JULY 29th , 1848 : RIC , Firearms , Pikes - and Five Children .......

.......a 'War Council' was established by the 'Young Irelanders' in July 1848 ; then a 'Provisional Government' was set-up by the Irish Rebels .......

At a meeting in July 1848 at Ballinkeale , County Wexford , it was agreed that a 'Provisional Government of Ireland ' would be established , to operate from Kilkenny . The Young Irelanders 'War Council' sent its people out to all districts in the South of Ireland to organise any local resistance groups and to make a reconnaissance of enemy strength and movement .

But the timing was wrong - the blight that became known as 'The Great Famine' (sic) was on the land ; the potato disease first hit , that time, in 1845 and , by 1846 , every county on the island had been struck by it , with three-quarters of the potato crop destroyed . Typhus fever , diarrhoea , cholera and dysentery followed . It was in this atmosphere that the Irish Rebels were attempting to organise a military challenge against British mis-rule in Ireland .

Meanwhile , the RIC - 'the eyes and ears of Westminster' - had their informers at work against the 'Young Irelanders' .......

(MORE LATER).


WHERE MOUNTAINY MEN HAVE SOWN :

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

By Micheal O'Suilleabhain : published 1965.

THE TRUCE.......

" .......the Republican Courts were run by the people , for the people , not like the old British 'justice' system with its 'pomp' and 'ceremony' ......."

" The British 'judge' used wear a wig and gown , which gave him a most sinister appearance ; other wigs and gowns in a pit underneath him , uniformed (British) 'policemen' who glared about , the 'prisoner' in the dock , the 'witness' box - all gave an impression of unreality and unkindness . The silence of the 'court' was the silence of fear , not respect .

We talked of the evening Mikeen , the 'hard man' of our village , had been tried by a 'special' court ; he had got drunk , assaulted a neighbour and threatened to blow up the neighbour's house with dynamite . He had assaulted the Republican police who had obtained a warrant for his arrest and , now , he was about to be tried but no judge was available . My brother Pat was asked to take the Office of judge , and agreed on condition that Mikeen would be satisfied with his appointment .

The prisoner expressed his entire willingness to be tried by a court with my brother as judge , remarking that he could now be sure of obtaining justice , so my brother Pat took his seat on the bench , for the first time . Public interest in the trial was great ; the court (Den Buckley's barn !) was crowded . Though the case appeared bad on paper , the 'world' (ie local people) knew that it had its extenuating circumstances , but the law had to take its course and the trial proceeded in the most formal manner , with the usual good order and silence being observed .

The "state" evidence had almost concluded and , in fact , the last witness - a Republican policeman - was giving evidence ; he was very precise and formal about the matter , perhaps too much so . Mikeen , old soldier that he was , took advantage of the favourable tide which seemed to be going in his direction - it was well known that himself and that particular IRA policeman did not see eye-to-eye ......."

(MORE LATER).


HISTORY LIVES ON .......
Review of the book 'Survivors' , written by Uinseann MacEoin , and published by Argenta Publications , Dublin , 1980 .

First published in 'IRIS' magazine , Volume 1 , Number 2 , November 1981 , page 117 .
Re-published here in 6 parts .
(3 of 6).

There is another group of recollections from the legendary Commanders of the Irish Republican Army during the Tan War and after ; there is Thomas O'Maoileoin (better known as Sean Forde) , Commandant General , IRA , who remained on the Army Council until 1938 . Apart from his fascinating account of military operations he notes how , in the 1930's , .....

... " ...with the right political organisation , we could sweep the land . Without a real revolution - a revolution of the mind - the wheel , I knew , would turn full circle again ..." . It did , of course . He ends with an uncompromising statement on the present -

- " I see no difference in the fight being waged against English domination of this country today , and the fight we fought in Westmeath in 1916 , and in East Limerick in 1920 and 1921 . As far as I am concerned , they are the same people at grips with the same enemy . " John Joe Sheehy , Commandant , Kerry No. 1 Brigade IRA , had much the same to say .......

(MORE LATER).

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JULY 29th , 1848 : RIC , Firearms , Pikes - and Five Children .......

