUGGLE in the North .
By DEREK DUNNE .
First published in 'MAGILL' magazine , April 1986 .
The 3 Republican prisoners - Brendan McFarlane , Pat McKeon and Larry Marley - had escaped from Long Kesh , but were re-captured almost immediately . They were deemed to have left Cage 11 , Long Kesh , voluntarily , lost their political status and were transferred to the H-Blocks ; Brendan McFarlane had his clothes taken from him and was told to do prison work - he refused and joined others 'on the blanket ' : the men were locked in their cells , with no association . Their new environment was very restricted .
The prisoners shouted to each other from cell to cell , passing information , learning Irish , and so on . They sang and played quizzes to keep their spirits up ; they had reckoned that it was going to be a short protest . Towards the end of 1978 , forced washes and hair cuts were being introduced . Brendan McFarlane resisted and got a busted eye . As the men in H-Blocks began to be moved from cell to cell , they were learning from the writing on the wall . For example , the past tense of an Irish verb might be on one wall , the future tense on another and the present tense on another - "Jailic" , they called it ! In the beginning , they were scratched out . Later on , they were written in shit . Gradually , they came to accept that it was going to be a long-term struggle and resigned themselves to it .
Thirty-two men were put in isolation in an attempt to break the protests - it had the opposite effect and even more men went 'on the blanket.' Outside the prison , the Republican leadership was less than enthusiastic about taking on the political status issue in a major way for fear that it would hijack the entire Movement , and everything else would take second place . By the end of 1979 , the prisoners decided to take matters into their own hands : a hunger strike was decided and Brendan McFarlane volunteered - he was'nt chosen . The hunger strike went on for seven weeks and was called off coming up to Christmas in 1980 . The men believed that their five demands had been acceded to ; these included association , their own clothes , visits , parcels and remission . However , the deal did'nt stand up .
With the failure of the hunger strike , the men on the inside formulated another strategy , which both Brendan McFarlane and Bobby Sands were instrumental in shaping . McFarlane took over as 'Officer in Command' of the H-Blocks , representing over 400 men , on 1st March 1981 , when Bobby Sands went on hunger strike . Sands had passed the leadership to him , and it had also been ratified by the men .
Brendan McFarlane did'nt get to see Bobby Sands until almost the end , when he was very weak . All he said to him was " I'm dying ... " .......
(MORE LATER).
(Please Note - the '1169...' crew will be 'shutting up shop' on Friday 15th July next for at least/about/hopefully (!) one week [maybe two - if the cash stretches... !] - we are off to the 'Sometimes Sunny Southeast' ; Waterford , for a bit of a break . Leave your e-mail address (on the back of a €50 note !) in the 'Guestbook' and we might send you a postcard . And you might also get spammed ... - Sharon :)
Friday, July 08, 2005
POLITICOS AND PARAMILITARIES .......
Fionnuala O'Connor on the struggle for the Loyalist leadership as the politicians and their paramilitary allies gear up for a strike .
From 'MAGILL' magazine , March 1986 .
Frank Millar , General Secretary of the Official Unionist Party , said what concerned him about that TV 'Panorama' programme (on the Hillsborough Treaty) were the conclusions that a " .. national audience .. " (sic : he meant 'British') might draw from it - " They might easily have concluded that the politicians were redundant or soon to be so , or worse, that the politicians were working in consort with the Ulster Clubs and other individuals featured in pursuit of a common goal and a common destination . That is not the case . "
But whatever about the goal and the destination , the politicians have been working with the Ulster Clubs ! There may be no co-ordinating 'Ulster' Workers' Council , as in the Loyalist general strike of 1974 , to unite paramilitaries and politicians in daily planning - as yet . Perhaps the time simply has'nt come yet ...
In the meanwhile frequent meetings of leading individuals supplement the considerable dual membership of both political parties and the clubs . Frank Millar's party's Deputy Leader , Harold McCusker , is in constant contact with Alan Wright , a near neighbour in Portadown , where the whole 'Clubs' business started . The two Unionist party leaders , Ian Paisley and Millar's boss Jim Molyneaux , have been kept informed by the Clubs every step of the way of their progress and intentions ; they were sent the Clubs' constitution to consider as soon as it was drawn up .
DUP Deputy Leader Peter Robinson , more than any other leading politician , has kept the lines of contact open , and is said by Clubs people to be Alan Wright's guide and hero .......
(MORE LATER).
FIRE AND BRIMSTONE .......
The Democratic Unionist Party would prefer a Civil War to acquiescence in a role for the Dublin Government in the affairs of the North of Ireland after the Anglo-Irish summit .
FINTAN O'TOOLE spoke to DUP activists about the depth of their opposition to the Anglo-Irish deal and their willingness to resort to violence .
From 'MAGILL' magazine , November 1985 .
Jim Wells (DUP) stated - " If the (Catholic) priests can get twelve million pounds for an airport in the middle of a bog in Mayo , what can they not do to Protestants ? Many Protestants would just have to get up and leave under those circumstances , they just would'nt tolerate it . My view of the south is coloured by the experience of my relatives who refused to live in the south .
My wife's mother was born in the Irish republic and all her folk lived in Cavan and Monaghan . And one hears the experience that they went through as Protestants in the Irish republic , and the way that they were discriminated against overtly and covertly , and the way in which for instance they found it difficult to be educated except by nuns and priests and found it difficult to get teaching jobs because they could'nt speak Irish .
Their civil liberties , in the form of birth control , divorce , that sort of thing , were controlled by a Catholic-dominated state , and many thousands of them were forced to come up here and live in Northern Ireland . (sic) When we see the way they were treated in the south , then that is enough to convince us that we don't want to go there .
But could I say that even if the streets of Dublin were paved with gold and even if Ian Paisley were allowed to write the constitution , and if Dublin was a state (sic) flowing with milk and honey and motorways - which you don't have , by the way - and all the paraphernalia of a western civilised society , we still would not be interested . "
That sense of a threat to Protestant faith by the southern state goes deep in the DUP .......
(MORE LATER).
McFARLANE - THE INSIDE STORY .......
Last month , BRENDAN McFARLANE was ordered by a Dutch court to be extradited back to the North to serve out a sentence of 25 years . He is appealing the decision . His companion GERARD KELLY had his plea accepted that his offences were political . BRENDAN McFARLANE has been on the run since he led thirty-seven men in an escape out of the MAZE PRISON in September 1983 . In an exclusive interview with MAGILL at Bylmerbages Prison in Amsterdam , McFARLANE talks about his life , his youth and upbringing , and his involvement with the ARMED STRUGGLE in the North .
By DEREK DUNNE .
First published in 'MAGILL' magazine , April 1986 .
In 1976 , the British withdrew political status from the prisoners ; in this period , the Provos announced that prison warders were now legitimate targets . One was shot dead outside Crumlin Road Prison , leading to increased tension in the prison which in turn led to disturbances .
After sentence in the middle of 1976 , Brendan McFarlane was moved to Cage 11 , Long Kesh , to serve out his sentence until the year 2001 . Life was more relaxed there than it had been in Crumlin Road , and contact with prison warders was minimal . The 'Truce' was over and the Provos were being jailed in increasing numbers ; among those who were serving sentences there at that time was current Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams . The Provos had lectures and discussion groups and had their own command structure . Brendan McFarlane was already very highly politicised .
And then on the last day of March 1978 , McFarlane , Pat McKeon and Larry Marley donned prison officer uniforms they had made themselves and tried to escape . Brendan McFarlane had been well-liked by the prison warders ; he was out-going and played various musical instruments . The warders had built up a relationship with him , and even though they knew how dangerous he was , they could'nt square that with the man they knew , according to those who were serving time with him .
The three prisoners made their way to the gate , intending to take a warder's car ; they had forged passes but before they reached the gates , they discovered that the style of the passes had been changed the previous week . Seeing vans coming and going , they decided to sneak out on the blind-side of one of them . A prison warder who knew them spotted them but did'nt say anything - just let them through : they had an imitation firearm . Once outside , they were caught almost immediately .......
(MORE LATER).
Fionnuala O'Connor on the struggle for the Loyalist leadership as the politicians and their paramilitary allies gear up for a strike .
From 'MAGILL' magazine , March 1986 .
Frank Millar , General Secretary of the Official Unionist Party , said what concerned him about that TV 'Panorama' programme (on the Hillsborough Treaty) were the conclusions that a " .. national audience .. " (sic : he meant 'British') might draw from it - " They might easily have concluded that the politicians were redundant or soon to be so , or worse, that the politicians were working in consort with the Ulster Clubs and other individuals featured in pursuit of a common goal and a common destination . That is not the case . "
But whatever about the goal and the destination , the politicians have been working with the Ulster Clubs ! There may be no co-ordinating 'Ulster' Workers' Council , as in the Loyalist general strike of 1974 , to unite paramilitaries and politicians in daily planning - as yet . Perhaps the time simply has'nt come yet ...
In the meanwhile frequent meetings of leading individuals supplement the considerable dual membership of both political parties and the clubs . Frank Millar's party's Deputy Leader , Harold McCusker , is in constant contact with Alan Wright , a near neighbour in Portadown , where the whole 'Clubs' business started . The two Unionist party leaders , Ian Paisley and Millar's boss Jim Molyneaux , have been kept informed by the Clubs every step of the way of their progress and intentions ; they were sent the Clubs' constitution to consider as soon as it was drawn up .
DUP Deputy Leader Peter Robinson , more than any other leading politician , has kept the lines of contact open , and is said by Clubs people to be Alan Wright's guide and hero .......
(MORE LATER).
FIRE AND BRIMSTONE .......
The Democratic Unionist Party would prefer a Civil War to acquiescence in a role for the Dublin Government in the affairs of the North of Ireland after the Anglo-Irish summit .
FINTAN O'TOOLE spoke to DUP activists about the depth of their opposition to the Anglo-Irish deal and their willingness to resort to violence .
From 'MAGILL' magazine , November 1985 .
Jim Wells (DUP) stated - " If the (Catholic) priests can get twelve million pounds for an airport in the middle of a bog in Mayo , what can they not do to Protestants ? Many Protestants would just have to get up and leave under those circumstances , they just would'nt tolerate it . My view of the south is coloured by the experience of my relatives who refused to live in the south .
My wife's mother was born in the Irish republic and all her folk lived in Cavan and Monaghan . And one hears the experience that they went through as Protestants in the Irish republic , and the way that they were discriminated against overtly and covertly , and the way in which for instance they found it difficult to be educated except by nuns and priests and found it difficult to get teaching jobs because they could'nt speak Irish .
Their civil liberties , in the form of birth control , divorce , that sort of thing , were controlled by a Catholic-dominated state , and many thousands of them were forced to come up here and live in Northern Ireland . (sic) When we see the way they were treated in the south , then that is enough to convince us that we don't want to go there .
But could I say that even if the streets of Dublin were paved with gold and even if Ian Paisley were allowed to write the constitution , and if Dublin was a state (sic) flowing with milk and honey and motorways - which you don't have , by the way - and all the paraphernalia of a western civilised society , we still would not be interested . "
That sense of a threat to Protestant faith by the southern state goes deep in the DUP .......
(MORE LATER).
McFARLANE - THE INSIDE STORY .......
Last month , BRENDAN McFARLANE was ordered by a Dutch court to be extradited back to the North to serve out a sentence of 25 years . He is appealing the decision . His companion GERARD KELLY had his plea accepted that his offences were political . BRENDAN McFARLANE has been on the run since he led thirty-seven men in an escape out of the MAZE PRISON in September 1983 . In an exclusive interview with MAGILL at Bylmerbages Prison in Amsterdam , McFARLANE talks about his life , his youth and upbringing , and his involvement with the ARMED STRUGGLE in the North .
By DEREK DUNNE .
First published in 'MAGILL' magazine , April 1986 .
In 1976 , the British withdrew political status from the prisoners ; in this period , the Provos announced that prison warders were now legitimate targets . One was shot dead outside Crumlin Road Prison , leading to increased tension in the prison which in turn led to disturbances .
After sentence in the middle of 1976 , Brendan McFarlane was moved to Cage 11 , Long Kesh , to serve out his sentence until the year 2001 . Life was more relaxed there than it had been in Crumlin Road , and contact with prison warders was minimal . The 'Truce' was over and the Provos were being jailed in increasing numbers ; among those who were serving sentences there at that time was current Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams . The Provos had lectures and discussion groups and had their own command structure . Brendan McFarlane was already very highly politicised .
And then on the last day of March 1978 , McFarlane , Pat McKeon and Larry Marley donned prison officer uniforms they had made themselves and tried to escape . Brendan McFarlane had been well-liked by the prison warders ; he was out-going and played various musical instruments . The warders had built up a relationship with him , and even though they knew how dangerous he was , they could'nt square that with the man they knew , according to those who were serving time with him .
The three prisoners made their way to the gate , intending to take a warder's car ; they had forged passes but before they reached the gates , they discovered that the style of the passes had been changed the previous week . Seeing vans coming and going , they decided to sneak out on the blind-side of one of them . A prison warder who knew them spotted them but did'nt say anything - just let them through : they had an imitation firearm . Once outside , they were caught almost immediately .......
(MORE LATER).
Thursday, July 07, 2005
POLITICOS AND PARAMILITARIES .
Fionnuala O'Connor on the struggle for the Loyalist leadership as the politicians and their paramilitary allies gear up for a strike .
From 'MAGILL' magazine , March 1986 .
A week ago , a leading Official Unionist thought it necessary to put out a statement of re-assurance - to his own Loyalist community , and to the British public . He was upset by a BBC TV 'Panorama' programme on the Unionist response to the Anglo-Irish Agreement (ie the 1985 Hillsborough Treaty) .
In particular he had clearly been annoyed by the rhetoric of Alan Wright , spokesman for the 'Ulster Clubs' , and by that of one of his own Official Unionist Party members , the outspoken County Derry man , Esmond Thompson : Wright spoke of a people's army and the inevitability of conflict with the RUC , while Thompson spoke of the preparations under way for a last-ditch struggle , the "...specifications.. " already issued for necessary materials .
The UDA's second-in-command , John McMichael , a founder-member of the 'Ulster Clubs' , appeared on screen taking industrious notes in the front row at a meeting addressed by Alan Wright . 'Ulster Clubs' people were'nt altogether happy with the loose talk on the TV programme either - but their reason was entirely to do with security and timing . Esmond Thompson had no right to appear as a spokesman and was a little premature , Wright was too chatty , "...a bit carried away .. " .
But it is honestly , if privately , admitted that Esmond Thompson , in his talk of warlike preparations , spoke nothing but the truth .......
(MORE LATER).
FIRE AND BRIMSTONE .......
The Democratic Unionist Party would prefer a Civil War to acquiescence in a role for the Dublin Government in the affairs of the North of Ireland after the Anglo-Irish summit .
FINTAN O'TOOLE spoke to DUP activists about the depth of their opposition to the Anglo-Irish deal and their willingness to resort to violence .
