Saturday, January 17, 2004

' LEO ' of 'The Nation' newspaper ; John Keegan Casey , 1846 - 1870 .......


....... Daniel O' Connell's ' Catholic Association ' was controlled by polite gentlemen who were politely fobbed-off by the Brits ; the ' Young Ireland ' group , led by Thomas Davis and James Fintan Lalor were radicals who did not rule out physical force to remove the British . John Keegan Casey was drawn to them .......


He submitted material for publication to ' The Nation ' newspaper under the pseudonym ' LEO ' ; his poetry and other writings were published on a regular basis , and this brought him into contact with like-minded individuals . John Keegan Casey was in his late teens when , in the mid-1860's , he joined an Irish Republican organisation founded by James Stephens in 1858 - the ' Irish Republican Brotherhood ' , and worked full-time within that Movement , alongside the Fenians , in preparing for an armed rising in Ireland .

The Fenian / IRB Rising went ahead on 5th March 1867 (having being postponed from its original date of 11th February 1867 due to the actions of an informer)....... (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 MOUTH OF THE GLEN .......



".......The IRA men had stopped the RIC patrol ; a fist-fight had started and one shot was fired , injuring one of the RIC men , whose cart had by now been pushed off the road ......."


" Johnny Lynch's opponent still clung to his rifle . He shouted for mercy , and said he was a married man with a wife and family depending on him ; yet he would not relinquish the rifle . Johnny , for a reasonable time , had taken him as easily as he possibly could . He had risked his life and liberty to spare him , even after hearing him boast of how the machine-gun had frightened the people at Coolea .

Now he had to treat him roughly , and when Johnny straightened himself up holding the captured rifle , the RIC man lay on the ground bruised and vanquished . " Where is the other rifle ? " someone asked . Jamie and Neilus had assumed that it had fallen on the road with the wounded RIC man . Actually it had remained on the seat of the car , and was now gone down the glen with it . Johnny and Liam climbed down . They found it undamaged . It had fallen out on the thick heather , early in the sidecar's wild career .

The booty was now checked and found correct . It comprised two magazine Lee-Metford carbines , two slings of .303 with fifty rounds in each , two belts with batons , two spiked helmets( for the overawing of simple people ) and two notebooks . " (MORE LATER).



DO AS I SAY ,NOT AS I DO .....


(From ' Magill ' magazine , December 1988 , page 62).


FIANNA FAIL AND EXTRADITION ----> (1 of 6.)


<---- In 1975 and 1976 , as the largest 'opposition' party in Leinster House , FIANNA FAIL 'the republican party' was most vocally opposed to the very idea that an extradition treaty should be signed between this State and Westminster .

At the time , 'The Criminal Law Jurisdiction Act (1976)' was being discussed in Leinster House , and FIANNA FAIL (as 'the republican party' , don't-ya-know) was dead set against it . Or was it .......?


The then Leader of Fianna Fail , Jack Lynch , stated -- " I totally oppose this Bill . I believe this Bill , if enacted , would be politically disastrous in the sense that it would not only not help to bring peace to Northern Ireland(sic) or promote reconciliation in the North or between the North and South ; it would do the contrary . Secondly , this Bill would violate the Constitution of the Republic(sic) . "


GOOD MAN , JACK , ya boy ya ! A sound man from the Rebel County of Cork .

Yeah , right .......


Friday, January 16, 2004

' LEO ' of 'The Nation' newspaper ; John Keegan Casey , 1846 - 1870 .......



.......Born in 1846 at Mount Dalton in County Westmeath , John Keegan Casey was brought into the world in bad times ; the potato , the main food source , was unedible .......


He grew up witnessing poverty all around him . When he was twelve years young he heard his people discussing a new group that had been formed to drive the English out of the country and return all lands to their owners - the Irish Rebel leader , James Stephens , was in command of that group , the ' Irish Republican Brotherhood ' .

Even as a teenager , John Keegan Casey was angered by the mis-treatment of his people by the British , but confined himself to expressing his feelings on paper and submitting same for publication to ' The Nation ' newspaper , which was associated with ' The Young Ireland ' group , an organisation formed from within Daniel O' Connell's (constitutional) movement , the ' Catholic Association ' ; the ' Young Ireland ' group , however , did not agree that only methods favoured by the British should be used to oppose the British presence in Ireland .

It was to that physical force organisation , led by Thomas Davis and James Fintan Lalor , that young John Keegan Casey was drawn ....... (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 MOUTH OF THE GLEN .......


".......The IRA Company , led by Johnny Lynch , stopped the armed RIC patrol to take their weapons ; in the fist-fight that developed , Johnny's mask was torn off his face and his nose was marked ......."


" The mark on his nose would persist . Johnny had little doubt about the outcome of the struggle ; it would be hard to meet his equal for physique and spirit . As the RIC man reached the ground , a revolver had cracked at the other side .

Dan and Liam had jumped from the heather simultaneously with the others . They had a longer distance to travel and had to scramble a little to get up on the road . They presented their revolvers , and their opponent reached for his rifle which lay on the seat beside him . As he grasped it , a bullet scarred his neck deeply - he fell from his seat and lay bleeding on the road .

Jamie and Neilus worked quickly , too quickly , as it transpired afterwards . Cutting away the horse from the side car , they caught the shafts and , driving the car over a bank , released it . When it came to rest at the foot of the precipice , it was a sorry sight . " (MORE LATER).



NUKING THE IRISH , and the world .......

[from ' The Sunday World ' , 5th June , 1988 , pages 10, 11, and 12].


Thirty ' bullet points ' regarding Windscale/Sellafield -- re-published here , three at a time .......


(28)... In 1987 , what was later described as " a serious incident " took place ; whatever it was that happened was not reported to the Health Board until three months afterwards . It was then discovered that at least one of the workers who was present when the " serious incident " occured was unable to walk through a 'body monitor' (ie- an electronic bleeper/tester) , for six months , without setting it off !

(29)... The Windscale/Sellafield record for leaks - both accidental and deliberate - is by far the worst of any nuclear installation anywhere in the world .

[30]... Even if the Plant were to close tomorrow , the radioactive waste from its notorious pipeline will continue to pollute the coastline and contaminate fish-life for the next one-hundred-thousand years !


That's the Brits for ya - determined to leave their mark on the planet.......

In this State at the moment , the politicians are everywhere voicing their so-called " concern " over the health of the population in regards to smoking cigarettes in pubs , restaurants , hotels etc . Yet they ignore the above threat.......


Thursday, January 15, 2004

' LEO ' of 'The Nation' newspaper ; John Keegan Casey , 1846 - 1870 ........


.......Born at a time when the main staple of the people , the potato , was of no use due to what was then described as " cholera " , John Keegan Casey was only a 'babe-in-arms' when things began to get worse .......


The potato blight , now known to be ' Phytophthora Infestans ', was carried to other potato plants by wind , rain and insects , and rendered the potato unedible .

Many tried to carry-on as normal , by simply boiling the foodstuff and hoping all would be well ( in most of the country at that time , up to nine-tenths of the population depended on the potato for survival)-- however , the foul stench from boiling the rotten vegetable was impossible to bear and resulted in the house being uninhabitable for man or beast .

It was into the above turmoil that a child was born in County Westmeath in 1846 , at Mount Dalton ; ....... (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 MOUTH OF THE GLEN .......


"....... Johnny Lynch , carrying a shotgun and with his face blackened , jumped out in front of the RIC wagon ; he looked menacing ......."


" The RIC driver thought so anyway , for he left the box-seat with so much precipitation and maintained such an acceleration , that the onlookers thought he would leave the ground and fly . He did leave the ground , too , for meeting the wall of the glen , he dived over it and was lost to sight .

