'THE IRISH PEOPLE' ; an Irish Rebel Newspaper , 1863 - 1865 ........
.......Even the 'Establishment' media sat-up and took notice of this Catholic-Church banned Rebel funeral .....
An 'Establishment' newspaper , which had a large and influential readership at the time , the ' Freemans Journal ' , (a 'Castle-Catholic' paper , known to be "constitutionally minded") which , incidentally , had an issue on the streets each week for 161 years - from 1763 to 1924 (!) reported that - " the (funeral) demonstration owed its origins and its magnitude to the cause with which (Terence Bellew) MacManus was identified . "
High praise indeed from an 'Establishment' newspaper - but not good enough for James Stephens , the IRB/Fenian leader . The imagination of the population had been captured by the MacManus incident ; James Stephens , in a move which Terence Bellew MacManus himself would have been proud of , organised a small crew around him and set-off on a recruitment drive throughout 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.
THE FLYING COLUMN .
" The Flying Column in war is as old as war itself . It was used by armies , large and small , all over the earth , from the earliest times to the present day . It travelled on foot , horse or camel in the old days . In modern times it is mechanized and when air borne attains its true literal meaning . Its function remains always the same . In guerrilla warfare , the flying column is the army .
The more columns there are , and the more widely scattered they are , the longer will they last . I am , of course , assuming that the guerrilla forces are small and weak compared with those of their enemies . With such a discrepancy , it would be madness to gather together the forces of the weak and to pit them against those of the strong in one pitched battle . Commonsense would indicate the wisdom of breaking up into small groups , each in its own native area , and , by the judicious use of time and place , wage on the enemy a prolonged and harassing war .
Such wars have been successfully fought ; on such a pattern was fought the guerrilla war in Ireland , which brought about the 'Truce' with Britain in July 1921 ....... "
(MORE LATER).
In this 'FREE' STATE , the 'political elite' in Leinster House have demanded that the taxpayer pay twice to have their household rubbish collected ;
they are now 'flying a kite' to ascertain how the same taxpayer would feel if certain major (minor to follow?) roads were fitted with a toll-bridge -
(- prices to increase each year ? Twice a year ?)... this after said taxpayer has already paid to have the road built in the first place !
....but , in the old days - well , they just wanted to put a tax on lakes , and ponds , and canals .......
ROD LICENCE CAMPAIGN DETERMINED TO RESIST .
By Richard Douthwaite .
(This article was first published in ' ALPHA ' Magazine , 27th April , 1989 , page 7).
Reproduced here in 8 parts .
(5 of 8).
And why do the people think that the politicians want the lakes ? So that they can allow the fish farming companies to moor cages on them in which the salmon parr will grow until they turn into smolts . The statement by Liam Keilthy of the State-owned salmon hatchery ' Aquahatch ', as reported in the last issue of 'ALPHA' magazine , that it will not be possible to avoid using some of the larger lakes for this if the industry is to expand as projected , has added fuel to the fire .
So the Anti-Rod campaigners have taken it upon themselves to attack fish-farming in every way possible . They have taken RTE (State television and radio broadcaster) to film dead salmon on public tips . They asked the most pointed questions at last fortnight's ' An Taisce' conference on aquaculture and the environment ....
(MORE LATER).
Friday, April 23, 2004
'THE IRISH PEOPLE' ; an Irish Rebel Newspaper , 1863 - 1865 ........
....... The 'Irish Republican Brotherhood' organised a 'colour-party' and dozens of uniformed IRB men on horse-back for the funeral of Terence Bellew MacManus ; approximately 20,000 people came out on to the streets to watch the proceedings .......
This huge procession took over Dublin on the day of the funeral , and the coffin containing the remains of Terence Bellew MacManus arrived , eventually, after the cortege had wound its way through Dublin , at Glasnevin Cemetery in the north of the city .
The huge crowd entered the Cemetery and watched as a Catholic Priest (one of the few not willing to be dictated too by his fine-robed bosses) stepped forward and officiated at the graveside . The funeral incident received widespread publicity within Ireland and abroad .
A popular newspaper of the day , the 'Freemans Journal' , which had a large circulation in 'Establishment' circles , gave the MacManus funeral top coverage .......
(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.
A HARVEST DAY IN 1920 .......
".......The work was done and , as usual, a village dance had been organised . It was obvious to me that my presence was not wanted . On my way home , alone, I stopped and turned back ......."
" The dance was being held at Jack Lehane's house . There were three houses in the yard and it was his turn for that year . I reached the door unnoticed ; the kitchen was packed with dancers , and men were standing close together just inside the doorway . The door was open , so I stepped in . After a while the set ( ie- that particular song ) came to an end . There was a pause , then I heard the music and words of an old Rebel song - ' The Rising of The Moon ..... '
Someone with perhaps some latent bit of patriotism ; I moved in , the better to hear that fine old song , which I liked and knew well . 'Aililiu' , as my grandmother used to say , I was seen ! Soon , I had plenty of room for myself - the people left in ones and twos . I was indeed the 'spectre of the feast' .
In a short time I was seated beside Jack at the fire , discussing Ireland's wrongs and rights , with nothing to interrupt us save the crickets . At half-past ten that night I left him and started uphill again for the Cross and home . Alone ."
[END of - ' A HARVEST DAY IN 1920 .......'].
(Tomorrow - ' The Flying Column '...)
In this 'FREE' STATE , the 'political elite' in Leinster House have demanded that the taxpayer pay twice to have their household rubbish collected ;
they are now 'flying a kite' to ascertain how the same taxpayer would feel if certain major (minor to follow?) roads were fitted with a toll-bridge -
(- prices to increase each year ? Twice a year ?)... this after said taxpayer has already paid to have the road built in the first place !
....but , in the old days - well , they just wanted to put a tax on lakes , and ponds , and canals .......
ROD LICENCE CAMPAIGN DETERMINED TO RESIST .
By Richard Douthwaite .
(This article was first published in ' ALPHA ' Magazine , 27th April , 1989 , page 7).
Reproduced here in 8 parts .
(4 of 8).
The decision of the court case against Mr. Jim Clancy had damaging implications for others as well . Whereas in the past the water and bed of a lake or river had been considered to be common property , the State High Court had now handed them over to whoever 'owned' the fishing 'rights' . No one else could do anything on , near , with or in the water , at all !
What the anti-rod licence campaigners think the State is trying to do through the licensing mechanism is to take over the fishing 'rights' on the major lakes in the West - including Corrib , Mask , Carra , Conn and Arrow - which are in the public domain .
As a result of that decision , the people of the area , who have fished on the rivers and lakes , swum in them and drawn water from them for generations , will lose their rights to continue unless they have the consent of the State Minister . They are determined not to give those rights up .......
(MORE LATER).
....... The 'Irish Republican Brotherhood' organised a 'colour-party' and dozens of uniformed IRB men on horse-back for the funeral of Terence Bellew MacManus ; approximately 20,000 people came out on to the streets to watch the proceedings .......
This huge procession took over Dublin on the day of the funeral , and the coffin containing the remains of Terence Bellew MacManus arrived , eventually, after the cortege had wound its way through Dublin , at Glasnevin Cemetery in the north of the city .
The huge crowd entered the Cemetery and watched as a Catholic Priest (one of the few not willing to be dictated too by his fine-robed bosses) stepped forward and officiated at the graveside . The funeral incident received widespread publicity within Ireland and abroad .
A popular newspaper of the day , the 'Freemans Journal' , which had a large circulation in 'Establishment' circles , gave the MacManus funeral top coverage .......
(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.
A HARVEST DAY IN 1920 .......
".......The work was done and , as usual, a village dance had been organised . It was obvious to me that my presence was not wanted . On my way home , alone, I stopped and turned back ......."
" The dance was being held at Jack Lehane's house . There were three houses in the yard and it was his turn for that year . I reached the door unnoticed ; the kitchen was packed with dancers , and men were standing close together just inside the doorway . The door was open , so I stepped in . After a while the set ( ie- that particular song ) came to an end . There was a pause , then I heard the music and words of an old Rebel song - ' The Rising of The Moon ..... '
Someone with perhaps some latent bit of patriotism ; I moved in , the better to hear that fine old song , which I liked and knew well . 'Aililiu' , as my grandmother used to say , I was seen ! Soon , I had plenty of room for myself - the people left in ones and twos . I was indeed the 'spectre of the feast' .
In a short time I was seated beside Jack at the fire , discussing Ireland's wrongs and rights , with nothing to interrupt us save the crickets . At half-past ten that night I left him and started uphill again for the Cross and home . Alone ."
[END of - ' A HARVEST DAY IN 1920 .......'].
(Tomorrow - ' The Flying Column '...)
In this 'FREE' STATE , the 'political elite' in Leinster House have demanded that the taxpayer pay twice to have their household rubbish collected ;
they are now 'flying a kite' to ascertain how the same taxpayer would feel if certain major (minor to follow?) roads were fitted with a toll-bridge -
(- prices to increase each year ? Twice a year ?)... this after said taxpayer has already paid to have the road built in the first place !
....but , in the old days - well , they just wanted to put a tax on lakes , and ponds , and canals .......
ROD LICENCE CAMPAIGN DETERMINED TO RESIST .
By Richard Douthwaite .
(This article was first published in ' ALPHA ' Magazine , 27th April , 1989 , page 7).
Reproduced here in 8 parts .
(4 of 8).
The decision of the court case against Mr. Jim Clancy had damaging implications for others as well . Whereas in the past the water and bed of a lake or river had been considered to be common property , the State High Court had now handed them over to whoever 'owned' the fishing 'rights' . No one else could do anything on , near , with or in the water , at all !
What the anti-rod licence campaigners think the State is trying to do through the licensing mechanism is to take over the fishing 'rights' on the major lakes in the West - including Corrib , Mask , Carra , Conn and Arrow - which are in the public domain .
As a result of that decision , the people of the area , who have fished on the rivers and lakes , swum in them and drawn water from them for generations , will lose their rights to continue unless they have the consent of the State Minister . They are determined not to give those rights up .......
(MORE LATER).
Thursday, April 22, 2004
'THE IRISH PEOPLE' ; an Irish Rebel Newspaper , 1863 - 1865 ........
.......Arrangements were being made in Ireland to bury the remains of Terence Bellew MacManus , who had died in America ; but the Catholic Church intervened .......
The Catholic Church issued statements , and not only from the pulpits , in which they " decried the glorification of a man who had risen in arms in unlawful rebellion " (ie - a "dissident") ; the use of ' Church property ' in MacManus's funeral was forbidden - the Brits were pleased . However , the 'Irish Republican Brotherhood' was prepared for that , and 'Plan B' was put into action .
James Stephens and the IRB used the publicity generated by the refusal of the Catholic Church to their own advantage : a 'colour-party' of Rebels was organised , and IRB members on horse-back , dozens of them , in uniform , all wearing black arm-bands and carrying batons , were mobilised ....
...this military display by the Irish Rebels brought an estimated crowd of twenty-thousand people on to the streets .......
(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.
A HARVEST DAY IN 1920 .......
".......Both lorries passed-by without incident . The farm-workers came out of hiding ......."
" The work was resumed , the day passed , the corn was threshed . At the time I heard , or rather overheard , about the dance . It was discussed in whispers , with furtive glances in my direction . I thoroughly understood . I had fitted badly into the scheme of things in 'Happy Valley'. It was reasonable to assume that distance would considerably improve my relations with its inhabitants . Accordingly , when I announced that I was about to look for my cap to go home , I was forestalled by numerous helpers who not only found my own cap for me , but several other caps as well . Relations had already shown a considerable improvement ...
I walked uphill again , on my own , on the road home . Reaching the first level , I stopped and looked back ; it was dark and I could see nothing . I sat down on a mossy stone and lit a cigarette . I thought on the events of the day and especially on the recent anxiety to get rid of me . Resentment stirred in me ; I got up to face homewards . The strains of music came to my ears : I stopped , and turned around to go back to 'Happy Valley'......."
(MORE LATER).
In this 'FREE' STATE , the 'political elite' in Leinster House have demanded that the taxpayer pay twice to have their household rubbish collected ;
they are now 'flying a kite' to ascertain how the same taxpayer would feel if certain major (minor to follow?) roads were fitted with a toll-bridge -
(- prices to increase each year ? Twice a year ?)... this after said taxpayer has already paid to have the road built in the first place !
....but , in the old days - well , they just wanted to put a tax on lakes , and ponds , and canals .......
ROD LICENCE CAMPAIGN DETERMINED TO RESIST .
By Richard Douthwaite .
(This article was first published in ' ALPHA ' Magazine , 27th April , 1989 , page 7).
Reproduced here in 8 parts .
(3 of 8).
The court case was heard over five days . The upshot was that Mr. Clancy (the owner of fifty acres of land on the banks of Lough Inagh) was told that neither he , nor any other owner , had the right to take water from a river or lake whether for himself or for his farm animals .
If he put a boat on the lake , swam in the lake , or even crossed over one of the streams that run down the mountainside to the lake , he would be breaking the law ! Walking by the lake was forbidden , since he might disturb the fish ...
Not only did Mr. Clancy lose the action , he had its £80,000 punt costs awarded against him (Euro 101,579) and will pay the last £10,000 punt instalment (Euro 12,697) in June 1989 . The court refrained from ruining him entirely , however -...
- ... a £200,000 punt (Euro 253,947) claim for damage he was alleged to have done to the fishery was struck out .......
(MORE LATER).
.......Arrangements were being made in Ireland to bury the remains of Terence Bellew MacManus , who had died in America ; but the Catholic Church intervened .......
The Catholic Church issued statements , and not only from the pulpits , in which they " decried the glorification of a man who had risen in arms in unlawful rebellion " (ie - a "dissident") ; the use of ' Church property ' in MacManus's funeral was forbidden - the Brits were pleased . However , the 'Irish Republican Brotherhood' was prepared for that , and 'Plan B' was put into action .
James Stephens and the IRB used the publicity generated by the refusal of the Catholic Church to their own advantage : a 'colour-party' of Rebels was organised , and IRB members on horse-back , dozens of them , in uniform , all wearing black arm-bands and carrying batons , were mobilised ....
...this military display by the Irish Rebels brought an estimated crowd of twenty-thousand people on to the streets .......
(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.
A HARVEST DAY IN 1920 .......
".......Both lorries passed-by without incident . The farm-workers came out of hiding ......."
" The work was resumed , the day passed , the corn was threshed . At the time I heard , or rather overheard , about the dance . It was discussed in whispers , with furtive glances in my direction . I thoroughly understood . I had fitted badly into the scheme of things in 'Happy Valley'. It was reasonable to assume that distance would considerably improve my relations with its inhabitants . Accordingly , when I announced that I was about to look for my cap to go home , I was forestalled by numerous helpers who not only found my own cap for me , but several other caps as well . Relations had already shown a considerable improvement ...
I walked uphill again , on my own , on the road home . Reaching the first level , I stopped and looked back ; it was dark and I could see nothing . I sat down on a mossy stone and lit a cigarette . I thought on the events of the day and especially on the recent anxiety to get rid of me . Resentment stirred in me ; I got up to face homewards . The strains of music came to my ears : I stopped , and turned around to go back to 'Happy Valley'......."
(MORE LATER).
In this 'FREE' STATE , the 'political elite' in Leinster House have demanded that the taxpayer pay twice to have their household rubbish collected ;
they are now 'flying a kite' to ascertain how the same taxpayer would feel if certain major (minor to follow?) roads were fitted with a toll-bridge -
(- prices to increase each year ? Twice a year ?)... this after said taxpayer has already paid to have the road built in the first place !
....but , in the old days - well , they just wanted to put a tax on lakes , and ponds , and canals .......
