THE FIRST IRISH REPUBLICAN NEWSPAPER -
' THE NORTHERN STAR ' : 1792 - 1797 .......
.......the first issue of ' The Northern Star ' was published in January , 1792 , in Belfast - Wolfe Tone declared that if the aims of the newspaper were to be achieved , it would lead to an Irish Republic . ' The Northern Star ' was set-up as a business , with a Committee of ten investors .......
The 'business-like' structure of the newspaper was believed to be the first such attempt in which an Irish newspaper was controlled by what was , in effect , a 'Board of Directors' -- a 'sub-committee' of management , consisting of three members , was put in place by the 'Directors' ; one of the management team was Samuel Neilson , also the 'papers Editor .
The newspaper was an instant success -- it reflected and promoted the Irish Republican viewpoint and was as popular in Dublin , Edinburgh and London as it was in Belfast . It had its own printing-press that was used to publish other material ( ie leaflets , pamphlets and booklets etc ) of a Republican nature ; indeed , in 1795 , ' The Northern Star ' printed another big seller of the time , ' Bolg an Tsolair ' ( 'the 'Gaelic Magazine' )....... (MORE LATER).
WHERE MOUNTAINY MEN HAVE SOWN :
war and peace in rebel Cork ,
in the turbulent years 1916-21.
By Micheal O'Suilleabhain : published 1965.
THE LITTLE FIELDS.......
".......in 1822 , the Irish refused to pay the British 'tithe rent' ; they knew the Brits would send in their military to demand that the 'rent' be paid , so the Irish farmers raided the ' Big Houses ' looking for arms . Just south of the Pass of Ceimaneigh , the British military and the Irish farmers came face-to-face ....... "
" The Irish scattered among the houses of Tuirin na nEan , Cloch Barrach and Na hinseacha , at the foot of Duchoill Mountain . They re-assembled and took up a position to the south of the old Cork-Bantry road . As British soldiers and Yeoman coming from the east and west deployed in front of them , the Irish opened fire . The enemy took cover and our men followed up with bayonet and pike to meet a volley which killed two of their number , Amhlaoibh O Luingsigh from Doireach ( in the parish of Cill na Martra ) and Barra O Laoghaire from Gaortha na Tornora ( in the parish of Ballingeary ) .
In the hand-to-hand fight which followed , a British soldier was killed . His name was John Smith , of the Rifle Brigade . The entire enemy force broke and fled for their lives . Our men took away their dead -- Amhlaoibh O Luingsigh was buried in Ballyvourney , and Barra O Laoghaire in the old graveyard in Inchigeela . The Irish buried the soldier Smith in Muing na Biorraighe at Gort Luachra . Later he was transferred to the old graveyard in Inchigeela , where a stone erected by his comrades marks his grave ......." (MORE LATER).
REVISIONIST COWBOYS .......
....... Captain Robert Monteith , a colleague of Roger Casements , once said ---
--- " The English Empire may have been founded by bayonets , but it is maintained , in a great measure , by those who write of it's glories or by those who write in derision of men and women who challenge it's power . "
And the same is true today -- we have no shortage of journalists and politicians who begin with a compromise for the British presence in this country and quickly descend into appeasement of all things British.......
.......AND PROUD INDIANS ---->
[from ' The Evening Press ' newspaper , 10th October , 1992 -- a Saturday , if memory serves -- page 5]
<---- Phillip Sheridan was born in Killinkere , County Cavan , in 1831 . The Sheridan Family had to leave Ireland because of the Great Hunger , and young Phillip grew up in America to become the 'Supreme Commander' of the U S Army.
He 'made his name' by his evil treatment of the U S Indians . He was responsible for the slaughter of the Lakota Indians at Wounded Knee in 1890 --- one-hundred Indians , under Chief Big Foot , were massacred by the U S 7th Cavalry ; about half of the dead were women and children .
The Wounded Knee massacre was the last of the Indian uprisings , and prompted Phillip Sheridan to state -- " The only good Indian I ever saw was dead ."
The Irish and the Native Americans have a common enemy --- imperialism . Phillip Sheridan was on the wrong side .......
Friday, November 21, 2003
THE FIRST IRISH REPUBLICAN NEWSPAPER -
' THE NORTHERN STAR ' : 1792 - 1797 .......
".......the response to young Wolfe Tone's pamphlet of September 1791 (entitled - ' An Argument on Behalf of the Catholics in Ireland ' ) was massive ; within weeks , societies of people in support of the ideals expressed by Tone were being formed in Ireland......."
By the end of that year (1791) a decision was taken to publish the political viewpoint and opinion of Wolfe Tone and other United Irishmen on a regular basis --- in January 1792 , the first issue of ' The Northern Star ' was published in Belfast ; it was a radical newspaper , edited by Samuel Neilson , and its first issue stated that its brief was to demand "equal representation of all the people in parliament ."
Wolfe Tone added that if the newspaper's aim was to be achieved , it would lead to the establishment of an Irish Republic , free of British interference . ' The Northern Star ' was run on very 'business-like' lines , with a Committee of ten investors ....... (MORE LATER).
WHERE MOUNTAINY MEN HAVE SOWN :
war and peace in rebel Cork ,
in the turbulent years 1916-21.
By Micheal O'Suilleabhain : published 1965.
THE LITTLE FIELDS .......
" .......when the Irish heard that a fighting-force from France were about to land at Bantry Bay in Cork to take on the Brits , they armed themselves as best they could to help the French . The British , however , were watching all this ....... "
" The British Yeomanry force was composed entirely of Planters and captained by 'landlords' . They were dressed in uniform , and were well armed with sword , pistol , and carbine . The French fleet under Hoche was unable to land troops because of fierce and prolonged gales , and had to put to sea again .
In the year 1822 , our people took up arms again . Poor weapons they had , pikes and old unreliable muskets . They refused to pay the tithe rent and prepared to resist as best they could . As a preliminary they decided to raid for arms the 'Big Houses' of the Planters in the neighbourhood of Bantry town . While engaged in this enterprise , word was conveyed to the military authorities in both Bantry and Macroom .
At that time a company of the Rifle Brigade occupied barracks in Inchigeela . All took the field , the Muskerry and Bantry Yeoman included , and proceeded to round up our men who had just reached their own area south of the Pass of Ceimaneigh ....... (MORE LATER).
TWISTS.......
[from ' The Sunday Tribune ' , 20th April , 1997 , page 1]
....... Speaking at his partys Ard Fheis , Fianna Fail leader Bertie Ahern stated ---
--- " No-one , no-one , is welcome in this party if they betray the public trust . I say this and I mean this with every fibre of my being . "
.......AND TURNS ---->
[from 'AP/RN' , 23rd April , 1998 , page 8]
<---- Speaking at their Ard Fheis that year (1998) , Derry Councillor for Provisional Sinn Fein Mary Nelis stated ---
--- " The British mindset was for disengagement ; the British have decided to leave but they don't know by what road so they're going about it in a roundabout sort of way . "
That's some bleedin' "roundabout" , Mary -- after over 800 years they're still stuck on it .......
' THE NORTHERN STAR ' : 1792 - 1797 .......
".......the response to young Wolfe Tone's pamphlet of September 1791 (entitled - ' An Argument on Behalf of the Catholics in Ireland ' ) was massive ; within weeks , societies of people in support of the ideals expressed by Tone were being formed in Ireland......."
By the end of that year (1791) a decision was taken to publish the political viewpoint and opinion of Wolfe Tone and other United Irishmen on a regular basis --- in January 1792 , the first issue of ' The Northern Star ' was published in Belfast ; it was a radical newspaper , edited by Samuel Neilson , and its first issue stated that its brief was to demand "equal representation of all the people in parliament ."
Wolfe Tone added that if the newspaper's aim was to be achieved , it would lead to the establishment of an Irish Republic , free of British interference . ' The Northern Star ' was run on very 'business-like' lines , with a Committee of ten investors ....... (MORE LATER).
WHERE MOUNTAINY MEN HAVE SOWN :
war and peace in rebel Cork ,
in the turbulent years 1916-21.
By Micheal O'Suilleabhain : published 1965.
THE LITTLE FIELDS .......
" .......when the Irish heard that a fighting-force from France were about to land at Bantry Bay in Cork to take on the Brits , they armed themselves as best they could to help the French . The British , however , were watching all this ....... "
" The British Yeomanry force was composed entirely of Planters and captained by 'landlords' . They were dressed in uniform , and were well armed with sword , pistol , and carbine . The French fleet under Hoche was unable to land troops because of fierce and prolonged gales , and had to put to sea again .
In the year 1822 , our people took up arms again . Poor weapons they had , pikes and old unreliable muskets . They refused to pay the tithe rent and prepared to resist as best they could . As a preliminary they decided to raid for arms the 'Big Houses' of the Planters in the neighbourhood of Bantry town . While engaged in this enterprise , word was conveyed to the military authorities in both Bantry and Macroom .
At that time a company of the Rifle Brigade occupied barracks in Inchigeela . All took the field , the Muskerry and Bantry Yeoman included , and proceeded to round up our men who had just reached their own area south of the Pass of Ceimaneigh ....... (MORE LATER).
TWISTS.......
[from ' The Sunday Tribune ' , 20th April , 1997 , page 1]
....... Speaking at his partys Ard Fheis , Fianna Fail leader Bertie Ahern stated ---
--- " No-one , no-one , is welcome in this party if they betray the public trust . I say this and I mean this with every fibre of my being . "
NEWSFLASH
, Bertie --- Your "being" is all outta "fibre" !.......AND TURNS ---->
[from 'AP/RN' , 23rd April , 1998 , page 8]
<---- Speaking at their Ard Fheis that year (1998) , Derry Councillor for Provisional Sinn Fein Mary Nelis stated ---
--- " The British mindset was for disengagement ; the British have decided to leave but they don't know by what road so they're going about it in a roundabout sort of way . "
That's some bleedin' "roundabout" , Mary -- after over 800 years they're still stuck on it .......
Thursday, November 20, 2003
THE FIRST IRISH REPUBLICAN NEWSPAPER -
' THE NORTHERN STAR ' : 1792 - 1797 .
In September , 1791 , a young Trinity College graduate from Kildare , Theobald Wolfe Tone , issued a pamphlet entitled - ' An Argument on Behalf of the Catholics in Ireland '.
The fact that Tone was a Protestant and had called for a " brotherhood of affection , a communion of rites and union of power among Irishmen of every religious persuasion , and thereby to obtain a complete reform of the legislature founded on principles of political and religious liberty " ensured that he quickly came to national attention .
Within weeks , societies of ' United Irishmen ' were being established in the country ....... (MORE LATER).
WHERE MOUNTAINY MEN HAVE SOWN :
war and peace in rebel Cork ,
in the turbulent years 1916-21.
By Micheal O'Suilleabhain : published 1965.
THE LITTLE FIELDS.......
".......one of the more humane British Army Commanders , Sir John Moore , said of British involvement in Irish affairs --- " If I were an Irishman , I would be a rebel......."
" His own people did not appreciate his humanity , but Michael O' Dwyer ( Irish Rebel leader ) of Wicklow did when he released him after capture , and Soult , Marshal of France , paid him tribute by erecting a monument over his grave at Corunna . The year 1803 saw Emmet's attempt to throttle British power at its source in Dublin . Its failure was succeeded by the usual intensified crushing of body and spirit .
The year 1602 had also seen the end of the Irish system of laws which had functioned for fifteen-hundred years . They were replaced by a penal system , every modification of which was intended to improve on or supplant some feature thought to be over-merciful to the people . One of the most hated enactments was the Tithe Law which made it compulsory on the people , almost entirely Catholic , to pay one-tenth of their meagre means of subsistence towards the support of an alien Church .
The people of our area were always ready to grasp at any opportunity to assert their rights by force of arms . In 1796 they heard of the coming of the French fleet to Bantry Bay ( Cork ) to aid them , and grasped the poor arms they possessed . They were well watched , however , by the combined forces of the regular British Army and Yeomanry of the Barony of Muskerry ......." (MORE LATER).
DIZZY DOYLE's DATA DEFINATELY DISFUNCTIONAL.......
[from ' The Phoenix Magazine ,' 23rd May - 5th June , 1997 , page 18]
Speaking to an international conference on the Irish 'Famine' , hosted by the Leinster House Administration at Dublin Castle recently , Avril Doyle ( Free State Minister of State and Chairperson of the 'Famine' Commemoration Committee at the time ) , stated ---
--- " It would be all too easy to develop an exaggerated rhetoric of blame , a callow descent into easy sentimentality , in which we can all wallow luxuriantly as vicarious victims of the Famine (sic) , rather than as its beneficiaries . The one million dead left few descendants . The bulk of Famine (sic) victims' descendants are not in Ireland but scattered across the globe . It is also too facile to blame every modern Irish ill , from schizophrenia to alcoholism , on the Famine (sic) , degenerating into a maudlin culture of complaint . "
UNBELIEVABLE ! THAT is the Free State mentality --- the ' Great Hunger ' was an " exaggerated rhetoric " full of " sentimentality " from which the Irish were the " beneficiaries " !!
AND there's more --- In 1996 , speaking at the launch of the Leinster House 'Famine' (sic) commemoration programme , the same Avril Doyle described the 'Famine' (sic) as --- " A shared British-Irish experience " !
In much the same way , no doubt , that the Holocaust was 'a shared German-Jewish experience' , perhaps.......
' THE NORTHERN STAR ' : 1792 - 1797 .
In September , 1791 , a young Trinity College graduate from Kildare , Theobald Wolfe Tone , issued a pamphlet entitled - ' An Argument on Behalf of the Catholics in Ireland '.