Johnny paid scant attention to the vanishing driver . He concentrated on the policeman on his side of the car . He saw him snatch , with finger and thumb , at the magazine cut-off . Then Johnny knew that the breech wanted a cartridge . Swiftly laying his gun on the ground , he reached upwards and , grasping his opponents tunic , dragged him off his seat .

The RIC man reached the ground on the flat of his back , still clutching his rifle with both hands . Johnny now transferred both hands to the rifle , and a struggle for possession started . As he had reached upwards for a hold on the tunic , the RIC man snatched at his mask . He had torn it off , and had brought a bit of skin from Johnny's nose as well .

That was a serious matter , as he might now be recognised ......."



NUKING THE IRISH , and the world .......

[from ' The Sunday World ' , 5th June , 1988 , pages 10, 11, and 12].


Thirty ' bullet points ' regarding Windscale/Sellafield -- re-published here , three at a time .......


(25)... In 1985 , fires at the Windscale/Sellafield Plant released plutonium into the main processing building . The incident was not admitted to by management until 1988 .

(26)... What the suits at the Plant refer too as " medium-level waste " is kept in the form of radioactive sludge in specially-built silos . The other form of nuclear waste -- that which is described as "high-level"-- is causing problems because , as reported in the article - " Nobody has the least idea what to do with it " in the long term !

(27)... The liquid run-off from the above-mentioned sludge , together with contaminated cooling-pond water and other such liquids , form what is described as " low-level waste " that is then pumped into the Irish Sea .

Ah , sure is'nt it only aul low-level stuff ; extra sun-block and a slightly hotter shower at the end of the day and sure ya'll be grand altogether .......

.....final three 'bullet points' tomorrow...


Wednesday, January 14, 2004

' LEO ' of 'The Nation' newspaper ; John Keegan Casey , 1846 - 1870 .


Ireland 1846 ; a Great Hunger stalked the countryside -


" The growth of the potato plant progresses as favourably as the most sanguine farmer could wish . "

-- ' The Freemans Journal ' newspaper , 20th August , 1845 .


" We regret to have to state that we have had communications from more than one well-informed correspondent announcing the fact of what is called 'cholera' in potatoes in Ireland , especially in the North . In one instance the party had been digging potatoes - the finest he had ever seen - from a particular field , and a particular ridge of that field up to Monday last ; and on digging in the same ridge on Tuesday he found the tubers all blasted , and unfit for the use of man or beast . "

-- ' The Freemans Journal ' newspaper , 11th September , 1845 .

The " cholera " was , in fact , a killer fungus , called ' phytophthora infestans ' - what chance for a child born into the above circumstances .......? (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 MOUTH OF THE GLEN .......


".......one of the seven IRA Volunteers was up on high , watching . The other six men were concealed in the undergrowth , ready to do the job . They had not long to wait ......."


" Their plan was complete . Johnny Lynch was to step out on the road and present his shotgun . Jamie and Neilus were to seize the horse , cut him away from the car , and let him go his own way . They were then to take the sidecar and throw it over into the glen . This would help to discourage people from giving lifts to the RIC .

They saw the grey horse a long way off . He came slowly up the straight from Renanirree . He disappeared around the first bend . He would not reappear until within a few yards of them . They could hear his hoofbeats and the echo of his hoofbeats . Now they could hear voices . Presently they could make out a few words - " machine-gun " was one . It was repeated , and then Johnny's ear caught one complete sentence .

He knew the RIC voice that uttered it - he was a bad lad , and what he said confirmed that fact : " They(the people) did not run until they saw the machine-gun . " Just then Johnny stepped out on the road , his shotgun levelled . With his towering figure and masked and blackened visage , he must have appeared a most menacing apparition ....... " (MORE LATER).




NUKING THE IRISH , and the world .......

[from ' The Sunday World ' , 5th June , 1988 , pages 10, 11, and 12].


Thirty ' bullet points ' regarding Windscale/Sellafield -- re-published here , three at a time .......


(22)... In 1983 , a decision was taken by management at Windscale/Sellafield to " flush " one of their holding tanks , which was " choked " with highly-radioactive sludge ; the contents of the tank were then emptied into the Irish Sea , but all did not go as planned , and local beaches were contaminated . The nuclear filth which ended up on local beaches was strong enough to cause radiation burns but it took the suits at the Plant four days to issue a " Stay Away " warning !

(23)... Today (ie 1988) Windscale/Sellafield is still no longer just a power station - it is a major nuclear reprocessing plant that takes waste from all over the world . A staggering one-thousand tons of spent nuclear fuel arrives there every week .

(24)... There are three categories of nuclear waste from the process carried out at Windscale/Sellafield . The most dangerous of the high-level radioactive waste is kept in huge vats that must be surrounded by nine feet of concrete to stop the enclosed intense radiation from killing people working nearby !


...nine feet of concrete between you and six feet of clay - bad odds , I'd say .......

.......Six more 'bullet points' on the way ---->


Tuesday, January 13, 2004

DOROTHY MACARDLE -- Irish Republican , Historian , and Novelist : 1889 - 1958 .......



.......at sixty years of age in 1949 , Dorothy Macardle was a well-known writer and Irish Republican ; she had recorded , in print , details of her life , her involvement with the Republican Movement and the stories of some of those she met along the way .......


At sixty-nine years of age , in 1958 , Dorothy Macardle died in Drogheda in County Louth , on 23rd December .

The words that Dorothy Macardle spoke in Dublin , in May 1924 , when asked about her then-recently published book ' The Tragedies Of Kerry ' , summarise where the woman herself was coming from --

-- " Those who , sensitive to the sufferings of others yet tenacious of their own peace of mind , love to solace themselves with incredulity , will put down this book half read . To those who have any eagerness to understand that time in Ireland it is offered as an infinitesimal fragment of the truth . "

When Dorothy Macardle wrote that book , and the above words , the British were claiming jurisdiction over the six north-eastern counties of Ireland ; today , eighty years later , the British continue to claim jurisdiction over the same six north-eastern counties . The issue has not been resolved . The struggle continues .....


[END of ' DOROTHY MACARDLE -- Irish Republican , Historian , and Novelist : 1889 - 1958 .......].



WHERE MOUNTAINY MEN HAVE SOWN :

war and peace in rebel Cork ,
in the turbulent years 1916-21.

By Micheal O'Suilleabhain : published 1965.


THE MOUTH OF THE GLEN .......


".......the seven IRA men were lying in wait to ambush an RIC patrol ; one of the Volunteers was up high , scouting , the other six had two revolvers and one shotgun between them . They were helped by the lay-out of the area ......."


" ' Beal a' Ghleanna ' was four hundred yards distant from Johnny Lynch's house . There were perpendicular rocks on the northern side , and on the southern side the glen fell steeply away from the road , which here and there had been built up from a depth of fifty feet below .

At one point a little plateau , unprotected by a wall and lower than the road level , jutted out over the glen . Here were stationed Dan MacSweeney , Liam Twomey and Neilus Reilly , lying concealed amongst the heather . The job of Dan and Liam was to deal with the policemen facing south , peacefully if possible.

Directly across the road from them and behind a pillar of rock , Johnny Lynch , Tadhg and Jamie waited . They had not long to wait ........" (MORE LATER).



NUKING THE IRISH , and the world .......

[from ' The Sunday World ' , 5th June , 1988 , pages 10, 11, and 12].


Thirty ' bullet points ' regarding Windscale/Sellafield -- re-published here , three at a time .......


