Tom Doyle , Free State Civil Servant , Free State Department of Defence employee....and IRA activist.
.... when he was released in December 1945 , Tom Doyle had lost his job (due to pressure exerted by the Free State administration) ; however , he was already working with the 'Republican Prisoners Release Association' (RPRA) ....
In 1947 , Tom Doyle was elected Secretary of the 'RPRA' , a position he held until the organisation was disbanded in 1952 and its committee (Rita McGlynn , Ella Woods , Donal O'Connor , Tom Gill , Nan Dillon and Tom Doyle) founded 'An Cumann Cabhrach' (now 'Cabhair') in 1953. He was elected Secretary to the new organisation and held that position until his death in 1962.
Tom Doyle regularly wrote articles for the then newspaper of the Republican Movement 'The United Irishman' (now 'Saoirse') which was first published in May 1948 ; in that same year he was elected as Secretary to the Sinn Fein Organising Committee and later became joint General Secretary (along with Jim Russell) of Sinn Fein proper. Also in 1948 , he got a job on the staff of the 'Workers Union of Ireland' .
At Sinn Fein's 1951 Ard Fheis , Tom Doyle was elected Vice-President of the organisation and, during the early 1950's , he served as President for two years and from 1956 to 1962 again held the position of Vice-President . (MORE LATER)>
THE TRAGEDIES OF KERRY , by Dorothy Macardle , first published in 1924 :
Joe and Seumas Taylor of Glencar -
" ..... for the British left in their place an army of Irishmen pledged to the same King .....
.... June came and that army was commanded to complete the Empire's unfinished work . The war against the Republic was renewed. Again mothers saw their sons go out to the mountains- to their "loyal allies the hills" , and again they held in their hearts the dreadful knowledge - "without falling they will not win" .
Seumas Taylor was not like his soldier brother ; he was a very gentle , home-loving boy . His comrades tried, because of Joe's death, to keep him out of the danger , but for all his quietness he had his own way : he was adjutant of a company in March, 1923. He was sitting in his mother's house , resting, very tired, when the Free State troops rushed in and took him away. The prisoners saw him the next night in Killorglin Barracks . He was covered with blood-stained bandages , hardly able to stand. Sheila (his sister) had sent him in a coat. In the censor's office they had filled the pockets with ammunition ; when Seumas opened the coat this fell out and he was pitilessly beaten by his guards . " (MORE LATER)>
" PADDY IRISHMAN ...... " -
- "They're so intelligent , the Irish . Give them an education and they can do anything . I remember the first time I met an Irish accountant . I laughed because I could'nt believe it : an Irish accountant ! " .
----- Tory MP Edwina Currie , the SUN 'newspaper' , 1st March 1997 .
Oh we're good with figures , Edwina :
1+1+6+9 = 834 ; 26+6 = 1.
.... you can count on that .
Friday, July 11, 2003
.... Tom Doyle , Free State Civil Servant, Free State Department of Defence employee... and IRA activist --
..... in February 1941, Tom Doyle was noticed by the Special Branch as he was talking to people that they were interested in .....
-- his movements and contacts were now being monitored . In March 1942, Tom Doyle was arrested and sentenced to fourteen years imprisonment for IRA membership and was locked-up in Mountjoy Jail ; he was later moved to Arbour Hill Military Prison and, in July 1945, was transferred to the Curragh Internment Camp where he was detained for one year - he was then moved to the 'Glasshouse' in the Curragh and kept there until that December (1945) when he was released.
The Free State administration used 'Section 34 of the Offences Against the State Act 1939' on Tom Doyle and he lost his job ; by then he had already reported back to the Movement and was involved in the 'Republican Prisoners Release Association' (RPRA) , which had been founded in 1945 - the aim of the 'RPRA' was to assist the Republican prisoners and their dependants and to campaign for the release of all Irish Republican political prisoners in Ireland and England. (MORE LATER)>
THE TRAGEDIES OF KERRY , by Dorothy Macardle - first published in 1924 :
Joe and Seumas Taylor of Glencar -
...the Black-and-Tans pulled Joe Taylor out of his house and shot him ; he died from loss of blood ....
" His memorial stands on the roadside where he was shot , in a little plot planted with shrubs and flowers. The cross bears an inscription:'CAPTAIN JOSEPH TAYLOR,IRA,DIED FOR IRELAND,FEB.27th,RIP'.The lesson of his death was for Seumas to learn.
June came, and, as Joe Taylor had foreseen, the enemy called a truce: not out-numbered, not out-rivalled in violence, but defeated by their own campaign of terror . The world's indignation turned against the Imperial assassins : the men whom they had murdered conquered them. December came and the annihilation of a great hope. The departure of British troops from Ireland , dreamed of as the reward of a thousand martyrdoms , came as most bitter shame, for they left in their place an army of Irishmen pledged to the same King . " (MORE LATER)>
WHAT A COINCIDENCE......
.....according to a book by Gary Wills entitled 'REAGANS AMERICA' , Twentieth Century-Fox purchased 236 acres of land from Ronnie and , in doing so, gave him a three-thousand per cent profit on his investment - shortly after that deal , the then U S President signed a bill (which had been vetoed by his predecessor) giving all the major film studios a multimillion-dollar tax break !
...at least he did'nt start a war ....
....and, as they say in Nicaragua , - "El que tuvo reales ya los tiene todavia " ("The one who had money before still has it now").
..... in February 1941, Tom Doyle was noticed by the Special Branch as he was talking to people that they were interested in .....
-- his movements and contacts were now being monitored . In March 1942, Tom Doyle was arrested and sentenced to fourteen years imprisonment for IRA membership and was locked-up in Mountjoy Jail ; he was later moved to Arbour Hill Military Prison and, in July 1945, was transferred to the Curragh Internment Camp where he was detained for one year - he was then moved to the 'Glasshouse' in the Curragh and kept there until that December (1945) when he was released.
The Free State administration used 'Section 34 of the Offences Against the State Act 1939' on Tom Doyle and he lost his job ; by then he had already reported back to the Movement and was involved in the 'Republican Prisoners Release Association' (RPRA) , which had been founded in 1945 - the aim of the 'RPRA' was to assist the Republican prisoners and their dependants and to campaign for the release of all Irish Republican political prisoners in Ireland and England. (MORE LATER)>
THE TRAGEDIES OF KERRY , by Dorothy Macardle - first published in 1924 :
Joe and Seumas Taylor of Glencar -
...the Black-and-Tans pulled Joe Taylor out of his house and shot him ; he died from loss of blood ....
" His memorial stands on the roadside where he was shot , in a little plot planted with shrubs and flowers. The cross bears an inscription:'CAPTAIN JOSEPH TAYLOR,IRA,DIED FOR IRELAND,FEB.27th,RIP'.The lesson of his death was for Seumas to learn.
June came, and, as Joe Taylor had foreseen, the enemy called a truce: not out-numbered, not out-rivalled in violence, but defeated by their own campaign of terror . The world's indignation turned against the Imperial assassins : the men whom they had murdered conquered them. December came and the annihilation of a great hope. The departure of British troops from Ireland , dreamed of as the reward of a thousand martyrdoms , came as most bitter shame, for they left in their place an army of Irishmen pledged to the same King . " (MORE LATER)>
WHAT A COINCIDENCE......
.....according to a book by Gary Wills entitled 'REAGANS AMERICA' , Twentieth Century-Fox purchased 236 acres of land from Ronnie and , in doing so, gave him a three-thousand per cent profit on his investment - shortly after that deal , the then U S President signed a bill (which had been vetoed by his predecessor) giving all the major film studios a multimillion-dollar tax break !
...at least he did'nt start a war ....
....and, as they say in Nicaragua , - "El que tuvo reales ya los tiene todavia " ("The one who had money before still has it now").
Thursday, July 10, 2003
....Tom Doyle , Free State Civil Servant , Free State Department of Defence employee...and IRA activist.
..... near the end of his teenage years , Tom Doyle became interested in Irish Republicanism....
....and , within a few months, had joined the IRA - he was an active Volunteer in the Dublin Brigade. His position in the Free State Department of Defence gave him access to certain files which were classed as 'sensitive' ; he was interested in one particular folder - it contained information on the 'Magazine Fort' in Dublin's Phoenix Park , where the bulk of the Free State Army's ammunition was stored .
Tom Doyle copied the details from the folder and approached IRA leaders Michael Traynor and Jack McNeela with a view to putting a plan together to raid the 'Fort' ; the idea was worked on and , on 23rd December, 1939 , the raid was carried out : over one-million rounds of ammunition was 'liberated' and Tom Doyle himself was among the dozens of IRA Volunteers that took part in the operation.
In 1940 , Tom Doyle acted as Adjutant General to Stephen Hayes , the IRA Chief-of-Staff ; the Special Branch knew nothing of his IRA activities as he continued to work in the Free State Department of Defence while his IRA comrades were forced to go 'on the run' as the Branch were looking for them . However , in February 1941 , he was noticed by the Branch as he was talking to people they were interested in ..... (MORE LATER)>
'THE TRAGEDIES OF KERRY' , by Dorothy Macardle - first published in 1924 :
Joe and Seumas Taylor of Glencar -
.... Joe Taylor , IRA Volunteer, was at home when two armed men rushed in and struck him with a rifle on the forehead , shouting "Get up and come out ..... " --
" Sheila (his sister) stood in the doorway , and caught at the rifle and implored the men not to shoot , but they dragged Joe out on the road . There were about fourteen of the Black-and-Tans round the house with three prisoners they had taken that morning . Seumas (Joe's brother) was one. His captors took Joe to the roadside, made him stand against the hedge, and shot him . He fell on the ground , blood streaming from his wound, and lay moaning .
The mother and father came rushing up from the house, frantic, but the Black-and-Tans held them back. They would let no one go to the wounded man. It was an hour before they went away , leaving Seumas free. The father and brother carried Joe into the nearest house . He was able to speak to them and to take a drink. They did not think that he would die ; but he died an hour later from loss of blood . " (MORE LATER)>
PILLOW TALK.......
The Loyalist 'TARA' paramilitary group (founded , and flounderd,in the 1980's) was led by William McGrath - the same man that made his name in the 'Kincora Boys Home' forced male-prostitution ring, and a 'pin-up' for perverts everywhere. Before he was caught with his bag of lollipops and measuring tape , the bould Willie maintained that the Ulster Protestants were one of the 'Lost Tribes of Israel' !
McGrath claimed that the British Coronation Stone was originally to have been Jacobs Pillow ....
.... life's just one long nightmare for you, Willie, is'nt it....?
..... near the end of his teenage years , Tom Doyle became interested in Irish Republicanism....
....and , within a few months, had joined the IRA - he was an active Volunteer in the Dublin Brigade. His position in the Free State Department of Defence gave him access to certain files which were classed as 'sensitive' ; he was interested in one particular folder - it contained information on the 'Magazine Fort' in Dublin's Phoenix Park , where the bulk of the Free State Army's ammunition was stored .
Tom Doyle copied the details from the folder and approached IRA leaders Michael Traynor and Jack McNeela with a view to putting a plan together to raid the 'Fort' ; the idea was worked on and , on 23rd December, 1939 , the raid was carried out : over one-million rounds of ammunition was 'liberated' and Tom Doyle himself was among the dozens of IRA Volunteers that took part in the operation.
In 1940 , Tom Doyle acted as Adjutant General to Stephen Hayes , the IRA Chief-of-Staff ; the Special Branch knew nothing of his IRA activities as he continued to work in the Free State Department of Defence while his IRA comrades were forced to go 'on the run' as the Branch were looking for them . However , in February 1941 , he was noticed by the Branch as he was talking to people they were interested in ..... (MORE LATER)>
'THE TRAGEDIES OF KERRY' , by Dorothy Macardle - first published in 1924 :
Joe and Seumas Taylor of Glencar -
.... Joe Taylor , IRA Volunteer, was at home when two armed men rushed in and struck him with a rifle on the forehead , shouting "Get up and come out ..... " --
" Sheila (his sister) stood in the doorway , and caught at the rifle and implored the men not to shoot , but they dragged Joe out on the road . There were about fourteen of the Black-and-Tans round the house with three prisoners they had taken that morning . Seumas (Joe's brother) was one. His captors took Joe to the roadside, made him stand against the hedge, and shot him . He fell on the ground , blood streaming from his wound, and lay moaning .