From 'MAGILL' magazine , November 1985 .
Gregory Campbell also wants to 'preserve' the purity (sic) of the Protestant people and is against mixed marriages - " I make a distinction between integrated schooling and mixed marriages . I would be quite happy for my child to go to a school where Protestants and Catholics were taught together , but I would not be happy for my child to marry a Roman Catholic . I would be quite happy that the way I am bringing up my children would be sufficient to enable them to hold to their Protestantism no matter what their school environment would be .
But that would be a different step from the child growing into a mature adult and then marrying a person who is not of the faith which she has been brought up to believe is the correct faith . If she chooses to do that , that's her affair , but it would not be with my blessing . I would hope that my children would grow up to be evangelical Protestants with a belief in the bible . That belief in the bible should preclude them from marrying someone who does not have the faith in the bible that they have . Also from a political point of view essentially what you are doing is asking a unionist to marry a nationalist and that is too much to ask . "
That deep-seated evangelical Protestantism is central to the DUP , and the fear of religious persecution is a large part of their fear of a United Ireland . Jim Wells sums up the objections to Catholicism : " We find much of Roman Catholic doctrine repugnant . I find repugnant the fact that any man has the right to forgive sins , that Christ can be recreated on the alter of the Mass , Sunday after Sunday ; that the Virgin Mary is regarded as a deity that can be prayed to , who can forgive sins and heal the sick and all that , that shrines which can supposedly move in Ballinspittle or wherever it is can delude thousands into believing that there are some magical powers .
That is superstition of almost African tribal levels , which we find totally repugnant , and we just do not wish a situation to arise where we would find ourselves dominated by that type of system ....... "
(MORE LATER).
McFARLANE - THE INSIDE STORY .......
Last month , BRENDAN McFARLANE was ordered by a Dutch court to be extradited back to the North to serve out a sentence of 25 years . He is appealing the decision . His companion GERARD KELLY had his plea accepted that his offences were political . BRENDAN McFARLANE has been on the run since he led thirty-seven men in an escape out of the MAZE PRISON in September 1983 . In an exclusive interview with MAGILL at Bylmerbages Prison in Amsterdam , McFARLANE talks about his life , his youth and upbringing , and his involvement with the ARMED STRUGGLE in the North .
By DEREK DUNNE .
First published in 'MAGILL' magazine , April 1986 .
At the start of 1975 , the Provisionals' truce came into effect and loyalist assassination gangs re-emerged ; Ardoyne was a prime target for them , and the truce came under considerable strain . In July 1975 , four British soldiers were killed in retaliation for the shooting dead of two Provos , Francis Jordan in Bessbrook and Charles Irvine in Divis Flats . In August 1975 , the Miami Showband was gunned down . By 13th August 1975 , there were sectarian gun battles going on all across Belfast between the Provos and the loyalists . On that day , the Bayardo Bar on the Shankill was attacked in a gun and bomb attack - gunfire raked the front of the bar and a duffle-bag with a bomb was placed by a man who ran from a waiting car . Five people were killed .
Within minutes , Brendan McFarlane was stopped at a road block ; spent bullet cases and the fingerprints of all three later convicted for the attack , including McFarlane , were found in the car . They were each sentenced to twenty-five years minimum (no remission) . In an unsigned statement used at his 'trial' , Brendan McFarlane said he drove the car . While not denying that he was involved in the attack , he disputed " ...the circumstances under which the statement was made .. "
Brendan McFarlane is "...affected personally .. " by the victims of violence ; he does'nt like it but believes it an "...absolute necessity .. " . Asked about whether he was afraid on the streets , he says that he "..never worries about things until they happen .. " because people who do "..cease to function .. " . He does admit , though , that he was depressed throughout the blanket protest and the hunger strikes .
By the time Brendan McFarlane was jailed in May 1976 , the British had removed political status from the prisoners ; while on remand in Crumlin Road Prison , McFarlane was involved in disturbances arising out of that removal .......
(MORE LATER).
Fionnuala O'Connor on the struggle for the Loyalist leadership as the politicians and their paramilitary allies gear up for a strike .
From 'MAGILL' magazine , March 1986 .
A week ago , a leading Official Unionist thought it necessary to put out a statement of re-assurance - to his own Loyalist community , and to the British public . He was upset by a BBC TV 'Panorama' programme on the Unionist response to the Anglo-Irish Agreement (ie the 1985 Hillsborough Treaty) .
In particular he had clearly been annoyed by the rhetoric of Alan Wright , spokesman for the 'Ulster Clubs' , and by that of one of his own Official Unionist Party members , the outspoken County Derry man , Esmond Thompson : Wright spoke of a people's army and the inevitability of conflict with the RUC , while Thompson spoke of the preparations under way for a last-ditch struggle , the "...specifications.. " already issued for necessary materials .
The UDA's second-in-command , John McMichael , a founder-member of the 'Ulster Clubs' , appeared on screen taking industrious notes in the front row at a meeting addressed by Alan Wright . 'Ulster Clubs' people were'nt altogether happy with the loose talk on the TV programme either - but their reason was entirely to do with security and timing . Esmond Thompson had no right to appear as a spokesman and was a little premature , Wright was too chatty , "...a bit carried away .. " .
But it is honestly , if privately , admitted that Esmond Thompson , in his talk of warlike preparations , spoke nothing but the truth .......
(MORE LATER).
FIRE AND BRIMSTONE .......
The Democratic Unionist Party would prefer a Civil War to acquiescence in a role for the Dublin Government in the affairs of the North of Ireland after the Anglo-Irish summit .
FINTAN O'TOOLE spoke to DUP activists about the depth of their opposition to the Anglo-Irish deal and their willingness to resort to violence .
From 'MAGILL' magazine , November 1985 .
Gregory Campbell also wants to 'preserve' the purity (sic) of the Protestant people and is against mixed marriages - " I make a distinction between integrated schooling and mixed marriages . I would be quite happy for my child to go to a school where Protestants and Catholics were taught together , but I would not be happy for my child to marry a Roman Catholic . I would be quite happy that the way I am bringing up my children would be sufficient to enable them to hold to their Protestantism no matter what their school environment would be .
But that would be a different step from the child growing into a mature adult and then marrying a person who is not of the faith which she has been brought up to believe is the correct faith . If she chooses to do that , that's her affair , but it would not be with my blessing . I would hope that my children would grow up to be evangelical Protestants with a belief in the bible . That belief in the bible should preclude them from marrying someone who does not have the faith in the bible that they have . Also from a political point of view essentially what you are doing is asking a unionist to marry a nationalist and that is too much to ask . "
That deep-seated evangelical Protestantism is central to the DUP , and the fear of religious persecution is a large part of their fear of a United Ireland . Jim Wells sums up the objections to Catholicism : " We find much of Roman Catholic doctrine repugnant . I find repugnant the fact that any man has the right to forgive sins , that Christ can be recreated on the alter of the Mass , Sunday after Sunday ; that the Virgin Mary is regarded as a deity that can be prayed to , who can forgive sins and heal the sick and all that , that shrines which can supposedly move in Ballinspittle or wherever it is can delude thousands into believing that there are some magical powers .
That is superstition of almost African tribal levels , which we find totally repugnant , and we just do not wish a situation to arise where we would find ourselves dominated by that type of system ....... "
(MORE LATER).
McFARLANE - THE INSIDE STORY .......
Last month , BRENDAN McFARLANE was ordered by a Dutch court to be extradited back to the North to serve out a sentence of 25 years . He is appealing the decision . His companion GERARD KELLY had his plea accepted that his offences were political . BRENDAN McFARLANE has been on the run since he led thirty-seven men in an escape out of the MAZE PRISON in September 1983 . In an exclusive interview with MAGILL at Bylmerbages Prison in Amsterdam , McFARLANE talks about his life , his youth and upbringing , and his involvement with the ARMED STRUGGLE in the North .
By DEREK DUNNE .
First published in 'MAGILL' magazine , April 1986 .
At the start of 1975 , the Provisionals' truce came into effect and loyalist assassination gangs re-emerged ; Ardoyne was a prime target for them , and the truce came under considerable strain . In July 1975 , four British soldiers were killed in retaliation for the shooting dead of two Provos , Francis Jordan in Bessbrook and Charles Irvine in Divis Flats . In August 1975 , the Miami Showband was gunned down . By 13th August 1975 , there were sectarian gun battles going on all across Belfast between the Provos and the loyalists . On that day , the Bayardo Bar on the Shankill was attacked in a gun and bomb attack - gunfire raked the front of the bar and a duffle-bag with a bomb was placed by a man who ran from a waiting car . Five people were killed .
Within minutes , Brendan McFarlane was stopped at a road block ; spent bullet cases and the fingerprints of all three later convicted for the attack , including McFarlane , were found in the car . They were each sentenced to twenty-five years minimum (no remission) . In an unsigned statement used at his 'trial' , Brendan McFarlane said he drove the car . While not denying that he was involved in the attack , he disputed " ...the circumstances under which the statement was made .. "
Brendan McFarlane is "...affected personally .. " by the victims of violence ; he does'nt like it but believes it an "...absolute necessity .. " . Asked about whether he was afraid on the streets , he says that he "..never worries about things until they happen .. " because people who do "..cease to function .. " . He does admit , though , that he was depressed throughout the blanket protest and the hunger strikes .
By the time Brendan McFarlane was jailed in May 1976 , the British had removed political status from the prisoners ; while on remand in Crumlin Road Prison , McFarlane was involved in disturbances arising out of that removal .......
(MORE LATER).
Wednesday, July 06, 2005
THE DEATH OF FRANK HAND .......
On February 10 , 1986 , the courts turned down the appeals of three men sentenced to hang . The men now face , on commutation of sentence by the (Free State) government , 40 years in prison without remission , for their involvement in the Drumree robbery and killing .
By GENE KERRIGAN.
First published in ' MAGILL' magazine , March 1986 .
Paddy Duffy claimed in court that he thought the cars he was providing were to be used by the IRA in the North ; he was found guilty of non-capital murder and sentenced to penal servitude for life .
Of the four found guilty of murder , only Paddy Duffy had a previous conviction , for possession of a revolver . Seamus Lynch was found guilty of robbery and was sentenced to four years ; Joe Gargan was found guilty of robbery and was given 10 years , suspended . None of those mentioned was present at Drumree when Detective Garda Frank Hand was killed .
Paul Finnegan was picked up a couple of times by the gardai but made no statement ; at least one , if not two or three more were involved in the robbery and have never been charged . 'Paul Finnegan' is no longer wanted for the Drumree robbery and murder . The gardai have no evidence against him . It is thought that he may be living abroad .
[END of 'THE DEATH OF FRANK HAND'.]
(Tomorrow : 'Politicos And Paramilitaries' ; from 1986.)
FIRE AND BRIMSTONE .......
The Democratic Unionist Party would prefer a Civil War to acquiescence in a role for the Dublin Government in the affairs of the North of Ireland after the Anglo-Irish summit .
FINTAN O'TOOLE spoke to DUP activists about the depth of their opposition to the Anglo-Irish deal and their willingness to resort to violence .
From 'MAGILL' magazine , November 1985 .
Jim Wells , DUP , is one of those who frowns on mixed marriage - " I am totally opposed to mixed marriage . Of course I am . First of all because of the authoritarian attitude of the Roman Catholic church , which demands that the children must be brought up as Catholics , but secondly because I believe that anyone who indulges in a mixed marriage is betraying the Protestant cause .
There is no excuse for mixed marriages in the North , not like in the South where the small number of Protestants means that to be blunt there's many a young man and young girl who would'nt marry at all if they did'nt marry a Roman Catholic . There is no problem such as that in the North where there are plenty of suitable Protestant partners . I would be against anything that would lead to a dilution of the Protestant population of this province (sic) " .
Gregory Campbell has no mythology of the planter stock ; in the Waterside area there are no family farms , no tradition of property handed down over the generations . His legend of the Protestant race is different - " I think that that Ulster Protestant is a separate race of people from the rest of the island . In the general area that is now called Northern Ireland (sic) there has always been a separate and distinct type of people , code of ethics , morality . Everything about the way of life in the northern part of the island has been different to the southern part of the island , even before the plantation .
There has always been a different race of people who inhabited the north . It happens at this stage to be the Protestant people who inhabit it . I have a different view from Gerry Adams as to how we came to inhabit this part of the island . He says we just came over as part of the plantation and usurped the Gaelic Catholics . I happen to believe that way before that , when the Picts came from central Europe , there were a people here who were different , who were usurped at that stage . "
For a working-class loyalist like Gregory Campbell the 'mythology' of plantation becomes a 'mythology' of dispossession .......
(MORE LATER).
McFARLANE - THE INSIDE STORY .......
Last month , BRENDAN McFARLANE was ordered by a Dutch court to be extradited back to the North to serve out a sentence of 25 years . He is appealing the decision . His companion GERARD KELLY had his plea accepted that his offences were political . BRENDAN McFARLANE has been on the run since he led thirty-seven men in an escape out of the MAZE PRISON in September 1983 . In an exclusive interview with MAGILL at Bylmerbages Prison in Amsterdam , McFARLANE talks about his life , his youth and upbringing , and his involvement with the ARMED STRUGGLE in the North .
By DEREK DUNNE .
First published in 'MAGILL' magazine , April 1986 .
After internment , Brendan 'Bic' McFarlane joined the Provisional IRA and became active on the streets ; he was involved primarily in defence . The previous year (ie 1970) the IRA had earned itself the name ' I Ran Away' when it failed to defend Ardoyne during gun battles . The British Parachute Regiment patrolled the area and were vicious .
In September 1971 , Brendan McFarlane was arrested during a gun battle in which two British soldiers were killed ; he was held for three days and released without charge . He also became very involved with rebuilding part of Ardoyne that had been burned by loyalists . At this time many of his close friends were being killed . He talks casually about his own involvement but when he discusses friends that have been killed , he looks visibly upset . He finds it quite difficult to articulate his feelings and the fact that he was very close to a particular person .
On 11 July 1971 , the Provos were operating cover for people coming out of drinking clubs , and they were waiting for the loyalists to open fire ; the shooting started late that night and then the British Army opened fire with machine guns from three different places . Two men , including McFarlane's close friend , James Reid , were killed behind some sandbags , during the two-hour gun battle . The Provos abandoned their position and re-grouped . Five people were killed in total . Provo leader Martin Meehan was in charge of operations in the Ardoyne and he and Brendan McFarlane were close .
The main thrust of the campaign up to the end of 1974 , when the IRA/British Army truce came into effect , was the bombing campaign : dozens of civilians were killed . Today , Brendan McFarlane thinks the campaign was justified . The object was to "...damage Britain economically .. " . At the time , he was working in a Belfast printing house and , later on , as a fork lift driver . He declines to say what specific operations he was invoved with - " If I tell you that , they'll charge me with it when I get home . They'll say 'Here's something else we forgot' . " He was " ... moderately active .. " in Ardoyne , as distinct from others who were carrying out shootings , bombings and ambushes every day .