(19)... Management at Windscale/Sellafield , and the 'spin-doctors' on their payroll , were always quick to assure the media that both local and national Health Authorities would be informed immediately should a dangerous incident occur . However , in one such admitted incident , in 1981 , a cloud of highly-dangerous iodine gas was released into the air . The Health Authorities were not notified until four days after it happened !

(20)... The site where the Plant is located - a former British Army munitions factory - was chosen because waste products could be dumped into the Irish Sea.

(21)... Shortly after the pipeline to discharge nuclear filth into the Irish Sea was built , a spokesperson for the Plant (not named in newspaper article) stated : " The intention has been to discharge fairy substantial amounts of radioactivity as part of an organised and deliberate scientific experiment . The aims of the experiment would have been defeated if the level of radioactivity discharged had been kept to a minimum . "


Don't mind human life , plant life , animal life or sea life - once the " experiment " can go ahead , eh , lads ? Typical Brit arrogance ....

....nine more 'bullet points' to go ...


Monday, January 12, 2004

DOROTHY MACARDLE -- Irish Republican , Historian , and Novelist : 1889 - 1958 .......


....... Dorothy Macardle joined Fianna Fail in 1926 , but continued with her work for the Republican Movement ; she was involved with the 'Women Prisoners Defence League' and the 'Irish Women Workers Union' and was not afraid to challenge the political establishment .......


She was a particularly sore thorn in the side of the then Free State 'Department of Industry and Commerce' , which was responsible for the ' Conditions of Employment Bill 1935 ' , parts of which prohibited the employment of women in industry and actually deemed it illegal for an employer to employ more women than men !

In 1937 , she wrote another historical book , - ' The Irish Republic : A Documented Chronicle of the Anglo-Irish Conflict and the Partitioning of Ireland ' (published by Gollancz , London) , which has since been described ( by author Michael Farrell ) as " the most detailed history of the period 1916-1923 .....'. In 1949 , at the age of sixty , Dorothy Macardle wrote a book on the subject of refugee children , entitled - ' Children of Europe' ' and , in a writing career which lasted for thirty-four years , wrote other well-known , and well-received , books and plays --

-- 'Uneasy Freehold' , 'The Uninvited' , 'Asphara Dark Waters' , 'Ann Kavanagh ' and a volume of short stories , 'Earthbound' . (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 MOUTH OF THE GLEN .......


".... Johnny Lynch , the Captain of 'D Company' , and six other IRA men were preparing to ambush an RIC patrol and relieve them of their weapons ......."


" There were now more men than were necessary and Johnny suggested that three of the men should make an effort to intercept the two RIC men from Inchigeela Barracks , who would probably return by Derrinaonig . The others opposed this , as there was the possibility that the police from Inchigeela might also select the glen as their homeward route . Johnny was over-ruled . It was a pity .

At that early period it was imperative that , having decided to do a job of this kind , the utmost precautions should be taken to conceal the identities of the participants . British 'law' still functioned perfectly , nay , it was now double-edged . The RIC were stil the eyes of the enemy . Johnny Lynch therefore produced some burnt corks , and each man blackened his face . Each man also wore a mask , made from a handkerchief , with holes for his eyes . Two of the men carried small .38 revolvers and Johnny carried his shotgun , with two cartridges loaded and primed by himself . It was impossible to buy cartridges at the time ." (MORE LATER).




NUKING THE IRISH , and the world .......

[from ' The Sunday World ' , 5th June , 1988 , pages 10, 11, and 12].


Thirty ' bullet points ' regarding Windscale/Sellafield -- re-published here , three at a time .......


(16)... In 1976 , it was admitted that radioactive water had been leaking from a concrete silo , and draining into the ground , since 1972 : management at the plant were apparently aware of the leak but did'nt know what to do about it . So they done nothing ! Six weeks after the leak became public , the suits at the plant notified Westminster that it had happened ......

(17)... Around the Windscale/Sellafield area , the number of children who have suffered leukaemia is ten times the expected rate .

(18)... " Windscale " , as it was called at first , was never just a nuclear power-station ; it was set up forty years ago (ie 1948) to provide plutonium to give Britain its own atomic bomb !


.....what was that about "Weapons of Mass Destruction" , Tony ....?

Twelve more 'bullet points' in '1169's' arsenal ----> ...stay tuned.........


Sunday, January 11, 2004

DOROTHY MACARDLE -- Irish Republican , Historian , and Novelist : 1889 - 1958 .......


.......in December 1923 , Dorothy Macardle was one of the thousands of Irish Republican Prisoners released from Free State jails ; she began writing her first book about that time , entitled - ' The Tragedies of Kerry '.......


Her book was a best-seller in its day and , in this , the 21st Century , it is still required reading for Irish Republicans of all ages . It will leave the reader with an angry tear in the eye - " a tense , restrained and true story of how men and women , boys and girls , fought for the freedom and honour of Ireland ; and of how , despite almost incredible torture and brutality , they refused to admit defeat . A tale of sorrow and glory . "

Two years after her book was published , Dorothy Macardle joined the then newly-formed Fianna Fail party (1926) ; perhaps in the hope that De Valeras 'new departure' could prevent others going through the nightmare that she had lived and wrote about , or maybe she was keeping her friends close and her enemies closer ..... ; if it was the former , she must have recognised the futiliity of believing that the self-servers in Fianna Fail would 'finish the job' re the six occupied counties - she remained active in the Republican Movement and actively supported her colleagues in the ' Women Prisoners Defence League ' in holding pickets and protests to highlight the rough conditions in which Republican prisoners were held in Free State jails .

Dorothy Macardle was to the fore in the ' Irish Women Workers Union ' and used any platform she could to challenge the establishment ....... (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 MOUTH OF THE GLEN .......


".......the British military and 'police' were at the festivities in and around Coolea , keeping an eye on the people ; IRA Volunteers were keeping an eye on them......."


" I was watching a young Scotsman in kilts who stood on a height playing the war pipes . His name was Ian MacKenzie Kennedy . He was staying at Tuirin Dubh , the home of Liam and Tadhg Twomey , and , years later , during the Civil War , gave his life for the Irish Republic . As I watched him , my brother Pat came to me and asked me to give a revolver to Dan MacSweeney .

He told me that Dan , Jamie Moynihan and Neilus Reilly were going to Beal a'Ghleanna with Tadhg Twomey . I volunteered to go too , but he answered that it was full-grown strong men who were wanted there , as they were to grapple with the police . I was disappointed but had to put up with it . There were six men assembled at Johnny's house in good time : three were from the Coolea and Ballyvourney side , north of the road , and three from the Ballingeary side , south of the road .

A seventh man , Jer Shea , from the village of Ballingeary , had already been sent to the highest part of the hill to watch for the coming of the police......." (MORE LATER).



NUKING THE IRISH , and the world .......

[from ' The Sunday World ' , 5th June , 1988 , pages 10, 11, and 12].


Thirty ' bullet points ' regarding Windscale/Sellafield -- re-published here , three at a time .......


(13)... In 1977 it emerged for the first time that , in the previous 26 years there had been 177 " incidents " at the plant . Details were not provided .....

(14)... (Un-named) experts stated their concerns that the small but measurable dose of radiation which leak's from Windscale/Sellafield on a regular basis will result in small but permanent changes to the British genetic pool .

(15)... Distance is no barrier . Contamination from Windscale/Sellafield has been detected as far away as Sweden , Iceland and Greenland . And people in the remote Hebrides - directly in the path of the Windscale/Sellafield waste stream - have eight times as much radioactivity than people in England .


So.... - if you go to Sweden , Iceland , Greenland or The Hebrides and catch the 'flu .......

....half-way there ----> 15 more of the above type of facts-and-figures to follow .....