.......'evictions' were common-place ; as the President of 'The Irish National Land League' (also known as 'The Land League of Ireland') , Charles Stewart Parnell was advocating a different method other than " violence " , by which 'tenants' could strike-back .......

It should be noted that the " violence " referred to by Parnell was , in this scribblers opinion , used in self-defence , as is the " violence " used today by the Irish .

However - at a meeting in Ennis , County Clare , in 1880 , Charles Stewart Parnell stated - " Now what are you to do with a tenant who bids for a farm from which his neighbour has been evicted ? Now I think I heard somebody say "Shoot him !" - but I wish to point out a very much better way , a more Christian and more charitable way . You must show what you think of him on the roadside when you meet him , you must show him in the streets of the town , you must show him at the shop counter .

Even in the house of worship , by leaving him severely alone , by putting him into a sort of moral 'Coventry' , by isolating him from the rest of his kind as if he were a leper of old , you must show him your detestation of the crime he has committed . " That became known as the 'Boycott Campaign' , after the name of the first British 'Land Agent' (in County Mayo) against whom it was applied .

But I digress (again...) ; In July 1848 , the 'Young Irelanders' assembled a 'War Council' and then set-up a 'Provisional Government of Ireland '.......

(MORE LATER).


WHERE MOUNTAINY MEN HAVE SOWN :

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

By Micheal O'Suilleabhain : published 1965.

THE TRUCE.......

".......my uncle , Dan MacNamara , was a judge in the Republican Courts , which we all had experience of ....... "

" The judge of the District Court was always a local man - farmer , labourer or artisan , selected by the people as the man best qualified for the position ; his honesty was his only qualification . The Court was held in the parish school or hall , and the litigants could employ the men who had practised during the British regime , or call on any man they liked to defend them . IRA Policemen and magistrates were all local men ('1169....' Comment - Unlike today , the 'IRA Policemen' of the 1920's did not safely usher Orange parades through Nationalist areas and then rescue British Army footpatrols - ref the Provos in Ardoyne recently ...) .

It might appear to some people that such an arrangement was not conducive to the dignity and proper administration of the law , but such an opinion would be very far from the fact - the public were , of course, admitted to the court , the proceedings were conducted with the utmost decorum and a respectful silence was always maintained .

This atmosphere was not due to the presence of IRA Policemen or other Officers of the law ; it was just due to the pride the people felt in the realisation of one of their ideals . True , if the occasion arose to justify laughter , then they had to laugh , but it was not done without ample provocation . In the days of the old regime the judge sat sphinx-like on the bench , and his wig and gown gave him a most sinister appearance ......."

(MORE LATER).


HISTORY LIVES ON .......
Review of the book 'Survivors' , written by Uinseann MacEoin , and published by Argenta Publications , Dublin , 1980 .

First published in 'IRIS' magazine , Volume 1 , Number 2 , November 1981 , page 117 .
Re-published here in 6 parts .
(2 of 6).

Peadar O'Donnell is also critical of the abstract "leftist" critics of Republicanism - " Though the IRA was often dubbed a purely nationalist organisation , those critics forgot that nationality itself is a progressive force . A nationalist movement , generally speaking, gathers its strength from the working class . If the working class pushes up to the front , they can carry on the revolution to the social revolutionary stage . "

A similar theme - the relation between national and social liberation - is developed by Frank Edwards who was a Lieutenant with the Waterford City Battalion IRA , and a Sergeant with the XV International Brigade in Spain . In his recollections , he tells of agitation in the 1930's in Waterford over the slum 'landlords' , the organisation of 'tenants' and the unemployed and , of course , strikers , concluding simply - " Most of the local IRA supported us , They were working class ."

Nora Connolly O'Brien , the late daughter of James Connolly , provides fascinating glimpses of her eventful life , as does Sean MacBride , one time Chief of Staff of the IRA , today an 'international statesman .......'

(MORE LATER).

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JULY 29th , 1848 : RIC , Firearms , Pikes - and Five Children .......

.......the 'Boycott' Campaign got its name when Charles Stewart Parnell was addressing a large outdoor meeting at Ennis , in County Clare , in 1880 - the previous year (1879) , speaking in Westport , County Mayo , Parnell stated .......