He was "...an ordinary Volunteer .. " , not holding any rank . And then , in 1975 , he got caught .......
(MORE LATER).
On February 10 , 1986 , the courts turned down the appeals of three men sentenced to hang . The men now face , on commutation of sentence by the (Free State) government , 40 years in prison without remission , for their involvement in the Drumree robbery and killing .
By GENE KERRIGAN.
First published in ' MAGILL' magazine , March 1986 .
Paddy Duffy claimed in court that he thought the cars he was providing were to be used by the IRA in the North ; he was found guilty of non-capital murder and sentenced to penal servitude for life .
Of the four found guilty of murder , only Paddy Duffy had a previous conviction , for possession of a revolver . Seamus Lynch was found guilty of robbery and was sentenced to four years ; Joe Gargan was found guilty of robbery and was given 10 years , suspended . None of those mentioned was present at Drumree when Detective Garda Frank Hand was killed .
Paul Finnegan was picked up a couple of times by the gardai but made no statement ; at least one , if not two or three more were involved in the robbery and have never been charged . 'Paul Finnegan' is no longer wanted for the Drumree robbery and murder . The gardai have no evidence against him . It is thought that he may be living abroad .
[END of 'THE DEATH OF FRANK HAND'.]
(Tomorrow : 'Politicos And Paramilitaries' ; from 1986.)
FIRE AND BRIMSTONE .......
The Democratic Unionist Party would prefer a Civil War to acquiescence in a role for the Dublin Government in the affairs of the North of Ireland after the Anglo-Irish summit .
FINTAN O'TOOLE spoke to DUP activists about the depth of their opposition to the Anglo-Irish deal and their willingness to resort to violence .
From 'MAGILL' magazine , November 1985 .
Jim Wells , DUP , is one of those who frowns on mixed marriage - " I am totally opposed to mixed marriage . Of course I am . First of all because of the authoritarian attitude of the Roman Catholic church , which demands that the children must be brought up as Catholics , but secondly because I believe that anyone who indulges in a mixed marriage is betraying the Protestant cause .
There is no excuse for mixed marriages in the North , not like in the South where the small number of Protestants means that to be blunt there's many a young man and young girl who would'nt marry at all if they did'nt marry a Roman Catholic . There is no problem such as that in the North where there are plenty of suitable Protestant partners . I would be against anything that would lead to a dilution of the Protestant population of this province (sic) " .
Gregory Campbell has no mythology of the planter stock ; in the Waterside area there are no family farms , no tradition of property handed down over the generations . His legend of the Protestant race is different - " I think that that Ulster Protestant is a separate race of people from the rest of the island . In the general area that is now called Northern Ireland (sic) there has always been a separate and distinct type of people , code of ethics , morality . Everything about the way of life in the northern part of the island has been different to the southern part of the island , even before the plantation .
There has always been a different race of people who inhabited the north . It happens at this stage to be the Protestant people who inhabit it . I have a different view from Gerry Adams as to how we came to inhabit this part of the island . He says we just came over as part of the plantation and usurped the Gaelic Catholics . I happen to believe that way before that , when the Picts came from central Europe , there were a people here who were different , who were usurped at that stage . "
For a working-class loyalist like Gregory Campbell the 'mythology' of plantation becomes a 'mythology' of dispossession .......
(MORE LATER).
McFARLANE - THE INSIDE STORY .......
Last month , BRENDAN McFARLANE was ordered by a Dutch court to be extradited back to the North to serve out a sentence of 25 years . He is appealing the decision . His companion GERARD KELLY had his plea accepted that his offences were political . BRENDAN McFARLANE has been on the run since he led thirty-seven men in an escape out of the MAZE PRISON in September 1983 . In an exclusive interview with MAGILL at Bylmerbages Prison in Amsterdam , McFARLANE talks about his life , his youth and upbringing , and his involvement with the ARMED STRUGGLE in the North .
By DEREK DUNNE .
First published in 'MAGILL' magazine , April 1986 .
After internment , Brendan 'Bic' McFarlane joined the Provisional IRA and became active on the streets ; he was involved primarily in defence . The previous year (ie 1970) the IRA had earned itself the name ' I Ran Away' when it failed to defend Ardoyne during gun battles . The British Parachute Regiment patrolled the area and were vicious .
In September 1971 , Brendan McFarlane was arrested during a gun battle in which two British soldiers were killed ; he was held for three days and released without charge . He also became very involved with rebuilding part of Ardoyne that had been burned by loyalists . At this time many of his close friends were being killed . He talks casually about his own involvement but when he discusses friends that have been killed , he looks visibly upset . He finds it quite difficult to articulate his feelings and the fact that he was very close to a particular person .
On 11 July 1971 , the Provos were operating cover for people coming out of drinking clubs , and they were waiting for the loyalists to open fire ; the shooting started late that night and then the British Army opened fire with machine guns from three different places . Two men , including McFarlane's close friend , James Reid , were killed behind some sandbags , during the two-hour gun battle . The Provos abandoned their position and re-grouped . Five people were killed in total . Provo leader Martin Meehan was in charge of operations in the Ardoyne and he and Brendan McFarlane were close .
The main thrust of the campaign up to the end of 1974 , when the IRA/British Army truce came into effect , was the bombing campaign : dozens of civilians were killed . Today , Brendan McFarlane thinks the campaign was justified . The object was to "...damage Britain economically .. " . At the time , he was working in a Belfast printing house and , later on , as a fork lift driver . He declines to say what specific operations he was invoved with - " If I tell you that , they'll charge me with it when I get home . They'll say 'Here's something else we forgot' . " He was " ... moderately active .. " in Ardoyne , as distinct from others who were carrying out shootings , bombings and ambushes every day .
He was "...an ordinary Volunteer .. " , not holding any rank . And then , in 1975 , he got caught .......
(MORE LATER).
Tuesday, July 05, 2005
THE DEATH OF FRANK HAND .......
On February 10 , 1986 , the courts turned down the appeals of three men sentenced to hang . The men now face , on commutation of sentence by the (Free State) government , 40 years in prison without remission , for their involvement in the Drumree robbery and killing .
By GENE KERRIGAN.
First published in ' MAGILL' magazine , March 1986 .
Noel McCabe spent six weeks in solitary confinement in Portlaoise Prison , as a protective measure . In the course of the subsequent trial , in February and March 1985 , he pleaded guilty to robbery and received a 10-year sentence , suspended - there was uproar in the public gallery of the Special Criminal Court and a man named Eoin McKenna , from Darndale , Dublin , shouted at McCabe - " McCabe , you are a supergrass , the first Free State supergrass ! " McKenna was ordered to apologise to the court ; he refused and was immediately sentenced to 12 months for contempt of court .
The accusation of 'supergrass' was silly ; Noel McCabe made his statement on August 29 ; Seamus Lynch and Joe Gargan made statements on August 15 ; Paddy Duffy made a statement on August 22 , Tommy Eccles on August 23 . The only person named in McCabe's statement who was subsequently convicted and who had not himself made a statement by that time was Pat McPhillips .
It suited the gardai and the courts to portray the affair as a well-planned and professionally executed robbery ; the Provos have their own macho reasons for believing in their own professionalism . The evidence is that the Drumree raid was poorly organised , dependent on amateurs , panicky in its execution and counter-productive in its political effects . And they got no money . The net effect was the death of a 25 year-old garda .
Tommy Eccles , Brian McShane and Pat McPhillips pleaded not guilty to capital murder and claimed their statements were untrue and involuntary . The statements were declared admissible and the three were found guilty of capital murder and sentenced to death . Their appeal was dismissed on February 10 and , on February 21 , their sentences were commuted to forty years without remission .......
(MORE LATER).
FIRE AND BRIMSTONE .......
The Democratic Unionist Party would prefer a Civil War to acquiescence in a role for the Dublin Government in the affairs of the North of Ireland after the Anglo-Irish summit .
FINTAN O'TOOLE spoke to DUP activists about the depth of their opposition to the Anglo-Irish deal and their willingness to resort to violence .
From 'MAGILL' magazine , November 1985 .
Jim Wells joined the DUP " ... because I like my politics cut and dried . If I'm in a party which favours the use of punishment for terrorists , I don't want to find , as you find in the Official Unionist Party , that half the party does'nt agree with that policy . I like to know exactly where I stand . "
Where Jim Wells stands is with the planter stock he came from . He believes in a separate Protestant race in the North of Ireland and in preserving the purity of that race : " I'm descended from settlers who came over from England and Scotland - my mother's side was Scottish and my father's side was English . There has been no intermarriage with Celts in the four centuries that we have been over here . There's been no intermarriage in any section of the family over those centuries . And that's the same for many Protestant families .
So we are direct descendants of mainland (sic) British residents , who carry British passports , who regard the Queen (..the 'Queen' of England , that is .. ) as their sovereign , and regard parliament as the sovereign body of this province , who regard themselves as an integral part of the United Kingdom , no different from Scotland or Wales . It's a fact , not something to be debated about . We don't feel British , we are British . That is what Southern people cannot grasp .
They believe that because we live on the island of Ireland that we regard ourselves as Irish . Nothing could be further from the truth . I think we regard ourselves as more British than the British . I think we're the first to stand for the (British) National Anthem and to show respect for the (British) Queen , even more so than many mainland (sic) British subjects , many of whom have intermarried with Pakistanis and West Indians and allowed a dilution of their Britishness . That has'nt happened here and we remain militant British subjects .
Here there has been very little intermarriage with immigrants or with native Irish , and mixed marriage is frowned upon . I only know of one mixed marriage . We at least have maintained our Britishness , even if other parts (sic) of Britain have wavered somewhat ....... "
(MORE LATER).
McFARLANE - THE INSIDE STORY .......
Last month , BRENDAN McFARLANE was ordered by a Dutch court to be extradited back to the North to serve out a sentence of 25 years . He is appealing the decision . His companion GERARD KELLY had his plea accepted that his offences were political . BRENDAN McFARLANE has been on the run since he led thirty-seven men in an escape out of the MAZE PRISON in September 1983 . In an exclusive interview with MAGILL at Bylmerbages Prison in Amsterdam , McFARLANE talks about his life , his youth and upbringing , and his involvement with the ARMED STRUGGLE in the North .
By DEREK DUNNE .
First published in 'MAGILL' magazine , April 1986 .
Brendan McFarlane is unassuming about the almost legendary status he has achieved among his fellow Provisionals ; he has no illusions about his own part in the scheme of things - he jokes easily too . For example , when asked if he "specialised" in any particular area of activity when he was on the streets and active between 1972 and 1975 , before answering " No , " he says , " Yes . I could talk the leg off a dresser . The Provos were going to send me in as a secret weapon to talk the Brits to sleep . "
Brendan McFarlane does not conform to the typical profile of a Provisional ; he is extremely articulate and does not come from a republican background . Born in 1951 in Ardoyne in Belfast , he attended Holy Cross Primary School and Saint Malachy's College . His father worked in Michelin's tyre firm in the city ; his family , especially his mother , were staunch Catholics , and even though they came from a republican area , they did not subscribe to that ethos . He was bright at school . His friends nicknamed him 'Bic' and the name has stuck ever since . (The name came from McFarlane's biscuits.)
In 1968 , he decided to enter the priesthood and joined the SVD Missionary Order ; he went to study in North Wales and returned home for holidays - " I was always pretty religious and I believed I had a vocation at the time , " he says . He came home in the summer of 1969 and Ardoyne was attacked by loyalist mobs ; he returned to the seminary . There was " ...a continuous question and answer session going on in my head . " He quit and returned home the following year .
" I know now I was right I did'nt continue . I still don't know why . I thought about it often when I was in H-Blocks but I still can't answer that . " He says he missed completely the "...upheaval in the Republican Movement .." when the Provos split from the Officials ; he had many friends in both wings and did'nt know which one to join . Ardoyne was a particularly vulnerable area , being bordered on all sides by loyalist strongholds .......
(MORE LATER).
On February 10 , 1986 , the courts turned down the appeals of three men sentenced to hang . The men now face , on commutation of sentence by the (Free State) government , 40 years in prison without remission , for their involvement in the Drumree robbery and killing .
By GENE KERRIGAN.
First published in ' MAGILL' magazine , March 1986 .
Noel McCabe spent six weeks in solitary confinement in Portlaoise Prison , as a protective measure . In the course of the subsequent trial , in February and March 1985 , he pleaded guilty to robbery and received a 10-year sentence , suspended - there was uproar in the public gallery of the Special Criminal Court and a man named Eoin McKenna , from Darndale , Dublin , shouted at McCabe - " McCabe , you are a supergrass , the first Free State supergrass ! " McKenna was ordered to apologise to the court ; he refused and was immediately sentenced to 12 months for contempt of court .
The accusation of 'supergrass' was silly ; Noel McCabe made his statement on August 29 ; Seamus Lynch and Joe Gargan made statements on August 15 ; Paddy Duffy made a statement on August 22 , Tommy Eccles on August 23 . The only person named in McCabe's statement who was subsequently convicted and who had not himself made a statement by that time was Pat McPhillips .
It suited the gardai and the courts to portray the affair as a well-planned and professionally executed robbery ; the Provos have their own macho reasons for believing in their own professionalism . The evidence is that the Drumree raid was poorly organised , dependent on amateurs , panicky in its execution and counter-productive in its political effects . And they got no money . The net effect was the death of a 25 year-old garda .
Tommy Eccles , Brian McShane and Pat McPhillips pleaded not guilty to capital murder and claimed their statements were untrue and involuntary . The statements were declared admissible and the three were found guilty of capital murder and sentenced to death . Their appeal was dismissed on February 10 and , on February 21 , their sentences were commuted to forty years without remission .......
(MORE LATER).
FIRE AND BRIMSTONE .......
The Democratic Unionist Party would prefer a Civil War to acquiescence in a role for the Dublin Government in the affairs of the North of Ireland after the Anglo-Irish summit .
FINTAN O'TOOLE spoke to DUP activists about the depth of their opposition to the Anglo-Irish deal and their willingness to resort to violence .
From 'MAGILL' magazine , November 1985 .
Jim Wells joined the DUP " ... because I like my politics cut and dried . If I'm in a party which favours the use of punishment for terrorists , I don't want to find , as you find in the Official Unionist Party , that half the party does'nt agree with that policy . I like to know exactly where I stand . "
Where Jim Wells stands is with the planter stock he came from . He believes in a separate Protestant race in the North of Ireland and in preserving the purity of that race : " I'm descended from settlers who came over from England and Scotland - my mother's side was Scottish and my father's side was English . There has been no intermarriage with Celts in the four centuries that we have been over here . There's been no intermarriage in any section of the family over those centuries . And that's the same for many Protestant families .
So we are direct descendants of mainland (sic) British residents , who carry British passports , who regard the Queen (..the 'Queen' of England , that is .. ) as their sovereign , and regard parliament as the sovereign body of this province , who regard themselves as an integral part of the United Kingdom , no different from Scotland or Wales . It's a fact , not something to be debated about . We don't feel British , we are British . That is what Southern people cannot grasp .