The mother and father came rushing up from the house, frantic, but the Black-and-Tans held them back. They would let no one go to the wounded man. It was an hour before they went away , leaving Seumas free. The father and brother carried Joe into the nearest house . He was able to speak to them and to take a drink. They did not think that he would die ; but he died an hour later from loss of blood . " (MORE LATER)>
PILLOW TALK.......
The Loyalist 'TARA' paramilitary group (founded , and flounderd,in the 1980's) was led by William McGrath - the same man that made his name in the 'Kincora Boys Home' forced male-prostitution ring, and a 'pin-up' for perverts everywhere. Before he was caught with his bag of lollipops and measuring tape , the bould Willie maintained that the Ulster Protestants were one of the 'Lost Tribes of Israel' !
McGrath claimed that the British Coronation Stone was originally to have been Jacobs Pillow ....
.... life's just one long nightmare for you, Willie, is'nt it....?
Wednesday, July 09, 2003
Tom Doyle , Free State Civil Servant, Free State Department of Defence employee..... and IRA activist.
A child born on Comeragh Road in Drimnagh, Dublin, in 1917, was to put a full twenty-seven years work into the Republican Movement before his death at the young age of 45 ; again, as so often mentioned on this site, his name is practically unknown outside the Movement.....
Tom Doyle was educated at St James' Christian Brother School in James' Street, Dublin, left school at sixteen years young, and commenced employment as a clerk in the Free State Department of Defence ; he furthered his education and his career prospects by later obtaining a diploma in social and economic science at University college Dublin .
Near the end of his teenage years he became interested in the concept of Irish Republicanism ...... (MORE LATER)>
' THE TRAGEDIES OF KERRY ' , by Dorothy Macardle , first published in 1924 :
.... Joe and Seumas Taylor of Glencar -
" In the lonely glen, wind-swept and filled with heroic beauty, it is no wonder if men's minds grow restless- if its young men see visions and its old men dream dreams . It is a place that has given Ireland brave sons.
A little stone-built cottage is the Taylors' home . When things were quiet Joe and Seumas both lived at home. Joe was the elder of the two. He was an officer in the Volunteers in 1916 , one of those who held men together by their own faith and daring when to the worldly-wise the thought of a free Ireland seemed no more than a poet's dream .He was six months in jail for "illegal drilling" in 1918, and was drilling openly again as soon as he was released. He lived in the mountains , carrying out the work of the Republican army until February 1921.
"Tell me,son, are we going to win at all? " , his mother asked one day . "We are," he replied, "but not till after June. Till June things will get hotter; there will be more of them coming in ." "God pity us!" the mother exclaimed . "There'll be many a poor boy fall before that" .
"They'll not win without falling," he said. The twenty-seventh of February was a Sunday , and Joe ventured home to get ready for Mass. It was early ; only his sister Sheila was up and he sat resting, half asleep by the fire . He had been walking the mountains all night and was very tired.
Two armed men rushed in, and one struck him with a rifle on the forehead, shouting "Get up and come out!" ...... (MORE LATER)>
GOOD LORD , JOHN, YOU'RE VERY QUIET .....
.... even before his 'elevation' to that of a 'British Lord' , the Unionist John Taylor was keeping the head down - or was he ?
According to 'The Sunday Tribune' issue of 22nd January 1989 (page 32) , Mr Taylor is probably just to busy to be botherin' with us Taigs :
He was listed as Chairperson of - Cerdac Ltd ; Tyrone Printing Company ; Ulster Gazette (Armagh) Ltd; Bramley Apple Restaurant Ltd; Gosford Housing Association Ltd; Sovereign Properties Ltd; and Tyrone Courier(Dungannon) Ltd !
He also published five newspapers , is a civil engineer , a land owner , a developer holding eleven acres of development land in Armagh , owns two houses in Cyprus and, at the same time , was an MEP .
.... does'nt leave much time for chasing Fenians !
A child born on Comeragh Road in Drimnagh, Dublin, in 1917, was to put a full twenty-seven years work into the Republican Movement before his death at the young age of 45 ; again, as so often mentioned on this site, his name is practically unknown outside the Movement.....
Tom Doyle was educated at St James' Christian Brother School in James' Street, Dublin, left school at sixteen years young, and commenced employment as a clerk in the Free State Department of Defence ; he furthered his education and his career prospects by later obtaining a diploma in social and economic science at University college Dublin .
Near the end of his teenage years he became interested in the concept of Irish Republicanism ...... (MORE LATER)>
' THE TRAGEDIES OF KERRY ' , by Dorothy Macardle , first published in 1924 :
.... Joe and Seumas Taylor of Glencar -
" In the lonely glen, wind-swept and filled with heroic beauty, it is no wonder if men's minds grow restless- if its young men see visions and its old men dream dreams . It is a place that has given Ireland brave sons.
A little stone-built cottage is the Taylors' home . When things were quiet Joe and Seumas both lived at home. Joe was the elder of the two. He was an officer in the Volunteers in 1916 , one of those who held men together by their own faith and daring when to the worldly-wise the thought of a free Ireland seemed no more than a poet's dream .He was six months in jail for "illegal drilling" in 1918, and was drilling openly again as soon as he was released. He lived in the mountains , carrying out the work of the Republican army until February 1921.
"Tell me,son, are we going to win at all? " , his mother asked one day . "We are," he replied, "but not till after June. Till June things will get hotter; there will be more of them coming in ." "God pity us!" the mother exclaimed . "There'll be many a poor boy fall before that" .
"They'll not win without falling," he said. The twenty-seventh of February was a Sunday , and Joe ventured home to get ready for Mass. It was early ; only his sister Sheila was up and he sat resting, half asleep by the fire . He had been walking the mountains all night and was very tired.
Two armed men rushed in, and one struck him with a rifle on the forehead, shouting "Get up and come out!" ...... (MORE LATER)>
GOOD LORD , JOHN, YOU'RE VERY QUIET .....
.... even before his 'elevation' to that of a 'British Lord' , the Unionist John Taylor was keeping the head down - or was he ?
According to 'The Sunday Tribune' issue of 22nd January 1989 (page 32) , Mr Taylor is probably just to busy to be botherin' with us Taigs :
He was listed as Chairperson of - Cerdac Ltd ; Tyrone Printing Company ; Ulster Gazette (Armagh) Ltd; Bramley Apple Restaurant Ltd; Gosford Housing Association Ltd; Sovereign Properties Ltd; and Tyrone Courier(Dungannon) Ltd !
He also published five newspapers , is a civil engineer , a land owner , a developer holding eleven acres of development land in Armagh , owns two houses in Cyprus and, at the same time , was an MEP .
.... does'nt leave much time for chasing Fenians !
Tuesday, July 08, 2003
..... James Nowlan , GAA President and Sinn Fein activist.....
.... in August 1916 , James Nowlan was released from Frongoch Prison in Wales and resumed his GAA and Sinn Fein activities - he also raised funds for the 'Irish National and Volunteer Dependent Fund' ......
During the 'Tan War' (1919-1921) James Nowlan publicly voiced support for the IRA's armed struggle and was unmercilessly harassed by the British for doing so - the GAA itself as an institution and anyone associated with it were abused , verbally and physically, by the Brits. James Nowlan retired as GAA President in March 1921 , at the Congress that year, and was appointed 'Honorary Life President' of the association - the only person to be so honoured .
He died on 30th June , 1924 , in his 70's and , three years after his death , the Kilkenny GAA Stadium became known as 'Nowlan Park' . There is a lot more that today's GAA leadership could do to honour that man properly ; the GAA leadership of today has, in my opinion, aligned itself firmly with the establishment of the day and is wasting the potential it has to help achieve a British withdrawal from this country. Again, in my opinion, James Nowlan would have little to do with them .....
'THE TRAGEDIES OF KERRY ' , 1924 (Dorothy Macardle) -
"... there is no lovelier place in Kerry than Glencar ..." :
"Sombre holly-trees huddle under young birches and larches, whose boughs sprinkle the air with luminous green. Scotch firs stand, tall and sparse, in a straggling line. Far and wide the marshy land, grey-brown with rocks and flowering myrtle, flows up to the encompassing hills. Eastward rise up , proud and protective, the Macgillicuddy Reeks, culminating in the summit of Carrantuohill, his head lost in the clouds.
Over it all the restless Kerry weather . Atlantic winds and massive or airy clouds, with varying shadow and sun-burst, weave their spells : visions of floating mountains seem to open only to vanish again ; a hill stands out , clear-cut like a pyramid of gold; a green, wooded valley is transmuted to a heaving sea; then all lies gloomy and sullen once more under a thunderous sky " ' (MORE LATER)>
IT's JUST NOT CRICKET .....
.... In 1935 , the British Duke of Westminster made use of a 'loop-hole' in the tax system to pay his domestic employees (and would'nt we all....) on whom he would not otherwise have received a tax deduction for ; instead of paying them wages , he gave them annual payments under deeds of covenant !
The British House of Lords rejected the tax inspectors arguments that the truth of the matter was that the Duke was paying his staff wages in a form that was dressed up so as to be tax deductible - a 'Lord Tomlin' stated that " Every man is entitled if he can to order his affairs so that the tax attaching is less than it otherwise would be " . The Duke of Westminster won his case .
So - if you're 'signing-on' and doing a few nixers , or doing some extra work after the day job -- don't worry about being caught ; Lord Tomlin says its ok !
.... in August 1916 , James Nowlan was released from Frongoch Prison in Wales and resumed his GAA and Sinn Fein activities - he also raised funds for the 'Irish National and Volunteer Dependent Fund' ......
During the 'Tan War' (1919-1921) James Nowlan publicly voiced support for the IRA's armed struggle and was unmercilessly harassed by the British for doing so - the GAA itself as an institution and anyone associated with it were abused , verbally and physically, by the Brits. James Nowlan retired as GAA President in March 1921 , at the Congress that year, and was appointed 'Honorary Life President' of the association - the only person to be so honoured .
He died on 30th June , 1924 , in his 70's and , three years after his death , the Kilkenny GAA Stadium became known as 'Nowlan Park' . There is a lot more that today's GAA leadership could do to honour that man properly ; the GAA leadership of today has, in my opinion, aligned itself firmly with the establishment of the day and is wasting the potential it has to help achieve a British withdrawal from this country. Again, in my opinion, James Nowlan would have little to do with them .....
'THE TRAGEDIES OF KERRY ' , 1924 (Dorothy Macardle) -
"... there is no lovelier place in Kerry than Glencar ..." :
"Sombre holly-trees huddle under young birches and larches, whose boughs sprinkle the air with luminous green. Scotch firs stand, tall and sparse, in a straggling line. Far and wide the marshy land, grey-brown with rocks and flowering myrtle, flows up to the encompassing hills. Eastward rise up , proud and protective, the Macgillicuddy Reeks, culminating in the summit of Carrantuohill, his head lost in the clouds.
Over it all the restless Kerry weather . Atlantic winds and massive or airy clouds, with varying shadow and sun-burst, weave their spells : visions of floating mountains seem to open only to vanish again ; a hill stands out , clear-cut like a pyramid of gold; a green, wooded valley is transmuted to a heaving sea; then all lies gloomy and sullen once more under a thunderous sky " ' (MORE LATER)>
IT's JUST NOT CRICKET .....
.... In 1935 , the British Duke of Westminster made use of a 'loop-hole' in the tax system to pay his domestic employees (and would'nt we all....) on whom he would not otherwise have received a tax deduction for ; instead of paying them wages , he gave them annual payments under deeds of covenant !
The British House of Lords rejected the tax inspectors arguments that the truth of the matter was that the Duke was paying his staff wages in a form that was dressed up so as to be tax deductible - a 'Lord Tomlin' stated that " Every man is entitled if he can to order his affairs so that the tax attaching is less than it otherwise would be " . The Duke of Westminster won his case .
So - if you're 'signing-on' and doing a few nixers , or doing some extra work after the day job -- don't worry about being caught ; Lord Tomlin says its ok !