" A fair rent is a rent the tenant can reasonably afford to pay according to the times , but in bad times a tenant cannot be expected to pay as much as he did in good times . Now , what must we do in order to induce the landlords to see the position ? You must show them that you intend to hold a firm grip of your homesteads and lands .

You must not allow yourselves to be dispossessed as your fathers were dispossessed in 1847 . I hope that on those properties where the rents are out of all proportion to the times , a reduction may be made and that immediately . If not , you must help yourselves , and the public opinion of the world will stand by you , and support you in your struggle to defend your homesteads . "

Evictions were by then common-place and , at the above-mentioned meeting in Ennis , County Clare , in 1880 , Charles Stewart Parnell again promoted a different method by which the 'tenant' could strike-back at the 'Landlord' classes ; but again , what Parnell called "violence" was ruled out .......

(MORE LATER).


WHERE MOUNTAINY MEN HAVE SOWN :

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

By Micheal O'Suilleabhain : published 1965.

THE TRUCE.......

".......we were relaxing under a pine tree on a sunny day in 1921 on my uncles farm in Knocksaharing , having worked the land that day . We got to talking about the troubled times we lived in ......."

" It was but natural that our thoughts should wander back over that period of eventful years which had ended only a few months ago ; Dan MacNamara was the first to express his thoughts aloud - he laughed and said - " Bedammed , lads , do you know what it is , we have been through some stirring scenes during the past seven or eight years . If one could only think of all the laughable incidents that occurred from time to time .

Here I am , thank God , back at work again on my bit of territory , I who was once a judge on the bench of the Republican Court , dispensing justice alike to rich and poor , bowed to and called 'Your Worship' by the regular practitioners of the law , some of whom always thought , no doubt , that the dock and not the bench would be the summit of my legal career ! Well , at least we can claim to have been the first Irishmen to establish Courts for our own people since the lapse of the Brehon Laws . And did they not work well ?

They never failed to measure out justice so fairly that the parties concerned were well pleased with the judgement . And what more was wanted ? Soon you will see the British system working again , with some of the old outward pomp and ceremony . This was usually accompanied by , as we know from bitter experience , damn little justice for Irishmen . No matter ! That can hardly happen again ..."

The allusion to the Republican Courts which had entirely replaced the British system , and which had proved such a complete success , evoked many amusing reminiscences ....... "

(MORE LATER).


HISTORY LIVES ON .
Review of the book 'Survivors' , written by Uinseann MacEoin , and published by Argenta Publications , Dublin , 1980 .

First published in 'IRIS' magazine , Volume 1 , Number 2 , November 1981 , page 117 .
Re-published here in 6 parts .
(1 of 6).

This truly remarkable book covers the story of Ireland's struggle as told through some of her outstanding living people (the 'Survivors') recalling events from the days of Davitt , through James Connolly , Collins , Liam Mellows and Rory O'Connor to the present day . We often forget that there are people still alive today who can remember the Easter Rising , lived through the Tan War , the Civil War and the difficult years of the 1930's .

These recollections are a rich repository of historical knowledge ; not the 'dry' history of the textbooks , but the real history of living people . Some of the twenty-three 'Survivors' are familiar names , people who have written extensively and so on . Thus we have Peadar O'Donnell of 'Land Annuity Campaign' and 'Republican Congress' fame . He is particularly critical of the Labour Party after 1916 -

- " One of the reasons Dublin voted Republican rather than Labour was because the masses in Dublin are very Republican . They resented the fact that Labour had deserted the Republic ..."

(MORE LATER).

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JULY 29th , 1848 : RIC , Firearms , Pikes - and Five Children .......

.......the President of the 'Irish National Land League' (also known as 'The Land League of Ireland') , Charles Stewart Parnell , was in an unenviable political position for a while - he was distrusted by both the British and the Irish .......

Charles Stewart Parnell's great-grandfather was known to have been strongly opposed to any form of an ' Official ' union between Ireland and England ; his mother , apparently , by all accounts, was an 'in-your-face' up-front lady , American by birth , who had no great love for the British -

- her own father had dispatched many an English soldier during the war of 1812 . However - I'll leave the Parnell 'tangent' there and refer back to the previous 'tangent' (!) ; the 'boycott' campaign , which got its name during the Irish 'Land War' when Charles Stewart Parnell (... mini-tangent coming up !) was addressing a large outdoor meeting at Ennis in County Clare , in 1880 .

