YOU'LL NEVER BEAT THE IRISH......

......WELL - NOT BY MORE THAN FOUR GOALS , ANYWAY ;-) !

(My first non-political , 'sporting' post : tongue-in-cheek , as you'll notice but , if we can't slag ourselves then we're in worse condition that we thought we were !)

The two lads that work with me on this blog are in the depths of despair as I write this : they are now listening to some soccer pundits/'experts' on the television who are desperately attempting to explain why it is that this Free State soccer team have just lost 4-0 to Spain - apparently , it is mostly someone else's fault !
We have..... ....bitten off more than we can chew !

I can safely predict that there will be HUGE demonstrations of relief in the streets of this 'alice-through-the-looking-glass' State tomorrow and that a State-wide holiday will be declared by the losers - the ones in Leinster House , that is - in recognition of the fact that the team only lost by four goals , and not by the 27 that Spain deserved.

So don't be..... ....a cry-baby.........

.....take your head... ....out of the sand.........

...go and have.... ....another drink.........

....and just keep in mind..... ....that the Irish bull (!) will get its own back against the Spanish bully someday. Or not !

Anyway : we haven't lost everything in regards to the soccer talent and skill that 'our team' possess : I believe that Robbie and those he takes to the pitch with will at least be declared the 'First Team To Be sent Home' , and no-one can now take that 'victory' away from us. Not even Robbie and Co, it seems... !

Thanks for reading - and no more 'sporting posts' from now on - promise....!

Sharon.

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NOAH , ELTON.....AND BREDA !

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

I made my home in Dublin and although I was in and out of Donegal , I did not come face to face with any incident arising from the 1919 decision on rent , until late 1925 or early 1926 : unlike most countrymen who go out from their home districts , I do not read a local weekly newspaper and missed reports of occasional seizures on foot of decrees of arrears of rent. Every now and then I did read an extract from a sermon by a District Justice on the transgression of tenants who sheltered themselves behind the independence movement for a selfish end , but beyond damning those wandering preachers I took no notice of them. And then one day a thing happened - Jack Boyle , of Croveigh , Dungloe , County Donegal , a man at whose fireside I had often found welcome and warmth and food , handed me a letter which warned him that unless he paid his arrears of land annuity before a stated date , court proceedings would be taken against him and legal costs would add to his burden. We sat on a flag-stone by the roadside on a sunny day and when , fumbling and awkward, I said maybe it would be a mistake to let the cost of court proceedings overtake him , he told me it just did not matter , that the arrears itself were beyond him and that to pay that sum he would have to sell his few head of cattle. There were many others in his plight. If the bailiff came , the worst he could do was drive away his few cattle....... (MORE LATER).

THE PETER BERRY PAPERS....... The Top Secret Memoirs of Ireland's Most Powerful Civil Servant : Dirty Tricks, Election '69/ Spying on a Unionist Politician/ Keeping the (State) Taoiseach informed/ The Garda Fallon Murder/ Advice to Jack Lynch- 'Fire the pair of them...'/ Vivion De Valera's advice to O'Malley/ Rumours of a Coup D'Etat/ The Internment Plot, November 1970/ Secret Meeting with William Craig. From 'MAGILL' magazine , June 1980.
" Prosecutions were taken against the eleven offenders in the Dublin District Court on 8th July 1970 , and the actions of the offenders were described by the State Solicitor who prosecuted as of an 'unprecedented , outrageous nature and constituted a form of anarchy...' . He said that he was authorised by the Attorney General to state that "Mr Berry had nothing good , bad or indifferent to do with the giving of information to the British Courts or the British police." The cases were adjourned to 31st July when the two principals were each fined four pound and were bound to the peace , and the others were given the benefit of the Probation Act on undertaking not to repeat their conduct. However , the day before that , some of the defendants circulated posters on city streets of even a more scurrilous nature which , in the view of the police, were an incitement to murder."
é
8TH JULY 1970 :

"Before the defendants were brought to court on July 8th , the 'Irish Press' newspaper had printed on their front page an account of the picket on my home and published the false libellous words that meant and were understood to mean that I had supplied information to the British authorities in relation to the conviction of Irish Republicans. When the matter came to the notice of Mr. O' Malley during the morning , without reference to me , he phoned the Acting Editor of the 'Irish Press' and made a strong protest against this 'felon setting' . It was admitted to the Minister that the 'Irish Press' had advanced information and that their reporter was on the scene......." (MORE LATER).

NOAH AND ELTON 'HAPPY CAMPERS' , BUT BREDA IS THE BEST DRESSED.....

