JOHN SADLEIR and WILLIAM KEOGH - 19th Century Irish Turncoats .......
....... Ireland , 18th Century ; as a race , we had almost been ground down - 'Landlords' , over-crowding , poverty , hunger, depression ; a "wretched and destitute people" , as the philosopher Berkeley called us . The British 'ruling class' , too , put the boot in .......
" I hoped to be excused for representing to His Majesty the miserable situation of the lower ranks of His subjects in this kingdom , that from the rapaciousness of their unfeeling landlords and the restrictions on their trade , they are amongst the most wretched people on earth . "
- that was said in 1770 , by the then British Viceroy , who was apparently content to simply report to "His Majesty" on the poverty in this country and not do anything about it . Then , in 1776 , an English agricultural specialist , a Mr. (or should that be 'Master' ?) Arthur Young , wrote (re his visit to Ireland) -
- " Landlords of consequence have assured me that many of their cottiers (ie 'tenants') would think themselves honoured by having their wives or daughters sent for to the bed of their masters , a mark of slavery that proves the oppression under which such people live . The cottages of the Irish, which are called cabins, are the most miserable-looking hovels that can well be conceived .
The furniture of the cabins is as bad as the architecture ; in very many consisting only of a pot for boiling their potatoes , a bit of a table , and one or two broken stools . Beds are not found universally , the family lying on straw . "
So the only time an Irish female slept in a bed was when "her master" was in it - and Irishmen were "honoured" when that happened ! As Oscar Wilde said - " To know nothing about their great men is one of the necessary elements of English education . " Enough said ...
(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.
KNOCKSAHARING.......
"....... Ireland 1921 ; we were preparing to ambush a patrol of British Auxiliaries near the Macroom Road in Cork ....... "
" We could not get a clear view of the road from where we were , so we decided to send the two local IRA Volunteers across the road into Clohina Wood ; my uncle went with them . They crossed the river by the little plank bridge , and soon signalled to us from an excellent position in the Wood . We had not long to wait - one of our two riflemen returned with a suggestion that their position would be a good one for the Lewis-Gun . I had just told him that since we had little hope of stopping the British lorries , I was going to follow them down the road with a raking fire , and that I had command of all the four hundred yards to Aha Tiompain .
He agreed that I was in a better position , and had mounted the fence to leave when I dragged him down again - the first lorry was almost on the firing line . The chagrin of our riflemen was terrible - my comrade made a movement as if to dash down the steep slope to the road , as he had left his rifle on the other side . I tried to console him - " It will be all right , " I said , " Dan will take care of it . " As if in answer , a rifle spoke loudly from Clohina Wood ; I opened fire into a steel-plated lorry . The British Auxiliaries sat on the floor of that lorry , around the sides , their legs extended inwards . It passed from my sight for the time being , so I turned my attention to the next lorry , and favoured each with a burst of fire , then quickly changed the drum for a full one .
Six British lorries were now speeding down the road to Aha Tiompain - I enfiladed them generally , and the rifles near me were still firing at right-angles to the road . Soon the six lorries , three Tenders and three steel-plated Crossleys , passed from my sight just beyond the cross-roads . The seventh and last British Tender had stopped just underneath us ; it was quite close , too close to sight it even , for it had been 'ditched' under the lee of a high bank . We could not locate a single one of its occupants , but some of them appeared to be very active , for they maintained a heavy fire at us . Our two riflemen in Clohina Wood could not see them because of a thick hedge , on their side of the road . The Auxies could not cross the road to fire through the hedge because of us , but they tried another method .
Crouching under the bank on our side , the Auxies fired grenades over the hedge - but these fell in the Wood and exploded with a lot of noise but did no harm to us . We had brought no hand grenades with us , and now regretted it , for a few grenades dropped over the bank would have routed-out the Auxiliaries on to the road again . It would have been madness to cross the fence and run down the steep slope to fire down on them , so the only method left was to send a few men to have at them from the Renanirree side , if possible ......."
(MORE LATER).
ETHIOPIA - A Brief History .......
(First published in 'HOT PRESS' Magazine , 6th May 1988 , Volume 12 , No. 8 , page 28).
Re-produced here in 10 parts .
(2 of 10).
The Tigreans have been fighting their own battle for independence since the mid-70's ; lately they've been making some progress militarily , the two guerilla groups having delivered a double blow to the Ethiopians around St. Patricks Day last (ie 17th March 1988). The Tigreans attacked the legendary 'royal' city of Axum , while the Eritreans won a critical tank battle in the North . The Ethiopian government's response was swift and dramatic - 'National Mobilisation' was ordered and the government signed an accord with Somalia which would let them re-deploy troops from the South-Eastern frontier for Northern duty . Meanwhile , they evacuated all foreign relief workers from the troubled regions .
In famine terms , the effect could be devastating - even before this latest crisis , Aregani Hajos , Regional Chief of the government's 'Relief and Rehabilitation' Commission estimated that at least two million of the combined 5.7 million population of Eritrea and Tigre were in peril . The famine itself , he believed , was worse than it was in 1984 - 1985 , with only improved logistics and organisation saving the people from equal or greater devastation .
With the escalation of war activities and the evacuation of relief workers , those buffers are no longer in operation . The prospect , indeed , is bleak .......
(MORE LATER).
Friday, June 11, 2004
JOHN SADLEIR and WILLIAM KEOGH - 19th Century Irish Turncoats .......
....... Six-and-a-half million people on the island of Ireland , supported mostly by the potato crop , which allowed for a 'better' standard of 'living' for the "Irish peasant farmer" . The British 'Landlords' , too , noticed this 'improvement' .......
... 'Rents' were increased at the same period that land was scarce (due to the population increase); the 'rent' for a 'holding' quadrupled between 1760 and 1815 , so the 'holding' (ie small farm) was sub-let , usually to the farmers sons , so that the 'rent owed' for that patch of soil could be shared by the family .
Pressure from the so-called 'Landlords' , over-crowding , poverty , hunger , depression , desperately bad 'living' conditions - such was the scene which a well-known philosopher of the day , Berkeley , witnessed in Ireland in 1750 , prompting him to ask " whether there be upon the earth any Christian or civilised people so beggardly wretched and destitute as the common Irish ? "
I wonder did Berkeley 'philosophise' as to why "the common Irish" were in that position in the first place ? And while we're on the subject of what 'our betters' thought of us , the British Viceroy at the time was also fond of kicking people while they were down.......
(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.
KNOCKSAHARING.......
".......We all agreed that the British Auxiliaries were most likely heading for Renanirree to break-up a Sinn Fein Court , which we knew to have been postponed - we were also in agreement that the Brits would most likely return to their base by the Knocksaharing route ......."
" The seven of us were rushing out the door , through the haggard gate-way , over a fence and making a bee-line for Knocksaharing . A few days before we had heard of the capture , by the enemy , of a bag containing some documents . It was said to belong to a Judge who was on a Circuit of Sinn Fein Courts . In the bag was a reference to the Court which was to have been held at Renanirree on that very day ; needless to say , it was not now being held . But now we had a reasonable clue to the movements of the Auxies . They had gone to see if the Sinn Fein Court was being held at the appointed time . They would not delay there , and since it was not a routine visit they would be of the opinion that there would be no danger in returning by the same road .
Our time was short - to intercept them at the nearest point we would have to travel two miles over hedges and ditches . Renanirree was but three miles from that point . My uncle's house was straight across our path and we found him , with two other local IRA Volunteers , at Carraig a' Radhairc ; they had with them two service rifles from an arms dump and the three of them accompanied us . My uncle's house stood a hundred yards south of the upper Renanirree Road ; we crossed this with some little caution , and went swiftly upwards to the ridge of Knocksaharing , passing by the Mass Rock of Carraig a' tSagairt . Then we quickly descended the northern slope , through small fields of every shape with their big stone fences , which generations had made at a terrible cost of murderous toll .
Soon we reached the spot we sought , a corner of one of these little fields ; it sloped steeply towards the lower Renanirree Road , and was a bad corner to get out of , if one had to . But it commanded a long stretch of the road to Macroom , and was back from it only thirty yards . We had not a long view of the on-coming enemy , and that was one of our fears : if some of the rear lorries stopped to the west of us , the British Auxiliaries could work up an easy gradient and come down on us in the pocket we were in ......."
(MORE LATER).
ETHIOPIA - A Brief History .
(First published in 'HOT PRESS' Magazine , 6th May 1988 , Volume 12 , No. 8 , page 28).
Re-produced here in 10 parts .
(1 of 10).
Ethiopia has been at war for 26 years . In the world's longest-running guerilla struggle , the Eritrean People's Liberation Front (EPLF) have fought to regain the independence of the province since it was subsumed into the Ethiopian state by Haile Selassie in 1962 . The tragedy is that neither side appears capable of a conclusive military victory - or of gaining sufficient control of the territory to allow unhindered relief operations .
While the soldiers battle , famine victims come eyeball to eyeball with the grim reaper . The war grinds on , pitilessly . The EPLF shelter in impregnable highland strongholds , hiding elaborate underground tunnels to escape the strafing Ethiopian planes : the mountains offer ideal protection for guerrila fighters . Thus the rebels deny the government control of the countryside . The cities , however , remain in government hands .
The Eritreans are firm in their conviction that the war can be won , believing that government conscripts cannot match the passion and commitment of their volunteers indefinitely . But for the government , defeat cannot be contemplated - Eritrean commands Ethiopia's only coastline , making it strategically vital in terms of supply routes . And besides , the concession of independence could only encourage Sudan , Somalia and the Tigreans in the potential dismemberment of Ethiopia ...
(MORE LATER).
....... Six-and-a-half million people on the island of Ireland , supported mostly by the potato crop , which allowed for a 'better' standard of 'living' for the "Irish peasant farmer" . The British 'Landlords' , too , noticed this 'improvement' .......
... 'Rents' were increased at the same period that land was scarce (due to the population increase); the 'rent' for a 'holding' quadrupled between 1760 and 1815 , so the 'holding' (ie small farm) was sub-let , usually to the farmers sons , so that the 'rent owed' for that patch of soil could be shared by the family .
Pressure from the so-called 'Landlords' , over-crowding , poverty , hunger , depression , desperately bad 'living' conditions - such was the scene which a well-known philosopher of the day , Berkeley , witnessed in Ireland in 1750 , prompting him to ask " whether there be upon the earth any Christian or civilised people so beggardly wretched and destitute as the common Irish ? "
I wonder did Berkeley 'philosophise' as to why "the common Irish" were in that position in the first place ? And while we're on the subject of what 'our betters' thought of us , the British Viceroy at the time was also fond of kicking people while they were down.......
(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.
KNOCKSAHARING.......
".......We all agreed that the British Auxiliaries were most likely heading for Renanirree to break-up a Sinn Fein Court , which we knew to have been postponed - we were also in agreement that the Brits would most likely return to their base by the Knocksaharing route ......."
" The seven of us were rushing out the door , through the haggard gate-way , over a fence and making a bee-line for Knocksaharing . A few days before we had heard of the capture , by the enemy , of a bag containing some documents . It was said to belong to a Judge who was on a Circuit of Sinn Fein Courts . In the bag was a reference to the Court which was to have been held at Renanirree on that very day ; needless to say , it was not now being held . But now we had a reasonable clue to the movements of the Auxies . They had gone to see if the Sinn Fein Court was being held at the appointed time . They would not delay there , and since it was not a routine visit they would be of the opinion that there would be no danger in returning by the same road .
Our time was short - to intercept them at the nearest point we would have to travel two miles over hedges and ditches . Renanirree was but three miles from that point . My uncle's house was straight across our path and we found him , with two other local IRA Volunteers , at Carraig a' Radhairc ; they had with them two service rifles from an arms dump and the three of them accompanied us . My uncle's house stood a hundred yards south of the upper Renanirree Road ; we crossed this with some little caution , and went swiftly upwards to the ridge of Knocksaharing , passing by the Mass Rock of Carraig a' tSagairt . Then we quickly descended the northern slope , through small fields of every shape with their big stone fences , which generations had made at a terrible cost of murderous toll .
Soon we reached the spot we sought , a corner of one of these little fields ; it sloped steeply towards the lower Renanirree Road , and was a bad corner to get out of , if one had to . But it commanded a long stretch of the road to Macroom , and was back from it only thirty yards . We had not a long view of the on-coming enemy , and that was one of our fears : if some of the rear lorries stopped to the west of us , the British Auxiliaries could work up an easy gradient and come down on us in the pocket we were in ......."
(MORE LATER).
ETHIOPIA - A Brief History .
(First published in 'HOT PRESS' Magazine , 6th May 1988 , Volume 12 , No. 8 , page 28).
Re-produced here in 10 parts .
(1 of 10).
Ethiopia has been at war for 26 years . In the world's longest-running guerilla struggle , the Eritrean People's Liberation Front (EPLF) have fought to regain the independence of the province since it was subsumed into the Ethiopian state by Haile Selassie in 1962 . The tragedy is that neither side appears capable of a conclusive military victory - or of gaining sufficient control of the territory to allow unhindered relief operations .
While the soldiers battle , famine victims come eyeball to eyeball with the grim reaper . The war grinds on , pitilessly . The EPLF shelter in impregnable highland strongholds , hiding elaborate underground tunnels to escape the strafing Ethiopian planes : the mountains offer ideal protection for guerrila fighters . Thus the rebels deny the government control of the countryside . The cities , however , remain in government hands .
The Eritreans are firm in their conviction that the war can be won , believing that government conscripts cannot match the passion and commitment of their volunteers indefinitely . But for the government , defeat cannot be contemplated - Eritrean commands Ethiopia's only coastline , making it strategically vital in terms of supply routes . And besides , the concession of independence could only encourage Sudan , Somalia and the Tigreans in the potential dismemberment of Ethiopia ...
(MORE LATER).
Thursday, June 10, 2004
JOHN SADLEIR and WILLIAM KEOGH - 19th Century Irish Turncoats .
Ireland , 1815 - approximately six-and-a-half million people 'lived' on the island of Ireland ; a rise in population of about three-and-a-quarter million since the introduction of the potato into the country in the middle of the 18th Century (ie 1760 - pop. of approximately three-and-a-quarter million ; 1815 - pop. of approximately six-and-a-half million).
With the potato being in itself highly nutritional and a good basis for an adequate diet , as well as being a prolific crop , the poor were able to get better use from what little land they had and use their land to support more people , which led to an increase in the population . Also , the potato needed less land than , for instance , grain , and allowed the farmer to grow other crop elsewhere which he could then sell .
Unfortunately for the Irish 'peasant' farmer (as the Brits described us) , his 'good fortune' was noticed by the British 'Landlords' .......
(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.
KNOCKSAHARING.......
".......We knew they were after us - seven lorry loads of British Auxiliaries in the area . Should we move-out , or stay put ...? "
" We could not block a large percentage of all the roads , since we would greatly harm our own people . Where roads had been trenched , a rough by-pass had been allowed for the use of horse-traffic . The year 1921 had an unusually fine , dry summer , and the motor transport of the enemy often got through the by-passes easily , or crossed trenches over specially made planks . So the game of 'hide-and-seek' went on , and we were now at our wits' end to forecast the Auxiliaries' movements on reaching Renanirree .
They could go on through the glen to Ballingeary , or turn north to Ballyvourney , or south over Doiranaonaig to Inchigeela , or go along the Toon Road a mile to the south of us , and so return to Macroom . Or they could come from the Toon Road past our gate , and go home by the Cross . Or they could come by the upper road from Renanirree to the Cross , and pass within half a mile of us at Bearnasalach . And having come to Bearnasalach they could even say -
- " There's the road to Patsy Dinneen's . He'll be terribly distressed if he hears we passed and never called ..." Three or four of us must have thought of the solution together ; there was a sudden upsurge of men , which nearly wrecked the table . For a moment a babel of short questions and shorter answers - " Sinn Fein Court ! " and "Bloody Judges !" , " Captured documents ! " , "The bag !" ; Renanirree - a Sinn Fein Court , which we knew had been postponed , was to be held there this day . The Auxiliaries would not know it was postponed ......."