ROD LICENCE CAMPAIGN DETERMINED TO RESIST .
By Richard Douthwaite .
(This article was first published in ' ALPHA ' Magazine , 27th April , 1989 , page 7).
Reproduced here in 8 parts .
(3 of 8).
The court case was heard over five days . The upshot was that Mr. Clancy (the owner of fifty acres of land on the banks of Lough Inagh) was told that neither he , nor any other owner , had the right to take water from a river or lake whether for himself or for his farm animals .
If he put a boat on the lake , swam in the lake , or even crossed over one of the streams that run down the mountainside to the lake , he would be breaking the law ! Walking by the lake was forbidden , since he might disturb the fish ...
Not only did Mr. Clancy lose the action , he had its £80,000 punt costs awarded against him (Euro 101,579) and will pay the last £10,000 punt instalment (Euro 12,697) in June 1989 . The court refrained from ruining him entirely , however -...
- ... a £200,000 punt (Euro 253,947) claim for damage he was alleged to have done to the fishery was struck out .......
(MORE LATER).
Wednesday, April 21, 2004
'THE IRISH PEOPLE' ; an Irish Rebel Newspaper , 1863 - 1865 ........
....... Charles J. Kickham and the ' Irish Republican Brotherhood ' were not only up against the Brits - they also had to contend with the Catholic Church and the 'Establishment' of the day . The 'Propaganda War' , for 'hearts and minds' , was taking place behind the scenes .......
The Irish Catholic Church Hierarchy were , once again , to prove their value to their British 'Society' friends - in 1863 , Terence Bellew MacManus died in San Francisco in America ; he was an old Irish Rebel who had cracked many an English skull in 1848 , when he challenged , with other members of the ' Young Ireland ' Movement , the British 'Empire' .
His comrades in America , apparently in keeping with the man's last request , made preparations to have his remains buried in Ireland and contacted Irish Republican Brotherhood leader James Stephens in relation to burial arrangements for MacManus in Ireland .
However , true to form , the Catholic Church intervened .......
(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.
A HARVEST DAY IN 1920 .......
"....... The British Auxiliaries were now only a few feet away from me . I was on my own at the gate . The Brits gave me a good coat of looking-over......."
" The first man nearest the driver raised his hand in salute , while still watching me intently ; I returned the salute . He smiled . Then all the Brits saluted me . The driver raced his engine , and they moved off again . My attention was now drawn from them to the second lorry . Exactly the same thing happened . The change of gears , the stop , the scrutiny , the salute , the smile at my salute , and the general salute from all the men facing me . Then finally the tail of the second lorry disappeared around the corner .
I remained in the gateway , listening . I could tell by their gear changes all the steps and levels of the stair-like road to the top of Ard a' Bhona . Then I turned about to meet the onset of my uncle Patsy who , white-faced , again appeared on the scene . I veered towards the side-car the while I removed my coat . The sight of the guns again restored his speech . " Mighty save us above , " he gasped , " things were not bad enough without going to the gate . What were you going to do if they came in , and what were we all going to do ? "
" Ah , Patsy , " I said , " they would not come in at all . " " And what was to stop them ? " asked uncle Patsy . That finished my diplomacy - " I was to stop them , " I replied sharply . " Did you think or do you think now that I was going to run from that riff-raff ? By the way , where are your own auxiliaries ? Are you going to thresh your corn today ? " I again put my guns in the 'well' with my coat on top , and , running past Patsy , climbed to the top of the haystack . Seizing a pike again , I used it vigorously to add to the heap on my neighbour's stack .
Then , leaning on the pike , I watched with interest the gradual return of those who had " studied their safety in flight ......." "
(MORE LATER).
In this 'FREE' STATE , the 'political elite' in Leinster House have demanded that the taxpayer pay twice to have their household rubbish collected ;
they are now 'flying a kite' to ascertain how the same taxpayer would feel if certain major (minor to follow?) roads were fitted with a toll-bridge -
(- prices to increase each year ? Twice a year ?)... this after said taxpayer has already paid to have the road built in the first place !
....but , in the old days - well , they just wanted to put a tax on lakes , and ponds , and canals .......
ROD LICENCE CAMPAIGN DETERMINED TO RESIST .
By Richard Douthwaite .
(This article was first published in ' ALPHA ' Magazine , 27th April , 1989 , page 7).
Reproduced here in 8 parts .
(2 of 8).
The first skirmish in the Rod War was fought in the (State) High Court in November 1986 . 'P.J. Carroll and Co. Ltd,' the tobacco manufacturers , were in the early stages of their diversification into fish farming and wanted to buy (!) Lough Inagh and Lough Derryclare as sites for a salmon hatchery .
Jim Clancy , who owns fifty acres on the banks of Lough Inagh and has an outdoor pursuits centre there , had been using the lake to teach canoeing . If Carrolls and Company did not stop him using it before they 'bought' the lakes , he would have acquired the right to continue .
Carrolls therefore got the vendors of the property to seek a court injunction requiring him to stop before they completed the purchase . The case went to court .......
(MORE LATER).
....... Charles J. Kickham and the ' Irish Republican Brotherhood ' were not only up against the Brits - they also had to contend with the Catholic Church and the 'Establishment' of the day . The 'Propaganda War' , for 'hearts and minds' , was taking place behind the scenes .......
The Irish Catholic Church Hierarchy were , once again , to prove their value to their British 'Society' friends - in 1863 , Terence Bellew MacManus died in San Francisco in America ; he was an old Irish Rebel who had cracked many an English skull in 1848 , when he challenged , with other members of the ' Young Ireland ' Movement , the British 'Empire' .
His comrades in America , apparently in keeping with the man's last request , made preparations to have his remains buried in Ireland and contacted Irish Republican Brotherhood leader James Stephens in relation to burial arrangements for MacManus in Ireland .
However , true to form , the Catholic Church intervened .......
(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.
A HARVEST DAY IN 1920 .......
"....... The British Auxiliaries were now only a few feet away from me . I was on my own at the gate . The Brits gave me a good coat of looking-over......."
" The first man nearest the driver raised his hand in salute , while still watching me intently ; I returned the salute . He smiled . Then all the Brits saluted me . The driver raced his engine , and they moved off again . My attention was now drawn from them to the second lorry . Exactly the same thing happened . The change of gears , the stop , the scrutiny , the salute , the smile at my salute , and the general salute from all the men facing me . Then finally the tail of the second lorry disappeared around the corner .
I remained in the gateway , listening . I could tell by their gear changes all the steps and levels of the stair-like road to the top of Ard a' Bhona . Then I turned about to meet the onset of my uncle Patsy who , white-faced , again appeared on the scene . I veered towards the side-car the while I removed my coat . The sight of the guns again restored his speech . " Mighty save us above , " he gasped , " things were not bad enough without going to the gate . What were you going to do if they came in , and what were we all going to do ? "
" Ah , Patsy , " I said , " they would not come in at all . " " And what was to stop them ? " asked uncle Patsy . That finished my diplomacy - " I was to stop them , " I replied sharply . " Did you think or do you think now that I was going to run from that riff-raff ? By the way , where are your own auxiliaries ? Are you going to thresh your corn today ? " I again put my guns in the 'well' with my coat on top , and , running past Patsy , climbed to the top of the haystack . Seizing a pike again , I used it vigorously to add to the heap on my neighbour's stack .
Then , leaning on the pike , I watched with interest the gradual return of those who had " studied their safety in flight ......." "
(MORE LATER).
In this 'FREE' STATE , the 'political elite' in Leinster House have demanded that the taxpayer pay twice to have their household rubbish collected ;
they are now 'flying a kite' to ascertain how the same taxpayer would feel if certain major (minor to follow?) roads were fitted with a toll-bridge -
(- prices to increase each year ? Twice a year ?)... this after said taxpayer has already paid to have the road built in the first place !
....but , in the old days - well , they just wanted to put a tax on lakes , and ponds , and canals .......
ROD LICENCE CAMPAIGN DETERMINED TO RESIST .
By Richard Douthwaite .
(This article was first published in ' ALPHA ' Magazine , 27th April , 1989 , page 7).
Reproduced here in 8 parts .
(2 of 8).
The first skirmish in the Rod War was fought in the (State) High Court in November 1986 . 'P.J. Carroll and Co. Ltd,' the tobacco manufacturers , were in the early stages of their diversification into fish farming and wanted to buy (!) Lough Inagh and Lough Derryclare as sites for a salmon hatchery .
Jim Clancy , who owns fifty acres on the banks of Lough Inagh and has an outdoor pursuits centre there , had been using the lake to teach canoeing . If Carrolls and Company did not stop him using it before they 'bought' the lakes , he would have acquired the right to continue .
Carrolls therefore got the vendors of the property to seek a court injunction requiring him to stop before they completed the purchase . The case went to court .......
(MORE LATER).
Tuesday, April 20, 2004
'THE IRISH PEOPLE' ; an Irish Rebel Newspaper , 1863 - 1865 ........
....... Catholic Bishops and Priests - bad politicians and worse Irishmen ! So stated Charles J. Kickham in the 'The Irish People' newspaper - a taste of what was to come .......
Ireland 1863 ; the 'Irish Republican Brotherhood' was five-years young . The British laid claim to jurisdictional control of the island of Ireland , and enforced that illegal and immoral claim through force of arms . As always , the Brits met with opposition from Irish Rebels ( or 'dissidents' , as they were called then as well !). Another war was on-going , behind the scenes - the propaganda war .
It was that 'second war' which prompted the "..... our only hope is revolution .." speech (see yesterday's article , Monday April 19th) from Charles J. Kickham , in the then new ' The Irish People ' newspaper . The Church (in this case , the Catholic one) sided with the 'Establishment' (in this case , the British one) in order , as always, to preserve and ensure their own place in the 'pecking order' - there may well be (and , indeed, in the Irish case , there have been) individual members of religious orders who operate at 'ground-level' and remain in tune with the people .
But , at Hierarchal level , politics rules . As the Brits themselves might say - " One does not secure ones place in Society by making enemies in that Society " ! .......
(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.
A HARVEST DAY IN 1920 .......
".......All the farm-workers were looking at me - the British Auxiliaries were closing fast : I was expected to run for my life ......."
" I would not run . I pushed my pike slowly down through the haystack . I sat down carefully and slipped gracefully to the ground . I walked at a dignified pace to the horse-cart , removed the cushion , the well-cover , and took out my guns . I put them on like a coat and carefully closed the waist-belt . All this I did in an unhurried manner and even delayed with the final adjustment of my coat . I was ready ...
I put back the well-cover and cushion carefully , while my ears kept telling me how near the enemy were . I walked to the gateway and leaned my left shoulder against the pillar ; then I looked around at my fellow workers . It took them an appreciable time to realise that it was time for them to get busy again - that the time had come for them to run . I heard the first change of gears and the increased whine of the leading lorry , then the 'snarl' of the second gear-change . I looked back to see how fared my fellow workers - but could not see them . The bonnet of the leading lorry appeared ; I noticed the sound of its engine failing - then I saw the whole of the lorry .
A 'battery' of eyes were on me ; they drew abreast and , just almost opposite me , the driver made the third gear-change and stopped exactly opposite the gate . The road was narrow . The British Auxiliaries , with their rifles , towered and branched out over my head . Very carefully each man caught and held my eyes in turn ......."
(MORE LATER).
In this 'FREE' STATE , the 'political elite' in Leinster House have demanded that the taxpayer pay twice to have their household rubbish collected ;
they are now 'flying a kite' to ascertain how the same taxpayer would feel if certain major (minor to follow?) roads were fitted with a toll-bridge -
(- prices to increase each year ? Twice a year ?)... this after said taxpayer has already paid to have the road built in the first place !
....but , in the old days - well , they just wanted to put a tax on lakes , and ponds , and canals .......
ROD LICENCE CAMPAIGN DETERMINED TO RESIST .
By Richard Douthwaite .
(This article was first published in ' ALPHA ' Magazine , 27th April , 1989 , page 7).
Reproduced here in 8 parts .
(1 of 8).
The duck-fly is up on Lough Corrib and every 'Guest House' and 'Bed and Breakfast' in Oughterard , County Galway , ought to be filled with anglers . Instead , although there is an odd boat on the lake , the place has a depressed , deserted air , enlivened only by posters on every telephone pole , protesting against the rod licence .
Pat Higgins , of Sweeney's Hotel , saw his takings drop nine per-cent last year because of the row . His profits were cut even more drastically , forcing him to borrow from the bank for annual repairs . Even so , he believes the anti-licence campaigners are right -
- " I explain the situation to foreign visitors this way , " he says ; " In Ireland , there are three types of fishing rights - private , State-owned and public-domain . This dispute arose because the State is trying to take over the public-domain fisheries surreptitiously . "
(MORE LATER).
....... Catholic Bishops and Priests - bad politicians and worse Irishmen ! So stated Charles J. Kickham in the 'The Irish People' newspaper - a taste of what was to come .......
Ireland 1863 ; the 'Irish Republican Brotherhood' was five-years young . The British laid claim to jurisdictional control of the island of Ireland , and enforced that illegal and immoral claim through force of arms . As always , the Brits met with opposition from Irish Rebels ( or 'dissidents' , as they were called then as well !). Another war was on-going , behind the scenes - the propaganda war .
It was that 'second war' which prompted the "..... our only hope is revolution .." speech (see yesterday's article , Monday April 19th) from Charles J. Kickham , in the then new ' The Irish People ' newspaper . The Church (in this case , the Catholic one) sided with the 'Establishment' (in this case , the British one) in order , as always, to preserve and ensure their own place in the 'pecking order' - there may well be (and , indeed, in the Irish case , there have been) individual members of religious orders who operate at 'ground-level' and remain in tune with the people .
But , at Hierarchal level , politics rules . As the Brits themselves might say - " One does not secure ones place in Society by making enemies in that Society " ! .......
(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.
A HARVEST DAY IN 1920 .......
".......All the farm-workers were looking at me - the British Auxiliaries were closing fast : I was expected to run for my life ......."
" I would not run . I pushed my pike slowly down through the haystack . I sat down carefully and slipped gracefully to the ground . I walked at a dignified pace to the horse-cart , removed the cushion , the well-cover , and took out my guns . I put them on like a coat and carefully closed the waist-belt . All this I did in an unhurried manner and even delayed with the final adjustment of my coat . I was ready ...
I put back the well-cover and cushion carefully , while my ears kept telling me how near the enemy were . I walked to the gateway and leaned my left shoulder against the pillar ; then I looked around at my fellow workers . It took them an appreciable time to realise that it was time for them to get busy again - that the time had come for them to run . I heard the first change of gears and the increased whine of the leading lorry , then the 'snarl' of the second gear-change . I looked back to see how fared my fellow workers - but could not see them . The bonnet of the leading lorry appeared ; I noticed the sound of its engine failing - then I saw the whole of the lorry .
A 'battery' of eyes were on me ; they drew abreast and , just almost opposite me , the driver made the third gear-change and stopped exactly opposite the gate . The road was narrow . The British Auxiliaries , with their rifles , towered and branched out over my head . Very carefully each man caught and held my eyes in turn ......."
(MORE LATER).
In this 'FREE' STATE , the 'political elite' in Leinster House have demanded that the taxpayer pay twice to have their household rubbish collected ;
they are now 'flying a kite' to ascertain how the same taxpayer would feel if certain major (minor to follow?) roads were fitted with a toll-bridge -
(- prices to increase each year ? Twice a year ?)... this after said taxpayer has already paid to have the road built in the first place !
....but , in the old days - well , they just wanted to put a tax on lakes , and ponds , and canals .......
ROD LICENCE CAMPAIGN DETERMINED TO RESIST .
By Richard Douthwaite .
(This article was first published in ' ALPHA ' Magazine , 27th April , 1989 , page 7).