We had a hectic time on Sunday last (10th June) in the hotel at the CABHAIR raffle : as well as the usual boisterous (!) crowd that this monthly raffle draws in , the venue is regarded as a Sunday 'meeting place' for us Dubs and our country cousins to have a chat , a meal and a few pints , with plenty of activities for the kiddies to enjoy. On top of that , there was a few football games on the telly , and the Free State football team was due to try their hand at this foreign game that evening - to be broadcast live on the big screens , for some reason - and dozens of their supporters were in the bars and lounges , all feeling lucky , apparently , and in great form to buy raffle tickets from us. Plus , we were joined by about two dozen of our Republican comrades who had travelled the short distance from the then recently-finished Wolfe Tone Commemoration. Had we a printing press with us , we could easily have printed and sold at least another 100 tickets but , unfortunately , we hadn't so we couldn't !

After many apologises for having no more tickets to sell , the two CABHAIR monitors closed their book , satisfied that all tickets and funds had been accounted for and two other CABHAIR members took the raffle drum to a table and asked someone seated there to pull a winning ticket from it : this process is repeated at ten or fifteen minute intervals for all eight prizes , allowing time for the result sheets to be filled-in and for the winning number(s) to be circulated throughout the premises.

The 1st Prize , EURO 200 , won with ticket number 652 (on this occasion , new tickets [651-670] were put in to the raffle drum to replace 20 other tickets that had been 'acquired' by State 'security forces' , which happens quite often) was sold by Danny to a local girl , Breda Kelly , who just couldn't bring herself to believe that the envelope presented to her contained such a sum of money - until she opened it , that is... ! The 2nd Prize , EURO 100 - ticket number 283 - went home to Carlow with the lovely young Kayla , after Mam and Dad had managed to quieten her down , such was her excitement ("I'm rich , Mam , look....!!") and Seán , from Dungarven , quietly pocketed the 3rd Prize , EURO 40, after claiming same with ticket number 002. A shrewd man , that Seán fella - no fuss , no 'grand entrance' : simply presented his ticket stub to the CABHAIR reps , put his envelope in his inside pocket , gave me a wink and walked calmly to the bar !

4th Prize , EURO 20 , was won by a young lad from Wexford , Noah - ticket number 202 - and his drinkin' buddie , Elton , was 'up' the same amount , having bought ticket number 597 from our Tommy , who got two free pints for his 'troubles' ! One of our other regular ticket sellers , Paddy E , from Blanch , sold ticket number 518 to Pat , who found himself twenty-spot better off as a result of winning the 6th Prize , and 'SOS' won the same on ticket number 482 (7th Prize) just before Tony B won the last prize - EURO 20 - with ticket 136 , having bought it from a delighted Anto.

A good few of us stayed on in the hotel until late that night , such was the atmosphere - great craic , crazy mix of music , locals , soccer supporters and Irish Republicans all of whom , between them , managed to 'unite' in support of Irish political prisoners and their families : the CABHAIR organisation are to be congratulated for making these fund-raising 'gigs' into what they have become - regular opportunities for a community to 'pull together' in support of such an important cause !

Thanks for reading, Sharon.

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ANOTHER PHOTOPRINT OF ONE.......

This is our wee tribute to a Lady , her family and her many camp followers throughout the world , on which the sun never sets , in appreciation of the many centuries that she , and they , have kept one on their toes.....
"One appreciates that the interweb is rather populated with one's photoprints but , as Charles is fond of saying , there is always room for one more...."

There is soooooo much more we would like to write about this woman and her 'clan' , but we are in the process of organising a 650-ticket CABHAIR raffle , to be held tomorrow (Sunday 10th June 2012) , the objective of which is to raise funds for the families of imprisoned political colleagues , that we just don't have the time. Priorities and all that , what......

Thanks for reading,

Sharon.

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

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

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

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

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

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

(MORE LATER).

THE PETER BERRY PAPERS....... The Top Secret Memoirs of Ireland's Most Powerful Civil Servant : Dirty Tricks, Election '69/ Spying on a Unionist Politician/ Keeping the (State) Taoiseach informed/ The Garda Fallon Murder/ Advice to Jack Lynch- 'Fire the pair of them...'/ Vivion De Valera's advice to O'Malley/ Rumours of a Coup D'Etat/ The Internment Plot, November 1970/ Secret Meeting with William Craig. From 'MAGILL' magazine , June 1980.
"The Taoiseach mentioned why the available members of the Cabinet had been summoned to Dublin , at the joint request, apparently , of the Minister for Justice and the Minister for Defence , and said we will start the questioning with Mr. Berry. He proceeded to do so and I gave the result of my enquiries that morning , that nothing unusual was happening and nothing was in the pipeline. When their turn came the Chief of Staff and the Commissioner had nothing to add.