Saturday, January 10, 2004

DOROTHY MACARDLE -- Irish Republican , Historian , and Novelist : 1889 - 1958 .......


....... Ireland , April 1923 - at least thirteen-thousand Irish Republicans were held in Free State jails in bad conditions ; the only 'weapon' they could fight back with was their body .......


A mass hunger-strike began ; the Free State Administration were determined to present themselves to their British bosses and to the international community as a 'new broom' , capable of 'sweeping clean' . Irish Republican organisations , however , were equally determined to remind the Free Staters and the Brits that the British were continuing to claim jurisdiction in this country and the struggle to end that jurisdictional claim was on-going .

A hunger-strike began , and continued until late November that year(1923). In December , most of the prisoners and internees were released , including Dorothy Macardle . She put pen to paper a few weeks later and wrote down her experiences of that last year and other incidents as told to her by Republican activists and friends in the county of Kerry ; the manuscript she produced was entitled ' The Tragedies of Kerry ' ....... (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 MOUTH OF THE GLEN ........


".......on their way to Mass , Johnny Lynch and his wife were passed on the road by a well-armed RIC patrol . Their weapons could be put to better use by Johnny's ' D Company IRA ' ......."


" The couple then met Tadhg Twomey , who was bound for Coolea . Johnny instructed him to get one or two Volunteers , on his way , or at the aeriocht , and to be at his own house at the glen , in good time to intercept the police on their return .

Johnny met Liam Twomey , Tadhg's brother , in the village . Liam readily volunteered to take part . In the meantime , a large crowd of people were assembling at Coolea , about five miles north-east of the glen . Strong forces of British military and police were converging on Coolea also . The IRA Volunteers were watching their movements , and instructing the people accordingly .

Finally , the British military and police took up positions in and around Coolea , while the people all moved further west into the mountains of Cumuiclumhain . There an enjoyable aeriocht was held , while IRA Volunteer scouts watched the enemy......." (MORE LATER).




NUKING THE IRISH , and the world .......

[from ' The Sunday World ' , 5th June , 1988 , pages 10, 11, and 12].


Thirty ' bullet points ' regarding Windscale/Sellafield -- re-published here , three at a time .......



10... We may never know the full extent of what exactly took place in what became known as The Windscale Fire in 1957 , but the scientific world had described the incident as the worst nuclear accident in the world , up until Chernobyl . The amount of radiation released in 1957 was up to one-thousand-times greater than the Three Mile Island accident in the USA. The 1957 fire burned for twenty-four hours , and sent a huge cloud of radioactivity drifting out over the Irish Sea . Possible links to Downs Syndrome births in Dundalk in County Louth were raised , just as the British Government placed a thirty-year 'gagging order' on the incident (ie from 1957 - 1987) to prevent criticism of Britain's nuclear industry .

11... Pollution from Windscale/Sellafield has been found in all forms of marine life locally , and identified in fish caught in The Irish Sea and landed at ports along the east coast of Ireland .

12... A small but measurable dose of radiation from Windscale/Sellafield is received by everyone in Britain -- and the people of Ireland receive a slightly higher dose again .


....so what if that fish you bought in the market has two heads ; sure are'nt ya just gettin' better value for your money .......

.......eighteen more 'bullet-points' from 1988 on the way ...


Friday, January 09, 2004

DOROTHY MACARDLE -- Irish Republican , Historian , and Novelist : 1889 - 1958 .......


.......between November 1922 and March 1923 , Dorothy Macardle and about 13,000 other Irish Republicans were locked-up by the Free Staters ; also , in March 1923 , she was sacked from her teaching job .......


Dorothy Macardle was one of thousands of Irish Republicans that lost their jobs and , in a good number of cases , their families , houses and friends due , in the most part , to pressure applied to the employers , local councils etc by the politically-motivated Special Branch , themselves following orders (with relish , it must be said) from their political paymasters in Leinster House .

In April 1923 , the thousands of Irish Republican prisoners and internees decided to fight back with the only 'weapon' they had - their bodies . A mass hunger-strike began in the jails and prison-camps in the Free State , and the three-hundred-and-forty Republican women in Kilmainham Jail and the North Dublin Union Jail joined in the protest -- it was the last thing that the new British-supported Free State Administration needed ....... (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 MOUTH OF THE GLEN ........


"....... Ireland , 1918 : on their way to Mass in Ballingeary , Johnny Lynch ( Captain of 'D Company', IRA ) and his wife met with an armed RIC patrol ....... "


" In each tunic pocket was a notebook . This would be used whenever the disaffected , to H. M. King George V , used only his tongue . As the horse slowly climbed the slope to historic Acharus , the police may have ruminated thus --

-- " Ah well , O'Sullivan Beara passed on through the glen , well over three hundred years ago . Good job , too . Trouble-some fellow , he was , by all our records . Not much doing since he left . Of course , there was that Ceimaneigh business , and a fair share of moonlighting , anything to keep the ball rolling . And that 1916 outbreak lately . The Government made a good job of that . Of course , those Volunteers are drilling again . But they have no arms. Who are those down the road ? Lynch and his wife . That fellow is no great 'iontaoibh' ,as those Irish speakers say . They are going to second Mass now . "

" The Peelers (RIC) are going to Ballyvourney , " said Johnny Lynch to his wife . " The aeriocht at Coolea has been proclaimed , and this is the contribution from the barracks below . " Johnny's keen eye had noted the Lee-Metford carbines , but his further thoughts were forestalled by his wife's remark - " I'd like to see those fellows come back empty-handed . "

Johnny made no comment , as he was working out those same details in his head ....... " (MORE LATER).



NUKING THE IRISH , and the world .......

[from ' The Sunday World ' , 5th June , 1988 , pages 10, 11, and 12].


Thirty ' bullet points ' regarding Windscale/Sellafield -- re-published here , three at a time .......


(7)-- The (as far as we know) first major crisis happened in 1955 when vital scanning systems inside the reactor broke down , necessitating the management looking for volunteers from amongst the workforce to go inside the highly-radioactive interior to repair the damage . This activity was kept secret for one year .

(8)-- At some points along the local estuaries , the mud is so radioactive that if you dug up a bucketful and put it in your dustbin , you could technically be prosecuted for illegally disposing of low-level nuclear waste !

(9)-- After an incident in 1983 when a radioactive slick was deliberately flushed into the sea from Sellafield , the resulting debris on the beach was so highly dangerous that it could actually cause radiation burns to the skin !


.....twenty-one more of the above on the way ----> but don't sit so near that bloody screen .....


Thursday, January 08, 2004

DOROTHY MACARDLE -- Irish Republican , Historian , and Novelist : 1889 - 1958 .......


.......active in 1916 , a member of ' Inghinidhe na hEireann ' and ' The White Cross ' , and working with ' The Gaelic League ' and Sinn Fein , Dorothy Macardle was adamant in her rejection of the 1921 Treaty of Surrender .......


She continued her work with the Republican Movement during the Civil War . As with so many others of that time , Dorothy Macardle was now being 'tracked' by former comrades , now working for the British-imposed Free State ; at a meeting of the ' Women Prisoners Defence League ' (WPDL) [a pro-Republican organisation which raised funds and campaigned for families of Republican prisoners] in November 1922 , in Maud Gonne's house , Dorothy Macardle was arrested by Free State forces and imprisoned in Kilmainham Jail in Dublin .

Within the next few months (ie between November 1922 and March 1923) thousands of Irish Republicans (approximately thirteen-thousand in total) were 'rounded-up' by the Free Staters and imprisoned in various prisons and prison-camps in the State . Also , in March 1923 , Dorothy Macardle was sacked from her teaching job at Alexandra College for " not attending to her duties ......." (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 MOUTH OF THE GLEN .