(MORE LATER).
A PAINFUL CASE .......
(First published in 'In Dublin' Magazine , 'Under The Bridge' column , 12th November 1987 , Page 4).
Reproduced here in 2 parts .
[2 of 2].
Paul Travers afterwards pleaded guilty . Last month (ie October 1987) the State declined to proceed against Tony Brown on certain charges which had been preferred against him . However , last March (1987) , Garda Martin Caffrey was convicted of using excessive force in order to restrain Tony Brown , who is five foot in height , forty-six years old and suffers from spina bifida .
During his arrest by Garda Martin Caffrey , Brown sustained cuts to his head - one of these cuts required five stitches ; he also had broken bones in both hands , and there was a cut on his left knee . Garda Caffrey said in evidence that that when he tried to handcuff Brown in order to search him for possible weapons , Brown had struggled , and this had necessitated the use of force . Neither man (Travers or Brown) had any weapons .
Paul Travers got eight months in jail for the theft of £130 (Euro 165) . Garda Martin Caffrey was fined £150 (Euro 190) for breaking both hands of a suspect .......
[END of 'A PAINFUL CASE .......'].
(Tomorrow - 'ETHIOPIA : A BRIEF HISTORY..' - from 1988...).
Ireland , 1815 - approximately six-and-a-half million people 'lived' on the island of Ireland ; a rise in population of about three-and-a-quarter million since the introduction of the potato into the country in the middle of the 18th Century (ie 1760 - pop. of approximately three-and-a-quarter million ; 1815 - pop. of approximately six-and-a-half million).
With the potato being in itself highly nutritional and a good basis for an adequate diet , as well as being a prolific crop , the poor were able to get better use from what little land they had and use their land to support more people , which led to an increase in the population . Also , the potato needed less land than , for instance , grain , and allowed the farmer to grow other crop elsewhere which he could then sell .
Unfortunately for the Irish 'peasant' farmer (as the Brits described us) , his 'good fortune' was noticed by the British 'Landlords' .......
(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.
KNOCKSAHARING.......
".......We knew they were after us - seven lorry loads of British Auxiliaries in the area . Should we move-out , or stay put ...? "
" We could not block a large percentage of all the roads , since we would greatly harm our own people . Where roads had been trenched , a rough by-pass had been allowed for the use of horse-traffic . The year 1921 had an unusually fine , dry summer , and the motor transport of the enemy often got through the by-passes easily , or crossed trenches over specially made planks . So the game of 'hide-and-seek' went on , and we were now at our wits' end to forecast the Auxiliaries' movements on reaching Renanirree .
They could go on through the glen to Ballingeary , or turn north to Ballyvourney , or south over Doiranaonaig to Inchigeela , or go along the Toon Road a mile to the south of us , and so return to Macroom . Or they could come from the Toon Road past our gate , and go home by the Cross . Or they could come by the upper road from Renanirree to the Cross , and pass within half a mile of us at Bearnasalach . And having come to Bearnasalach they could even say -
- " There's the road to Patsy Dinneen's . He'll be terribly distressed if he hears we passed and never called ..." Three or four of us must have thought of the solution together ; there was a sudden upsurge of men , which nearly wrecked the table . For a moment a babel of short questions and shorter answers - " Sinn Fein Court ! " and "Bloody Judges !" , " Captured documents ! " , "The bag !" ; Renanirree - a Sinn Fein Court , which we knew had been postponed , was to be held there this day . The Auxiliaries would not know it was postponed ......."
(MORE LATER).
A PAINFUL CASE .......
(First published in 'In Dublin' Magazine , 'Under The Bridge' column , 12th November 1987 , Page 4).
Reproduced here in 2 parts .
[2 of 2].
Paul Travers afterwards pleaded guilty . Last month (ie October 1987) the State declined to proceed against Tony Brown on certain charges which had been preferred against him . However , last March (1987) , Garda Martin Caffrey was convicted of using excessive force in order to restrain Tony Brown , who is five foot in height , forty-six years old and suffers from spina bifida .
During his arrest by Garda Martin Caffrey , Brown sustained cuts to his head - one of these cuts required five stitches ; he also had broken bones in both hands , and there was a cut on his left knee . Garda Caffrey said in evidence that that when he tried to handcuff Brown in order to search him for possible weapons , Brown had struggled , and this had necessitated the use of force . Neither man (Travers or Brown) had any weapons .
Paul Travers got eight months in jail for the theft of £130 (Euro 165) . Garda Martin Caffrey was fined £150 (Euro 190) for breaking both hands of a suspect .......
[END of 'A PAINFUL CASE .......'].
(Tomorrow - 'ETHIOPIA : A BRIEF HISTORY..' - from 1988...).
Wednesday, June 09, 2004
JOSEPH BRENAN ; 1828-1857 : 'Young Ireland' Leader .......
....... Irish Rebel Joseph Brenan was 'on-the-run' from the British in New Orleans in America - the year was 1851 .......
In August that year (1851) , at 23 years young , Joseph Brenan married Mary Savage , his friends sister , and the couple stayed and settled in New Orleans . In 1857 , at 29 years of age , Joseph Brenan died in New Orleans and was buried in that City , in the old French Cemetery . He had dedicated the final ten years of his short life to not only writing about British mis-rule in Ireland but challenging it militarily as well .
Again , as is so often the case with the subjects of this 'weblog' , we found it difficult to find information on Joseph Brenan ; out of the six reference books we usually compile material from , only two made reference to him . He was apparently not as well-known as others of his time who were also involved in the 'Young Ireland' Movement , journalism and military matters . Joseph Brenan deserves recognition nonetheless , and we have attempted to do that here ...
[END of ' JOSEPH BRENAN ; 1828-1857 : 'Young Ireland' Leader...'].
(Tomorrow - the story behind two 19th Century Irish 'Turncoats' , who mixed with the 'best' of British society ...).
WHERE MOUNTAINY MEN HAVE SOWN :
war and peace in rebel Cork ,
in the turbulent years 1916-21.
By Micheal O'Suilleabhain : published 1965.
KNOCKSAHARING.......
".......a system of beacons on hill-tops had been established to notify those in the surrounding area of when the Brits had left their base ; once the beacon was set alight , we knew the enemy was out on a raid ......."
" I remember Saint Johns night when the British were signalled by our beacons . At the same time , fires were lighted in honour of Saint John , causing dire confusion and some slight strain in relations between the patrons of Saint John and the disciples of Baal ! The latter decreed , like King Laoghaire , that in future " 'till Baal's enkindled fire shall rise , no fire shall flame instead . " Perhaps our enemy thought to avail of the confusion , but in any case he had not come very far when he changed his mind and returned again .
It was the morning of the Feast of Corpus Christi ; we were sound asleep when we got the news - it was Mrs. Dinneen herself who urgently called us : " The Black-and-Tans , lads , the Black-and-Tans ! " she cried . I ran to an upstairs window and looked out - they were not yet in sight at any rate . Just then Jer Dinneen appeared and shouted - " No hurry , no hurry ." He had come from Mass ; while we got dressed , he told us the news . " The Tans crossed Carrigaphooca Bridge and we waited to see if they would go straight on for Ballyvourney . But no , they came on for The Cross (our Village) , and crossing Con Lynch's Bridge went on by the lower road to Renanirree . So there ye are . "
There we were , as Jer said , trying hard to anticipate their further movements . We asked each other what they were likely to do next and , while hurriedly drinking a cup of tea , we pondered on it . They were a strong party , seven lorries of British Auxiliaries , and they might do anything . They were not at all shy of travelling over by-roads ; in fact , it had become popular with them , as it contributed towards their safety . The main roads had become dangerous for them , so when they chose a quiet route the chances were much in their favour . Returning by a different and circuitous way was another favourite manoeuvre of theirs , and had often saved them from unwelcome attention . It was impossible to watch for them on more than one road at the same time , since we had not the armed numbers to do so .
Should we move out , or stay put .......? "
(MORE LATER).
A PAINFUL CASE .
(First published in 'In Dublin' Magazine , 'Under The Bridge' column , 12th November 1987 , Page 4).
Reproduced here in 2 parts .
(1 of 2).
The on-going saga regarding Garda Martin Caffrey of Coolock Garda Station in Dublin reached a conclusion of sorts in the High Court on Friday last . The Court upheld a conviction against Garda Caffrey - he had been fined , with £82 expenses (Euro 104) , in the District Court last March (ie March 1987).
On 4th August 1986 , £130 (Euro 165) was taken from a petrol station owned by Desmond McLoughlin . Tony Brown and Paul Travers were followed by the Gardai , and were suspected of having stolen the money . Evidence tendered by the petrol-pump attendant suggested that Paul Travers had taken the money when he was attending to Tony Brown's car .
Evidence was also tendered in the case that Paul Travers had told Brown he had robbed the station , but only after a Garda car approached the men at Lusk , in County Dublin . Both men fled the car , and two Gardai , one of whom was Garda Caffrey , pursued them ...
(MORE LATER).
....... Irish Rebel Joseph Brenan was 'on-the-run' from the British in New Orleans in America - the year was 1851 .......
In August that year (1851) , at 23 years young , Joseph Brenan married Mary Savage , his friends sister , and the couple stayed and settled in New Orleans . In 1857 , at 29 years of age , Joseph Brenan died in New Orleans and was buried in that City , in the old French Cemetery . He had dedicated the final ten years of his short life to not only writing about British mis-rule in Ireland but challenging it militarily as well .
Again , as is so often the case with the subjects of this 'weblog' , we found it difficult to find information on Joseph Brenan ; out of the six reference books we usually compile material from , only two made reference to him . He was apparently not as well-known as others of his time who were also involved in the 'Young Ireland' Movement , journalism and military matters . Joseph Brenan deserves recognition nonetheless , and we have attempted to do that here ...
[END of ' JOSEPH BRENAN ; 1828-1857 : 'Young Ireland' Leader...'].
(Tomorrow - the story behind two 19th Century Irish 'Turncoats' , who mixed with the 'best' of British society ...).
WHERE MOUNTAINY MEN HAVE SOWN :
war and peace in rebel Cork ,
in the turbulent years 1916-21.
By Micheal O'Suilleabhain : published 1965.
KNOCKSAHARING.......
".......a system of beacons on hill-tops had been established to notify those in the surrounding area of when the Brits had left their base ; once the beacon was set alight , we knew the enemy was out on a raid ......."
" I remember Saint Johns night when the British were signalled by our beacons . At the same time , fires were lighted in honour of Saint John , causing dire confusion and some slight strain in relations between the patrons of Saint John and the disciples of Baal ! The latter decreed , like King Laoghaire , that in future " 'till Baal's enkindled fire shall rise , no fire shall flame instead . " Perhaps our enemy thought to avail of the confusion , but in any case he had not come very far when he changed his mind and returned again .
It was the morning of the Feast of Corpus Christi ; we were sound asleep when we got the news - it was Mrs. Dinneen herself who urgently called us : " The Black-and-Tans , lads , the Black-and-Tans ! " she cried . I ran to an upstairs window and looked out - they were not yet in sight at any rate . Just then Jer Dinneen appeared and shouted - " No hurry , no hurry ." He had come from Mass ; while we got dressed , he told us the news . " The Tans crossed Carrigaphooca Bridge and we waited to see if they would go straight on for Ballyvourney . But no , they came on for The Cross (our Village) , and crossing Con Lynch's Bridge went on by the lower road to Renanirree . So there ye are . "
There we were , as Jer said , trying hard to anticipate their further movements . We asked each other what they were likely to do next and , while hurriedly drinking a cup of tea , we pondered on it . They were a strong party , seven lorries of British Auxiliaries , and they might do anything . They were not at all shy of travelling over by-roads ; in fact , it had become popular with them , as it contributed towards their safety . The main roads had become dangerous for them , so when they chose a quiet route the chances were much in their favour . Returning by a different and circuitous way was another favourite manoeuvre of theirs , and had often saved them from unwelcome attention . It was impossible to watch for them on more than one road at the same time , since we had not the armed numbers to do so .
Should we move out , or stay put .......? "
(MORE LATER).
A PAINFUL CASE .
(First published in 'In Dublin' Magazine , 'Under The Bridge' column , 12th November 1987 , Page 4).
Reproduced here in 2 parts .
(1 of 2).
The on-going saga regarding Garda Martin Caffrey of Coolock Garda Station in Dublin reached a conclusion of sorts in the High Court on Friday last . The Court upheld a conviction against Garda Caffrey - he had been fined , with £82 expenses (Euro 104) , in the District Court last March (ie March 1987).
On 4th August 1986 , £130 (Euro 165) was taken from a petrol station owned by Desmond McLoughlin . Tony Brown and Paul Travers were followed by the Gardai , and were suspected of having stolen the money . Evidence tendered by the petrol-pump attendant suggested that Paul Travers had taken the money when he was attending to Tony Brown's car .
Evidence was also tendered in the case that Paul Travers had told Brown he had robbed the station , but only after a Garda car approached the men at Lusk , in County Dublin . Both men fled the car , and two Gardai , one of whom was Garda Caffrey , pursued them ...
(MORE LATER).
Tuesday, June 08, 2004
JOSEPH BRENAN ; 1828-1857 : 'Young Ireland' Leader .......
.......Once again , Joseph Brenan was 'on-the-run' from the British ; he ended up in New Orleans , in America , and got a job as a reporter with 'The New Orleans Times' newspaper - he was to witness a 'war' of a different kind .......
.....a newspaper circulation war ! This was best exemplified by an incident in 1856 ; the founder of the 'The San Francisco Sunday Times' , a Mr. James P. Casey , was at 'war' with a rival newspaper , the 'The San Francisco Bulletin' , and disliked the ' Bulletin's ' Editor , a Mr. James King . The feeling was mutual...
...one day , the 'Bulletin' published an article highlighting the fact that James P. Casey , from the 'Times' newspaper , had served a prison sentence in 'Sing-Sing' Prison for larceny . Casey was raging and , following a 'war of words' between himself and James King , he pulled out a gun and shot King dead !
Then a gang of what were described as " vigilantes " ('Bulletin' employees ?) got hold of James P. Casey and hung him ; it was reported at the time (probably not by the 'San Francisco Bulletin' !) that James P. Casey " ... was given a tremendous funeral by his Irish followers ..." !
However - back to Joseph Brenan : at 23 years young , he got married .......
(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.
KNOCKSAHARING.......
"....... Ireland , 1921 ; our IRA Column had temporarly been disbanded , as we knew the Brits were coming in force for us ......."
" The 'Disband' order was a wise move - soon after , a wider area than was anticipated was literally trampled by ten-thousand British troops ; seven of us kept together - Corney O'Sullivan , Jim and Miah Grey , Paddy Donncha Eoin , Patsy Lynch , my brother Pat and I . Six were armed with rifles and revolvers , while I carried the light aeroplane Lewis-Gun . We had come at night-fall to the house of our good friend Patsy Dinneen at Lios-Bui-Beag , a mile south-west of Kilnamartyra Cross . We never went early to bed in Patsy's farmhouse - he himself , his wife and family were all active comrades of ours , from the start to the finish of our campaign .
Here was always the genuine and generous welcome ; the possible consequences of our coming were not thought of . They never counted what might be the cost of harbouring us , nor did they look forward to the chances of our being trapped in their home by the enemy . If we succeeded in breaking through and getting away , they would still have had to suffer heavily - their entire property would be destroyed and possibly their menfolk shot or at least thrown into prison . But the Dinneen family never thought of that and when we reminded them of it they gave it scant consideration . Patsy Dinneen used to say : "It would be no harm to stir up things around here , the place is very quiet anyway !" Nevertheless , we always felt we were doing wrong when we rested at such a homestead , without posting at least one sentry .
At that time , there were area signal stations by night and day ; beacons on hilltops were lighted at night when the enemy was observed leaving his base . These beacons were relayed forward and proved of great value on several occasions when the enemy ventured out on a raid ......."
(MORE LATER).
GETTING OUT .......