They believe that because we live on the island of Ireland that we regard ourselves as Irish . Nothing could be further from the truth . I think we regard ourselves as more British than the British . I think we're the first to stand for the (British) National Anthem and to show respect for the (British) Queen , even more so than many mainland (sic) British subjects , many of whom have intermarried with Pakistanis and West Indians and allowed a dilution of their Britishness . That has'nt happened here and we remain militant British subjects .
Here there has been very little intermarriage with immigrants or with native Irish , and mixed marriage is frowned upon . I only know of one mixed marriage . We at least have maintained our Britishness , even if other parts (sic) of Britain have wavered somewhat ....... "
(MORE LATER).
McFARLANE - THE INSIDE STORY .......
Last month , BRENDAN McFARLANE was ordered by a Dutch court to be extradited back to the North to serve out a sentence of 25 years . He is appealing the decision . His companion GERARD KELLY had his plea accepted that his offences were political . BRENDAN McFARLANE has been on the run since he led thirty-seven men in an escape out of the MAZE PRISON in September 1983 . In an exclusive interview with MAGILL at Bylmerbages Prison in Amsterdam , McFARLANE talks about his life , his youth and upbringing , and his involvement with the ARMED STRUGGLE in the North .
By DEREK DUNNE .
First published in 'MAGILL' magazine , April 1986 .
Brendan McFarlane is unassuming about the almost legendary status he has achieved among his fellow Provisionals ; he has no illusions about his own part in the scheme of things - he jokes easily too . For example , when asked if he "specialised" in any particular area of activity when he was on the streets and active between 1972 and 1975 , before answering " No , " he says , " Yes . I could talk the leg off a dresser . The Provos were going to send me in as a secret weapon to talk the Brits to sleep . "
Brendan McFarlane does not conform to the typical profile of a Provisional ; he is extremely articulate and does not come from a republican background . Born in 1951 in Ardoyne in Belfast , he attended Holy Cross Primary School and Saint Malachy's College . His father worked in Michelin's tyre firm in the city ; his family , especially his mother , were staunch Catholics , and even though they came from a republican area , they did not subscribe to that ethos . He was bright at school . His friends nicknamed him 'Bic' and the name has stuck ever since . (The name came from McFarlane's biscuits.)
In 1968 , he decided to enter the priesthood and joined the SVD Missionary Order ; he went to study in North Wales and returned home for holidays - " I was always pretty religious and I believed I had a vocation at the time , " he says . He came home in the summer of 1969 and Ardoyne was attacked by loyalist mobs ; he returned to the seminary . There was " ...a continuous question and answer session going on in my head . " He quit and returned home the following year .
" I know now I was right I did'nt continue . I still don't know why . I thought about it often when I was in H-Blocks but I still can't answer that . " He says he missed completely the "...upheaval in the Republican Movement .." when the Provos split from the Officials ; he had many friends in both wings and did'nt know which one to join . Ardoyne was a particularly vulnerable area , being bordered on all sides by loyalist strongholds .......
(MORE LATER).
Monday, July 04, 2005
THE DEATH OF FRANK HAND .......
On February 10 , 1986 , the courts turned down the appeals of three men sentenced to hang . The men now face , on commutation of sentence by the (Free State) government , 40 years in prison without remission , for their involvement in the Drumree robbery and killing .
By GENE KERRIGAN.
First published in ' MAGILL' magazine , March 1986 .
Most of the IRA team had been lifted ; admissions were made . The money and guns had been recovered . Noel McCabe , never publicly linked with the Provos , was'nt lifted . He was still shocked and full of remorse about the killing of Frank Hand , worried about what would happen to him . Some time in the week after the killing he went to confession in Dundalk , to a Fr. McAuley ; he told about his part in the robbery and said he wanted to tell someone else . The priest told him he should .
On Friday 24 August 1984 , two weeks after the robbery , his name still unknown to the gardai , McCabe began ringing Brendan McGahon , the Fine Gael TD (Leinster House member) from Dundalk . He could'nt reach the TD . McGahon had known Noel McCabe for years and knew of his trouble with the drink . That night McCabe went to McGahon's house and told him of his involvement in the crime ; they talked for three hours . McGahon said he would contact someone in authority . That night he got in touch with the gardai in Dundalk .
McCabe was to return to McGahon two days later , but he was attending an 'Alcoholics Anonymous' meeting that Sunday night ; he went to McGahon's home on Monday but the man was'nt there . On Tuesday night he again approached his house , this time just as McGahon's car drove away . The gardai , meanwhile , had been in touch with McGahon at Leinster House . At 6.45am on Wednesday 29 August 1984 McCabe was arrested ; Brian McShane and Pat McPhillips were arrested twenty minutes earlier .
Within ten minutes of being taken to Navan Garda Station , Noel McCabe began making a lengthy statement . It told everything he knew about the robbery ; it was not the kind of confession sweated out of a suspect over a long period . It was detailed and convincing , and it corroborated and gave credence to statements made earlier by others of the group . McCabe was in over his head and now he just wanted to tell all .
He had'nt intended to get involved in the killing of a garda .......
(MORE LATER).
FIRE AND BRIMSTONE .......
The Democratic Unionist Party would prefer a Civil War to acquiescence in a role for the Dublin Government in the affairs of the North of Ireland after the Anglo-Irish summit .
FINTAN O'TOOLE spoke to DUP activists about the depth of their opposition to the Anglo-Irish deal and their willingness to resort to violence .
From 'MAGILL' magazine , November 1985 .
Gregory Campbell , DUP , stated - " I would see homosexuality as something which merited the curse of God . There are others who are not homosexuals , and I'm not saying that everyone who has AIDS has got the curse of God on them , but the basis of the thing is that AIDS came about because of sexual contact between homosexuals . Now that to me is something which shows in a small way that there is more than just human opposition to homosexuality .
In the bible there is only one sin which called down literal fire and brimstone from God and that was'nt murder . It was'nt theft , it was homosexuality . " ('1169....' Comment : a 'flavour' , reader , of the intolerance of the British imposed 'Ruling Class' in our six north-eastern counties . May your God have mercy on your soul should you be a gay Catholic/Republican/Nationalist !)
Fire and brimstone , the 'Last Days' , Armageddon : the images are deeply ingrained in the collective mind of the Democratic Unionist Party . Politically , Ivan Foster has a certain sympathy with the embattled whites of South Africa - " I have never studied the reasons for apartheid , but I have to say this : it must be a rather frightening thing when you have watched other African States given into the hands of races that to say the least have been catapulted into the twentieth century over the last few years , and if I were a white there I certainly would be very concerned about giving power into the hands of a majority and then to find that all that I had done , and my forefathers had done , would just be destroyed in tribal warfare and general , unsophisticated unintelligent attempts at governing the country . " ('1169 ... ' Comment : racialism can be added to the DUP list of 'credits' .....)
Jim Wells is young and smooth : a Queen's University graduate from the rich farming lands of South Down , which he represents for the DUP in the (Six County) 'Assembly ' . Now twenty-eight , he was in his last year at Queens University when he was elected to Lisburn Council for his home district of Moira , where the large family farm is situated .......
(MORE LATER).
McFARLANE - THE INSIDE STORY .
Last month , BRENDAN McFARLANE was ordered by a Dutch court to be extradited back to the North to serve out a sentence of 25 years . He is appealing the decision . His companion GERARD KELLY had his plea accepted that his offences were political . BRENDAN McFARLANE has been on the run since he led thirty-seven men in an escape out of the MAZE PRISON in September 1983 . In an exclusive interview with MAGILL at Bylmerbages Prison in Amsterdam , McFARLANE talks about his life , his youth and upbringing , and his involvement with the ARMED STRUGGLE in the North .
By DEREK DUNNE .
First published in 'MAGILL' magazine , April 1986 .
Brendan McFarlane is as committed to the armed struggle in the North as he was when he first took up arms fifteen years ago ; he totally subscribes to the Armalite/Ballot Box approach of the Provisionals , referring to it as - " ...the classic revolutionary strategy . " The word he uses for that policy is - " Super . "
From the confines of the Amsterdam prison , from which , if he is extradited , he faces the remainder of his twenty-five year sentence , he articulates the justification for the use of force in the North of Ireland - " There's no other way out of it . There's no corner to get around it . There's no other way except that match with the British on the ground . " In relation to killing people , he says that "...it's messy . It's regrettable that people have to die but there's no other way out of it . The fact that civilians , the RUC , and the army - the army with a working class background - the fact that they have to die to maintain the status quo is deeply regrettable . "
He would also claim that he has been affected by the violence , including that carried out by himself - " I am affected personally . Nobody likes violence . I do it as an absolute necessity . But it's not inherent in my being , in my nature . It takes a lot to push yourself to that line - to be part of , and to witness , death . It takes a lot of consideration . The use of violence has hardened my attitude in general to those types of situations . I have learned to have a much harder outlook . "
He would say that "...a day has'nt gone by .. " without thinking of those who have died , especially close friends killed in action , and particularly the hunger strikers , of whom he says that he "...never experienced anything like it . " Their dedication was total . He is not uncomfortable answering questions about those that have been killed , but is serious and articulate . He has spent the last two months totally isolated in Bylmerbages Prison in Amsterdam . As yet , he is not receiving any papers . Despite the fact that his extradition has been ordered , and that he will almost certainly remain in jail well into the next century , he is not depressed .
He talks very easily and remains good humoured .......
(MORE LATER).
On February 10 , 1986 , the courts turned down the appeals of three men sentenced to hang . The men now face , on commutation of sentence by the (Free State) government , 40 years in prison without remission , for their involvement in the Drumree robbery and killing .
By GENE KERRIGAN.
First published in ' MAGILL' magazine , March 1986 .
Most of the IRA team had been lifted ; admissions were made . The money and guns had been recovered . Noel McCabe , never publicly linked with the Provos , was'nt lifted . He was still shocked and full of remorse about the killing of Frank Hand , worried about what would happen to him . Some time in the week after the killing he went to confession in Dundalk , to a Fr. McAuley ; he told about his part in the robbery and said he wanted to tell someone else . The priest told him he should .
On Friday 24 August 1984 , two weeks after the robbery , his name still unknown to the gardai , McCabe began ringing Brendan McGahon , the Fine Gael TD (Leinster House member) from Dundalk . He could'nt reach the TD . McGahon had known Noel McCabe for years and knew of his trouble with the drink . That night McCabe went to McGahon's house and told him of his involvement in the crime ; they talked for three hours . McGahon said he would contact someone in authority . That night he got in touch with the gardai in Dundalk .
McCabe was to return to McGahon two days later , but he was attending an 'Alcoholics Anonymous' meeting that Sunday night ; he went to McGahon's home on Monday but the man was'nt there . On Tuesday night he again approached his house , this time just as McGahon's car drove away . The gardai , meanwhile , had been in touch with McGahon at Leinster House . At 6.45am on Wednesday 29 August 1984 McCabe was arrested ; Brian McShane and Pat McPhillips were arrested twenty minutes earlier .
Within ten minutes of being taken to Navan Garda Station , Noel McCabe began making a lengthy statement . It told everything he knew about the robbery ; it was not the kind of confession sweated out of a suspect over a long period . It was detailed and convincing , and it corroborated and gave credence to statements made earlier by others of the group . McCabe was in over his head and now he just wanted to tell all .
He had'nt intended to get involved in the killing of a garda .......
(MORE LATER).
FIRE AND BRIMSTONE .......
The Democratic Unionist Party would prefer a Civil War to acquiescence in a role for the Dublin Government in the affairs of the North of Ireland after the Anglo-Irish summit .
FINTAN O'TOOLE spoke to DUP activists about the depth of their opposition to the Anglo-Irish deal and their willingness to resort to violence .
From 'MAGILL' magazine , November 1985 .
Gregory Campbell , DUP , stated - " I would see homosexuality as something which merited the curse of God . There are others who are not homosexuals , and I'm not saying that everyone who has AIDS has got the curse of God on them , but the basis of the thing is that AIDS came about because of sexual contact between homosexuals . Now that to me is something which shows in a small way that there is more than just human opposition to homosexuality .
In the bible there is only one sin which called down literal fire and brimstone from God and that was'nt murder . It was'nt theft , it was homosexuality . " ('1169....' Comment : a 'flavour' , reader , of the intolerance of the British imposed 'Ruling Class' in our six north-eastern counties . May your God have mercy on your soul should you be a gay Catholic/Republican/Nationalist !)
Fire and brimstone , the 'Last Days' , Armageddon : the images are deeply ingrained in the collective mind of the Democratic Unionist Party . Politically , Ivan Foster has a certain sympathy with the embattled whites of South Africa - " I have never studied the reasons for apartheid , but I have to say this : it must be a rather frightening thing when you have watched other African States given into the hands of races that to say the least have been catapulted into the twentieth century over the last few years , and if I were a white there I certainly would be very concerned about giving power into the hands of a majority and then to find that all that I had done , and my forefathers had done , would just be destroyed in tribal warfare and general , unsophisticated unintelligent attempts at governing the country . " ('1169 ... ' Comment : racialism can be added to the DUP list of 'credits' .....)
Jim Wells is young and smooth : a Queen's University graduate from the rich farming lands of South Down , which he represents for the DUP in the (Six County) 'Assembly ' . Now twenty-eight , he was in his last year at Queens University when he was elected to Lisburn Council for his home district of Moira , where the large family farm is situated .......
(MORE LATER).
McFARLANE - THE INSIDE STORY .
Last month , BRENDAN McFARLANE was ordered by a Dutch court to be extradited back to the North to serve out a sentence of 25 years . He is appealing the decision . His companion GERARD KELLY had his plea accepted that his offences were political . BRENDAN McFARLANE has been on the run since he led thirty-seven men in an escape out of the MAZE PRISON in September 1983 . In an exclusive interview with MAGILL at Bylmerbages Prison in Amsterdam , McFARLANE talks about his life , his youth and upbringing , and his involvement with the ARMED STRUGGLE in the North .
By DEREK DUNNE .
First published in 'MAGILL' magazine , April 1986 .
Brendan McFarlane is as committed to the armed struggle in the North as he was when he first took up arms fifteen years ago ; he totally subscribes to the Armalite/Ballot Box approach of the Provisionals , referring to it as - " ...the classic revolutionary strategy . " The word he uses for that policy is - " Super . "
From the confines of the Amsterdam prison , from which , if he is extradited , he faces the remainder of his twenty-five year sentence , he articulates the justification for the use of force in the North of Ireland - " There's no other way out of it . There's no corner to get around it . There's no other way except that match with the British on the ground . " In relation to killing people , he says that "...it's messy . It's regrettable that people have to die but there's no other way out of it . The fact that civilians , the RUC , and the army - the army with a working class background - the fact that they have to die to maintain the status quo is deeply regrettable . "
He would also claim that he has been affected by the violence , including that carried out by himself - " I am affected personally . Nobody likes violence . I do it as an absolute necessity . But it's not inherent in my being , in my nature . It takes a lot to push yourself to that line - to be part of , and to witness , death . It takes a lot of consideration . The use of violence has hardened my attitude in general to those types of situations . I have learned to have a much harder outlook . "
He would say that "...a day has'nt gone by .. " without thinking of those who have died , especially close friends killed in action , and particularly the hunger strikers , of whom he says that he "...never experienced anything like it . " Their dedication was total . He is not uncomfortable answering questions about those that have been killed , but is serious and articulate . He has spent the last two months totally isolated in Bylmerbages Prison in Amsterdam . As yet , he is not receiving any papers . Despite the fact that his extradition has been ordered , and that he will almost certainly remain in jail well into the next century , he is not depressed .