The previous year (1879) , Parnell had delivered a speech on the same topic (ie 'tenants , rents and landlords') to a large crowd in Westport in County Mayo .......

(MORE LATER).


WHERE MOUNTAINY MEN HAVE SOWN :

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

By Micheal O'Suilleabhain : published 1965.

THE TRUCE.......

".......we were working the corn-fields at my uncles farm at Knocksaharing , on a beautiful day in 1921 . 'Reaping' and 'Stooking' , and working up an appetite ....... "

" Above us stood a grassy plateau with a lone pine tree in the middle of it ; the sun , slanting downwards from the west , fell on the short green grass and cast a long shadow eastwards from the pine . My uncle spoke - " It is too early for tea , lads . " Then , looking at the land , and then at the pine tree , he quoted -

- ' Come to the sunset tree ,
The day is past and gone ,
The woodman's axe lies free ,
And the reaper's work is done . '

With one accord we all moved towards the grassy plateau and sat or stretched ourselves at ease around the stem of the pine tree . No one spoke for a while , but I broke the silence - " Dan ," I asked , " did you finish your poetry ? " " No ," he replied , " there's a little more , and it is very appropriate to the time and place . Here it is : "

' Sweet is the hour of rest ,
Gentle the winds low sigh ,
And the bright gleaming of the west ,
On the turf whereon we lie . '

Certainly it was appropriate : above us a gentle breeze stirred the dark branches of the pine , while the sun sinking towards Beal a' Ghleanna maintained its pleasant radiance of light and heat . We thought , and spoke , of the troubled times we lived in ....... "

(MORE LATER).


PASSPORT SCANDAL....... !
By Patrick Murphy .

First published in 'New Hibernia' magazine , May 1987 , page 13 .
A 'skit' in five parts .
[5 of 5].

Special guerilla training will of course be provided on such subjects as how to smuggle washing powder across the border from the North and how to live off the land without paying income tax . Counter espionage tactics will include how to spot a television licence detector van at 100 yards and training in how to blend in with the countryside will be given by county council workmen .

And news is just coming in of clashes between rival Arab groups in Limerick ; heavy fighting is reported in the pro-Iranian area of the Ennis Road and the United Nations has asked the Government to send peace-keeping forces to the area . But as part of the Government cut-backs , Mr. Brian Lenihan has suggested that the fighting should take place for only an hour each day .

Mr. Lenihan was later sold to an Arab by a senior Civil Servant in his department for five pounds . In a communique just issued from Damascus , the Arab has demanded his money back !

[END of PASSPORT SCANDAL....... ! ].
(Tomorrow - 'History Lives On : Survivors . ' : from 1981).
(MORE LATER).

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JULY 29th , 1848 : RIC , Firearms , Pikes - and Five Children .......

.......as a result of a campaign led by John Blake Dillon , one of the leaders of the 'Irish National Land League' (and a member of 'The Young Irelanders' War Council) a new word was to enter the English language .......

The British 'Landlord' who was buying-up land from which the Irish had been 'evicted' was Captain Boycott ; he was targetted by the 'Land League' , whose President , Charles Stewart Parnell was , for a time , viewed with suspicion by both the British and Irish - in 1876 , it was said of him in Westminster -

" Mr. Parnell combines in his person all the unlovable qualities of an Irish member with the absolute absense of their attractiveness . Something really must be done about him . He is always at a white heat or rage and makes with savage earnestness fancifully ridiculous statements ..."

Meanwhile , on 'the other side of the house' , so to speak , the Irish had their view of Charles Stewart Parnell 'coloured' by , amongst other things , the man's background ; he was a Protestant 'Landlord' who 'owned' about 5,000 acres of land in County Wicklow and his parents were friends of (and , indeed, in some cases , related to) the local Protestant 'gentry' .......

(MORE LATER).


WHERE MOUNTAINY MEN HAVE SOWN :

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

By Micheal O'Suilleabhain : published 1965.

THE TRUCE.......