'Britain has the economic clout to impose peace in Northern Ireland (sic), argue BOB ROWTHORN and NAOMI WAYNE . Why does'nt it use it ? '
(First published in 'New Statesman and Society' Magazine , 9th September , 1988 , pages 12 and 13).
Re-produced here in 10 parts .
[Apologises beforehand for the use of the descriptions "Northern Ireland" and "Province" , and the constant use of the terms "Catholics" and "Protestants" in the following ten-part article ; they are not our descriptions or terms , but the Authors].
[10 of 10].
Britain is upholding a state which represents the victory of one community over another . Equally , the usual argument put against the course we advocate - that its undemocratic to force re-unification upon the majority (sic) against their wishes- ignores the artificial nature of that majority . Prior to partition , the Protestants themselves were very much the minority .
For 20 years (sic) Britain has fought an unwinnable war in 'Northern Ireland' to save a state which cannot be saved ; only a resolute and well-planned withdrawal can bring peace to the troubled 'province' . For once in its long and unhappy relationship with Ireland , Britain should do the right thing at the right time . And that time is now .
(This ten-part article was adopted from the book 'Northern Ireland : The Political Economy Of Conflict' , which was published by 'Polity Press' in October 1988 . The Authors are BOB ROWTHORN [who , at the time , was a Reader in Economics at Cambridge] and NAOMI WAYNE [who , at the time , was a Trade Union Official]).
[END of ' GETTING OUT .......'].
(Tomorrow - 'A PAINFUL CASE' : Free State police use excessive force - a two-parter from 1987 ...).
.......Once again , Joseph Brenan was 'on-the-run' from the British ; he ended up in New Orleans , in America , and got a job as a reporter with 'The New Orleans Times' newspaper - he was to witness a 'war' of a different kind .......
.....a newspaper circulation war ! This was best exemplified by an incident in 1856 ; the founder of the 'The San Francisco Sunday Times' , a Mr. James P. Casey , was at 'war' with a rival newspaper , the 'The San Francisco Bulletin' , and disliked the ' Bulletin's ' Editor , a Mr. James King . The feeling was mutual...
...one day , the 'Bulletin' published an article highlighting the fact that James P. Casey , from the 'Times' newspaper , had served a prison sentence in 'Sing-Sing' Prison for larceny . Casey was raging and , following a 'war of words' between himself and James King , he pulled out a gun and shot King dead !
Then a gang of what were described as " vigilantes " ('Bulletin' employees ?) got hold of James P. Casey and hung him ; it was reported at the time (probably not by the 'San Francisco Bulletin' !) that James P. Casey " ... was given a tremendous funeral by his Irish followers ..." !
However - back to Joseph Brenan : at 23 years young , he got married .......
(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.
KNOCKSAHARING.......
"....... Ireland , 1921 ; our IRA Column had temporarly been disbanded , as we knew the Brits were coming in force for us ......."
" The 'Disband' order was a wise move - soon after , a wider area than was anticipated was literally trampled by ten-thousand British troops ; seven of us kept together - Corney O'Sullivan , Jim and Miah Grey , Paddy Donncha Eoin , Patsy Lynch , my brother Pat and I . Six were armed with rifles and revolvers , while I carried the light aeroplane Lewis-Gun . We had come at night-fall to the house of our good friend Patsy Dinneen at Lios-Bui-Beag , a mile south-west of Kilnamartyra Cross . We never went early to bed in Patsy's farmhouse - he himself , his wife and family were all active comrades of ours , from the start to the finish of our campaign .
Here was always the genuine and generous welcome ; the possible consequences of our coming were not thought of . They never counted what might be the cost of harbouring us , nor did they look forward to the chances of our being trapped in their home by the enemy . If we succeeded in breaking through and getting away , they would still have had to suffer heavily - their entire property would be destroyed and possibly their menfolk shot or at least thrown into prison . But the Dinneen family never thought of that and when we reminded them of it they gave it scant consideration . Patsy Dinneen used to say : "It would be no harm to stir up things around here , the place is very quiet anyway !" Nevertheless , we always felt we were doing wrong when we rested at such a homestead , without posting at least one sentry .
At that time , there were area signal stations by night and day ; beacons on hilltops were lighted at night when the enemy was observed leaving his base . These beacons were relayed forward and proved of great value on several occasions when the enemy ventured out on a raid ......."
(MORE LATER).
GETTING OUT .......
'Britain has the economic clout to impose peace in Northern Ireland (sic), argue BOB ROWTHORN and NAOMI WAYNE . Why does'nt it use it ? '
(First published in 'New Statesman and Society' Magazine , 9th September , 1988 , pages 12 and 13).
Re-produced here in 10 parts .
[Apologises beforehand for the use of the descriptions "Northern Ireland" and "Province" , and the constant use of the terms "Catholics" and "Protestants" in the following ten-part article ; they are not our descriptions or terms , but the Authors].
[10 of 10].
Britain is upholding a state which represents the victory of one community over another . Equally , the usual argument put against the course we advocate - that its undemocratic to force re-unification upon the majority (sic) against their wishes- ignores the artificial nature of that majority . Prior to partition , the Protestants themselves were very much the minority .
For 20 years (sic) Britain has fought an unwinnable war in 'Northern Ireland' to save a state which cannot be saved ; only a resolute and well-planned withdrawal can bring peace to the troubled 'province' . For once in its long and unhappy relationship with Ireland , Britain should do the right thing at the right time . And that time is now .
(This ten-part article was adopted from the book 'Northern Ireland : The Political Economy Of Conflict' , which was published by 'Polity Press' in October 1988 . The Authors are BOB ROWTHORN [who , at the time , was a Reader in Economics at Cambridge] and NAOMI WAYNE [who , at the time , was a Trade Union Official]).
[END of ' GETTING OUT .......'].
(Tomorrow - 'A PAINFUL CASE' : Free State police use excessive force - a two-parter from 1987 ...).
Monday, June 07, 2004
JOSEPH BRENAN ; 1828-1857 : 'Young Ireland' Leader .......
....... James Fintan Lalor hit back at the British in September 1849 , with Joseph Brenan by his side ; the armed action took place in Cappoquin , Waterford .......
The Rising of 1849 started in September that year - but it was over by the following month ; its objective was not achieved : parts of the south-east of the island took a stand against the British , but to no avail . Joseph Brenan was forced to go 'on-the-run' and made it to New Orleans in America , where he got a job as a reporter with 'The New Orleans Times' newspaper - he was still only a young man of 21 years of age .
He became friendly with the sister of John Savage , a comrade of his , who was a young Dublin art student who was himself 'on-the-run' from the British ; John Savage had fled to New York and got a job as a proof-reader with 'The New York Tribune' newspaper (incidentally - that newspapers 'European Correspondent' was Karl Marx !).
A small tangent here concerning a 'war' of a different kind which was taking place in American journalism at the time .......
(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.
KNOCKSAHARING.
" Knocksaharing , literally translated into English , means 'Saturday Hill .' But it is probably the hill dedicated to Saturn . On top of this hill is a big rock known as Carraig a' tSagairt , where Mass was said in the Penal Days , but which in Druidical times was possibly a pagan altar . The northern slope of Knocksaharing comes down to meet the southern slope of Clohina . In the depression so formed flows the little river , the Sullane Beag , and parallel to it runs the Macroom-Renanirree Road .
It was a lovely glen at the time I write about , with its clumps of holly everywhere , surrounding the little green fields and mingling with the stunted oak to form Clohina Wood , as quiet a spot as one who longed for peace could wish to meet . The cascading of the little river , down the slope to the bridge at Aha Tiompain , was a sound which spoke everlastingly of rest . The little bridge was but half a mile north of the place where I was born . To me it was once the bridge of romance , a goal I longed to reach . I pictured it a mighty structure , spanning a wide and deep current . When I managed to walk to it and was held on its parapets , to gaze on the rippling water underneath .
I was quite pleased with it and I never wearied of that pleasure , even when later I discovered that it was but a very small bridge after all . The road it carried was the nearest way to Ballyvourney , from the village of Kilnamartyra . It was much used by us at the time ; it was quiet and the enemy made little use of it , deterred perhaps by the frowning Rahoona and its foothills , where IRA marksmen might lie close to the road in safety . It was the eve of the Feast of Corpus Christi , 1921 ; our IRA Column had been disbanded for the time being , as a 'round-up' by the British was on the way and it was thought wiser to disperse the men .
It proved to be a wise decision ......."
(MORE LATER).
GETTING OUT .......
'Britain has the economic clout to impose peace in Northern Ireland (sic), argue BOB ROWTHORN and NAOMI WAYNE . Why does'nt it use it ? '
(First published in 'New Statesman and Society' Magazine , 9th September , 1988 , pages 12 and 13).
Re-produced here in 10 parts .
[Apologises beforehand for the use of the descriptions "Northern Ireland" and "Province" , and the constant use of the terms "Catholics" and "Protestants" in the following ten-part article ; they are not our descriptions or terms , but the Authors].
(9 of 10).
The risk of widespread bloodshed could thus be reduced to almost negligible proportions . There's no question of conventional warfare , given the quality of the arms at the disposal of militant Protestants , but however intensively 'Northern Ireland' were policed , there would almost certainly be a burst of sectarian killings during the process of transition .
But this risk has to be weighed against the absolute certainty that thousands will die if Britain remains in 'Northern Ireland' , and countless more will suffer in other ways . Finally , there is the moral dimension - Britain presents itself as an honest broker in Ireland , desperately trying to establish peace between two hostile communities . But its involvement is partisan simply because the 'Northern Ireland' state (sic) is itself a partisan creation .
Discrimination against Catholics is built into its very being .......
(MORE LATER).
....... James Fintan Lalor hit back at the British in September 1849 , with Joseph Brenan by his side ; the armed action took place in Cappoquin , Waterford .......
The Rising of 1849 started in September that year - but it was over by the following month ; its objective was not achieved : parts of the south-east of the island took a stand against the British , but to no avail . Joseph Brenan was forced to go 'on-the-run' and made it to New Orleans in America , where he got a job as a reporter with 'The New Orleans Times' newspaper - he was still only a young man of 21 years of age .
He became friendly with the sister of John Savage , a comrade of his , who was a young Dublin art student who was himself 'on-the-run' from the British ; John Savage had fled to New York and got a job as a proof-reader with 'The New York Tribune' newspaper (incidentally - that newspapers 'European Correspondent' was Karl Marx !).
A small tangent here concerning a 'war' of a different kind which was taking place in American journalism at the time .......
(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.
KNOCKSAHARING.
" Knocksaharing , literally translated into English , means 'Saturday Hill .' But it is probably the hill dedicated to Saturn . On top of this hill is a big rock known as Carraig a' tSagairt , where Mass was said in the Penal Days , but which in Druidical times was possibly a pagan altar . The northern slope of Knocksaharing comes down to meet the southern slope of Clohina . In the depression so formed flows the little river , the Sullane Beag , and parallel to it runs the Macroom-Renanirree Road .
It was a lovely glen at the time I write about , with its clumps of holly everywhere , surrounding the little green fields and mingling with the stunted oak to form Clohina Wood , as quiet a spot as one who longed for peace could wish to meet . The cascading of the little river , down the slope to the bridge at Aha Tiompain , was a sound which spoke everlastingly of rest . The little bridge was but half a mile north of the place where I was born . To me it was once the bridge of romance , a goal I longed to reach . I pictured it a mighty structure , spanning a wide and deep current . When I managed to walk to it and was held on its parapets , to gaze on the rippling water underneath .
I was quite pleased with it and I never wearied of that pleasure , even when later I discovered that it was but a very small bridge after all . The road it carried was the nearest way to Ballyvourney , from the village of Kilnamartyra . It was much used by us at the time ; it was quiet and the enemy made little use of it , deterred perhaps by the frowning Rahoona and its foothills , where IRA marksmen might lie close to the road in safety . It was the eve of the Feast of Corpus Christi , 1921 ; our IRA Column had been disbanded for the time being , as a 'round-up' by the British was on the way and it was thought wiser to disperse the men .
It proved to be a wise decision ......."
(MORE LATER).
GETTING OUT .......
'Britain has the economic clout to impose peace in Northern Ireland (sic), argue BOB ROWTHORN and NAOMI WAYNE . Why does'nt it use it ? '
(First published in 'New Statesman and Society' Magazine , 9th September , 1988 , pages 12 and 13).
Re-produced here in 10 parts .
[Apologises beforehand for the use of the descriptions "Northern Ireland" and "Province" , and the constant use of the terms "Catholics" and "Protestants" in the following ten-part article ; they are not our descriptions or terms , but the Authors].
(9 of 10).
The risk of widespread bloodshed could thus be reduced to almost negligible proportions . There's no question of conventional warfare , given the quality of the arms at the disposal of militant Protestants , but however intensively 'Northern Ireland' were policed , there would almost certainly be a burst of sectarian killings during the process of transition .
But this risk has to be weighed against the absolute certainty that thousands will die if Britain remains in 'Northern Ireland' , and countless more will suffer in other ways . Finally , there is the moral dimension - Britain presents itself as an honest broker in Ireland , desperately trying to establish peace between two hostile communities . But its involvement is partisan simply because the 'Northern Ireland' state (sic) is itself a partisan creation .
Discrimination against Catholics is built into its very being .......
(MORE LATER).
Sunday, June 06, 2004
JOSEPH BRENAN ; 1828-1857 : 'Young Ireland' Leader .......
....... Ireland , 1849 ; Joseph Brenan was writing for 'The Irishman' newspaper when he heard that James Fintan Lalor , one of 'The Young Ireland' Movement leaders , was planning an attack on the British.......
A date for the J F Lalor-inspired Rising had been set - 16th September (1849) , and a venue had been chosen ; Cappoquin , in Waterford . Joseph Brenan left 'The Irishman' newspaper and set-out to meet up with James Fintan Lalor .
James Fintan Lalor took the position that the issue of land was at the core of the British/Irish conflict , and that it was necessary to organise the "peasantry" [as Westminster called them] into a fighting force , militarily and politically , to challenge British mis-rule in Ireland - as he himself said :
: " The entire ownership of Ireland is vested of right in the people of Ireland : that they , and none but they , are the land owners and law makers of this island . That all ties to land are invalid if not conferred or confirmed by them , and that this full right of ownership may and ought to be asserted and enforced by any and all means which God has put into the power of men . "
The armed action started in September 1849 .......
(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 DRIVE TO CORK CITY .......
"....... The Brits in Ballinhassig Barracks heard our car pass them by , but they did'nt come out to us ; instead , they notified all their posts in the district to be on alert for us ......."
" From Coachford we went north to Peake , then north-west to Ballinagree . Here we rested during the day as we got word that the British Auxiliaries were out across our road home . When night fell we returned by our old route to Carraig an Ime and reached our camp at Cumuiclumhain before midnight .
Approaching , with full lights on , a narrow part of the road shaded by trees , a horse-cart was suddenly run in front of us , bringing us to a stop . Around us we could see muzzles of rifles and shotguns , but nothing else ...
... " All right lads , " shouted Jim Grey into the darkness . It was the IRA guard for the night . They welcomed us home . "
[END of ' A DRIVE TO CORK CITY .......'].
(Tomorrow - 'Knocksaharing ...').
GETTING OUT .......
'Britain has the economic clout to impose peace in Northern Ireland (sic), argue BOB ROWTHORN and NAOMI WAYNE . Why does'nt it use it ? '
(First published in 'New Statesman and Society' Magazine , 9th September , 1988 , pages 12 and 13).
Re-produced here in 10 parts .
[Apologises beforehand for the use of the descriptions "Northern Ireland" and "Province" , and the constant use of the terms "Catholics" and "Protestants" in the following ten-part article ; they are not our descriptions or terms , but the Authors].
(8 of 10).
Would the British armed forces in the North stay loyal and hold their discipline ? This would be far more likely if the British and Irish governments guaranteed the future employment and pension rights of those who obeyed orders . Apart from the UDR and RUC , the Protestants own most of the 100,000 or so guns - mostly shotguns- which are 'legally' held in the 'province' . There are also an unknown quantity of revolvers , rifles and machine-guns held 'illegally' by Protestants in self-defence and , of course , by the paramilitaries . There is no way Britain can do anything about these weapons .