" Sunday , the eight day of July , 1918 , was a fine day and a historic one for Ireland . For the first deliberate and armed attack on enemy forces , since 1916 , was carried out on that date . It was a small but completely successful operation , and this is how it happened --


-- Johnny Lynch was Captain of ' D Company ' IRA , in the district of Ballingeary . He left his house at Beal a' Ghleanna to travel the winding downhill road to Ballingeary , about three miles distant . With him was his wife . Behind them at home was their four-months-old son , Dinny . Their objective was second Mass at half-past eleven .

For the first two miles of their journey they went over the road trodden by O'Sullivan Beara and his people , three-hundred and fifteen years before . They passed by his first camp at Acharus , and by Poul na Circe , where he lost his horse , An Chearc . Johnny and his wife would have been glad to meet Donal and his mighty warriors . But , alas , what were they fated to meet instead ?

A grey horse and sidecar , the driver on the box-seat , and two armed RIC men , one on each side . Each had a carbine between his knees , a spiked helmet on his head , a sling of ammunition across his shoulder and a baton hanging from his waist-belt ......." (MORE LATER).



NUKING THE IRISH , and the world .......

[from ' The Sunday World ' , 5th June , 1988 , pages 10, 11, and 12].


Thirty ' bullet points ' regarding Windscale/Sellafield -- re-published here , three at a time .......


(4)--- The discovery - by accident - and subsequent repair of basic flaws to the structure of the reactors during the construction stage . A near-explosion was caused by " unforseen chemical reaction " during the plant's trial run .

(5)--- Every single day , a million gallons of waste flow down the two-mile pipe , spewing out more than thirty different radioactive substances (one can only imagine how many new "radioactive substances" have been put to use by BNFL since 1988 , when the article was penned).

(6)--- As a result of the above-mentioned flow of waste , the coastline around Sellafield is more contaminated than any other spot except the remains of Chernobyl , and the actual sites of nuke explosions .


....twenty-four more bullet-points on the way ---------> : in the meantime , watch that micro-wave .........


(NOTE - The right-hand side of this site should be back as it was prior to 2nd January last ; the HTML code in the 'Templet' section had been tampered with and changed slightly (not by anyone connected to ' 1169.... ') to forbid access unless that section of the HTML code was re-adjusted . Thanks to Sharon for finding and repairing the damage . ' BLOGGER ' has been notified and the access codes have been changed .)


Wednesday, January 07, 2004

DOROTHY MACARDLE -- Irish Republican , Historian , and Novelist : 1889 - 1958 .......


....... Ireland 1910- groups and organisations had been established in the country to express and campaign for certain political objectives ; the people were polarised . Dorothy Macardle admired other women who had plainly stated their pro- Republican viewpoint .......


Maude Gonne MacBride , Helena Moloney , Mrs. Sheehy Skeffington , Madam Despard(the latter was , in future years , to donate a house in Eccles Street , Dublin , to be used as a 'Workers' College' , only for it to be burned to the ground by an anti-Irish mob).

In 1910 , Dorothy Macardle joined ' Inghinidhe na hEireann ' , a women's Republican support group , and worked with the Gaelic League and Sinn Fein as well . She was active in the 1916 Rising and continued her involvement with (militant) Republicanism in the years following same . Dorothy Macardle was one of the many Irish Republican women who traversed the island as a representative of the ' White Cross ' organisation (established 1921) providing whatever assistance it could to the thousands of people who had been made homeless and jobless by , amongst others , the Black and Tans (and other tools of the ' British Empire ') as those forces carried out their instructions from Westminster to terrorise the population away from supporting the Irish Rebels .

In December 1921 , Dorothy Macardle remained true to her Republican principles and , with the majority of Irish Republican women , rejected the ' Treaty of Surrender ' ....... (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.


1917-- A NOCTURNAL EXPEDITION .......


".......the 'ghost' in the graveyard turned out to be a friend of ours , dressed-up in an old military tunic and cap to play a joke on us ......."


" The interruption proved to be the end of the adventure . Our lecturer made a fresh appeal and this time succeeded . We repaired the small damage done to the greensward and retired . It was now very late and we went to bed .

The following day , my brother , my uncle , the Brigade Officer and I met again . " Dan," said our visitor , " was it to show me that ye were not afraid of ghosts that you insisted on carrying on with last night's job ? " " No , " answered Dan , " but I was thinking of our lack of money . With it we could manage to buy a few guns now and again . " " How would last night's job enrich us ? " , asked our guest .

" Well , I'll tell you , " said Dan . " Those old fellows in that tomb were very rich , and liked to carry the world's goods as far as they possibly could with them . The devil a fear but they have at least a lot of jewellery in there ..... " Here , Dan winked at Pat and myself . " Dan , " I said , " would you take the rings off a dead man's finger ! "

" I'd pull them off his old nose , bedammed , " he replied .


[END OF 1917-- A NOCTURNAL EXPEDITION .......].



NUKING THE IRISH , and the world ....... (PART THREE).

[from ' The Sunday World ' , 5th June , 1988 , pages 10, 11, and 12].


.......but plutonium is not the only radioactive filth which the Brits dump in the Irish Sea .......


The Windscale/Sellafield pipeline also discharges a substance called ' CAESIUM 137 ' , which is an artificial radionuclide with a half-life of approximately thirty years : it is classed as a " nuclear fall-out " similar to that released into the stratosphere by the testing of " above-ground " thermonuclear weapons !

The newspaper article ended by stating that one million gallons of the above-mentioned waste pours out of the pipe every day - again , that was 16 years ago . Have the Brits cleaned-up their act , and were they really in all those other countries simply to stop the natives from wiping each other out ? Yeah , thought so ....

Finally , the article also listed thirty 'bullet-points' of interest re Windscale/Sellafield -- Here's three of them ---->


<---- * Construction of the plant itself was kept so secret that newspaper editors faced jail for even mentioning its existence or purpose . The first 'photo's of the buildings were issued only after seven years !

* More radioactive waste has been pumped out through the Windscale/Sellafield pipeline than from any other nuclear plant on earth , making the Irish Sea the most radioactive in the world .

* Over the past thirty years (ie 1958-1988) , the discharges from the plant have often been greater than the output from all the world's nuclear plants put together .

...twenty-seven more of these beauties to come ------- -----> (MORE LATER).


Tuesday, January 06, 2004

DOROTHY MACARDLE -- Irish Republican , Historian , and Novelist : 1889 - 1958 .......


.......at twenty-one years young in 1910 , and living in Dublin , Dorothy Macardle witnessed the extreme poverty in that city .......


Twenty-thousand families were living in one room each and the infant mortality rate was 142 per thousand (103 in London). However , the desire to express their own identity was strong amongst the people , and a number of what the British described as " Irish Ireland Societies " were gaining ground - the Gaelic League and the Gaelic Athletic Association being the most prominent at the time .

In the North of the island , those loyal to the British Crown had formed an ' Ulster Unionist Council ' , with Edward Carson MP (a Dublin lawyer and former Solicitor General in a Conservative government at Westminster) as their leader . The 'UUC' was opposed to any form of ' Home Rule' for Ireland ; powerful groups were at play on the island , pulling in different directions .

Dorothy Macardle admired other women who had made their mind up in regards to the British claim of jurisdiction over Ireland ....... (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.


1917-- A NOCTURNAL EXPEDITION .......


".......We were just starting to dig in the graveyard when we heard a noise from the far end of it . There was something there , moving towards us ......."