Monday, July 07, 2003
.... James Nowlan , GAA President and Sinn Fein activist.....
....although he was a well-respected member of the GAA and a trusted Alderman on Kilkenny Corporation , Sinn Fein member James Nowlan failed to convince the Central Council of the GAA that it should publicly commemorate the 100th anniversary of the 1798 Rising .....
The GAA leadership refused to even appoint representatives to the 1798 Centenary Committee , but James Nowlan and a few other GAA members played a prominent role in the celebrations .
At the GAA Congress held in September 1901 , James Nowlan was elected President and attempted to steer the organisation towards a more Republican path ; for instance , when the 'Irish Volunteers' was formed, Nowlan stated that it was a most suitable group for GAA members to join , even though other GAA leaders were not as enthusiastic about the group.
James Nowlan was arrested by the British in May 1916 following the Easter Rising, and imprisoned in Frongoch, in Wales ; in August that year he was released , and resumed his GAA and Sinn Fein activities . He was to the forefront in campaigning for a general amnesty for all political prisoners and also raised funds for the 'Irish National and Volunteer Dependent Fund' . (MORE LATER)>
From 'The Tragedies of Kerry', by Dorothy Macardle , 1924 :
JOE AND SEUMAS TAYLOR OF GLENCAR
" There is no lovelier place in Kerry than Glencar. In Autumn it is aglow with rowan-berries and in May it is full of rainy, sun-lit colours changing with every wind from hour to hour ; always it is full of sweet fragrances and sounds - of "Shallow rivers to whose falls
Melodious birds make madrigals".
Violets and cloud-blue hyacinths, primroses and white bell-flowers whose name nobody knows , glimmer in the hollows under the trees. Little orchards where the apple-trees are a-bubble with blossom struggle up on to rocky moors , and there the starry branches of the blackthorn shine, and the rich yellow of gorse " . (MORE LATER)>
When British Captain Eric Nave retired from service he wrote a book in which he claimed that Churchill knew that the Japanese were going to attack Pearl Harbour ....
.....he stated that Churchill learned of the imminent attack from intercepted messages but refused to tell the Americans for his own reasons (anyone know the Japanese for 'Steaknife' ?) . An extract from Nave's book was published in an Australian newspaper , which prompted British Admiral D Higgins, from the British 'D Notice Committee' (the under-cover censorship board) to contact the 'Bodley Head'-group of publishers , who then decided not to go ahead with the book !
The Americans should realise that the Brits have no friends , only interests .....
....although he was a well-respected member of the GAA and a trusted Alderman on Kilkenny Corporation , Sinn Fein member James Nowlan failed to convince the Central Council of the GAA that it should publicly commemorate the 100th anniversary of the 1798 Rising .....
The GAA leadership refused to even appoint representatives to the 1798 Centenary Committee , but James Nowlan and a few other GAA members played a prominent role in the celebrations .
At the GAA Congress held in September 1901 , James Nowlan was elected President and attempted to steer the organisation towards a more Republican path ; for instance , when the 'Irish Volunteers' was formed, Nowlan stated that it was a most suitable group for GAA members to join , even though other GAA leaders were not as enthusiastic about the group.
James Nowlan was arrested by the British in May 1916 following the Easter Rising, and imprisoned in Frongoch, in Wales ; in August that year he was released , and resumed his GAA and Sinn Fein activities . He was to the forefront in campaigning for a general amnesty for all political prisoners and also raised funds for the 'Irish National and Volunteer Dependent Fund' . (MORE LATER)>
From 'The Tragedies of Kerry', by Dorothy Macardle , 1924 :
JOE AND SEUMAS TAYLOR OF GLENCAR
" There is no lovelier place in Kerry than Glencar. In Autumn it is aglow with rowan-berries and in May it is full of rainy, sun-lit colours changing with every wind from hour to hour ; always it is full of sweet fragrances and sounds - of "Shallow rivers to whose falls
Melodious birds make madrigals".
Violets and cloud-blue hyacinths, primroses and white bell-flowers whose name nobody knows , glimmer in the hollows under the trees. Little orchards where the apple-trees are a-bubble with blossom struggle up on to rocky moors , and there the starry branches of the blackthorn shine, and the rich yellow of gorse " . (MORE LATER)>
When British Captain Eric Nave retired from service he wrote a book in which he claimed that Churchill knew that the Japanese were going to attack Pearl Harbour ....
.....he stated that Churchill learned of the imminent attack from intercepted messages but refused to tell the Americans for his own reasons (anyone know the Japanese for 'Steaknife' ?) . An extract from Nave's book was published in an Australian newspaper , which prompted British Admiral D Higgins, from the British 'D Notice Committee' (the under-cover censorship board) to contact the 'Bodley Head'-group of publishers , who then decided not to go ahead with the book !
The Americans should realise that the Brits have no friends , only interests .....
Sunday, July 06, 2003
James Nowlan , GAA President and Sinn Fein activist .
Born in Kilkenny city during the early 1850's, this child grew up to become the President of the GAA (and was to hold that position for over twenty years) and was a wholehearted supporter of the IRA's armed struggle .....
James Nowlan was a respected and well known member of the Gaelic League , the GAA and Sinn Fein ; his Republican credentials were known to all when , in 1898, he was elected as Alderman to Kilkenny Corporation - Nowlan used the position to great effect in his endeavours to publicise the then fourteen-year's young 'Gaelic Athletic Association' , but was less successful in persuading the Central Council of the GAA that it should begin preparations to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the 1798 Rising . (MORE LATER)>
....John Tadhg Sullivan of Killurley ........
.... John Sullivan promised his mother that he would visit her on Thursday - he was an IRA Volunteer on leave, and was on his way back to his Column -
" After the Garrane fight John Sullivan and Patrick Coffey set out to rejoin their Column towards Glenbeigh . Suddenly , at the turn of a lonely road in Gleesk, they saw four Free State officers facing them . The officers saw them and fired point blank . Coffey and Sullivan returned the fire, retreating, with zig-zag movements, along the road and Coffey succeeded in escaping over the fields. As he ran he looked back , anxious about his comrade, and saw him standing in a field among the four officers - a prisoner of war .
Nurse Sloan and Nurse O'Connor went with parcels for the prisoners to the Workhouse at Bahaghs, near Cahirciveen, and the sentry told them " There is one of your men wounded up at Gleesk " . They drove to Gleesk and found John Sullivan on the road . He was dead. There was a clean bullet-wound in the right thigh ; the chest and right shoulder were shattered , the skin singed and still hot to the touch. They sent word to the boy's mother that he was wounded and not expected to live ; then they brought him home .
" Oh Johnny , Johnny ! " the mother cried , " you came to us- you kept your word . But, oh Johnny, what a way you came .... " " .
------ 'The Tragedies of Kerry' , 1924.
When the 'ALONE' organisation was founded (by Fireman Willie Bermingham , if memory serves...) in 1977 , to help those unfortunates living rough on the streets of Dublin , the then Fianna Fail administration in Leinster House saw an opening to publicise their 'caring' side and , in a high-profile exercise in front of the media , a cheque for £5000 was handed over to 'ALONE' by Mary O'Flaherty , the then Free State 'Minister for Poverty' (and yes, there was an office with that name at the time!) .
However , in a less well-publicised reply to M/S O'Flaherty and that which she represented , the £5000 cheque was handed back to her along with a second cheque , also for the amount of £5000 , accompanied by a list of twenty-five people living in poverty in Dublin city , requesting the Leinster House administration to spend the £10,000 themselves on the problem !
What a nice way to be called a hypocrite .....
Born in Kilkenny city during the early 1850's, this child grew up to become the President of the GAA (and was to hold that position for over twenty years) and was a wholehearted supporter of the IRA's armed struggle .....
James Nowlan was a respected and well known member of the Gaelic League , the GAA and Sinn Fein ; his Republican credentials were known to all when , in 1898, he was elected as Alderman to Kilkenny Corporation - Nowlan used the position to great effect in his endeavours to publicise the then fourteen-year's young 'Gaelic Athletic Association' , but was less successful in persuading the Central Council of the GAA that it should begin preparations to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the 1798 Rising . (MORE LATER)>
....John Tadhg Sullivan of Killurley ........
.... John Sullivan promised his mother that he would visit her on Thursday - he was an IRA Volunteer on leave, and was on his way back to his Column -
" After the Garrane fight John Sullivan and Patrick Coffey set out to rejoin their Column towards Glenbeigh . Suddenly , at the turn of a lonely road in Gleesk, they saw four Free State officers facing them . The officers saw them and fired point blank . Coffey and Sullivan returned the fire, retreating, with zig-zag movements, along the road and Coffey succeeded in escaping over the fields. As he ran he looked back , anxious about his comrade, and saw him standing in a field among the four officers - a prisoner of war .
Nurse Sloan and Nurse O'Connor went with parcels for the prisoners to the Workhouse at Bahaghs, near Cahirciveen, and the sentry told them " There is one of your men wounded up at Gleesk " . They drove to Gleesk and found John Sullivan on the road . He was dead. There was a clean bullet-wound in the right thigh ; the chest and right shoulder were shattered , the skin singed and still hot to the touch. They sent word to the boy's mother that he was wounded and not expected to live ; then they brought him home .
" Oh Johnny , Johnny ! " the mother cried , " you came to us- you kept your word . But, oh Johnny, what a way you came .... " " .
------ 'The Tragedies of Kerry' , 1924.
When the 'ALONE' organisation was founded (by Fireman Willie Bermingham , if memory serves...) in 1977 , to help those unfortunates living rough on the streets of Dublin , the then Fianna Fail administration in Leinster House saw an opening to publicise their 'caring' side and , in a high-profile exercise in front of the media , a cheque for £5000 was handed over to 'ALONE' by Mary O'Flaherty , the then Free State 'Minister for Poverty' (and yes, there was an office with that name at the time!) .
However , in a less well-publicised reply to M/S O'Flaherty and that which she represented , the £5000 cheque was handed back to her along with a second cheque , also for the amount of £5000 , accompanied by a list of twenty-five people living in poverty in Dublin city , requesting the Leinster House administration to spend the £10,000 themselves on the problem !
What a nice way to be called a hypocrite .....
Saturday, July 05, 2003
....IRA attack on British military barracks , Mallow, County Cork, 28th September 1920 .....
.... when the IRA unit, under Liam Lynch, were in the process of taking over Mallow military barracks , a Sergeant Gibbs attempted to lock the door of the guardroom where the munitions were stored - he was shot dead .....
Some thirty rifles , a couple of light machine-guns and dozens of boxes of ammunition were removed from the barracks and placed in waiting motor cars which drove off immediately ; the RIC knew nothing of the raid and were not seen that morning .
As they were leaving the barracks , the IRA set fire to a load of straw, hoping to burn the place down, but the fire did'nt catch - the stairs, floors and walls were all made from stone flaggings.
The next night , British troops from surrounding areas wrecked and burned Mallow Town Hall and the local creamery , and looted any shop they could get in to. They were to pay dearly for their presence over the following months , as their own weapons were turned on them .....
... The Garrane Fight .....
.... after a forced march of some fifteen miles , the five Republican prisoners suffered swollen arms (from being strapped together) and had lost the use of their hands due to the cold and poor blood circulation because of the straps ....
" An officer named Swayne insisted on relieving the pressure , secured breakfast for them and let them rest . While they were there Captain 'Tiny' Lyons came up from Killarney with the escort which was to take them the rest of the way . Before they left Mountain Stage , Lyons arrested Frank Grady and shot him dead . That was the eleventh of March (1923). About twenty prisoners , arrested some weeks before, remained in the Workhouse at Bahaghs . They included Michael Courtney , Eugene Dwyer , Willie Riordan , John Sugrue , and Dan O'Shea " .
JOHN TADHG SULLIVAN OF KILLURLEY .