But regardless of how well-armed the Protestants are , would they actually fight ? Most Protestants are opposed to British withdrawal , and they know that the threat of massive bloodshed is a formidable deterrent . But to threaten is one thing , to deliver is another . More relevant here than their armed strength are two quite different factors : war-weariness and economic self-interest . The majority of Protestants are heartily sick of the violence . If they were genuinely convinced that Britain was going and would crush resistance by strong economic sanctions , and were at the same time fully reassured about their future , most Protestants would accept re-unification as a fait accompli .
Some Protestants would emigrate , and the few who wanted to take up arms would be likely to find only minimal support .......
(MORE LATER).
....... Ireland , 1849 ; Joseph Brenan was writing for 'The Irishman' newspaper when he heard that James Fintan Lalor , one of 'The Young Ireland' Movement leaders , was planning an attack on the British.......
A date for the J F Lalor-inspired Rising had been set - 16th September (1849) , and a venue had been chosen ; Cappoquin , in Waterford . Joseph Brenan left 'The Irishman' newspaper and set-out to meet up with James Fintan Lalor .
James Fintan Lalor took the position that the issue of land was at the core of the British/Irish conflict , and that it was necessary to organise the "peasantry" [as Westminster called them] into a fighting force , militarily and politically , to challenge British mis-rule in Ireland - as he himself said :
: " The entire ownership of Ireland is vested of right in the people of Ireland : that they , and none but they , are the land owners and law makers of this island . That all ties to land are invalid if not conferred or confirmed by them , and that this full right of ownership may and ought to be asserted and enforced by any and all means which God has put into the power of men . "
The armed action started in September 1849 .......
(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 DRIVE TO CORK CITY .......
"....... The Brits in Ballinhassig Barracks heard our car pass them by , but they did'nt come out to us ; instead , they notified all their posts in the district to be on alert for us ......."
" From Coachford we went north to Peake , then north-west to Ballinagree . Here we rested during the day as we got word that the British Auxiliaries were out across our road home . When night fell we returned by our old route to Carraig an Ime and reached our camp at Cumuiclumhain before midnight .
Approaching , with full lights on , a narrow part of the road shaded by trees , a horse-cart was suddenly run in front of us , bringing us to a stop . Around us we could see muzzles of rifles and shotguns , but nothing else ...
... " All right lads , " shouted Jim Grey into the darkness . It was the IRA guard for the night . They welcomed us home . "
[END of ' A DRIVE TO CORK CITY .......'].
(Tomorrow - 'Knocksaharing ...').
GETTING OUT .......
'Britain has the economic clout to impose peace in Northern Ireland (sic), argue BOB ROWTHORN and NAOMI WAYNE . Why does'nt it use it ? '
(First published in 'New Statesman and Society' Magazine , 9th September , 1988 , pages 12 and 13).
Re-produced here in 10 parts .
[Apologises beforehand for the use of the descriptions "Northern Ireland" and "Province" , and the constant use of the terms "Catholics" and "Protestants" in the following ten-part article ; they are not our descriptions or terms , but the Authors].
(8 of 10).
Would the British armed forces in the North stay loyal and hold their discipline ? This would be far more likely if the British and Irish governments guaranteed the future employment and pension rights of those who obeyed orders . Apart from the UDR and RUC , the Protestants own most of the 100,000 or so guns - mostly shotguns- which are 'legally' held in the 'province' . There are also an unknown quantity of revolvers , rifles and machine-guns held 'illegally' by Protestants in self-defence and , of course , by the paramilitaries . There is no way Britain can do anything about these weapons .
But regardless of how well-armed the Protestants are , would they actually fight ? Most Protestants are opposed to British withdrawal , and they know that the threat of massive bloodshed is a formidable deterrent . But to threaten is one thing , to deliver is another . More relevant here than their armed strength are two quite different factors : war-weariness and economic self-interest . The majority of Protestants are heartily sick of the violence . If they were genuinely convinced that Britain was going and would crush resistance by strong economic sanctions , and were at the same time fully reassured about their future , most Protestants would accept re-unification as a fait accompli .
Some Protestants would emigrate , and the few who wanted to take up arms would be likely to find only minimal support .......
(MORE LATER).
Saturday, June 05, 2004
JOSEPH BRENAN ; 1828-1857 : 'Young Ireland' Leader .......
.......Although only in his early 20's , Joseph Brenan was in a leadership position in 'The Young Ireland' Movement ; he joined up with a group of Rebels , under the command of John O'Mahony , in the Waterford area .......
Joseph Brenan fought alongside O'Mahony's group against the British forces when 'The Young Irelanders' rose-up in July 1848 but , following the collapse of that Rising , Joseph Brenan was captured and imprisoned in Newgate Jail first , then, after a few months , was shifted to Carrickfergus Jail , then to Kilmainham Jail in Dublin .
Finally , after seven months detention , he was released (without trial) and became involved with Bernard Fulham in the production of a new Rebel newspaper , ' The Irishman ' ; he used 'The Irishman' to call for the population to take back in arms that which the Brits held by arms ; that was in March 1849 - in September that same year (1849) , after seven months writing articles and Editorials for 'The Irishman' newspaper , Joseph Brenan was told that James Fintan Lalor was planning an attack on the British .
J F Lalor was also in a leadership position in 'The Young Ireland' Movement and was well-known for his writings on the land issue .......
(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 DRIVE TO CORK CITY .......
".......The man who was following Jim Grey had been warned off ; the local IRA then picked him up and investigated him and his family - we all agreed to leave the matter at that , as there seemed to be no threat to us ......."
" We finished our shopping and returned to the milk-cart . The tyres we purchased had arrived and we stowed them under the seat and the milk churns . Sitting aboard , we started out the Douglas Road , but had not gone far when we found the street partly blocked and a group of RIC men searching every vehicle that passed either way . Driving up to the barricade we were motioned through without question . Evidently , they tired of questioning the milk-man who passed them by every day . In any case , since the advent of the Black-and-Tans the RIC had ceased to be enthusiastic about the 'law'.
Very soon we were clear of the city and saw with relief the open country . It was good to be safely back at Ballygarvan with our four comrades and to see the Buick , and the Lewis-Gun , and our rifles . That night , having said good-bye to our kindly hostess , Miss Walsh , we started on our journey home to Ballyvourney . This time we choose the southern route , through Ballinhassig where we slipped by the rear of the British Barracks .
The Brits heard our Buick climbing the hill , however , and sent out a message to warn all their posts that we had passed . Our road from the south led us to within a mile of the British Barracks at Ballincollig , and , since we could not use lights , we had to travel very slowly . By-passing trenched roads delayed us further ; finally , we crossed the River Lee at Rooves Bridge and came into Coachford as day was breaking . So far , so good ......."
(MORE LATER).
GETTING OUT .......
'Britain has the economic clout to impose peace in Northern Ireland (sic), argue BOB ROWTHORN and NAOMI WAYNE . Why does'nt it use it ? '
(First published in 'New Statesman and Society' Magazine , 9th September , 1988 , pages 12 and 13).
Re-produced here in 10 parts .
[Apologises beforehand for the use of the descriptions "Northern Ireland" and "Province" , and the constant use of the terms "Catholics" and "Protestants" in the following ten-part article ; they are not our descriptions or terms , but the Authors].
(7 of 10).
Contraception is now legal and available in the 'Republic' . Abortions are banned north and south of the border , and all Irish women , Protestant and Catholic , have to come to Britain for terminations . Divorce remains the main area of apparent difference , but even here the gulf should not be insurmountable . While divorce remains prohibited under the constitution of the 'Republic' (whereas the 'province's' divorce laws parallel Britain's) , new laws being introduced will soon give much the same entitlements as divorce , save the right to remarry .
These positive measures should do much to minimise the risk and extent of inter-community violence . But Britain would also have to act immediately to take all practicable measures to disarm Protestants . There are around 6,000 members of the Ulster Defence Regiment and a further 13,000 in the RUC . Most of them carry personal arms for self-defence and also have access to 'official' arsenals containing more destructive weapons (high-velocity rifles , sub-machine guns ,etc) . The UDR should be disbanded , thus greatly reducing Protestant access to 'official' arsenals .
It may also be necessary to disband the RUC , but much would depend on whether the RUC's loyalty and discipline held .......
(MORE LATER).
.......Although only in his early 20's , Joseph Brenan was in a leadership position in 'The Young Ireland' Movement ; he joined up with a group of Rebels , under the command of John O'Mahony , in the Waterford area .......
Joseph Brenan fought alongside O'Mahony's group against the British forces when 'The Young Irelanders' rose-up in July 1848 but , following the collapse of that Rising , Joseph Brenan was captured and imprisoned in Newgate Jail first , then, after a few months , was shifted to Carrickfergus Jail , then to Kilmainham Jail in Dublin .
Finally , after seven months detention , he was released (without trial) and became involved with Bernard Fulham in the production of a new Rebel newspaper , ' The Irishman ' ; he used 'The Irishman' to call for the population to take back in arms that which the Brits held by arms ; that was in March 1849 - in September that same year (1849) , after seven months writing articles and Editorials for 'The Irishman' newspaper , Joseph Brenan was told that James Fintan Lalor was planning an attack on the British .
J F Lalor was also in a leadership position in 'The Young Ireland' Movement and was well-known for his writings on the land issue .......
(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 DRIVE TO CORK CITY .......
".......The man who was following Jim Grey had been warned off ; the local IRA then picked him up and investigated him and his family - we all agreed to leave the matter at that , as there seemed to be no threat to us ......."
" We finished our shopping and returned to the milk-cart . The tyres we purchased had arrived and we stowed them under the seat and the milk churns . Sitting aboard , we started out the Douglas Road , but had not gone far when we found the street partly blocked and a group of RIC men searching every vehicle that passed either way . Driving up to the barricade we were motioned through without question . Evidently , they tired of questioning the milk-man who passed them by every day . In any case , since the advent of the Black-and-Tans the RIC had ceased to be enthusiastic about the 'law'.
Very soon we were clear of the city and saw with relief the open country . It was good to be safely back at Ballygarvan with our four comrades and to see the Buick , and the Lewis-Gun , and our rifles . That night , having said good-bye to our kindly hostess , Miss Walsh , we started on our journey home to Ballyvourney . This time we choose the southern route , through Ballinhassig where we slipped by the rear of the British Barracks .
The Brits heard our Buick climbing the hill , however , and sent out a message to warn all their posts that we had passed . Our road from the south led us to within a mile of the British Barracks at Ballincollig , and , since we could not use lights , we had to travel very slowly . By-passing trenched roads delayed us further ; finally , we crossed the River Lee at Rooves Bridge and came into Coachford as day was breaking . So far , so good ......."
(MORE LATER).
GETTING OUT .......
'Britain has the economic clout to impose peace in Northern Ireland (sic), argue BOB ROWTHORN and NAOMI WAYNE . Why does'nt it use it ? '
(First published in 'New Statesman and Society' Magazine , 9th September , 1988 , pages 12 and 13).
Re-produced here in 10 parts .
[Apologises beforehand for the use of the descriptions "Northern Ireland" and "Province" , and the constant use of the terms "Catholics" and "Protestants" in the following ten-part article ; they are not our descriptions or terms , but the Authors].
(7 of 10).
Contraception is now legal and available in the 'Republic' . Abortions are banned north and south of the border , and all Irish women , Protestant and Catholic , have to come to Britain for terminations . Divorce remains the main area of apparent difference , but even here the gulf should not be insurmountable . While divorce remains prohibited under the constitution of the 'Republic' (whereas the 'province's' divorce laws parallel Britain's) , new laws being introduced will soon give much the same entitlements as divorce , save the right to remarry .
These positive measures should do much to minimise the risk and extent of inter-community violence . But Britain would also have to act immediately to take all practicable measures to disarm Protestants . There are around 6,000 members of the Ulster Defence Regiment and a further 13,000 in the RUC . Most of them carry personal arms for self-defence and also have access to 'official' arsenals containing more destructive weapons (high-velocity rifles , sub-machine guns ,etc) . The UDR should be disbanded , thus greatly reducing Protestant access to 'official' arsenals .
It may also be necessary to disband the RUC , but much would depend on whether the RUC's loyalty and discipline held .......
(MORE LATER).
Friday, June 04, 2004
JOSEPH BRENAN ; 1828-1857 : 'Young Ireland' Leader .......
....... Joseph Brenan was living in Dublin when the British 'Authorities' closed-down 'The United Irishman' newspaper in May 1848 ; the Brits had been keeping an eye on Joseph Brenan , who was writing articles for various publications calling on people to rise up in arms against them .......
After they closed down 'The United Irishman' newspaper , the Brits watched as Joseph Brenan began writing for the 'The Irish Tribune' newspaper , edited by Richard Dalton Williams and Kevin Izod O'Doherty , and another short-lived Rebel newspaper , 'The Irish Felon' , edited by John Martin .
Joseph Brenan , now in his early 20's , and in a leadership position in 'The Young Irelanders' Movement , was quite openly calling for an immediate Rising against the British , to begin in Dublin , and which , he opined , would spread to the rest of the country ; but Dublin was the then stronghold of the British presence (mid-1848) and it was suggested that a military campaign against the Brits would have a better chance of success were it to start in the rural areas .
A group of Irish Rebels , under the Command of John O'Mahony (who was later to be elected leader of the American Fenian Organisation , 'Clann na Gael' , and was to be described by the Fenian author John O'Leary as - " ...an advanced democrat of socialist opinions " ) was operating in the County Waterford area and Joseph Brenan caught up with O'Mahony and his group near the Comeragh Mountains .......
WHERE MOUNTAINY MEN HAVE SOWN :
war and peace in rebel Cork ,
in the turbulent years 1916-21.
By Micheal O'Suilleabhain : published 1965.
A DRIVE TO CORK CITY .......
"....... Jim Grey and I split-up , with myself about twenty-yards behind him , as we walked to 'Johnson and Perrots' garage for tyres ; Jim did'nt know it yet , but he had 'picked-up' a 'tail' , and I kept a close eye on both Jim and this other man . When this stranger was satisfied that Jim was in the Office of the garage , he turned to go ......."
" My left hand fell on the strangers neck ; he struggled to complete his exit but failed - I pushed him in the doorway , and into the corner formed by the sliding door and its pillar . He demanded an explanation but I told him to wait for a little while . Presently Jim returned from the garage Office . " We will go , Mick ," he said , then he caught sight of the prisoner . " Who is he ? " he asked . " I don't know , " I answered , and told him the story .
The man admitted that I had told the truth , that he had followed Jim , but said that he had done so through idle curiosity . " You were going to Union Quay ," (the British Barracks) Jim said gently , " and now my poor man , " he added , " you may carry on , but you'll never reach the place . " The tout made further protests against the idea that he meant to do us any harm , and so we left him . We reported the matter to 'Flurrie' , one of our men in the area , and the tout was picked-up , tried and acquitted ; his plea was still that of idle curiosity .
It seemed an extraordinary plea , but all his people were found to be honest and in no way hostile towards us - we were glad to hear that he got the benefit of the doubt . To hear of a young Irishman convicted of spying on his own people would be the most melancholy news of all ......."
(MORE LATER).
GETTING OUT .......
'Britain has the economic clout to impose peace in Northern Ireland (sic), argue BOB ROWTHORN and NAOMI WAYNE . Why does'nt it use it ? '
(First published in 'New Statesman and Society' Magazine , 9th September , 1988 , pages 12 and 13).
Re-produced here in 10 parts .
[Apologises beforehand for the use of the descriptions "Northern Ireland" and "Province" , and the constant use of the terms "Catholics" and "Protestants" in the following ten-part article ; they are not our descriptions or terms , but the Authors].
(6 of 10).
Many Protestants fear that they would be oppressed by the Catholic majority in a united Ireland ; this fear is greatly exaggerated . Leading nationalist politicians of all kinds have frequently made it clear that they would guarantee Protestant religious and political freedoms in a united Ireland . But Britain and the 'Republic' should at once take positive measures to reassure Protestants about the kind of future they could expect .
