1169 And Counting.....

Tuesday, February 28, 2006

Dublin Riots , Saturday , February 25 , 2006 .
RIOT SQUAD RESPONSIBLE FOR STARTING THE TROUBLE-
I was there from 11 AM untill 2.15 PM : this is what actually happened , as witnessed by myself and that other writer , amongst others , who was obviously in the same vicinity of O' Connell Street/Parnell Street as myself . Sharon.
NOTE - readers may be asking why the 'spark' that set the whole incident off was not shown on television news reports and/or in the pictures and reports that were published in the newspapers : yesterday (Monday 27 February) , in 'The Evening Herald' newspaper , the following was published (on page 5) , by that organs 'Crime Editor' -
" A number of photographers , and myself , were taking pictures of the confrontation and we were surrounded by gardai who demanded that we stop and forcibly stood in front of us to prevent snaps . "
It appears that State agents were , even then , preparing an alibi for themselves and their paymasters . (Thanks , again , to the 'IRBB' for the 'heads-up' on that newspaper article).

THE FRENCH REVOLUTION AND THE IRISH STRUGGLE .......
This article is based on a lecture delivered by Sean O Bradaigh in Dublin on January 21 , 1989 , marking the 70th Anniversary of the founding of the First (All-Ireland) Dail Eireann in the Mansion House on January 21 , 1919 , and the links between Irish and French Republicans - 'Partners in Revolution' 200 years ago .
Published in 1989 by Sean Lynch , Cleenrath , Aughnacliffe , County Longford , on behalf of the County Longford Branch of the National Graves Association .
By Sean O Bradaigh .
Liberte ! Egalite ! Fraternite ! Ou La Mort ! ( (Freedom ! Equality ! Brotherhood ! or Death!).
Unite Indivisibilite De La Republique !

On the night of Sunday , March 7 , 1802 , James Napper Tandy was quietly released from prison and put on board a ship for France ; on March 14 , 1802 , he landed in Bordeaux to military and civic receptions : the Treaty under which Napper Tandy was released , the Peace Treaty of Amiens , was signed on March 25 , 1802 .

Irishmen have served with distinction in the Irish Brigades of both the French Monarchy and the French Republic and Irish names are among those of the great Army Generals engraved on the Arc de Triomphe in Paris . There has long been an antipathy on the part of French people towards the English ; this antipathy dates back to the '100 Years War' , 1337 to 1453 , and England is still regarded by many as "...la perfide Albion.. " .

The Young Irelanders and the Fenians had many supporters in France and , now , in our time , there have been numerous Irish Solidarity Committees throughout the length and breadth of France : in 1981 , several French towns named streets after Bobby Sands and the other patriots who died on hunger strike - 'Rue Bobby Sands' ; 'Rue des Martyrs Irlandais' : French people today take a sympathetic interest in the Irish cause - despite all the misleading publicity , they feel instinctively that the English , somehow or other , must be at the root of the problem.......
(MORE LATER).

THE UNBROKEN LINKS IN THE IRISH REPUBLICAN CHAIN .......
ByMartin Calligan.
(No year of publication.)

The law was not very oppressive until W.T. Cosgrave passed the 'Coercion Act' in 1931 : De Valera later amended this and made it one of the most oppressive Acts in the world - calling it the 'Offences Against the State Act' . .

T.J. Ryan got three months in jail for membership of the IRA : today , one could get up to ten years for the same reason . I was offered a free passage to America if I could supply any information - my refusal to do so did not endear me to the C.I.D. - in August 1929 I was taken from my home at 2.30 A.M. , stripped naked , put in the back of a C.I.D. man's car and held down on the floor of the car . The only words spoken were " Drive to the Strand ... "

After about five miles the car stopped and I was told to get down on my knees and say an Act of Contrition : one of my captors put a gun to my head and said - " Let's kill the bastard..." Another of them said - " No , we would be traced...." : so they started beating me .......
(MORE LATER).

BUTCHERS DOZEN .......
A poem by Thomas Kinsella , written after Bloody Sunday .
From 'IRIS' magazine , March 1983 .

The law that lets them , caught red-handed ,
halt the game and leave it stranded ,
summon up a sworn inquiry
and dump their conscience in the diary .

During which hiatus , should
their legal basis vanish , good ,
the thing is rapidly arranged :
where's the law that can't be changed ?

The news is out . The troops were kind .
Impartial justice has to find
we'd be alive and well today
if we had let them have their way .

Yet England , even as you lie ,
you give the facts that you deny .
Spread the lie with all your power -
all thats left ; it's turning sour .
(MORE LATER).

Monday, February 27, 2006

THE FRENCH REVOLUTION AND THE IRISH STRUGGLE .......
This article is based on a lecture delivered by Sean O Bradaigh in Dublin on January 21 , 1989 , marking the 70th Anniversary of the founding of the First (All-Ireland) Dail Eireann in the Mansion House on January 21 , 1919 , and the links between Irish and French Republicans - 'Partners in Revolution' 200 years ago .
Published in 1989 by Sean Lynch , Cleenrath , Aughnacliffe , County Longford , on behalf of the County Longford Branch of the National Graves Association .
By Sean O Bradaigh .
Liberte ! Egalite ! Fraternite ! Ou La Mort ! ( (Freedom ! Equality ! Brotherhood ! or Death!).
Unite Indivisibilite De La Republique !

A letter from the Senate of Hamburg to the French , which set out their (Germany) reasons for extraditing James Napper Tandy (which they did on October 1 , 1799) was returned unopened . The German administration then communicated personally with Napoleon Bonaparte , whose reply was devastating , and which he published for the edification of the public - " You have violated hospitality , a thing that would not happen among the barbarous hordes of the desert ... "

Bonaparte promptly ordered trade sanctions which were not lifted until April 1801 , on payment of a fine of 4,500,000 francs . Napper Tandy was sentenced to death at Lifford Court in Donegal , and May 4 , 1801 , was fixed as the day of execution . A reprieve was granted until May 28 , 1801 and , on May 12 that year , his execution was postponed indefinitely . By 1802 the long war between France and England was coming to an end , and negotiations for peace were under way : Lord Cornwallis , the 'Lord Lieutenant' who had taken personal command against General Humbert's army in 1798 was the Chief British negotiator and Joseph Bonaparte , brother of Napoleon , was the Chief French negotiator .