The fact that Tone was a Protestant and had called for a " brotherhood of affection , a communion of rites and union of power among Irishmen of every religious persuasion , and thereby to obtain a complete reform of the legislature founded on principles of political and religious liberty " ensured that he quickly came to national attention .
Within weeks , societies of ' United Irishmen ' were being established in the country ....... (MORE LATER).
WHERE MOUNTAINY MEN HAVE SOWN :
war and peace in rebel Cork ,
in the turbulent years 1916-21.
By Micheal O'Suilleabhain : published 1965.
THE LITTLE FIELDS.......
".......one of the more humane British Army Commanders , Sir John Moore , said of British involvement in Irish affairs --- " If I were an Irishman , I would be a rebel......."
" His own people did not appreciate his humanity , but Michael O' Dwyer ( Irish Rebel leader ) of Wicklow did when he released him after capture , and Soult , Marshal of France , paid him tribute by erecting a monument over his grave at Corunna . The year 1803 saw Emmet's attempt to throttle British power at its source in Dublin . Its failure was succeeded by the usual intensified crushing of body and spirit .
The year 1602 had also seen the end of the Irish system of laws which had functioned for fifteen-hundred years . They were replaced by a penal system , every modification of which was intended to improve on or supplant some feature thought to be over-merciful to the people . One of the most hated enactments was the Tithe Law which made it compulsory on the people , almost entirely Catholic , to pay one-tenth of their meagre means of subsistence towards the support of an alien Church .
The people of our area were always ready to grasp at any opportunity to assert their rights by force of arms . In 1796 they heard of the coming of the French fleet to Bantry Bay ( Cork ) to aid them , and grasped the poor arms they possessed . They were well watched , however , by the combined forces of the regular British Army and Yeomanry of the Barony of Muskerry ......." (MORE LATER).
DIZZY DOYLE's DATA DEFINATELY DISFUNCTIONAL.......
[from ' The Phoenix Magazine ,' 23rd May - 5th June , 1997 , page 18]
Speaking to an international conference on the Irish 'Famine' , hosted by the Leinster House Administration at Dublin Castle recently , Avril Doyle ( Free State Minister of State and Chairperson of the 'Famine' Commemoration Committee at the time ) , stated ---
--- " It would be all too easy to develop an exaggerated rhetoric of blame , a callow descent into easy sentimentality , in which we can all wallow luxuriantly as vicarious victims of the Famine (sic) , rather than as its beneficiaries . The one million dead left few descendants . The bulk of Famine (sic) victims' descendants are not in Ireland but scattered across the globe . It is also too facile to blame every modern Irish ill , from schizophrenia to alcoholism , on the Famine (sic) , degenerating into a maudlin culture of complaint . "
UNBELIEVABLE ! THAT is the Free State mentality --- the ' Great Hunger ' was an " exaggerated rhetoric " full of " sentimentality " from which the Irish were the " beneficiaries " !!
AND there's more --- In 1996 , speaking at the launch of the Leinster House 'Famine' (sic) commemoration programme , the same Avril Doyle described the 'Famine' (sic) as --- " A shared British-Irish experience " !
In much the same way , no doubt , that the Holocaust was 'a shared German-Jewish experience' , perhaps.......
Wednesday, November 19, 2003
THE BRITISH ' MILITARY SERVICE (No. 2) BILL 1918 ' ---
IRISHMEN TO FIGHT FOR ENGLAND........
.......the Catholic Hierarchy and the Trade Union movement organised a joint 'day-of-action' to show the level of opposition that existed to the British Conscription Act in Ireland ; on Tuesday , 23rd April , 1918 , the whole country practically closed down.......
Huge anti-conscription open-air rallies took place over the following week , and the British were left in no doubt that their Conscription Act would not be accepted ; in early May 1918 , Westminster instructed their 'governing executive' in Dublin Castle to vacate the premises , and a 'new broom' was put in place -- Lord French .
The new man and his staff soon realised that the Irish were not for turning in relation to the imposition of Conscription ; by this stage the population was of one voice , with guarantees being issued at every rally " that limits would not be placed on the means used to resist conscription . "
Within days , the British had backed-off ; they introduced a publicity campaign for their new 'recruitment drive' in Ireland and abandoned in total their previously-held intention to conscript Irishmen into the British armed forces . The ' Military service (No.2) Bill 1918 ' was heard of no more .
[END].
WHERE MOUNTAINY MEN HAVE SOWN :
war and peace in rebel Cork ,
in the turbulent years 1916-21.
By Micheal O'Suilleabhain : published 1965.
THE LITTLE FIELDS.......
" .......the Irish were , once again , fighting the land to make it arable . But there were other forces turned against them ....... "
" On the first day of the New Year , 1603 , O'Sullivan Beare , the last Irish military leader to tread the land , passed northwards through Ballingeary , Kilnamartyra and Ballyvourney on his last fiery trail into history . Military resistance , for the old Irish , was finished for many a weary year to come .
Wars there were , that helped in the further destruction of the natives and the confiscation of their lands . But there were wars between English rulers , and it mattered little to the people which gained the mastery . Men like Eoghain Rua O'Neill and Sarsfield wasted their lives and talents fighting for Charles 1 . It was not until the year 1798 that a serious attempt was made to shake off the yoke of the foreigner .
It was a military failure , yet it was a victory in every other way . It showed the people , the enemy , and the world that the utmost repression and barbarity of penal laws could not , though maintained for centuries , bring the people to their knees . Sir John Moore of Corunna , humane and gallant British soldier , who witnessed the brutalities of the soldiery and yeomanry of 1798 , exclaimed : " If I were an Irishman , I would be a rebel . " (MORE LATER).
'SPENCE' FORCE.......
[from ' New Hibernia ' magazine , July 1985 , page 11]
During an interview , the then Ulster Volunteer Force leader 'Gusty' Spence stated ---
--- " I was a fascist . There was a lot of fascism in the Ulster Volunteer Force . "
And that fascism is still there ; it is part of the British imperialistic nature .
.......AND SPENT FORCE ---->
[from ' AP/RN ' , 30th July , 1992 , page 13]
<---- British Army Brigadier A.E.C. Bredin said in 1987 ---
--- " Whatever solution is arrived at in Ireland , it is axiomate that the British Government can ever allow a united Ireland . We must be realistic - Britain's welfare comes before Irish unity . "
Is'nt Brigadier Bredin an awful silly-billy altogether ? He does'nt realise that the issue of Irish unity is not his decision !
IRISHMEN TO FIGHT FOR ENGLAND........
.......the Catholic Hierarchy and the Trade Union movement organised a joint 'day-of-action' to show the level of opposition that existed to the British Conscription Act in Ireland ; on Tuesday , 23rd April , 1918 , the whole country practically closed down.......
Huge anti-conscription open-air rallies took place over the following week , and the British were left in no doubt that their Conscription Act would not be accepted ; in early May 1918 , Westminster instructed their 'governing executive' in Dublin Castle to vacate the premises , and a 'new broom' was put in place -- Lord French .
The new man and his staff soon realised that the Irish were not for turning in relation to the imposition of Conscription ; by this stage the population was of one voice , with guarantees being issued at every rally " that limits would not be placed on the means used to resist conscription . "
Within days , the British had backed-off ; they introduced a publicity campaign for their new 'recruitment drive' in Ireland and abandoned in total their previously-held intention to conscript Irishmen into the British armed forces . The ' Military service (No.2) Bill 1918 ' was heard of no more .
[END].
WHERE MOUNTAINY MEN HAVE SOWN :
war and peace in rebel Cork ,
in the turbulent years 1916-21.
By Micheal O'Suilleabhain : published 1965.
THE LITTLE FIELDS.......
" .......the Irish were , once again , fighting the land to make it arable . But there were other forces turned against them ....... "
" On the first day of the New Year , 1603 , O'Sullivan Beare , the last Irish military leader to tread the land , passed northwards through Ballingeary , Kilnamartyra and Ballyvourney on his last fiery trail into history . Military resistance , for the old Irish , was finished for many a weary year to come .
Wars there were , that helped in the further destruction of the natives and the confiscation of their lands . But there were wars between English rulers , and it mattered little to the people which gained the mastery . Men like Eoghain Rua O'Neill and Sarsfield wasted their lives and talents fighting for Charles 1 . It was not until the year 1798 that a serious attempt was made to shake off the yoke of the foreigner .
It was a military failure , yet it was a victory in every other way . It showed the people , the enemy , and the world that the utmost repression and barbarity of penal laws could not , though maintained for centuries , bring the people to their knees . Sir John Moore of Corunna , humane and gallant British soldier , who witnessed the brutalities of the soldiery and yeomanry of 1798 , exclaimed : " If I were an Irishman , I would be a rebel . " (MORE LATER).
'SPENCE' FORCE.......
[from ' New Hibernia ' magazine , July 1985 , page 11]
During an interview , the then Ulster Volunteer Force leader 'Gusty' Spence stated ---
--- " I was a fascist . There was a lot of fascism in the Ulster Volunteer Force . "
And that fascism is still there ; it is part of the British imperialistic nature .
.......AND SPENT FORCE ---->
[from ' AP/RN ' , 30th July , 1992 , page 13]
<---- British Army Brigadier A.E.C. Bredin said in 1987 ---
--- " Whatever solution is arrived at in Ireland , it is axiomate that the British Government can ever allow a united Ireland . We must be realistic - Britain's welfare comes before Irish unity . "
Is'nt Brigadier Bredin an awful silly-billy altogether ? He does'nt realise that the issue of Irish unity is not his decision !
Tuesday, November 18, 2003
THE BRITISH ' MILITARY SERVICE (No. 2) BILL 1918 ' ---
IRISHMEN TO FIGHT FOR ENGLAND........
......the anti-conscription campaign was in full swing ; the Catholic Hierarchy met in Maynooth on Sunday , 21st April , 1918 , to discuss their support for the campaign .......
It was agreed , by the Catholic Hierarchy , to use their contacts in the Trade Union movement to take the issue further ; the 'Irish Trade Union Congress' was contacted immediately and both the Catholic Church and the Congress called for a one-day , all-out strike , to take place two days later (ie Tuesday , 23rd April , 1918) to show the British the level of opposition in Ireland to their ' Conscription Act ' .
The one-day strike was a massive success --- the whole country practically closed down : shops did'nt open , factories remained closed , newspapers were not published , trains remained in the station and no-one turned-up to operate the trams . Huge anti-conscription open-air rallies took place over the following week ........ (MORE LATER).
WHERE MOUNTAINY MEN HAVE SOWN :
war and peace in rebel Cork ,
in the turbulent years 1916-21.
By Micheal O'Suilleabhain : published 1965.
THE LITTLE FIELDS.......
".......the British used the land for sport ; they had no interest in the work that the native Irish put in to turn a wicked mountain-side in to a piece of land on which they could 'survive' ....... "
" Having cleared an area which had disputed every inch with them , the people could not afford to relax their heart-breaking toil and vigilance to any extent . For the nature of the soil was such that its desire to return to its former state was unappeasable . Like a genuine wild creature , it was untameable .
Did one but turn one's back on it for but a short time , the rushes and the furze and the heather appeared above its surface . Even the rock that had been passed over 'grew' again . I remember an old man's comment on the reclamation of a particularly boulder-infested patch . He stood watching the crowbar work for a while and then , referring to the soil , said -- " It is hard . Do ye think ye will be able to release it ? "
Yet there was little soil to release compared with the volume of stone . The other forces massed against the people since , let us say , the year after the Battle of Kinsale in 1601 , were the alien forces that had driven them to the rocks . " (MORE LATER).
HONEST.......
[from ' Hot Press ' magazine , Volume 16 , No.11 , 2nd July , 1992 , page 12]
In an interview , Free State Senator Brendan Ryan stated --
-- " We are very wealthy . My wife is a psychiatrist and I'm a lecturer . I personally have never known deprivation . (Wealth) has corrupted me to a certain extent . You step further and further from common reality and further into a minority view of the world . "
An honest politician ?? The man should've been a Priest ! But then again .......
.......TO GOD ---->
[from ' The Evening Press ' newspaper , 19th June , 1992 -- a Friday , if memory serves -- page 8]
Catholic Priest Fr. Vincent Kiss apparently siphoned off over one-million punts from charity funds to pay for his lavish lifestyle -- he earned £20,000 a year , but cashed cheques worth £250,000 and owned a luxury house in Australia and another in the Philippines !
And why not ? Sure has'nt GOD got loads'a houses too !
IRISHMEN TO FIGHT FOR ENGLAND........
......the anti-conscription campaign was in full swing ; the Catholic Hierarchy met in Maynooth on Sunday , 21st April , 1918 , to discuss their support for the campaign .......
It was agreed , by the Catholic Hierarchy , to use their contacts in the Trade Union movement to take the issue further ; the 'Irish Trade Union Congress' was contacted immediately and both the Catholic Church and the Congress called for a one-day , all-out strike , to take place two days later (ie Tuesday , 23rd April , 1918) to show the British the level of opposition in Ireland to their ' Conscription Act ' .
The one-day strike was a massive success --- the whole country practically closed down : shops did'nt open , factories remained closed , newspapers were not published , trains remained in the station and no-one turned-up to operate the trams . Huge anti-conscription open-air rallies took place over the following week ........ (MORE LATER).
WHERE MOUNTAINY MEN HAVE SOWN :
war and peace in rebel Cork ,
in the turbulent years 1916-21.
By Micheal O'Suilleabhain : published 1965.
THE LITTLE FIELDS.......