" Sometimes it disappeared only to re-appear again . At length it resolved itself into the figure of a man , a tall man , a military-looking man . Sure enough , a man in uniform . The moon shone on some metal object above his face . A cap badge . Slowly he came , now concealed by the elm trunks , now revealed . Now he was quite near . His buttons shone .

" The Captain ! " someone whispered . Now we could see his face . " Halt there ! " I heard near me . It was my brother who spoke . A revolver gleamed in his hand . It was levelled at the intruder . My uncle held another levelled gun . The figure coming on so surely stopped . "Oh, for mercy's sake , lads !" he cried out . We laughed with relief . It was not 'The Captain'.

It proved to be a friend of ours , who kept a shop in the village . Coming home late , he had met one of the Volunteers who told him of the expedition . Thinking that he would frighten the expeditionary force by appearing as the ghost of The Captain ,he had donned an old military tunic and cap , and had followed . As he was crossing the graveyard wall , remote from us , he was tripped by a briar , and fell heavily . That was the noise we had heard .

" Had I known " , said he , " that ye carried guns , I would now be in bed ! " . (MORE LATER).



NUKING THE IRISH , and the world ....... (PART TWO).

[from ' The Sunday World ' , 5th June , 1988 , pages 10, 11, and 12].


.......the plutonium poison from Windscale/Sellafield soon found its way on to grazing lands , vegetable fields and even into houses .......


Analysis of the contents of vacuum-cleaner bags in seven homes near Sellafield showed that the natural house-dust in all seven buildings contained plutonium , which could easily have contaminated food . The deadly plutonium particles were also in the air -in one local holiday town (not named in article) it was found that residents and tourists were exposed to seventy per-cent of the safety limits for workers inside the Windscale/Sellafield Plant itself ! Just by breathing ....

Plutonium is also carried into the food-chain through shellfish and fish which , though it might be news to British Scientists, happen to live in the oceans . Autopsies carried out on a dozen Cumbrians in 1986 detected plutonium in their bodies . But plutonium is not the only radioactive filth which the Brits pump into the sea ....... (MORE LATER).

(NOTE to ' Sean M ' - Thanks for the comments , a Chara ; that information will be published here shortly ....stay tuned !)


Monday, January 05, 2004

DOROTHY MACARDLE -- Irish Republican , Historian , and Novelist : 1889 - 1958 .


If , in the early 20th Century , a certain British Gentleman in Dundalk , County Louth , 'took to the bottle' (ie hit the booze !) he would have done so for two reasons ;

* He was Sir Thomas Macardle , the owner of the well-known brewery that produced ' Macardles Ale ' , and

* Because of his daughter , Dorothy .......

Born in Dublin in 1889 , Dorothy Macardle grew up to become an English teacher at Alexandra College , where she herself had been educated , before she moved-on to complete her education at University College Dublin .

In 1910 , at twenty-one years young and from a privileged background , she could not ignore the poverty and hopelessness she witnessed in Dublin ....... (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.


1917-- A NOCTURNAL EXPEDITION .......


"........ The seven of us were in the graveyard and decided to send for old Pad , who knew the best way to gain entry to the tomb where the supply of lead was ......."


" My uncle greeted Pad , then in a few words explained what we required . Pad nodded gravely , walked slowly to one side of the vault , and , starting from the middle point of that side , walked away from it at a right angle . About eighteen feet from the wall he stopped and pointed to the ground .

" Dig there ," he said . " Take Pad home , lads , " said my uncle . Immediately work was started . Scarcely had the first blow from a pick broken the silence , when our lecturer spoke - " That will do , lads . I thought ye would never venture it . I owe ye an apology . " My uncle spoke up : " We will see it through now then , " he said .

A noise from the far end of the graveyard focused our attention . Something was moving there . It seemed to be coming nearer without making any further noise ....... " (MORE LATER)>



NUKING THE IRISH , and the world ....... (PART ONE)>

[from ' The Sunday World ' , 5th June , 1988 , pages 10, 11, and 12].


Plutonium is among the most toxic substance known to man . Even the tiniest speck can cause cancer if it enters the body , yet the Windscale/Sellafield pipeline has pumped an unbelievable three-quarters of a ton of plutonium into the Irish Sea (Note- this article was penned in 1988 ; sixteen years ago !).

British scientists stated that the dumped plutonium would disperse into the oceans of the world ( as if that in itself was acceptable !) but they were wrong - ninty-five per cent of the plutonium particles just sank heavily into the seabed around the end of the pipeline . The same British scientists then forecast that it would remain there , trapped in the sludge ; they were wrong again !

The dumped plutonium was swept to various shores by the tides and currents that prevail in that area . Between the contaminated seaspray and the plutonium dust from the polluted estuaries , the poison ended up in grazing lands , vegetable fields and even in houses ....... (MORE LATER).


Sunday, January 04, 2004

REPUBLICAN LAW AND ORDER ; THE COURT SYSTEM 1920-1922.......



....... British mercenaries had arrived in Ireland ; sent by Westminster to "return control" of society to them , approximately eight-thousand-five-hundred armed thugs were on the streets . They came into conflict with the Republican Police .......


In one encounter between the British mercenaries and the Republican Police , in June 1920 , a number of Republican Policemen were shot dead and their prisoners released . But the Republican Courts , legal system and Police Force continued to operate until late 1921 / early 1922 when the ' Treaty of Surrender' was signed and enacted , which lead to a split in the Republican Movement . The Black and Tans and The Auxiliaries were then disbanded and sent back home on 18th February 1922 .

The Brits now had 'home-grown' mercenaries in Ireland to do their bidding . As , indeed , they have today , thanks to the Stormont and Leinster House ' Parliaments' .

Plus ca change , plus c'est la meme chose .......


[END].



WHERE MOUNTAINY MEN HAVE SOWN :

war and peace in rebel Cork ,
in the turbulent years 1916-21.

By Micheal O'Suilleabhain : published 1965.

1917-- A NOCTURNAL EXPEDITION .......


".......Seven of us set out that night , with spades and other tools , to acquire an amount of lead from the local graveyard ......."


" We easily found the tomb . The moonlight shone directly on it . It was a large structure with high iron railings on top . Someone put the question of how we would get in ; an answer came - " Through or over the railings . " My uncle spoke - " I would not say so . I have some recollection of hearing old people talking about a burial here . I got the impression that the entrance was outside the vault altogether , that you dug out here somewhere and went down a stairway and entered underneath the ground level . "

" Old Pad would know about that , " someone ventured . Pad's son , Tadhg , was with us . He was sent with a companion to get old Pad out of bed to show us where to dig . This evoked a protest from our organiser . It was a pity , he said , to disturb an old man and bring him out of bed at that hour . " Yeh , not at all , " said all the others . " He is a hardy old lad and as sound as a rock . "

The morale of our visitor appeared to be getting a little frayed . Indeed we had noticed , when the project had passed the discussion stage , that he appeared to regret his over- enthusiastic sponsorship . However , it was now too late . Pad presently appeared between his two custodians . His silvery beard and patriarchal mien were in themselves awe-inspiring . The place , the time , the moonlight , the nature of the venture , did not help to dispel that feeling ....." (MORE LATER).



AVOIDABLE 'ACCIDENTS' AT SEA ---->

[from ' New Hibernia ' magazine , June 1986 , page 7]


<---- In an article on Irish fishing boats that have been either dragged backwards or sunk by foreign subs , the following were listed --


* 'The Sharelga', which was sunk in 1982 ; days later , the British Government claimed responsibility , admitting that one of their subs , ' The Porpoise ' , was involved in the incident .

* 'The Discouri', from Kilkeel , which netted rubbish from the U S Nuclear Sub ' Henry Clay ' .

* ' The Oriel', working off Clogher Head in 1984 , when it was pulled backwards for three miles .