He talks very easily and remains good humoured .......
(MORE LATER).
Friday, July 01, 2005
THE DEATH OF FRANK HAND .......
On February 10 , 1986 , the courts turned down the appeals of three men sentenced to hang . The men now face , on commutation of sentence by the (Free State) government , 40 years in prison without remission , for their involvement in the Drumree robbery and killing .
By GENE KERRIGAN.
First published in ' MAGILL' magazine , March 1986 .
Sunday 12th August 1984 ; two days after the killing of Detective Frank Hand . Noel McCabe went to Tommy Eccles's house . Eccles was there with Paul Finnegan - McCabe asked them about the robbery but Finnegan warned him not to talk about it to anyone or he would be shot - " It went wrong , we did'nt mean to shoot anyone , " said Finnegan , " I did'nt intend to involve you in anything like this . " Then he laughed . " It's only another stiff , anyway . "
When Finnegan was gone McCabe and Eccles talked : " It's ironic , " said Eccles , according to McCabe , " but it's a Scotsman who shot him . "
The gardai drew up a questionnaire and began a house-to-house inquiry . On Monday 13th August 1984 both Seamus Lynch and Joe Gargan received routine visits at their homes in Kentstown ; both answered the routine questions , placing themselves well away from Drumree at the time of the killing (which was , in fact , true ) . A Garda Michael Miley interviewed Joe Gargan - he thought that Gargan talked a lot , very freely , but gave short and to-the-point answers to specific questions about his movements . There was space at the bottom of the questionnaire marked - ' Member's Personal Opinion ? ' ; Garda Miley wrote - ' Very talkative , seemed very friendly , but not genuine . '
The Gardai lifted a lot of people , the routine round-up . Among them were Seamus Lynch , Joe Gargan , Tommy Eccles and Paddy Duffy . They all made statements , some bare admissions of their own roles in the robbery , others lengthier and fuller . There would later be allegations of garda beatings , but there was little evidence to sustain them . What seemed to have happened is that , faced with the unexpected enormity of the situation in which they found themselves , the suspects crumbled .
The money and guns were recovered from the shed at Kentstown .......
(MORE LATER).
FIRE AND BRIMSTONE .......
The Democratic Unionist Party would prefer a Civil War to acquiescence in a role for the Dublin Government in the affairs of the North of Ireland after the Anglo-Irish summit .
FINTAN O'TOOLE spoke to DUP activists about the depth of their opposition to the Anglo-Irish deal and their willingness to resort to violence .
From 'MAGILL' magazine , November 1985 .
One of the 'signs' that the Reverend Ivan Foster sees that 'the End' may be at hand , that it may be necessary to fight on to Armageddon , is that homosexuality has been legalised in the North of Ireland - " As a Protestant , and not a mere political Protestant , but as one who without apology believes the Bible , I come to portions of the scripture like Romans Chapter 1 where it indicates that society and mankind reaches the depths of decline and depravity when men turn from the natural use of women unto men . That's the pits , to use a modern phrase - you can go no lower . Paul at that stage speaks about the judgement of God coming upon a nation that does that . And whether we like it or don't like it , history indicates that when nations decline to those depths , they come to an end .
It may have been their next door neighbour that put an end to them , and you may see no more to it than that , but I as a Christian see the moving of the neighbouring nation against the decadent nation as the judgement of God . Consequently I abhor the legalising of sodomy . I like that term , because if nothing else it annoys those who prefer to use modern euphemisms for what is nothing less than the sin which is associated with a city the doom of which is recorded in scripture . " ('1169...' Comment - .... and that , reader , is the closed and defunct mind-set of those that most Unionists/Loyalists voted-in as their representatives . 'Trouble' was , and is , inevitable ....)
Gregory Campbell shares this 'horror' : " It's an evil , wicked , abhorrent practice . My opposition to that is based on the bible and also based on natural justice and I know many people who do not share my Protestant faith but who would share my opposition to homosexuality because they believe it is something which would corrupt society as a whole , and is something so radically awful as to merit total and utter opposition . You're not even talking about something which is a run-of-the-mill sexual practice but something which is totally and utterly depraved , and to me anyway the AIDS scare which is currently running through America is proof that homosexual practice is something which calls upon the curse of God ....... "
(MORE LATER).
THE LONG KESH ESCAPE - SUNDAY 25th SEPTEMBER 1983 .......
From 'IRIS' magazine , November 1983 .
No 'By-Line' .
Unfortunately , the plan of escape began to go wrong at the first 'tally-hut' due to there being larger numbers of Screws coming on duty than anticipated . While the escapees kept arresting more and more Screws , the situation got out of control and the alarm was raised . At this point the escapees were forced to make a run for it on foot across fields , many of them successfully commandeering local cars . In the final melee several Screws were stabbed and one escapee , Harry Murray , was shot and wounded .
It was inevitable , given the eventual breakdown of the plan , that there would be some re-arrests , some within minutes and some within two days of the break-out . Nonetheless , the massive total of 19 Republican prisoners of war did successfully escape and eventually reach freedom - to the massive embarrassment of the British and the jubilation of Nationalists throughout the 32 Counties !
The 19 H-Block escapees that were then at liberty are - Kevin Barry Artt , (24) North Belfast ; Paul Brennan (30) Ballymurphy ; Seamus Campbell (26) Coalisland , County Tyrone ; James Clarke (27) Letterkenny , County Donegal ; Seamus Clarke (27) Ardoyne ; Gerard Fryer (24) Turf Lodge ; Dermot Finucane (22) Lenadoon ; Kieran Fleming (23) Derry ; Anthony Kelly (22) Derry ; Gerry Kelly (30) Belfast ; Anthony McAllister (25) Belfast ; Gerard McDonnell (32) Belfast ; Seamus McElwair (22) Scotstown , County Monaghan ; Brendan McFarane (31) Ardoyne ; Padraic McKearney (29) Moy , County Tyrone ; Dermot McNally (26) Lurgantarry , North Armagh ; Robert Russell (25) Ballymurphy ; Terence Kirby (27) Andersonstown ; and James Smith (38) Ardoyne .
[END of ' THE LONG KESH ESCAPE - SUNDAY 25th SEPTEMBER 1983 '].
(MONDAY , JULY 4 : ' McFARLANE - THE INSIDE STORY').
On February 10 , 1986 , the courts turned down the appeals of three men sentenced to hang . The men now face , on commutation of sentence by the (Free State) government , 40 years in prison without remission , for their involvement in the Drumree robbery and killing .
By GENE KERRIGAN.
First published in ' MAGILL' magazine , March 1986 .
Sunday 12th August 1984 ; two days after the killing of Detective Frank Hand . Noel McCabe went to Tommy Eccles's house . Eccles was there with Paul Finnegan - McCabe asked them about the robbery but Finnegan warned him not to talk about it to anyone or he would be shot - " It went wrong , we did'nt mean to shoot anyone , " said Finnegan , " I did'nt intend to involve you in anything like this . " Then he laughed . " It's only another stiff , anyway . "
When Finnegan was gone McCabe and Eccles talked : " It's ironic , " said Eccles , according to McCabe , " but it's a Scotsman who shot him . "
The gardai drew up a questionnaire and began a house-to-house inquiry . On Monday 13th August 1984 both Seamus Lynch and Joe Gargan received routine visits at their homes in Kentstown ; both answered the routine questions , placing themselves well away from Drumree at the time of the killing (which was , in fact , true ) . A Garda Michael Miley interviewed Joe Gargan - he thought that Gargan talked a lot , very freely , but gave short and to-the-point answers to specific questions about his movements . There was space at the bottom of the questionnaire marked - ' Member's Personal Opinion ? ' ; Garda Miley wrote - ' Very talkative , seemed very friendly , but not genuine . '
The Gardai lifted a lot of people , the routine round-up . Among them were Seamus Lynch , Joe Gargan , Tommy Eccles and Paddy Duffy . They all made statements , some bare admissions of their own roles in the robbery , others lengthier and fuller . There would later be allegations of garda beatings , but there was little evidence to sustain them . What seemed to have happened is that , faced with the unexpected enormity of the situation in which they found themselves , the suspects crumbled .
The money and guns were recovered from the shed at Kentstown .......
(MORE LATER).
FIRE AND BRIMSTONE .......
The Democratic Unionist Party would prefer a Civil War to acquiescence in a role for the Dublin Government in the affairs of the North of Ireland after the Anglo-Irish summit .
FINTAN O'TOOLE spoke to DUP activists about the depth of their opposition to the Anglo-Irish deal and their willingness to resort to violence .
From 'MAGILL' magazine , November 1985 .
One of the 'signs' that the Reverend Ivan Foster sees that 'the End' may be at hand , that it may be necessary to fight on to Armageddon , is that homosexuality has been legalised in the North of Ireland - " As a Protestant , and not a mere political Protestant , but as one who without apology believes the Bible , I come to portions of the scripture like Romans Chapter 1 where it indicates that society and mankind reaches the depths of decline and depravity when men turn from the natural use of women unto men . That's the pits , to use a modern phrase - you can go no lower . Paul at that stage speaks about the judgement of God coming upon a nation that does that . And whether we like it or don't like it , history indicates that when nations decline to those depths , they come to an end .
It may have been their next door neighbour that put an end to them , and you may see no more to it than that , but I as a Christian see the moving of the neighbouring nation against the decadent nation as the judgement of God . Consequently I abhor the legalising of sodomy . I like that term , because if nothing else it annoys those who prefer to use modern euphemisms for what is nothing less than the sin which is associated with a city the doom of which is recorded in scripture . " ('1169...' Comment - .... and that , reader , is the closed and defunct mind-set of those that most Unionists/Loyalists voted-in as their representatives . 'Trouble' was , and is , inevitable ....)
Gregory Campbell shares this 'horror' : " It's an evil , wicked , abhorrent practice . My opposition to that is based on the bible and also based on natural justice and I know many people who do not share my Protestant faith but who would share my opposition to homosexuality because they believe it is something which would corrupt society as a whole , and is something so radically awful as to merit total and utter opposition . You're not even talking about something which is a run-of-the-mill sexual practice but something which is totally and utterly depraved , and to me anyway the AIDS scare which is currently running through America is proof that homosexual practice is something which calls upon the curse of God ....... "
(MORE LATER).
THE LONG KESH ESCAPE - SUNDAY 25th SEPTEMBER 1983 .......
From 'IRIS' magazine , November 1983 .
No 'By-Line' .
Unfortunately , the plan of escape began to go wrong at the first 'tally-hut' due to there being larger numbers of Screws coming on duty than anticipated . While the escapees kept arresting more and more Screws , the situation got out of control and the alarm was raised . At this point the escapees were forced to make a run for it on foot across fields , many of them successfully commandeering local cars . In the final melee several Screws were stabbed and one escapee , Harry Murray , was shot and wounded .
It was inevitable , given the eventual breakdown of the plan , that there would be some re-arrests , some within minutes and some within two days of the break-out . Nonetheless , the massive total of 19 Republican prisoners of war did successfully escape and eventually reach freedom - to the massive embarrassment of the British and the jubilation of Nationalists throughout the 32 Counties !
The 19 H-Block escapees that were then at liberty are - Kevin Barry Artt , (24) North Belfast ; Paul Brennan (30) Ballymurphy ; Seamus Campbell (26) Coalisland , County Tyrone ; James Clarke (27) Letterkenny , County Donegal ; Seamus Clarke (27) Ardoyne ; Gerard Fryer (24) Turf Lodge ; Dermot Finucane (22) Lenadoon ; Kieran Fleming (23) Derry ; Anthony Kelly (22) Derry ; Gerry Kelly (30) Belfast ; Anthony McAllister (25) Belfast ; Gerard McDonnell (32) Belfast ; Seamus McElwair (22) Scotstown , County Monaghan ; Brendan McFarane (31) Ardoyne ; Padraic McKearney (29) Moy , County Tyrone ; Dermot McNally (26) Lurgantarry , North Armagh ; Robert Russell (25) Ballymurphy ; Terence Kirby (27) Andersonstown ; and James Smith (38) Ardoyne .
[END of ' THE LONG KESH ESCAPE - SUNDAY 25th SEPTEMBER 1983 '].
(MONDAY , JULY 4 : ' McFARLANE - THE INSIDE STORY').
Thursday, June 30, 2005
THE DEATH OF FRANK HAND .......
On February 10 , 1986 , the courts turned down the appeals of three men sentenced to hang . The men now face , on commutation of sentence by the (Free State) government , 40 years in prison without remission , for their involvement in the Drumree robbery and killing .
By GENE KERRIGAN.
First published in ' MAGILL' magazine , March 1986 .
Tommy Eccles , Pat McPhillips and the man with the ear-ring got into Noel McCabe's blue Ford Cortina and he drove them off towards Dundalk ; the three passengers were white-faced , arguing . McCabe started to ask them what happened when McPhillips said " Shut up , drive ! " . The car wound its way through the narrow roads with McPhillips barking " Left , right , right , left ," several times , before admitting he was lost .
The panic in the car was such that at Julianstown , three or four miles from Drogheda , Noel McCabe ordered the others out of the car , in fear they would run into a garda checkpoint ; McPhillips and the man with the ear-ring got out and made their way on foot . McCabe agreed to drive Tommy Eccles into Drogheda ; he did so . Then he drove on to Dundalk and went to Mass before returning home .
In Drogheda , Tommy Eccles went into a shop and bought a peach - he ate it walking along the street , then he went into St. Peter's Church , the one with Oliver Plunkett's head , and thanked God he had got away . Seamus Lynch drove the guns and money to a big shed about a mile from Kentstown . Joe Gargan was waiting there for him . Lynch hid the guns and money inside an empty tank in the shed and then went home . The 9am news on the radio said a garda had been killed at Drumree .
Tommy Eccles took a taxi home to Dundalk from Drogheda . The taxi driver , a Mrs Dempsey , told him there had been something on the news about a garda being shot dead at Drumree . Eccles felt sick .
Meanwhile , the beige Opel Ascona had disappeared in another direction , taking the 'heavies' , the ones who had used the guns , to safety .......
(MORE LATER).
FIRE AND BRIMSTONE .......