".......the British used the land for sport ; they had no interest in the work that the native Irish put in to turn a wicked mountain-side in to a piece of land on which they could 'survive' ....... "
" Having cleared an area which had disputed every inch with them , the people could not afford to relax their heart-breaking toil and vigilance to any extent . For the nature of the soil was such that its desire to return to its former state was unappeasable . Like a genuine wild creature , it was untameable .
Did one but turn one's back on it for but a short time , the rushes and the furze and the heather appeared above its surface . Even the rock that had been passed over 'grew' again . I remember an old man's comment on the reclamation of a particularly boulder-infested patch . He stood watching the crowbar work for a while and then , referring to the soil , said -- " It is hard . Do ye think ye will be able to release it ? "
Yet there was little soil to release compared with the volume of stone . The other forces massed against the people since , let us say , the year after the Battle of Kinsale in 1601 , were the alien forces that had driven them to the rocks . " (MORE LATER).
HONEST.......
[from ' Hot Press ' magazine , Volume 16 , No.11 , 2nd July , 1992 , page 12]
In an interview , Free State Senator Brendan Ryan stated --
-- " We are very wealthy . My wife is a psychiatrist and I'm a lecturer . I personally have never known deprivation . (Wealth) has corrupted me to a certain extent . You step further and further from common reality and further into a minority view of the world . "
An honest politician ?? The man should've been a Priest ! But then again .......
.......TO GOD ---->
[from ' The Evening Press ' newspaper , 19th June , 1992 -- a Friday , if memory serves -- page 8]
Catholic Priest Fr. Vincent Kiss apparently siphoned off over one-million punts from charity funds to pay for his lavish lifestyle -- he earned £20,000 a year , but cashed cheques worth £250,000 and owned a luxury house in Australia and another in the Philippines !
And why not ? Sure has'nt GOD got loads'a houses too !
Monday, November 17, 2003
THE BRITISH ' MILITARY SERVICE (No. 2) BILL 1918 ' ---
IRISHMEN TO FIGHT FOR ENGLAND........
......on 16th April , 1918 , conscription was made law in Ireland --; John Redmond's 'Irish Parliamentary Party ' withdrew from Westminster in protest and , on 18th April , 1918 , the ' IPP ' joined with Sinn Fein and the Irish Labour Party in signing an anti-conscription pledge .......
Arthur Griffith and Eamonn de Valera signed the anti-conscription pledge on behalf of Sinn Fein , John Dillon and Joseph Devlin signed for the Irish Parliamentary Party , William O'Brien and Tim Healy signed for the ' All for Ireland League ' and Bill O'Brien signed for the Irish Labour Party .
The following Sunday (21st April , 1918) , copies of the Pledge were taken around the country to church doors with the support of the Catholic Hierarchy -- this was the same Catholic Hierarchy which , prior to the 1916 Rising ( and , indeed , in most cases, after the Rising ) had allowed their names to be printed on recruiting posters urging Irishmen to join the British Army !
On that same Sunday ( ie 21st April , 1918 ) the Catholic Hierarchy were holding a meeting in Maynooth and voiced their support for the anti-conscription campaign --- they discussed other methods by which they could highlight their case ....... (MORE LATER).
WHERE MOUNTAINY MEN HAVE SOWN :
war and peace in rebel Cork ,
in the turbulent years 1916-21.
By Micheal O'Suilleabhain : published 1965.
THE LITTLE FIELDS.......
".......the Irish were still being hounded by the British 'landlords' and their agents ; but the Irish still had rebel blood in them and would strike back when it suited them ......."
" My uncle , Dan Harrington , often told me of a little incident which reveals an honest Englishman's opinion of both the integrity of the 'landlord' and the quality of the land he lorded over . One day when about twelve years old , Dan met a 'landlord' and party shooting woodcock . Anxious to see this, for him , unusual pastime , he stood on a rock to watch the proceedings . The game was plentiful and his point of vantage being excellent , he stayed on it .
Presently , the 'landlord' and one of his guests , a British Army Captain , also mounted the rock to rest and survey the activities of their companions . The Captain's eyes ranged over the terrain . At length , he spoke -- " Sir Augustus ," he said , " did I hear you say that you took rents from the people about here ? "
" Oh, yes, " replied Sir Augustus Warren , " the land about here is very good ." The Captain looked at him and said -- " GOOD ? Good ? Egad sir , it is . For cock-shooting , perhaps ! "
The forces of nature arrayed against the people were indeed formidable and unrelenting . My father told me how the little fields were made ......." (MORE LATER).
GOOD APPLES.......
[from ' AP/RN ' , 4th June , 1992 , page 5]
....... According to Church of Ireland Primate , Dr. Robin Eames , it was " the failure of the few " which allowed the " good name " of the Ulster Defence Regiment ( a pro-British militia in the Six Counties ) to suffer !
The good Primate is also said to believe that if you put a good apple into a barrel of bad apples , the latter will revert to a near-perfect state !
.......IN A ROTTEN ORCHARD ---->
[from ' Hot Press Magazine ', Volume 16 , No.10 , 18th June , 1992 , page 47]
<---- Canadian Bishop Hubert O'Connor resigned in 1991 after charges were pressed alleging that he had raped two women ; in Newfoundland in 1991 , four 'Christian Brothers' and ten Diocesan Priests were found guilty of child sexual abuse at the Mount Cashel Orphanage .
In New Orleans in America , a Fr. Dino Cinel , an italian-born Catholic Priest , allegedly made pornographic videos of teenage boys in his rectory and sold photographs of the boys to porno mags -- the District Attorney , Harry Connick , a Catholic , admitted in an interview that he had originally been unwilling to prosecute Fr. Cinel because he did not want to embarrass " Holy Mother Church " !
How mis-guided -- the District Attorney would have done " Holy Mother Church " a true favour had he prosecuted the Priest at the earliest opportunity . What was he waiting for -- a bad apple to go good ?
IRISHMEN TO FIGHT FOR ENGLAND........
......on 16th April , 1918 , conscription was made law in Ireland --; John Redmond's 'Irish Parliamentary Party ' withdrew from Westminster in protest and , on 18th April , 1918 , the ' IPP ' joined with Sinn Fein and the Irish Labour Party in signing an anti-conscription pledge .......
Arthur Griffith and Eamonn de Valera signed the anti-conscription pledge on behalf of Sinn Fein , John Dillon and Joseph Devlin signed for the Irish Parliamentary Party , William O'Brien and Tim Healy signed for the ' All for Ireland League ' and Bill O'Brien signed for the Irish Labour Party .
The following Sunday (21st April , 1918) , copies of the Pledge were taken around the country to church doors with the support of the Catholic Hierarchy -- this was the same Catholic Hierarchy which , prior to the 1916 Rising ( and , indeed , in most cases, after the Rising ) had allowed their names to be printed on recruiting posters urging Irishmen to join the British Army !
On that same Sunday ( ie 21st April , 1918 ) the Catholic Hierarchy were holding a meeting in Maynooth and voiced their support for the anti-conscription campaign --- they discussed other methods by which they could highlight their case ....... (MORE LATER).
WHERE MOUNTAINY MEN HAVE SOWN :
war and peace in rebel Cork ,
in the turbulent years 1916-21.
By Micheal O'Suilleabhain : published 1965.
THE LITTLE FIELDS.......
".......the Irish were still being hounded by the British 'landlords' and their agents ; but the Irish still had rebel blood in them and would strike back when it suited them ......."
" My uncle , Dan Harrington , often told me of a little incident which reveals an honest Englishman's opinion of both the integrity of the 'landlord' and the quality of the land he lorded over . One day when about twelve years old , Dan met a 'landlord' and party shooting woodcock . Anxious to see this, for him , unusual pastime , he stood on a rock to watch the proceedings . The game was plentiful and his point of vantage being excellent , he stayed on it .
Presently , the 'landlord' and one of his guests , a British Army Captain , also mounted the rock to rest and survey the activities of their companions . The Captain's eyes ranged over the terrain . At length , he spoke -- " Sir Augustus ," he said , " did I hear you say that you took rents from the people about here ? "
" Oh, yes, " replied Sir Augustus Warren , " the land about here is very good ." The Captain looked at him and said -- " GOOD ? Good ? Egad sir , it is . For cock-shooting , perhaps ! "
The forces of nature arrayed against the people were indeed formidable and unrelenting . My father told me how the little fields were made ......." (MORE LATER).
GOOD APPLES.......
[from ' AP/RN ' , 4th June , 1992 , page 5]
....... According to Church of Ireland Primate , Dr. Robin Eames , it was " the failure of the few " which allowed the " good name " of the Ulster Defence Regiment ( a pro-British militia in the Six Counties ) to suffer !
The good Primate is also said to believe that if you put a good apple into a barrel of bad apples , the latter will revert to a near-perfect state !
.......IN A ROTTEN ORCHARD ---->
[from ' Hot Press Magazine ', Volume 16 , No.10 , 18th June , 1992 , page 47]
<---- Canadian Bishop Hubert O'Connor resigned in 1991 after charges were pressed alleging that he had raped two women ; in Newfoundland in 1991 , four 'Christian Brothers' and ten Diocesan Priests were found guilty of child sexual abuse at the Mount Cashel Orphanage .
In New Orleans in America , a Fr. Dino Cinel , an italian-born Catholic Priest , allegedly made pornographic videos of teenage boys in his rectory and sold photographs of the boys to porno mags -- the District Attorney , Harry Connick , a Catholic , admitted in an interview that he had originally been unwilling to prosecute Fr. Cinel because he did not want to embarrass " Holy Mother Church " !
How mis-guided -- the District Attorney would have done " Holy Mother Church " a true favour had he prosecuted the Priest at the earliest opportunity . What was he waiting for -- a bad apple to go good ?
Sunday, November 16, 2003
THE BRITISH ' MILITARY SERVICE (No. 2) BILL 1918 ' ---
IRISHMEN TO FIGHT FOR ENGLAND........
....... the ' Military Service (No. 2) Bill 1918 ' was put forward in Westminster for discussion on 9th April , 1918 , by British Prime Minister , Lloyd George , as was the so-called ' Home Rule Bill ' . On 16th April , 1918 , the Bills were approved .......
John Redmond's ' Irish Parliamentary Party ' withdrew from the British Parliament in Westminster in protest --- Redmond and his followers had no objection to encouraging Irishmen to join the British Army and fight their wars for them (even if that meant Irishmen in a British Army uniform being stationed in Ireland !) but could not be seen to be part of a system which forced Irishmen to join the British Army .
Redmond knew that without the 'platform' offered by Westminster on which to broadcast his and the ' Irish Parliamentary Party's ' presence , he would loose ground to the Sinn Fein party --- so he joined with Sinn Fein and the Irish Labour Party in compiling a joint anti-conscription pledge in the Mansion House in Dublin , on 18th April , 1918 , in the presence , and with the support of , the then Lord Mayor of Dublin , Laurence O'Neill . (MORE LATER).
WHERE MOUNTAINY MEN HAVE SOWN :
war and peace in rebel Cork ,
in the turbulent years 1916-21.
By Micheal O'Suilleabhain : published 1965.
THE LITTLE FIELDS.......
".......the British invader had forced the Irish from their farms ; the Irish forged new farms on the sides of mountains -- the British wanted them , too , and classed such farms as " holdings " which " belonged " to the British ' landlords ' --- the British also used the Irish " tenants " as free labour ....... "
" The British 'landlord' "owned" the wild birds of the air and all the ground game . Woe to the man or boy caught chasing a hare or setting a trap or snare . The penalty was meted out according to the humour of the particular 'landlord' , he being also the local dispenser of British 'justice' . I can cite an instance , from living witnesses , where the 'landlord's' gamekeeper saw a young man crossing one of the Derrynasaggart mountains , accompanied by a greyhound . He shot the young man with a rifle and killed him . The gamekeeper was never brought to trial before a court . He left the country , and there the matter ended .
I am happy to relate , however , that some spirited young men from the parish of Ballyvourney crossed the Kerry border and , driving the 'landlord' and his men before them into the Big House , they laid siege to it . A strong party of armed police soon intervened to effect a timely rescue . " (MORE LATER).
OLD.......
[from ' The Sunday Tribune ' Magazine , 8th March , 1992 , page 4]
During the (first) Gulf War , while (the then) British Foreign Secretary , 'Sir' Geoffrey Howe , was boring the British 'House of Commons' with " deep expressions of concern " etc etc about the " savagery of Saddam Hussein " , the then British Minister for Trade , Alan Clark , was entertaining British exporters to Iraq and showing them how to fill in their forms so as to dodge the arms embargo !
British 'suit' --- " Paperwork , you say , chaps ? Oh those forms ! Jolly nuisance , I agree . Only for the bean-counters upstairs , you understand , HAR-HAR ! "
.......WARS---->
[from ' AP/RN ', 23rd April , 1992 , page 7]
<---- " Talks which do not seek to end partition and the British connection , the Union , are a waste of time for Nationalist Ireland . The Unionist veto needs to be removed , not reinforced . "
--- so said Gerry Adams , during his speech at the Provisional Sinn Fein Easter Commemoration in Belfast that year (1992) . ' End partition , break the Union , remove the Unionist veto ' --- ah , those were the days , Gerry, . Shame you turned your back on them .
IRISHMEN TO FIGHT FOR ENGLAND........
....... the ' Military Service (No. 2) Bill 1918 ' was put forward in Westminster for discussion on 9th April , 1918 , by British Prime Minister , Lloyd George , as was the so-called ' Home Rule Bill ' . On 16th April , 1918 , the Bills were approved .......
John Redmond's ' Irish Parliamentary Party ' withdrew from the British Parliament in Westminster in protest --- Redmond and his followers had no objection to encouraging Irishmen to join the British Army and fight their wars for them (even if that meant Irishmen in a British Army uniform being stationed in Ireland !) but could not be seen to be part of a system which forced Irishmen to join the British Army .