".......we were convinced that we had lost one of our IRA Officers , as he had dived into heavy flood waters to rescue our supplies from a cart , but , in time , he made his way back to us in the training camp . Our Brigadier , Sean O'Hegarty , looked at the soaked man ....... "

" " You got wet then , Dick ," , said Sean . " Unfortunately , I did, " poor Dick replied , " visibility was deceptive and I erroneously concluded that an island I saw was part of terra firma . " " Better change your clothes , Dick , " said Sean . " Yes, " said Dick , " I will , for a sudden immersion of that nature is liable to bring on pangs of excruciating pain in both arms . " " You are all right yet , anyway .....," Sean observed , tongue in cheek !

It was the harvest time in that beautiful year of sunshine , 1921 ; we had heard that my uncle Dan was reaping the corn at Knocksaharing and , ever anxious to spend a day in his company at that peaceful spot , my brothers , sisters and I arrived there early in the day . We found that a goodly number of the neighbours , including the local IRA Volunteers , had already come to help with the harvest , anticipating a day made pleasant by merely listening to my uncle's discourses .

Work was commenced on Paircin na Coille ; it was the old-time harvest scene - four scythes , wielded with precision by strong arms , cut a wide track from fence to fence . A 'taker' followed each scythe , and two 'binders' easily bound the sheaves each 'taker' laid at right angles to the line of standing corn . Now and then half the 'binders' would leave their work and stook the sheaves . Between the work , the pleasant intervals of rest , dinner and afternoon tea on the field , we found that time had gone by un-noticed .

We had finished the reaping and stooking and now stood straightening our backs at the top of the field called Pairc na mBeach , and had worked up an appetite ......."

(MORE LATER).


PASSPORT SCANDAL....... !
By Patrick Murphy .

First published in 'New Hibernia' magazine , May 1987 , page 13 .
A 'skit' in five parts .
(4 of 5).

Speaking at a meeting of the Colonel Gadaffi Fianna Fail Cumann in Libya North last night the Taoiseach , Mr. Haughey , said that having brought Christianity to many parts of the world the Irish were now bringing passports .

A team of teachers from the Department of Education has gone to the Middle East to give a crash course on how to be Irish to the thousands of new Irish citizens there . Candidates have a choice of talking rural Irish (" It's that bloody crowd up in Dublin that's to blame....") or urban Irish (" It's the bloody farmers that have the country ruined ....").

Traditional Irish airs such as ' Big Tom is still the King ' and ' Do ya want yer auld lobby washed down ?' will be taught by skilled musicians and Gaelic football , which was to have been taught by a few Kerry men will now be handled by Dublin people .......

(MORE LATER).

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JULY 29th , 1848 : RIC , Firearms , Pikes - and Five Children .......

.......the ' Loyal National Repeal Association ' had 'split' ; those that left formed ' The Young Irelanders ' and immediately called for an armed revolt against British mis-rule in Ireland . The Brits moved quickly .......

One of the leaders of 'The Young Irelanders' , John Mitchel , was 'arrested' for writing " ...wild and menacing words ..." then , in April 1848 , the 'Treason Felony Act' was introduced , followed by the suspension of 'Habeas Corpus' on July 25th , 1848 ; William Smith O'Brien recognised that the Brits were 'battening down the hatches' - with John Mitchel in a British prison , he was in command ; he called for an immediate Rising against the British .

A 'War Council' was appointed , comprising William Smith O'Brien , Thomas Francis Meagher and John Blake Dillon ; the latter was to come to the fore in the late 1870's when , as a member of the 'Irish National Land League' , which was formed in 1879 to protect the Irish 'tenantry' against the abuses of British 'landlords' , he led a campaign against a British 'landlord' who was buying-up lands from which Irish 'peasants' had been evicted .

As a result , a new word was to enter the English language .......

(MORE LATER).


WHERE MOUNTAINY MEN HAVE SOWN :

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

By Micheal O'Suilleabhain : published 1965.

THE TRUCE.......

".......we were milling around the scene of the 'lake' incident when , out of nowhere , our gentlemanly Officer announced that he had "...a good expedient ..." to save the situation ....... "

" He jumped in to the flood waters ; we were stricken with complete but short-lived paralysis , which gave way to violent contortions , followed by sustained convulsions . The group holding on to the big horse let him go and he started to drown again - they held on to each other and by this means managed to save their lives . Dan MacNamara took hold of me and somehow we managed to reach the house ; Sean O'Hegarty , our IRA Brigadier , had come outside to meet us but we could tell him nothing ; we staggered indoors - Sean now started to swear at us since we would not tell him the joke . At length I managed to speak the Officer's name , and Sean heard it .