The Peace Treaty of Amiens , 1802 , is another significant date in European history ; its signing was delayed when the First Consul instructed his brother to demand that the British comply with one further condition - " General James Napper Tandy must be released from prison and restored 'au sein de la France' - to the bosom of France . "
(MORE LATER).

THE UNBROKEN LINKS IN THE IRISH REPUBLICAN CHAIN .......
By Martin Calligan.
(No year of publication.)

Joseph Mary Plunkett left his sick bed to sign the Proclamation ; he married Grace Clifford hours before his execution - ' ...with all my love I place this wedding ring upon your finger , there won't be time to share our love - for we must say goodbye .. '

James Connolly said - " We want to break the connection with England . She has no right in Ireland , never can have any right in Ireland . The presence in any one generation of Irish men ready to fight and die to assert that truth makes the British Government usurpation a crime against human progress . "

Help to bring back the spirit of 1916 ; help to expose the vile politicians who give you scandal after scandal . These men died behind lonely prison walls and their mortal remains are still behind lonely walls - we have to demand that their resting place be made a public place that we who are interested in Justice can visit .

When T.J. Ryan from Cranny , County Tyrone , was released from the internment camp in 1924 he set about re-organising the West Clare Battalion of the IRA : I happened to be one of his recruits .......
(MORE LATER).

BUTCHERS DOZEN .......
A poem by Thomas Kinsella , written after Bloody Sunday .
From 'IRIS' magazine , March 1983 .

He faded , and another said : " We three met close when we were dead -
into an armoured car they piled us
where our mingled blood defiled us ,
Certain , if not dead before , to suffocate upon the floor .

Careful bullets in the back , stopped our 'terrorist' attack ,
and so three dangerous lives are done - judged , condemned and shamed in one " .
That spectre faded in his turn : a harsher stirred , and spoke in scorn -
" The shame is theirs , in word and deed ,
who prate of Justice , practice greed ,
and act in ignorant fury - then ,
Officers and Gentlemen ,
send to their Courts for the 'Most High' to tell us did we really die !

Does it need recourse to law to tell ten thousand what they saw ? "
(MORE LATER).

Friday, February 24, 2006

THE FRENCH REVOLUTION AND THE IRISH STRUGGLE .......
This article is based on a lecture delivered by Sean O Bradaigh in Dublin on January 21 , 1989 , marking the 70th Anniversary of the founding of the First (All-Ireland) Dail Eireann in the Mansion House on January 21 , 1919 , and the links between Irish and French Republicans - 'Partners in Revolution' 200 years ago .
Published in 1989 by Sean Lynch , Cleenrath , Aughnacliffe , County Longford , on behalf of the County Longford Branch of the National Graves Association .
By Sean O Bradaigh .
Liberte ! Egalite ! Fraternite ! Ou La Mort ! ( (Freedom ! Equality ! Brotherhood ! or Death!).
Unite Indivisibilite De La Republique !

On the day Castlebar was liberated - August 27 , 1798 , James Napper Tandy sailed from Dunkerque with 270 French Grenadiers and a large quantity of weapons , powder and artillery , on board the corvette 'Anacreon' , reputed to be the fastest vessel in the French Navy .

They landed near Burtonport , County Donegal on September 16 , 1798 but , on hearing of General Humbert's defeat at Ballinamuck , they withdrew . On September 21 , 1798 , the ships Captain landed Napper Tandy at Bergen in Norway , from where , en route to France by land , he arrived in Hamburg , then a neutral state , on November 22 , 1798 .

It was there that Napper Tandy was arrested and protracted extradition proceedings followed ; the British arrogantly demanded that he be handed over for 'trial' - eventually , he was extradited on October 1 , 1799 : but French retribution was swift - they re-called their 'charge d'affaires' and Consul in Hamburg immediately . Hamburg's representatives in France were given 24 hours to quit their residences and eight days to leave the country !

This all coincided with the return of Napoleon Bonaparte from Egypt and his assumption of power as First Consul of France .......
(MORE LATER).

THE UNBROKEN LINKS IN THE IRISH REPUBLICAN CHAIN .......
By Martin Calligan.
(No year of publication.)

Tom Clarke served 14 years under the most brutal conditions in an English prison for his part in a bombing campaign in England .

Eamonn Kent stated - " I leave for the guidance of other Irish revolutionaries who will thread the path that we have trod - this advice - never treat with this enemy , never surrender to their mercy : fight to a finish . This enemy has never cherished one generous thought for those with poor equipment and small in numbers , who withstood their forces for one glorious week . I shrink not from death at daybreak ... "

Sean McDiarmada stated - " In a few hours I will join my comrades in a better world . I am sentenced to die in the morning : I die that Ireland might live . The job-hunters will condemn our action , but posterity will judge us right . "

In his address to the Court Martial , Thomas McDonagh said : " I chose to think that you have done your duty according to our rights in sentencing me to death and I accept your sentence with joy and pride since it is for Ireland I am about to die .... " The British occupation have never for more than a hundred years been compelled to confront in field of battle such formidable force . While Ireland lives the brain and the brawn of her manhood will strive to destroy the last vestige of British rule in Ireland .......
(MORE LATER).

BUTCHERS DOZEN .......
A poem by Thomas Kinsella , written after Bloody Sunday .
From 'IRIS' magazine , March 1983 .

Then from left and right they came ,
more mangled corpses , bleeding , lame ,
holding their wounds : they chose their grounds -
ghost by ghost , without a sound .

One stepped forward , soiled and white :
" A bomber I . I travelled light , four pounds of nails and gelignite
about my person , hid so well - they seemed to vanish where I fell .
When the bullet stopped my breath , a doctor sought the cause of death :

he upped my shirt , undid my fly , twice he moved my limbs awry : and noticed nothing .
By and by a soldier , with his sharper eye , beheld the four elusive rockets -
stuffed in my coat and trouser pockets .
Yes , they must be strict with us ; even in death so treacherous ! "
(MORE LATER).