Redmond knew that without the 'platform' offered by Westminster on which to broadcast his and the ' Irish Parliamentary Party's ' presence , he would loose ground to the Sinn Fein party --- so he joined with Sinn Fein and the Irish Labour Party in compiling a joint anti-conscription pledge in the Mansion House in Dublin , on 18th April , 1918 , in the presence , and with the support of , the then Lord Mayor of Dublin , Laurence O'Neill . (MORE LATER).
WHERE MOUNTAINY MEN HAVE SOWN :
war and peace in rebel Cork ,
in the turbulent years 1916-21.
By Micheal O'Suilleabhain : published 1965.
THE LITTLE FIELDS.......
".......the British invader had forced the Irish from their farms ; the Irish forged new farms on the sides of mountains -- the British wanted them , too , and classed such farms as " holdings " which " belonged " to the British ' landlords ' --- the British also used the Irish " tenants " as free labour ....... "
" The British 'landlord' "owned" the wild birds of the air and all the ground game . Woe to the man or boy caught chasing a hare or setting a trap or snare . The penalty was meted out according to the humour of the particular 'landlord' , he being also the local dispenser of British 'justice' . I can cite an instance , from living witnesses , where the 'landlord's' gamekeeper saw a young man crossing one of the Derrynasaggart mountains , accompanied by a greyhound . He shot the young man with a rifle and killed him . The gamekeeper was never brought to trial before a court . He left the country , and there the matter ended .
I am happy to relate , however , that some spirited young men from the parish of Ballyvourney crossed the Kerry border and , driving the 'landlord' and his men before them into the Big House , they laid siege to it . A strong party of armed police soon intervened to effect a timely rescue . " (MORE LATER).
OLD.......
[from ' The Sunday Tribune ' Magazine , 8th March , 1992 , page 4]
During the (first) Gulf War , while (the then) British Foreign Secretary , 'Sir' Geoffrey Howe , was boring the British 'House of Commons' with " deep expressions of concern " etc etc about the " savagery of Saddam Hussein " , the then British Minister for Trade , Alan Clark , was entertaining British exporters to Iraq and showing them how to fill in their forms so as to dodge the arms embargo !
British 'suit' --- " Paperwork , you say , chaps ? Oh those forms ! Jolly nuisance , I agree . Only for the bean-counters upstairs , you understand , HAR-HAR ! "
.......WARS---->
[from ' AP/RN ', 23rd April , 1992 , page 7]
<---- " Talks which do not seek to end partition and the British connection , the Union , are a waste of time for Nationalist Ireland . The Unionist veto needs to be removed , not reinforced . "
--- so said Gerry Adams , during his speech at the Provisional Sinn Fein Easter Commemoration in Belfast that year (1992) . ' End partition , break the Union , remove the Unionist veto ' --- ah , those were the days , Gerry, . Shame you turned your back on them .
Saturday, November 15, 2003
THE BRITISH ' MILITARY SERVICE (No. 2) BILL 1918 ' ---
IRISHMEN TO FIGHT FOR ENGLAND........
....... the Brits needed more 'cannon-fodder' in France, where they were under attack from a German offensive ; Lloyd George ( British Prime Minister ) looked at Ireland and wanted conscription on the books -- he knew a ' sweetener ' such as 'Home Rule' after the war would assist his endeavours .......
The British offer of 'Home Rule' was nothing of the sort -- a reading of the 'small print' (ie the hidden "terms and conditions") of the ' Home Rule ' Bill exposed it for the fraudulent offer it was --- Lloyd George was willing to offer only local government powers , under the British Crown , to Ireland , with only a small , if any , ' suggestative ' input into issues of law , education and finance . Westminster would still have the final word and British troops would still be on the ground .
On 9th April , 1918 , the ' Military Service (No. 2) Bill 1918 ' was put forward in Westminster by Lloyd George for discussion --- it called for conscription to be extended (ie from Britain) to Ireland ; also up for discussion was the ' Home Rule Bill ' ( which was , in effect , nothing of the sort ). One week later ( on the 16th April , 1918 ) , both Bills passed through Westminster ....... (MORE LATER).
WHERE MOUNTAINY MEN HAVE SOWN :
war and peace in rebel Cork ,
in the turbulent years 1916-21.
By Micheal O'Suilleabhain : published 1965.
THE LITTLE FIELDS .......
".......human lives , tissue , blood , sweat and time ; but eventually nature yielded . The wasted land began to take shape . The Irish , forced from their fertile farms by the Planters, had started again , on the sides of mountains . But the foreigners noticed -- they wanted more ....... "
" Now , having made homes of a sort from hell's alternative , the tormented people expected that at least their right to the meagre fruits of their labour would not be disputed . But the greedy Sassenach (the British) eye saw a way further to persecute the mere Irish and at the same time to enrich himself .
The rocks were divided into estates . A man's mud-wall cabin and little fields were classified as " holdings " and " farms " , and groups of them became estates " belonging " to a 'landlord' who already lived in the home of some Irishman driven to the rocks . Some there were who never saw " their estates " but lived in England or elsewhere .
They employed agents who collected the 'rents' from the 'tenants' . Thus did the people come to know those hated terms . As well as taking 'rents' from the people , the 'landlord' " owned " their bodies and tried hard for the mastery of their souls . If he wanted a man or men or women , he merely sent a servant intimating the time and place where his or their services were required ." (MORE LATER).
NOT JOLLY-.......
[from ' Fortnight Magazine ', No.303 , February 1992 , page 30]
....... On 17th December , 1991 ( a Tuesday , I believe ) , the then head of Scotland's Yard 'anti-terrorist' branch , Commander George Churchill-Coleman stated --
-- " We are winning the fight against terrorism and they know that jolly well ."
Oh good show , George - game of cricket , anyone ......?
.......-WELL FAIR ---->
[from ' The Sunday Tribune ' , 8th March , 1992 , page 40]
<---- In 1563 , the composer of Britains current National Anthem ' God Save the Queen ' died in Belgium having had to flee England to escape persecution as a Catholic !
There's a lesson in there , Gerry --- Ya just can't please the Brits.......
IRISHMEN TO FIGHT FOR ENGLAND........
....... the Brits needed more 'cannon-fodder' in France, where they were under attack from a German offensive ; Lloyd George ( British Prime Minister ) looked at Ireland and wanted conscription on the books -- he knew a ' sweetener ' such as 'Home Rule' after the war would assist his endeavours .......
The British offer of 'Home Rule' was nothing of the sort -- a reading of the 'small print' (ie the hidden "terms and conditions") of the ' Home Rule ' Bill exposed it for the fraudulent offer it was --- Lloyd George was willing to offer only local government powers , under the British Crown , to Ireland , with only a small , if any , ' suggestative ' input into issues of law , education and finance . Westminster would still have the final word and British troops would still be on the ground .
On 9th April , 1918 , the ' Military Service (No. 2) Bill 1918 ' was put forward in Westminster by Lloyd George for discussion --- it called for conscription to be extended (ie from Britain) to Ireland ; also up for discussion was the ' Home Rule Bill ' ( which was , in effect , nothing of the sort ). One week later ( on the 16th April , 1918 ) , both Bills passed through Westminster ....... (MORE LATER).
WHERE MOUNTAINY MEN HAVE SOWN :
war and peace in rebel Cork ,
in the turbulent years 1916-21.
By Micheal O'Suilleabhain : published 1965.
THE LITTLE FIELDS .......
".......human lives , tissue , blood , sweat and time ; but eventually nature yielded . The wasted land began to take shape . The Irish , forced from their fertile farms by the Planters, had started again , on the sides of mountains . But the foreigners noticed -- they wanted more ....... "
" Now , having made homes of a sort from hell's alternative , the tormented people expected that at least their right to the meagre fruits of their labour would not be disputed . But the greedy Sassenach (the British) eye saw a way further to persecute the mere Irish and at the same time to enrich himself .
The rocks were divided into estates . A man's mud-wall cabin and little fields were classified as " holdings " and " farms " , and groups of them became estates " belonging " to a 'landlord' who already lived in the home of some Irishman driven to the rocks . Some there were who never saw " their estates " but lived in England or elsewhere .
They employed agents who collected the 'rents' from the 'tenants' . Thus did the people come to know those hated terms . As well as taking 'rents' from the people , the 'landlord' " owned " their bodies and tried hard for the mastery of their souls . If he wanted a man or men or women , he merely sent a servant intimating the time and place where his or their services were required ." (MORE LATER).
NOT JOLLY-.......
[from ' Fortnight Magazine ', No.303 , February 1992 , page 30]
....... On 17th December , 1991 ( a Tuesday , I believe ) , the then head of Scotland's Yard 'anti-terrorist' branch , Commander George Churchill-Coleman stated --
-- " We are winning the fight against terrorism and they know that jolly well ."
Oh good show , George - game of cricket , anyone ......?
.......-WELL FAIR ---->
[from ' The Sunday Tribune ' , 8th March , 1992 , page 40]
<---- In 1563 , the composer of Britains current National Anthem ' God Save the Queen ' died in Belgium having had to flee England to escape persecution as a Catholic !
There's a lesson in there , Gerry --- Ya just can't please the Brits.......
Friday, November 14, 2003
THE BRITISH ' MILITARY SERVICE (No. 2) BILL 1918 ' ---
IRISHMEN TO FIGHT FOR ENGLAND........
.......in 1914 , the 'Irish National Volunteers' split after one of its leaders , John Redmond , attempted to get the organisation to fight with the British Army in ' World War 1 '.......
Tens of thousands of Irishmen , convinced by John Redmond that the British were on the verge of implementing a true ' Home Rule ' Bill for Ireland , died fighting with the Brits in the trenches of France --- approximately fifty-thousand Irishmen in all .
In late 1917/early 1918 , the Germans launched an offensive against the 'allies' in France ; the Brits needed more soldiers . The then British Prime Minister , Lloyd George, was aware that conscription in Ireland would be vehemently opposed by Irish Republicans ( and was also aware that they would use the issue to garner support ) so he offered what he considered a " sweetener " -- a simultaneous ' Home Rule ' Bill ....... (MORE LATER).
WHERE MOUNTAINY MEN HAVE SOWN :
war and peace in rebel Cork ,
in the turbulent years 1916-21.
By Micheal O'Suilleabhain : published 1965.
THE LITTLE FIELDS.......
".......the native Irish were forced off the fertile lands by successive plantations by the British ; they had to live among the rocks , and try to reclaim land from nature on which to survive ....... "
" Food must be had to provide the energy . However , it was certainly done and the green spots started to show against the dour and forbidding background . In time , and following a colossal expenditure of human tissue and with the worst of tools , the little fields and cabin showed signs of the owner's industry . They caught the Planter's eye.....
Surely the man who starts to work on a piece of rejected raw material and makes some useful article from it is entitled to be recognised as the lawful owner of it ? Surely the unfortunate people who had to comply with the order " to Hell or Connaught " were entitled to call the rocks their own ? They had just been forced out of the good land they lawfully owned to make room for the Planters.
To go to Connaught meant to go to the waste places where they could suffer and die at their leisure . The majority did die , but some survived and started to make the little fields . Surely the raw material they used belonged to them ? It was flung at them as an alternative to hell . Certainly it was the next thing to it ." (MORE LATER).
PILLAR.......
[from ' The Irish Times ', Wednesday/Thursday 1st/2nd January , 1992 page 11]
In 1808 , Trinity College in Dublin donated £100 towards the building of Nelsons Pillar , and Arthur Guinness and Sons gave £25 .
The total cost of the Pillar was £6856 , 8 shillings and 3 pence ( including the railings around it ) !
Nelsons Pillar was 'removed' in 1966 , without British 'permission' !
.......OF SOCIETY---->
[from ' The Evening Press ' newspaper , 20th November , 1991 -- a Wednesday , if memory serves -- page 9]
Niccolo Machiavelli was an Italian Statesman and Author during the 'Renaissance Period' .
He wrote his political philosophy in a book entitled ' The Prince ' , in which he argued that rulers should use all the methods they can , even dishonest ones , to strengthen the powers of the State .
This deviousness has given rise to the adjective ' Machiavellian ' .
Everyone in Leinster House must be just too busy to read ould Nic's book in full : they all seem convinced that they have to enrich themselves , and not the State !
( Note to 'Whitewell' - the link you gave me is faulty : can you correct same ? )
IRISHMEN TO FIGHT FOR ENGLAND........
.......in 1914 , the 'Irish National Volunteers' split after one of its leaders , John Redmond , attempted to get the organisation to fight with the British Army in ' World War 1 '.......
Tens of thousands of Irishmen , convinced by John Redmond that the British were on the verge of implementing a true ' Home Rule ' Bill for Ireland , died fighting with the Brits in the trenches of France --- approximately fifty-thousand Irishmen in all .
In late 1917/early 1918 , the Germans launched an offensive against the 'allies' in France ; the Brits needed more soldiers . The then British Prime Minister , Lloyd George, was aware that conscription in Ireland would be vehemently opposed by Irish Republicans ( and was also aware that they would use the issue to garner support ) so he offered what he considered a " sweetener " -- a simultaneous ' Home Rule ' Bill ....... (MORE LATER).
WHERE MOUNTAINY MEN HAVE SOWN :
war and peace in rebel Cork ,
in the turbulent years 1916-21.
By Micheal O'Suilleabhain : published 1965.
THE LITTLE FIELDS.......