"John Sullivan's father and mother live in Killurley East and even while his column were hunted in the mountains he came home to them every week . As time went on and the war became more cruel it grew harder to see him go . "Don't fret , now, mother ," he said the last time , "I'll come to you on Thursday , never fear" ....... " (MORE LATER)>
" The SDLP are queen lovers - lets join them in a mass-movement .... " :
On 2nd February , 1989 , the Provos published an Ard Fheis issue of their 'paper ; on page five of same , the Stormont Minister for Agriculture and Education (!) , Martin McGuinness, was quoted - " Bloody Sunday made us all very angry and we all reacted as a community should react . We were also angered that the para's commander that day was later decorated by the British Queen. And I have been angered recently by the fact that Mary McSorley, SDLP Councillor for South Derry, was also decorated by the very same queen. That tells us an awful lot about the SDLP " .
---- good sound-bite, Martin - got the crowd moving , I'll bet .... BUT ..
..... on page six of the same Ard Fheis issue , the following was printed : "One of the most important debates of the weekend Ard Fheis was on motion 37 , in the section of political policy, which called for 'the adoption in principle of the need for an all-Ireland anti-imperialist mass movement' "- the motion was passed .
That so-called 'mass-movement' would include the SDLP ....
.... when the IRA unit, under Liam Lynch, were in the process of taking over Mallow military barracks , a Sergeant Gibbs attempted to lock the door of the guardroom where the munitions were stored - he was shot dead .....
Some thirty rifles , a couple of light machine-guns and dozens of boxes of ammunition were removed from the barracks and placed in waiting motor cars which drove off immediately ; the RIC knew nothing of the raid and were not seen that morning .
As they were leaving the barracks , the IRA set fire to a load of straw, hoping to burn the place down, but the fire did'nt catch - the stairs, floors and walls were all made from stone flaggings.
The next night , British troops from surrounding areas wrecked and burned Mallow Town Hall and the local creamery , and looted any shop they could get in to. They were to pay dearly for their presence over the following months , as their own weapons were turned on them .....
... The Garrane Fight .....
.... after a forced march of some fifteen miles , the five Republican prisoners suffered swollen arms (from being strapped together) and had lost the use of their hands due to the cold and poor blood circulation because of the straps ....
" An officer named Swayne insisted on relieving the pressure , secured breakfast for them and let them rest . While they were there Captain 'Tiny' Lyons came up from Killarney with the escort which was to take them the rest of the way . Before they left Mountain Stage , Lyons arrested Frank Grady and shot him dead . That was the eleventh of March (1923). About twenty prisoners , arrested some weeks before, remained in the Workhouse at Bahaghs . They included Michael Courtney , Eugene Dwyer , Willie Riordan , John Sugrue , and Dan O'Shea " .
JOHN TADHG SULLIVAN OF KILLURLEY .
"John Sullivan's father and mother live in Killurley East and even while his column were hunted in the mountains he came home to them every week . As time went on and the war became more cruel it grew harder to see him go . "Don't fret , now, mother ," he said the last time , "I'll come to you on Thursday , never fear" ....... " (MORE LATER)>
" The SDLP are queen lovers - lets join them in a mass-movement .... " :
On 2nd February , 1989 , the Provos published an Ard Fheis issue of their 'paper ; on page five of same , the Stormont Minister for Agriculture and Education (!) , Martin McGuinness, was quoted - " Bloody Sunday made us all very angry and we all reacted as a community should react . We were also angered that the para's commander that day was later decorated by the British Queen. And I have been angered recently by the fact that Mary McSorley, SDLP Councillor for South Derry, was also decorated by the very same queen. That tells us an awful lot about the SDLP " .
---- good sound-bite, Martin - got the crowd moving , I'll bet .... BUT ..
..... on page six of the same Ard Fheis issue , the following was printed : "One of the most important debates of the weekend Ard Fheis was on motion 37 , in the section of political policy, which called for 'the adoption in principle of the need for an all-Ireland anti-imperialist mass movement' "- the motion was passed .
That so-called 'mass-movement' would include the SDLP ....
Friday, July 04, 2003
.... IRA attack on British military barracks , Mallow, County Cork , 28th September 1920 .....
...early on that Saturday morning (28th September , 1920) Richard Willis and Jack Bolster , two tradesmen, went to work in Mallow Barracks ; they were accompanied by their 'foreman' , Paddy McCarthy - all three were IRA Volunteers , and all three were armed .....
At the same time , Liam Lynch and eighteen members of the 'Flying Column' were assembled in small groups in Barrack Street (where the military barracks was located) and six other armed Volunteers were already in control of Mallow Town Hall , a building which the RIC would have to pass should the alarm be raised and the RIC attempt to get to Barrack Street.
The barrack gates opened as usual to allow the thirty or so Lancers out and, once they were out of sight, Liam Lynch walked up to the gate, with an envelope in his hand, and knocked until the guard opened up ; when the gate was opened enough to allow the guard to take the envelope , he was rushed by about twenty IRA Volunteers and held captive. The other twelve or so British soldiers were quickly rounded-up : a Sergeant Gibbs attempted to lock the door of the guardroom where the munitions were stored and was shot dead ...... (MORE LATER)>
THE GARRANE FIGHT .....
" The fight lasted until about three in the afternoon when the Free State troops retired , having lost five or six men . They had killed Dan Clifford and captured six Republicans. The remaining thirty had successfully retreated into the mountains. There was great anger against the handful of Republicans who had made such an obstinate defence . In Bahaghs Workhouse the six prisoners were punished , day and night, for a week.
Denis Daly received a blow on the head which, later , almost cost him his life ; Peter Brady, a medical student, was shot while he lay asleep with his cheek resting on his hand - his face was scarred and his thumb was shattered. Early on Sunday morning five of them were marched to Killorglin . They were very weak from beatings and from hunger. They were tied together in pairs with straps round their arms. By the time they had come to Mountain Stage , a distance of fifteen miles, their arms were swollen and their hands were dead cold ..... " (MORE LATER)>
-------Dorothy Macardle's 1924 book 'The Tragedies of Kerry' .
THE 'STICKIES' and the dual mandate .....
"...it is obviously not possible for people to be in two places at the one time " , stated the 'Workers Party',in 1985, in relation to the issue of the dual mandate : they continued - " and, as the European parliament and the 'Dail' often sit on the same days , it is inevitable that those operating the dual mandate will have to miss important business in either Leinster House or Strasburg " .
The then leader of the Stickies, Proinsias de Rossa, proved what good material he was for Leinster House (ie 'do-as-I-say-and-not-as-I-do') by canvassing for a seat in Leinster House AND the EEC parliament in the June 1989 elections to both institutions ! Good man , Frank - just keep your head down in Europe where you are now and keep adding to your bank balance .....
...early on that Saturday morning (28th September , 1920) Richard Willis and Jack Bolster , two tradesmen, went to work in Mallow Barracks ; they were accompanied by their 'foreman' , Paddy McCarthy - all three were IRA Volunteers , and all three were armed .....
At the same time , Liam Lynch and eighteen members of the 'Flying Column' were assembled in small groups in Barrack Street (where the military barracks was located) and six other armed Volunteers were already in control of Mallow Town Hall , a building which the RIC would have to pass should the alarm be raised and the RIC attempt to get to Barrack Street.
The barrack gates opened as usual to allow the thirty or so Lancers out and, once they were out of sight, Liam Lynch walked up to the gate, with an envelope in his hand, and knocked until the guard opened up ; when the gate was opened enough to allow the guard to take the envelope , he was rushed by about twenty IRA Volunteers and held captive. The other twelve or so British soldiers were quickly rounded-up : a Sergeant Gibbs attempted to lock the door of the guardroom where the munitions were stored and was shot dead ...... (MORE LATER)>
THE GARRANE FIGHT .....
" The fight lasted until about three in the afternoon when the Free State troops retired , having lost five or six men . They had killed Dan Clifford and captured six Republicans. The remaining thirty had successfully retreated into the mountains. There was great anger against the handful of Republicans who had made such an obstinate defence . In Bahaghs Workhouse the six prisoners were punished , day and night, for a week.
Denis Daly received a blow on the head which, later , almost cost him his life ; Peter Brady, a medical student, was shot while he lay asleep with his cheek resting on his hand - his face was scarred and his thumb was shattered. Early on Sunday morning five of them were marched to Killorglin . They were very weak from beatings and from hunger. They were tied together in pairs with straps round their arms. By the time they had come to Mountain Stage , a distance of fifteen miles, their arms were swollen and their hands were dead cold ..... " (MORE LATER)>
-------Dorothy Macardle's 1924 book 'The Tragedies of Kerry' .
THE 'STICKIES' and the dual mandate .....
"...it is obviously not possible for people to be in two places at the one time " , stated the 'Workers Party',in 1985, in relation to the issue of the dual mandate : they continued - " and, as the European parliament and the 'Dail' often sit on the same days , it is inevitable that those operating the dual mandate will have to miss important business in either Leinster House or Strasburg " .
The then leader of the Stickies, Proinsias de Rossa, proved what good material he was for Leinster House (ie 'do-as-I-say-and-not-as-I-do') by canvassing for a seat in Leinster House AND the EEC parliament in the June 1989 elections to both institutions ! Good man , Frank - just keep your head down in Europe where you are now and keep adding to your bank balance .....
Thursday, July 03, 2003
..... IRA attack on British military barracks , Mallow, County Cork, 28th September 1920.....
...the British soldier from the barracks in Mallow had complained to the two tradesmen of a possible security weakness in the barracks - the tradesmen were also members of the IRA ....
The seven IRA battalions in the Mallow and surrounding areas had recently formed , from within their ranks, a 'Flying Column' , with Paddy Clancy in charge . Richard Willis and Jack Bolster contacted Clancy and told him of the conversation they had with the British soldier - they also had plans and sketches of the barracks , and mentioned that other men in their unit knew the lay-out of the surrounding district , having lived in the area since they were born .
Clancy got in touch with Liam Lynch and Ernie O'Malley and a start was made on putting a plan together to raid the barracks for munitions . On Saturday morning, 28th September 1920, Richard Willis and Jack Bolster went to the barracks to continue with the job they were doing there , this time accompanied by Paddy McCarthy , whom they introduced to the guards as a Board of Works foreman ; all three were admitted , and all three were armed .... (MORE LATER)>
" Those who, sensitive to the sufferings of others yet tenacious of their own peace of mind , love to solace themselves with incredulity , will put down this book half read . To those who have any eagerness to understand that time in Ireland it is offered as an infinitesimal fragment of the truth . It is in Kerry, among the proud and undefeated people that they will hear all the history told :
THE GARRANE FIGHT
Cahirciveen was held by the Republican army during the summer of 1922.
On August 24th , Free State troops landed and, after a fight of some hours, occupied the town.During the winter the Republicans held the mountains inland,bravely welcomed and sheltered by the people in the little farms. Captures were made from time to time and the Free State troops kept their prisoners in the Workhouse at Bahaghs, a few miles from the town.
In March , on the Garrane Mountains, there was a column of about thirty-six rifle men. They had with them an engineer - Dan Clifford, who did not carry arms. When it grew light on the morning of March the fifth they found their retreat surrounded and five or six hundred Free State troops closing in on them over the hills ..... ". (MORE LATER)>
In 1985, the 'Workers Party' (Stickies) made a submission to the Free State 'Joint Oireachtas Committee on Secondary Legislation of the European Community' in which they strongly opposed the dual mandate of Leinster House members also functioning as MEP's.
The Stickies said in their document - " There is no doubt that the public perception of the dual mandate is double-jobbing, and that this has caused considerable resentment, particularly among the unemployed . It is obviously not possible for people to be in two places at the one time ...... " (MORE LATER)>
...the British soldier from the barracks in Mallow had complained to the two tradesmen of a possible security weakness in the barracks - the tradesmen were also members of the IRA ....
The seven IRA battalions in the Mallow and surrounding areas had recently formed , from within their ranks, a 'Flying Column' , with Paddy Clancy in charge . Richard Willis and Jack Bolster contacted Clancy and told him of the conversation they had with the British soldier - they also had plans and sketches of the barracks , and mentioned that other men in their unit knew the lay-out of the surrounding district , having lived in the area since they were born .