The Democratic Unionist Party would prefer a Civil War to acquiescence in a role for the Dublin Government in the affairs of the North of Ireland after the Anglo-Irish summit .
FINTAN O'TOOLE spoke to DUP activists about the depth of their opposition to the Anglo-Irish deal and their willingness to resort to violence .
From 'MAGILL' magazine , November 1985 .
Gregory Campbell , DUP , went on to say - " I would look in the Old Testament where the children of Israel were put in a similiar position . In the land where Pharaoh was king over them , they were told that there was no peaceable way out and the only option was to rise up and rebel and Moses led them out of Egypt though they were told by the Pharaoh that they were breaking his laws in doing so . They used physical breach of the laws in order to extricate themselves from the position that Pharaoh had gotten them into , but they only did that after Moses went to Pharaoh and said 'Let my people go' .
What we're doing is the exact same thing . We will not go outside the law if we can do it inside the law , but at the end of the day we will take that option of breaking the law . " ('1169....' Comment - What a twisted sense of 'Moral values' : Campbell and his like were already 'outside the law...' by the very nature of their mis-treatment of the Nationalists in the Six County area . )
For Ivan Foster and Gregory Campbell , the 'signs' are not only in the political dealings of the Anglo-Irish summit , but also in the 'wickedness of man' which is courting Armageddon . Ivan Foster sees the breakdown of law and order in the Northern state as linked to moral depravity - " I would be very concerned for the future of any country (sic) that continues to liberalise and liberalise and liberalise . Because it is an indisputable fact that alongside recent developments , liberal trends , there has been an increasing social problem regarding law and order , in the home , in the marriage , in the schoolroom or just on the streets .
It may be argued that there is no link , but I think there is a link . I recognise as a Protestant that if a Protestant loses his Protestantism , then he loses all motivation for opposing a United Ireland . It's immaterial to him who serves the Guinness as long as it's served . Under what flag does'nt matter , the political consequences of change don't matter . I see the danger of a population undermined by libertine trends that is gradually abolishing its spiritual heritage , its spiritual base , and since its spiritual base was always the source of its opposition to a United Ireland philosophy , that opposition will disappear .
I think that we must take note of the fact that there is a great deal of co-ordination in all this . So I look for a co-ordinator . And as a conservative and orthodox Protestant I look to find the co-ordinator revealed to me in scripture - namely the power of Satan is at work ....... " ('1169...' Comment - Phew ! Congratulations , reader , if you are still with us after that complete load of bilge ! Definately the product of a much-trouble mind ; people like Foster and Campbell were placed into positions of authority in the Six Counties by their colleagues in Westminster . And people like those two fanatics are STILL in such positions but have , for the most part , learned to keep their 'Armageddon/Satan' clap-trap confined to inhouse meetings .)
(MORE LATER).
THE LONG KESH ESCAPE - SUNDAY 25th SEPTEMBER 1983 .......
From 'IRIS' magazine , November 1983 .
No 'By-Line' .
On a given signal , once everyone was in position , IRA Volunteers overpowered and arrested all the prison Screws in the Block , many of the Volunteers subsequently changing into their uniforms . During the seizure of control one Screw - on duty in a locked control room - was shot twice in the head when he ignored orders to lie on the floor and instead made a lunge for the alarm . Control of the Block was completed when 'Bic' McFarlane , accompanied by two IRA Volunteers dressed as Screws , arrested the Screw on duty in the front gate enclosure . It was now about 2.45pm .
Some time later the food lorry bringing evening meals to H7 arrived ; 37 IRA Volunteers climbed into the back while another lay on the floor of the cab holding a gun on the Screw driving the lorry . The lorry then drove through a series of 'security gates' in the Long Kesh complex manned by unsuspecting Screws and in full view of armed Brit sentry posts . It eventually arrived at a 'tally hut' close to a back gate of the prison camp ; the plan was to arrest the Screws in the 'tally hut' and , leaving five Volunteers in control , drive the food lorry a further quarter mile to the front gate 'tally hut' which the escapees would then take control of , leaving two Volunteers there , before driving out in the food lorry to freedom .
Meanwhile , the five Volunteers in the first 'tally hut' would obtain a Screw's car from the adjoining car park , drive to the front gate where the two Volunteers in control there would clamber into the boot , and also make their escape . That was the plan of escape ; unfortunately , it was not to be .......
(MORE LATER).
On February 10 , 1986 , the courts turned down the appeals of three men sentenced to hang . The men now face , on commutation of sentence by the (Free State) government , 40 years in prison without remission , for their involvement in the Drumree robbery and killing .
By GENE KERRIGAN.
First published in ' MAGILL' magazine , March 1986 .
Tommy Eccles , Pat McPhillips and the man with the ear-ring got into Noel McCabe's blue Ford Cortina and he drove them off towards Dundalk ; the three passengers were white-faced , arguing . McCabe started to ask them what happened when McPhillips said " Shut up , drive ! " . The car wound its way through the narrow roads with McPhillips barking " Left , right , right , left ," several times , before admitting he was lost .
The panic in the car was such that at Julianstown , three or four miles from Drogheda , Noel McCabe ordered the others out of the car , in fear they would run into a garda checkpoint ; McPhillips and the man with the ear-ring got out and made their way on foot . McCabe agreed to drive Tommy Eccles into Drogheda ; he did so . Then he drove on to Dundalk and went to Mass before returning home .
In Drogheda , Tommy Eccles went into a shop and bought a peach - he ate it walking along the street , then he went into St. Peter's Church , the one with Oliver Plunkett's head , and thanked God he had got away . Seamus Lynch drove the guns and money to a big shed about a mile from Kentstown . Joe Gargan was waiting there for him . Lynch hid the guns and money inside an empty tank in the shed and then went home . The 9am news on the radio said a garda had been killed at Drumree .
Tommy Eccles took a taxi home to Dundalk from Drogheda . The taxi driver , a Mrs Dempsey , told him there had been something on the news about a garda being shot dead at Drumree . Eccles felt sick .
Meanwhile , the beige Opel Ascona had disappeared in another direction , taking the 'heavies' , the ones who had used the guns , to safety .......
(MORE LATER).
FIRE AND BRIMSTONE .......
The Democratic Unionist Party would prefer a Civil War to acquiescence in a role for the Dublin Government in the affairs of the North of Ireland after the Anglo-Irish summit .
FINTAN O'TOOLE spoke to DUP activists about the depth of their opposition to the Anglo-Irish deal and their willingness to resort to violence .
From 'MAGILL' magazine , November 1985 .
Gregory Campbell , DUP , went on to say - " I would look in the Old Testament where the children of Israel were put in a similiar position . In the land where Pharaoh was king over them , they were told that there was no peaceable way out and the only option was to rise up and rebel and Moses led them out of Egypt though they were told by the Pharaoh that they were breaking his laws in doing so . They used physical breach of the laws in order to extricate themselves from the position that Pharaoh had gotten them into , but they only did that after Moses went to Pharaoh and said 'Let my people go' .
What we're doing is the exact same thing . We will not go outside the law if we can do it inside the law , but at the end of the day we will take that option of breaking the law . " ('1169....' Comment - What a twisted sense of 'Moral values' : Campbell and his like were already 'outside the law...' by the very nature of their mis-treatment of the Nationalists in the Six County area . )
For Ivan Foster and Gregory Campbell , the 'signs' are not only in the political dealings of the Anglo-Irish summit , but also in the 'wickedness of man' which is courting Armageddon . Ivan Foster sees the breakdown of law and order in the Northern state as linked to moral depravity - " I would be very concerned for the future of any country (sic) that continues to liberalise and liberalise and liberalise . Because it is an indisputable fact that alongside recent developments , liberal trends , there has been an increasing social problem regarding law and order , in the home , in the marriage , in the schoolroom or just on the streets .
It may be argued that there is no link , but I think there is a link . I recognise as a Protestant that if a Protestant loses his Protestantism , then he loses all motivation for opposing a United Ireland . It's immaterial to him who serves the Guinness as long as it's served . Under what flag does'nt matter , the political consequences of change don't matter . I see the danger of a population undermined by libertine trends that is gradually abolishing its spiritual heritage , its spiritual base , and since its spiritual base was always the source of its opposition to a United Ireland philosophy , that opposition will disappear .
I think that we must take note of the fact that there is a great deal of co-ordination in all this . So I look for a co-ordinator . And as a conservative and orthodox Protestant I look to find the co-ordinator revealed to me in scripture - namely the power of Satan is at work ....... " ('1169...' Comment - Phew ! Congratulations , reader , if you are still with us after that complete load of bilge ! Definately the product of a much-trouble mind ; people like Foster and Campbell were placed into positions of authority in the Six Counties by their colleagues in Westminster . And people like those two fanatics are STILL in such positions but have , for the most part , learned to keep their 'Armageddon/Satan' clap-trap confined to inhouse meetings .)
(MORE LATER).
THE LONG KESH ESCAPE - SUNDAY 25th SEPTEMBER 1983 .......
From 'IRIS' magazine , November 1983 .
No 'By-Line' .
On a given signal , once everyone was in position , IRA Volunteers overpowered and arrested all the prison Screws in the Block , many of the Volunteers subsequently changing into their uniforms . During the seizure of control one Screw - on duty in a locked control room - was shot twice in the head when he ignored orders to lie on the floor and instead made a lunge for the alarm . Control of the Block was completed when 'Bic' McFarlane , accompanied by two IRA Volunteers dressed as Screws , arrested the Screw on duty in the front gate enclosure . It was now about 2.45pm .
Some time later the food lorry bringing evening meals to H7 arrived ; 37 IRA Volunteers climbed into the back while another lay on the floor of the cab holding a gun on the Screw driving the lorry . The lorry then drove through a series of 'security gates' in the Long Kesh complex manned by unsuspecting Screws and in full view of armed Brit sentry posts . It eventually arrived at a 'tally hut' close to a back gate of the prison camp ; the plan was to arrest the Screws in the 'tally hut' and , leaving five Volunteers in control , drive the food lorry a further quarter mile to the front gate 'tally hut' which the escapees would then take control of , leaving two Volunteers there , before driving out in the food lorry to freedom .
Meanwhile , the five Volunteers in the first 'tally hut' would obtain a Screw's car from the adjoining car park , drive to the front gate where the two Volunteers in control there would clamber into the boot , and also make their escape . That was the plan of escape ; unfortunately , it was not to be .......
(MORE LATER).
Wednesday, June 29, 2005
THE DEATH OF FRANK HAND .......
On February 10 , 1986 , the courts turned down the appeals of three men sentenced to hang . The men now face , on commutation of sentence by the (Free State) government , 40 years in prison without remission , for their involvement in the Drumree robbery and killing .
By GENE KERRIGAN.
First published in ' MAGILL' magazine , March 1986 .
Mary Gilsenan , Michael's mother , was in the family bungalow about 60 yards away ; she had heard the shots , so she rang the post office to find out what was happening . The receiver was lifted immediately and Michael shouted - " DIAL 999 ..... " then the phone was slammed down . She dialled 999 three times before being put through to Dublin Castle .
The money and guns were by now dumped in the Opel Ascona and the red Mercedes and both cars sped off . Just before the second car left the leader said - " If that fucking bastard moves , fucking shoot him , shoot him ! " Then the cars were gone . Detective Michael Dowd did'nt know if any raiders remained behind . James Gorman , who lived about 50 yards on the other side of the post office , had already seen the activity , and heard the shots ; he got 999 and was put through to the gardai , his son David was watching the events unfold and shouting information to his father , who in turn passed it on to the gardai . He saw the cars speed away .
Detective Dowd , lying on the ground beside the garda car , looked across at J.J. Bell lying face down - " Are they all gone ? " Things were very quiet . Donal Brady came out from the shed behind the post office ; " Are you alright , J.J. ? " , he called to Bell . Detective Dowd looked around and under the car at his partner - " Are you alright , Frank ..... ? " The ambulance came from Navan ; it arrived after almost half an hour , around 8.35am . Nurse Olivia Reilly felt for Detective Frank Hand's pulse but could find none .
It was 8.05am : Seamus Lynch , the Provo in Kentstown , had gone to Joe Gargan's house , went up to his bedroom and Gargan had given him the keys to his yellow Ford Escort . Lynch was now arriving at the field at Rathfeigh ; Noel McCabe was waiting in his 'borrowed' blue Ford Cortina , at the crossroads where he was to pick up 'the lads' . The red Mercedes , driven by Tommy Eccles , came speeding along , on its way from Drumree , past McCabe , who followed it to the field at Rathfeigh . The yellow Escort was already there .
There was panic in the field ; the men from the Mercedes were shouting and arguing about the shooting of the garda , running around in circles . The money , guns , boiler suits and walkie-talkies were dumped in the boot of the yellow Escort and Seamus Lynch drove it away to Kentstown . Petrol was thrown on the Mercedes and it was set on fire .......
(MORE LATER).
FIRE AND BRIMSTONE .
The Democratic Unionist Party would prefer a Civil War to acquiescence in a role for the Dublin Government in the affairs of the North of Ireland after the Anglo-Irish summit .
FINTAN O'TOOLE spoke to DUP activists about the depth of their opposition to the Anglo-Irish deal and their willingness to resort to violence .
From 'MAGILL' magazine , November 1985 .
Ivan Foster , erstwhile Commander of the Reverend Ian Paisley's 'Third Force' , believes he may be living in the 'Last Days' . An evangelical minister living in Fermanagh , on the border with the Republic , he reads dark signs in his bible these days - " I turn to the New Testament where in the words of Christ , of Paul and Peter , very clear predictions are made regarding the 'End of The Age' times . And it paints a picture of increasing lawlessness , and I recognise therefore that that which is prophesied in scripture is beginning to take place .
Prophesying is a prediction , it's not a revelation that must happen and therefore we need not bother fighting it . It is merely a revelation to me that this is the trend that is going to take place and if you wish to avoid the consequences of such trends in your generation , you resist every move that leads towards that . " ('1169...' Comment - gobbledygook and claptrap , mouthed by Paisley and his like to 'impress' those that are easily impressed . )
Ivan Foster is the Democratic Unionist Party member of the 'Northern Ireland' (sic) Assembly for Fermanagh ; in the Anglo-Irish Agreement (ie the 1985 Hillsborough Treaty) , as in the 'moral depravity' all around him , he sees the signs of the apocalypse and hears the sound of marching feet . Gregory Campbell , DUP Assemblyman from the Waterside area of what he always calls 'Londonderry' (sic) , also takes his guide from his reading of the Bible - " I look at the scriptures and see in bible times what a people done where a government had forfeited the right to govern , where a people had been put in a position where they had no alternative but to take up arms .
And I can only see that in those same scriptures that say you must love your neighbour , that having done all we can in a peaceable legitimate fashion , then there is no alternative but to resort to arms ....... " ('1169...' Comment - "...having done all we can .. " : except to treat your neighbours like fellow human beings . )
(MORE LATER).
THE LONG KESH ESCAPE - SUNDAY 25th SEPTEMBER 1983 .