".......the native Irish were forced off the fertile lands by successive plantations by the British ; they had to live among the rocks , and try to reclaim land from nature on which to survive ....... "
" Food must be had to provide the energy . However , it was certainly done and the green spots started to show against the dour and forbidding background . In time , and following a colossal expenditure of human tissue and with the worst of tools , the little fields and cabin showed signs of the owner's industry . They caught the Planter's eye.....
Surely the man who starts to work on a piece of rejected raw material and makes some useful article from it is entitled to be recognised as the lawful owner of it ? Surely the unfortunate people who had to comply with the order " to Hell or Connaught " were entitled to call the rocks their own ? They had just been forced out of the good land they lawfully owned to make room for the Planters.
To go to Connaught meant to go to the waste places where they could suffer and die at their leisure . The majority did die , but some survived and started to make the little fields . Surely the raw material they used belonged to them ? It was flung at them as an alternative to hell . Certainly it was the next thing to it ." (MORE LATER).
PILLAR.......
[from ' The Irish Times ', Wednesday/Thursday 1st/2nd January , 1992 page 11]
In 1808 , Trinity College in Dublin donated £100 towards the building of Nelsons Pillar , and Arthur Guinness and Sons gave £25 .
The total cost of the Pillar was £6856 , 8 shillings and 3 pence ( including the railings around it ) !
Nelsons Pillar was 'removed' in 1966 , without British 'permission' !
.......OF SOCIETY---->
[from ' The Evening Press ' newspaper , 20th November , 1991 -- a Wednesday , if memory serves -- page 9]
Niccolo Machiavelli was an Italian Statesman and Author during the 'Renaissance Period' .
He wrote his political philosophy in a book entitled ' The Prince ' , in which he argued that rulers should use all the methods they can , even dishonest ones , to strengthen the powers of the State .
This deviousness has given rise to the adjective ' Machiavellian ' .
Everyone in Leinster House must be just too busy to read ould Nic's book in full : they all seem convinced that they have to enrich themselves , and not the State !
( Note to 'Whitewell' - the link you gave me is faulty : can you correct same ? )
Thursday, November 13, 2003
THE BRITISH ' MILITARY SERVICE (No. 2) BILL 1918 ' ---
IRISHMEN TO FIGHT FOR ENGLAND.
August 1914 ; war in Europe (' World War 1 ') . The ' Irish National Volunteers ' ( founded at the end of 1913 , in response to the Loyalist grouping , the UVF which , in 1913 , was under the command of a Sir George Richardson , a retired British General and veteran of many colonial wars ) splits , when one of its leaders , John Redmond , of the ' Irish Parliamentary Party ' ( the so-called ' United Irish League ' or the ' Home Rule Party ' ) urges the ' Volunteers ' to join the British Army and fight with British troops.
The majority of the ' Irish National Volunteers ' stayed with John Redmond , while those opposed to fighting for the Brits went over to Sinn Fein and the ' Irish Republican Brotherhood ' ....... (MORE LATER).
WHERE MOUNTAINY MEN HAVE SOWN :
war and peace in rebel Cork ,
in the turbulent years 1916-21.
By Micheal O'Suilleabhain : published 1965.
THE LITTLE FIELDS.......
".......the earth takes it back - past generations have reclaimed parts of the area and built a stone fence around it ; one quarter of the reclaimed land was covered by that stone fence ......."
" This was due , of course, to the number and depth of stones and boulders that had to be removed from the reclaimed area . A horse and cart could be driven on top of some of these fences . The little fields and big fences were indeed made at the cost of blood and sweat and tears .
What of the people who made the little fields ? The best on earth , I would say . Driven long ago from the fertile inland by successive plantations , they took root among the rocks . It is significant that all bear old Irish names . You will rarely find a Planters name among them . If you do , you will find that it is located on a spot worth occupying .
It is hard to visualize how any human being , no matter how strong and courageous , survived the winters before the first little field was made . One could build a house of some sort in a short time , but to make a field in the wilderness takes time and energy ....... " (MORE LATER).
YOUNG........
[from ' The Sunday Tribune ' , 21st July , 1991 , page 36]
In July 1554 , Mary the 1st of England entered her second 'marriage' , to King Phillip the 2nd of Spain ; her first 'marriage' was at age 3 to the son of the King of France , who was 9 months young at the time !
A 3 year-young child 'marrying' a 9 month-young child ! The kids themselves obviously would'nt have had a clue what was going on , but the parents and other adults should have known better .
.......PEOPLE --->
[from ' AP/RN ' , 12th September , 1991 , page 14]
" If our (party) structures do not suit their needs (ie young people) we must change them accordingly . "
--- so said Larry O'Toole , North-Dublin representative for Provisional Sinn Fein .
In this case , the adults should know better ; if you are willing to " change your structures " to attract new members , by doing so you will lose some of your existing membership !
Only the unprincipled could stay in a party like that .....
IRISHMEN TO FIGHT FOR ENGLAND.
August 1914 ; war in Europe (' World War 1 ') . The ' Irish National Volunteers ' ( founded at the end of 1913 , in response to the Loyalist grouping , the UVF which , in 1913 , was under the command of a Sir George Richardson , a retired British General and veteran of many colonial wars ) splits , when one of its leaders , John Redmond , of the ' Irish Parliamentary Party ' ( the so-called ' United Irish League ' or the ' Home Rule Party ' ) urges the ' Volunteers ' to join the British Army and fight with British troops.
The majority of the ' Irish National Volunteers ' stayed with John Redmond , while those opposed to fighting for the Brits went over to Sinn Fein and the ' Irish Republican Brotherhood ' ....... (MORE LATER).
WHERE MOUNTAINY MEN HAVE SOWN :
war and peace in rebel Cork ,
in the turbulent years 1916-21.
By Micheal O'Suilleabhain : published 1965.
THE LITTLE FIELDS.......
".......the earth takes it back - past generations have reclaimed parts of the area and built a stone fence around it ; one quarter of the reclaimed land was covered by that stone fence ......."
" This was due , of course, to the number and depth of stones and boulders that had to be removed from the reclaimed area . A horse and cart could be driven on top of some of these fences . The little fields and big fences were indeed made at the cost of blood and sweat and tears .
What of the people who made the little fields ? The best on earth , I would say . Driven long ago from the fertile inland by successive plantations , they took root among the rocks . It is significant that all bear old Irish names . You will rarely find a Planters name among them . If you do , you will find that it is located on a spot worth occupying .
It is hard to visualize how any human being , no matter how strong and courageous , survived the winters before the first little field was made . One could build a house of some sort in a short time , but to make a field in the wilderness takes time and energy ....... " (MORE LATER).
YOUNG........
[from ' The Sunday Tribune ' , 21st July , 1991 , page 36]
In July 1554 , Mary the 1st of England entered her second 'marriage' , to King Phillip the 2nd of Spain ; her first 'marriage' was at age 3 to the son of the King of France , who was 9 months young at the time !
A 3 year-young child 'marrying' a 9 month-young child ! The kids themselves obviously would'nt have had a clue what was going on , but the parents and other adults should have known better .
.......PEOPLE --->
[from ' AP/RN ' , 12th September , 1991 , page 14]
" If our (party) structures do not suit their needs (ie young people) we must change them accordingly . "
--- so said Larry O'Toole , North-Dublin representative for Provisional Sinn Fein .
In this case , the adults should know better ; if you are willing to " change your structures " to attract new members , by doing so you will lose some of your existing membership !
Only the unprincipled could stay in a party like that .....
Wednesday, November 12, 2003
P. J. SMYTH AND THE TASMANIA ESCAPE , 1853 .......
.......in mid-July , 1853 , John Mitchel , ' Young Ireland' leader , was smuggled on board a ship bound for America by the Irish Rebel , P. J. Smyth ; in late November , 1853 , the ship docked in New York .......
The following year (1854), John Mitchel wrote a book about his five years in prison ; even today , that book , ' Gaol Journal ' , is considered to be one of the best works about prison life to be put on paper .
As a younger man , John Mitchel had wrote , in his ' United Irishman ' newspaper ( suppressed by the British in May , 1848 ) that " Ireland's opportunity would come when England was in difficulty . "
Roll on the hard times , England.......
[END]
WHERE MOUNTAINY MEN HAVE SOWN :
war and peace in rebel Cork ,
in the turbulent years 1916-21.
By Micheal O'Suilleabhain : published 1965.
THE LITTLE FIELDS.......
".......turning due south with the rocky Foherish , we reach Carrigaphooca , where the Foherish joins the Sullane , which comes from the western boundary ......."
" Here we cross the Sullane , a few miles to the west of Macroom , and continuing due south over a dividing ridge reach the Toon river at Toon bridge , the place from whence we started . The circuit of our area is complete . We have enclosed perhaps eighty-square miles , and three parishes -- Inchigeela-Ballingeary , Ballyvourney and Kilnamartyra .
What of the physical features within the enclosure ! They are in keeping with the boundaries . Massive ridges of rock run from west to east through the entire area . There are not twenty acres together in any part of it , in which a rock , large or small , does not show . A twenty-acre field , even with a rock showing , is indeed a rarity . And small level fields are rare enough . The vast majority are inclined at a more or less difficult angle to the horizontal .
All have been reclaimed from the rock , the marsh , the bog , the heather , the brake , and , worst of all , from the stony and eroded hillside . The quality of the soil is not good , even in the best pockets . I have seen little fields , reclaimed by past generations , where the area under the stone fence around one field exceeded one quarter of the area of the field itself ....... " (MORE LATER).
TWO FINGERS.......
[from ' The Observer ' newspaper , 16th June , 1991 , page 19]
In a profile of Boris Yeltsin by William Millinship , it was stated that , as a schoolboy during the war , the young Boris broke into a church which was being used as an ammunition store and stole a couple of hand-grenades .
Wondering how exactly they worked , the bould Boris tackeled one of them with a hammer -- the resulting explosion blew two fingers off his left hand !
On 19th February , 1991 , Boris was being interviewed on television when , apparently , out of the blue , he called for Gorbachov's resignation -- weeks later , when he was on television again , he departed from the text of a prepared speech and made a declaration of war on the country's leadership !
...way to go , Boris -- get into their camp and then piss all over them ....
.......TO THE VOTERS --->
[from ' Hot Press ' magazine , Volume 15 , No. 12 , 27th June , 1991 , page 37]
The late Brian Lenihan ( Fianna Fail ) , Charlie Haughey's right-hand man at the time , was interviewed and questioned about Fianna Fail's decision ( now that they were in power again ) to work the 1985 Hillsborough Treaty -- in the run-up to the election , Fianna Fail had described that Treaty as " unconstitutional , immoral and unworkable . "
The Brian fella stated --- " We decided FORGET (his emphasis) the arguments about the rights and wrongs we'd engaged in while in opposition . Here was a Treaty between two States , in place , and we were intent on working it to the maximum extent . "
Told ya ! Breaking election promises , pledges and guarantees is nothing new for Fianna Fail ; its how they make their living .
.......in mid-July , 1853 , John Mitchel , ' Young Ireland' leader , was smuggled on board a ship bound for America by the Irish Rebel , P. J. Smyth ; in late November , 1853 , the ship docked in New York .......
The following year (1854), John Mitchel wrote a book about his five years in prison ; even today , that book , ' Gaol Journal ' , is considered to be one of the best works about prison life to be put on paper .
As a younger man , John Mitchel had wrote , in his ' United Irishman ' newspaper ( suppressed by the British in May , 1848 ) that " Ireland's opportunity would come when England was in difficulty . "
Roll on the hard times , England.......
[END]
WHERE MOUNTAINY MEN HAVE SOWN :
war and peace in rebel Cork ,
in the turbulent years 1916-21.
By Micheal O'Suilleabhain : published 1965.
THE LITTLE FIELDS.......
".......turning due south with the rocky Foherish , we reach Carrigaphooca , where the Foherish joins the Sullane , which comes from the western boundary ......."
" Here we cross the Sullane , a few miles to the west of Macroom , and continuing due south over a dividing ridge reach the Toon river at Toon bridge , the place from whence we started . The circuit of our area is complete . We have enclosed perhaps eighty-square miles , and three parishes -- Inchigeela-Ballingeary , Ballyvourney and Kilnamartyra .
What of the physical features within the enclosure ! They are in keeping with the boundaries . Massive ridges of rock run from west to east through the entire area . There are not twenty acres together in any part of it , in which a rock , large or small , does not show . A twenty-acre field , even with a rock showing , is indeed a rarity . And small level fields are rare enough . The vast majority are inclined at a more or less difficult angle to the horizontal .
All have been reclaimed from the rock , the marsh , the bog , the heather , the brake , and , worst of all , from the stony and eroded hillside . The quality of the soil is not good , even in the best pockets . I have seen little fields , reclaimed by past generations , where the area under the stone fence around one field exceeded one quarter of the area of the field itself ....... " (MORE LATER).
TWO FINGERS.......
[from ' The Observer ' newspaper , 16th June , 1991 , page 19]
In a profile of Boris Yeltsin by William Millinship , it was stated that , as a schoolboy during the war , the young Boris broke into a church which was being used as an ammunition store and stole a couple of hand-grenades .
Wondering how exactly they worked , the bould Boris tackeled one of them with a hammer -- the resulting explosion blew two fingers off his left hand !
On 19th February , 1991 , Boris was being interviewed on television when , apparently , out of the blue , he called for Gorbachov's resignation -- weeks later , when he was on television again , he departed from the text of a prepared speech and made a declaration of war on the country's leadership !
...way to go , Boris -- get into their camp and then piss all over them ....