Clancy got in touch with Liam Lynch and Ernie O'Malley and a start was made on putting a plan together to raid the barracks for munitions . On Saturday morning, 28th September 1920, Richard Willis and Jack Bolster went to the barracks to continue with the job they were doing there , this time accompanied by Paddy McCarthy , whom they introduced to the guards as a Board of Works foreman ; all three were admitted , and all three were armed .... (MORE LATER)>
" Those who, sensitive to the sufferings of others yet tenacious of their own peace of mind , love to solace themselves with incredulity , will put down this book half read . To those who have any eagerness to understand that time in Ireland it is offered as an infinitesimal fragment of the truth . It is in Kerry, among the proud and undefeated people that they will hear all the history told :
THE GARRANE FIGHT
Cahirciveen was held by the Republican army during the summer of 1922.
On August 24th , Free State troops landed and, after a fight of some hours, occupied the town.During the winter the Republicans held the mountains inland,bravely welcomed and sheltered by the people in the little farms. Captures were made from time to time and the Free State troops kept their prisoners in the Workhouse at Bahaghs, a few miles from the town.
In March , on the Garrane Mountains, there was a column of about thirty-six rifle men. They had with them an engineer - Dan Clifford, who did not carry arms. When it grew light on the morning of March the fifth they found their retreat surrounded and five or six hundred Free State troops closing in on them over the hills ..... ". (MORE LATER)>
In 1985, the 'Workers Party' (Stickies) made a submission to the Free State 'Joint Oireachtas Committee on Secondary Legislation of the European Community' in which they strongly opposed the dual mandate of Leinster House members also functioning as MEP's.
The Stickies said in their document - " There is no doubt that the public perception of the dual mandate is double-jobbing, and that this has caused considerable resentment, particularly among the unemployed . It is obviously not possible for people to be in two places at the one time ...... " (MORE LATER)>
Wednesday, July 02, 2003
IRA attack on British military barracks , Mallow, County Cork, 28th September 1920.
Richard Willis , a carpenter, and his friend Jack Bolster, a painter, sometimes worked together on jobs; it was on one such occasion that the two men got talking to a British soldier from the military barracks in Mallow, where Willis and Bolster were working ; the conversation ended with the soldier complaining that those in charge of the forty-five strong Mallow garrison were taking a chance by sending a detachment of thirty Lancers out each morning , to exercise their horses for a few hours .
The soldier voiced his fear that the remaining fifteen or so soldiers in the barracks would be unable to prevent the IRA from taking munitions from the barracks should they attack , not realising that the two tradesmen he was talking to were themselves members of the IRA ..... (MORE LATER)>
"..... only a few can be named in this book. Of men put to death within the prisons , of men killed in action,nothing is said , and very little can be told of those we name . Such dark, fearful and secret happenings leave myths and rumours in their trial , but we have nothing to do with myths and rumours here .
The burning passions of impotent hate and anger that shook Kerry when these things were done have quieted into calm resolution . Now , by intimate questioning of witnesses, a few clear facts can be ascertained . It is those clear, indisputable facts only that are here set down, without art or artifice, as they were told ..... ".
------ Dorothy Macardle , in the 'Foreword' to her 1924 book 'The Tragedies of Kerry' - MORE LATER> ...
... the 'American Federation of Labour' called for a second demonstration to take place on 4th May , 1886 - four of its members had been killed by the police at its first demo on 1st May ; the second demo was attended by about three thousand people , and the police were there as well ; with a heavy hand .....
.... the crowd soon dwindled to a few hundred when the police 'came the heavy' with them - people remembered that it was the same force which, days previously, had killed four people in a similar situation. They were scared. Then a bomb exploded in the middle of the policemen, wounding sixty-six of them, of whom seven died later.Without any evidence against them , eight anarchist leaders were arrested , only one of whom was actually at Haymarket Square that day .
One year after their trial , Albert Parsons, a printer, August Spies , an upholsterer, Adolph Fischer and George Engel were hanged after every appeal was lost . Louis Lingg , 21, had previously taken his own life whilst in jail by exploding a dynamite tube in his mouth .
-------- the above incident seems to be lost in American trade-union history ; why ?
Richard Willis , a carpenter, and his friend Jack Bolster, a painter, sometimes worked together on jobs; it was on one such occasion that the two men got talking to a British soldier from the military barracks in Mallow, where Willis and Bolster were working ; the conversation ended with the soldier complaining that those in charge of the forty-five strong Mallow garrison were taking a chance by sending a detachment of thirty Lancers out each morning , to exercise their horses for a few hours .
The soldier voiced his fear that the remaining fifteen or so soldiers in the barracks would be unable to prevent the IRA from taking munitions from the barracks should they attack , not realising that the two tradesmen he was talking to were themselves members of the IRA ..... (MORE LATER)>
"..... only a few can be named in this book. Of men put to death within the prisons , of men killed in action,nothing is said , and very little can be told of those we name . Such dark, fearful and secret happenings leave myths and rumours in their trial , but we have nothing to do with myths and rumours here .
The burning passions of impotent hate and anger that shook Kerry when these things were done have quieted into calm resolution . Now , by intimate questioning of witnesses, a few clear facts can be ascertained . It is those clear, indisputable facts only that are here set down, without art or artifice, as they were told ..... ".
------ Dorothy Macardle , in the 'Foreword' to her 1924 book 'The Tragedies of Kerry' - MORE LATER> ...
... the 'American Federation of Labour' called for a second demonstration to take place on 4th May , 1886 - four of its members had been killed by the police at its first demo on 1st May ; the second demo was attended by about three thousand people , and the police were there as well ; with a heavy hand .....
.... the crowd soon dwindled to a few hundred when the police 'came the heavy' with them - people remembered that it was the same force which, days previously, had killed four people in a similar situation. They were scared. Then a bomb exploded in the middle of the policemen, wounding sixty-six of them, of whom seven died later.Without any evidence against them , eight anarchist leaders were arrested , only one of whom was actually at Haymarket Square that day .
One year after their trial , Albert Parsons, a printer, August Spies , an upholsterer, Adolph Fischer and George Engel were hanged after every appeal was lost . Louis Lingg , 21, had previously taken his own life whilst in jail by exploding a dynamite tube in his mouth .
-------- the above incident seems to be lost in American trade-union history ; why ?
Tuesday, July 01, 2003
.... IRA attack on Kilmallock RIC Barracks , 28th May , 1920.....
.....by 2am on the morning of the IRA attack on the barracks , its roof and upper storey were on fire ; the RIC men trapped inside the burning building were offered the opportunity to surrender - they refused the offer and , with the imminent collapse of the building, the gun battle started again .....
However , all was not as it seemed to the attackers ; the RIC men had been retreating to the outbuildings at the back of the barracks , braving the sniper-fire from the IRA Volunteers rather than face the onslaught coming through the front of the building.
By about 7am , with the barracks now a smouldering ruin, it was obvious that a fresh plan and re-deployment of the Volunteers would be necessary if the RIC were to be removed from the various outhouses they were now in , and the order was given for the IRA to withdraw ; one Volunteer, Liam Scully, was dead, and the RIC Sergeant and one of his constables were dead - six more RIC men were seriously wounded.
The Kilmallock attack , on 28th May, 1920 , in the middle of the Tan War, was one of the most prolonged and fiercest battles of that period.
" Around Kerry , in the Autumn and Winter of 1922 and the Spring of 1923 , an ominous wall of silence was drawn . The rumours that came through were so terrible that they were scarcely believed .
Those rumours were less terrible than the truth " .
----- Dorothy Macardle , in the 'Foreword' to her 1924 book, ' The Tragedies of Kerry ' :
" The whole history of the war in Kerry is being compiled by those who took part in it , and it is only when that slow labour is completed that Ireland will realize what was suffered for the Republic there . This little book is made , meanwhile, in memory of some of the soldiers of the Republic , men of Kerry, who, during those months, met with lonely and violent deaths " .
(MORE LATER)>
On 1st May , 1886, the 'American Federation of Labour' called for nationwide strikes to demand the reduction of the working day to eight hours. Two days later , strikers and sympathisers fought with scabs outside McCormick Harvester Works in Chicago ; police fired at the strikers , killing four and wounding many more of them .
Following these killings, a meeting was called for 4th May in Haymarket Square , and approximately three-thousand people attended . The police were there as well , and used a heavy hand ....
.....by 2am on the morning of the IRA attack on the barracks , its roof and upper storey were on fire ; the RIC men trapped inside the burning building were offered the opportunity to surrender - they refused the offer and , with the imminent collapse of the building, the gun battle started again .....
However , all was not as it seemed to the attackers ; the RIC men had been retreating to the outbuildings at the back of the barracks , braving the sniper-fire from the IRA Volunteers rather than face the onslaught coming through the front of the building.
By about 7am , with the barracks now a smouldering ruin, it was obvious that a fresh plan and re-deployment of the Volunteers would be necessary if the RIC were to be removed from the various outhouses they were now in , and the order was given for the IRA to withdraw ; one Volunteer, Liam Scully, was dead, and the RIC Sergeant and one of his constables were dead - six more RIC men were seriously wounded.
The Kilmallock attack , on 28th May, 1920 , in the middle of the Tan War, was one of the most prolonged and fiercest battles of that period.
" Around Kerry , in the Autumn and Winter of 1922 and the Spring of 1923 , an ominous wall of silence was drawn . The rumours that came through were so terrible that they were scarcely believed .
Those rumours were less terrible than the truth " .
----- Dorothy Macardle , in the 'Foreword' to her 1924 book, ' The Tragedies of Kerry ' :
" The whole history of the war in Kerry is being compiled by those who took part in it , and it is only when that slow labour is completed that Ireland will realize what was suffered for the Republic there . This little book is made , meanwhile, in memory of some of the soldiers of the Republic , men of Kerry, who, during those months, met with lonely and violent deaths " .
(MORE LATER)>
On 1st May , 1886, the 'American Federation of Labour' called for nationwide strikes to demand the reduction of the working day to eight hours. Two days later , strikers and sympathisers fought with scabs outside McCormick Harvester Works in Chicago ; police fired at the strikers , killing four and wounding many more of them .
Following these killings, a meeting was called for 4th May in Haymarket Square , and approximately three-thousand people attended . The police were there as well , and used a heavy hand ....
Monday, June 30, 2003
..... IRA attack on Kilmallock RIC Barracks , 28th May , 1920.....
.....the buildings around the barracks had been secured and armed IRA units had blocked all routes into the town .....
A few Volunteers were positioned near outhouses at the rear of the barracks . Just after midnight, IRA leader Tom Malone and his men took it in turns to lob heavy objects out of the skylight of the Carrolls' house , the object being to break a hole through the roof of the barracks, into which prepared petrol-bombs could be thrown.
When Malone's first object hit the roof, the IRA units positioned around the barracks opened fire on the front and rear of the building ;within minutes, the RIC men trapped in the building were shooting back. While this gun-fight was going on, Malone and his men succeeded in breaching the roof - dozens of parafin and petrol bombs were thrown through the hole, followed by a flaming torch and a grenade : the building was now on fire .
By 2am (approximately two hours after the attack began) the upper storey of the barracks was about to collapse on top of the ground-floor section , where the RIC men were now confined : the IRA stopped the attack and advised the RIC to throw out their weapons and then come out themselves - the RIC refused the offer ...... (MORE LATER)>
"..... an old dog chased its tail on the street where we once played 'kick the tin' and the old fellows made their way to the bookies for the first two across the card . Farmer Thompson's old faithful dog brought his sheep in , a few fields away, and a wood pigeon fell to a distant shotgun , as I arose , not from my panoramic platform, but out of the inky blackness in the corner of my filthy, cold cell, where , wrapping a dirty, flimsy blanket around me to cover my naked body , I stepped towards the barred window and leant my head against it " .
------ 'I Once Had a Life' , by Bobby Sands, first published on 17th March, 1979.
In the same year that Haughey tried to stab himself in the back with a (jewel-encrusted) dagger(1988) , a woman in Italy was out trying to 'earn' her own fortune ;
---- Maria Fioritti convinced thousands of people that she had seen the Virgin Mary, and her local priest, a Fr Vincenzo Diodati, backed her up . The Priest was, in his earlier days , a professional soccer player, and knew how to 'play ball' - both he and Maria wanted to 'score' big and they put the "Virgin Mary visitation" scam together in January 1988 .