Reproduced here in 8 parts .
(1 of 8).
The duck-fly is up on Lough Corrib and every 'Guest House' and 'Bed and Breakfast' in Oughterard , County Galway , ought to be filled with anglers . Instead , although there is an odd boat on the lake , the place has a depressed , deserted air , enlivened only by posters on every telephone pole , protesting against the rod licence .
Pat Higgins , of Sweeney's Hotel , saw his takings drop nine per-cent last year because of the row . His profits were cut even more drastically , forcing him to borrow from the bank for annual repairs . Even so , he believes the anti-licence campaigners are right -
- " I explain the situation to foreign visitors this way , " he says ; " In Ireland , there are three types of fishing rights - private , State-owned and public-domain . This dispute arose because the State is trying to take over the public-domain fisheries surreptitiously . "
(MORE LATER).
Monday, April 19, 2004
'THE IRISH PEOPLE' ; an Irish Rebel Newspaper , 1863 - 1865 .
" Our only hope is in revolution ; but most of the Bishops and many of the Clergy are opposed to revolution . We have over and over declared it was our wish that the people should respect and be guided by their Clergy in spiritual matters .
But when priests turn the altar into a platform , when it is pronounced a "mortal sin" to read the 'The Irish People' newspaper , a "mortal sin" even to wish that Ireland should be free , when Priests actually call upon the people to turn informer , when , in a word , Bishops and Priests are doing the work of the enemy , we believe it is our duty to tell the people that Bishops and Priests are bad politicians and worse Irishmen . "
-- Charles J. Kickham , writing in the 'The Irish People' newspaper .
(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.
A HARVEST DAY IN 1920 .......
"....... The British Auxiliaries , two lorries of them , were less than three-hundred-yards from the farm-workers and myself . If I ran , the workers would be shot as suspected Rebels ; if I stayed , I could be recognised by the Brits ......."
" One thing was certain , and that was that the haggard and every man in it would be searched . That would be the least misfortune - worse might happen . If a man ran and was seen running , he was shot down . He could possibly be shot , too , for standing still ! That was the order of the day . Nobody doubted it , not even the inhabitants of the ' lost valley '.
I looked at the farm-workers . I knew them all . Most of them had gone to school with me . Not a Volunteer among them . All physically fit , and a good few athletes among them ; no good or harm in them , excepting some who covertly sneered at us . I thought of my comrades who had suffered and died and who were still doing so daily , and made a quick comparison . There was a great difference .
Suddenly I made up my mind - why were the workers watching me ? The time to do something was very short ... Ah , I know - they were waiting for me to run . Of course they were . Now they would see , they thought , this IRA man running out of sight before the British lorries reached the gate . Then the workers would be model industrious citizens in the eyes of John Bull's terrorists , and , after being searched and interrogated , all would be well again .
Very clearly , in their eyes , it was my duty to do the running . They were to be disappointed ......."
(MORE LATER).
THE STALKING OF JOHN STALKER ;
Derek Dunne (journalist) traces the background to the 'STALKER AFFAIR' and details the weekend that JOHN STALKER flew to IRELAND as a hero .
(This article was first published in the 'IN DUBLIN' magazine , on 18th February 1988 , pages 14 , 15 and 16 ; we reproduce it here in 12 parts ....)
[12 of 12].
When the Civil Rights marches started twenty years ago (ie 1968), the six men killed in Armagh would barely have been born . Some were'nt even born . At the '68 Conference' , there was a feeling that very little had changed , that the RUC now were the same as the B-Specials .
The issues now were more complex , but some things were clear - the RUC had killed six unarmed men . John Stalker had come to investigate the RUC . He got co-operation from the relatives of the dead men and Irish nationalists generally . He was stalled by the RUC . Then he was removed from his investigation and silenced .
And then the British Government said that nothing further would take place , that the matter was closed . " What else did you expect ? " asked one man in Coalisland . " The British will never do anything that threatens themselves . How can we expect justice from a British peeler ? "
[END of -' THE STALKING OF JOHN STALKER .....'].
( Tomorrow - from 1989 ; a tax on fishing water ..... ).
" Our only hope is in revolution ; but most of the Bishops and many of the Clergy are opposed to revolution . We have over and over declared it was our wish that the people should respect and be guided by their Clergy in spiritual matters .
But when priests turn the altar into a platform , when it is pronounced a "mortal sin" to read the 'The Irish People' newspaper , a "mortal sin" even to wish that Ireland should be free , when Priests actually call upon the people to turn informer , when , in a word , Bishops and Priests are doing the work of the enemy , we believe it is our duty to tell the people that Bishops and Priests are bad politicians and worse Irishmen . "
-- Charles J. Kickham , writing in the 'The Irish People' newspaper .
(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.
A HARVEST DAY IN 1920 .......
"....... The British Auxiliaries , two lorries of them , were less than three-hundred-yards from the farm-workers and myself . If I ran , the workers would be shot as suspected Rebels ; if I stayed , I could be recognised by the Brits ......."
" One thing was certain , and that was that the haggard and every man in it would be searched . That would be the least misfortune - worse might happen . If a man ran and was seen running , he was shot down . He could possibly be shot , too , for standing still ! That was the order of the day . Nobody doubted it , not even the inhabitants of the ' lost valley '.
I looked at the farm-workers . I knew them all . Most of them had gone to school with me . Not a Volunteer among them . All physically fit , and a good few athletes among them ; no good or harm in them , excepting some who covertly sneered at us . I thought of my comrades who had suffered and died and who were still doing so daily , and made a quick comparison . There was a great difference .
Suddenly I made up my mind - why were the workers watching me ? The time to do something was very short ... Ah , I know - they were waiting for me to run . Of course they were . Now they would see , they thought , this IRA man running out of sight before the British lorries reached the gate . Then the workers would be model industrious citizens in the eyes of John Bull's terrorists , and , after being searched and interrogated , all would be well again .
Very clearly , in their eyes , it was my duty to do the running . They were to be disappointed ......."
(MORE LATER).
THE STALKING OF JOHN STALKER ;
Derek Dunne (journalist) traces the background to the 'STALKER AFFAIR' and details the weekend that JOHN STALKER flew to IRELAND as a hero .
(This article was first published in the 'IN DUBLIN' magazine , on 18th February 1988 , pages 14 , 15 and 16 ; we reproduce it here in 12 parts ....)
[12 of 12].
When the Civil Rights marches started twenty years ago (ie 1968), the six men killed in Armagh would barely have been born . Some were'nt even born . At the '68 Conference' , there was a feeling that very little had changed , that the RUC now were the same as the B-Specials .
The issues now were more complex , but some things were clear - the RUC had killed six unarmed men . John Stalker had come to investigate the RUC . He got co-operation from the relatives of the dead men and Irish nationalists generally . He was stalled by the RUC . Then he was removed from his investigation and silenced .
And then the British Government said that nothing further would take place , that the matter was closed . " What else did you expect ? " asked one man in Coalisland . " The British will never do anything that threatens themselves . How can we expect justice from a British peeler ? "
[END of -' THE STALKING OF JOHN STALKER .....'].
( Tomorrow - from 1989 ; a tax on fishing water ..... ).
Sunday, April 18, 2004
The Irish-American 'GROWL' ; the 'AARIR'- 'American Association for the Recognition of the Irish Republic ' .......
....... 1926 - de Valera left the Irish Republican Movement and formed Fianna Fail ; the 'AARIR' , already weakened by the 1921 Treaty of Surrender , was now operating practically in name only , and was but a shadow of its former self .......
The 'AARIR' (the 'GROWL') was an organisation established by Eamon de Valera and others to assist the Irish Republican Cause , but it was to be allowed to drift and die by de Valera because that was the fate he hoped would befall Irish Republicanism - that it would drift and die .
Yet , 84 years after the establishment of the 'AARIR' , and 78 years after it faded , Irish Republicanism still exists . And its objective is the same - a full British military and political withdrawal from Ireland , and the establishment of a true 32-County Federal Democratic Socialist Republic .
Even if it takes another 835 years .......
[ END of - ' The Irish-American 'GROWL' ; the 'AARIR'- 'American Association for the Recognition of the Irish Republic ' ].
WHERE MOUNTAINY MEN HAVE SOWN :
war and peace in rebel Cork ,
in the turbulent years 1916-21.
By Micheal O'Suilleabhain : published 1965.
A HARVEST DAY IN 1920 .......
".......I was enjoying the break on my uncle Patsy's farm - a working holiday ! All was going well ... but then silence : all the other workers were looking to the south . The Black-and-Tans were coming ......."
" I knew where to look for them and where they were heading for . There was only one road from the south and that was past the haggard gate . The haggard was on a plateau overlooking the road along which they were coming . They would have to move along in front of us and beneath us for four hundred yards and through a right-angle and come sharply uphill to the haggard gate . There they would be higher than we and from the added height of the lorries would be looking down on us .
I saw the lorries - first one , then the other , fifty yards behind the first . They were coming fast on the level and were less than three-hundred-yards from the corner . The time was short ; I had to make a quick decision . In any other place there would have been only one course for me - I would have slipped off the haystack , run to the horse-cart , torn off the cushion and the cover of the well , taken the guns and perhaps leaving the coat , which had nothing in its pockets , run back through the haystacks to the cover of a fence with a hedge on top . This would safely lead me to rough ground where I would quickly be lost to them .
I took my eyes off the lorries . I had identified the Brits - They were the Auxiliaries from Macroom Castle . A tough crowd ; I knew them well . I had seen them jump walls with their rifles in their hands , hampered by their revolvers and other equipment . They travelled by night and day on bye-roads , and came from totally unexpected directions . I had plenty experience of their physical fitness when I had to run from them on several occasions , and when, were it not for darkness, they would have caught me .
But here - things were different . I looked from the lorries to the men who had been working with me . Now that they were sure , like myself , of the coming of hostile forces , they turned their eyes on me ......."
(MORE LATER).
THE STALKING OF JOHN STALKER ;
Derek Dunne (journalist) traces the background to the 'STALKER AFFAIR' and details the weekend that JOHN STALKER flew to IRELAND as a hero .
(This article was first published in the 'IN DUBLIN' magazine , on 18th February 1988 , pages 14 , 15 and 16 ; we reproduce it here in 12 parts ....)
(11 of 12).
On Sunday , the day after John Stalker flew out of Ireland , there was a meeting in Coalisland , County Tyrone , in St. Patricks Hall ; this meeting was called the '68 Conference'. Bernadette McAliskey chaired it . Twenty years earlier , as Bernie Devlin , she had been involved in civil rights marches . The Civil Rights Movement had asked for reasonable and moderate demands - one man , (sic) one vote ; one man , (sic) one job ; one man , (sic) one house . They were batoned off the streets by the B-Specials .
Twenty years on , the '68 Conference' was called to remember those twenty years and to find out if there was now a way forward . There were 250 people there . Coming from the South of Ireland , cars were stopped at checkpoints by RUC men . At one roadblock , there were between fifteen and twenty RUC men each of whom carried a rifle , always at the ready , and a handgun in a holster by his(sic) side . Cars were stopped , and each person in each car was asked for identification . Each person was asked their home address , their destination , their business at that destination , their date of birth , their occupation , and so on .
There was a palpable air of fear in each car ; people were held up , and felt that it was a deliberate attempt to keep them late for the meeting . Indeed , one RUC man , moving around each car , kept saying - " You'll be late for the meeting at this rate ....... "
(MORE LATER).
....... 1926 - de Valera left the Irish Republican Movement and formed Fianna Fail ; the 'AARIR' , already weakened by the 1921 Treaty of Surrender , was now operating practically in name only , and was but a shadow of its former self .......
The 'AARIR' (the 'GROWL') was an organisation established by Eamon de Valera and others to assist the Irish Republican Cause , but it was to be allowed to drift and die by de Valera because that was the fate he hoped would befall Irish Republicanism - that it would drift and die .
Yet , 84 years after the establishment of the 'AARIR' , and 78 years after it faded , Irish Republicanism still exists . And its objective is the same - a full British military and political withdrawal from Ireland , and the establishment of a true 32-County Federal Democratic Socialist Republic .
Even if it takes another 835 years .......
[ END of - ' The Irish-American 'GROWL' ; the 'AARIR'- 'American Association for the Recognition of the Irish Republic ' ].
WHERE MOUNTAINY MEN HAVE SOWN :
war and peace in rebel Cork ,
in the turbulent years 1916-21.
By Micheal O'Suilleabhain : published 1965.
A HARVEST DAY IN 1920 .......
".......I was enjoying the break on my uncle Patsy's farm - a working holiday ! All was going well ... but then silence : all the other workers were looking to the south . The Black-and-Tans were coming ......."
" I knew where to look for them and where they were heading for . There was only one road from the south and that was past the haggard gate . The haggard was on a plateau overlooking the road along which they were coming . They would have to move along in front of us and beneath us for four hundred yards and through a right-angle and come sharply uphill to the haggard gate . There they would be higher than we and from the added height of the lorries would be looking down on us .
I saw the lorries - first one , then the other , fifty yards behind the first . They were coming fast on the level and were less than three-hundred-yards from the corner . The time was short ; I had to make a quick decision . In any other place there would have been only one course for me - I would have slipped off the haystack , run to the horse-cart , torn off the cushion and the cover of the well , taken the guns and perhaps leaving the coat , which had nothing in its pockets , run back through the haystacks to the cover of a fence with a hedge on top . This would safely lead me to rough ground where I would quickly be lost to them .
I took my eyes off the lorries . I had identified the Brits - They were the Auxiliaries from Macroom Castle . A tough crowd ; I knew them well . I had seen them jump walls with their rifles in their hands , hampered by their revolvers and other equipment . They travelled by night and day on bye-roads , and came from totally unexpected directions . I had plenty experience of their physical fitness when I had to run from them on several occasions , and when, were it not for darkness, they would have caught me .
But here - things were different . I looked from the lorries to the men who had been working with me . Now that they were sure , like myself , of the coming of hostile forces , they turned their eyes on me ......."
(MORE LATER).
THE STALKING OF JOHN STALKER ;
Derek Dunne (journalist) traces the background to the 'STALKER AFFAIR' and details the weekend that JOHN STALKER flew to IRELAND as a hero .
(This article was first published in the 'IN DUBLIN' magazine , on 18th February 1988 , pages 14 , 15 and 16 ; we reproduce it here in 12 parts ....)
(11 of 12).
On Sunday , the day after John Stalker flew out of Ireland , there was a meeting in Coalisland , County Tyrone , in St. Patricks Hall ; this meeting was called the '68 Conference'. Bernadette McAliskey chaired it . Twenty years earlier , as Bernie Devlin , she had been involved in civil rights marches . The Civil Rights Movement had asked for reasonable and moderate demands - one man , (sic) one vote ; one man , (sic) one job ; one man , (sic) one house . They were batoned off the streets by the B-Specials .
Twenty years on , the '68 Conference' was called to remember those twenty years and to find out if there was now a way forward . There were 250 people there . Coming from the South of Ireland , cars were stopped at checkpoints by RUC men . At one roadblock , there were between fifteen and twenty RUC men each of whom carried a rifle , always at the ready , and a handgun in a holster by his(sic) side . Cars were stopped , and each person in each car was asked for identification . Each person was asked their home address , their destination , their business at that destination , their date of birth , their occupation , and so on .
There was a palpable air of fear in each car ; people were held up , and felt that it was a deliberate attempt to keep them late for the meeting . Indeed , one RUC man , moving around each car , kept saying - " You'll be late for the meeting at this rate ....... "
(MORE LATER).
Saturday, April 17, 2004
The Irish-American 'GROWL' ; the 'AARIR'- 'American Association for the Recognition of the Irish Republic ' .......