" Maybe he's drowned ? " , he enquired . " Well " , I said , " he was under water when we left . " Sean now became afflicted by this announcement ; at length we sat on chairs and waited , our eyes on the open door . By and by the procession arrived , headed by the 'victim ' ! The 'mourners' made an indecent scramble for position , determined to extract the full value from this unexpected windfall : Sean's face was as grave as the hanging judge's as his eyes assessed the depreciation . " You got wet then , Dick ," he commented dryly ......."

(MORE LATER).


PASSPORT SCANDAL....... !
By Patrick Murphy .

First published in 'New Hibernia' magazine , May 1987 , page 13 .
A 'skit' in five parts .
(3 of 5).

Meanwhile , at the opening of a new IDA (Free State 'Industrial Development Agency') sponsored passport-making factory at Tallaght , Dublin , yesterday , the new Minister for Women's Affairs , Mrs. Bridget Tehran Radio announced that passports have gone on sale to all newsagents and post offices throughout the country . Anyone who buys two passports with the same number stands to win £1,000 , plus two Iranian women , plus the Secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs or one million free passports !

The State Government has disclosed that the money raised by the sale will go towards funding social security benefits for the three million Irish citizens who now live in Tripoli .......

(MORE LATER).

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JULY 29th , 1848 : RIC , Firearms , Pikes - and Five Children .......

.......the British were not , and indeed still are not , shy about spilling blood in their 'conquests' and in holding on to the 'spoils' of same ; and not all Irish men and women were , or are , adversed to 'fighting fire with fire'.......

Even when Irish 'violence' was to be employed in self-defence , Daniel O'Connell's 'Loyal National Repeal Association' was against it ; this led to tension within that organisation , and a 'split' developed - those that left included William Smith O'Brien (a Member of the British Parliament , Harrow-educated , with an accent to match !) , Thomas Francis Meagher and John Mitchel - a new group was established ; 'The Young Irelanders' .

That new group's political position was outlined in there newspaper 'The United Irishman' : a call for immediate armed revolt against the British . Westminster was alarmed ; the 'Paris Revolution' , which had taken place that February (1848) must have helped to put the final 'wind' up the Brits , as they moved quickly -

- John Mitchel was accused of writing " wild and menacing words....."

(MORE LATER).


WHERE MOUNTAINY MEN HAVE SOWN :

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

By Micheal O'Suilleabhain : published 1965.

THE TRUCE.......

".......a whistle had sounded the alarm - myself and Dan MacNamara ran towards the sound to investigate ; recent heavy rain had created a 'lake' nearby , and Jer Carthy's horse and cart , carrying our supplies , was trapped in the flood ......."

" A few of our lads had partly stripped and now stood perilously on a submerged rock , holding up the horse's head . Others were engaged in salvaging some of the goods from the cart which was almost under water and was tilted dangerously . It was evident now , from soundings taken , that an isthmus , a small neck of land , ran out around the wreck and that it was easier to work from the lake side . A deep hole lay between the horse and the road . I stooped and started to remove my boots .

" Have sense man , " said Mac , " there are more than enough on the job . The horse is safe now - we'll go back and tell Sean . He'll be wondering what happened . Look , the whole lot are here now . " He was right ; men were fast hurrying to the scene and , as we turned to go , we heard a measured voice say - " I have just thought of what I think is a good expedient . " It was our portly and genteel Officer ; he passed in front of us and , reaching the edge of the deep hole , jumped into it and disappeared beneath the water . A gathering of flotsam half-way across to the horse had deceived him in the now failing light .

Everybody had paused , on hearing of the " ...good expedient , " to watch its implementation ; now , as well as I could see , it far exceeded their most hopeful expectations . It would need a medical man to describe their reactions ....... "

(MORE LATER).


PASSPORT SCANDAL....... !
By Patrick Murphy .

First published in 'New Hibernia' magazine , May 1987 , page 13 .
A 'skit' in five parts .
(2 of 5).