It worked for two months but then , in April, they apparently 'scored an own goal' and confessed that the whole thing was a con. The couple were fined 500,000 lire , he was thrown out of the Church and she had to leave the locality.
.....and just what the hell that has to do with Charlie Haughey is beyond me - there is no possible connection between Italian gangsters and Fianna Fail .
.....the buildings around the barracks had been secured and armed IRA units had blocked all routes into the town .....
A few Volunteers were positioned near outhouses at the rear of the barracks . Just after midnight, IRA leader Tom Malone and his men took it in turns to lob heavy objects out of the skylight of the Carrolls' house , the object being to break a hole through the roof of the barracks, into which prepared petrol-bombs could be thrown.
When Malone's first object hit the roof, the IRA units positioned around the barracks opened fire on the front and rear of the building ;within minutes, the RIC men trapped in the building were shooting back. While this gun-fight was going on, Malone and his men succeeded in breaching the roof - dozens of parafin and petrol bombs were thrown through the hole, followed by a flaming torch and a grenade : the building was now on fire .
By 2am (approximately two hours after the attack began) the upper storey of the barracks was about to collapse on top of the ground-floor section , where the RIC men were now confined : the IRA stopped the attack and advised the RIC to throw out their weapons and then come out themselves - the RIC refused the offer ...... (MORE LATER)>
"..... an old dog chased its tail on the street where we once played 'kick the tin' and the old fellows made their way to the bookies for the first two across the card . Farmer Thompson's old faithful dog brought his sheep in , a few fields away, and a wood pigeon fell to a distant shotgun , as I arose , not from my panoramic platform, but out of the inky blackness in the corner of my filthy, cold cell, where , wrapping a dirty, flimsy blanket around me to cover my naked body , I stepped towards the barred window and leant my head against it " .
------ 'I Once Had a Life' , by Bobby Sands, first published on 17th March, 1979.
In the same year that Haughey tried to stab himself in the back with a (jewel-encrusted) dagger(1988) , a woman in Italy was out trying to 'earn' her own fortune ;
---- Maria Fioritti convinced thousands of people that she had seen the Virgin Mary, and her local priest, a Fr Vincenzo Diodati, backed her up . The Priest was, in his earlier days , a professional soccer player, and knew how to 'play ball' - both he and Maria wanted to 'score' big and they put the "Virgin Mary visitation" scam together in January 1988 .
It worked for two months but then , in April, they apparently 'scored an own goal' and confessed that the whole thing was a con. The couple were fined 500,000 lire , he was thrown out of the Church and she had to leave the locality.
.....and just what the hell that has to do with Charlie Haughey is beyond me - there is no possible connection between Italian gangsters and Fianna Fail .
Sunday, June 29, 2003
.....IRA attack on Kilmallock RIC Barracks , 28th May , 1920 .....
... plans were made to burn down the RIC Barracks at Kilmallock in County Limerick - a house to the right-hand side of the barracks was taller than it , and had a 'skylight' in its attic ....
Clery's Hotel and a Bank practically faced the barracks, as did a shop, owned by the O'Herlihy family . If , during the attack, RIC reinforcements from other areas were to attempt to rescue their colleagues they would find the routes into the town barricaded by armed IRA units.
Sixty IRA Volunteers were organised for the operation ; at least half of them , plus some local men, went out on the night of 27th May and blocked a number of roads leading to Kilmallock . IRA leader Tom Malone ('Sean Forde') and his unit took over Carrolls house , Tim Crowley and his Volunteer group took control of Cleary's Hotel , D O'Hannigan was in charge of a unit of IRA men which occupied the Bank and J McCarthy and an IRA unit moved in to O'Herlihy's shop for the night . Michael Brennan , an IRA leader from East Clare , was also in the shop ..... (MORE LATER)>
"..... in the distance stood another dogged giant , the Divis Tower, in the shadow of its like-named mountain ; and , nearer by, 'Napoleon's Nose' kept a watch on the city , perhaps in rememberance of Wolfe Tone who visited it all those years ago . I retraced my gaze and found with ease our old house . Nobody I knew was there any more , just strangers, who trimmed the lawn around the ash tree that I grew up with .
The fence needed a coat of paint and the front garden had been deflowered of its colour , my mother and father's pride and joy " . ........ (MORE LATER)>
--- Bobby Sands, 17th March , 1979.
In 1988 , when Charles Haughey was the (Fianna Fail) Free State Taoiseach and was on a 'tour' of Australia , it emerged that a Saudi Arabian government official had previously presented the bould Charlie with a small fortune worth of jewellery as a gift for the State ; there was apparently a record of said jewels being handed over, but no sign of the articles in the place where they should have been.....
Haughey was contacted and asked to comment on the issue , but declined to react, stating that he could not comment on domestic affairs while out of the country- he did, however , promise to hold a press conference when he returned to Dublin. A few days later his 'plane touched down and the Haughey fella strolled, with not a care in the world, into the room where the journalists were waiting and promptly announced that the press conference was cancelled! Just like that , bold as brass .
Haughey's bare-faced cheek ensured that the whole episode was given a new lease of life and it eventually came out that the item in question was , as far as I can remember, a jewel-encrusted dagger , worth a good few shillings. The media lost interest (or were encouraged to) but I suspect that said implement could have been the one used by Bertie in later years ....
(Don't ya just miss those years , when our 'leaders' knew their own value !).
... plans were made to burn down the RIC Barracks at Kilmallock in County Limerick - a house to the right-hand side of the barracks was taller than it , and had a 'skylight' in its attic ....
Clery's Hotel and a Bank practically faced the barracks, as did a shop, owned by the O'Herlihy family . If , during the attack, RIC reinforcements from other areas were to attempt to rescue their colleagues they would find the routes into the town barricaded by armed IRA units.
Sixty IRA Volunteers were organised for the operation ; at least half of them , plus some local men, went out on the night of 27th May and blocked a number of roads leading to Kilmallock . IRA leader Tom Malone ('Sean Forde') and his unit took over Carrolls house , Tim Crowley and his Volunteer group took control of Cleary's Hotel , D O'Hannigan was in charge of a unit of IRA men which occupied the Bank and J McCarthy and an IRA unit moved in to O'Herlihy's shop for the night . Michael Brennan , an IRA leader from East Clare , was also in the shop ..... (MORE LATER)>
"..... in the distance stood another dogged giant , the Divis Tower, in the shadow of its like-named mountain ; and , nearer by, 'Napoleon's Nose' kept a watch on the city , perhaps in rememberance of Wolfe Tone who visited it all those years ago . I retraced my gaze and found with ease our old house . Nobody I knew was there any more , just strangers, who trimmed the lawn around the ash tree that I grew up with .
The fence needed a coat of paint and the front garden had been deflowered of its colour , my mother and father's pride and joy " . ........ (MORE LATER)>
--- Bobby Sands, 17th March , 1979.
In 1988 , when Charles Haughey was the (Fianna Fail) Free State Taoiseach and was on a 'tour' of Australia , it emerged that a Saudi Arabian government official had previously presented the bould Charlie with a small fortune worth of jewellery as a gift for the State ; there was apparently a record of said jewels being handed over, but no sign of the articles in the place where they should have been.....
Haughey was contacted and asked to comment on the issue , but declined to react, stating that he could not comment on domestic affairs while out of the country- he did, however , promise to hold a press conference when he returned to Dublin. A few days later his 'plane touched down and the Haughey fella strolled, with not a care in the world, into the room where the journalists were waiting and promptly announced that the press conference was cancelled! Just like that , bold as brass .
Haughey's bare-faced cheek ensured that the whole episode was given a new lease of life and it eventually came out that the item in question was , as far as I can remember, a jewel-encrusted dagger , worth a good few shillings. The media lost interest (or were encouraged to) but I suspect that said implement could have been the one used by Bertie in later years ....
(Don't ya just miss those years , when our 'leaders' knew their own value !).
Saturday, June 28, 2003
IRA attack on Kilmallock RIC Barracks , 28th May 1920.
In 1867 , the Fenians attacked a British military outpost at kilmallock in County Limerick , but were repelled ; fifty-three years after that event, the Fenians (IRA) decided to burn the outpost (now an RIC barracks) to the ground.....
The barracks , a two-storey, solid masonry structure with steel shuttering , was set back from the road, and housed an RIC garrison of one sergeant and seventeen constables, all armed ; it was known to be a 'tough' building but had one possible weakness - its roof .
A house to the right-hand side of the barracks, which was owned by the Carroll family, was taller than the barracks, and had a 'skylight' in its attic ; .... (MORE LATER)>
" Where the life of the forest receded and fought to guard its flanks and outermost perimeter , a road in its infancy lay hollowed out in the black hardened clay , clustered with machinery . A row of houses appeared beyond, then another , leading to a massive concrete jungle where tiny figures moved to and fro .
There were deck-chairs in the gardens where the sun-worshippers gloated in contentment . A group of young lads played with a garden hose, the cool white jet of water rising into the air before toppling down upon them in a thousand shining little silver drops .
To the right lay Belfast , belching out the sweat of the early morning risers , and the cranes of the shipyard towered towards the cloudless sky ; .... (MORE LATER)>
------ 'I once had a life' , by Bobby Sands, 17th March , 1979.
Peter Robinson and his friends in the RAf have at least one admirer (and no doubt more) in Fine Gael ; in June 1993 , Michael Noonan (ex-FG leader) told 'Hot Press' magazine (16th June , page 44) that , in his opinion, Peter Robinson was "extraordinarily bright, very capable and very different from what his public image is in Ireland . I was impressed by him ."
---- Michael Noonan to join the DUP (in place of that Daniel O'Donnell look-a-like , whasisname ...) ?
---- Peter Robinson to be the next leader of Fine Gael (in place of...eh, the present leader.. whasisname ...) ?
In 1867 , the Fenians attacked a British military outpost at kilmallock in County Limerick , but were repelled ; fifty-three years after that event, the Fenians (IRA) decided to burn the outpost (now an RIC barracks) to the ground.....
The barracks , a two-storey, solid masonry structure with steel shuttering , was set back from the road, and housed an RIC garrison of one sergeant and seventeen constables, all armed ; it was known to be a 'tough' building but had one possible weakness - its roof .
A house to the right-hand side of the barracks, which was owned by the Carroll family, was taller than the barracks, and had a 'skylight' in its attic ; .... (MORE LATER)>
" Where the life of the forest receded and fought to guard its flanks and outermost perimeter , a road in its infancy lay hollowed out in the black hardened clay , clustered with machinery . A row of houses appeared beyond, then another , leading to a massive concrete jungle where tiny figures moved to and fro .
There were deck-chairs in the gardens where the sun-worshippers gloated in contentment . A group of young lads played with a garden hose, the cool white jet of water rising into the air before toppling down upon them in a thousand shining little silver drops .
To the right lay Belfast , belching out the sweat of the early morning risers , and the cranes of the shipyard towered towards the cloudless sky ; .... (MORE LATER)>
------ 'I once had a life' , by Bobby Sands, 17th March , 1979.
Peter Robinson and his friends in the RAf have at least one admirer (and no doubt more) in Fine Gael ; in June 1993 , Michael Noonan (ex-FG leader) told 'Hot Press' magazine (16th June , page 44) that , in his opinion, Peter Robinson was "extraordinarily bright, very capable and very different from what his public image is in Ireland . I was impressed by him ."
---- Michael Noonan to join the DUP (in place of that Daniel O'Donnell look-a-like , whasisname ...) ?
---- Peter Robinson to be the next leader of Fine Gael (in place of...eh, the present leader.. whasisname ...) ?
Friday, June 27, 2003
....the British 'Cairo Gang' in Dublin , 1920 .....
.... the thirteen-strong 'Cairo Gang' were executed by the IRA in Dublin on Sunday 21st November , 1920 .....
FOOTNOTE - IRA Volunteer Frank Teeling , who was wounded and captured in a laneway at the back of Lower Mount Street , was sentenced to death - however , he escaped with others from Kilmainham Jail ;
Days after the 'Cairo Gang' were wiped-out , it emerged that Major Callaghan and Colonel Jennings , who were both absent from their digs when the IRA visited , had in fact stayed overnight in a local brothel ! ( I can only presume that they were both with women...) ;
On that Sunday ( 21st November, 1920) , a match took place between Dublin and Tipperary : the 'Black and Tans' came on to the pitch and opened fire on the players and the crowd - fourteen people were killed and sixty injured. The British later said they were fired on first....