.......TO THE VOTERS --->
[from ' Hot Press ' magazine , Volume 15 , No. 12 , 27th June , 1991 , page 37]
The late Brian Lenihan ( Fianna Fail ) , Charlie Haughey's right-hand man at the time , was interviewed and questioned about Fianna Fail's decision ( now that they were in power again ) to work the 1985 Hillsborough Treaty -- in the run-up to the election , Fianna Fail had described that Treaty as " unconstitutional , immoral and unworkable . "
The Brian fella stated --- " We decided FORGET (his emphasis) the arguments about the rights and wrongs we'd engaged in while in opposition . Here was a Treaty between two States , in place , and we were intent on working it to the maximum extent . "
Told ya ! Breaking election promises , pledges and guarantees is nothing new for Fianna Fail ; its how they make their living .
Tuesday, November 11, 2003
P.J. SMYTH AND THE TASMANIA ESCAPE , 1853.......
.......the two men , P J Smyth and John Mitchel , met together as arranged and discussed how Mitchel could safely escape from the British prison colony .......
John Mitchel requested a meeting with the prison guv'nor and , in early June , 1853, told him that he was no longer willing to give his word that he would not , in future , attempt to escape . However , at his request , he was allowed out of the prison once more , in mid-July , 1853, and was then spirited away by P J Smyth and local supporters .
John Mitchel was then taken to the docks area where a ship was preparing for a voyage to America . He was smuggled on board for the trip and , in late November , 1853 , he arrived in New York ........ (MORE LATER).
WHERE MOUNTAINY MEN HAVE SOWN :
war and peace in rebel Cork ,
in the turbulent years 1916-21.
By Micheal O'Suilleabhain : published 1965.
THE LITTLE FIELDS.......
" .......we travel in a Northern direction until we reach the Coom Road , then North by East , which takes us to the Cork-Kerry border ....... "
" Again we have completed ten miles , the extent of our western boundary . It is a mountain wall , heather-covered in places , barren enough in the remainder . Some feeding for small mountain sheep . Some peat bogs . Cover for grouse now , it was once the home of the eagle . From heights of over a thousand feet one may look down to the east and see nearly all our territory spread before him . The two principal rivers , the Lee and the Sullane , form with their valleys the whole of the ground we wish to cover .
Moving due east along the ridge of the Derrynasaggart mountains , we follow the mountain road between Ballyvourney and Millstreet for a few miles as far as the source of the Foherish . Three further miles eastward and we have completed our northern boundary , roughly eight miles . Turning due south with the rocky Foherish we reach Carrigaphooca where the Foherish joins the Sullane which comes from the western boundary . " (MORE LATER).
HOME.......
Liam Mellows predicted in the Treaty Debate on 4th January , 1922 ---
--- " Men will get into positions , men will hold power , and men who get into positions and hold power will desire to remain undisturbed and will not want to be removed . "
The readers of this column who live in the occupied Six Counties will hopefully remember the words of Liam Mellows before going out to cast their vote later this month .
You'll be voting for those already comfortably ensconced in the system or those hoping to end up there .
.......TRUTHS ---->
[from ' The Guardian ' , London , 26th November , 1998]
<---- " Transforming the European Union into a single state with one army , one constitution and one foreign policy is the critical challenge of the age . "
--- so said Joschka Fischer , German Foreign Minister at the time .
More power for the 'suits' ; more reason for the rest of us to worry .......
.......the two men , P J Smyth and John Mitchel , met together as arranged and discussed how Mitchel could safely escape from the British prison colony .......
John Mitchel requested a meeting with the prison guv'nor and , in early June , 1853, told him that he was no longer willing to give his word that he would not , in future , attempt to escape . However , at his request , he was allowed out of the prison once more , in mid-July , 1853, and was then spirited away by P J Smyth and local supporters .
John Mitchel was then taken to the docks area where a ship was preparing for a voyage to America . He was smuggled on board for the trip and , in late November , 1853 , he arrived in New York ........ (MORE LATER).
WHERE MOUNTAINY MEN HAVE SOWN :
war and peace in rebel Cork ,
in the turbulent years 1916-21.
By Micheal O'Suilleabhain : published 1965.
THE LITTLE FIELDS.......
" .......we travel in a Northern direction until we reach the Coom Road , then North by East , which takes us to the Cork-Kerry border ....... "
" Again we have completed ten miles , the extent of our western boundary . It is a mountain wall , heather-covered in places , barren enough in the remainder . Some feeding for small mountain sheep . Some peat bogs . Cover for grouse now , it was once the home of the eagle . From heights of over a thousand feet one may look down to the east and see nearly all our territory spread before him . The two principal rivers , the Lee and the Sullane , form with their valleys the whole of the ground we wish to cover .
Moving due east along the ridge of the Derrynasaggart mountains , we follow the mountain road between Ballyvourney and Millstreet for a few miles as far as the source of the Foherish . Three further miles eastward and we have completed our northern boundary , roughly eight miles . Turning due south with the rocky Foherish we reach Carrigaphooca where the Foherish joins the Sullane which comes from the western boundary . " (MORE LATER).
HOME.......
Liam Mellows predicted in the Treaty Debate on 4th January , 1922 ---
--- " Men will get into positions , men will hold power , and men who get into positions and hold power will desire to remain undisturbed and will not want to be removed . "
The readers of this column who live in the occupied Six Counties will hopefully remember the words of Liam Mellows before going out to cast their vote later this month .
You'll be voting for those already comfortably ensconced in the system or those hoping to end up there .
.......TRUTHS ---->
[from ' The Guardian ' , London , 26th November , 1998]
<---- " Transforming the European Union into a single state with one army , one constitution and one foreign policy is the critical challenge of the age . "
--- so said Joschka Fischer , German Foreign Minister at the time .
More power for the 'suits' ; more reason for the rest of us to worry .......
Monday, November 10, 2003
P. J. SMYTH AND THE TASMANIA ESCAPE , 1853 .......
......in 1853 , P.J. Smyth , an Irish rebel , arrived , as planned , in Australia ; he was there to rescue John Mitchel , the Young Ireland leader , who was in a prison colony there.......
The two men met , as arranged , in a hotel outside the town of Hobart . They had not seen each other since 1848 -- five years -- . In his book ' GAOL JOURNAL ' , John Mitchel described that first meeting ---
--- John Mitchel wrote of how he approached a man outside the hotel and asked him was his name Smyth ; " He ( Smyth ) turned upon me suddenly ; clearly he thought it was a detective , thought that he had been traced all the way to the very spot where he was to meet us - that he was a prisoner and all was over . I hastened to undeceive him , for he looked strongly tempted to shoot me and bolt . "
The two men talked of how Mitchel could escape from Australia ; his people in New York had supplied P.J. Smyth with a list of 'Young Ireland ' sympathisers in that part of Australia who were willing and able to assist in John Mitchel's escape , and a plan was devised ....... ( MORE LATER ).
WHERE MOUNTAINY MEN HAVE SOWN :
war and peace in rebel Cork ,
in the turbulent years 1916-21.
By Micheal O'Suilleabhain : published 1965.
THE LITTLE FIELDS.......
".......ten miles from Toon Bridge -- all of it rugged scenery , one lake and two villages , set-in between the rocks , marshes and bogs ......."
" We will turn North and climb to Gougane Barra where rises the Lee . Once the abode of a saint (Finbarr) , it is well known for its beauty , the little lake and island set in a corridor of towering and barren rocks .
I would say that it is the general headquarters for all the rocks in that district . To traverse the western boundary of our area we must now go on foot across the Derrynasaggart mountain , travelling north by east until we reach the first east-west road-crossing at Lackabawn .
Again , roughly north until we meet the next road at Coom (the Cork-Kenmare road) and finally north by east again to meet the Cork-Killarney road at the Cork-Kerry border ......." ( MORE LATER ).
(minority)SHOOT FIRST .......
[from ' The Sunday Tribune, ' 9th June , 1991 , page 6]
In 1975 , a British soldier killed a County Tyrone farmer , Patrick McElhone , as he ran away from a military patrol . The Brit was charged with murder but was acquitted -- the 'trial' Judge said that although Patrick McElhone was an innocent person , the soldier had reason to believe he was a fleeing terrorist and , because of the " war or quasi-war situation " in the Six Counties , the British soldier was justified in shooting him !
The British Law Lords stated -- " If he ( McElhone) got away (he) was likely sooner or later to participate in acts of violence . "
.....and that's the way the Brits have always operated in Ireland --- " Well , Mick , we know you were up to something . Or you will be eventually ......"
......(report).......AND ASK QUESTIONS LATER --->
[from ' The Irish Echo ' American newspaper , 12th-18th June , 1991 , page 2]
<--- ' Amnesty International ' recently released a six-hundred-and-seventy-four page document reporting on British human rights abuses in the Six Counties , which condemned Britain for same .
The John Major Conservative Government responded by stating that it was " necessary in war to have secrecy . " Tory backbencher Ivor Stanbrook M P declared --- " Britain is a democracy at war with bloodthirsty terrorists and it is our duty to protect British citizens . " ( QUESTION - did Stanbrook not recognise the so-called " bloodthirsty terrorists " as " British citizens " as well ?)
Stanbrook continued --- " We are at war and that's why we use secret tribunals and inquiries . Why should we give our enemies free information ? We have high standards , a record that is better than any other in the world . "
..... Brits with " high standards " regarding Ireland ? See the above ' Law Lords ' quote , Ivor , and tell me if you look like Tom Cruise .......
......in 1853 , P.J. Smyth , an Irish rebel , arrived , as planned , in Australia ; he was there to rescue John Mitchel , the Young Ireland leader , who was in a prison colony there.......
The two men met , as arranged , in a hotel outside the town of Hobart . They had not seen each other since 1848 -- five years -- . In his book ' GAOL JOURNAL ' , John Mitchel described that first meeting ---
--- John Mitchel wrote of how he approached a man outside the hotel and asked him was his name Smyth ; " He ( Smyth ) turned upon me suddenly ; clearly he thought it was a detective , thought that he had been traced all the way to the very spot where he was to meet us - that he was a prisoner and all was over . I hastened to undeceive him , for he looked strongly tempted to shoot me and bolt . "
The two men talked of how Mitchel could escape from Australia ; his people in New York had supplied P.J. Smyth with a list of 'Young Ireland ' sympathisers in that part of Australia who were willing and able to assist in John Mitchel's escape , and a plan was devised ....... ( MORE LATER ).
WHERE MOUNTAINY MEN HAVE SOWN :
war and peace in rebel Cork ,
in the turbulent years 1916-21.
By Micheal O'Suilleabhain : published 1965.
THE LITTLE FIELDS.......
".......ten miles from Toon Bridge -- all of it rugged scenery , one lake and two villages , set-in between the rocks , marshes and bogs ......."
" We will turn North and climb to Gougane Barra where rises the Lee . Once the abode of a saint (Finbarr) , it is well known for its beauty , the little lake and island set in a corridor of towering and barren rocks .
I would say that it is the general headquarters for all the rocks in that district . To traverse the western boundary of our area we must now go on foot across the Derrynasaggart mountain , travelling north by east until we reach the first east-west road-crossing at Lackabawn .
Again , roughly north until we meet the next road at Coom (the Cork-Kenmare road) and finally north by east again to meet the Cork-Killarney road at the Cork-Kerry border ......." ( MORE LATER ).
(minority)SHOOT FIRST .......
[from ' The Sunday Tribune, ' 9th June , 1991 , page 6]
In 1975 , a British soldier killed a County Tyrone farmer , Patrick McElhone , as he ran away from a military patrol . The Brit was charged with murder but was acquitted -- the 'trial' Judge said that although Patrick McElhone was an innocent person , the soldier had reason to believe he was a fleeing terrorist and , because of the " war or quasi-war situation " in the Six Counties , the British soldier was justified in shooting him !
The British Law Lords stated -- " If he ( McElhone) got away (he) was likely sooner or later to participate in acts of violence . "
.....and that's the way the Brits have always operated in Ireland --- " Well , Mick , we know you were up to something . Or you will be eventually ......"
......(report).......AND ASK QUESTIONS LATER --->
[from ' The Irish Echo ' American newspaper , 12th-18th June , 1991 , page 2]
<--- ' Amnesty International ' recently released a six-hundred-and-seventy-four page document reporting on British human rights abuses in the Six Counties , which condemned Britain for same .
The John Major Conservative Government responded by stating that it was " necessary in war to have secrecy . " Tory backbencher Ivor Stanbrook M P declared --- " Britain is a democracy at war with bloodthirsty terrorists and it is our duty to protect British citizens . " ( QUESTION - did Stanbrook not recognise the so-called " bloodthirsty terrorists " as " British citizens " as well ?)
Stanbrook continued --- " We are at war and that's why we use secret tribunals and inquiries . Why should we give our enemies free information ? We have high standards , a record that is better than any other in the world . "
..... Brits with " high standards " regarding Ireland ? See the above ' Law Lords ' quote , Ivor , and tell me if you look like Tom Cruise .......
Sunday, November 09, 2003
GREAT BALLAD-SESSION !
(...or so I'm told - don't remember an awful lot about it : ...think someone spiked my tenth pint ! )
We're still out at the Ard Fheis --- but its not all 'fun and games' .
Serious issues , good debates and meeting people that I normally try to avoid : the Special Branch .
Back tomorrow.......
Saturday, November 08, 2003
NO POST TODAY - Saturday , 8th NOVEMBER, 2003.....
NO TIME....... !
The ' 1169..... ' crew are on a 'working holiday ' (!) at the 99th Republican Sinn Fein Ard Fheis in Dublin .
Should be back to normal output tomorrow , Sunday 9th ( ...but could be Monday -- depends on how good the Ard Fheis ballad-session is tonight !)
Friday, November 07, 2003
P. J. SMYTH AND THE TASMANIA ESCAPE , 1853 .......
....... John Mitchel was joined in a Tasmania jail by six other leaders of the Young Ireland Rising ; in America , members and supporters of the Irish Rebels were watching developments with interest .......