From 'IRIS' magazine , November 1983 .
No 'By-Line' .
" We perceived the escape as a military operation from beginning to end . It could not have been achieved in any other way , and the ASU - as Volunteers in the Irish Republican Army - were under strict orders throughout from an Operations Officer whose judgement was crucial and whose every order had to be obeyed . Every Volunteer was under a tight brief . "
It was this precision of planning , exclusively revealed to 'An Phoblacht/Republican News' in a detailed interview by key ASU personnel involved , that lay behind the almost incredible escape of 38 Republicans on Sunday 25th September 1983 from what is generally believed to be the most secure prison in Western Europe - the H-Blocks of Long Kesh .
At 2.15pm that day , three IRA Volunteers carrying concealed pistols fitted with silencers , which had been smuggled into the prison , moved into the 'Central Administration' area (the 'Circle') of H7-Block on the pretext of cleaning out a store . Fifteen minutes later they were joined by a fourth armed Volunteer ; control of the 'Circle' , with its numerous alarm bells , was vital for the escape's success and had to be carried out simultaneously with the overpowering of prison Screws in the four wings of H7-Block .
Minutes later three other Volunteers - armed with pistols , hammers or chisels - took up key positions near Screws positioned by alarm buttons , on the pretext of carrying out orderly duties , while Brendan 'Bic' McFarlane (the H-Block Officer Commanding during the hunger-strike) was allowed through two locked grilles into the hall of the Block on cleaning duties - his job was to arrest the Screw there .......
(MORE LATER).
On February 10 , 1986 , the courts turned down the appeals of three men sentenced to hang . The men now face , on commutation of sentence by the (Free State) government , 40 years in prison without remission , for their involvement in the Drumree robbery and killing .
By GENE KERRIGAN.
First published in ' MAGILL' magazine , March 1986 .
Mary Gilsenan , Michael's mother , was in the family bungalow about 60 yards away ; she had heard the shots , so she rang the post office to find out what was happening . The receiver was lifted immediately and Michael shouted - " DIAL 999 ..... " then the phone was slammed down . She dialled 999 three times before being put through to Dublin Castle .
The money and guns were by now dumped in the Opel Ascona and the red Mercedes and both cars sped off . Just before the second car left the leader said - " If that fucking bastard moves , fucking shoot him , shoot him ! " Then the cars were gone . Detective Michael Dowd did'nt know if any raiders remained behind . James Gorman , who lived about 50 yards on the other side of the post office , had already seen the activity , and heard the shots ; he got 999 and was put through to the gardai , his son David was watching the events unfold and shouting information to his father , who in turn passed it on to the gardai . He saw the cars speed away .
Detective Dowd , lying on the ground beside the garda car , looked across at J.J. Bell lying face down - " Are they all gone ? " Things were very quiet . Donal Brady came out from the shed behind the post office ; " Are you alright , J.J. ? " , he called to Bell . Detective Dowd looked around and under the car at his partner - " Are you alright , Frank ..... ? " The ambulance came from Navan ; it arrived after almost half an hour , around 8.35am . Nurse Olivia Reilly felt for Detective Frank Hand's pulse but could find none .
It was 8.05am : Seamus Lynch , the Provo in Kentstown , had gone to Joe Gargan's house , went up to his bedroom and Gargan had given him the keys to his yellow Ford Escort . Lynch was now arriving at the field at Rathfeigh ; Noel McCabe was waiting in his 'borrowed' blue Ford Cortina , at the crossroads where he was to pick up 'the lads' . The red Mercedes , driven by Tommy Eccles , came speeding along , on its way from Drumree , past McCabe , who followed it to the field at Rathfeigh . The yellow Escort was already there .
There was panic in the field ; the men from the Mercedes were shouting and arguing about the shooting of the garda , running around in circles . The money , guns , boiler suits and walkie-talkies were dumped in the boot of the yellow Escort and Seamus Lynch drove it away to Kentstown . Petrol was thrown on the Mercedes and it was set on fire .......
(MORE LATER).
FIRE AND BRIMSTONE .
The Democratic Unionist Party would prefer a Civil War to acquiescence in a role for the Dublin Government in the affairs of the North of Ireland after the Anglo-Irish summit .
FINTAN O'TOOLE spoke to DUP activists about the depth of their opposition to the Anglo-Irish deal and their willingness to resort to violence .
From 'MAGILL' magazine , November 1985 .
Ivan Foster , erstwhile Commander of the Reverend Ian Paisley's 'Third Force' , believes he may be living in the 'Last Days' . An evangelical minister living in Fermanagh , on the border with the Republic , he reads dark signs in his bible these days - " I turn to the New Testament where in the words of Christ , of Paul and Peter , very clear predictions are made regarding the 'End of The Age' times . And it paints a picture of increasing lawlessness , and I recognise therefore that that which is prophesied in scripture is beginning to take place .
Prophesying is a prediction , it's not a revelation that must happen and therefore we need not bother fighting it . It is merely a revelation to me that this is the trend that is going to take place and if you wish to avoid the consequences of such trends in your generation , you resist every move that leads towards that . " ('1169...' Comment - gobbledygook and claptrap , mouthed by Paisley and his like to 'impress' those that are easily impressed . )
Ivan Foster is the Democratic Unionist Party member of the 'Northern Ireland' (sic) Assembly for Fermanagh ; in the Anglo-Irish Agreement (ie the 1985 Hillsborough Treaty) , as in the 'moral depravity' all around him , he sees the signs of the apocalypse and hears the sound of marching feet . Gregory Campbell , DUP Assemblyman from the Waterside area of what he always calls 'Londonderry' (sic) , also takes his guide from his reading of the Bible - " I look at the scriptures and see in bible times what a people done where a government had forfeited the right to govern , where a people had been put in a position where they had no alternative but to take up arms .
And I can only see that in those same scriptures that say you must love your neighbour , that having done all we can in a peaceable legitimate fashion , then there is no alternative but to resort to arms ....... " ('1169...' Comment - "...having done all we can .. " : except to treat your neighbours like fellow human beings . )
(MORE LATER).
THE LONG KESH ESCAPE - SUNDAY 25th SEPTEMBER 1983 .
From 'IRIS' magazine , November 1983 .
No 'By-Line' .
" We perceived the escape as a military operation from beginning to end . It could not have been achieved in any other way , and the ASU - as Volunteers in the Irish Republican Army - were under strict orders throughout from an Operations Officer whose judgement was crucial and whose every order had to be obeyed . Every Volunteer was under a tight brief . "
It was this precision of planning , exclusively revealed to 'An Phoblacht/Republican News' in a detailed interview by key ASU personnel involved , that lay behind the almost incredible escape of 38 Republicans on Sunday 25th September 1983 from what is generally believed to be the most secure prison in Western Europe - the H-Blocks of Long Kesh .
At 2.15pm that day , three IRA Volunteers carrying concealed pistols fitted with silencers , which had been smuggled into the prison , moved into the 'Central Administration' area (the 'Circle') of H7-Block on the pretext of cleaning out a store . Fifteen minutes later they were joined by a fourth armed Volunteer ; control of the 'Circle' , with its numerous alarm bells , was vital for the escape's success and had to be carried out simultaneously with the overpowering of prison Screws in the four wings of H7-Block .
Minutes later three other Volunteers - armed with pistols , hammers or chisels - took up key positions near Screws positioned by alarm buttons , on the pretext of carrying out orderly duties , while Brendan 'Bic' McFarlane (the H-Block Officer Commanding during the hunger-strike) was allowed through two locked grilles into the hall of the Block on cleaning duties - his job was to arrest the Screw there .......
(MORE LATER).
Tuesday, June 28, 2005
THE DEATH OF FRANK HAND .......
On February 10 , 1986 , the courts turned down the appeals of three men sentenced to hang . The men now face , on commutation of sentence by the (Free State) government , 40 years in prison without remission , for their involvement in the Drumree robbery and killing .
By GENE KERRIGAN.
First published in ' MAGILL' magazine , March 1986 .
Free State Detective Michael Dowd was still struggling upright in the garda car , his forehead bleeding , when the door was pulled open beside him and a handgun put to his head ; he was grabbed by the arm and thrown out beside the car on his hands and knees . His handgun was pulled from its holster - he was told to lie down . He hesitated . A gun was put to the back of his head - " On your belly . " He was told to put his nose and lips on the ground and not to move . He sank to the ground .
There was a man with a submachine gun at the driver's door of the post van - " Turn off the fucking ignition . " The van driver , J.J. Bell , switched off and pulled out the key . He was told to get out and open the back doors . For some reason he found himself reaching into the glove compartment and taking his cigarettes and lighter . The stolen beige Opel Ascona and the red Mercedes , with Tommy Eccles , Pat McPhillips , Brian McShane and two or three others whose identity is not known , called there by walkie-talkie , arrived at the post office , skidding to a stop .
J.J. Bell had opened the back doors of the van and was now lying face down on the ground ; he still had the keys of the van in his right hand . One of the gunmen kicked the keys from under his hand , put a gun to the back of his head and said - " If you move , son , you are fucking dead . " Bell did'nt move ; in his left hand he still had his smokes and his lighter . The money bags were transferred into the red Mercedes ; the radio was torn out of the garda car . Detective Michael Dowd , gambling that the gunmen would be watching the money , raised his right arm and turned his head so he could see under his armpit .
From the number of legs he saw moving back and forth he thought there were at least eight raiders . They were wearing blue boilersuits and black balaclavas with red stitching around the mouths . He could see one raider holding a pistol that looked like his own . The leader of the gang , giving orders in a Northern accent , several times said - " Shoot him ! Shoot him ! " to the raider standing near Detective Dowd ; Dowd did'nt know how the gunmen would interpret this , whether it was a real order or a method of intimidation . Each second he expected to be shot .......
(MORE LATER).
TO WESTMINSTER AND BACK .......
The Life And Times Of Gerry Fitt.
By Nell McCafferty .
First published in ' MAGILL' magazine , July 1983 .
Having spoken for 39 minutes in the British House of 'Commons' on his regret at having fought for political status for Irish Republican prisoners in 1972 , Gerry Fitt sat down . The discussion moved on to other issues : the 'Avoidable Destruction of Wildlife Bill ' on which Janet Fookes , member for Plymouth-Drake , rose to speak . She mentioned birds "...dying of starvation induced by lead poisoning of their environment .. " . The House agreed to an extension beyond the 10pm deadline to let her speak fully of this crisis . Then she spoke about moles which , she said , were dying "...painfully , underground , where we cannot see them . Out of sight ought not to mean out of mind .. " ('1169 ... ' Comment - unless , that is , you are an Irish political prisoner .)
On June 10 , 1983 , Gerry Fitt lost his seat to Gerry Adams of Sinn Fein . John Hume , benefitting from the deal which (British) Labour did with the Unionists , won the restructured seat in Foyle and set off himself to be the lone voice in Westminster . The 'Housing Executive' announced that they were pulling down Gerry Fitt's house as part of their 'modernisation programme' ; Fitt said he was moving out his furniture anyway before the Provos came to celebrate their victory - he would consider his future in England , he said , adding that if he took a 'peerage' , he might not be able to contest the following year's European elections .
He also spoke about losing all those " ...Prod votes.. " . But if he does take a 'peerage' - if a seat is offered to him in the British House of 'Lords' and he accepts - the man who sought 'one man one vote' (sic) in the North of Ireland will not be allowed a 'commoner's ' vote ever again . Pro Tanto Quid Retribuamus .
[END of ' TO WESTMINSTER AND BACK ' ].
(Tomorrow - ' FIRE AND BRIMSTONE ; THE DUP ').
THE GAA AND THE HUNGER-STRIKERS .......
" We declare that political status is ours of right and we declare that from Monday 27th October 1980 a hunger-strike by a number of men representing H-Blocks 3 , 4 and 5 will commence . Our widely-recognised resistance has carried us through four years of immense suffering and it shall carry us through to the bitter climax of death , if necessary . "
No by-line.
From 'IRIS' magazine , November 1983 .
Near-panic spread through the GAA Headquarters Staff when one leading GAA member in the North of Ireland appeared on a television interview confirming that every support would continue for the prisoners and that GAA directives to the contrary from the management committee would be completely ignored ! The GAA's involvement in the hunger-strike showed up clearly the basic grassroots' support for the suffering prisoners , but also highlighted the GAA hierarchy's apathy and conservatism .
As a national cultural and sporting body , the GAA has of necessity to embrace many shades of political persuasion , but it also undeniably has an obligation to support its members in Northern jails . With the ending of the hunger-strike , which saved the GAA from further polarisation on the issue , the problems remain of the denial of Gaelic games , language and traditions to the Republican prisoners .
The GAA hierarchy has yet to give voice to these grievances .
[END of 'THE GAA AND THE HUNGER-STRIKERS'].
(Tomorrow - 'THE LONG KESH ESCAPE ' - SUNDAY 25 SEPTEMBER 1983).
On February 10 , 1986 , the courts turned down the appeals of three men sentenced to hang . The men now face , on commutation of sentence by the (Free State) government , 40 years in prison without remission , for their involvement in the Drumree robbery and killing .
By GENE KERRIGAN.
First published in ' MAGILL' magazine , March 1986 .
Free State Detective Michael Dowd was still struggling upright in the garda car , his forehead bleeding , when the door was pulled open beside him and a handgun put to his head ; he was grabbed by the arm and thrown out beside the car on his hands and knees . His handgun was pulled from its holster - he was told to lie down . He hesitated . A gun was put to the back of his head - " On your belly . " He was told to put his nose and lips on the ground and not to move . He sank to the ground .
There was a man with a submachine gun at the driver's door of the post van - " Turn off the fucking ignition . " The van driver , J.J. Bell , switched off and pulled out the key . He was told to get out and open the back doors . For some reason he found himself reaching into the glove compartment and taking his cigarettes and lighter . The stolen beige Opel Ascona and the red Mercedes , with Tommy Eccles , Pat McPhillips , Brian McShane and two or three others whose identity is not known , called there by walkie-talkie , arrived at the post office , skidding to a stop .
J.J. Bell had opened the back doors of the van and was now lying face down on the ground ; he still had the keys of the van in his right hand . One of the gunmen kicked the keys from under his hand , put a gun to the back of his head and said - " If you move , son , you are fucking dead . " Bell did'nt move ; in his left hand he still had his smokes and his lighter . The money bags were transferred into the red Mercedes ; the radio was torn out of the garda car . Detective Michael Dowd , gambling that the gunmen would be watching the money , raised his right arm and turned his head so he could see under his armpit .
From the number of legs he saw moving back and forth he thought there were at least eight raiders . They were wearing blue boilersuits and black balaclavas with red stitching around the mouths . He could see one raider holding a pistol that looked like his own . The leader of the gang , giving orders in a Northern accent , several times said - " Shoot him ! Shoot him ! " to the raider standing near Detective Dowd ; Dowd did'nt know how the gunmen would interpret this , whether it was a real order or a method of intimidation . Each second he expected to be shot .......