They would have to be welcomed into the new state and given specific guarantees over employment rights , civil and religious liberties , and so on . Britain's continued aid would underpin these assurances and Britain could make it clear that its continuing economic power in Ireland would be used , if need be , further to protect their rights and liberties .
In any event , the gap between Catholic and Protestant moral values is nowhere near as large as is often assumed . It should by no means be unbridgeable in a united Ireland .......
(MORE LATER).
....... Joseph Brenan was living in Dublin when the British 'Authorities' closed-down 'The United Irishman' newspaper in May 1848 ; the Brits had been keeping an eye on Joseph Brenan , who was writing articles for various publications calling on people to rise up in arms against them .......
After they closed down 'The United Irishman' newspaper , the Brits watched as Joseph Brenan began writing for the 'The Irish Tribune' newspaper , edited by Richard Dalton Williams and Kevin Izod O'Doherty , and another short-lived Rebel newspaper , 'The Irish Felon' , edited by John Martin .
Joseph Brenan , now in his early 20's , and in a leadership position in 'The Young Irelanders' Movement , was quite openly calling for an immediate Rising against the British , to begin in Dublin , and which , he opined , would spread to the rest of the country ; but Dublin was the then stronghold of the British presence (mid-1848) and it was suggested that a military campaign against the Brits would have a better chance of success were it to start in the rural areas .
A group of Irish Rebels , under the Command of John O'Mahony (who was later to be elected leader of the American Fenian Organisation , 'Clann na Gael' , and was to be described by the Fenian author John O'Leary as - " ...an advanced democrat of socialist opinions " ) was operating in the County Waterford area and Joseph Brenan caught up with O'Mahony and his group near the Comeragh Mountains .......
WHERE MOUNTAINY MEN HAVE SOWN :
war and peace in rebel Cork ,
in the turbulent years 1916-21.
By Micheal O'Suilleabhain : published 1965.
A DRIVE TO CORK CITY .......
"....... Jim Grey and I split-up , with myself about twenty-yards behind him , as we walked to 'Johnson and Perrots' garage for tyres ; Jim did'nt know it yet , but he had 'picked-up' a 'tail' , and I kept a close eye on both Jim and this other man . When this stranger was satisfied that Jim was in the Office of the garage , he turned to go ......."
" My left hand fell on the strangers neck ; he struggled to complete his exit but failed - I pushed him in the doorway , and into the corner formed by the sliding door and its pillar . He demanded an explanation but I told him to wait for a little while . Presently Jim returned from the garage Office . " We will go , Mick ," he said , then he caught sight of the prisoner . " Who is he ? " he asked . " I don't know , " I answered , and told him the story .
The man admitted that I had told the truth , that he had followed Jim , but said that he had done so through idle curiosity . " You were going to Union Quay ," (the British Barracks) Jim said gently , " and now my poor man , " he added , " you may carry on , but you'll never reach the place . " The tout made further protests against the idea that he meant to do us any harm , and so we left him . We reported the matter to 'Flurrie' , one of our men in the area , and the tout was picked-up , tried and acquitted ; his plea was still that of idle curiosity .
It seemed an extraordinary plea , but all his people were found to be honest and in no way hostile towards us - we were glad to hear that he got the benefit of the doubt . To hear of a young Irishman convicted of spying on his own people would be the most melancholy news of all ......."
(MORE LATER).
GETTING OUT .......
'Britain has the economic clout to impose peace in Northern Ireland (sic), argue BOB ROWTHORN and NAOMI WAYNE . Why does'nt it use it ? '
(First published in 'New Statesman and Society' Magazine , 9th September , 1988 , pages 12 and 13).
Re-produced here in 10 parts .
[Apologises beforehand for the use of the descriptions "Northern Ireland" and "Province" , and the constant use of the terms "Catholics" and "Protestants" in the following ten-part article ; they are not our descriptions or terms , but the Authors].
(6 of 10).
Many Protestants fear that they would be oppressed by the Catholic majority in a united Ireland ; this fear is greatly exaggerated . Leading nationalist politicians of all kinds have frequently made it clear that they would guarantee Protestant religious and political freedoms in a united Ireland . But Britain and the 'Republic' should at once take positive measures to reassure Protestants about the kind of future they could expect .
They would have to be welcomed into the new state and given specific guarantees over employment rights , civil and religious liberties , and so on . Britain's continued aid would underpin these assurances and Britain could make it clear that its continuing economic power in Ireland would be used , if need be , further to protect their rights and liberties .
In any event , the gap between Catholic and Protestant moral values is nowhere near as large as is often assumed . It should by no means be unbridgeable in a united Ireland .......
(MORE LATER).
Thursday, June 03, 2004
JOSEPH BRENAN ; 1828-1857 : 'Young Ireland' Leader .......
....... At 19 years young (in January 1848) , Joseph Brenan met John Mitchel , one of the leaders of the 'Young Ireland' Movement , in Cork .......
The two men apparently knew of each other , and Joseph Brenan began writing articles for the 'Young Irelanders' newspaper , 'The United Irishman' . It was in this newspaper that John Mitchel first suggested that England should be attacked by Irish Rebels while that country was preoccupied with war elsewhere (an example which Sean Russell was to refer to 91 years later , in 1939 , during the IRA Bombing Campaign in England . However , for what its worth , we should also mention the fact that the Irish Rebel leader John Mitchel fought in the American Civil War on the side of the South and slavery ... !).
However , I digress (again !) ; Joseph Brenan was told by John Mitchel that plans were at an advanced stage in Dublin regarding a Rising against the British , and Joseph Brenan wanted to play his part - so he moved from Cork , to Dublin , and was living in the capital when 'The United Irishman' newspaper was suppressed by the British , in May 1848 . Due to his constant "call-to-arms" in his various writings , Joseph Brenan was being monitored by the British 'Authorities in Dublin Castle .......
(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 DRIVE TO CORK CITY .......
".......We were calm and pleasant to the Black and Tan who had stopped and 'searched' us , with his comrades looking on . He was happy with our claim to be on his side , just from a different Barracks . We had been only seconds away from a shoot-out , had the Tan behaved differently ......."
" Well over 40 years have passed since that incident and it is still fresh in my memory - indeed , while I have Jim Grey to revive it , there is no fear that I shall forget it . For when we meet and there is a quorum , Jim does not fail to turn the laugh against me - " Wisha , Mick , " he says , " do you remember the day you picked up the cap for the Black-and-Tan in the Grand Parade ? "
We left the Grand Parade after our encounter with the Tan and soon stood at the counter of Wallaces Shop in St. Augustine Street . Scarcely had we done so , when Sheila and Nora came in with the news that the whole block of buildings around us was cordoned off and a search was proceeding ; we looked out - both ends of the narrow street were held by British troops . We slipped unnoticed across to St. Augustine's Church , and went through the church to the Washington Street door . Here , too , it was cordoned off at the Parade and Main Street . We would have to wait and see what happened .
We knelt down and prayed while we waited . When we looked out , they had gone , so we returned to Wallaces Shop and got any news that was going from Sheila and Nora . Then I insisted on Jim going into a barber's shop at the corner for a shave . He did so and we started for Johnson and Perrots Garage to get the tyres for the Buick . Jim was to go first , with me following twenty yards behind . We had just started out when I noticed a man in civilian clothes fall in behind Jim and follow him at a distance of ten yards or so ; I fell in behind the tout at about the same distance . Jim turned many a corner and crossed many roads before we reached the open space in front of the garage .
Then he crossed the open space and entered the garage through the big door ; the 'shadow' followed to the big door but stopped at the doorway on the right hand side - hidden from view from inside , he craned his neck around the sliding door to watch Jim cross diagonally a space of floor to the office . I had been an interested spectator from across the street . Satisfied , now , that he had located Jim in the office of the garage , the tout took a pace backwards and had started to execute a left turn when my left hand fell on his neck ....... "
(MORE LATER).
GETTING OUT .......
'Britain has the economic clout to impose peace in Northern Ireland (sic), argue BOB ROWTHORN and NAOMI WAYNE . Why does'nt it use it ? '
(First published in 'New Statesman and Society' Magazine , 9th September , 1988 , pages 12 and 13).
Re-produced here in 10 parts .
[Apologises beforehand for the use of the descriptions "Northern Ireland" and "Province" , and the constant use of the terms "Catholics" and "Protestants" in the following ten-part article ; they are not our descriptions or terms , but the Authors].
(5 of 10).
Perhaps the most common objection to British withdrawal is the fear that the Protestant community would take to arms to preserve an independent 'state' , thus precipitating a bloodbath in which large numbers of Catholics and Protestants would be killed . This danger is taken so much for granted , even among people who would otherwise advocate re-unifying Ireland , that it is rarely subjected to any scrutiny . But how well-founded is it in reality ?
If Britain simply pulled-out , this sort of scenario is quite possible ; but a planned and responsible withdrawal , founded upon a firm and unequivocal decision to leave and buttressed by the economic strategy we have outlined , would have entirely different results . The decision would have to be clearly irreversible and the timetable for withdrawal would have to be fairly short to minimise the time available for resistance to be mobilised .
The certain knowledge of British withdrawal would produce confusion and disunity within the Protestant community , which already knows that to destroy a rebellion would require no military campaign by Britain , but merely a few weeks' economic sanctions ...
(MORE LATER).
....... At 19 years young (in January 1848) , Joseph Brenan met John Mitchel , one of the leaders of the 'Young Ireland' Movement , in Cork .......
The two men apparently knew of each other , and Joseph Brenan began writing articles for the 'Young Irelanders' newspaper , 'The United Irishman' . It was in this newspaper that John Mitchel first suggested that England should be attacked by Irish Rebels while that country was preoccupied with war elsewhere (an example which Sean Russell was to refer to 91 years later , in 1939 , during the IRA Bombing Campaign in England . However , for what its worth , we should also mention the fact that the Irish Rebel leader John Mitchel fought in the American Civil War on the side of the South and slavery ... !).
However , I digress (again !) ; Joseph Brenan was told by John Mitchel that plans were at an advanced stage in Dublin regarding a Rising against the British , and Joseph Brenan wanted to play his part - so he moved from Cork , to Dublin , and was living in the capital when 'The United Irishman' newspaper was suppressed by the British , in May 1848 . Due to his constant "call-to-arms" in his various writings , Joseph Brenan was being monitored by the British 'Authorities in Dublin Castle .......
(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 DRIVE TO CORK CITY .......
".......We were calm and pleasant to the Black and Tan who had stopped and 'searched' us , with his comrades looking on . He was happy with our claim to be on his side , just from a different Barracks . We had been only seconds away from a shoot-out , had the Tan behaved differently ......."
" Well over 40 years have passed since that incident and it is still fresh in my memory - indeed , while I have Jim Grey to revive it , there is no fear that I shall forget it . For when we meet and there is a quorum , Jim does not fail to turn the laugh against me - " Wisha , Mick , " he says , " do you remember the day you picked up the cap for the Black-and-Tan in the Grand Parade ? "
We left the Grand Parade after our encounter with the Tan and soon stood at the counter of Wallaces Shop in St. Augustine Street . Scarcely had we done so , when Sheila and Nora came in with the news that the whole block of buildings around us was cordoned off and a search was proceeding ; we looked out - both ends of the narrow street were held by British troops . We slipped unnoticed across to St. Augustine's Church , and went through the church to the Washington Street door . Here , too , it was cordoned off at the Parade and Main Street . We would have to wait and see what happened .
We knelt down and prayed while we waited . When we looked out , they had gone , so we returned to Wallaces Shop and got any news that was going from Sheila and Nora . Then I insisted on Jim going into a barber's shop at the corner for a shave . He did so and we started for Johnson and Perrots Garage to get the tyres for the Buick . Jim was to go first , with me following twenty yards behind . We had just started out when I noticed a man in civilian clothes fall in behind Jim and follow him at a distance of ten yards or so ; I fell in behind the tout at about the same distance . Jim turned many a corner and crossed many roads before we reached the open space in front of the garage .
Then he crossed the open space and entered the garage through the big door ; the 'shadow' followed to the big door but stopped at the doorway on the right hand side - hidden from view from inside , he craned his neck around the sliding door to watch Jim cross diagonally a space of floor to the office . I had been an interested spectator from across the street . Satisfied , now , that he had located Jim in the office of the garage , the tout took a pace backwards and had started to execute a left turn when my left hand fell on his neck ....... "
(MORE LATER).
GETTING OUT .......
'Britain has the economic clout to impose peace in Northern Ireland (sic), argue BOB ROWTHORN and NAOMI WAYNE . Why does'nt it use it ? '
(First published in 'New Statesman and Society' Magazine , 9th September , 1988 , pages 12 and 13).
Re-produced here in 10 parts .
[Apologises beforehand for the use of the descriptions "Northern Ireland" and "Province" , and the constant use of the terms "Catholics" and "Protestants" in the following ten-part article ; they are not our descriptions or terms , but the Authors].
(5 of 10).
Perhaps the most common objection to British withdrawal is the fear that the Protestant community would take to arms to preserve an independent 'state' , thus precipitating a bloodbath in which large numbers of Catholics and Protestants would be killed . This danger is taken so much for granted , even among people who would otherwise advocate re-unifying Ireland , that it is rarely subjected to any scrutiny . But how well-founded is it in reality ?
If Britain simply pulled-out , this sort of scenario is quite possible ; but a planned and responsible withdrawal , founded upon a firm and unequivocal decision to leave and buttressed by the economic strategy we have outlined , would have entirely different results . The decision would have to be clearly irreversible and the timetable for withdrawal would have to be fairly short to minimise the time available for resistance to be mobilised .
The certain knowledge of British withdrawal would produce confusion and disunity within the Protestant community , which already knows that to destroy a rebellion would require no military campaign by Britain , but merely a few weeks' economic sanctions ...
(MORE LATER).
Wednesday, June 02, 2004
JOSEPH BRENAN ; 1828-1857 : 'Young Ireland' Leader .......
.......When Joseph Brenan was 14 years young (1842) , a man named Hughes was hung in Armagh by the British Administration ; the then Editor of 'The Belfast Vindicator' newspaper , Charles Gavan Duffy , described Hughes' execution as "legal assassination" and was prosecuted by the British Attorney-General for doing so . That was in the summer of 1842 .......
One day that summer , Charles Gavan Duffy (who , incidentally , went on to become Premier of Australia !) , Thomas Davis and John Dillon were walking through Dublin's Phoenix Park , discussing the Hughes case and the feeble newspaper reportage of same , when all three decided to do something about it ; ' The Nation ' newspaper was born . It published an issue every week for 58 years (1842 - 1900) , sold for sixpence a copy (which was a days wages at the time !) and , at its most popular , was shifting 10,000 copies a week ! Indeed , so popular was 'The Nation' newspaper (and , in those days , so expensive) that some of its readers 'hired' the 'paper from newsvendors at one-penny an hour !
....... digressive tangents - I'm full of them !
Joseph Brenan was 19 years young (in January 1848) when he first met John Mitchel , one of the leaders of the 'Young Ireland' Movement , while both were in the city of Cork on separate business .......
(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 DRIVE TO CORK CITY .......
"....... Jim Grey and myself were in Cork City , and in a tight spot ; Black and Tans in front and a British Army patrol in a car following us . We walked past the Tans and kept going . Then a shout - "HALT !" We walked on ......."
" The demand to 'halt' was repeated , and we heard footsteps running behind us . We stopped and looked back ; a Black and Tan was running towards us , so we walked slowly back to meet him . Jim was the nearer to him and I lagged behind . Now he stood in front of Jim with his hands out-stretched and raised slightly , in the attitude of one preparing to search : " What is your name ?" he asked Jim , who replied " Grey . " "Grey ! From where ?" " Cork Barracks ," came the answer .