The American supporters appointed one of their men , Patrick James Smyth , --- who had fought well in Ireland during the 1848 Rising and was lucky enough to have escaped to America after its collapse --- to travel to Australia to effect a rescue of all or some of the imprisoned Rebel leaders .
It was now the year 1853 ; John Mitchel and the other six Young Ireland leaders had been in prison for five years and were by now being allowed out on parole on a regular basis on condition that they give their word not to escape .
P J Smyth had arrived in Australia and had arranged to meet John Mitchel in a hotel outside the town of Hobart ....... (MORE LATER).
WHERE MOUNTAINY MEN HAVE SOWN :
war and peace in rebel Cork ,
in the turbulent years 1916-21.
By Micheal O'Suilleabhain : published 1965.
THE LITTLE FIELDS .......
"....... as you leave to go south-westward from Macroom you enter the country about which all those stories are told ......."
" We cross the Toon river by the bridge of the main road to Bantry and Glengariff . We are still on the northern bank of the Lee . We pass through Inchigeela village and now the Lee has widened and levelled to form Loch Allua which in places almost laps the road until we come to Ballingeary , five miles further on .
Passing through this village of the Gaeltacht , we cross the bridge over the now narrow Lee , and continue westwards along its southern bank . Through a rugged glen with the cascading Lee as companion for a while , we go upwards through Tuirin Dubh and soon the Pass of Ceimaneigh confronts us . We will not go through that gap . We will look back for ten miles to Toon Bridge . Ten miles of rugged scenery with a lake and two villages .
Little pockets of green fields set , high and low , among the overwhelming rocks , marshes and bogs . Those ten miles from the southern boundary of the area I write about ." (MORE LATER).
MONEY.......
" There is no art that one government sooner learns from another than that of draining money from the pockets of the people . "
--- Adam Smith , , ' The Wealth of Nations ' , 1776 .
.....MONEY ,MONEY .......
[from ' The Evening Press ' newspaper , 14th September , 1985 -- a Saturday , if memory serves ---page 1]
The extent of social welfare abuse in 1983 was £2.3 million punts , which was only one-eight of one per-cent of total social expenditure by the State that year .
......IT'S A RICH MAN'S WORLD ---->
[from ' Magill ' magazine , January , 1998 , page 15]
<---- Between 1st August , 1988 , and 31st January , 1991 , Charlie Haughey ( ex-Fianna Fail Free State Taoiseach ) spent £5446 Punts ( Euro 6914 ) a week . Every week !
....and they call us " Spongers " because we won't pay twice to have our bin's emptied !
....... John Mitchel was joined in a Tasmania jail by six other leaders of the Young Ireland Rising ; in America , members and supporters of the Irish Rebels were watching developments with interest .......
The American supporters appointed one of their men , Patrick James Smyth , --- who had fought well in Ireland during the 1848 Rising and was lucky enough to have escaped to America after its collapse --- to travel to Australia to effect a rescue of all or some of the imprisoned Rebel leaders .
It was now the year 1853 ; John Mitchel and the other six Young Ireland leaders had been in prison for five years and were by now being allowed out on parole on a regular basis on condition that they give their word not to escape .
P J Smyth had arrived in Australia and had arranged to meet John Mitchel in a hotel outside the town of Hobart ....... (MORE LATER).
WHERE MOUNTAINY MEN HAVE SOWN :
war and peace in rebel Cork ,
in the turbulent years 1916-21.
By Micheal O'Suilleabhain : published 1965.
THE LITTLE FIELDS .......
"....... as you leave to go south-westward from Macroom you enter the country about which all those stories are told ......."
" We cross the Toon river by the bridge of the main road to Bantry and Glengariff . We are still on the northern bank of the Lee . We pass through Inchigeela village and now the Lee has widened and levelled to form Loch Allua which in places almost laps the road until we come to Ballingeary , five miles further on .
Passing through this village of the Gaeltacht , we cross the bridge over the now narrow Lee , and continue westwards along its southern bank . Through a rugged glen with the cascading Lee as companion for a while , we go upwards through Tuirin Dubh and soon the Pass of Ceimaneigh confronts us . We will not go through that gap . We will look back for ten miles to Toon Bridge . Ten miles of rugged scenery with a lake and two villages .
Little pockets of green fields set , high and low , among the overwhelming rocks , marshes and bogs . Those ten miles from the southern boundary of the area I write about ." (MORE LATER).
MONEY.......
" There is no art that one government sooner learns from another than that of draining money from the pockets of the people . "
--- Adam Smith , , ' The Wealth of Nations ' , 1776 .
.....MONEY ,MONEY .......
[from ' The Evening Press ' newspaper , 14th September , 1985 -- a Saturday , if memory serves ---page 1]
The extent of social welfare abuse in 1983 was £2.3 million punts , which was only one-eight of one per-cent of total social expenditure by the State that year .
......IT'S A RICH MAN'S WORLD ---->
[from ' Magill ' magazine , January , 1998 , page 15]
<---- Between 1st August , 1988 , and 31st January , 1991 , Charlie Haughey ( ex-Fianna Fail Free State Taoiseach ) spent £5446 Punts ( Euro 6914 ) a week . Every week !
....and they call us " Spongers " because we won't pay twice to have our bin's emptied !
Thursday, November 06, 2003
P.J. SMYTH AND THE TASMANIA ESCAPE , 1853.......
.......in May 1848 , ' Young Ireland ' leader John Mitchel was sentenced by the British to fourteen years transportation , under the newly-enacted ' Treason Felony Act ' . The Rebellion against British mis-rule in Ireland began shortly after Mitchel's 'trial' .......
The Rising was short-lived -- it was over by July 1848 , the same month in which the British suspended the legal rule of ' Habeas Corpus ' . John Mitchel spent his first year of imprisonment in Bermuda before being sent to Van Diemans Land ( Tasmania ) , which was a penal colony in Australia .
Back home in Ireland , the British had captured the other leaders of the Young Ireland Rising and transported them to Van Diemans Land as well , to serve their sentences . John Mitchel was joined by William Smith O'Brien , Thomas Francis Meagher , Terence Bellew MacManus , John Martin , Pat O'Donoghue and Kevin Izod O'Doherty .
However , members and supporters of the Young Ireland movement in New York , America , were watching developments with interest ....... (MORE LATER).
WHERE MOUNTAINY MEN HAVE SOWN :
war and peace in rebel Cork ,
in the turbulent years 1916-21.
By Micheal O'Suilleabhain : published 1965.
THE LITTLE FIELDS.......
".......west of Macroom , in County Cork the landscape changes ; it is a rough , forbidding area , with large , sleepy rocks on outpost duty ......."
" You will not wonder at this , when you see all their connecting files and advance guard . Ill-kept and ill-mannered fellows they look , peering at you from behind their cover of brushwood or furze , and some standing naked and unashamed in the middle of small fields on steep hillsides .
But they are not bad fellows after all , and when you get to know them you will like them very much . Personally , I have a grievance against some of them , for I live amongst them . So have my neighbours , for these stubborn fellows are forever coming in one's way . Yet they have their uses .
And you must admire them for they are solid and unyielding , and the people who live with them must also acquire those qualities . Let us continue our tour south-westward from Macroom into the country about which all these stories are told ........" (MORE LATER).
RHYME.......
[from ' The Irish Reporter ' Magazine , Issue 2 , 1991 , page 23]
A poem by Brendan O hEithir ;
THE GENTLE BLACK AND TAN
' Come all you staunch revisionists and listen to my song ,
Its short and its unusual and it won't detain you long .
Its all about a soldier who has carried history's can ,
Who dodged Tom Barry and Dan Breen , the gentle Black and Tan . '
Our poet-in-residence here at '1169 ....' replies ---->
<---- ' Read it twice or more , you Stormont crew ,
then learn it ' off-by-heart ' .
'Cause what you're doing is old , not new ,
as from Republicans you part ......'
.......AND TREASON ---->
[from ' Fortnight ' Magazine , No. 294 , April 1991 , page 26]
<---- A Reverend J. O' Hannay once advised his flock that " reading Irish history was a fatal thing to anyone wishing to remain a sound Unionist . "
Unless , of course , the Reverend O' Hannay's parishioners were to read the type of 'history' referred to in Brendan O hEithir's poem !
.......in May 1848 , ' Young Ireland ' leader John Mitchel was sentenced by the British to fourteen years transportation , under the newly-enacted ' Treason Felony Act ' . The Rebellion against British mis-rule in Ireland began shortly after Mitchel's 'trial' .......
The Rising was short-lived -- it was over by July 1848 , the same month in which the British suspended the legal rule of ' Habeas Corpus ' . John Mitchel spent his first year of imprisonment in Bermuda before being sent to Van Diemans Land ( Tasmania ) , which was a penal colony in Australia .
Back home in Ireland , the British had captured the other leaders of the Young Ireland Rising and transported them to Van Diemans Land as well , to serve their sentences . John Mitchel was joined by William Smith O'Brien , Thomas Francis Meagher , Terence Bellew MacManus , John Martin , Pat O'Donoghue and Kevin Izod O'Doherty .
However , members and supporters of the Young Ireland movement in New York , America , were watching developments with interest ....... (MORE LATER).
WHERE MOUNTAINY MEN HAVE SOWN :
war and peace in rebel Cork ,
in the turbulent years 1916-21.
By Micheal O'Suilleabhain : published 1965.
THE LITTLE FIELDS.......
".......west of Macroom , in County Cork the landscape changes ; it is a rough , forbidding area , with large , sleepy rocks on outpost duty ......."
" You will not wonder at this , when you see all their connecting files and advance guard . Ill-kept and ill-mannered fellows they look , peering at you from behind their cover of brushwood or furze , and some standing naked and unashamed in the middle of small fields on steep hillsides .
But they are not bad fellows after all , and when you get to know them you will like them very much . Personally , I have a grievance against some of them , for I live amongst them . So have my neighbours , for these stubborn fellows are forever coming in one's way . Yet they have their uses .
And you must admire them for they are solid and unyielding , and the people who live with them must also acquire those qualities . Let us continue our tour south-westward from Macroom into the country about which all these stories are told ........" (MORE LATER).
RHYME.......
[from ' The Irish Reporter ' Magazine , Issue 2 , 1991 , page 23]
A poem by Brendan O hEithir ;
THE GENTLE BLACK AND TAN
' Come all you staunch revisionists and listen to my song ,
Its short and its unusual and it won't detain you long .
Its all about a soldier who has carried history's can ,
Who dodged Tom Barry and Dan Breen , the gentle Black and Tan . '
Our poet-in-residence here at '1169 ....' replies ---->
<---- ' Read it twice or more , you Stormont crew ,
then learn it ' off-by-heart ' .
'Cause what you're doing is old , not new ,
as from Republicans you part ......'
.......AND TREASON ---->
[from ' Fortnight ' Magazine , No. 294 , April 1991 , page 26]
<---- A Reverend J. O' Hannay once advised his flock that " reading Irish history was a fatal thing to anyone wishing to remain a sound Unionist . "
Unless , of course , the Reverend O' Hannay's parishioners were to read the type of 'history' referred to in Brendan O hEithir's poem !
Wednesday, November 05, 2003
P J SMYTH AND THE TASMANIA ESCAPE , 1853 .
Knowing from their informer network that the Irish Rebels were planning an armed Rising , the British introduced a new 'law' in April , 1848 -- ' The Treason Felony Act ' .
The first person to be 'tried' under the new 'law' was Young Ireland leader John Mitchel , who was arrested in March 1848 , a few weeks before the new 'law' was introduced . Mitchel was sentenced , under ' The Treason Felony Act ' to fourteen years transportation .
His 'trial' was held in Dublin's Green Street Courthouse in May , 1848 ; the rebellion took place shortly after Mitchel's 'trial' , but was short-lived ....... (MORE LATER).
WHERE MOUNTAINY MEN HAVE SOWN :
war and peace in rebel Cork ,
in the turbulent years 1616-21.
By Micheal O'Suilleabhain : published 1965.
THE LITTLE FIELDS.
" If you journey westward along the valley of the River Lee from Cork city you see on either hand , in the main , a pleasant and fertile land . It is a hilly country , but not such as to hinder cultivatiuon of the hills . This cultivation adds beauty to the landscape , especially in the harvest of the year .
What vista can excel one of hillsides with the green of grass and gold of ripening grain ? For twenty-four miles the scene unrolls itself before you until the town of Macroom is reached . Here the vista ends . West of Macroom is a new countryside , a more forbidding one . Rocks begin to uncover themselves , sleepy fellows on outpost duty .
Before you have advanced many miles , however , you will have discovered that somehow they have managed to warn the main body . " (MORE LATER).
FRUIT.......
[from ' The Observer ' newspaper , 21st April , 1991 page 63]
The New Market area of the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia , U S A , is remembered chiefly for the fact that when the tide swung against the Confederates , two-hundred-and-forty-seven teenage Cadets from the Virginia Military Institute were ordered into battle to hold an apple orchard !
That was , I believe , the only time in U S history a Cadet corps has seen active service . They withstood repeated attacks from Union troops massed in a muddy morass known as the ' Field of Lost Shoes ' and , after the Confederate victory , received specially-minted medals and Jackson's personal thanks .
The youth of Ireland are organised , too - check them out here.
.......AND VEG ---->
[from ' AP/RN ', 5th September , 1985 , page 14]
Before he was U S President , actor Ronald Reagan was a member of the ' Hollywood Independent Citizens Committee of Arts , Sciences and Professions ' ; he resigned from that body on 10th April , 1947 and went straight to the FBI to give a complete report to them on that organisation and its membership !