....... Joseph McGarrity continued to support the 1921 Treaty of Surrender , with gusto , until he realised that Eamon de Valera , Cathal Brugha , Austin Stack and others were against it ; he then changed his position on the issue . In 1926 , de Valera formed Fianna Fail and left the Republican Movement - in 1927 , Fianna Fail entered Leinster House . McGarrity continued in his support for de Valera and Fianna Fail .......
Fianna Fail had by now strayed so far from the Republican path that Joe McGarrity began to 'go cool' in his relationship with them - this happened in the early 1930's , when IRA people were being not only jailed by Fianna Fail , but executed by them , too . Also in the mid-1930's , McGarrity became the 'main man' behind the new ' Irish Hospitals Sweepstakes ' organisation , a fantastic money-spinner in its day . But that's another tangent.....
Anyway - back to the 1921 Treaty of Surrender ; it caused a split in the Republican Movement in Ireland and , of course , the 'American Association for the Recognition of the Irish Republic ' , which was by then just 13 months on the go , followed suit - and split ; it found itself in a weakened position and unable to provide proper assistance to the Irish Republican cause during the 1922-1923 Civil War .
By the time Eamon de Valera left the Republican Movement to establish Fianna Fail (1926), the 'AARIR' existed , to all intent and purpose , in name only .......
(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.
A HARVEST DAY IN 1920 .......
".......I arrived at my uncle Patsy's farm , to help with the threshing ; when I took off my coat , I realised that all eyes were on me . I was armed with two revolvers ; I took them off and hid them , in a horse-cart . My uncle approached me ......."
" " Does your father know you are here today ? " , my uncle asked me . " He sent me ," I replied . " My Gor," he said . " What's wrong , Patsy ?" I asked . " Those things you brought - does he know you have them ? " " He does well ," I said . "Oh my!" said Patsy , and left it at that ...
Raising my pike , I made a run to the haystack and quickly reached the top . From my point of vantage I had a full view of everything ; it was a pleasant sight . The well-made stacks , as yet untouched , but with a man on each poised for work . Around and on the thresher others stood ready . All watched the long belt between the steam engine and mill as it gathered speed . Soon the whine of the drum reached its peak and its music changed abruptly as the first sheaf went down .
Then the steady tune again as the even feed was maintained ; the work had started . I waited for the man on the next stack to me and nearer the thresher to remove the top . When he had made a level platform I started to throw the sheaves from my stack to his . He caught them and threw them on to the thresher platform . The work was easy . I enjoyed the exercise , the brilliant day , the general activity . I forgot about the Black and Tans , the Auxiliaries and all disturbing things .
I could see and sense that my neighbours working around me had forgotten me and that all were enjoying themselves . I was glad . I even regretted a little that I had come down into their happy valley and caused them perhaps not a little uneasiness . However , that, I reflected , was now forgotten and the chances of any enemy coming this way were very small . Half an hour passed . I was now wholly engrossed in the work . It was easy and pleasant . I passed the sheaves to my neighbour and he removed them at the same speed . Suddenly I became aware that I was gaining on him .
He was not removing the sheaves ; I glanced upwards - he had stopped , and had turned through a right-angle and was now gazing earnestly to the south and in a downward direction . I looked at the others - all those in the high positions were in just the same posture : soon all work ceased . I listened . I heard nothing but the even whine of the now idle machine-drum . Then a shout went up : "The Black-and-Tans - up the road . Two lorries ! " Then I heard that then dreaded sound made by the engines and gears of the Crossley Tenders ....... "
(MORE LATER).
THE STALKING OF JOHN STALKER ;
Derek Dunne (journalist) traces the background to the 'STALKER AFFAIR' and details the weekend that JOHN STALKER flew to IRELAND as a hero .
(This article was first published in the 'IN DUBLIN' magazine , on 18th February 1988 , pages 14 , 15 and 16 ; we reproduce it here in 12 parts ....)
(10 of 12).
The day after John Stalker appeared on the 'Late Late Show' was dry and cool , and from early morning the queues outside Waterstone's Bookshop on Dawson Street , Dublin , had started to gather . John Stalker came into the shop at around eleven , and a wild cheer went up . Hundreds stood outside and queued to get their copy of the book (price £12.95p) signed . He smiled and chatted to each and every customer , and looked somewhat birdlike sitting behind a mound of books . Chic music played from the public address system as customers ringed right around the shop .
The soft English-accented British policeman-turned-author was popular . By early afternoon , Waterstone's had to close the shop for security reasons . Across the road , at Hodges Figgis book-shop , the queue was starting . Prominent at its head was a tall and balding Special Branch man , of a senior rank . He had waited for hours . And then the March passed by ...
...The crowd on the Anti-Extradition March was estimated at five-thousand people by some observers , and was the largest for any issue relating to the North since the Hunger-Strike marches of 1981 . It was a political response to the Stalker Affair and the Birmingham Six decision . The large crowd walked past the queue at Hodges Figgis chanting " Stop shoot-to-kill " and " Release the Birmingham Six " .
Inside the book shop , John Stalker signed copies of his book , still shaking hands with the customers . When the march reached the GPO , there were various speakers ; one of the female speakers stated - " Never in the history of Ireand since partition has so much been surrendered by so few in such a short space of time . " She was referring to Charlie Haughey , the (Leinster House) Administration , the Hillsborough Treaty and Extradition .
(MORE LATER).
....... Joseph McGarrity continued to support the 1921 Treaty of Surrender , with gusto , until he realised that Eamon de Valera , Cathal Brugha , Austin Stack and others were against it ; he then changed his position on the issue . In 1926 , de Valera formed Fianna Fail and left the Republican Movement - in 1927 , Fianna Fail entered Leinster House . McGarrity continued in his support for de Valera and Fianna Fail .......
Fianna Fail had by now strayed so far from the Republican path that Joe McGarrity began to 'go cool' in his relationship with them - this happened in the early 1930's , when IRA people were being not only jailed by Fianna Fail , but executed by them , too . Also in the mid-1930's , McGarrity became the 'main man' behind the new ' Irish Hospitals Sweepstakes ' organisation , a fantastic money-spinner in its day . But that's another tangent.....
Anyway - back to the 1921 Treaty of Surrender ; it caused a split in the Republican Movement in Ireland and , of course , the 'American Association for the Recognition of the Irish Republic ' , which was by then just 13 months on the go , followed suit - and split ; it found itself in a weakened position and unable to provide proper assistance to the Irish Republican cause during the 1922-1923 Civil War .
By the time Eamon de Valera left the Republican Movement to establish Fianna Fail (1926), the 'AARIR' existed , to all intent and purpose , in name only .......
(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.
A HARVEST DAY IN 1920 .......
".......I arrived at my uncle Patsy's farm , to help with the threshing ; when I took off my coat , I realised that all eyes were on me . I was armed with two revolvers ; I took them off and hid them , in a horse-cart . My uncle approached me ......."
" " Does your father know you are here today ? " , my uncle asked me . " He sent me ," I replied . " My Gor," he said . " What's wrong , Patsy ?" I asked . " Those things you brought - does he know you have them ? " " He does well ," I said . "Oh my!" said Patsy , and left it at that ...
Raising my pike , I made a run to the haystack and quickly reached the top . From my point of vantage I had a full view of everything ; it was a pleasant sight . The well-made stacks , as yet untouched , but with a man on each poised for work . Around and on the thresher others stood ready . All watched the long belt between the steam engine and mill as it gathered speed . Soon the whine of the drum reached its peak and its music changed abruptly as the first sheaf went down .
Then the steady tune again as the even feed was maintained ; the work had started . I waited for the man on the next stack to me and nearer the thresher to remove the top . When he had made a level platform I started to throw the sheaves from my stack to his . He caught them and threw them on to the thresher platform . The work was easy . I enjoyed the exercise , the brilliant day , the general activity . I forgot about the Black and Tans , the Auxiliaries and all disturbing things .
I could see and sense that my neighbours working around me had forgotten me and that all were enjoying themselves . I was glad . I even regretted a little that I had come down into their happy valley and caused them perhaps not a little uneasiness . However , that, I reflected , was now forgotten and the chances of any enemy coming this way were very small . Half an hour passed . I was now wholly engrossed in the work . It was easy and pleasant . I passed the sheaves to my neighbour and he removed them at the same speed . Suddenly I became aware that I was gaining on him .
He was not removing the sheaves ; I glanced upwards - he had stopped , and had turned through a right-angle and was now gazing earnestly to the south and in a downward direction . I looked at the others - all those in the high positions were in just the same posture : soon all work ceased . I listened . I heard nothing but the even whine of the now idle machine-drum . Then a shout went up : "The Black-and-Tans - up the road . Two lorries ! " Then I heard that then dreaded sound made by the engines and gears of the Crossley Tenders ....... "
(MORE LATER).
THE STALKING OF JOHN STALKER ;
Derek Dunne (journalist) traces the background to the 'STALKER AFFAIR' and details the weekend that JOHN STALKER flew to IRELAND as a hero .
(This article was first published in the 'IN DUBLIN' magazine , on 18th February 1988 , pages 14 , 15 and 16 ; we reproduce it here in 12 parts ....)
(10 of 12).
The day after John Stalker appeared on the 'Late Late Show' was dry and cool , and from early morning the queues outside Waterstone's Bookshop on Dawson Street , Dublin , had started to gather . John Stalker came into the shop at around eleven , and a wild cheer went up . Hundreds stood outside and queued to get their copy of the book (price £12.95p) signed . He smiled and chatted to each and every customer , and looked somewhat birdlike sitting behind a mound of books . Chic music played from the public address system as customers ringed right around the shop .
The soft English-accented British policeman-turned-author was popular . By early afternoon , Waterstone's had to close the shop for security reasons . Across the road , at Hodges Figgis book-shop , the queue was starting . Prominent at its head was a tall and balding Special Branch man , of a senior rank . He had waited for hours . And then the March passed by ...
...The crowd on the Anti-Extradition March was estimated at five-thousand people by some observers , and was the largest for any issue relating to the North since the Hunger-Strike marches of 1981 . It was a political response to the Stalker Affair and the Birmingham Six decision . The large crowd walked past the queue at Hodges Figgis chanting " Stop shoot-to-kill " and " Release the Birmingham Six " .
Inside the book shop , John Stalker signed copies of his book , still shaking hands with the customers . When the march reached the GPO , there were various speakers ; one of the female speakers stated - " Never in the history of Ireand since partition has so much been surrendered by so few in such a short space of time . " She was referring to Charlie Haughey , the (Leinster House) Administration , the Hillsborough Treaty and Extradition .
(MORE LATER).
Friday, April 16, 2004
The Irish-American 'GROWL' ; the 'AARIR'- 'American Association for the Recognition of the Irish Republic ' .......
....... In America , Joseph McGarrity was going 'hell for leather' to 'sell' the alleged 'benefits' of the 1921 Treaty to his fellow Irish-American comrades ; he apparently believed himself that that Treaty was the answer to the question of the British presence in Ireland .......
However , when it was brought to Joseph McGarrity's attention that , amongst others , Cathal Brugha , Austin Stack and Eamon de Valera had stated that the 1921 Treaty was " ...in violent conflict with the wishes of the Irish people " , he re-evaluated his position to that Treaty (!), thus 'repairing' his position with the Anti-Treaty forces . There is another article to be recorded here regarding the McGarrity 'thread' (another tangent.....!)....
.....about how McGarrity continued to support de Valera even when de Valera left the Republican Movement and formed Fianna Fail in 1926 ; about how McGarrity even continued his support for Fianna Fail when they entered Leinster House in 1927 (a move which even the remnants of the 'Clan na Gael' organisation in America could not stomach , thus prompting THEM to dis-own the Fianna Fail group !) .
But Joseph McGarrity did have his limits .......
(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.
A HARVEST DAY IN 1920 .......
".......My father was concerned that the Brits would raid our house that very day ; he suggested that I visit his brother , my uncle Patsy , in the neighbouring village of Ballyvoig ....... "
" As I descended the 'glittering hill' into Balyvoig , I could see in my uncles haggard that the farm-work was ready to start . I turned in the gateway from the public road as if I came full of anxiety for the work . Nor was I disappointed - my uncle Patsy approached and , full of a genuine desire to get me working immediately , handed me a pike , saying - " Go up on that hay-stack there ." " Very well ," I answered and , taking the pike from him , stuck it in the ground .
Quickly I removed my coat and , turning , walked back to where a horse side-car rested on its heels on the field just inside the gate . As I turned , I saw , and felt , the impact of a score of eyes on my back ; I knew the reason . As I entered the gateway I had looked fairly harmless . True , I wore the riding breeches and gaiters of the IRA , but that was not alarming . What was very alarming was the military equipment which the removal of my coat disclosed - a Sam Brown belt with two cross belts , and holsters which showed the butts of two .45 Smith and Wesson service revolvers .
Quickly I opened the waist belt and , removing the middle or top cushion of the side-car , I opened the 'well' and placed in my guns and ammunition . Back went the cover and cushion , and , throwing my coat carelessly on top , I walked back to my pike . I plucked it up and started towards the stack indicated by my uncle . He lifted a warning hand to me . I stopped ....... "
(MORE LATER).
THE STALKING OF JOHN STALKER ;
Derek Dunne (journalist) traces the background to the 'STALKER AFFAIR' and details the weekend that JOHN STALKER flew to IRELAND as a hero .
(This article was first published in the 'IN DUBLIN' magazine , on 18th February 1988 , pages 14 , 15 and 16 ; we reproduce it here in 12 parts ....)
(9 of 12).
Then there was the weekend that John Stalker came to Ireland . He appeared on the 'Late Late Show' ('1169...' comment - a television programme on RTE [Free State] Television , hosted by Gay Byrne , a favourite of 'The Establishment') and gave a stunning performance . He came across as an honest copper who was shafted . He expressed the belief that nobody would ever take the job of investigating the RUC again . He did'nt want to be a hero , or portrayed as a knight in shining armour . That's how it appeared .
But Irish people were looking to a British 'bobby' for justice for Irish people ! Some hours before Stalker made his appearance to a million viewers , a relative of each of the six dead men held a press conference at the O'Lehane Hall in Cavendish Row , off O'Connell Street , in Dublin . There were five women and one man seated behind a table . It was a wet and windy day .
Photographers and journalists looked on quietly as each of the relatives was asked a question or made a point . The television cameras were there - so , too, was Charlie Bird , from RTE - ('1169...' comment -another favourite of 'The Establishment') it's 'Chief Reporter' ; he asked Gervaise McKerr's mother what her view of violence was . Was she against it , for example ? Yes , she was against violence . Was she against the violence of the IRA ? She was against all violence . Charlie Bird pushed her a little further - Mrs. McKerr broke down and cried .
The substantive issue of State-authorised murder , perjury and cover-up was forgotten . And from the safety of his Dublin home , Charlie Bird was only interested in what she thought of the IRA . When the conference was over , the journalists looked as if they had been , to borrow a phrase , struck by plastic bullets . All of the relatives obliged camera people by staying behind for photos . Behind the camera was a poster which read - 'BRITISH JUSTICE' and 'STOP EXTRADITION' . It had photos of the 'Birmingham Six' on it . The press people took it down before they took shots ...
As the press dismantled their microphones and cameras , the six relatives went downstairs to get a cup of tea . Then they were going to Leinster House , they said , to hand in a letter . The letter would ask for justice .......
(MORE LATER).
....... In America , Joseph McGarrity was going 'hell for leather' to 'sell' the alleged 'benefits' of the 1921 Treaty to his fellow Irish-American comrades ; he apparently believed himself that that Treaty was the answer to the question of the British presence in Ireland .......