Thursday, February 23, 2006

THE FRENCH REVOLUTION AND THE IRISH STRUGGLE .......This article is based on a lecture delivered by Sean O Bradaigh in Dublin on January 21 , 1989 , marking the 70th Anniversary of the founding of the First (All-Ireland) Dail Eireann in the Mansion House on January 21 , 1919 , and the links between Irish and French Republicans - 'Partners in Revolution' 200 years ago . Published in 1989 by Sean Lynch , Cleenrath , Aughnacliffe , County Longford , on behalf of the County Longford Branch of the National Graves Association . By Sean O Bradaigh .Liberte ! Egalite ! Fraternite ! Ou La Mort ! ( (Freedom ! Equality ! Brotherhood ! or Death!).Unite Indivisibilite De La Republique !
" What Humbert achieved with small forces in a country where 100,000 men were available to fight against him , is simply amazing , and yet , it does not seem to have received the flattering recognition it deserved from History " . - Stuart Jones , English Historian .
Panic reigned as French snipers took over vantage points and picked off the bewildered enemy ; fierce sword and sabre duels ensued in the streets as a whole army fled in disarray , some to Hollymount and Tuam , and some cavalry did not stop till they reached Athlone ,County Westmeath , some 60 miles away !
British General Lake's personal baggage was found abandoned in the street ; well and truly and aptly were the events of that day called the 'Races of Castlebar' ! Sections of the Longford and Kilkenny militias turned their coats and hoisted the green flag : French Captain Jobit estimated the numbers who changed sides at 574 men : for this , many of them were singled out afterwards for particularly brutal treatment and execution .
Irish militia man Gunner James Magee of County Longford was probably the most famous of them .(MORE LATER).

THE UNBROKEN LINKS IN THE IRISH REPUBLICAN CHAIN ....... By Martin Calligan.(No year of publication.)
Ireland has fertile fields , underveloped minerals - oil , gas and fish in our waters . Foreign fish-factory boats now will destroy our fishing beds while it is illegal for Irishmen to fish in their own waters . We have thousands unemployed while four out of every five items in our shops are foreign goods .
We have a so-called 'Head of (a 26-County) State' called 'President of Ireland' , yet not a single person in the Six Counties ever had a say in the matter ! ('1169...' Comment.... except , no doubt , the British 'powers-that-be' !) We have a so-called 'Peace Process' and yet innocent people murdered month after month by British and pro-British death squads . Our Martyred dead are an embarrassment to the pro-British media in the 26 Counties .
Padraig Pearse said - " We proclaim the Irish Republic ......may your children enjoy the happiness and prosperity which only freedom can bring . I am not afraid to face the judgement of God or posterity ....... " (MORE LATER).

BUTCHERS DOZEN .......A poem by Thomas Kinsella , written after Bloody Sunday . From 'IRIS' magazine , March 1983 .
There in a ghostly pool of blood a crumpled phantom hugged the mud : 'Once there lived a hooligan - a pig came up and away he ran , here lies one in blood and bones , who lost his life for throwing stones ' .
More voices rose : I turned and saw three corpses forming , red and raw , from dirt and stone each upturned face stared unseeing from its place -
' Behind this barrier , blighters three , we scrambled back and made to flee : the guns cried 'STOP' , and here lie we ' .(MORE LATER).

Wednesday, February 22, 2006

THE FRENCH REVOLUTION AND THE IRISH STRUGGLE .......
This article is based on a lecture delivered by Sean O Bradaigh in Dublin on January 21 , 1989 , marking the 70th Anniversary of the founding of the First (All-Ireland) Dail Eireann in the Mansion House on January 21 , 1919 , and the links between Irish and French Republicans - 'Partners in Revolution' 200 years ago .
Published in 1989 by Sean Lynch , Cleenrath , Aughnacliffe , County Longford , on behalf of the County Longford Branch of the National Graves Association .
By Sean O Bradaigh .
Liberte ! Egalite ! Fraternite ! Ou La Mort ! ( (Freedom ! Equality ! Brotherhood ! or Death!).
Unite Indivisibilite De La Republique !

" We present ourselves as sincere friends to all who will embrace the cause of liberty and we thirst after nothing but breaking your fetters and chastising your tyrants " - General Lazare Hoche .

A forced march by night across the mountains in torrents of rain ; a surprise attack at dawn ; and a masterly assault by General Sarrazin on the British 'defenders' ' left flank gave warning of what was to come : brave Mayo men faced pounding artillery with nothing but pikes hammered out by skilled blacksmiths who had worked night and day for five days .

To confuse the enemy further , General Humbert suddenly changed tactics - he launched his full reserve , and changed from closed formation to open files . Rising up in his saddle , and brandishing his sword , he gave the order , in Irish - " Eirinn go Brach ! " The drums sounded the 'pas de charge' and a blue line , now within a few paces of the enemy , regrouped back into closed lines and moved swiftly forward , their bayonets gleaming in the morning sun , a fierce and threatening determination in their countenances .

The famed army of the French Revolution was here in the fields of Mayo : veterans of many victorious campaigns on the continent , men who had endured much and who believed passionately in their cause . They had measured their enemy and marked them down as ' the defenders and upholders of tyranny and injustice' . The Sasanaigh and their Irish militias and Yeomen hesitated , and then turned their backs and fled in terror .......
(MORE LATER).

THE UNBROKEN LINKS IN THE IRISH REPUBLICAN CHAIN .......
By Martin Calligan.
(No year of publication.)

We know that when Cromwell came to Ireland he slaughtered men , women and children ; that he uprooted the natives and gave their lands and property to his soldiers - later called 'the Gentry' .

Under the Government Act 1920 , Britain drew a border around six counties , so that a minority of Cromwells descendants would always have a parliamentary 'majority' in a contrived puppet State , now they have a veto . The Twenty-Six County State operates within the structures of the British system ; their policies are based on foreign investments . You can never have prosperity here , multi-nationals will only come if assured a good profit and are under no obligation to pay a decent wage out of their huge profit .

You read in the capitalist press that unemployment is down and again that such a factory has closed making hundreds redundant ; since joining the Brussels block this State's prosperity has depended on handouts - other peoples money . There is no such thing as free money - someone must pay , but not the rancher farmer and his like ; their pressure groups saw to that . The small farmers only got the crumbs , and now those crumbs are getting scarce - the rich refusing to pay . This States' Agricultural Policy is dictated by Brussels - potato's and vegetables are imported from abroad , while those depending on 'free money' have'nt even got a hen !

Such a policy leaves no future for your children .......
(MORE LATER).

BUTCHERS DOZEN .
A poem by Thomas Kinsella , written after Bloody Sunday .
From 'IRIS' magazine , March 1983 .