* ' Galvamor ', a French trawler , which was fishing off the West Coast of Ireland in the summer of 1982 when it disappeared - the six crew have not been seen since .

* ' Cite D'Aleth ', another French trawler : the entire crew of ten drowned in January 1983 when it sunk while fishing six miles off the Tuskar Rock on the Wexford Coast .

* ' Ami de Mouttes ', French - was dragged backwards in March 1983 while fishing off Ireland's West Coast .


The BIG BOY'S continue to play with their toys in Irish waters and elsewhere ; and may your God have mercy on your soul if you happen to be trying to earn a living in 'their' playground at the same time .......


Saturday, January 03, 2004

REPUBLICAN LAW AND ORDER ; THE COURT SYSTEM 1920-1922.......



.....the Irish Republican Police , the Republican Law Courts and Legal System and the [also British-outlawed] Republican Administration were all operating successfully ; the IRA was winning the war on the military front . The British responded by recruiting mercenaries in England for use in Ireland ; the Black and Tans and The Auxiliaries .......


The 'Tan's ' consisted of unemployed (and unemployable) ex-British servicemen and convicts , who were given guns and a 'uniform' of a 'Khaki' outfit with a black RIC-type cap and belt , while the brutal and equally undisciplined actions of the other gang of rabble , the Auxiliaries , actually led to its Commanding Officer in Ireland , a Brigadier F. P. Crozier , resigning in protest at their conduct in this country !

Both groups of thugs were in Ireland between 1920 and 1922 ; more than seven-thousand Black and Tans and approximately one-thousand-five-hundred Auxiliaries . The Republican Police faced a new enemy - gun-battles were now more common between the IRA and the Tans....... (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.


1917-- A NOCTURNAL EXPEDITION .......


".......my uncle explained to the lecturer from IRA Brigade H Q that we were aware of lead coffins in the local churchyard and were prepared to use same in our war effort ....... "


" "But," my uncle added , " it is neither fear of ghosts nor fairies , or superstition , which keeps us away , but respect for the dead ." The lecturer made no further comment . He walked to the door and , opening it , looked out at the night . " It is a fine night with a full moon ," he said . He turned back to the room and , looking straight at my uncle , said , meaningly , - " There is no time like the present . "

It was a challenge to Dan, who got to his feet , and said : " It is indeed the witching hour . Get a few tools , lads , a spade or two and a shovel . I suppose we would want a bar or a pick also , and yes , bedammed , a sledge . " Most of the tools were found in the car-house underneath the meeting room . Soon seven of us were on our way to the churchyard at the other end of the village . The rest of the Company had been sent home , but, before going , had nearly all volunteered to stay and help .

As it was so late there were no lights in the houses as we passed through the village . The moon shone with full brilliance . We passed silently through the small side gate of the graveyard , and were soon among the shadows cast by the rugged elms ......." (MORE LATER).




AMERICA , ARROGANCE AND ALLENDE ---->

[from ' The Sunday Tribune ' newspaper , 24th August , 1986 , page 11]


<---- " I don't see why we need to stand by and watch a country go communist due to the irresponsibility of its own people . "

--- the chilling words of Henry Kissinger , in relation to Chile , and Salvador Allende in particular .

In 1964 , four million dollars was a huge amount of money ; that was the year , and that was the amount , that the CIA spent in securing the election of the 'Christian Democrats' in Chile . However , six years later , it looked like a change of leadership was on the way -- the socialist , Salvador Allende was ahead in the polls , prompting the above-mentioned quote from Henry Kissinger .

American interests in Chile were worried , as was the CIA ; two US multi-national firms , I T T and Anaconda Copper offered the CIA $1,500,000 to stop Allende - the CIA told them to start an " anti-Allende " campaign themselves with that money , as the Agency had its own 'war-chest' .

However , US money and propaganda against him or not , on 4th September 1970 , Salvador Allende won the election ; his victory was to be verified by the Chilean Congress on 24th October 1970 - the CIA upped their campaign . They tried to bribe the Chilean Congress with $250,000 , but failed ; they knew that the head of the Chilean Armed Forces , a General Rene Schneider , would not support " unconstitutional " means to remove Salvador Allende from the scene , so the CIA supplied the guns , which were sent to Chile in a diplomatic bag - and Schneider himself was removed from the scene !

Three years later , and after spending $8 million dollars , the CIA were successful - Allende and thousands of his supporters were tortured and killed and a (U S friendly) military junta was installed in Chile . Salvador Allende is gone but , to this writers mind , U S arrogance is alive and well . It's too late now for George Bush Junior , but perhaps future Office holders will take heed of the words of American poet , Maya Angelou --


" History , despite its wrenching pain
Cannot be unlived ,
But , if faced with courage
need not be lived again . "


NOTE -

The lay-out of this site has been changed - ie the introduction , links , guestbook , stat-counters etc have been placed at the bottom of the site by person(s) unknown to the site administrator and operating elsewhere . Copy (text/graphic) may be published on this site in the near future from the above-mentioned source . I am attempting to remedy the situation before that happens . Watch this space.......


Friday, January 02, 2004

REPUBLICAN LAW AND ORDER ; THE COURT SYSTEM 1920-1922.......



.......depending on the severity of the crime , the Republican Police would exile the offender on a small , uninhabited island to serve their sentence .......



Not all offenders were banished for a few months to 'rough-it' on a deserted lump of clay in the Atlantic Ocean ; depending on the circumstances , the offender could be instructed to return the stolen money or items plus ordered to pay the victim back twice the value of said items .

Another method employed was to physically remove the perpetrator from the county where the crime took place , under instruction that he/she not return or , again depending on the situation , the offender might only be tasked to repair the property damage caused by his/her action . The Republican Administration had secured the allegiance of practically all the local councils since the elections (1918 and 1920) and the law courts , legal system and police force operated by the Irish Republican Administration had now virtually supplanted those of the Crown ; the IRA was also winning its guerrilla war .

The British Government opened the floodgates ; mercenaries were recruited in England for two groups to be dispatched to Ireland to " return control " to Westminster - the 'Black and Tans' and The Auxiliaries....... (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.


1917-- A NOCTURNAL EXPEDITION .......



".......the IRA Brigade HQ lecturer was told by my uncle that our Company had an abundance of lead ; he wanted to know more , so my uncle told him that it was being kept in safe-keeping by " the rude forefathers of the hamlet ......." "


" We laughed . We knew my uncle was planning to strip the lead from the roofs of the 'Big Houses' in our district . " I don't see the joke , " said the lecturer . " Well , I'll tell you , " said my uncle . " Over in the churchyard is a tomb with lead coffins in it . That is the reserve I was referring to . " " I see , " said our lecturer , and paused for a while . He spoke again - " I think you ought to get that lead , " he said .

" I would not think so at all , " said my uncle , and added - " We do not want it at present , and very likely may never want it . In the meantime , it is safer where it is . Where could you get a safer hiding place for anything ? Besides , we have no ambition to emulate Jerry Cruncher , the body-snatcher in the 'Tale of Two Cities' , until it is absolutely necessary . " " I always heard , " said the lecturer , " that country people were very superstitious , and afraid of ghosts and fairies . " My uncle laughed .

" There are not many in this room , " he said , " who would baulk at going at midnight to the churchyard , and even at visiting the 'Old Captain' . " The 'Old Captain' was one of those of the landlord class who rested in the vault . Indeed , it was known as " the Captain's Tomb ." (MORE LATER).




NOT RONNIE , NANCY , OR THE ASTROLOGER : part three of three .......

[from ' MAGILL ' magazine , May 1989 , page 37]

GUESS WHO.......?