Speaking in Conamara Arabic , Mr. Mohammed Ali , the Minister for the Gaeltacht , said that people should not believe what they read in the newspapers and other newspapers should not believe what they read in the 'People' . Denying allegations that he was not Irish , Mr. Ali said that he was a descendant of a long line of Irish handball allies .

Continuing the debate on Kerry County Council's failure to repair the main road from Beirut to Damascus , the leader of the Progressive Democrats , Mr. Yasser Arafat , told the House that Ireland was not sending enough passports to the Third World ; he said that the 2,000 tons of passports which arrived in Ethiopia would not last for long .......

(MORE LATER).

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JULY 29th , 1848 : RIC , Firearms , Pikes - and Five Children .......

.......the 'Orange Order' was formally dissolved in 1836 , but was revived again around 1846 - the 'Battle of Dolly's Brae' was on the way .......

At an Orange Order 'celebration' in Castlewellan in County Down in 1849 , a number of Nationalists were set upon by the Loyalists and put to death . Hand-to-hand fighting broke out and British troops were sent in to put the Nationalists 'back in their box' .

However - the incident that this article is about ; July 29th , 1848 , had its roots two years earlier , in July 1846 - Daniel O'Connell's ' Loyal National Repeal Association' was simmering with discontent - not all in the leadership , or membership , agreed with O'Connell that " Irish independence was not worth the spilling of one drop of human blood ....." .

Then , as now , the Brits were not shy about who's blood they spilled in their 'conquests' and in holding on to the 'spoils' of same and , also , then as now , not all Irish men and women were adversed to 'fighting fire with fire .....'

(MORE LATER).


WHERE MOUNTAINY MEN HAVE SOWN :

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

By Micheal O'Suilleabhain : published 1965.

THE TRUCE.......

".......we were in an IRA training camp when , in the distance , a warning whistle sounded - Dan MacNamara and I grabbed our guns and hurried out ......."

" Some little time before the whistle blew a big horse with a cart heavily laden might be seen coming up the boreen , the only road to the valley . The driver was Jer Carthy , a most useful man ; he was just now the 'mere driver' of the big horse , but that was only one of his duties . It was he who had loaded the bread , the home-made cakes , the meat for tomorrow , the tobacco and cigarettes - in fact , everything , on the cart .

But who had acquired them all ? The same man - who else could do it ? He had done it daily for the IRA Column ; everything could be bought or requisitioned but the home-made cakes - they could be had gratis and welcome , but it would need a small army to collect them . Jer alone could do it in no time . Someone tried to explain Jer's system to me one time , but I doubt if my mentor understood it himself !

However - Dan MacNamara and I went down the road at a sling-trot pace : we hardly expected the enemy but we knew from the whistle alarm that something had gone wrong . Rounding a corner , we came on the scene of the disaster - the road in front of us was under water , and to the left of it and well out in the newly formed 'lake' , the big horse's head only showed above the flood ......."

(MORE LATER).


PASSPORT SCANDAL !
By Patrick Murphy .

First published in 'New Hibernia' magazine , May 1987 , page 13 .
A 'skit' in five parts .
(1 of 5).

A Civil Servant in the (Free State) 'Department of Foreign Affairs' has been selling seats in the Dail (ie Leinster House) for up to £15,000 each ! That was the 'shock-horror' story which rocked Leinster House yesterday where the new Ceann Comhairle , Mrs. Abdula Ben Hassid , said it was all a load of lies .

Mrs. Hassid (Fianna Fail , Cavan/Monaghan) denied that seating in the 'Dail' chamber had been rearranged so that everyone faced Mecca - " There has been no worthwhile Mecca-nisation in the Dail for years , " she said .

The new Minister for the Gaeltacht , Mr. Mohammed Ali , said the incident had been blown up and if it had'nt it should be . Mr. Ali (Fine Gael , Kerry North) was elected only last week on the first count of £14,500. He was deemed elected without reaching the quota of £15,000 and he may have difficulty holding on to his seat at the next sale since Kerry North is now a 37-seater constituency .......

(MORE LATER).

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JULY 29th , 1848 : RIC , Firearms , Pikes - and Five Children .