' I went with anger at my heel
through Bogside of the bitter zeal
- Jesus pity! - on a day
of cold and drizzle and decay .

A month had passed . Yet there remained
a murder smell that stung and stained ,
on flats and alleys - over all -
it hung . On battered roof and wall ,
on wreck and rubbish scattered thick ,
on sullen steps and pitted brick .

And when I came where thirteen died
it shrivelled up my heart . I sighed ,
and looked about that brutal place
of rage and terror and disgrace :
then my moistened lips grew dry -
I had heard an answering sigh .......
(MORE LATER).

Tuesday, February 21, 2006

THE FRENCH REVOLUTION AND THE IRISH STRUGGLE .......
This article is based on a lecture delivered by Sean O Bradaigh in Dublin on January 21 , 1989 , marking the 70th Anniversary of the founding of the First (All-Ireland) Dail Eireann in the Mansion House on January 21 , 1919 , and the links between Irish and French Republicans - 'Partners in Revolution' 200 years ago .
Published in 1989 by Sean Lynch , Cleenrath , Aughnacliffe , County Longford , on behalf of the County Longford Branch of the National Graves Association .
By Sean O Bradaigh .
Liberte ! Egalite ! Fraternite ! Ou La Mort ! ( (Freedom ! Equality ! Brotherhood ! or Death!).
Unite Indivisibilite De La Republique !

Castlebar was defended by a huge English army : the Kerry Militia ; the Galway Yeomanry ; the Sixth Foot Regiment ; the Frazer Fencibles ; Lord Roden's Dragoons (known as the 'Foxhunters') ; the Kilkenny Militia ; the Longford Militia ; the Fencible Cavalry ; the Prince of Wales Fencibles ; the Fencible and Royal Irish Artillery - in all an army of at least 4,000 men , of whom 600 were superbly mounted cavalry .

There was no shortage of 'top brass' , either - General Lake , 'the Butcher of Wexford' , Commander of His Majesty's forces in Ireland ; General Hutchinson , Commander of His Majesty's forces in Connacht ; Lord Ormond ; Lord Granard ; Lord Longford (Pakenham) . A later Pakenham in his book ' The Year Of Liberty' declares that they were all "...totally outclassed by Humbert . "

Captain Jobit , who kept a diary of the expedition , described Castlebar as "...a tough nut to crack , for a little army like ours .. " - between 800 and 900 French and about 700 or 800 untrained but determined pikemen from many parts of County Mayo .......
(MORE LATER).

THE UNBROKEN LINKS IN THE IRISH REPUBLICAN CHAIN .......
By Martin Calligan.
(No year of publication.)

On his way to the South of Ireland , Michael Collins called on Tom Malone - alias Sean Forde - to end the so-called Civil War , the last thing the British wanted , for they had supplied the guns and the ex-Black 'n Tans to put over the 26-county State .

Emmet Dalton joined the British Army and during an attack in France an Officer was killed ; Dalton took over and repelled the attackers , for which he was decorated and sent to join Sir Henry Wilson , a position of trust . Back in Dublin after the war , Emmet Dalton offered to help the IRA .

Sean McKeown was under sentence of death in Mountjoy Jail ; five British soldiers collected meat from the abettor each day under orders that the driver and sentry would not leave the armoured car , but they did not oblige , and Dalton drove to Mountjoy Jail , got past the two gates - but the alarm was raised . How did they get past the two gates and the sentry ? When State papers were released after 50 years , General McReidy had stated 'never any danger ...we know in advance' . It was a British move to endear Emmet Dalton to Michael Collins ; Dalton was a member of MI5 - he went away with an MI5 man's wife who had his papers .

Michael Cunningham in his book stated that it was seen in the papers in her possession where the British Government had paid a large sum of money for the killing of Michael Collins . Emmet Dalton was in charge of Collins' bodyguards at Beal Na Blath ; he took Collins' remains to a British Military hospital and stated that the bullet was fired from a distance , and had only sufficient strength to penetrate his skull ; but Nurse Gordon , who washed Collins' wounds , testifies to one entry and one exit wound , and that the bullet was fired so close that his hair was singed .......
(MORE LATER).

INFORMERS : The RUC's Psychological War .......
From 'IRIS' magazine , March 1983.
By Sean Delaney.

It also needs to be emphasised however , and re-emphasised , that the RUC's use of informers , and the manipulation of the Northern legal system to suit their ruthless and pragmatic ends , is not a new phenomenon but simply a new face on the unchanging nature of British repression in Ireland . Republican resistance - which despite the use of informers in a few cases to date against loyalists , is the primary target of the RUC - has shown itself well able to counter all those aspects of repression over the past twelve years and more : internment , Castlereagh , Diplock Courts , H-Blocks , assassinations , and to continue its war of revolutionary attrition . ('1169...' Comment - the Provisionals' 'war of revolutionary attrition' is now been 'fought' only from within the walls of three parliaments which were each established by the British . 'Revolutionary...' ?)

The Nationalist community as a whole , which has borne the brunt of British Army and RUC military and political repression over the same period , can and should mobilise now to counter this futher attack on the freedom struggle in Ireland and , as can almost certainly be done , make the British use of paid informers - with all of their sordid retinue of bribes , immunity and 'schooled' 'evidence' - too expensive a tactic , in terms of its political consequences , to be worth the effort .

[END of 'INFORMERS : The RUC's Psychological War' .]
(Tomorrow : 'BUTCHERS DOZEN' - from 1983.)

Monday, February 20, 2006

THE UNBROKEN LINKS IN THE IRISH REPUBLICAN CHAIN .......
By Martin Calligan.
(No year of publication.)

Michael Collins was sending guns and men to the Six Counties : Collins is on record : " If we don't finish the war now , the money class that was never with us will take over . " Which they did .

Collins ordered the assassination of Sir Henry Wilson for exterminating Catholics in the Six Counties ; Tom Markham , a Clareman , was entrusted to go over the papers that the British left behind in Dublin Castle ; he discovered and left in writing the name of the leading British spy - Tim Healy .

Collins locked this information in a safe in Portobello Barracks , Dublin , and was to deal with Tim Healy on his return from the South of Ireland .......
(MORE LATER).

INFORMERS : The RUC's Psychological War .......
From 'IRIS' magazine , March 1983.
By Sean Delaney.