However , when it was brought to Joseph McGarrity's attention that , amongst others , Cathal Brugha , Austin Stack and Eamon de Valera had stated that the 1921 Treaty was " ...in violent conflict with the wishes of the Irish people " , he re-evaluated his position to that Treaty (!), thus 'repairing' his position with the Anti-Treaty forces . There is another article to be recorded here regarding the McGarrity 'thread' (another tangent.....!)....
.....about how McGarrity continued to support de Valera even when de Valera left the Republican Movement and formed Fianna Fail in 1926 ; about how McGarrity even continued his support for Fianna Fail when they entered Leinster House in 1927 (a move which even the remnants of the 'Clan na Gael' organisation in America could not stomach , thus prompting THEM to dis-own the Fianna Fail group !) .
But Joseph McGarrity did have his limits .......
(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.
A HARVEST DAY IN 1920 .......
".......My father was concerned that the Brits would raid our house that very day ; he suggested that I visit his brother , my uncle Patsy , in the neighbouring village of Ballyvoig ....... "
" As I descended the 'glittering hill' into Balyvoig , I could see in my uncles haggard that the farm-work was ready to start . I turned in the gateway from the public road as if I came full of anxiety for the work . Nor was I disappointed - my uncle Patsy approached and , full of a genuine desire to get me working immediately , handed me a pike , saying - " Go up on that hay-stack there ." " Very well ," I answered and , taking the pike from him , stuck it in the ground .
Quickly I removed my coat and , turning , walked back to where a horse side-car rested on its heels on the field just inside the gate . As I turned , I saw , and felt , the impact of a score of eyes on my back ; I knew the reason . As I entered the gateway I had looked fairly harmless . True , I wore the riding breeches and gaiters of the IRA , but that was not alarming . What was very alarming was the military equipment which the removal of my coat disclosed - a Sam Brown belt with two cross belts , and holsters which showed the butts of two .45 Smith and Wesson service revolvers .
Quickly I opened the waist belt and , removing the middle or top cushion of the side-car , I opened the 'well' and placed in my guns and ammunition . Back went the cover and cushion , and , throwing my coat carelessly on top , I walked back to my pike . I plucked it up and started towards the stack indicated by my uncle . He lifted a warning hand to me . I stopped ....... "
(MORE LATER).
THE STALKING OF JOHN STALKER ;
Derek Dunne (journalist) traces the background to the 'STALKER AFFAIR' and details the weekend that JOHN STALKER flew to IRELAND as a hero .
(This article was first published in the 'IN DUBLIN' magazine , on 18th February 1988 , pages 14 , 15 and 16 ; we reproduce it here in 12 parts ....)
(9 of 12).
Then there was the weekend that John Stalker came to Ireland . He appeared on the 'Late Late Show' ('1169...' comment - a television programme on RTE [Free State] Television , hosted by Gay Byrne , a favourite of 'The Establishment') and gave a stunning performance . He came across as an honest copper who was shafted . He expressed the belief that nobody would ever take the job of investigating the RUC again . He did'nt want to be a hero , or portrayed as a knight in shining armour . That's how it appeared .
But Irish people were looking to a British 'bobby' for justice for Irish people ! Some hours before Stalker made his appearance to a million viewers , a relative of each of the six dead men held a press conference at the O'Lehane Hall in Cavendish Row , off O'Connell Street , in Dublin . There were five women and one man seated behind a table . It was a wet and windy day .
Photographers and journalists looked on quietly as each of the relatives was asked a question or made a point . The television cameras were there - so , too, was Charlie Bird , from RTE - ('1169...' comment -another favourite of 'The Establishment') it's 'Chief Reporter' ; he asked Gervaise McKerr's mother what her view of violence was . Was she against it , for example ? Yes , she was against violence . Was she against the violence of the IRA ? She was against all violence . Charlie Bird pushed her a little further - Mrs. McKerr broke down and cried .
The substantive issue of State-authorised murder , perjury and cover-up was forgotten . And from the safety of his Dublin home , Charlie Bird was only interested in what she thought of the IRA . When the conference was over , the journalists looked as if they had been , to borrow a phrase , struck by plastic bullets . All of the relatives obliged camera people by staying behind for photos . Behind the camera was a poster which read - 'BRITISH JUSTICE' and 'STOP EXTRADITION' . It had photos of the 'Birmingham Six' on it . The press people took it down before they took shots ...
As the press dismantled their microphones and cameras , the six relatives went downstairs to get a cup of tea . Then they were going to Leinster House , they said , to hand in a letter . The letter would ask for justice .......
(MORE LATER).
Thursday, April 15, 2004
The Irish-American 'GROWL' ; the 'AARIR'- 'American Association for the Recognition of the Irish Republic ' .......
.......Joseph McGarrity was doing his best to 'sell' the 1921 Treaty of Surrender to his fellow Irish-Americans ; he was questioned by his 'doubting-Thomas' comrades as to the title of the new Brit-free State .......
McGarrity told them - " Many people will say that the name 'Republic' has been dropped . No such thing has happened . Ireland is to be a Gaelic , not an English , Nation , and at the first sitting of Dail Erin (sic and sic - McGarrity was referring to the 26-County Parliament) the Gaelic name for the re-created nation (sic) was adopted . That name is 'Saorstat' , pronounced 'Seer Sthath' . If England prefers the correct English translation of the Gaelic term , which is 'Free State' , instead of the Latin word , 'Republic' , Ireland should be quite happy that England has made such a choice . "
McGarrity opined further about the 1921 Treaty of Surrender , stating that - " (If) it is approved and carried into effect , Ireland again becomes an independent sovereign nation (sic) among the nations ." He said the British would then leave and the Irish would then take possession of their rightful heritage and that - " ...every Irish heart (would) be lifted up to his (sic) maker in gratitude . "
it should be noted that not even Michael Collins (who turned on his comrades in the IRA and attempted to enforce the 'writ' of the new Free State) had made such outlandish claims about the Treaty which bore his signature .......!
(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.
A HARVEST DAY IN 1920 .
" A splendid morning about nine o'clock . I was alone at home in the village of Kilnamartyra (The Cross). My father came in - " This is a very fine day , Michael , and a likely one for a visit from those fellows . " By "those fellows" he meant two lorries of British Auxiliaries who often paid us an unexpected 'visit' . They had given us two close runs during the previous week . My father added - " You are all alone and my brother Patsy is threshing in Ballyvoig today . The devil a fear will they call there today or maybe ever call to the same place . You will have a fine peaceful day there . "
I took him at his word and went off to the threshing . Now , Ballyvoig , although but a mile due south of The Cross was a "lost valley." It was near enough to everywhere and as near to Macroom as my own village , and yet no enemy of any description had set foot on it ! All the inhabitants , including my uncle Patsy , were honest , peaceful and law-abiding . By this it must not be inferred that a gangster was descending on them this peaceful morning . Not so , but that none of the young men of the valley was even a nominal Volunteer.
One old man in the valley was enthusiastic about Ireland , and helped every movement , military and otherwise , to set her free . His name was Jack Lehane ( May he rest in peace , and all the others for that matter , for they ever hated to be disturbed)....... "
(MORE LATER).
THE STALKING OF JOHN STALKER ;
Derek Dunne (journalist) traces the background to the 'STALKER AFFAIR' and details the weekend that JOHN STALKER flew to IRELAND as a hero .
(This article was first published in the 'IN DUBLIN' magazine , on 18th February 1988 , pages 14 , 15 and 16 ; we reproduce it here in 12 parts ....)
(8 of 12).
John Stalker had managed to talk to three hundred RUC Officers before he was muzzled . Of their false and lying press statements about all three incidents , he said - " In rare circumstances ...(lies)... may be a legitimate tactic in a dirty war of disinformation , designed to fool the enemy . "
But , by then , the damage had been done - if the press could not trust simple press-releases coming from the RUC , what chance was there that the RUC could in any way be trusted by large sections of the nationalist community in the North who had always believed that the RUC was sectarian ?
John Stalker also talked to the men who carried out the killings , and he did offer a judgement on them ; " They responded positively and helpfully , but above all, honestly . I saw a great deal more to admire in that small group of RUC Constables and Sergeants than I did in far more of their senior colleagues . "
In January 1988 , the British Attorney-General decided that in the interest of 'national security' (sic) there would be no further prosecutions following Colin Sampson's report . Meanwhile , John Stalker had gathered all the information that was in the public domain and written a book on the entire affair (published in February 1988). This , he said , was to avoid the legal minefield that is the 'Official Secrets Act' .
(MORE LATER).
.......Joseph McGarrity was doing his best to 'sell' the 1921 Treaty of Surrender to his fellow Irish-Americans ; he was questioned by his 'doubting-Thomas' comrades as to the title of the new Brit-free State .......
McGarrity told them - " Many people will say that the name 'Republic' has been dropped . No such thing has happened . Ireland is to be a Gaelic , not an English , Nation , and at the first sitting of Dail Erin (sic and sic - McGarrity was referring to the 26-County Parliament) the Gaelic name for the re-created nation (sic) was adopted . That name is 'Saorstat' , pronounced 'Seer Sthath' . If England prefers the correct English translation of the Gaelic term , which is 'Free State' , instead of the Latin word , 'Republic' , Ireland should be quite happy that England has made such a choice . "
McGarrity opined further about the 1921 Treaty of Surrender , stating that - " (If) it is approved and carried into effect , Ireland again becomes an independent sovereign nation (sic) among the nations ." He said the British would then leave and the Irish would then take possession of their rightful heritage and that - " ...every Irish heart (would) be lifted up to his (sic) maker in gratitude . "
it should be noted that not even Michael Collins (who turned on his comrades in the IRA and attempted to enforce the 'writ' of the new Free State) had made such outlandish claims about the Treaty which bore his signature .......!
(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.
A HARVEST DAY IN 1920 .
" A splendid morning about nine o'clock . I was alone at home in the village of Kilnamartyra (The Cross). My father came in - " This is a very fine day , Michael , and a likely one for a visit from those fellows . " By "those fellows" he meant two lorries of British Auxiliaries who often paid us an unexpected 'visit' . They had given us two close runs during the previous week . My father added - " You are all alone and my brother Patsy is threshing in Ballyvoig today . The devil a fear will they call there today or maybe ever call to the same place . You will have a fine peaceful day there . "
I took him at his word and went off to the threshing . Now , Ballyvoig , although but a mile due south of The Cross was a "lost valley." It was near enough to everywhere and as near to Macroom as my own village , and yet no enemy of any description had set foot on it ! All the inhabitants , including my uncle Patsy , were honest , peaceful and law-abiding . By this it must not be inferred that a gangster was descending on them this peaceful morning . Not so , but that none of the young men of the valley was even a nominal Volunteer.
One old man in the valley was enthusiastic about Ireland , and helped every movement , military and otherwise , to set her free . His name was Jack Lehane ( May he rest in peace , and all the others for that matter , for they ever hated to be disturbed)....... "
(MORE LATER).
THE STALKING OF JOHN STALKER ;
Derek Dunne (journalist) traces the background to the 'STALKER AFFAIR' and details the weekend that JOHN STALKER flew to IRELAND as a hero .
(This article was first published in the 'IN DUBLIN' magazine , on 18th February 1988 , pages 14 , 15 and 16 ; we reproduce it here in 12 parts ....)
(8 of 12).
John Stalker had managed to talk to three hundred RUC Officers before he was muzzled . Of their false and lying press statements about all three incidents , he said - " In rare circumstances ...(lies)... may be a legitimate tactic in a dirty war of disinformation , designed to fool the enemy . "
But , by then , the damage had been done - if the press could not trust simple press-releases coming from the RUC , what chance was there that the RUC could in any way be trusted by large sections of the nationalist community in the North who had always believed that the RUC was sectarian ?
John Stalker also talked to the men who carried out the killings , and he did offer a judgement on them ; " They responded positively and helpfully , but above all, honestly . I saw a great deal more to admire in that small group of RUC Constables and Sergeants than I did in far more of their senior colleagues . "
In January 1988 , the British Attorney-General decided that in the interest of 'national security' (sic) there would be no further prosecutions following Colin Sampson's report . Meanwhile , John Stalker had gathered all the information that was in the public domain and written a book on the entire affair (published in February 1988). This , he said , was to avoid the legal minefield that is the 'Official Secrets Act' .
(MORE LATER).
Wednesday, April 14, 2004
The Irish-American 'GROWL' ; the 'AARIR'- 'American Association for the Recognition of the Irish Republic ' .......
.......The issue which split the already weakened Clan na Gael organisation , the 1921 Treaty of Surrender , was , at first , supported by one of the main Irish-American leaders in the U.S. - Joseph McGarrity .......
Joseph McGarrity claimed that the 1921 Treaty confirmed that " Irelands sovereign Independence is acknowledged by the British Cabinet and their action is approved by Britain's King . This much is certain ." He verbally attacked those in America who doubted that the Treaty was a legitmate conclusion to the centuries of occupation because of , amongst other reasons , the clause demanding an Oath of Allegiance to the British Crown contained in it .
Those who raised the issue of the Oath were , said McGarrity , " doubters (who) were guilty of a despicable attempt to make it appear that the citizens of the Republic (sic) of Ireland are to give allegiance to (Britains) King George . "
McGarrity dismissed the Oath ( "supposed Oath" , as he called it) as " a very clever juggling with words " on the part of the British - he suggested that it was simply a face-saving exercise by the Brits " to give as little hurt to the British Ministers and to the King's pride as possible . "
McGarrity was , at this stage , 'in for a penny , in for a pound'- some of his comrades in America were doubtful about the 'benefits' of the 1921 Treaty , while others had already rejected it and still others were in support of it ; amongst the questions raised about the Treaty was one concerning the name of the new ('officially' Brit-free) State .......
(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 SLIPPERY ROCK .......
".......We were on our way home , through the fields and hills ; on coming-up from a hollow , we spied two British Army lorries heading straight for us ......."
" Now they were quite near us , and if we turned back we would be quite exposed to them . We ran towards the only cover , the two pillars of the gate of the field which we were in , and which opened on to the road almost opposite Yankee Lyons's gate .
Yankee's wife stood in her own gateway , and watched us make ourselves as small as possible behind the pillars while the lorries tore past to Ballyvourney with troops to search for the perpetrators of the Slippery Rock "outrage" .
The British Army lorries kept going and , as we passed by Mrs. Lyons , through the gateway , she murmured fervently - " The Lord save us , lads , the Lord save us ! "
[END of -' THE SLIPPERY ROCK .......'].
(Tomorrow - 'A HARVEST DAY IN 1920').
THE STALKING OF JOHN STALKER ;
Derek Dunne (journalist) traces the background to the 'STALKER AFFAIR' and details the weekend that JOHN STALKER flew to IRELAND as a hero .
(This article was first published in the 'IN DUBLIN' magazine , on 18th February 1988 , pages 14 , 15 and 16 ; we reproduce it here in 12 parts ....)
(7 of 12).
There was a political outcry over British 'Lord Justice' Gibson's remarks . The 'Irish Times' newspaper called for a reform of the system of justice ('1169...' comment.... that gives an indication of just how serious the situation was ; that particular newspaper was then , and still is today , an 'establishment' newspaper - be it Irish [ie Free State] or British establishment...) and the disbandment of what would be termed "death squads" in Latin America .
But by now it had become clear that the evidence prepared against those charged was less than satisfactory , and the Deputy Chief Constable of the Manchester Police , John Stalker , was appointed to investigate the killings . That was in May 1984 , and the Chief Constable , John Hermon , and the British Director of Public Prosecutions for the Six Counties , Barry Shaw , were starting to fight in public .