Jim took a chance ; his name was 'mud' at Cork Barracks for some time , but the Black and Tans at Tuckey Street did not know that . The answer seemed to impress the Tan . Now there was another diversion - a sudden gust of wind blew off his peaked cap , and it rolled along the ground towards me . Stooping , I caught it , straightened myself up and , walking towards him with a pleasant smile , gave it to him . He was delighted ! It was not often that a Black and Tan received such courtesy . "Thank you very much indeed ," he said to me , with a smile , "I suppose you have not a gun on you ? ," he added , as raising his hands high he brought them down in a slow sweeping motion , the motion of searching or feeling for a hidden weapon .
This movement of the hands was merely a show for his comrades at the corner - he never touched my body , neither did he touch Jim . I must say he was a decent-looking man for a Black and Tan : his face showed no signs of the brutality that stamped most of them as a type . I would have been sorry for him had he rubbed us the wrong way , for we had guns on us . Our lives were forfeit anyway this long time and while , with our hands in the dog's mouth , we were willing to try out diplomacy to its fullest extent , no enemy , however strong numerically , was going to deprive us of loaded guns , and then torture and kill us at their leisure ......."
(MORE LATER).
GETTING OUT .......
'Britain has the economic clout to impose peace in Northern Ireland (sic), argue BOB ROWTHORN and NAOMI WAYNE . Why does'nt it use it ? '
(First published in 'New Statesman and Society' Magazine , 9th September , 1988 , pages 12 and 13).
Re-produced here in 10 parts .
[Apologises beforehand for the use of the descriptions "Northern Ireland" and "Province" , and the constant use of the terms "Catholics" and "Protestants" in the following ten-part article ; they are not our descriptions or terms , but the Authors].
(4 of 10).
The economy of the North is in severe crisis . In the 1950's and 1960's , the 'province' was transformed as local industry was run down and multinationals moved in to dominate its economy . But in the last 20 years this process has gone into reverse , with multinationals reducing their activities or pulling out altogether .
Only huge subsidies from the British Government keep the 'province' afloat : in 1985 , some £1,700 million Sterling in all , now (ie 1988) something approaching £2,700 million Sterling . Despite its numerous problems and high unemployment - around 18 per cent - the 'Republic' (ie-the Free State) has a much stronger economy than 'Northern Ireland' and its long-term prospects are much better (though they are by no means rosy) . Protestants fear that re-unification would bring impoverishment ; but if they co-operated in that re-unification , then peace would come rapidly , and with it the benefits of economic recovery .
If they were to fight a rearguard action , the benefits of peace would take longer to materialise . Even so , it could take some 15 to 20 years for the economy of the North to be strong enough to stand on its own feet . Continuing aid would therefore involve a significant commitment from Britain , even counting the savings from military withdrawal . In the longer run , the cost would be of course much less than that of continued involvement and would eventually come to an end ...
(MORE LATER).
.......When Joseph Brenan was 14 years young (1842) , a man named Hughes was hung in Armagh by the British Administration ; the then Editor of 'The Belfast Vindicator' newspaper , Charles Gavan Duffy , described Hughes' execution as "legal assassination" and was prosecuted by the British Attorney-General for doing so . That was in the summer of 1842 .......
One day that summer , Charles Gavan Duffy (who , incidentally , went on to become Premier of Australia !) , Thomas Davis and John Dillon were walking through Dublin's Phoenix Park , discussing the Hughes case and the feeble newspaper reportage of same , when all three decided to do something about it ; ' The Nation ' newspaper was born . It published an issue every week for 58 years (1842 - 1900) , sold for sixpence a copy (which was a days wages at the time !) and , at its most popular , was shifting 10,000 copies a week ! Indeed , so popular was 'The Nation' newspaper (and , in those days , so expensive) that some of its readers 'hired' the 'paper from newsvendors at one-penny an hour !
....... digressive tangents - I'm full of them !
Joseph Brenan was 19 years young (in January 1848) when he first met John Mitchel , one of the leaders of the 'Young Ireland' Movement , while both were in the city of Cork on separate business .......
(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 DRIVE TO CORK CITY .......
"....... Jim Grey and myself were in Cork City , and in a tight spot ; Black and Tans in front and a British Army patrol in a car following us . We walked past the Tans and kept going . Then a shout - "HALT !" We walked on ......."
" The demand to 'halt' was repeated , and we heard footsteps running behind us . We stopped and looked back ; a Black and Tan was running towards us , so we walked slowly back to meet him . Jim was the nearer to him and I lagged behind . Now he stood in front of Jim with his hands out-stretched and raised slightly , in the attitude of one preparing to search : " What is your name ?" he asked Jim , who replied " Grey . " "Grey ! From where ?" " Cork Barracks ," came the answer .
Jim took a chance ; his name was 'mud' at Cork Barracks for some time , but the Black and Tans at Tuckey Street did not know that . The answer seemed to impress the Tan . Now there was another diversion - a sudden gust of wind blew off his peaked cap , and it rolled along the ground towards me . Stooping , I caught it , straightened myself up and , walking towards him with a pleasant smile , gave it to him . He was delighted ! It was not often that a Black and Tan received such courtesy . "Thank you very much indeed ," he said to me , with a smile , "I suppose you have not a gun on you ? ," he added , as raising his hands high he brought them down in a slow sweeping motion , the motion of searching or feeling for a hidden weapon .
This movement of the hands was merely a show for his comrades at the corner - he never touched my body , neither did he touch Jim . I must say he was a decent-looking man for a Black and Tan : his face showed no signs of the brutality that stamped most of them as a type . I would have been sorry for him had he rubbed us the wrong way , for we had guns on us . Our lives were forfeit anyway this long time and while , with our hands in the dog's mouth , we were willing to try out diplomacy to its fullest extent , no enemy , however strong numerically , was going to deprive us of loaded guns , and then torture and kill us at their leisure ......."
(MORE LATER).
GETTING OUT .......
'Britain has the economic clout to impose peace in Northern Ireland (sic), argue BOB ROWTHORN and NAOMI WAYNE . Why does'nt it use it ? '
(First published in 'New Statesman and Society' Magazine , 9th September , 1988 , pages 12 and 13).
Re-produced here in 10 parts .
[Apologises beforehand for the use of the descriptions "Northern Ireland" and "Province" , and the constant use of the terms "Catholics" and "Protestants" in the following ten-part article ; they are not our descriptions or terms , but the Authors].
(4 of 10).
The economy of the North is in severe crisis . In the 1950's and 1960's , the 'province' was transformed as local industry was run down and multinationals moved in to dominate its economy . But in the last 20 years this process has gone into reverse , with multinationals reducing their activities or pulling out altogether .
Only huge subsidies from the British Government keep the 'province' afloat : in 1985 , some £1,700 million Sterling in all , now (ie 1988) something approaching £2,700 million Sterling . Despite its numerous problems and high unemployment - around 18 per cent - the 'Republic' (ie-the Free State) has a much stronger economy than 'Northern Ireland' and its long-term prospects are much better (though they are by no means rosy) . Protestants fear that re-unification would bring impoverishment ; but if they co-operated in that re-unification , then peace would come rapidly , and with it the benefits of economic recovery .
If they were to fight a rearguard action , the benefits of peace would take longer to materialise . Even so , it could take some 15 to 20 years for the economy of the North to be strong enough to stand on its own feet . Continuing aid would therefore involve a significant commitment from Britain , even counting the savings from military withdrawal . In the longer run , the cost would be of course much less than that of continued involvement and would eventually come to an end ...
(MORE LATER).
Tuesday, June 01, 2004
JOSEPH BRENAN ; 1828-1857 : 'Young Ireland' Leader .......
.......'Living' in mud hovels , evictions , jobless , hungry , homeless ; that was Ireland in the 19th Century . A baby , Joseph Brenan , was born into that poverty in Cork , in November 1828.......
When he was in his early teens , Joseph Brenan helped to establish the 'Cork Historical Society' and , within a few years , was helping-out at Editorial level on the local 'Cork Magazine', which was published on a regular basis between the end of 1847 and late 1848 - those working on the 'Cork Magazine' were forced to go 'on-the-run' by the British or had been imprisoned already by them ; J D Frazer , Martin MacDermott and 'Mary of The Nation' newspaper - Ellen Mary Patrick Downing ...
... a tangent re 'The Nation' newspaper - A man called Hughes was sentenced to death at Armagh Assizes , even though it had been assumed by all who knew the details that the 'evidence' against Hughes (which itself had been invalidated by witnesses to the mans alleged 'crime') was such that a short prison sentence might be handed down ; instead , Hughes was hung .
The then Editor of 'The Belfast Vindicator' newspaper (1839-1848) , Charles Gavan Duffy , a Monaghan man (who had left 'The Northern Standard' newspaper [founded in March 1839] to work on 'The Belfast Vindicator') described Hughes' death as "legal assassination" and was prosecuted by the British Attorney-General for doing so - that was in the summer of 1842 .......
(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 DRIVE TO CORK CITY .......
"....... Jim Grey and myself were in Cork City to purchase supplies ; we were on East Parade - and so were the Brits , in their armoured Rolls-Royce Whippet . Jim reacted immediately ......."
" " 'Monkey Mac' the spotter is in that car , " Jim said , " and he knows me as well as a bad halfpenny . We'll cross the road . " We crossed the first half of the wide Parade ; the British car was cruising along slowly , a sign that there was a 'spotter' (ie - a tout) aboard . We had to chance Tuckey Street or the Brits - we chose Tuckey Street , but there were about twenty Black and Tans at the corner ; out of the frying pan and into the fire ...
...there was a middle course at first but it ran out on us - people were walking in the middle of the street towards the Fountain , and we went with them . The Brits in the car screened us for a time , as did the gang of Black and Tans on the corner . Then both groups got the same notion , like geese - the Black and Tans moved towards us and the Brits in the car behind came closer . These fellows had nothing else in life to do now but to watch us ; without speaking , we both veered towards the Black and Tans , approaching them slant-wise , as if heading for Tuckey Street - it was the best policy , and we could hope to get away with it were it not for our appearance .
We passed in front of them and about ten yards away from them ; they said not a word until we were ten yards past them - every man of them was engaged in assessing us during our march past them . We heard them say - " That's the IRA uniform ! But why the devil should they march so brazenly towards us , and parade in front of us ? Better see all the same ..." They talked between themselves for a minute , allowing us to gain a further ten yards . Then a shout - " HALT ! " We did not stop ; The " HALT ! " warning was repeated , and we heard footsteps running behind us ....... "
(MORE LATER).
GETTING OUT .......
'Britain has the economic clout to impose peace in Northern Ireland (sic), argue BOB ROWTHORN and NAOMI WAYNE . Why does'nt it use it ? '
(First published in 'New Statesman and Society' Magazine , 9th September , 1988 , pages 12 and 13).
Re-produced here in 10 parts .
[Apologises beforehand for the use of the descriptions "Northern Ireland" and "Province" , and the constant use of the terms "Catholics" and "Protestants" in the following ten-part article ; they are not our descriptions or terms , but the Authors].
(3 of 10).
But Britain could put its economic power over 'Northern Ireland' to use in a constructive two-pronged strategy : actively using this power to undermine and divide resistance to re-unification among the Protestant community , while simultaneously offering to deploy its economic resources to shore up the new re-unified state . Britain would have to make absolutely clear its willingness to use economic sanctions against a large-scale Protestant state or any group resisting re-unification .
Such a firm approach would be enough to deter resistance from all but a handful of Protestants . At the same time , Britain would promise to continue external aid , following re-unification , until the North's economy had been rebuilt . Britain should insist that the money was spent on the North and demand satisfactory arragements for the future employment of Protestants in the new state .
This would allow living standards in the North , including those of most Protestants , to be broadly maintained , without imposing an unacceptable burden on the Southern population .......
(MORE LATER).
.......'Living' in mud hovels , evictions , jobless , hungry , homeless ; that was Ireland in the 19th Century . A baby , Joseph Brenan , was born into that poverty in Cork , in November 1828.......
When he was in his early teens , Joseph Brenan helped to establish the 'Cork Historical Society' and , within a few years , was helping-out at Editorial level on the local 'Cork Magazine', which was published on a regular basis between the end of 1847 and late 1848 - those working on the 'Cork Magazine' were forced to go 'on-the-run' by the British or had been imprisoned already by them ; J D Frazer , Martin MacDermott and 'Mary of The Nation' newspaper - Ellen Mary Patrick Downing ...
... a tangent re 'The Nation' newspaper - A man called Hughes was sentenced to death at Armagh Assizes , even though it had been assumed by all who knew the details that the 'evidence' against Hughes (which itself had been invalidated by witnesses to the mans alleged 'crime') was such that a short prison sentence might be handed down ; instead , Hughes was hung .
The then Editor of 'The Belfast Vindicator' newspaper (1839-1848) , Charles Gavan Duffy , a Monaghan man (who had left 'The Northern Standard' newspaper [founded in March 1839] to work on 'The Belfast Vindicator') described Hughes' death as "legal assassination" and was prosecuted by the British Attorney-General for doing so - that was in the summer of 1842 .......
(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 DRIVE TO CORK CITY .......
"....... Jim Grey and myself were in Cork City to purchase supplies ; we were on East Parade - and so were the Brits , in their armoured Rolls-Royce Whippet . Jim reacted immediately ......."
" " 'Monkey Mac' the spotter is in that car , " Jim said , " and he knows me as well as a bad halfpenny . We'll cross the road . " We crossed the first half of the wide Parade ; the British car was cruising along slowly , a sign that there was a 'spotter' (ie - a tout) aboard . We had to chance Tuckey Street or the Brits - we chose Tuckey Street , but there were about twenty Black and Tans at the corner ; out of the frying pan and into the fire ...
...there was a middle course at first but it ran out on us - people were walking in the middle of the street towards the Fountain , and we went with them . The Brits in the car screened us for a time , as did the gang of Black and Tans on the corner . Then both groups got the same notion , like geese - the Black and Tans moved towards us and the Brits in the car behind came closer . These fellows had nothing else in life to do now but to watch us ; without speaking , we both veered towards the Black and Tans , approaching them slant-wise , as if heading for Tuckey Street - it was the best policy , and we could hope to get away with it were it not for our appearance .
We passed in front of them and about ten yards away from them ; they said not a word until we were ten yards past them - every man of them was engaged in assessing us during our march past them . We heard them say - " That's the IRA uniform ! But why the devil should they march so brazenly towards us , and parade in front of us ? Better see all the same ..." They talked between themselves for a minute , allowing us to gain a further ten yards . Then a shout - " HALT ! " We did not stop ; The " HALT ! " warning was repeated , and we heard footsteps running behind us ....... "
(MORE LATER).
GETTING OUT .......
'Britain has the economic clout to impose peace in Northern Ireland (sic), argue BOB ROWTHORN and NAOMI WAYNE . Why does'nt it use it ? '
(First published in 'New Statesman and Society' Magazine , 9th September , 1988 , pages 12 and 13).
Re-produced here in 10 parts .
[Apologises beforehand for the use of the descriptions "Northern Ireland" and "Province" , and the constant use of the terms "Catholics" and "Protestants" in the following ten-part article ; they are not our descriptions or terms , but the Authors].
(3 of 10).
But Britain could put its economic power over 'Northern Ireland' to use in a constructive two-pronged strategy : actively using this power to undermine and divide resistance to re-unification among the Protestant community , while simultaneously offering to deploy its economic resources to shore up the new re-unified state . Britain would have to make absolutely clear its willingness to use economic sanctions against a large-scale Protestant state or any group resisting re-unification .
Such a firm approach would be enough to deter resistance from all but a handful of Protestants . At the same time , Britain would promise to continue external aid , following re-unification , until the North's economy had been rebuilt . Britain should insist that the money was spent on the North and demand satisfactory arragements for the future employment of Protestants in the new state .
This would allow living standards in the North , including those of most Protestants , to be broadly maintained , without imposing an unacceptable burden on the Southern population .......
(MORE LATER).
Monday, May 31, 2004
JOSEPH BRENAN ; 1828-1857 : 'Young Ireland' Leader .......
....... Ireland , 19th Century - evictions were common-place : the hovel where the family of Matthais McGrath 'lived' , in County Clare , was under siege by the British Sheriff , but the McGrath's were fighting back .......