(MORE LATER).
TO WESTMINSTER AND BACK .......
The Life And Times Of Gerry Fitt.
By Nell McCafferty .
First published in ' MAGILL' magazine , July 1983 .
Having spoken for 39 minutes in the British House of 'Commons' on his regret at having fought for political status for Irish Republican prisoners in 1972 , Gerry Fitt sat down . The discussion moved on to other issues : the 'Avoidable Destruction of Wildlife Bill ' on which Janet Fookes , member for Plymouth-Drake , rose to speak . She mentioned birds "...dying of starvation induced by lead poisoning of their environment .. " . The House agreed to an extension beyond the 10pm deadline to let her speak fully of this crisis . Then she spoke about moles which , she said , were dying "...painfully , underground , where we cannot see them . Out of sight ought not to mean out of mind .. " ('1169 ... ' Comment - unless , that is , you are an Irish political prisoner .)
On June 10 , 1983 , Gerry Fitt lost his seat to Gerry Adams of Sinn Fein . John Hume , benefitting from the deal which (British) Labour did with the Unionists , won the restructured seat in Foyle and set off himself to be the lone voice in Westminster . The 'Housing Executive' announced that they were pulling down Gerry Fitt's house as part of their 'modernisation programme' ; Fitt said he was moving out his furniture anyway before the Provos came to celebrate their victory - he would consider his future in England , he said , adding that if he took a 'peerage' , he might not be able to contest the following year's European elections .
He also spoke about losing all those " ...Prod votes.. " . But if he does take a 'peerage' - if a seat is offered to him in the British House of 'Lords' and he accepts - the man who sought 'one man one vote' (sic) in the North of Ireland will not be allowed a 'commoner's ' vote ever again . Pro Tanto Quid Retribuamus .
[END of ' TO WESTMINSTER AND BACK ' ].
(Tomorrow - ' FIRE AND BRIMSTONE ; THE DUP ').
THE GAA AND THE HUNGER-STRIKERS .......
" We declare that political status is ours of right and we declare that from Monday 27th October 1980 a hunger-strike by a number of men representing H-Blocks 3 , 4 and 5 will commence . Our widely-recognised resistance has carried us through four years of immense suffering and it shall carry us through to the bitter climax of death , if necessary . "
No by-line.
From 'IRIS' magazine , November 1983 .
Near-panic spread through the GAA Headquarters Staff when one leading GAA member in the North of Ireland appeared on a television interview confirming that every support would continue for the prisoners and that GAA directives to the contrary from the management committee would be completely ignored ! The GAA's involvement in the hunger-strike showed up clearly the basic grassroots' support for the suffering prisoners , but also highlighted the GAA hierarchy's apathy and conservatism .
As a national cultural and sporting body , the GAA has of necessity to embrace many shades of political persuasion , but it also undeniably has an obligation to support its members in Northern jails . With the ending of the hunger-strike , which saved the GAA from further polarisation on the issue , the problems remain of the denial of Gaelic games , language and traditions to the Republican prisoners .
The GAA hierarchy has yet to give voice to these grievances .
[END of 'THE GAA AND THE HUNGER-STRIKERS'].
(Tomorrow - 'THE LONG KESH ESCAPE ' - SUNDAY 25 SEPTEMBER 1983).
Monday, June 27, 2005
THE DEATH OF FRANK HAND .......
On February 10 , 1986 , the courts turned down the appeals of three men sentenced to hang . The men now face , on commutation of sentence by the (Free State) government , 40 years in prison without remission , for their involvement in the Drumree robbery and killing .
By GENE KERRIGAN.
First published in ' MAGILL' magazine , March 1986 .
The robbery was in progress ; shots had been fired . J.J. Bell , the post office van driver , took off the handbrake and put the van into first gear . Then he hesitated , for fear of being shot whilst driving away . All of this was happening in the few seconds after the garda car came to rest behind the van . Then the man with the Sten gun opened up .
The memories of the surviving victims of the raid are , understandably , confused and contradictory on some points : Michael Dowd , for instance , thought at first that the man with the Webley was firing a submachine gun . From statements made shortly after the incident and - more reliably - detailed forensic reports , it is possible to work out what happened . The gunman with the Sten fired eight shots , either in one burst , with the gun moving up and to the left , or - more likely - two quick bursts of four bullets .
Four bullets hit the windscreen area of the car , in a cluster , ripping the chrome and rubber strip holding the windscreen . One of these bullets ploughed across the dashboard and went out the driver's door , which was open . Detective Frank Hand was already out of the car , or getting out , his Smith and Wesson .38 revolver in his hand , when the Sten gun began firing . Two more bullets from the Sten hit the windscreen about a foot from the bottom ; a seventh bullet hit the windowframe of the door which Frank Hand had just opened .
This all happened in fractions of a second ; Detective Michael Dowd saw the bullet holes appear in the windscreen , the dashboard being ploughed by a bullet . One of the bullets fragmented and a sliver of metal hit him just above his left eyebrow . He slumped to his right , putting his hands to the wound , the Uzi slipping from his lap ; Detective Frank Hand got off two shots - one hit the post office wall about seven feet from the ground , the other was never found . The eight bullet from the Sten gun hit Frank Hand in the right upper chest , passing through the chest cavity causing a haemmorhage .
Frank Hand spun around and fell face down , facing towards the rear of the garda car ; the haemmorhage led to asphyxia . Someone shouted - " For God's sake stop shooting , there's a man dead ....... "
(MORE LATER).
TO WESTMINSTER AND BACK .......
The Life And Times Of Gerry Fitt.
By Nell McCafferty .
First published in ' MAGILL' magazine , July 1983 .
Monday , November 10 , 1980 , 8.39pm : Gerry Fitt rose to his feet in the British House of 'Commons' - the North of Ireland was being discussed , briefly . Fitt re-called having successfully pleaded for political status in 1972 , and said - " I bitterly regret having made those representations . " Then he told stories , and the stories were littered with the bodies of people who died in the North over the decade : three British soldiers killed by an IRA landmine . Two British soldiers and seven civilians killed by an IRA bomb on 'Bloody Friday' . Six civilians killed by an IRA bomb in Claudy . A woman twenty yards from his (Fitt's) home , with no legs , because the loyalist bomb went off in a pub as she passed by .
Ten Protestant workmen killed in Armagh , their lunch boxes still in their hands . Three Catholics killed in retaliation . Ten Catholics killed on July 5 by loyalists , and "... a mixture of Catholics and Protestants .. " killed on july 8 and 9 . John Turnley , Miriam Daly , Ronnie Bunting and Joe Little assassinated by loyalists . His friend , Davy Walsh , with no leg , "...never able to live with the fact that his leg was blown off for no known or understandable reason . " No deaths caused by the RUC or the British Army or the UDR were mentioned .
Gerry Fitt could only say with some regret , of Cardinal O Fiach's involvement in the hunger strike , that the Cardinal "...did not avail of an invitation to visit other people on the mattress .. " - the maimed with no arms or legs .
An Irish newspaper had remarked that "... if a person was imprisoned then that should be sufficient retribution , that once in prison a person should be able to do other things . I do not believe that taking away a man's liberty because he has committed a heinous crime is enough . There are certain conditions that must be fulfilled in prison . "
Having said his piece , Gerry Fitt sat down at 9. 18pm .......
(MORE LATER).
THE GAA AND THE HUNGER-STRIKERS .......
" We declare that political status is ours of right and we declare that from Monday 27th October 1980 a hunger-strike by a number of men representing H-Blocks 3 , 4 and 5 will commence . Our widely-recognised resistance has carried us through four years of immense suffering and it shall carry us through to the bitter climax of death , if necessary . "
No by-line.
From 'IRIS' magazine , November 1983 .
It was the decision to stand Republican prisoners in the Free State general election held in June 1981 that saw the divergence of views within the GAA coming to the front ; several of the hunger-strike candidates were known to have had close links with GAA clubs in their native areas . Kevin Lynch had captained his County under-age team which had won an All-Ireland trophy at Croke Park . His old club in Dungiven have since renamed themselves the 'Kevin Lynch Hurling Club' .
Kieran Doherty , from Andersonstown in West Belfast , was also well-known in GAA circles : yet incredibly , the GAA's management committee directed that the GAA could not get involved in 'party politics' !
The GAA hierarchy now regarded the H-Blocks issue as 'party political ' whereas earlier their statements had called it "...humanitarian .. " . It seemed that as long as the protest was kept north of the border the GAA would show signs of support , but that once brought home to the twenty-six counties , Fianna Fail and Fine Gael influence , worried by the effect of prisoner candidates in marginal constituencies , was enough to secure a change in policy .
The then outgoing President of the GAA , Paddy McFlynn , was now caught wearing two caps : caught between Northern GAA activists and the Fianna Fail element , which had most to lose by the intervention of prisoner candidates in the elections , Paddy McFlynn now pointed out that as the controlling body of the GAA , the management committee did not wish to commit itself further in support of the five demands - but a certain television interview was to cause panic for McFlynn and the management committee .......
(MORE LATER).
(CPT Mark - thank you for your favourable comments ; much appreciated ! Glad you find the blog useful . Thanks again - Sharon.)
On February 10 , 1986 , the courts turned down the appeals of three men sentenced to hang . The men now face , on commutation of sentence by the (Free State) government , 40 years in prison without remission , for their involvement in the Drumree robbery and killing .
By GENE KERRIGAN.
First published in ' MAGILL' magazine , March 1986 .
The robbery was in progress ; shots had been fired . J.J. Bell , the post office van driver , took off the handbrake and put the van into first gear . Then he hesitated , for fear of being shot whilst driving away . All of this was happening in the few seconds after the garda car came to rest behind the van . Then the man with the Sten gun opened up .
The memories of the surviving victims of the raid are , understandably , confused and contradictory on some points : Michael Dowd , for instance , thought at first that the man with the Webley was firing a submachine gun . From statements made shortly after the incident and - more reliably - detailed forensic reports , it is possible to work out what happened . The gunman with the Sten fired eight shots , either in one burst , with the gun moving up and to the left , or - more likely - two quick bursts of four bullets .
Four bullets hit the windscreen area of the car , in a cluster , ripping the chrome and rubber strip holding the windscreen . One of these bullets ploughed across the dashboard and went out the driver's door , which was open . Detective Frank Hand was already out of the car , or getting out , his Smith and Wesson .38 revolver in his hand , when the Sten gun began firing . Two more bullets from the Sten hit the windscreen about a foot from the bottom ; a seventh bullet hit the windowframe of the door which Frank Hand had just opened .
This all happened in fractions of a second ; Detective Michael Dowd saw the bullet holes appear in the windscreen , the dashboard being ploughed by a bullet . One of the bullets fragmented and a sliver of metal hit him just above his left eyebrow . He slumped to his right , putting his hands to the wound , the Uzi slipping from his lap ; Detective Frank Hand got off two shots - one hit the post office wall about seven feet from the ground , the other was never found . The eight bullet from the Sten gun hit Frank Hand in the right upper chest , passing through the chest cavity causing a haemmorhage .
Frank Hand spun around and fell face down , facing towards the rear of the garda car ; the haemmorhage led to asphyxia . Someone shouted - " For God's sake stop shooting , there's a man dead ....... "
(MORE LATER).
TO WESTMINSTER AND BACK .......
The Life And Times Of Gerry Fitt.
By Nell McCafferty .
First published in ' MAGILL' magazine , July 1983 .
Monday , November 10 , 1980 , 8.39pm : Gerry Fitt rose to his feet in the British House of 'Commons' - the North of Ireland was being discussed , briefly . Fitt re-called having successfully pleaded for political status in 1972 , and said - " I bitterly regret having made those representations . " Then he told stories , and the stories were littered with the bodies of people who died in the North over the decade : three British soldiers killed by an IRA landmine . Two British soldiers and seven civilians killed by an IRA bomb on 'Bloody Friday' . Six civilians killed by an IRA bomb in Claudy . A woman twenty yards from his (Fitt's) home , with no legs , because the loyalist bomb went off in a pub as she passed by .
Ten Protestant workmen killed in Armagh , their lunch boxes still in their hands . Three Catholics killed in retaliation . Ten Catholics killed on July 5 by loyalists , and "... a mixture of Catholics and Protestants .. " killed on july 8 and 9 . John Turnley , Miriam Daly , Ronnie Bunting and Joe Little assassinated by loyalists . His friend , Davy Walsh , with no leg , "...never able to live with the fact that his leg was blown off for no known or understandable reason . " No deaths caused by the RUC or the British Army or the UDR were mentioned .
Gerry Fitt could only say with some regret , of Cardinal O Fiach's involvement in the hunger strike , that the Cardinal "...did not avail of an invitation to visit other people on the mattress .. " - the maimed with no arms or legs .
An Irish newspaper had remarked that "... if a person was imprisoned then that should be sufficient retribution , that once in prison a person should be able to do other things . I do not believe that taking away a man's liberty because he has committed a heinous crime is enough . There are certain conditions that must be fulfilled in prison . "
Having said his piece , Gerry Fitt sat down at 9. 18pm .......
(MORE LATER).
THE GAA AND THE HUNGER-STRIKERS .......
" We declare that political status is ours of right and we declare that from Monday 27th October 1980 a hunger-strike by a number of men representing H-Blocks 3 , 4 and 5 will commence . Our widely-recognised resistance has carried us through four years of immense suffering and it shall carry us through to the bitter climax of death , if necessary . "
No by-line.
From 'IRIS' magazine , November 1983 .
It was the decision to stand Republican prisoners in the Free State general election held in June 1981 that saw the divergence of views within the GAA coming to the front ; several of the hunger-strike candidates were known to have had close links with GAA clubs in their native areas . Kevin Lynch had captained his County under-age team which had won an All-Ireland trophy at Croke Park . His old club in Dungiven have since renamed themselves the 'Kevin Lynch Hurling Club' .
Kieran Doherty , from Andersonstown in West Belfast , was also well-known in GAA circles : yet incredibly , the GAA's management committee directed that the GAA could not get involved in 'party politics' !
The GAA hierarchy now regarded the H-Blocks issue as 'party political ' whereas earlier their statements had called it "...humanitarian .. " . It seemed that as long as the protest was kept north of the border the GAA would show signs of support , but that once brought home to the twenty-six counties , Fianna Fail and Fine Gael influence , worried by the effect of prisoner candidates in marginal constituencies , was enough to secure a change in policy .
The then outgoing President of the GAA , Paddy McFlynn , was now caught wearing two caps : caught between Northern GAA activists and the Fianna Fail element , which had most to lose by the intervention of prisoner candidates in the elections , Paddy McFlynn now pointed out that as the controlling body of the GAA , the management committee did not wish to commit itself further in support of the five demands - but a certain television interview was to cause panic for McFlynn and the management committee .......
(MORE LATER).
(CPT Mark - thank you for your favourable comments ; much appreciated ! Glad you find the blog useful . Thanks again - Sharon.)
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