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

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

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


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

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

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


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

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

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



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

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

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


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

Thanks for reading, Sharon.

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CHEAP.....AND GONNA GET CHEAPER !

THE BIGGEST , CHEAPEST BROTHEL IN EUROPE !

 

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

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

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

Thanks for reading, Sharon.

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

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

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

(MORE LATER).

THE PETER BERRY PAPERS....... The Top Secret Memoirs of Ireland's Most Powerful Civil Servant : Dirty Tricks, Election '69/ Spying on a Unionist Politician/ Keeping the (State) Taoiseach informed/ The Garda Fallon Murder/ Advice to Jack Lynch- 'Fire the pair of them...'/ Vivion De Valera's advice to O'Malley/ Rumours of a Coup D'Etat/ The Internment Plot, November 1970/ Secret Meeting with William Craig. From 'MAGILL' magazine , June 1980.
"I had a number of photostat copies made of my aide memoire for the Minister with whom I discussed it in detail : he had come to Office , as Minister for Justice, in the previous month and he was hearing some of the background for the first time. I doubted to him whether it was wise to give such detail to Counsel but I recognised that this would be a political decision."

JULY 5 , 1970 :

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

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

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

(MORE LATER).

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

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

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

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

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

Thanks for reading, Sharon.

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

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

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

(MORE LATER).

THE PETER BERRY PAPERS....... The Top Secret Memoirs of Ireland's Most Powerful Civil Servant : Dirty Tricks, Election '69/ Spying on a Unionist Politician/ Keeping the (State) Taoiseach informed/ The Garda Fallon Murder/ Advice to Jack Lynch- 'Fire the pair of them...'/ Vivion De Valera's advice to O'Malley/ Rumours of a Coup D'Etat/ The Internment Plot, November 1970/ Secret Meeting with William Craig. From 'MAGILL' magazine , June 1980.

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

(MORE LATER).

MARTIN McGUINNESS......

....GOES....

.....OVER.....

....TO THE....

.....OTHER SIDE.

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

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

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

Thanks for reading, Sharon.

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

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

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

Tell this man.....

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

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

Thanks for reading, Sharon.

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2012 CABHAIR TESTIMONIAL - BRIEF REPORT AND PICS.

CABHAIR TESTIMONIAL 2012.

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

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

CABHAIR flag-stand on display in the function room.

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

A section of the crowd at the 2012 CABHAIR Testimonial.

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

Some of those in attendance at the CABHAIR Testimonial.

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

Crowd section....

....and another few of them !

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

Thanks for reading, Sharon.

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

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


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

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

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


THE PETER BERRY PAPERS....... The Top Secret Memoirs of Ireland's Most Powerful Civil Servant : Dirty Tricks, Election '69/ Spying on a Unionist Politician/ Keeping the (State) Taoiseach informed/ The Garda Fallon Murder/ Advice to Jack Lynch- 'Fire the pair of them...'/ Vivion De Valera's advice to O'Malley/ Rumours of a Coup D'Etat/ The Internment Plot, November 1970/ Secret Meeting with William Craig. From 'MAGILL' magazine , June 1980.

JUNE 17TH 1970 :

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

ANNUAL IRISH REPUBLICAN REUNION.

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

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

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

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

Thanks for reading,

Sharon.

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

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

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

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

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

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

RSF leaflets distributed today , Sunday 13th May 2012.

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

Thanks for reading, Sharon.

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ONcE UPON A TIME......

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


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


THE PETER BERRY PAPERS....... The Top Secret Memoirs of Ireland's Most Powerful Civil Servant : Dirty Tricks, Election '69/ Spying on a Unionist Politician/ Keeping the (State) Taoiseach informed/ The Garda Fallon Murder/ Advice to Jack Lynch- 'Fire the pair of them...'/ Vivion De Valera's advice to O'Malley/ Rumours of a Coup D'Etat/ The Internment Plot, November 1970/ Secret Meeting with William Craig. From 'MAGILL' magazine , June 1980.

MAY 25TH 1970 :

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

MAY 27TH 1970 :

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

JUNE 3RD 1970 :

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


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

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

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

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

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

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

CLONMEL CROWD......

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

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

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

Thanks for reading, Sharon.

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