The British Sheriff and his men had used the battering-ram to get into the McGrath hovel , and a fight started between those in the hovel and those wanting to evict them ...
' The poor fellow , McGrath , had a severe wound on the crown of his head , and was kicked twice in the chest . The wrecking of the 'house' was then proceeded with and complete ; Colonel Turner stopped the work of the battering-ram , smiling pleasantly , and had the emergency ruffians to stand at ease for the accommodation of an amateur photographer to take a sketch of the ruined cottage .
Continuing operations , the 'house' was left a complete ruin before the villains ceased their work . A 'Coercion Court' was improvised formally to try Pat McGrath , with 'Removable Roche' taking the Justice Seat on a stone wall . The formality being gone through , McGrath was removed in custody . ' That report of an eviction was published in 'The United Ireland' newspaper , on 4th August , 1888 . Again - all of us have to answer to our God one day ...
Jobless , hungry , homeless- not given the chance to provide for yourself or your family ; and no means to achieve the opportunity to improve your situation , or even stop it from getting worse - hopeless times . It was in this era that Joseph Brenan was born , in Cork , in November 1828.......
(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 DRIVE TO CORK CITY .......
".......The Strickland job was off ; myself and Jim Grey got a lift in a milk-cart into Cork City for shopping supplies . We should have changed our clothes ......."
" " You might have shaved yourself at least , " I remonstrated with Jim . " Even if you had shaved a week ago , " I added . " You're wrong , " said Jim - " I will pass as a benevolent old toff . It is YOU whom they will be after . Let me quote the 'Hue and Cry' (a Brit propaganda 'newspaper') for you : 'WANTED - Clean-shaven youth, blue eyes , fair hair , tall , fanatical appearance . Dangerous young criminal . '
" Wait a bit , " I said . " Here's your description : 'WANTED - Young man , hardened appearance , blue eyes , fair hair , tall , desperate character , unshaven - forgot razor at scene of last murder . " So we joked until we parted with our milk-cart not far from Cork City Hall . We walked over Parnell Bridge and turned left along the South Mall ; as we crossed the street from the Mall to the South Gate Bridge I thought of yesterday morning , when we passed over the same ground with our four comrades in the Buick , with the Lewis-Gun , our rifles and grenades .
Now we were reduced in numbers , our good car and armaments lacking . Besides , our position was further weakened by our attire - it cried out for attention from the enemy . We had not met them yet , but had not long to wait : we crossed from the southern side of the Mall to the eastern side of the Parade - this we did to avoid Tuckey Street corner . In any case it was a short-cut . No sooner were we on the foot-path than we saw a Rolls-Royce Whippet armoured car - the Brits ! They were bearing-down on us on our side ; Jim reacted immediately ......."
(MORE LATER).
GETTING OUT .......
'Britain has the economic clout to impose peace in Northern Ireland (sic), argue BOB ROWTHORN and NAOMI WAYNE . Why does'nt it use it ? '
(First published in 'New Statesman and Society' Magazine , 9th September , 1988 , pages 12 and 13).
Re-produced here in 10 parts .
[Apologises beforehand for the use of the descriptions "Northern Ireland" and "Province" , and the constant use of the terms "Catholics" and "Protestants" in the following ten-part article ; they are not our descriptions or terms , but the Authors].
(2 of 10).
Given that nothing else will work , it is surely time to re-examine the traditional solution to the Northern Ireland (sic) conflict . Should not Britain withdraw from the province (sic), re-unite Ireland and reverse the historic mistake of partition ? Nowadays (ie 1988) , this course receives no serious consideration at all from the political establishment , even though opinion polls show that it commands consistent majority support among the British electorate .
If it is raised at all , it is usually to be dismissed out of hand as utterly impractical , morally irresponsible and politically unacceptable . In fact , the outcome of withdrawal is'nt predetermined , but would depend crucially on the way the decision was carried through . The key is not military , but economic ; Northern Ireland's (sic) economy is overwhelmingly dependent on Britain - without its economic support , the 'province' could not survive on its own for more than a few weeks .
So if Britain were , in Pontius Pilate fashion , simply to wash its hands and abandon 'Northern Ireland' altogether , the result would be catastrophic . Its already bankrupt economy would finally disintegrate and civil war would be a real possibility ...
(MORE LATER).
....... Ireland , 19th Century - evictions were common-place : the hovel where the family of Matthais McGrath 'lived' , in County Clare , was under siege by the British Sheriff , but the McGrath's were fighting back .......
The British Sheriff and his men had used the battering-ram to get into the McGrath hovel , and a fight started between those in the hovel and those wanting to evict them ...
' The poor fellow , McGrath , had a severe wound on the crown of his head , and was kicked twice in the chest . The wrecking of the 'house' was then proceeded with and complete ; Colonel Turner stopped the work of the battering-ram , smiling pleasantly , and had the emergency ruffians to stand at ease for the accommodation of an amateur photographer to take a sketch of the ruined cottage .
Continuing operations , the 'house' was left a complete ruin before the villains ceased their work . A 'Coercion Court' was improvised formally to try Pat McGrath , with 'Removable Roche' taking the Justice Seat on a stone wall . The formality being gone through , McGrath was removed in custody . ' That report of an eviction was published in 'The United Ireland' newspaper , on 4th August , 1888 . Again - all of us have to answer to our God one day ...
Jobless , hungry , homeless- not given the chance to provide for yourself or your family ; and no means to achieve the opportunity to improve your situation , or even stop it from getting worse - hopeless times . It was in this era that Joseph Brenan was born , in Cork , in November 1828.......
(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 DRIVE TO CORK CITY .......
".......The Strickland job was off ; myself and Jim Grey got a lift in a milk-cart into Cork City for shopping supplies . We should have changed our clothes ......."
" " You might have shaved yourself at least , " I remonstrated with Jim . " Even if you had shaved a week ago , " I added . " You're wrong , " said Jim - " I will pass as a benevolent old toff . It is YOU whom they will be after . Let me quote the 'Hue and Cry' (a Brit propaganda 'newspaper') for you : 'WANTED - Clean-shaven youth, blue eyes , fair hair , tall , fanatical appearance . Dangerous young criminal . '
" Wait a bit , " I said . " Here's your description : 'WANTED - Young man , hardened appearance , blue eyes , fair hair , tall , desperate character , unshaven - forgot razor at scene of last murder . " So we joked until we parted with our milk-cart not far from Cork City Hall . We walked over Parnell Bridge and turned left along the South Mall ; as we crossed the street from the Mall to the South Gate Bridge I thought of yesterday morning , when we passed over the same ground with our four comrades in the Buick , with the Lewis-Gun , our rifles and grenades .
Now we were reduced in numbers , our good car and armaments lacking . Besides , our position was further weakened by our attire - it cried out for attention from the enemy . We had not met them yet , but had not long to wait : we crossed from the southern side of the Mall to the eastern side of the Parade - this we did to avoid Tuckey Street corner . In any case it was a short-cut . No sooner were we on the foot-path than we saw a Rolls-Royce Whippet armoured car - the Brits ! They were bearing-down on us on our side ; Jim reacted immediately ......."
(MORE LATER).
GETTING OUT .......
'Britain has the economic clout to impose peace in Northern Ireland (sic), argue BOB ROWTHORN and NAOMI WAYNE . Why does'nt it use it ? '
(First published in 'New Statesman and Society' Magazine , 9th September , 1988 , pages 12 and 13).
Re-produced here in 10 parts .
[Apologises beforehand for the use of the descriptions "Northern Ireland" and "Province" , and the constant use of the terms "Catholics" and "Protestants" in the following ten-part article ; they are not our descriptions or terms , but the Authors].
(2 of 10).
Given that nothing else will work , it is surely time to re-examine the traditional solution to the Northern Ireland (sic) conflict . Should not Britain withdraw from the province (sic), re-unite Ireland and reverse the historic mistake of partition ? Nowadays (ie 1988) , this course receives no serious consideration at all from the political establishment , even though opinion polls show that it commands consistent majority support among the British electorate .
If it is raised at all , it is usually to be dismissed out of hand as utterly impractical , morally irresponsible and politically unacceptable . In fact , the outcome of withdrawal is'nt predetermined , but would depend crucially on the way the decision was carried through . The key is not military , but economic ; Northern Ireland's (sic) economy is overwhelmingly dependent on Britain - without its economic support , the 'province' could not survive on its own for more than a few weeks .
So if Britain were , in Pontius Pilate fashion , simply to wash its hands and abandon 'Northern Ireland' altogether , the result would be catastrophic . Its already bankrupt economy would finally disintegrate and civil war would be a real possibility ...
(MORE LATER).
Sunday, May 30, 2004
JOSEPH BRENAN ; 1828-1857 : 'Young Ireland' Leader .......
.......The Irish were living in mud hovels , 3 generations of family in one room ; the English had their fine gala-balls and sporting-days.......
'Living' in a mud-walled hovel was better than nothing , but even then the English would'nt leave us alone - if you could not pay the 'rent' to the British 'Landlord' he would rather see you and yours 'living' in a hedge and the hovel destroyed ; in that 19th Century Ireland , a British 'Landlord' by the name of Vandeleur organised the eviction of one of his 'tenants' from 'his' estate near Kilrush , in the County Clare : a newspaper of the day , the 'United Ireland' , reported on the scene -
- ' On Thursday the evictions were resumed . The eviction proceedings were carried out with the usual brutality by the sheriff , and opposed with determination and pluck by the tenants . The house of Matthais McGrath was defended with determination , the place was barricaded . The battering-ram was drawn up in front and shouts of defiance came from the tenant inside . 'Thud , Thud' , went the lever against the wall and , after a while , it yielded , but an immense barricade of stonework was inside it . Breach enough was effected to afford a view of the tenant's son bravely standing inside and determined , calling them to come on !
Inspector Dunning called on him now to come out , but young McGrath answered sternly : " I am here within , and in with you ." The battering-ram was again used and the wall came down - a violent rush was made through the breach . District-Inspector Hill led on but his charge was abruptly stopped by his coming into contact with the battering-ram and he was pitched helplessly into the kitchen , and pounced on by McGrath who pommelled him soundly , but was himself attacked by Dunning and a Constable named Atkinson from Kilrush . They assaulted McGrath together , and were soon aided by a party of 'bludgeonmen' , batoned and treated in a most savage and brutal manner .
McGrath was felled ; numbers overpowered him , and struck and kicked with savage violence .......'
(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 DRIVE TO CORK CITY .......
".......We were temporarly lost in Cork City , but had trouble getting anyone to assist us - they thought we were armed Brits ! We had to grab a young man , whom Corney O'Sullivan spoke with ......."
" "Would you not like to do something for Ireland ?" , Corney asked the young man ; his eyes travelled over us all before he answered . We were amused at his confusion and our smiles reassured him - " I would, " he said boldly . He stood on the running-board and , having piloted us around a few corners , brought us out on the road we wanted . " God bless ye boys ," he exclaimed fervently as we parted .
In a short time we reached Miss Walsh's of Ballygarvan , where we were most hospitably entertained . We rested until the time for our appointment with Mick Murphy . We met him and Tadhg Sullivan at Kaper Daly's ; Tadhg was introduced to us by Mick as " the Republican Jewman ! " A splendid looking man , with laughing eyes - he had certainly a 'Semitic' expression . They had no good news for us - British Army man Strickland was to attend the funeral of General Cummins who had been killed at Clonbanin , and we were destined , therefore , not to meet him . Mick and Tadhg returned to the city - we were to meet Mick again , but it was our last meeting with Tadhg Sullivan ; within a few days we heard with the greatest sorrow of his death in an encounter with a British Army raiding-party .
Jim Grey , our driver , wanted tyres for the Buick . It was settled that he and I should go to the city in the morning to get the tyres , some 'three-in-one' oil , and a few other messages . We met a reliable man that night , who agreed to take us in his milk cart . We started early , seated facing forward and surrounded by milk-churns . We wore our trench coats and gaiters , a very foolish thing to do , since it invited attention . In the milk cart it looked the part well enough , but when we went shopping... "
(MORE LATER).
GETTING OUT .
'Britain has the economic clout to impose peace in Northern Ireland (sic), argue BOB ROWTHORN and NAOMI WAYNE . Why does'nt it use it ? '
(First published in 'New Statesman and Society' Magazine , 9th September , 1988 , pages 12 and 13).
Re-produced here in 10 parts .
[Apologises beforehand for the use of the descriptions "Northern Ireland" and "Province" , and the constant use of the terms "Catholics" and "Protestants" in the following ten-part article ; they are not our descriptions or terms , but the Authors].
(1 of 10).
The conflict in Northern Ireland (sic) won't be resolved by military means ; after nearly 20 years , the IRA has not been defeated nor , in spite of fluctuations in its level of support and occasional SAS coups , is it going to be . Hostility to British rule remains widespread in the Catholic community and will continue to provide support for the armed struggle .
Reform within the present framework is also played out . The Anglo-Irish Agreement (ie- the 1985 Hillsborough Treaty) has posed a bigger challenge to the Protestant and Catholic communities than any previous initiative , but to win the long-term commitment of the Catholic community , the Agreement must deliver substantial material benefits - most notably , the creation of more and better jobs .
But realistically that depends on an economic recovery which cannot itself be achieved as long as the present conflict continues . Moreover , questions of national identity and political control cannot have been high on the political agenda for Catholics for two decades . This is too long for them to go away ; they now have a life of their own...
(MORE LATER).
.......The Irish were living in mud hovels , 3 generations of family in one room ; the English had their fine gala-balls and sporting-days.......
'Living' in a mud-walled hovel was better than nothing , but even then the English would'nt leave us alone - if you could not pay the 'rent' to the British 'Landlord' he would rather see you and yours 'living' in a hedge and the hovel destroyed ; in that 19th Century Ireland , a British 'Landlord' by the name of Vandeleur organised the eviction of one of his 'tenants' from 'his' estate near Kilrush , in the County Clare : a newspaper of the day , the 'United Ireland' , reported on the scene -
- ' On Thursday the evictions were resumed . The eviction proceedings were carried out with the usual brutality by the sheriff , and opposed with determination and pluck by the tenants . The house of Matthais McGrath was defended with determination , the place was barricaded . The battering-ram was drawn up in front and shouts of defiance came from the tenant inside . 'Thud , Thud' , went the lever against the wall and , after a while , it yielded , but an immense barricade of stonework was inside it . Breach enough was effected to afford a view of the tenant's son bravely standing inside and determined , calling them to come on !
Inspector Dunning called on him now to come out , but young McGrath answered sternly : " I am here within , and in with you ." The battering-ram was again used and the wall came down - a violent rush was made through the breach . District-Inspector Hill led on but his charge was abruptly stopped by his coming into contact with the battering-ram and he was pitched helplessly into the kitchen , and pounced on by McGrath who pommelled him soundly , but was himself attacked by Dunning and a Constable named Atkinson from Kilrush . They assaulted McGrath together , and were soon aided by a party of 'bludgeonmen' , batoned and treated in a most savage and brutal manner .
McGrath was felled ; numbers overpowered him , and struck and kicked with savage violence .......'
(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 DRIVE TO CORK CITY .......
".......We were temporarly lost in Cork City , but had trouble getting anyone to assist us - they thought we were armed Brits ! We had to grab a young man , whom Corney O'Sullivan spoke with ......."
" "Would you not like to do something for Ireland ?" , Corney asked the young man ; his eyes travelled over us all before he answered . We were amused at his confusion and our smiles reassured him - " I would, " he said boldly . He stood on the running-board and , having piloted us around a few corners , brought us out on the road we wanted . " God bless ye boys ," he exclaimed fervently as we parted .