It is a curious anomaly that Mr. Stalker had no legal authority to question anybody in relation to anything in the North . John Hermon drew up his terms of reference ; nonetheless , he picked his team of six , and ploughed away . But he found much resistance and silence , and ample evidence to charge dozens of RUC men with everything from obstruction to attempting to pervert the course of justice . There was also possibly murder charges. But the tape relating to the killing of Michael Tighe was outside his grasp - John Hermon refused to hand it over !
And just before Stalker was due to hear that tape for the first time , he was removed ; the Chief Constable of West Yorkshire , Colin Sampson , was appointed in his place . At that same time , Sampson was also appointed to investigate Stalker himself , as some alleged 'criminal connections' had been made . None transpired . ('1169...' comment - "No honour amongst thieves" is right ....).
(MORE LATER).
.......The issue which split the already weakened Clan na Gael organisation , the 1921 Treaty of Surrender , was , at first , supported by one of the main Irish-American leaders in the U.S. - Joseph McGarrity .......
Joseph McGarrity claimed that the 1921 Treaty confirmed that " Irelands sovereign Independence is acknowledged by the British Cabinet and their action is approved by Britain's King . This much is certain ." He verbally attacked those in America who doubted that the Treaty was a legitmate conclusion to the centuries of occupation because of , amongst other reasons , the clause demanding an Oath of Allegiance to the British Crown contained in it .
Those who raised the issue of the Oath were , said McGarrity , " doubters (who) were guilty of a despicable attempt to make it appear that the citizens of the Republic (sic) of Ireland are to give allegiance to (Britains) King George . "
McGarrity dismissed the Oath ( "supposed Oath" , as he called it) as " a very clever juggling with words " on the part of the British - he suggested that it was simply a face-saving exercise by the Brits " to give as little hurt to the British Ministers and to the King's pride as possible . "
McGarrity was , at this stage , 'in for a penny , in for a pound'- some of his comrades in America were doubtful about the 'benefits' of the 1921 Treaty , while others had already rejected it and still others were in support of it ; amongst the questions raised about the Treaty was one concerning the name of the new ('officially' Brit-free) State .......
(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 SLIPPERY ROCK .......
".......We were on our way home , through the fields and hills ; on coming-up from a hollow , we spied two British Army lorries heading straight for us ......."
" Now they were quite near us , and if we turned back we would be quite exposed to them . We ran towards the only cover , the two pillars of the gate of the field which we were in , and which opened on to the road almost opposite Yankee Lyons's gate .
Yankee's wife stood in her own gateway , and watched us make ourselves as small as possible behind the pillars while the lorries tore past to Ballyvourney with troops to search for the perpetrators of the Slippery Rock "outrage" .
The British Army lorries kept going and , as we passed by Mrs. Lyons , through the gateway , she murmured fervently - " The Lord save us , lads , the Lord save us ! "
[END of -' THE SLIPPERY ROCK .......'].
(Tomorrow - 'A HARVEST DAY IN 1920').
THE STALKING OF JOHN STALKER ;
Derek Dunne (journalist) traces the background to the 'STALKER AFFAIR' and details the weekend that JOHN STALKER flew to IRELAND as a hero .
(This article was first published in the 'IN DUBLIN' magazine , on 18th February 1988 , pages 14 , 15 and 16 ; we reproduce it here in 12 parts ....)
(7 of 12).
There was a political outcry over British 'Lord Justice' Gibson's remarks . The 'Irish Times' newspaper called for a reform of the system of justice ('1169...' comment.... that gives an indication of just how serious the situation was ; that particular newspaper was then , and still is today , an 'establishment' newspaper - be it Irish [ie Free State] or British establishment...) and the disbandment of what would be termed "death squads" in Latin America .
But by now it had become clear that the evidence prepared against those charged was less than satisfactory , and the Deputy Chief Constable of the Manchester Police , John Stalker , was appointed to investigate the killings . That was in May 1984 , and the Chief Constable , John Hermon , and the British Director of Public Prosecutions for the Six Counties , Barry Shaw , were starting to fight in public .
It is a curious anomaly that Mr. Stalker had no legal authority to question anybody in relation to anything in the North . John Hermon drew up his terms of reference ; nonetheless , he picked his team of six , and ploughed away . But he found much resistance and silence , and ample evidence to charge dozens of RUC men with everything from obstruction to attempting to pervert the course of justice . There was also possibly murder charges. But the tape relating to the killing of Michael Tighe was outside his grasp - John Hermon refused to hand it over !
And just before Stalker was due to hear that tape for the first time , he was removed ; the Chief Constable of West Yorkshire , Colin Sampson , was appointed in his place . At that same time , Sampson was also appointed to investigate Stalker himself , as some alleged 'criminal connections' had been made . None transpired . ('1169...' comment - "No honour amongst thieves" is right ....).
(MORE LATER).
Tuesday, April 13, 2004
The Irish-American 'GROWL' ; the 'AARIR'- 'American Association for the Recognition of the Irish Republic ' .......
.......Formed in November 1920 , the 'American Association for the Recognition of the Irish Republic' (the 'GROWL') was doing well , financially , for the IRA campaign in Ireland ; but - in December 1921 , the 'Treaty of Surrender' was to change that .......
The remnants of Clan na Gael (now dis-owned by the Republican Movement in Ireland), led by John Devoy , supported the pro-Treaty side (ie the Free Staters). But the Clan , already weak compared with what it used to be , was weakened further by this acceptance of the 1921 Treaty - a section of it left and called itself the 'Clan na Gael Reorganised' (or 'Clan na Gael and the IRA' , as it was perhaps better known ).
This 'Reorganised Clan' was led by Joseph McGarrity and Luke Dillon - the 1921 Treaty of Surrender was apparently the 'straw that broke the camels back '; McGarrity and John Devoy were said to be 'chalk and cheese' anyway , and did not get on well together . And , actually , Joseph McGarrity had at first promoted and supported the 1921 Treaty of Surrender ! In a statement at the time , McGarrity claimed that " Ireland's sovereign Independence is acknowledged by the British Cabinet and their action is approved by Britain's King . This much is certain ." (!)
Again , at that particular time , McGarrity was fulsome in his praise of that Treaty .......
(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 SLIPPERY ROCK .......
".......We gathered up the spoils of the ambush - guns , equipment and their bicycles . We left the British soldiers in as comfortable a position as we could ......."
" The British Officer , Lieutenant Sharman , had been killed outright . Four of his soldiers had been wounded , not badly . We were about to cycle home along the road to Clondrohid , as far as Drohidin Clia , then turn south for kilnamartyra , when our scouts reported lorries from that direction . We had to take the bicycles on our shoulders up the steep side of Cnoc an Uir .
We got away in that direction . John Harrington of Coolavokig was our first rest - he invited us in to tea , which we gladly accepted as we had not eaten since 7.30 am . We left John's house soon after tea , for it was a likely place for an early raid . We descended the sloping fields of Coolavokig , to cross the main Macroom-Ballyvourney Road at Yankee Lyons's gate . As we neared our crossing point we were in a slight hollow and for a minute or two lost sight of the road .
In that short time two British Army lorries from Macroom had turned the corner at Geata Ban , unknown to us at the time ....... "
(MORE LATER).
THE STALKING OF JOHN STALKER ;
Derek Dunne (journalist) traces the background to the 'STALKER AFFAIR' and details the weekend that JOHN STALKER flew to IRELAND as a hero .
(This article was first published in the 'IN DUBLIN' magazine , on 18th February 1988 , pages 14 , 15 and 16 ; we reproduce it here in 12 parts ....)
(6 of 12).
It came out in court that RUC member John Robinson was part of an elite SAS-trained RUC squad ; E4A . That squad were trained in "firepower , speed and aggression ." And members of the same squad had been involved in all six killings .
The following year (ie 1985) Sergeant William Montgomery , RUC 'Constables' David Brannigan and Frederick Robinson appeared before British 'Lord Justice' Gibson on a charge of killing Eugene Toman ; again , they were not charged with killing Sean Burns and Gervaise McKerr as they were found in the car , whereas Eugene Toman had made it as far as the ground . 'Lord Justice' Gibson acquitted all three Brit operatives .
Gibson actually commended the three RUC men for their " courage and determination in bringing the three deceased men to justice , in this case , the final court of justice ." It came out then that the three dead men had been 'tailed' for days , and that two of them were wanted on a murder charge . But no explanation was forthcoming as to why they were not arrested , rather than killed , if such was the case .
(MORE LATER).
.......Formed in November 1920 , the 'American Association for the Recognition of the Irish Republic' (the 'GROWL') was doing well , financially , for the IRA campaign in Ireland ; but - in December 1921 , the 'Treaty of Surrender' was to change that .......
The remnants of Clan na Gael (now dis-owned by the Republican Movement in Ireland), led by John Devoy , supported the pro-Treaty side (ie the Free Staters). But the Clan , already weak compared with what it used to be , was weakened further by this acceptance of the 1921 Treaty - a section of it left and called itself the 'Clan na Gael Reorganised' (or 'Clan na Gael and the IRA' , as it was perhaps better known ).
This 'Reorganised Clan' was led by Joseph McGarrity and Luke Dillon - the 1921 Treaty of Surrender was apparently the 'straw that broke the camels back '; McGarrity and John Devoy were said to be 'chalk and cheese' anyway , and did not get on well together . And , actually , Joseph McGarrity had at first promoted and supported the 1921 Treaty of Surrender ! In a statement at the time , McGarrity claimed that " Ireland's sovereign Independence is acknowledged by the British Cabinet and their action is approved by Britain's King . This much is certain ." (!)
Again , at that particular time , McGarrity was fulsome in his praise of that Treaty .......
(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 SLIPPERY ROCK .......
".......We gathered up the spoils of the ambush - guns , equipment and their bicycles . We left the British soldiers in as comfortable a position as we could ......."
" The British Officer , Lieutenant Sharman , had been killed outright . Four of his soldiers had been wounded , not badly . We were about to cycle home along the road to Clondrohid , as far as Drohidin Clia , then turn south for kilnamartyra , when our scouts reported lorries from that direction . We had to take the bicycles on our shoulders up the steep side of Cnoc an Uir .
We got away in that direction . John Harrington of Coolavokig was our first rest - he invited us in to tea , which we gladly accepted as we had not eaten since 7.30 am . We left John's house soon after tea , for it was a likely place for an early raid . We descended the sloping fields of Coolavokig , to cross the main Macroom-Ballyvourney Road at Yankee Lyons's gate . As we neared our crossing point we were in a slight hollow and for a minute or two lost sight of the road .
In that short time two British Army lorries from Macroom had turned the corner at Geata Ban , unknown to us at the time ....... "
(MORE LATER).
THE STALKING OF JOHN STALKER ;
Derek Dunne (journalist) traces the background to the 'STALKER AFFAIR' and details the weekend that JOHN STALKER flew to IRELAND as a hero .
(This article was first published in the 'IN DUBLIN' magazine , on 18th February 1988 , pages 14 , 15 and 16 ; we reproduce it here in 12 parts ....)
(6 of 12).
It came out in court that RUC member John Robinson was part of an elite SAS-trained RUC squad ; E4A . That squad were trained in "firepower , speed and aggression ." And members of the same squad had been involved in all six killings .
The following year (ie 1985) Sergeant William Montgomery , RUC 'Constables' David Brannigan and Frederick Robinson appeared before British 'Lord Justice' Gibson on a charge of killing Eugene Toman ; again , they were not charged with killing Sean Burns and Gervaise McKerr as they were found in the car , whereas Eugene Toman had made it as far as the ground . 'Lord Justice' Gibson acquitted all three Brit operatives .
Gibson actually commended the three RUC men for their " courage and determination in bringing the three deceased men to justice , in this case , the final court of justice ." It came out then that the three dead men had been 'tailed' for days , and that two of them were wanted on a murder charge . But no explanation was forthcoming as to why they were not arrested , rather than killed , if such was the case .
(MORE LATER).
Monday, April 12, 2004
The Irish-American 'GROWL' ; the 'AARIR'- 'American Association for the Recognition of the Irish Republic ' .......
....... November 1920 ; under direction from the leadership of the Irish Republican Brotherhood in Ireland , the Clan na Gael organisation was disbanded . The 'Friends Of Irish Freedom' group also suffered because of that directive . A new organisation was established - the 'American Association for the Recognition of the Irish Republic' - 'AARIR' (or 'GROWL' , because of its acronym).......
Eamon de Valera was back in Ireland by December that year (ie 1920), but had left his mark in America ; the publicity generated by the fall-out between the Clan na Gael and Friends Of Irish Freedom organisations , and the establishment of the new 'AARIR' group had put the Irish situation back on 'Page One' - it was a hot topic again .
The Brits were , of course, watching every move - they realised that the millions of Irish people in America , with their sympathy , support and money for an armed campaign in Ireland , plus good support amongst the Irish population in England itself for an armed campaign , was perhaps more than they could successfully counter in the short-term ; they were losing the propaganda war . A willingness to hold truce talks with the Irish Rebels was signalled , which led to the 'Treaty Of Surrender' in December 1921 .
Thirteen months after it was formed (ie November 1920 - December 1921) , the 'American Association for the Recognition of the Irish Republic' was thrown into disarray because of the 'Treaty of Surrender' ; splits and divisions loomed - " divide and conquer ......."
(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 SLIPPERY ROCK .......
".......The ambush was over ; the British Army Officer in charge of the patrol was dead . His men had surrendered to us , and we were rounding them up and taking what weapon's they had . I stood over a Brit soldier I had shot at - his rifle was still beside him . His face was to the ground ......."
" I caught him by the shoulder and called out " Hallo ! " ; no reply . I thought him dead . My left hand grasping his right shoulder , I rolled him over . A fresh smiling face looked up at me out of humorous eyes : " I thought you were dead " , I said . "No" , he replied lazily . " You are wounded , then , or ought to be . " " I don't think so , " was his reply .
I opened his tunic , button by button . Not a scratch on him . " I am very glad indeed , " I said . " Thanks " , he said , smiling . The two bullets fired at him had torn deeply into the road under him as he lay . He had been lucky to escape the worst kind of wound . I caught another British soldier by the shoulder as he lay face down on the grass of the northern dyke . He rolled over and put up his hands , saying - " Paddy , don't shoot ! " " We won't harm you now , " I replied . He unbuckled his equipment and handed it to me . I picked up his rifle and replaced it on his bicycle , with his steel cap and trench equipment . I saw Mick the Soldier do the same .
We had already settled on cycling home ; a wounded British soldier asked me for a cigarette . I had not a single one . I assured him I would get one for him . I tried all our own lads - no cigarettes . Neither had any British soldier got one ; I could do nothing but tell him how sorry I was . "
(MORE LATER).
THE STALKING OF JOHN STALKER ;
Derek Dunne (journalist) traces the background to the 'STALKER AFFAIR' and details the weekend that JOHN STALKER flew to IRELAND as a hero .
(This article was first published in the 'IN DUBLIN' magazine , on 18th February 1988 , pages 14 , 15 and 16 ; we reproduce it here in 12 parts ....)
(5 of 12).
The killing of Seamus Grew and Roddy Carroll brought to more than one-hundred-and-sixty the number of unarmed civilians who had been killed by the UDR , RUC and British Army in circumstances which suggested they were murdered . In that twelve-year period (ie 1970 - 1982) no-one had been charged with murder . But there were such grave irregularities in the RUC files on these six killings that it was difficult to ignore them . Inquests could not be held until criminal proceedings were completed .