" Clusters of timid yellow primroses lined both sides of my avenue . A young rabbit scurried across my path and vanished . Everything was alive and buzzing , but there was peace in the activity of nature . A passing crow cawed but the bees fed undisturbed upon the flowers ,while the refreshing scent of pine carried upon the breeze.
I mastered the twisting rising climb and crossed a clearing of lush green grass, where a solitary young sycamore threw its shadow towards a family of bluebells that flourished by a little trickle of a stream . I sat down upon an earthen mound and gazed down the hillside at the sweeping landscape of deep green and every shade of brown , speckled with orange and yellow and splashed with a million white dots " .
------ Bobby Sands , 17th March 1979 . (MORE LATER)>
At the end of June, 1993 , Peter Robinson (DUP) told news-reporters that "the RAF should wipe out the IRA headquarters in Belfast and Dublin . I do not decry a tough security policy which includes a military response " . Perhaps Peter meant that the RAF should drop a couple of hundred gun-licences over Belfast and Dublin - that was the "military response" that Robinson and Big Ian employed on a hillside , when they paraded their 'Third Force' militia .
That mindset is still there - 'No fenians about the place' (not even the tame ones....).
.... the thirteen-strong 'Cairo Gang' were executed by the IRA in Dublin on Sunday 21st November , 1920 .....
FOOTNOTE - IRA Volunteer Frank Teeling , who was wounded and captured in a laneway at the back of Lower Mount Street , was sentenced to death - however , he escaped with others from Kilmainham Jail ;
Days after the 'Cairo Gang' were wiped-out , it emerged that Major Callaghan and Colonel Jennings , who were both absent from their digs when the IRA visited , had in fact stayed overnight in a local brothel ! ( I can only presume that they were both with women...) ;
On that Sunday ( 21st November, 1920) , a match took place between Dublin and Tipperary : the 'Black and Tans' came on to the pitch and opened fire on the players and the crowd - fourteen people were killed and sixty injured. The British later said they were fired on first....
" Clusters of timid yellow primroses lined both sides of my avenue . A young rabbit scurried across my path and vanished . Everything was alive and buzzing , but there was peace in the activity of nature . A passing crow cawed but the bees fed undisturbed upon the flowers ,while the refreshing scent of pine carried upon the breeze.
I mastered the twisting rising climb and crossed a clearing of lush green grass, where a solitary young sycamore threw its shadow towards a family of bluebells that flourished by a little trickle of a stream . I sat down upon an earthen mound and gazed down the hillside at the sweeping landscape of deep green and every shade of brown , speckled with orange and yellow and splashed with a million white dots " .
------ Bobby Sands , 17th March 1979 . (MORE LATER)>
At the end of June, 1993 , Peter Robinson (DUP) told news-reporters that "the RAF should wipe out the IRA headquarters in Belfast and Dublin . I do not decry a tough security policy which includes a military response " . Perhaps Peter meant that the RAF should drop a couple of hundred gun-licences over Belfast and Dublin - that was the "military response" that Robinson and Big Ian employed on a hillside , when they paraded their 'Third Force' militia .
That mindset is still there - 'No fenians about the place' (not even the tame ones....).
Thursday, June 26, 2003
.....the British 'Cairo Gang' in Dublin , 1920.....
....one of the leaders of the 'Cairo Gang' , a Major Callaghan, was staying at a guesthouse in Fitzwilliam Square ; he was not there when an IRA unit arrived at the premises , but his colleague , Captain Crawford , was ......
Crawford was held at gunpoint by the Volunteers : however , it was decided that, as he was not the intended target his life would be spared if he left the country within twenty-four hours - Crawford threw some things in a case and left immediately .
Another missed target was a Colonel Jennings , who was staying in the 'Eastwood Hotel' ; when the IRA unit broke in the door of his room,it was empty and there was no sign of him in the hotel - the Volunteers left the premises. A total of 13 British Secret Service executioners known as ' The Cairo Gang ' were themselves executed in Dublin on Sunday 21st November , 1920, by the IRA . The loss of those operatives , and the intelligence material they had accumulated, shook the British establishment to its roots , and highlighted on a global scale the extent of the British 'dirty-tricks' campaign in Ireland. (MORE LATER)>
" The sun hung high above , seemingly like a gaping hole in the still blue sky , out of which the golden light came pouring down like honey to feed the land and ripen the barley , while sending shimmering hazes quivering above the melting tarmacadam surfaces . It was hot and humid, the beads of sweat lined my forehead like an ornate jewel.
I walked along the well-trodden path that lay on the perimeter of the forest and which rose steeply before me . I was in no hurry . I had plenty of time to take in and enjoy the beautiful surroundings . A gentle breeze sighed , sending ripples across an ocean of shining green and rustic brown ferns that lay ahead of me " .
---- ' I Once Had a Life ' , by Bobby Sands, first published on 17th March , 1979 . (MORE LATER)>
A West-Belfast man , Patrick Coogan, joined the British Army and eventually obtained the rank of 'Major' ; he left the B A and became an author . On a publicity tour or somesuch, he was asked a question regarding his background in military service and his opinion on the war in the Six Counties - he replied : " If the British government abided by the will of the majority of the people in the first place , it would not have partitioned the country . Historically, partition has never worked, whether it is in Pakistan , Cyprus or Yemen. It is based on the old principle of 'divide and conquer' " .
----- ' G S ' , from Surrey , please copy !
....one of the leaders of the 'Cairo Gang' , a Major Callaghan, was staying at a guesthouse in Fitzwilliam Square ; he was not there when an IRA unit arrived at the premises , but his colleague , Captain Crawford , was ......
Crawford was held at gunpoint by the Volunteers : however , it was decided that, as he was not the intended target his life would be spared if he left the country within twenty-four hours - Crawford threw some things in a case and left immediately .
Another missed target was a Colonel Jennings , who was staying in the 'Eastwood Hotel' ; when the IRA unit broke in the door of his room,it was empty and there was no sign of him in the hotel - the Volunteers left the premises. A total of 13 British Secret Service executioners known as ' The Cairo Gang ' were themselves executed in Dublin on Sunday 21st November , 1920, by the IRA . The loss of those operatives , and the intelligence material they had accumulated, shook the British establishment to its roots , and highlighted on a global scale the extent of the British 'dirty-tricks' campaign in Ireland. (MORE LATER)>
" The sun hung high above , seemingly like a gaping hole in the still blue sky , out of which the golden light came pouring down like honey to feed the land and ripen the barley , while sending shimmering hazes quivering above the melting tarmacadam surfaces . It was hot and humid, the beads of sweat lined my forehead like an ornate jewel.
I walked along the well-trodden path that lay on the perimeter of the forest and which rose steeply before me . I was in no hurry . I had plenty of time to take in and enjoy the beautiful surroundings . A gentle breeze sighed , sending ripples across an ocean of shining green and rustic brown ferns that lay ahead of me " .
---- ' I Once Had a Life ' , by Bobby Sands, first published on 17th March , 1979 . (MORE LATER)>
A West-Belfast man , Patrick Coogan, joined the British Army and eventually obtained the rank of 'Major' ; he left the B A and became an author . On a publicity tour or somesuch, he was asked a question regarding his background in military service and his opinion on the war in the Six Counties - he replied : " If the British government abided by the will of the majority of the people in the first place , it would not have partitioned the country . Historically, partition has never worked, whether it is in Pakistan , Cyprus or Yemen. It is based on the old principle of 'divide and conquer' " .
----- ' G S ' , from Surrey , please copy !
Wednesday, June 25, 2003
.....the British 'Cairo Gang' in Dublin , 1920.....
...six IRA men left number 22 Lower Mount Street by the back of the house, walking away up a laneway - they were challenged by British Auxiliaries and a gun-battle ensued ; two of the Brits were killed and one Volunteer , Frank Teeling, was wounded and captured . The rest of the IRA unit made good their escape ....
British Captain Bagally , who had made his reputation by presenting 'evidence' in showtrials which led to the executions of the Irish Republicans on 'trial' , was staying in number 119 Baggot Street when, on that Sunday morning, 21st November 1920, three IRA Volunteers (including Sean Lemass, a future Fianna Fail Free State Taoiseach) entered his room and shot him dead .
British Captains McCormack and Wilde were staying in the Gresham Hotel in Dublin's O'Connell Street when a number of men , claiming to be undercover British soldiers with a message to deliver to the two Captains, were shown by the hotel staff to the rooms they were looking for : as each man opened his door he was shot dead.
An IRA unit entered a guesthouse in Fitzwilliam Square to deal with a 'Cairo Gang' leader, British Major Callaghan ; he was booked in at the guesthouse but was not there at that particular moment - his colleague , however, a Captain Crawford, was present and was held at gunpoint by the Volunteers...... (MORE LATER)>
"..... I dare not conclude without finishing my grandfathers story . I once asked him whatever happened to the wicked man who imprisoned , tortured and murdered the lark ?
"Son" , he said , "one day he caught himself on one of his own traps, and no-one would assist him to get free . His own people scorned him, and turned their backs on him . He grew weaker and weaker , and finally toppled over to die upon the land which he had marred with such blood . The birds came and extracted their revenge by picking his eyes out, and the larks sang like they never sang before ".
"Grandfather", I said , "could that man's name have been John Bull ?".
---- Bobby Sands, 'The Lark and the Freedom Fighter' , 3rd February 1979.
(NOTE- Bobby Sands did not write that the Lark came to the rescue of its captor or tried to ease its captor's suffering - in short, the Lark did not 'play ball' with its captor ....).
A correspondent, 'GS from Surrey' , from where he/she called "the mainland" (sic) deposited , or dumped, a vile load of .... comment in my 'guestbook' (bottom of page- still there!) a few days ago , telling me ,amongst other things, of how he/she would have dealt with 'The Maguire Seven' and other such "Irish scum" .
As a rule, I don't reply to that type of contact , but 'GS' was unparalleled in his/her ignorance ; so , here's my reply -
The Maguire Seven , the Birmingham Six , Judith Ward and the Guildford Four ; a total of 18 innocent people (13 men, 3 women and two children) who, between them , spent a total of 216 years in prison . Anne Maguire , a mother of 5 children, was menstruating heavily and denied all toiletries for a week, and was beaten senseless .
Carol Richardson , who did'nt even know she was pregnant , miscarried in Brixton Prison days after her arrest. Pat O'Neill , who had minutes before entered the Maguires house to arrange for a baby-sitter when the police arrived , was told by a cop to swear that he saw a big cardboard box on Maguires table or else he would be done , refused to lie - he served eleven years. On his release , he found his marriage was broken beyond repair and that his six children had left the family home.
So there you have part of their story , 'GS' - not that it will make you think twice or anything . Remember this ; there are over 800 years of similar stories in this country . Deposit some of your vile in a Westminster 'in-box' : you have reason to do that.
...six IRA men left number 22 Lower Mount Street by the back of the house, walking away up a laneway - they were challenged by British Auxiliaries and a gun-battle ensued ; two of the Brits were killed and one Volunteer , Frank Teeling, was wounded and captured . The rest of the IRA unit made good their escape ....
British Captain Bagally , who had made his reputation by presenting 'evidence' in showtrials which led to the executions of the Irish Republicans on 'trial' , was staying in number 119 Baggot Street when, on that Sunday morning, 21st November 1920, three IRA Volunteers (including Sean Lemass, a future Fianna Fail Free State Taoiseach) entered his room and shot him dead .
British Captains McCormack and Wilde were staying in the Gresham Hotel in Dublin's O'Connell Street when a number of men , claiming to be undercover British soldiers with a message to deliver to the two Captains, were shown by the hotel staff to the rooms they were looking for : as each man opened his door he was shot dead.