Even should the RUC and the Orange judiciary prove unable to consistently gain convictions against suspected Republicans , they may well continue to use the tactic both for its value in effectively interning large numbers of suspected Republicans on remand for lengthy periods , and for any 'value' they may try to squeeze out in terms of demoralising the Nationalist community .

It should also be viewed as significant that this co-ordinated 'psychological operations' campaign against Nationalist resistance - of which informers are a part - comes precisely at the time when Sinn Fein and the Republican struggle in general is mounting an intensified political challenge to the British administration in the North of Ireland and severely threatening the reformist approach of the SDLP . ('1169...' Comment - that "reformist approach" has since been copied by the Provisionals whom , like the SDLP , will make a well-paid career from the Struggle and , again like the SDLP , will be held accountable by future generations for becoming part of the problem , not part of its solution.)

The arrest of former Sinn Fein National Organiser Jim Gibney on the falsified 'evidence' of informer Kevin McGrady is only one aspect of that political attack by the British .......
(MORE LATER).

Friday, February 17, 2006

THE FRENCH REVOLUTION AND THE IRISH STRUGGLE .......
This article is based on a lecture delivered by Sean O Bradaigh in Dublin on January 21 , 1989 , marking the 70th Anniversary of the founding of the First (All-Ireland) Dail Eireann in the Mansion House on January 21 , 1919 , and the links between Irish and French Republicans - 'Partners in Revolution' 200 years ago .
Published in 1989 by Sean Lynch , Cleenrath , Aughnacliffe , County Longford , on behalf of the County Longford Branch of the National Graves Association .
By Sean O Bradaigh .
Liberte ! Egalite ! Fraternite ! Ou La Mort ! ( (Freedom ! Equality ! Brotherhood ! or Death!).
Unite Indivisibilite De La Republique !

Bad weather separated General Lazare Hoche's vessel from the fleet ; an easterly gale continued for several days and by December 22 , 1796 , only half the fleet had entered Bantry Bay . French Marshal Emmanuel Grouchy , the second-in-command , decided not to disembark as he had only 6,400 men and the storm would have made a landing hazardous . " England , " said Wolfe Tone , " has not had such an escape since the Armada . "

W.B. Yeats wrote many years later that " John Bull and the sea are friends ... " . Ireland lost a good friend and skilled soldier when Lazare Hoche died of fever in 1797 : more fleets were organised , notwithstanding the strain on military resources , as the new Republic came under attack from Monarchs and Emperors throughout Europe , including the British , and despite the fact that the French navy was not at all well organised or equipped .

Three expeditions were authorised by the French Directory in July of 1798 and command of the first and smallest of these was given to General Jean-Joseph Humbert . His small fleet of three frigates , loaded almost to danger point with munitions and other supplies and carrying 1,090 seasoned troops , of whom 80 were Officers , broke the English naval blockade . The fleet's Commander , Chef de Division Savary a competent mariner , outwitted the British Royal Navy and landed his men at Cill Chuimin on August 22 , 1798 .......
(MORE LATER).

THE UNBROKEN LINKS IN THE IRISH REPUBLICAN CHAIN .......
By Martin Calligan.
(No year of publication.)

Britain suppressed the lawful elected Government of Ireland by sending in her Black and Tans : when brute force failed Britain called a cease fire ; the negotiation was then between the two sides of the conflict (now it is only between her allies) .

Michael Collins insisted that he would be one of the negotiators , the great and noble Cathal Brugha objected in case the negotiations broke down : that delegation to London had very definite instructions from their Government that the independence of the Irish nation was not negotiable and nothing was to be signed in the absence of their Government . The delegates broke their trust by signing what was in fact only the British Government of Ireland Act 1920 , put over as a treaty in 1921 .

Erskine Childers , who was Secretary of the Treaty delegation , said that Michael Collins was blackmailed into signing , that he did have an affair with one of the 'establishment' people and who was 'in the family way' : Lady Lavery threatened to expose Collins if he did not sign ; that would ruin Collins and put him in the same position as Charles Stewart Parnell . Later the First Free State Government demoted Collins by 'promoting' him to Chief of the Free State Army and making him answerable to the Free State Cabinet .......
(MORE LATER).

INFORMERS : The RUC's Psychological War .......
From 'IRIS' magazine , March 1983.
By Sean Delaney.

After the chaotic ending of the Clifford McKeown and Sean Mallon (no link) preliminary enquiries , and desperately anxious to prevent the premature collapse of their informer tactic , the RUC acted swiftly in collusion with the six-county Director of Public Prosecutions and the Orange judiciary to resurrect the almost obsolete 'Bill of Indictment' : this legal ploy , against all precedent , disposed with the preliminary hearing altogether , preventing defence counsels properly enquiring into the evidence against the defendants they represented until the commencement of the trial itself , and enabled the RUC to maintain the isolation of their informers , where necessary , for significantly longer periods than would otherwise have been the case .

To date , the 'Bill of Indictment' has been used on two occasions : on September 21 in the case of nine Dungannon men incriminated on the 'evidence' of informer Patrick McGurk , and subsequently in the Christopher Black case : Black , in fact , although his trial commenced on December 6th , 1982 , was only obliged to be in court for the 13-day period in January during which he actually gave 'evidence' , and then was whisked back to his hide-out in 'protective custody' in England . After the use of the 'Bill of Indictment' in the informer Patrick McGurk case a number of solicitors and barristers protested briefly and ineffectually against the 'Bill' , but there is at present little evidence other than that most members of the legal profession in the North of Ireland are so compromised by their acceptance of the Diplock Court system that they are incapable and unwilling to mount any effective protest .

There is no doubt that if , as must be thought likely , the Orange judiciary shows a willingness to further reduce the minimum safeguards remaining in the legal system in the North of Ireland and accept the uncorroborated 'evidence' of paid informers and alleged accomplices , the RUC will enthusiastically try to use the informer tactic as part of a long-term strategy against Nationalist resistance .......
(MORE LATER).

Thursday, February 16, 2006

THE FRENCH REVOLUTION AND THE IRISH STRUGGLE .......
This article is based on a lecture delivered by Sean O Bradaigh in Dublin on January 21 , 1989 , marking the 70th Anniversary of the founding of the First (All-Ireland) Dail Eireann in the Mansion House on January 21 , 1919 , and the links between Irish and French Republicans - 'Partners in Revolution' 200 years ago .
Published in 1989 by Sean Lynch , Cleenrath , Aughnacliffe , County Longford , on behalf of the County Longford Branch of the National Graves Association .
By Sean O Bradaigh .
Liberte ! Egalite ! Fraternite ! Ou La Mort ! ( (Freedom ! Equality ! Brotherhood ! or Death!).
Unite Indivisibilite De La Republique !