The Chief Constable of the RUC had complete confidence in his men . The criticism of his force from Catholic priests and community leaders was starting to build up . In January 1984 , more than a year after the six killings , he said - " Of course there is anti-police feeling in the province (sic) , inevitable when there are the political affiliations that we have here . We are responsibly reported in the media , with the only sniping coming from fringe elements that don't cause us any concern and which the community as a whole sees to be superficial . There are not many fools in Northern Ireland (sic) . The RUC are quite extraordinary men , doing quite an extraordinary job . "
In April 1984 , RUC man John Robinson was charged with the murder of Seamus Grew . He was acquitted by Mr. 'Justice' McDermott , who considered that he had used reasonable force in the circumstances . The reason he had been charged with the killing of Seamus Grew only , and not of both Grew and Roddy Carroll , was that Seamus Grew was found outside the car , which meant that he had lived and was shot on the ground . Those circumstances were " the general wartime situation in Northern Ireland " (sic) , said the good 'Justice' .
RUC man Robinson was commended for his sharpshooting by 'Justice' McDermott ! But other rocks were turned over in court also.......
(MORE LATER).
....... November 1920 ; under direction from the leadership of the Irish Republican Brotherhood in Ireland , the Clan na Gael organisation was disbanded . The 'Friends Of Irish Freedom' group also suffered because of that directive . A new organisation was established - the 'American Association for the Recognition of the Irish Republic' - 'AARIR' (or 'GROWL' , because of its acronym).......
Eamon de Valera was back in Ireland by December that year (ie 1920), but had left his mark in America ; the publicity generated by the fall-out between the Clan na Gael and Friends Of Irish Freedom organisations , and the establishment of the new 'AARIR' group had put the Irish situation back on 'Page One' - it was a hot topic again .
The Brits were , of course, watching every move - they realised that the millions of Irish people in America , with their sympathy , support and money for an armed campaign in Ireland , plus good support amongst the Irish population in England itself for an armed campaign , was perhaps more than they could successfully counter in the short-term ; they were losing the propaganda war . A willingness to hold truce talks with the Irish Rebels was signalled , which led to the 'Treaty Of Surrender' in December 1921 .
Thirteen months after it was formed (ie November 1920 - December 1921) , the 'American Association for the Recognition of the Irish Republic' was thrown into disarray because of the 'Treaty of Surrender' ; splits and divisions loomed - " divide and conquer ......."
(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 SLIPPERY ROCK .......
".......The ambush was over ; the British Army Officer in charge of the patrol was dead . His men had surrendered to us , and we were rounding them up and taking what weapon's they had . I stood over a Brit soldier I had shot at - his rifle was still beside him . His face was to the ground ......."
" I caught him by the shoulder and called out " Hallo ! " ; no reply . I thought him dead . My left hand grasping his right shoulder , I rolled him over . A fresh smiling face looked up at me out of humorous eyes : " I thought you were dead " , I said . "No" , he replied lazily . " You are wounded , then , or ought to be . " " I don't think so , " was his reply .
I opened his tunic , button by button . Not a scratch on him . " I am very glad indeed , " I said . " Thanks " , he said , smiling . The two bullets fired at him had torn deeply into the road under him as he lay . He had been lucky to escape the worst kind of wound . I caught another British soldier by the shoulder as he lay face down on the grass of the northern dyke . He rolled over and put up his hands , saying - " Paddy , don't shoot ! " " We won't harm you now , " I replied . He unbuckled his equipment and handed it to me . I picked up his rifle and replaced it on his bicycle , with his steel cap and trench equipment . I saw Mick the Soldier do the same .
We had already settled on cycling home ; a wounded British soldier asked me for a cigarette . I had not a single one . I assured him I would get one for him . I tried all our own lads - no cigarettes . Neither had any British soldier got one ; I could do nothing but tell him how sorry I was . "
(MORE LATER).
THE STALKING OF JOHN STALKER ;
Derek Dunne (journalist) traces the background to the 'STALKER AFFAIR' and details the weekend that JOHN STALKER flew to IRELAND as a hero .
(This article was first published in the 'IN DUBLIN' magazine , on 18th February 1988 , pages 14 , 15 and 16 ; we reproduce it here in 12 parts ....)
(5 of 12).
The killing of Seamus Grew and Roddy Carroll brought to more than one-hundred-and-sixty the number of unarmed civilians who had been killed by the UDR , RUC and British Army in circumstances which suggested they were murdered . In that twelve-year period (ie 1970 - 1982) no-one had been charged with murder . But there were such grave irregularities in the RUC files on these six killings that it was difficult to ignore them . Inquests could not be held until criminal proceedings were completed .
The Chief Constable of the RUC had complete confidence in his men . The criticism of his force from Catholic priests and community leaders was starting to build up . In January 1984 , more than a year after the six killings , he said - " Of course there is anti-police feeling in the province (sic) , inevitable when there are the political affiliations that we have here . We are responsibly reported in the media , with the only sniping coming from fringe elements that don't cause us any concern and which the community as a whole sees to be superficial . There are not many fools in Northern Ireland (sic) . The RUC are quite extraordinary men , doing quite an extraordinary job . "
In April 1984 , RUC man John Robinson was charged with the murder of Seamus Grew . He was acquitted by Mr. 'Justice' McDermott , who considered that he had used reasonable force in the circumstances . The reason he had been charged with the killing of Seamus Grew only , and not of both Grew and Roddy Carroll , was that Seamus Grew was found outside the car , which meant that he had lived and was shot on the ground . Those circumstances were " the general wartime situation in Northern Ireland " (sic) , said the good 'Justice' .
RUC man Robinson was commended for his sharpshooting by 'Justice' McDermott ! But other rocks were turned over in court also.......
(MORE LATER).
Sunday, April 11, 2004
The Irish-American 'GROWL' ; the 'AARIR'- 'American Association for the Recognition of the Irish Republic ' .......
.......The dispute between the Clan na Gael organisation and the Friends Of Irish Freedom group was now over , with the FOIF resolution (ie 'gentle prodding') winning out in the end . But the dispute had been noticed by the Irish Republican Brotherhood leadership in Ireland .......
As stated here previously , the American Clan na Gael organisation recognised the Supreme Council of the Irish Republican Brotherhood as the Government of the (all-Ireland) Irish Republic so , when , within weeks of the Clan / FOIF dispute , an order came from the leadership of the Irish Republican Brotherhood in Ireland directing the Clan na Gael group "to stand down" , it obeyed - but under protest .
Without the support of the Irish Republican Brotherhood in Ireland , both the Clan and the FOIF were severely weakened and could not now claim to be linked to the Republican Movement in Ireland .
In November 1920 , Eamon de Valera (and other leadership figures in Ireland) set-up a new organisation - the 'American Association for the Recognition of the Irish Republic' ; known as 'GROWL' , because of the sound of its acronym , 'AARIR' . With the backing and promotion of the IRB leadership , and the support in America of figures such as Joseph McGarrity , the 'AARIR' was successful , and raised thousands of dollars for the then IRA in 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.
THE SLIPPERY ROCK .......
"....... The British patrol were now within thirty yards of us . We watched as Paddy Donncha Eoin got to his feet , with a revolver in his hand ......."
" Paddy called on them to surrender ; the British Army Officer looked back over his left shoulder . He said nothing , but stood-up on his push-bike pedals and threw his weight down on them , put his head down and rode forward . All his men did likewise . There was no doubt about their intention - it was to break through our ranks . A revolver barked and a volley rang our - the Brit Officer fell but his men cycled on ; I jumped to my feet - we had been lying against the sloping face of the hillock . As I rose , a rifle exploded close to my left ear , almost knocking me down again . It was 'Mick the Soldier' , who had risen before me and had fired across my back at some of the British soldiers who were almost abreast of us . We stepped out on the road .
There was another burst of rifle fire ; we saw a British soldier lying in the dust , half way down the road . He lay quite flat , his heels turned inwards , and he was engaged in releasing rapid fire upwards at the top of the Slippery Rock . We fired simultaneously at him - both bullets struck a foot apart under his body and raised a column of dust , which gave me the impression that we had cut his body in two ; he let his rifle drop . Then there came silence ...
Our lads were coming out on the road . I walked past Jamie , Con Sean Jer and Ned Micky Sweeney as they disarmed a group of British soldiers . One of the Brits struggled with Ned Sweeney to retain his rifle , but Ned wrenched it from him . I came to the man whom we had last fired at - he lay in exactly the same position , with his left hand stretched in the firing posture and his right hand down on the road near the small of the rifle-butt . The rifle lay with a cartridge half thrust forward into the breech .
His face was to the ground ....."
(MORE LATER).
THE STALKING OF JOHN STALKER ;
Derek Dunne (journalist) traces the background to the 'STALKER AFFAIR' and details the weekend that JOHN STALKER flew to IRELAND as a hero .
(This article was first published in the 'IN DUBLIN' magazine , on 18th February 1988 , pages 14 , 15 and 16 ; we reproduce it here in 12 parts ....)
(4 of 12).
The third incident was eighteen days later . It was just about 8.30pm on 12th December 1982 when 'Irish National Liberation Army' (INLA) member Seamus Grew drove his Allegro car up towards his home at Mullacreevie Park in Armagh City . He had just been into the Free State for a funeral . Roddy Carroll , another INLA man , was sitting in the passenger seat . Driving along , Seamus Grew recognised a neighbour , Joseph Graham , and he waved to him . Another car suddenly came up very fast behind Grew's car and pulled up in front of it . There were at least two men in it .
Then the shooting started ; it was like a "cracking noise" , according to Joseph Graham . It stopped , and then it started again . On either side of the road , the RUC were patrolling the fields , and there was an RUC car blocking off the bottom of the hill . It was a closed-off area . The RUC decided to lie once more ...
They put out the story that Seamus Grew had driven through a road-block , injuring an RUC man , and that they were then forced to fire on the car . They changed that story later . What had actually happened was that the RUC had followed Grew into the Free State , but he had somehow managed to avoid a road-block on his way back up to the North . Further up the road , an undercover British Army car and an undercover RUC car were involved in an accident and , in the ensuing mess , Seamus Grew drove through undetected . The RUC man following Grew saw the accident , picked up RUC man John Robinson , passed the Allegro and halted it .
RUC man Robinson then got out of his car , fired fifteen times at Roddy Carroll , walked around the car , re-loaded his gun , and shot Seamus Grew four times . Robinson was driven from the scene immediately by an RUC Special Branch Inspector ....
(MORE LATER).
.......The dispute between the Clan na Gael organisation and the Friends Of Irish Freedom group was now over , with the FOIF resolution (ie 'gentle prodding') winning out in the end . But the dispute had been noticed by the Irish Republican Brotherhood leadership in Ireland .......
As stated here previously , the American Clan na Gael organisation recognised the Supreme Council of the Irish Republican Brotherhood as the Government of the (all-Ireland) Irish Republic so , when , within weeks of the Clan / FOIF dispute , an order came from the leadership of the Irish Republican Brotherhood in Ireland directing the Clan na Gael group "to stand down" , it obeyed - but under protest .
Without the support of the Irish Republican Brotherhood in Ireland , both the Clan and the FOIF were severely weakened and could not now claim to be linked to the Republican Movement in Ireland .
In November 1920 , Eamon de Valera (and other leadership figures in Ireland) set-up a new organisation - the 'American Association for the Recognition of the Irish Republic' ; known as 'GROWL' , because of the sound of its acronym , 'AARIR' . With the backing and promotion of the IRB leadership , and the support in America of figures such as Joseph McGarrity , the 'AARIR' was successful , and raised thousands of dollars for the then IRA in 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.
THE SLIPPERY ROCK .......
"....... The British patrol were now within thirty yards of us . We watched as Paddy Donncha Eoin got to his feet , with a revolver in his hand ......."
" Paddy called on them to surrender ; the British Army Officer looked back over his left shoulder . He said nothing , but stood-up on his push-bike pedals and threw his weight down on them , put his head down and rode forward . All his men did likewise . There was no doubt about their intention - it was to break through our ranks . A revolver barked and a volley rang our - the Brit Officer fell but his men cycled on ; I jumped to my feet - we had been lying against the sloping face of the hillock . As I rose , a rifle exploded close to my left ear , almost knocking me down again . It was 'Mick the Soldier' , who had risen before me and had fired across my back at some of the British soldiers who were almost abreast of us . We stepped out on the road .
There was another burst of rifle fire ; we saw a British soldier lying in the dust , half way down the road . He lay quite flat , his heels turned inwards , and he was engaged in releasing rapid fire upwards at the top of the Slippery Rock . We fired simultaneously at him - both bullets struck a foot apart under his body and raised a column of dust , which gave me the impression that we had cut his body in two ; he let his rifle drop . Then there came silence ...
Our lads were coming out on the road . I walked past Jamie , Con Sean Jer and Ned Micky Sweeney as they disarmed a group of British soldiers . One of the Brits struggled with Ned Sweeney to retain his rifle , but Ned wrenched it from him . I came to the man whom we had last fired at - he lay in exactly the same position , with his left hand stretched in the firing posture and his right hand down on the road near the small of the rifle-butt . The rifle lay with a cartridge half thrust forward into the breech .
His face was to the ground ....."
(MORE LATER).
THE STALKING OF JOHN STALKER ;
Derek Dunne (journalist) traces the background to the 'STALKER AFFAIR' and details the weekend that JOHN STALKER flew to IRELAND as a hero .
(This article was first published in the 'IN DUBLIN' magazine , on 18th February 1988 , pages 14 , 15 and 16 ; we reproduce it here in 12 parts ....)
(4 of 12).
The third incident was eighteen days later . It was just about 8.30pm on 12th December 1982 when 'Irish National Liberation Army' (INLA) member Seamus Grew drove his Allegro car up towards his home at Mullacreevie Park in Armagh City . He had just been into the Free State for a funeral . Roddy Carroll , another INLA man , was sitting in the passenger seat . Driving along , Seamus Grew recognised a neighbour , Joseph Graham , and he waved to him . Another car suddenly came up very fast behind Grew's car and pulled up in front of it . There were at least two men in it .
Then the shooting started ; it was like a "cracking noise" , according to Joseph Graham . It stopped , and then it started again . On either side of the road , the RUC were patrolling the fields , and there was an RUC car blocking off the bottom of the hill . It was a closed-off area . The RUC decided to lie once more ...
They put out the story that Seamus Grew had driven through a road-block , injuring an RUC man , and that they were then forced to fire on the car . They changed that story later . What had actually happened was that the RUC had followed Grew into the Free State , but he had somehow managed to avoid a road-block on his way back up to the North . Further up the road , an undercover British Army car and an undercover RUC car were involved in an accident and , in the ensuing mess , Seamus Grew drove through undetected . The RUC man following Grew saw the accident , picked up RUC man John Robinson , passed the Allegro and halted it .
RUC man Robinson then got out of his car , fired fifteen times at Roddy Carroll , walked around the car , re-loaded his gun , and shot Seamus Grew four times . Robinson was driven from the scene immediately by an RUC Special Branch Inspector ....
(MORE LATER).
Saturday, April 10, 2004
The Irish-American 'GROWL' ; the 'AARIR'- 'American Association for the Recognition of the Irish Republic ' .......
.......Members of both the 'Friends Of Irish Freedom' and the 'Clan na Gael' organisations dis-agreed on the amount of pressure which should be applied to those running in the U.S. Presidential elections in relation to Ireland ; plus , there was 'bad blood' between U.S. President Woodrow Wilson and the 'Clan' leadership .......
At the National Convention of the U.S. Republican Party , the delegates were being canvassed by Judge Daniel Cohalan (a U.S. Democrat) and his people when Eamon de Valera arrived with his team to canvass the same crowd - Judge Cohalan had previously requested that de Valera and his team stay away , and a verbal row between both camps ensued , in full view of those they were trying to canvass !
By June 1920 , however , both the (U.S.) Republican and Democratic candidates had accepted the 'gentle prodding' approach towards the situation in Ireland , as recommended by John Devoy , Judge Cohalan and others in the 'Friends Of Irish Freedom' - the other resolution (ie 'put-it-in-writing-or loose-the-Irish-vote'), which was supported by Eamon de Valera , Harry Boland and Clan na Gael , was rejected by both U.S. camps .