(Answer at bottom of column ...)


" And you know , you look at the amount of people recommitting crimes with a gun - I looked up the gun registration , which I oppose . I went down - I told you or you heard me say this ; bet I had the guy doing up a file today . "

--- Clarifying his position on gun control during the 1988 Presidential Campaign .



" ...make sure that anybody who has a job wants a job . "

--- Announcing the top goal of his Presidency .



" I kind of think I'm a scintillating kind of a fellow . I think I'm a charismatic son of a gun . "

--- Speaking to reporters in May 1988 .



" Yeah , I think there's some social changes going on ...AID , for example , uh , is a , is a , uh , disease for , disease of poverty in a sense . It's where the hopelessness is . It's bigger than that of course . "

--- In answer to the question of why people use drugs .


And the spokesperson -? None other than George Bush (Senior)!

And if he did indeed " have sex " with Ronnie Reagan , then he has definately caught something - and I don't think its "AID" .......!!

Thursday, January 01, 2004

REPUBLICAN LAW AND ORDER ; THE COURT SYSTEM 1920-1922.......


.......the Republican Police provided security for the Republican Courts , as well as more mundane matters - pub opening and closing times , house-robberies , street patrols etc . They were accepted by the vast majority of the population .......


At that time (ie 1920) the writ of the newly-established Republican Police Force encompassed twenty-one of the thirty-two counties on the island , and newspaper reports stated that more than eighty arrests , by the Republican Police , had taken place during the months of May and June that year .

However , due to the presence of the British forces of occupation , the Republican Police had no jails or prisons in which to confine offenders ; also , the British Police (RIC) were continually attempting to shoot or arrest members of the Republican Police and release those arrested by same back into the community which they had offended against .

A partial solution was found in that some of those convicted of crimes against the community were exiled to small , unpopulated and , in today's terms , 'non-user friendly' islands off the West Coast of Ireland .......! (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.


1917-- A NOCTURNAL EXPEDITION .......


".......the lecturer from IRA Brigade HQ advised us to acquire as much lead as we could to make our own bullets . We knew what my uncle was thinking - the roofs of the 'Big Houses' in our district would soon be made fit into the barrel of a gun ......."


" The lecturer continued , with the emphasis on the lead . At last my uncle again interrupted to remark that we had an abundance of lead , that with us it was a redundant commodity , while every other material was in short supply . The lecturer retaliated by saying : " You could not have enough lead . "

Here my uncle smiled , as his great sense of humour asserted itself . " We have plenty of it , " he repeated , and after a pause he added in an undertone - " We have a reserve supply as well . " The lecturer heard all and eagerly asked - " A reserve supply ; where is it ? " Here we craned our necks to study more carefully the expressions on both men's faces . We guessed my uncle had something in mind which would make us laugh at any rate . He feigned reluctance to answer , then , at length , said : " Ah well , it is in safe keeping . "

Then came the query - " In safe keeping ! What kind of people are minding it ? " " Oh , quite inoffensive people , " answered my uncle . " Who are they ? , " asked the lecturer . " The rude forefathers of the hamlet , " was the reply . A roar of laughter followed . Most of the Volunteers knew or guessed what he meant . Gray's 'Elegy' some had read in their schoolbooks , while others had heard my uncle recite it ....... " (MORE LATER).



NOT RONNIE , NANCY , OR THE ASTROLOGER : part two of three .......

[from ' MAGILL ' magazine , May 1989 , page 37]

GUESS WHO.......?

(Answer after Part 3 ...)



" For seven and a half years I have worked alongside him (Ronald Reagan) and I am proud to be his partner . We have had triumphs , we have made our mistakes , we have had sex...."

--- Describing his relationship with the then President during a U S Republican rally in May 1988 .



" I'd like to see us open up the Alaska refuge and this is important , because it was said once , remember when they built the pipeline , 'don't build the pipeline , you get rid of the caribou ' . The caribou love it . They rub up against it . There are more caribou in Alaska than you can shake a stick at ! "

--- Discussing the Alaska pipeline at a GOP dinner in New Hampshire in February 1988 .



" I was shot down and I was floating around in a little yellow raft setting a record for paddling . I thought of my family , my mom and dad and the strength I got from them . I thought of my faith , the separation of church and state . "

--- Relating his experiences and thoughts as a fighter pilot in ' World War Two' when he was shot down over Japanese waters - during a speech in Iowa in December 1987 .



" You judge on the record . How does it look in a programme he called 'phony' or one of those marvellous Boston adjectives up there about Angola ? "

--- Attacking his opponent , Dukakis , during the first Presidential Debate , 25th September , 1988 .


(Answer after part 3....)

Wednesday, December 31, 2003

REPUBLICAN LAW AND ORDER ; THE COURT SYSTEM 1920-1922.......


.......the Irish Rebels had established their own Court system and Police Force ; the imposed British system and the RIC were under constant attack from the IRA .......


House-robberies , muggings , fights , land disputes etc - the RIC ignored the criminals ; in any event , the population were reluctant to involve the RIC in such issues as , for the most part , they recognised the 'police' as another arm of British oppression .

The Republican Police wore no uniform and received no wage ; they were IRA Volunteers and were motivated not by money , pension or career , but by a sense of duty . The British Administration were aware of the inherent 'danger' , as they viewed it , of such a system taking root , in that it would further undermine their 'authority' throughout the island .

And it did -- as well as policing the streets , the Republican Police provided security at each sitting of the Republican Courts and were an integral part of the Republican justice system - ensuring that , for example , respectable hours were kept for pub opening and closing times ( to the extent that illicit stills were closed down !) , burglars and thieves were located and arrested , and street-drunkenness , rows and riots were curtailed .

Their influence was by now well established and they were accepted by the majority of the population ....... (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.


1917-- A NOCTURNAL EXPEDITION .......


".......a Company meeting was held in Den Buckley's barn loft , at which an Organiser from Brigade H Q was present ......."


" Our lecturer dwelt at length on the importance of acquiring arms . This irritated my uncle who was patient only up to a certain point . He interrupted to state that damn well we all realised that , and that having tried all sources , we had come to the conclusion that the only way to get them was to take them from the enemy .

Permission to take them was all we wanted . The lecturer explained that he himself had no say in the granting of such permission . In the meantime , every effort should be made to augment our supplies of shotgun ammunition . Cartridges should be loaded with slugs , and , of course, to make slugs , lead was necessary . Lead should be acquired by any and every means . Here there were hardly suppressed smiles as the lecturer's eyes ranged along the class .

The ways and means for providing lead in our district were indeed varied , and unscrupulous if judged by peacetime standards . Peace reigned in the land , according to our oppressors , or ought to reign , according to the supporters of our oppressors . These partisans we made pay a heavy toll ; unwillingly , they supplied us with lead , even from the roof valley-gutters of their unoccupied mansions ......." (MORE LATER).



NOT RONNIE , NANCY , OR THE ASTROLOGER : part one of three .......

[from ' MAGILL ' magazine , May 1989 , page 37]

GUESS WHO.......?

(Answer after Part 3 ...)



" Boy , they were big on crematoriums , were'nt they ? "

--- Comment during his tour of the Nazi death camp at Auschwitz on 28th September , 1987 .


" Comme ci , comme ca...."

--- Said while he was talking to a nine-years-young Hispanic student at a Harlem school .


" When I'm the Education President , you'll be able to send your college to children . "

--- His promise during the 1988 Presidential campaign .



" It's no exaggeration to say , the undecideds could go one way or another . "

--- Again , during the 1988 campaign .



" Tell me , General - how dead is the Dead Sea ? "

--- His question to a Jordanian Army General .


Part 2 tomorrow .......