An IRA unit entered a guesthouse in Fitzwilliam Square to deal with a 'Cairo Gang' leader, British Major Callaghan ; he was booked in at the guesthouse but was not there at that particular moment - his colleague , however, a Captain Crawford, was present and was held at gunpoint by the Volunteers...... (MORE LATER)>
"..... I dare not conclude without finishing my grandfathers story . I once asked him whatever happened to the wicked man who imprisoned , tortured and murdered the lark ?
"Son" , he said , "one day he caught himself on one of his own traps, and no-one would assist him to get free . His own people scorned him, and turned their backs on him . He grew weaker and weaker , and finally toppled over to die upon the land which he had marred with such blood . The birds came and extracted their revenge by picking his eyes out, and the larks sang like they never sang before ".
"Grandfather", I said , "could that man's name have been John Bull ?".
---- Bobby Sands, 'The Lark and the Freedom Fighter' , 3rd February 1979.
(NOTE- Bobby Sands did not write that the Lark came to the rescue of its captor or tried to ease its captor's suffering - in short, the Lark did not 'play ball' with its captor ....).
A correspondent, 'GS from Surrey' , from where he/she called "the mainland" (sic) deposited , or dumped, a vile load of .... comment in my 'guestbook' (bottom of page- still there!) a few days ago , telling me ,amongst other things, of how he/she would have dealt with 'The Maguire Seven' and other such "Irish scum" .
As a rule, I don't reply to that type of contact , but 'GS' was unparalleled in his/her ignorance ; so , here's my reply -
The Maguire Seven , the Birmingham Six , Judith Ward and the Guildford Four ; a total of 18 innocent people (13 men, 3 women and two children) who, between them , spent a total of 216 years in prison . Anne Maguire , a mother of 5 children, was menstruating heavily and denied all toiletries for a week, and was beaten senseless .
Carol Richardson , who did'nt even know she was pregnant , miscarried in Brixton Prison days after her arrest. Pat O'Neill , who had minutes before entered the Maguires house to arrange for a baby-sitter when the police arrived , was told by a cop to swear that he saw a big cardboard box on Maguires table or else he would be done , refused to lie - he served eleven years. On his release , he found his marriage was broken beyond repair and that his six children had left the family home.
So there you have part of their story , 'GS' - not that it will make you think twice or anything . Remember this ; there are over 800 years of similar stories in this country . Deposit some of your vile in a Westminster 'in-box' : you have reason to do that.
Tuesday, June 24, 2003
..... the British 'Cairo Gang' in Dublin , 1920.....
.... two British Lieutenants , McMahon and Peel (specialists in gathering intelligence) , who had been sent to Dublin from Russia , were working with the 'Cairo Gang' ; they were staying at 22 Lower Mount Street .....
McMahon had a score to settle with the IRA : he had previously shot dead a Sinn Fein member , John Lynch, in the mistaken belief that Lynch was the Divisional Commandant of the 1st Southern Division of the IRA , Liam Lynch . The IRA later shot McMahon in a billiard hall , wounding him, and he wanted revenge ...
The two 'Cairo' men were in different rooms in number 22 Lower Mount Street when the IRA unit was let in ; they entered McMahon's room just as he had picked up his revolver and shot him dead. On hearing the gunfire , Peel locked his door and then blocked it with a piece of furniture - unable to get in , the Volunteers fired more than a dozen bullets through the door , but Peel survived that day .
Na Fianna Eireann (Irish Republican Scouts) were also on Lower Mount Street that Sunday morning , as 'lookouts' ; one of their members ran into number 22 to tell the eleven-person IRA unit that the British Auxiliaries were on the street - five members of the IRA unit left calmly by the front door , the other six men went to the back of the house, out the back-door and walked away up a laneway . These six men were challenged by a number of Auxiliaries and a gun battle ensued - IRA man Frank Teeling was wounded , and two of the Brits, Garnin and Morris, were killed . The wounded Volunteer, Teeling, was captured, but the rest of his unit made good their escape. (MORE LATER)>
" But , dare I say it, similar to my little friend , I have the spirit of freedom that cannot be quenched by even the most horrendous treatment . Of course I can be murdered , but while I remain alive , I remain what I am , a political prisoner of war , and no-one can change that. Have'nt we plenty of larks to prove that ? Our history is heart-breakingly littered with them : the MacSwineys , the Gaughans , and the Staggs. Will there be more in H-Block ?
I dare not conclude without finishing my gradfather's story . I once asked him whatever happened to the wicked man who imprisoned , tortured and murdered the lark ...... " (MORE LATER)>
" Strenuous efforts must be made to bend towards the Unionists , to show them that their civil rights and their religious rights will be respected - EVEN (his emphasis) if that means making internal arrangements that will suit Unionists better than they will suit the rest of us ".
---- Gerry Adams , 'Hot Press' magazine, 19th May , 1993 , page 13 : so we can right an historical wrong by ..eh, carrying on in the manner that the wrong inflicted on us in the first place !
.... why did'nt I think of that ...
.... two British Lieutenants , McMahon and Peel (specialists in gathering intelligence) , who had been sent to Dublin from Russia , were working with the 'Cairo Gang' ; they were staying at 22 Lower Mount Street .....
McMahon had a score to settle with the IRA : he had previously shot dead a Sinn Fein member , John Lynch, in the mistaken belief that Lynch was the Divisional Commandant of the 1st Southern Division of the IRA , Liam Lynch . The IRA later shot McMahon in a billiard hall , wounding him, and he wanted revenge ...
The two 'Cairo' men were in different rooms in number 22 Lower Mount Street when the IRA unit was let in ; they entered McMahon's room just as he had picked up his revolver and shot him dead. On hearing the gunfire , Peel locked his door and then blocked it with a piece of furniture - unable to get in , the Volunteers fired more than a dozen bullets through the door , but Peel survived that day .
Na Fianna Eireann (Irish Republican Scouts) were also on Lower Mount Street that Sunday morning , as 'lookouts' ; one of their members ran into number 22 to tell the eleven-person IRA unit that the British Auxiliaries were on the street - five members of the IRA unit left calmly by the front door , the other six men went to the back of the house, out the back-door and walked away up a laneway . These six men were challenged by a number of Auxiliaries and a gun battle ensued - IRA man Frank Teeling was wounded , and two of the Brits, Garnin and Morris, were killed . The wounded Volunteer, Teeling, was captured, but the rest of his unit made good their escape. (MORE LATER)>
" But , dare I say it, similar to my little friend , I have the spirit of freedom that cannot be quenched by even the most horrendous treatment . Of course I can be murdered , but while I remain alive , I remain what I am , a political prisoner of war , and no-one can change that. Have'nt we plenty of larks to prove that ? Our history is heart-breakingly littered with them : the MacSwineys , the Gaughans , and the Staggs. Will there be more in H-Block ?
I dare not conclude without finishing my gradfather's story . I once asked him whatever happened to the wicked man who imprisoned , tortured and murdered the lark ...... " (MORE LATER)>
" Strenuous efforts must be made to bend towards the Unionists , to show them that their civil rights and their religious rights will be respected - EVEN (his emphasis) if that means making internal arrangements that will suit Unionists better than they will suit the rest of us ".
---- Gerry Adams , 'Hot Press' magazine, 19th May , 1993 , page 13 : so we can right an historical wrong by ..eh, carrying on in the manner that the wrong inflicted on us in the first place !
.... why did'nt I think of that ...
Monday, June 23, 2003
.... the British 'Cairo Gang' in Dublin , 1920.....
.....the 'Cairo Gang' member , British Captain Newbury , was shot dead by the IRA as he was half-way out of the window of his room ; his body was left draped over the open window for hours , as the Black and Tans believed it to be booby-trapped.....
At 38 Upper Mount Street , a maid let a number of men in to the building and led them to two rooms ; British Captain George Bennett was in one of the rooms, and British Colonel Peter Aimes was in the other one. Both men were armed and resisted the Volunteers, resulting in a gun-battle which left the two 'Cairo' men dead.
More documentation on IRA members, compiled by the 'Cairo Gang', was found at 28 Earlsfort Terrace , where British Captain Fitzgerald was staying ; he was shot dead on that Sunday morning and the paperwork removed for examination by the IRA Intelligence Department.
Two British Lieutenants , McMahon and Peel , had been brought in by the British from Russia, where they had been involved in gathering intelligence information - they were to do the same job , in Dublin, this time as members of the 'Cairo Gang' . They were staying at 22 Lower Mount Street ...... (MORE LATER)>
" I am now in H-Block , where I refuse to change to suit the people who oppress , torture and imprison me , and who wish to dehumanise me. Like the lark I need no changing . It is my political ideology and principles that my captors wish to change . They have suppressed my body and attacked my dignity. If I were an ordinary prisoner they would pay little , if any, attention to me , knowing that I would conform to their institutional whims .
I have lost over two years' remission . I care not . I have been stripped of my clothes and locked in a dirty , empty cell, where I have been starved , beaten and tortured , and like the lark I fear I may eventually be murdered " . (MORE LATER)>
---- Bobby Sands, 3rd February , 1979.
" Don't call it the 'Dail' , it isn't the Dail for which people fought " - so said the speaker from the Jackie Griffith/Mairead Farrell Cumann of Provisional Sinn Fein (motion 150) at their Ard Fheis in 2001 .
" There is nothing wrong with using the word 'Dail'; we don't use the word 'Dail Eireann' - replied PSF Vice President, Pat Doherty . Ah well-that's sorted then ....(the speaker should have known that , as a career politician , Pat would have all the answers.)
Motion 147 called for the rejection "of the term Republican Labour" by PSF leaders when describing their party , but Ard Chomhairle member Micheal MacDonncha said to do so "would restrict our language" ; his fellow full-timers (Micheal works in Leinster House) agreed with his answer and the motion was lost .
So the Provos are "Republican Labour" while the other shower are "Partitionist Labour" : and James Connolly would have nothing to do with either of them .
.....the 'Cairo Gang' member , British Captain Newbury , was shot dead by the IRA as he was half-way out of the window of his room ; his body was left draped over the open window for hours , as the Black and Tans believed it to be booby-trapped.....
At 38 Upper Mount Street , a maid let a number of men in to the building and led them to two rooms ; British Captain George Bennett was in one of the rooms, and British Colonel Peter Aimes was in the other one. Both men were armed and resisted the Volunteers, resulting in a gun-battle which left the two 'Cairo' men dead.
More documentation on IRA members, compiled by the 'Cairo Gang', was found at 28 Earlsfort Terrace , where British Captain Fitzgerald was staying ; he was shot dead on that Sunday morning and the paperwork removed for examination by the IRA Intelligence Department.
Two British Lieutenants , McMahon and Peel , had been brought in by the British from Russia, where they had been involved in gathering intelligence information - they were to do the same job , in Dublin, this time as members of the 'Cairo Gang' . They were staying at 22 Lower Mount Street ...... (MORE LATER)>
" I am now in H-Block , where I refuse to change to suit the people who oppress , torture and imprison me , and who wish to dehumanise me. Like the lark I need no changing . It is my political ideology and principles that my captors wish to change . They have suppressed my body and attacked my dignity. If I were an ordinary prisoner they would pay little , if any, attention to me , knowing that I would conform to their institutional whims .
I have lost over two years' remission . I care not . I have been stripped of my clothes and locked in a dirty , empty cell, where I have been starved , beaten and tortured , and like the lark I fear I may eventually be murdered " . (MORE LATER)>
---- Bobby Sands, 3rd February , 1979.
" Don't call it the 'Dail' , it isn't the Dail for which people fought " - so said the speaker from the Jackie Griffith/Mairead Farrell Cumann of Provisional Sinn Fein (motion 150) at their Ard Fheis in 2001 .
" There is nothing wrong with using the word 'Dail'; we don't use the word 'Dail Eireann' - replied PSF Vice President, Pat Doherty . Ah well-that's sorted then ....(the speaker should have known that , as a career politician , Pat would have all the answers.)
Motion 147 called for the rejection "of the term Republican Labour" by PSF leaders when describing their party , but Ard Chomhairle member Micheal MacDonncha said to do so "would restrict our language" ; his fellow full-timers (Micheal works in Leinster House) agreed with his answer and the motion was lost .
So the Provos are "Republican Labour" while the other shower are "Partitionist Labour" : and James Connolly would have nothing to do with either of them .
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