However - the dispute between the Clan and the FOIF had been closely monitored by the Irish Republican Brotherhood leadership in Ireland ; they were not at all pleased with either group.......
(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 SLIPPERY ROCK .......
".......We were dug-in on the Slippery Rock , where children usually played ; Paddy Donncha Eoin and three men with shotguns would be the nearest to the British soldiers when the action started ......."
" Paddy had often slid down the Slippery Rock on his way home from school , and knew the lay-out of the area well . The road straightened out again for one hundred yards ; along its southern side there was no fence at that time . Along the northern side was a low fence and a few low little rocks . Behind these were disposed the remainder of the shotgun men and two with revolvers . At the extreme western end , and on the southern side , was a little hillock facing the approach road ; behind it were stationed Mick the Soldier and myself , with our two rifles .
We had plenty of men besides , but had no guns for them . 'Free' Kelleher put his eye on my Smith-and-Wesson revolver - I gave it to him . Then we settled down to another period of waiting . Sometime about four p.m. , the scout on the hill above us signalled the approach of the patrol . We watched the bend at the Slippery Rock for any movement ...
Riding their push-bikes at a steady pace they came , one by one, their British Army Officer in the lead . They were like beads on a string set apart at the same intervals , and they fitted exactly into the trap laid for them : as their last man rounded the bend , their Officer was within thirty yards of us . Then we saw Paddy Donncha Eoin standing upright , his revolver in his hand ......."
(MORE LATER).
THE STALKING OF JOHN STALKER ;
Derek Dunne (journalist) traces the background to the 'STALKER AFFAIR' and details the weekend that JOHN STALKER flew to IRELAND as a hero .
(This article was first published in the 'IN DUBLIN' magazine , on 18th February 1988 , pages 14 , 15 and 16 ; we reproduce it here in 12 parts ....)
(3 of 12).
The RUC said they had seen a man with a gun go into the shed ; that they had heard a rifle mechanism and muffled voices ; that an RUC Sergeant had shouted - "Police , throw out your weapons " ; that the warning was repeated ; that through a space in the door they saw Martin McCauley pointing a rifle at them ; that two RUC men opened fire ; that they saw Michael Tighe point a rifle at them ; that they fired at him ; that McCauley re-appeared and they fired again .
They found no ammunition in the shed . The electronic bug had picked up everything that had happened . There was a tape , and it was when John Stalker got close to this tape in his investigation of the killings that he was removed . The tape could have proved that the RUC were lying . Martin McCauley was charged with possession of a firearm , found guilty , and given a two-year suspended sentence . The RUC admitted they had lied about a man with a gun near the scene . They admitted they had been staking the place out .
Michael Tighe had no connections with any paramilitary organisations . He was seventeen years old . Of this shooting , John Stalker had the following to say --
-- " As an individual I also passionately believe that if a police force of the United Kingdom could , in cold blood ,kill a seventeen-year-old youth with no terrorist or criminal convictions , and then plot to hide the evidence from a senior policeman deputed to investigate it , then the shame belonged to us all . This is the act of a Central American assassination squad - truly of a police force out of control " .
(MORE LATER).
.......Members of both the 'Friends Of Irish Freedom' and the 'Clan na Gael' organisations dis-agreed on the amount of pressure which should be applied to those running in the U.S. Presidential elections in relation to Ireland ; plus , there was 'bad blood' between U.S. President Woodrow Wilson and the 'Clan' leadership .......
At the National Convention of the U.S. Republican Party , the delegates were being canvassed by Judge Daniel Cohalan (a U.S. Democrat) and his people when Eamon de Valera arrived with his team to canvass the same crowd - Judge Cohalan had previously requested that de Valera and his team stay away , and a verbal row between both camps ensued , in full view of those they were trying to canvass !
By June 1920 , however , both the (U.S.) Republican and Democratic candidates had accepted the 'gentle prodding' approach towards the situation in Ireland , as recommended by John Devoy , Judge Cohalan and others in the 'Friends Of Irish Freedom' - the other resolution (ie 'put-it-in-writing-or loose-the-Irish-vote'), which was supported by Eamon de Valera , Harry Boland and Clan na Gael , was rejected by both U.S. camps .
However - the dispute between the Clan and the FOIF had been closely monitored by the Irish Republican Brotherhood leadership in Ireland ; they were not at all pleased with either group.......
(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 SLIPPERY ROCK .......
".......We were dug-in on the Slippery Rock , where children usually played ; Paddy Donncha Eoin and three men with shotguns would be the nearest to the British soldiers when the action started ......."
" Paddy had often slid down the Slippery Rock on his way home from school , and knew the lay-out of the area well . The road straightened out again for one hundred yards ; along its southern side there was no fence at that time . Along the northern side was a low fence and a few low little rocks . Behind these were disposed the remainder of the shotgun men and two with revolvers . At the extreme western end , and on the southern side , was a little hillock facing the approach road ; behind it were stationed Mick the Soldier and myself , with our two rifles .
We had plenty of men besides , but had no guns for them . 'Free' Kelleher put his eye on my Smith-and-Wesson revolver - I gave it to him . Then we settled down to another period of waiting . Sometime about four p.m. , the scout on the hill above us signalled the approach of the patrol . We watched the bend at the Slippery Rock for any movement ...
Riding their push-bikes at a steady pace they came , one by one, their British Army Officer in the lead . They were like beads on a string set apart at the same intervals , and they fitted exactly into the trap laid for them : as their last man rounded the bend , their Officer was within thirty yards of us . Then we saw Paddy Donncha Eoin standing upright , his revolver in his hand ......."
(MORE LATER).
THE STALKING OF JOHN STALKER ;
Derek Dunne (journalist) traces the background to the 'STALKER AFFAIR' and details the weekend that JOHN STALKER flew to IRELAND as a hero .
(This article was first published in the 'IN DUBLIN' magazine , on 18th February 1988 , pages 14 , 15 and 16 ; we reproduce it here in 12 parts ....)
(3 of 12).
The RUC said they had seen a man with a gun go into the shed ; that they had heard a rifle mechanism and muffled voices ; that an RUC Sergeant had shouted - "Police , throw out your weapons " ; that the warning was repeated ; that through a space in the door they saw Martin McCauley pointing a rifle at them ; that two RUC men opened fire ; that they saw Michael Tighe point a rifle at them ; that they fired at him ; that McCauley re-appeared and they fired again .
They found no ammunition in the shed . The electronic bug had picked up everything that had happened . There was a tape , and it was when John Stalker got close to this tape in his investigation of the killings that he was removed . The tape could have proved that the RUC were lying . Martin McCauley was charged with possession of a firearm , found guilty , and given a two-year suspended sentence . The RUC admitted they had lied about a man with a gun near the scene . They admitted they had been staking the place out .
Michael Tighe had no connections with any paramilitary organisations . He was seventeen years old . Of this shooting , John Stalker had the following to say --
-- " As an individual I also passionately believe that if a police force of the United Kingdom could , in cold blood ,kill a seventeen-year-old youth with no terrorist or criminal convictions , and then plot to hide the evidence from a senior policeman deputed to investigate it , then the shame belonged to us all . This is the act of a Central American assassination squad - truly of a police force out of control " .
(MORE LATER).
Friday, April 09, 2004
The Irish-American 'GROWL' ; the 'AARIR'- 'American Association for the Recognition of the Irish Republic ' .......
....... U.S. President Woodrow Wilson and the leader of Clan na Gael , Judge Daniel Cohalan , were old enemies - they had 'fallen-out' with each other over the 'League of Nations' , which Judge Cohalan was set against .......
Also , while U.S. President Woodrow Wilson was travelling America on a speaking tour during the last few months of 1919 , he was closely shadowed by Clan na Gael operatives and , in every town and city that Wilson spoke in (and indeed towns and cities neighbouring same !) , full-page advertisements were placed in newspapers attacking him for not taking a stronger stand against the British . Wilson was aware that Cohalan and the Clan were responsible for same .
Judge Daniel Cohalan was known to be serious about his involvement with the Irish Rebel cause but , occasionally , he would put domestic issues first - he was known to be of the opinion that the 'League of Nations' was a ploy by the British to integrate themselves into American society . Irish supporters were being pulled in many different directions ...
However - I digress (again ; another tangent , I know ....!) : within both the 'Clan na Gael' and 'Friends Of Irish Freedom' groups there were those who supported the 'FOIF' 'gentle prodding' approach and those who supported the 'Clan' option of 'put-it-in-your-manifesto-or-loose-the-Irish-vote' position - indeed , (another tangent....)
(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 SLIPPERY ROCK .......
".......We were now in position to carry-out the ambush ; the waiting was the worse - knowing that we would soon have to inflict suffering on other men ......."
" But we knew , in our case , it was an effort to counter a long established terror . Every other means had been tried . But still the tragedy persisted . The ordinary British soldier , whom we would meet that day , was but the unwilling tool of the war-monger . There was nothing left for us to do but fight the tools , since we could not meet the masters . We would fight them as fairly as possible , but they would not have the advantage of the morning , their firearms versus our sticks .
The British lorries passed by at two p.m. on their return journey to Macroom . With regret we let them go . With the garrison only a mile and a half away to the west , and the patrol the same distance east of us , and with our poor armament , we could not do otherwise . We descended to the road and each group took the place allotted to them . The road from Clondrohid , hardly the width of two cars , bent sharply around the Slippery Rock which sloped upwards from its southern side . It was called 'The Slippery Rock' by children coming home from school , who , seating themselves on flat stones , used to slide down its sloping face .
It was now occupied by Paddy Donncha Eoin and three men with shotguns ......."
(MORE LATER).
THE STALKING OF JOHN STALKER ;
Derek Dunne (journalist) traces the background to the 'STALKER AFFAIR' and details the weekend that JOHN STALKER flew to IRELAND as a hero .
(This article was first published in the 'IN DUBLIN' magazine , on 18th February 1988 , pages 14 , 15 and 16 ; we reproduce it here in 12 parts ....)
(2 of 12).
The next killing was thirteen days later and was related to a previous incident . MI5 bugged a hayshed belonging to the widow of a Republican at Ballyneery Road , outside Lurgan . The hayshed was constructed of breeze blocks and corrugated iron , and the electronic bug was placed in the rafters . The IRA moved explosives into the building and the British Army and RUC monitored all of this . The entire area around there and Kinnego was on high alert . This was 27th October 1982 .
The RUC had been instructed not to enter the area ; RUC Sergeant Sean Quinn and Constables Paul Hamilton and Alan McCloy asked for permission to go into the area . Checks were carried out and they were given permission to proceed . They were also told that the explosives were still in the shed . They were'nt ....
The IRA had managed to take them out despite the surveillance . The three RUC men were killed in an explosion of those same explosives . An informer allegedly came forward and gave the names of four men who were involved . On 11th November 1982 , three of those named were killed in the above-mentioned ambush (see '1 of 12') . But the RUC and the British Army still had the shed under surveillance , and by now the RUC had also planted three sixty-year-old rifles in the shed .
The owner of the shed was away , and Martin McCauley had been asked to look after it . With his friend Michael Tighe , he noticed that the window of the shed was open - both entered and spotted the weapons ; as they moved closer to them , two shots rang out and Michael Tighe disappeared . Then there was a shout - " Right , come on out " , followed by a burst of gunfire . Martin McCauley was hit and could'nt move . He was dragged from the shed and an RUC man threatened to finish him off , and put a gun to his head .
The RUC story was much different.......
(MORE LATER).
....... U.S. President Woodrow Wilson and the leader of Clan na Gael , Judge Daniel Cohalan , were old enemies - they had 'fallen-out' with each other over the 'League of Nations' , which Judge Cohalan was set against .......
Also , while U.S. President Woodrow Wilson was travelling America on a speaking tour during the last few months of 1919 , he was closely shadowed by Clan na Gael operatives and , in every town and city that Wilson spoke in (and indeed towns and cities neighbouring same !) , full-page advertisements were placed in newspapers attacking him for not taking a stronger stand against the British . Wilson was aware that Cohalan and the Clan were responsible for same .
Judge Daniel Cohalan was known to be serious about his involvement with the Irish Rebel cause but , occasionally , he would put domestic issues first - he was known to be of the opinion that the 'League of Nations' was a ploy by the British to integrate themselves into American society . Irish supporters were being pulled in many different directions ...
However - I digress (again ; another tangent , I know ....!) : within both the 'Clan na Gael' and 'Friends Of Irish Freedom' groups there were those who supported the 'FOIF' 'gentle prodding' approach and those who supported the 'Clan' option of 'put-it-in-your-manifesto-or-loose-the-Irish-vote' position - indeed , (another tangent....)
(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 SLIPPERY ROCK .......
".......We were now in position to carry-out the ambush ; the waiting was the worse - knowing that we would soon have to inflict suffering on other men ......."
" But we knew , in our case , it was an effort to counter a long established terror . Every other means had been tried . But still the tragedy persisted . The ordinary British soldier , whom we would meet that day , was but the unwilling tool of the war-monger . There was nothing left for us to do but fight the tools , since we could not meet the masters . We would fight them as fairly as possible , but they would not have the advantage of the morning , their firearms versus our sticks .
The British lorries passed by at two p.m. on their return journey to Macroom . With regret we let them go . With the garrison only a mile and a half away to the west , and the patrol the same distance east of us , and with our poor armament , we could not do otherwise . We descended to the road and each group took the place allotted to them . The road from Clondrohid , hardly the width of two cars , bent sharply around the Slippery Rock which sloped upwards from its southern side . It was called 'The Slippery Rock' by children coming home from school , who , seating themselves on flat stones , used to slide down its sloping face .
It was now occupied by Paddy Donncha Eoin and three men with shotguns ......."
(MORE LATER).
THE STALKING OF JOHN STALKER ;
Derek Dunne (journalist) traces the background to the 'STALKER AFFAIR' and details the weekend that JOHN STALKER flew to IRELAND as a hero .
(This article was first published in the 'IN DUBLIN' magazine , on 18th February 1988 , pages 14 , 15 and 16 ; we reproduce it here in 12 parts ....)
(2 of 12).
The next killing was thirteen days later and was related to a previous incident . MI5 bugged a hayshed belonging to the widow of a Republican at Ballyneery Road , outside Lurgan . The hayshed was constructed of breeze blocks and corrugated iron , and the electronic bug was placed in the rafters . The IRA moved explosives into the building and the British Army and RUC monitored all of this . The entire area around there and Kinnego was on high alert . This was 27th October 1982 .
The RUC had been instructed not to enter the area ; RUC Sergeant Sean Quinn and Constables Paul Hamilton and Alan McCloy asked for permission to go into the area . Checks were carried out and they were given permission to proceed . They were also told that the explosives were still in the shed . They were'nt ....
The IRA had managed to take them out despite the surveillance . The three RUC men were killed in an explosion of those same explosives . An informer allegedly came forward and gave the names of four men who were involved . On 11th November 1982 , three of those named were killed in the above-mentioned ambush (see '1 of 12') . But the RUC and the British Army still had the shed under surveillance , and by now the RUC had also planted three sixty-year-old rifles in the shed .
The owner of the shed was away , and Martin McCauley had been asked to look after it . With his friend Michael Tighe , he noticed that the window of the shed was open - both entered and spotted the weapons ; as they moved closer to them , two shots rang out and Michael Tighe disappeared . Then there was a shout - " Right , come on out " , followed by a burst of gunfire . Martin McCauley was hit and could'nt move . He was dragged from the shed and an RUC man threatened to finish him off , and put a gun to his head .
The RUC story was much different.......
(MORE LATER).
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