' Is ta an Francach faobhrach is a loingeas gleasta
Le cranna geara acu ar muir le seal ;
Se an siorsceal go bhfuil a dtriall ar Eirinn
Is go gcuirfid Gaeil bhocht aris 'na gceart ... '

' For on the ocean are ships in motion
And glad devotion on France's shore
And rumour's telling they'll now be sailing
To help the Gael in the right once more ... '

On December 16 , 1796 , a fleet of 46 ships sailed from Brest with a formidable army of 14,750 men under the command of General Lazare Hoche , one of the great Generals of the Revolutionary Army . Wolfe Tone was with them and so also was General Humbert - their watchword for their campaign in Ireland was : " Paix aux chaumieres , mort aux chateaux " - " Peace to the cottages , death to the castles . "

Bantry Bay was their destination , Cork City their first objective and Dublin their second .

Chualas areir (I heard last night)
Na daoine a re (The people to say )
Go raibh Cathair Chorcai a do go lar ; (That the City of Cork was being burned to the ground ;)
Go raibh Ginearal Hoche (That General Hoche)
Is a chlaiomh chinn oir (And his gold-headed sword)
Ag reiteach an roid (Was smoothing the road)
Do Bhonaparte ; (For Bonaparte ;)
Is O , bhean a' ti (And,O,woman of the house)
Cen bhuairt sin ort ? (What ails thee now ?)
(MORE LATER).

THE UNBROKEN LINKS IN THE IRISH REPUBLICAN CHAIN .
By Martin Calligan.
(No year of publication.)

P.H. Pearse said we have renewed the struggle down the centuries and that's the way we will be while one British soldier remains on Irish soil . Today there are up to 20,000 , and 9,000 armed sectarian 'police' in the pay of England on Irish soil .

Republican Sinn Fein and the Continuity Irish Republican Army are the only true organisations that uphold the Proclamation of 1916 , and the Declaration of Independence 1919 . It is sickening to hear the propaganda of the pro-British-Irish media styling individuals and their parties 'Republicans' , just to spread confusion .

The Proclamation of 1916 was endorsed by the Irish people at the general election of all Ireland in 1918 and the people's representatives in 1919 in National Parliament declared that foreign parliaments in Ireland were an invasion of the Irish people's rights and must never again be tolerated . Yet you hear people today styling themselves 'Republicans' who recognise two parliaments in Ireland (the 26 and the 6 counties) set up under the 'Government of Ireland Act 1920'.......
(MORE LATER).

INFORMERS : The RUC's Psychological War .......
From 'IRIS' magazine , March 1983.
By Sean Delaney.

IRSP informer Jackie Goodman incriminated a total of 21 people following his arrest in March 1982 and had been taken with his wife into 'protective custody' in England . He returned to the North of Ireland in mid-September and retracted his earlier statements .

A far greater problem for the RUC was posed in the cases of UVF informer Clifford McKeown and IRSP informer Sean Joseph Mallon (no link) : at the preliminary enquiries into charges against the individuals these two had incriminated , in July 1982 and September 1982 respectively , both McKeown and Mallon - coming for the first time since their arrests into contact with members of their families in court - retracted their statements and refused to give 'evidence' .

Futhermore , McKeown revealed that during his period in 'protective custody' he had been kept in a luxurious London flat and had been promised £50,000 if he gave 'evidence' ; the RUC have denied at all times that they have offered cash sums in return for individuals turning informer . Following Sean Joseph Mallon's retraction , two of those he had incriminated , and against whom there was no further 'evidence' , Armagh men Roddy Carroll and Oliver Grew (no link), were set free .

The other side of the RUC's determination to use every conceivable means against those they believed to be Republicans was to be seen shortly afterwards when - on December 12th , 1982 - Roddy Carroll and Oliver's brother , Seamus Grew , were shot dead by an RUC patrol in a stake-out that formed part of the grisly shoot-to-kill policy which - in Armagh alone - resulted in six men being shot dead by the RUC in the space of one month .......
(MORE LATER).

Wednesday, February 15, 2006

THE FRENCH REVOLUTION AND THE IRISH STRUGGLE .......
This article is based on a lecture delivered by Sean O Bradaigh in Dublin on January 21 , 1989 , marking the 70th Anniversary of the founding of the First (All-Ireland) Dail Eireann in the Mansion House on January 21 , 1919 , and the links between Irish and French Republicans - 'Partners in Revolution' 200 years ago .
Published in 1989 by Sean Lynch , Cleenrath , Aughnacliffe , County Longford , on behalf of the County Longford Branch of the National Graves Association .
By Sean O Bradaigh .
Liberte ! Egalite ! Fraternite ! Ou La Mort ! ( (Freedom ! Equality ! Brotherhood ! or Death!).
Unite Indivisibilite De La Republique !

When the French Revolution happened , prayers of thanksgiving were offered in Belfast , songs of the French Revolution were published and the fall of the Bastille was celebrated each year . Henry Joy McCracken Junior had this to say :

" The exultation with which they hailed the downfall of civil and spiritual despotism in France in the year 1789 , affords a decisive proof of their disinterested solicitude for the universal diffusion of liberty and peace . Their joy was expressed by affectionate congratulations to the French patriots and by annual commemorations of the destruction of the Bastille , conducted with pomp and magnificence and calculated to impress in innumerable spectators a conviction of the vast importance which they attached to this glorious occurrence , and sensations of gratitude to the divine providence 'for dispersing the political clouds which has hitherto darkened our hemisphere' . "

In a memorandum to the French Government , Wolfe Tone described the Dissenters or Presbyterians as "...the most enlightened body of the nation ...enthusiastically attached to the French Revolution . The Catholics " , he added , " the great body of the nation , are in the lowest degree of ignorance and want , ready for any change , because no change can make them worse . "

From abroad , the American War of Independence inspired the freedom movement , but it was from France that the second and brightest beacon of all shone : Wolfe Tone became , in his own words , "...a diplomat , incognito , in Paris .. " . The Revolutionary Government listened to him .......
(MORE LATER).