Ronnie in the running for a ' JAMES BOND ' -type role ? Or perhaps he thought he was a 'super-spy' !
Knowing from their informer network that the Irish Rebels were planning an armed Rising , the British introduced a new 'law' in April , 1848 -- ' The Treason Felony Act ' .
The first person to be 'tried' under the new 'law' was Young Ireland leader John Mitchel , who was arrested in March 1848 , a few weeks before the new 'law' was introduced . Mitchel was sentenced , under ' The Treason Felony Act ' to fourteen years transportation .
His 'trial' was held in Dublin's Green Street Courthouse in May , 1848 ; the rebellion took place shortly after Mitchel's 'trial' , but was short-lived ....... (MORE LATER).
WHERE MOUNTAINY MEN HAVE SOWN :
war and peace in rebel Cork ,
in the turbulent years 1616-21.
By Micheal O'Suilleabhain : published 1965.
THE LITTLE FIELDS.
" If you journey westward along the valley of the River Lee from Cork city you see on either hand , in the main , a pleasant and fertile land . It is a hilly country , but not such as to hinder cultivatiuon of the hills . This cultivation adds beauty to the landscape , especially in the harvest of the year .
What vista can excel one of hillsides with the green of grass and gold of ripening grain ? For twenty-four miles the scene unrolls itself before you until the town of Macroom is reached . Here the vista ends . West of Macroom is a new countryside , a more forbidding one . Rocks begin to uncover themselves , sleepy fellows on outpost duty .
Before you have advanced many miles , however , you will have discovered that somehow they have managed to warn the main body . " (MORE LATER).
FRUIT.......
[from ' The Observer ' newspaper , 21st April , 1991 page 63]
The New Market area of the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia , U S A , is remembered chiefly for the fact that when the tide swung against the Confederates , two-hundred-and-forty-seven teenage Cadets from the Virginia Military Institute were ordered into battle to hold an apple orchard !
That was , I believe , the only time in U S history a Cadet corps has seen active service . They withstood repeated attacks from Union troops massed in a muddy morass known as the ' Field of Lost Shoes ' and , after the Confederate victory , received specially-minted medals and Jackson's personal thanks .
The youth of Ireland are organised , too - check them out here.
.......AND VEG ---->
[from ' AP/RN ', 5th September , 1985 , page 14]
Before he was U S President , actor Ronald Reagan was a member of the ' Hollywood Independent Citizens Committee of Arts , Sciences and Professions ' ; he resigned from that body on 10th April , 1947 and went straight to the FBI to give a complete report to them on that organisation and its membership !
Ronnie in the running for a ' JAMES BOND ' -type role ? Or perhaps he thought he was a 'super-spy' !
Tuesday, November 04, 2003
LIAM LYNCH , IRA LEADER ; THE FERMOY ATTACK , 1919.......
.......enraged that the IRA had held-up a British patrol in broad daylight and taken their rifles , and angry that the locals in and around Fermoy refused to help them , the Brits wanted revenge .......
At around Eight P M on Monday , 8th September , 1919 , hundreds of British troops stationed in the area were sent into Fermoy town-centre to make the locals pay for their silence . People on the street were pistol-whipped , shops were broken in to and looted , and pubs were thrashed .
The Brits spent at least two hours on the wrecking spree and then went back to base . The following day , Tuesday , 9th September , not one Irish person contacted the Brits with information . Not convinced that they had made their point , the Brit Officers sent the same number of troops out two nights later ( Wednesday , 10th September , 1919 ) to terrorise the population again .
But this time the IRA were waiting on them , as were hundreds of civilians , who had armed themselves with shovels and hammers etc . The British troops returned early to base that night !
[END].
THE TRAGEDIES OF KERRY , by Dorothy Macardle - first published in 1924 .
CLASHMEALCON CAVES .......
".......deaths of young , kindly and joyous men ; because of treachery . Destiny demands that honest men be heros , to sacrifice all , to give greater than the treacherous......."
" There is little pity in her destiny , it seems , for the men who die . That courage should blaze up , like a beacon , before the people ; that faithfulness should stand , in their vision , enduring as a rock . That the passion for freedom should be revealed to them deep and irresistible as the sea .
This , it would seem , is expedient , if Ireland is to be saved . Ireland will be saved surely , in spite of treachery , in spite of cruelty , in spite of murder , as the wise people of Kerry say --- " If there's any life in the dead ."
[END].
( NOTE - I got my copy of 'The Tragedies of Kerry' in the RSF book-shop at 223 Parnell Street , Dublin 1 . It cost about three Euro , and is a recommended read for those interested in our history . It will leave you with a heavy heart , and angry :....the mark of a good read. )
ON THE FENCE .......
[from ' In Dublin ' magazine , No. 369 , 14-27th March , 1991 , page 7]
According to the book ' Church and State in Modern Ireland ' , by J.H. Whyte , of the thirty-one Catholic Bishops at the time , seven condemned the 1916 Rising , one issued a statement of support --- and twenty-three said nothing one way or the other .
One honest man , 30 pieces of silver .......
.......FOR FOUR YEARS ---->
[from same as above , page 8]
<---- The Catholic Hierarchy issued a formal statement from Maynooth in October , 1920 in which they condemned the British " for murdering the innocent and destroying their property (which) has a parallel only in the horrors of Turkish atrocities or in the outrages of the Red Army of Bolshevist Russia . "
.....sit on the fence , pick up a splinter - and four years later it reaches the brain !
.......enraged that the IRA had held-up a British patrol in broad daylight and taken their rifles , and angry that the locals in and around Fermoy refused to help them , the Brits wanted revenge .......
At around Eight P M on Monday , 8th September , 1919 , hundreds of British troops stationed in the area were sent into Fermoy town-centre to make the locals pay for their silence . People on the street were pistol-whipped , shops were broken in to and looted , and pubs were thrashed .
The Brits spent at least two hours on the wrecking spree and then went back to base . The following day , Tuesday , 9th September , not one Irish person contacted the Brits with information . Not convinced that they had made their point , the Brit Officers sent the same number of troops out two nights later ( Wednesday , 10th September , 1919 ) to terrorise the population again .
But this time the IRA were waiting on them , as were hundreds of civilians , who had armed themselves with shovels and hammers etc . The British troops returned early to base that night !
[END].
THE TRAGEDIES OF KERRY , by Dorothy Macardle - first published in 1924 .
CLASHMEALCON CAVES .......
".......deaths of young , kindly and joyous men ; because of treachery . Destiny demands that honest men be heros , to sacrifice all , to give greater than the treacherous......."
" There is little pity in her destiny , it seems , for the men who die . That courage should blaze up , like a beacon , before the people ; that faithfulness should stand , in their vision , enduring as a rock . That the passion for freedom should be revealed to them deep and irresistible as the sea .
This , it would seem , is expedient , if Ireland is to be saved . Ireland will be saved surely , in spite of treachery , in spite of cruelty , in spite of murder , as the wise people of Kerry say --- " If there's any life in the dead ."
[END].
( NOTE - I got my copy of 'The Tragedies of Kerry' in the RSF book-shop at 223 Parnell Street , Dublin 1 . It cost about three Euro , and is a recommended read for those interested in our history . It will leave you with a heavy heart , and angry :....the mark of a good read. )
ON THE FENCE .......
[from ' In Dublin ' magazine , No. 369 , 14-27th March , 1991 , page 7]
According to the book ' Church and State in Modern Ireland ' , by J.H. Whyte , of the thirty-one Catholic Bishops at the time , seven condemned the 1916 Rising , one issued a statement of support --- and twenty-three said nothing one way or the other .
One honest man , 30 pieces of silver .......
.......FOR FOUR YEARS ---->
[from same as above , page 8]
<---- The Catholic Hierarchy issued a formal statement from Maynooth in October , 1920 in which they condemned the British " for murdering the innocent and destroying their property (which) has a parallel only in the horrors of Turkish atrocities or in the outrages of the Red Army of Bolshevist Russia . "
.....sit on the fence , pick up a splinter - and four years later it reaches the brain !
Monday, November 03, 2003
LIAM LYNCH , IRA LEADER ; THE FERMOY ATTACK , 1919.......
.......once both IRA cars with the rifles on board passed the town of Carrickbrick , two trees were felled by IRA Volunteers ---- the road was now blocked , and the two British Army trucks were forced to skid to a halt at the road-block . They spent a few minutes trying to clear the road .......
They could'nt move the trees , so they drove back to try and find a side-road which would take them around the blockage and back out onto the Lismore Road ; they failed ! By this time , the rifles had been stashed in the pre-arranged dumps -- the operation was successful .
For the rest of that day ( Sunday , 7th September , 1919 ) , and up to tea-time the following day , hundreds of British troops , in trucks and on foot , raided the nearest towns and practically imposed martial law on the population in their search for the rifles and the men responsible for the operation . Shops , houses and other buildings were searched , and people were stopped , searched and questioned as to their knowledge of events .
No-one knew anything , and the Brits went back to barracks on early Monday evening ( 8th September , 1919 ) , empty-handed . However , that was not the end of the matter ; at about eight P M that Monday , hundreds of British troops stationed in the area were sent into Fermoy town-centre to make the locals pay for their silence ....... (MORE LATER).
THE TRAGEDIES OF KERRY , by Dorothy Macardle - first published in 1924 .
CLASHMEALCON CAVES .......
".......the survivors of the Clashmealcon Caves siege were executed by the Free Staters on 25th April , 1923 ; only Jim McGrath survived --- the Caves and Jim hold their secrets , they hold the last words of Aero Lyons -- myth and legend will have their say ......."
" " If they had food and water......." "If one of them had known how to swim ..... " " If Lyons had held out for one more hour ..... " the people are saying still . Then they comfort themselves with the sad phrase of resignation : " It seems that it was to be . "
" It was to be , " -- and they comfort themselves with that , for so many deaths - deaths of young , kindly and joyous men . Because there has been treachery in Ireland her destiny cannot be fulfilled without sacrifice greater than that shame - without the prodigal heroism , the extravagant sacrifice of the brave . " (MORE LATER).
FAST FOOD .......
[from ' The Evening Press ' , 4th September , 1985 -- a Wednesday , if memory serves -- page 5]
....... In South Africa , Managers of Wimpy food restaurants have to receive Government certificates before thay are allowed to serve blacks !
Black people can only be served at a take-out window facing the footpath unless permission is received from the Government to serve them inside the restaurat !
And to think that was less than twenty years ago .......
.......FASCISTS ---->
from ' AP/RN ', 27th November , 1986 , page 16]
At the Students Union meeting of the ' New University of Ulster ' in Coleraine in early November 1986 , a Michael Stokes , student , voiced his opposition to the use of plastic bullets by the RUC and the British Army -- he said lead bullets were " cheaper and more effective " .
Michael was a card-carrying member of the ' National Front ' . Ever worked in Wimpy , , Mick ?
.......once both IRA cars with the rifles on board passed the town of Carrickbrick , two trees were felled by IRA Volunteers ---- the road was now blocked , and the two British Army trucks were forced to skid to a halt at the road-block . They spent a few minutes trying to clear the road .......
They could'nt move the trees , so they drove back to try and find a side-road which would take them around the blockage and back out onto the Lismore Road ; they failed ! By this time , the rifles had been stashed in the pre-arranged dumps -- the operation was successful .
For the rest of that day ( Sunday , 7th September , 1919 ) , and up to tea-time the following day , hundreds of British troops , in trucks and on foot , raided the nearest towns and practically imposed martial law on the population in their search for the rifles and the men responsible for the operation . Shops , houses and other buildings were searched , and people were stopped , searched and questioned as to their knowledge of events .
No-one knew anything , and the Brits went back to barracks on early Monday evening ( 8th September , 1919 ) , empty-handed . However , that was not the end of the matter ; at about eight P M that Monday , hundreds of British troops stationed in the area were sent into Fermoy town-centre to make the locals pay for their silence ....... (MORE LATER).
THE TRAGEDIES OF KERRY , by Dorothy Macardle - first published in 1924 .
CLASHMEALCON CAVES .......
".......the survivors of the Clashmealcon Caves siege were executed by the Free Staters on 25th April , 1923 ; only Jim McGrath survived --- the Caves and Jim hold their secrets , they hold the last words of Aero Lyons -- myth and legend will have their say ......."
" " If they had food and water......." "If one of them had known how to swim ..... " " If Lyons had held out for one more hour ..... " the people are saying still . Then they comfort themselves with the sad phrase of resignation : " It seems that it was to be . "
" It was to be , " -- and they comfort themselves with that , for so many deaths - deaths of young , kindly and joyous men . Because there has been treachery in Ireland her destiny cannot be fulfilled without sacrifice greater than that shame - without the prodigal heroism , the extravagant sacrifice of the brave . " (MORE LATER).
FAST FOOD .......
[from ' The Evening Press ' , 4th September , 1985 -- a Wednesday , if memory serves -- page 5]
....... In South Africa , Managers of Wimpy food restaurants have to receive Government certificates before thay are allowed to serve blacks !
Black people can only be served at a take-out window facing the footpath unless permission is received from the Government to serve them inside the restaurat !
And to think that was less than twenty years ago .......
.......FASCISTS ---->
from ' AP/RN ', 27th November , 1986 , page 16]
At the Students Union meeting of the ' New University of Ulster ' in Coleraine in early November 1986 , a Michael Stokes , student , voiced his opposition to the use of plastic bullets by the RUC and the British Army -- he said lead bullets were " cheaper and more effective " .
Michael was a card-carrying member of the ' National Front ' . Ever worked in Wimpy , , Mick ?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)