In a short time we reached Miss Walsh's of Ballygarvan , where we were most hospitably entertained . We rested until the time for our appointment with Mick Murphy . We met him and Tadhg Sullivan at Kaper Daly's ; Tadhg was introduced to us by Mick as " the Republican Jewman ! " A splendid looking man , with laughing eyes - he had certainly a 'Semitic' expression . They had no good news for us - British Army man Strickland was to attend the funeral of General Cummins who had been killed at Clonbanin , and we were destined , therefore , not to meet him . Mick and Tadhg returned to the city - we were to meet Mick again , but it was our last meeting with Tadhg Sullivan ; within a few days we heard with the greatest sorrow of his death in an encounter with a British Army raiding-party .
Jim Grey , our driver , wanted tyres for the Buick . It was settled that he and I should go to the city in the morning to get the tyres , some 'three-in-one' oil , and a few other messages . We met a reliable man that night , who agreed to take us in his milk cart . We started early , seated facing forward and surrounded by milk-churns . We wore our trench coats and gaiters , a very foolish thing to do , since it invited attention . In the milk cart it looked the part well enough , but when we went shopping... "
(MORE LATER).
GETTING OUT .
'Britain has the economic clout to impose peace in Northern Ireland (sic), argue BOB ROWTHORN and NAOMI WAYNE . Why does'nt it use it ? '
(First published in 'New Statesman and Society' Magazine , 9th September , 1988 , pages 12 and 13).
Re-produced here in 10 parts .
[Apologises beforehand for the use of the descriptions "Northern Ireland" and "Province" , and the constant use of the terms "Catholics" and "Protestants" in the following ten-part article ; they are not our descriptions or terms , but the Authors].
(1 of 10).
The conflict in Northern Ireland (sic) won't be resolved by military means ; after nearly 20 years , the IRA has not been defeated nor , in spite of fluctuations in its level of support and occasional SAS coups , is it going to be . Hostility to British rule remains widespread in the Catholic community and will continue to provide support for the armed struggle .
Reform within the present framework is also played out . The Anglo-Irish Agreement (ie- the 1985 Hillsborough Treaty) has posed a bigger challenge to the Protestant and Catholic communities than any previous initiative , but to win the long-term commitment of the Catholic community , the Agreement must deliver substantial material benefits - most notably , the creation of more and better jobs .
But realistically that depends on an economic recovery which cannot itself be achieved as long as the present conflict continues . Moreover , questions of national identity and political control cannot have been high on the political agenda for Catholics for two decades . This is too long for them to go away ; they now have a life of their own...
(MORE LATER).
Saturday, May 29, 2004
JOSEPH BRENAN ; 1828-1857 : 'Young Ireland' Leader .......
Joseph Brenan was born into Daniel O'Connell's time ; huge crowds attended meetings of 'The Catholic Association' , and one eye-witness gave the following account .......
" The whole district was covered with people . The population within a days march began to arrive on foot shortly after daybreak and continued to arrive , on all sides and by every available approach , 'till noon . It was impossible from any one point to see the entire meeting - the number is supposed to have reached between 500,000 and 700,000 persons ."
The population was upset ; they had to contend with hunger , evictions and early death . They were living like animals - a visitor from France , Gustav de Beaumont , described the conditions that Joseph Brenan , too, would have seen in Ireland at that time (ie the early 19th Century) -
- " Imagine four walls of dried mud , which the rain , as it falls, easily restores to its primitive condition , having for its roof a little straw of some sods , for its chimney a hole cut in the roof , or very frequently the door through which alone the smoke finds an issue . One single appartment (sic ?) contains father , mother , children and sometimes a grandfather or grandmother ; there is no furniture in this wretched hovel - a single bed of straw serves the entire family .
Five or six half-naked children may be seen crouched near a miserable fire , the ashes of which cover a few potatoes , the sole nourishment of the whole family . "
The English 'Establishment' and their 'Landlord' puppets had their fine gala-balls and sporting-days , while the Irish 'lived' in " wretched hovels ...". However - we all of us have to answer to our God one day .......
(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 DRIVE TO CORK CITY .......
".......If left alone , we would pass as a mixture of Black and Tans and Auxiliaries and we all struck a superior posture in the car , as they do . We were ready to engage them if we had to , but they were not our target this day ......."
" We were now in Washington Street , Cork , and soon we could see to the end of it . We watched the junction with Main Street - all clear , but what would the Grand Parade reveal ? We swept gracefully into it in a right hand quarter-circle , while our eyes instinctively swept from Patrick Street corner to the Mall , noting particularly Tuckey Street corner . Soon we were past that abode of a vile mix - RIC and Black and Tans . Turning left , we were in the South Mall ; a few hundred yards , and we turned right over Parliament Bridge , across the south channel of the River Lee .
Crossing the quay , we went up Barrack Street and past Cat Fort Gate , where a Black and Tan sentry stood with sloped rifle . He brought his right hand across to the small of the butt , then down smartly to his side - a salute for us ! The first half of it looked bad , but good manners carry one a long way ; a few of us returned the salute wearily ! Some little time after passing by Cat Fort , we over-ran our road to the left - there was some doubt as to where the next road to the left led , and we decided to enquire . This proved to be more troublesome than we expected : we could see people approaching us as if hurrying to work , yet they never reached us . They turned in a doorway or a gateway or a street , so we rushed to the corner of the street to shout after them but they had vanished !
We felt that we were not popular . At length we chased a young man going in our own direction , and grabbed him as he turned in a wicket-gate - he was frightened , but would tell us nothing ......."
(MORE LATER).
BREAKAWAY PARTIES HAVE POOR RECORD .......
By Carol Coulter.
(First published in 'The Irish Times' newspaper on Monday 22nd April 1985).
Reproduced here in 7 parts .
[7 of 7].
In the next election , in 1981 , the 'Workers Party' , formed ten years earlier out of a split in Sinn Fein , won a seat in the Dail (sic- Leinster House) after three attempts in the three previous elections . In 1982 it won three seats , with 2.3 per cent of the vote , but lost one in the subsequent election , though its share of the vote remained almost the same .
The only other small party to have won seats in the Dail (sic) is Sinn Fein , which contested the 1957 election on an abstentionist platform and won four seats ; it lost them all in 1961 , and did not contest another election until 20 years later , in 1981 , when it was heavily involved in the election campaigns of the H-Block prisoners who ran to highlight the Hunger-Strike .
Of obvious necessity , they ran on an abstentionist platform and two of the Republican prisoners , Paddy Agnew and Kieran Doherty , were elected ; Doherty died on Hunger-Strike , and Paddy Agnew did not run in 1982 .
[END of -'BREAKAWAY PARTIES HAVE POOR RECORD...'].
(Tomorrow - 'GETTING OUT' ; from 'New Statesman and Society' magazine , 1988).
Joseph Brenan was born into Daniel O'Connell's time ; huge crowds attended meetings of 'The Catholic Association' , and one eye-witness gave the following account .......
" The whole district was covered with people . The population within a days march began to arrive on foot shortly after daybreak and continued to arrive , on all sides and by every available approach , 'till noon . It was impossible from any one point to see the entire meeting - the number is supposed to have reached between 500,000 and 700,000 persons ."
The population was upset ; they had to contend with hunger , evictions and early death . They were living like animals - a visitor from France , Gustav de Beaumont , described the conditions that Joseph Brenan , too, would have seen in Ireland at that time (ie the early 19th Century) -
- " Imagine four walls of dried mud , which the rain , as it falls, easily restores to its primitive condition , having for its roof a little straw of some sods , for its chimney a hole cut in the roof , or very frequently the door through which alone the smoke finds an issue . One single appartment (sic ?) contains father , mother , children and sometimes a grandfather or grandmother ; there is no furniture in this wretched hovel - a single bed of straw serves the entire family .
Five or six half-naked children may be seen crouched near a miserable fire , the ashes of which cover a few potatoes , the sole nourishment of the whole family . "
The English 'Establishment' and their 'Landlord' puppets had their fine gala-balls and sporting-days , while the Irish 'lived' in " wretched hovels ...". However - we all of us have to answer to our God one day .......
(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 DRIVE TO CORK CITY .......
".......If left alone , we would pass as a mixture of Black and Tans and Auxiliaries and we all struck a superior posture in the car , as they do . We were ready to engage them if we had to , but they were not our target this day ......."
" We were now in Washington Street , Cork , and soon we could see to the end of it . We watched the junction with Main Street - all clear , but what would the Grand Parade reveal ? We swept gracefully into it in a right hand quarter-circle , while our eyes instinctively swept from Patrick Street corner to the Mall , noting particularly Tuckey Street corner . Soon we were past that abode of a vile mix - RIC and Black and Tans . Turning left , we were in the South Mall ; a few hundred yards , and we turned right over Parliament Bridge , across the south channel of the River Lee .
Crossing the quay , we went up Barrack Street and past Cat Fort Gate , where a Black and Tan sentry stood with sloped rifle . He brought his right hand across to the small of the butt , then down smartly to his side - a salute for us ! The first half of it looked bad , but good manners carry one a long way ; a few of us returned the salute wearily ! Some little time after passing by Cat Fort , we over-ran our road to the left - there was some doubt as to where the next road to the left led , and we decided to enquire . This proved to be more troublesome than we expected : we could see people approaching us as if hurrying to work , yet they never reached us . They turned in a doorway or a gateway or a street , so we rushed to the corner of the street to shout after them but they had vanished !
We felt that we were not popular . At length we chased a young man going in our own direction , and grabbed him as he turned in a wicket-gate - he was frightened , but would tell us nothing ......."
(MORE LATER).
BREAKAWAY PARTIES HAVE POOR RECORD .......
By Carol Coulter.
(First published in 'The Irish Times' newspaper on Monday 22nd April 1985).
Reproduced here in 7 parts .
[7 of 7].
In the next election , in 1981 , the 'Workers Party' , formed ten years earlier out of a split in Sinn Fein , won a seat in the Dail (sic- Leinster House) after three attempts in the three previous elections . In 1982 it won three seats , with 2.3 per cent of the vote , but lost one in the subsequent election , though its share of the vote remained almost the same .
The only other small party to have won seats in the Dail (sic) is Sinn Fein , which contested the 1957 election on an abstentionist platform and won four seats ; it lost them all in 1961 , and did not contest another election until 20 years later , in 1981 , when it was heavily involved in the election campaigns of the H-Block prisoners who ran to highlight the Hunger-Strike .
Of obvious necessity , they ran on an abstentionist platform and two of the Republican prisoners , Paddy Agnew and Kieran Doherty , were elected ; Doherty died on Hunger-Strike , and Paddy Agnew did not run in 1982 .
[END of -'BREAKAWAY PARTIES HAVE POOR RECORD...'].
(Tomorrow - 'GETTING OUT' ; from 'New Statesman and Society' magazine , 1988).
Friday, May 28, 2004
JOSEPH BRENAN ; 1828-1857 : 'Young Ireland' Leader .
Ireland , 1828 ; twenty-one months after the subject of our previous article , Philip Grey , was born in Dublin , a baby was born in Cork (ie in November 1828) - Joseph Brenan . He , too, was born when Daniel O'Connell's star was burning brightly - O'Connell had organised the Irish 'peasantry' (as Westminster referred to them) into what was , in all intent and purpose , a political party .
As stated in the previous article , the Catholic Church was in support of 'The Catholic Association' and allowed (indeed , encouraged) its Priests to act not only as that organisations 'spiritual advisers' , but also as political activists !
British mis-rule was reflected in the general state of unrest throughout the country - huge crowds attended 'Association' meetings , with one eye-witness account of the time stating - " The whole district was covered with people ......."
(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 DRIVE TO CORK CITY .......
".......Our mission took us through Coolea , Ballyvourney and Liscarragane ; we thought of old heros - Canon O'Leary and Art O'Laoghaire - we were now on the Donoughmore-Blarney-Cork road......."
" For a time we enjoyed the long straight stretches where we could see well ahead of us ; for there was the possibility of meeting with a strong British Army raiding-party of many lorries . That would be their time for such a job - should they come , we would have time to stop and take up defensive positions . But , leaving the Blarney highway , we did not appreciate the lovely woodland road which changed direction so often .
However , we met no enemy and reached St. Ann's safely ; on then to the Kerry Pike where one of our lads stopped to see his mother . Estimating that our time would now be right , without a further stop , we dropped down to the Asylum Road , and got to the end of it without incident ; we crossed the bridge over the northern branch of the Lee . A run of a few hundred yards , and we were moving at a smart pace down the Western Road .
Safety catches were 'off'. There was to be no delay in case of an attempt to interfere with us ; any enemy agents we met who took us for friends were to be given the benefit of the mistake , and we should hope to maintain that relation for some time . Although we were ready for instant action , and the Lewis-Gun and rifles were plain to be seen , we reclined apparently at ease as befitted British Auxiliaries of the better-off class - not those fellows who sat stiffly on hard seats on their Crossley Tenders ......."
(MORE LATER).
BREAKAWAY PARTIES HAVE POOR RECORD .......
By Carol Coulter.
(First published in 'The Irish Times' newspaper on Monday 22nd April 1985).
Reproduced here in 7 parts .
(6 of 7).
Neil Blaney adopted a different course , describing the group around him as 'Independent Fianna Fail', and appearing as an independent in all the results . Although there were other candidates on this ticket , none of them was ever elected .
In 1977 there was another attempt to form a radical party , again involving Noel Browne : he and a number of prominent Labour Party members split to form the Social Labour Party , with Browne as its only TD (sic - Leinster House member).
Quite soon , however , differences emerged between him and other leading members , and when he left Leinster House , the party collapsed .......
(MORE LATER).
Ireland , 1828 ; twenty-one months after the subject of our previous article , Philip Grey , was born in Dublin , a baby was born in Cork (ie in November 1828) - Joseph Brenan . He , too, was born when Daniel O'Connell's star was burning brightly - O'Connell had organised the Irish 'peasantry' (as Westminster referred to them) into what was , in all intent and purpose , a political party .
As stated in the previous article , the Catholic Church was in support of 'The Catholic Association' and allowed (indeed , encouraged) its Priests to act not only as that organisations 'spiritual advisers' , but also as political activists !
British mis-rule was reflected in the general state of unrest throughout the country - huge crowds attended 'Association' meetings , with one eye-witness account of the time stating - " The whole district was covered with people ......."
(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 DRIVE TO CORK CITY .......
".......Our mission took us through Coolea , Ballyvourney and Liscarragane ; we thought of old heros - Canon O'Leary and Art O'Laoghaire - we were now on the Donoughmore-Blarney-Cork road......."
" For a time we enjoyed the long straight stretches where we could see well ahead of us ; for there was the possibility of meeting with a strong British Army raiding-party of many lorries . That would be their time for such a job - should they come , we would have time to stop and take up defensive positions . But , leaving the Blarney highway , we did not appreciate the lovely woodland road which changed direction so often .
However , we met no enemy and reached St. Ann's safely ; on then to the Kerry Pike where one of our lads stopped to see his mother . Estimating that our time would now be right , without a further stop , we dropped down to the Asylum Road , and got to the end of it without incident ; we crossed the bridge over the northern branch of the Lee . A run of a few hundred yards , and we were moving at a smart pace down the Western Road .
Safety catches were 'off'. There was to be no delay in case of an attempt to interfere with us ; any enemy agents we met who took us for friends were to be given the benefit of the mistake , and we should hope to maintain that relation for some time . Although we were ready for instant action , and the Lewis-Gun and rifles were plain to be seen , we reclined apparently at ease as befitted British Auxiliaries of the better-off class - not those fellows who sat stiffly on hard seats on their Crossley Tenders ......."
(MORE LATER).
BREAKAWAY PARTIES HAVE POOR RECORD .......
By Carol Coulter.
(First published in 'The Irish Times' newspaper on Monday 22nd April 1985).
Reproduced here in 7 parts .
(6 of 7).
Neil Blaney adopted a different course , describing the group around him as 'Independent Fianna Fail', and appearing as an independent in all the results . Although there were other candidates on this ticket , none of them was ever elected .
In 1977 there was another attempt to form a radical party , again involving Noel Browne : he and a number of prominent Labour Party members split to form the Social Labour Party , with Browne as its only TD (sic - Leinster House member).
Quite soon , however , differences emerged between him and other leading members , and when he left Leinster House , the party collapsed .......
(MORE LATER).
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