BLOODY SUNDAY.......
On 30 January 1972 , 14 civilians were shot dead by the British Army . They had been taking part in a civil rights march in Derry , protesting against internment without trial .
British 'Lord' Widgery was highly selective in the 'evidence' he used in his 'official' report on the matter - and some of the accounts he chose to include were highly suspect. The victims' families have campaigned for justice ever since . Their case is too strong to ignore any longer .
First published in 'MAGILL' magazine , February 1998 .
By Eamonn McCann .

The British Public Records Act (1958) provides for a decision by the British 'Lord Chancellor' to release official papers at any time ; the current 'Lord Chancellor' , Derry Irvine , could , with the approval of Tony Blair , take an Executive Decision to order the publication forthwith of all papers relevant to Bloody Sunday . This , in itself , might go a long way towards answering the questions that must be disposed of before the relatives can put the grief of Bloody Sunday behind them .

On the other hand , publishing the papers might suggest - and a new inquiry might show clearly - why British 'Lord' Widgery averted his eyes from some of the evidence and distorted some of the rest so as knowingly to reach conclusions at variance with the truth .

The truth about Bloody Sunday , which the relatives desperately need to know , may go so deep into the heart of British politics and law as to be mortally dangerous to the authority of the State .
[END of 'BLOODY SUNDAY' .]
(Tomorrow - ' THE UNBROKEN LINKS IN THE REPUBLICAN CHAIN' .)

INFORMERS : The RUC's Psychological War .......
From 'IRIS' magazine , March 1983.
By Sean Delaney.

RUC Sergeant Thomas McCormick had recruited Anthony O' Doherty in 1971 as an RUC paid informer to report on Irish Republican activities , but gradually the two of them were alleged to have engaged in a series of bank and post office robberies to finance their lifestyles , eventually killing RUC Sergeant Joseph Campbell when he became suspicious . Shortly afterwards , McCormick and O' Doherty fell out , with O' Doherty being charged in 1980 and sentenced to 18 years .

British Justice Murray , however , refusing to accept O' Doherty's uncorroborated testimony at the 1982 trial , argued that : " O' Doherty has to be treated as an accomplice and it is dangerous to convict McCormick on all the offences on the evidence of O' Doherty alone . " He went on to criticise the regular visits made by the RUC to O' Doherty in jail to go over his evidence and to 'school' him in giving it .

Another problem for the RUC in subsequent informer cases was that several of those who initially 'broke' under interrogation and incriminated others , subsequently refused to give 'evidence' and retracted their original statements once either they were in jail , and freed of the RUC's isolation tactics , or , even when they had been spirited away to a hiding place in the North or in England , after they had had time to consider the enormity of their intended actions .......
(MORE LATER).

Tuesday, February 14, 2006

THE FRENCH REVOLUTION AND THE IRISH STRUGGLE .......
This article is based on a lecture delivered by Sean O Bradaigh in Dublin on January 21 , 1989 , marking the 70th Anniversary of the founding of the First (All-Ireland) Dail Eireann in the Mansion House on January 21 , 1919 , and the links between Irish and French Republicans - 'Partners in Revolution' 200 years ago .
Published in 1989 by Sean Lynch , Cleenrath , Aughnacliffe , County Longford , on behalf of the County Longford Branch of the National Graves Association .
By Sean O Bradaigh .
Liberte ! Egalite ! Fraternite ! Ou La Mort ! ( (Freedom ! Equality ! Brotherhood ! or Death!).
Unite Indivisibilite De La Republique !

Towards the end of the 18th century , two beacons shone to rally the people : at home , Theobald Wolfe Tone * became a champion of the oppressed - " This horrible system " , he said , " had reduced the great body of the Catholic peasantry of Ireland to a situation , morally and physically speaking , below that of the beasts of the field . " (* '1169...' Comment - Re the death of Wolfe Tone : a British 'Black-Op' job ... ?)

Theobald Wolfe Tone was Secretary to the Catholic Committee in 1792-1795 : " I have laboured " , said Tone , " to create a people in Ireland , by raising three million of my countrymen to the rank of citizen . " The Society of United Irishmen was founded , and succeeded in uniting large numbers of Catholics and Dissenters , and some Protestants , against English rule . Maire Mac Neill , in her biography of Mary Ann McCracken relates how the writings of Locke , Rousseau and Paine were widely read in Ulster at this time .

She makes the point that "...throughout the Province , but especially in the neighbourhood of Belfast , political , economic and philosophic thought had prepared the community in a remarkable degree for the great upheaval of the French Revolution ....... "

(MORE LATER).

BLOODY SUNDAY.......
On 30 January 1972 , 14 civilians were shot dead by the British Army . They had been taking part in a civil rights march in Derry , protesting against internment without trial .
British 'Lord' Widgery was highly selective in the 'evidence' he used in his 'official' report on the matter - and some of the accounts he chose to include were highly suspect. The victims' families have campaigned for justice ever since . Their case is too strong to ignore any longer .
First published in 'MAGILL' magazine , February 1998 .
By Eamonn McCann .

Reporting the publication of the Widgery Report in April 1992 , 'The Sunday Times's ' 'Insight Team' claimed that the plan of action for 30 January 1972 had been approved in advance by the 'Northern Ireland' (sic) Committee of the British Cabinet - because it carried an "...obvious.." risk of casualties .

This was the obvious possibility James McSparran had continued to pursue at the tribunal - " Do you know if the question of firing in the course of the arrest operation was discussed by the Security Committee ? " he asked ; British General Robert Ford replied - " I do read the minutes . I can recall that the Joint Security Committee did take note of a comment made by the GOC and the (RUC) Chief Constable that it was possible that the events in Londonderry (sic) might lead to shooting by the IRA . "

After an exchange about the standing instructions governing return of fire , McSparran tried to return to his key question : " Did the operation which you carried out in the Bogside and in Derry conform , in your view , to the tenor of the instructions issued by the Joint Security Committee ? " But British 'Lord' Widgery stepped-in here - " No , you need not answer that . " However - from the point of view of the relatives , this brings up precisely what needs answering . Under the Public Records Act (1958) , the minutes of both Stormont and Westminster cabinet committees are released after 30 years unless specific reasons , usually 'national security' , are 'adduced' for keeping them closed .

In the normal course of events , then , the Bloody Sunday files should be opened in 2003 ; but the 1958 Act allows differently .......

(MORE LATER).

INFORMERS : The RUC's Psychological War .......
From 'IRIS' magazine , March 1983.
By Sean Delaney.

Aspects of British 'psy-ops' operations included black propaganda operations such as the deliberate British Army detonation of unprimed IRA explosives in Springfield Avenue in West Belfast in June 1982 which wrecked scores of Nationalist homes and which the Brits attempted to blame on the IRA . Also , in September 1982 , a blatant propaganda ploy in which the RUC launched a 'campaign' against "...protection rackets.. " , primarily aimed at discrediting the IRA .

But undoubtedly the most important component of the 'psy-ops' strategy has been the use of informers to create a sense of fear and demoralisation among the Nationalist community , and to create an illusion that the resistance struggle is riddled with informers - although in overall terms the numbers involved are small . The use of informer 'evidence' as a means of securing convictions of suspected Republican and Loyalist activists has not however been without hitches , and without on some occasions considerable embarrassment to the RUC .

For instance - in a reserved judgement given in the Belfast crown court on April 2nd 1982 , British Justice Murray sentenced RUC Sergeant Thomas McCormick to 20 years imprisonment for the armed robbery of a North Antrim bank - a charge for which there was corroborating evidence - but he acquitted McCormick of a further 23 charges against him , including the killing of a fellow RUC Sergeant , Joseph Campbell , in 1977 , because the only evidence was that of an RUC informer and alleged accomplice , Anthony O ' Doherty .......

(MORE LATER).

Monday, February 13, 2006

THE FRENCH REVOLUTION AND THE IRISH STRUGGLE .......
This article is based on a lecture delivered by Sean O Bradaigh in Dublin on January 21 , 1989 , marking the 70th Anniversary of the founding of the First (All-Ireland) Dail Eireann in the Mansion House on January 21 , 1919 , and the links between Irish and French Republicans - 'Partners in Revolution' 200 years ago .
Published in 1989 by Sean Lynch , Cleenrath , Aughnacliffe , County Longford , on behalf of the County Longford Branch of the National Graves Association .
By Sean O Bradaigh .
Liberte ! Egalite ! Fraternite ! Ou La Mort ! ( (Freedom ! Equality ! Brotherhood ! or Death!).
Unite Indivisibilite De La Republique !

The French Revolution was not without fault - it had its excesses and its terror ; nor have the subsequent French Republics been without blemish either - they had their colonies , and they have been less than just to the minority nations within the French State . Yet , the principles which inspired the Revolution were human and generous and the French Republic has been a model for many other countries .

On the night of August 4 ,1789 , the National Assembly suppressed all the privileges of the 'nobility' and clergy : three weeks later the Declaration of the Rights of Man - 'Forogra ar Chearta an Duine' - was promulgated and later a constitutional regime based on popular suffrage was installed .

On October 5 ,1789 , between six and seven thousand of the women of Paris marched on the Palace of Versailles to force the King to accept the Declaration of the Rights of Man : on January 21 , 1793 , King Louis XVI was publicly executed by guillotine in Paris , and later that year his Queen , Marie Antoinette met the same fate .

In Ireland , the 18th century was probably the most miserable of all times for the people ; a great mass of people lived in mud cabins , on a diet which consisted mostly of potatoes and buttermilk and were ground down by landlords and tithe proctors . They got whatever education they could in the illegal hedge schools :

' Crouching 'neath the sheltering hedge
Or stretched on mountain fern ,
The master and his pupils met
Feloniously to learn . '
(MORE LATER).

BLOODY SUNDAY.......
On 30 January 1972 , 14 civilians were shot dead by the British Army . They had been taking part in a civil rights march in Derry , protesting against internment without trial .
British 'Lord' Widgery was highly selective in the 'evidence' he used in his 'official' report on the matter - and some of the accounts he chose to include were highly suspect. The victims' families have campaigned for justice ever since . Their case is too strong to ignore any longer .
First published in 'MAGILL' magazine , February 1998 .
By Eamonn McCann .

Tony Doherty , whose father , Patrick , was shot dead on Bloody Sunday , stated - " The repudiation of Widgery would logically involve establishing a new inquiry . And after Widgery , we are justified in insisting on an independent element , whether an international panel of judges or whatever . We want all the available evidence made public and examined objectively . That includes any evidence of political motivation . "

The most obvious explanation of what happened in Derry is that the British paras were deployed either to entice the IRA into battle or in the expectation that they would anyway be confronted by IRA members intent on battle , the plan being to inflict a major defeat on the Republican forces and thereby shatter the resistance of the 'Free Derry' no-go area while teaching the 'illegal' anti-internment marchers a lesson in 'law and order' they would remember for a long time - long enough for Mr. Brian Faulkner to staunch the haemorrhage of support to William Craig and Ian Paisley and to consolidate his position at Stormont .

Given the certainty of thousands of marchers in the vicinity , any such plan would have involved a reckless disregard for civilian life - the paras were not 'policemen' . Recalling the events in a BBC documentary broadcast in January 1992 , the Commander of 1 Para , Lieutenant Colonel Derek Wilford , put it plain - " When we moved on the streets , we moved as if we in fact were moving against a well-armed , well-trained army . "
(MORE LATER).

INFORMERS : The RUC's Psychological War .......
From 'IRIS' magazine , March 1983.
By Sean Delaney.

The restrictions imposed on Castlereagh methods of torture by the Amnesty International and Bennett Reports have made the British administration amenable to sweeping changes in the practice and interpretation of existing 'extraordinary' legislation , involving the use of the voluntary 'Bill of Indictment' to bypass normal judicial preliminary enquiries , and generally attempting to lower the threshold of the calibre of 'evidence' needed to secure a conviction , to allow the uncorroborated 'evidence' of an alleged accomplice .

In a broader political context , it seems likely that following the end of the hunger-strikes , the British took a decision to mount a massive psychological offensive against those sections of the Nationalist community that gave tactic or active support to the Republican Movement , and which had been further polarised by the Thatcher government's intransigence towards the hunger-strikers . This 'psy-ops' strategy involved a series of large-scale indiscriminate house raids across the North of Ireland , mostly in Belfast and Derry , during which considerable damage was done to homes , and in which the Brits and RUC usually claimed they were "...acting on information received.. " .

Other aspects of this 'psy-ops' strategy by the Brits involved the use of explosives against Nationalists and blaming it on Republicans .......
(MORE LATER).