Ireland , 1848 - the third successive year of the potato blight ; man-made 'famine' had put approximately one-and-a-half million men , women and children in early graves , and forced about another two million Irish people to emigrate (of whom thousands died in passage to America and Canada) .

That year (1848) was one year before the 'Battle of Dolly's Brae' in Castlewellan , County Down (or 'Dollis Bray' , as it was also known) ; in 1836 , the 'Orange Order' was formally dissolved but was revived again in about 1846 - the 12th July march was back , and trouble came with it ; deaths and riots at 'Dolly's Brae' .......

(MORE LATER).


WHERE MOUNTAINY MEN HAVE SOWN :

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

By Micheal O'Suilleabhain : published 1965.

THE TRUCE.......

".......during the 1921 'Truce' , we were at an IRA training camp at Coomroe , Valley Desmond ; one particular IRA Officer we met there was much older than the majority of us ....... "

" We liked him immensely as he was a thorough gentleman , decent in every way and a good comrade . But he was ponderous in his ways ; in his speech he chose each word with meticulous care , and often used a 'heavy' word where a 'lighter' one would have passed muster , with us at any rate . He always dressed correctly and never appeared without a white collar and tie properly assembled .

Only in these small matters and avoirdupois was he at variance with us , but you may have often noticed in your schooldays , and indeed perhaps much later on in life , that youth treats age and weighty matters lightly ! The day of this eventful evening had dawned fair and the morning had been very fine , but a fierce thunderstorm and rain burst over Valley Desmond and the 'thousand wild fountains' had come down and swollen the infant River Lee to the dimensions of a lake which lapped , and in places covered the boreen from Gougane Barra .

Late in the evening the rain stopped suddenly , and nearly all the lads cleared out for a walk ; with them went our gentlemanly Officer . Sean O'Hegarty , our IRA Brigadier , Dan MacNamara and I were left alone in Holland's kitchen . The IRA training camp was being kept a close secret for various reasons and we had been warned to be ready to meet a possible incursion of the enemy . As the three of us talked together a whistle sounded down the valley ; it was one of our whistles and it was repeated insistently .

" What's that about ? " asked Sean O'Hegarty . " We'll see , " said Dan and I , as, picking up our guns , we hurried out ......."

(MORE LATER).


TINKER , TAILOR , HIGH RISK SPY .......
By Frank Doherty .

First published in ' New Hibernia ' magazine , May 1987 , pages 7 , 8 and 9 .
Re-produced here in 11 parts .
[11 of 11.]

It is certain that 'Sir' Maurice Oldfield had an enthusiasm for murder , as in his plan to kill President Nasser and other Middle Eastern personalities , his role in Operation Ajax , which he first suggested and which led to the overthrow of Mossadegh , the Iranian leader , the imposition of the Shah as despot and ultimately the arrival of Ayatollah Khomeini in power , will be related eventually .

But whether the British media will ever get around to the thorny question of why the KGB never exposed Oldfield's weaknesses is another question . Should it prove that 'Sir' Maurice , the man who had such an enormous , although hidden, influence on Irish affairs during one of the most crucial decades in recent history was , like his friends Anthony Blunt and Tom Driberb , a Soviet double agent , then the incredibly bizarre course of British intelligence will have taken its most unusual twist ever .

[END of ' TINKER , TAILOR , HIGH RISK SPY...'].
(Tomorrow - 'PASSPORT SCANDAL !' - a skit from 1987 ...).

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'TAN WAR' REPUBLICAN NEWSPAPER - 'An tOglach' , 1918-1921.......

.......on 6th December 1921 , at ten minutes past two in the morning , a 'Treaty' was signed between the IRA and Westminster . The 'An tOglach' Irish Republican newspaper was not re-published after that 'Treaty' was signed .......

Its first and last Editor , Piaras Beaslai , took the side of the Free State and rose through the Free State Army to become a General ; the same man is credited with coining the description 'Irregulars' to describe the anti-Treaty IRA .

Piaras Beaslai died on the 21st June 1965 , at 84 years of age . And today , 39 years after his death and 83 years after the last copy of 'An tOglach' rolled off the presses , the conflict in Ireland remains unsolved - the British military and political presence is still in Ireland , and that countrys claim of jurisdiction over part of this island is still enforced .

'An tOglach' is gone , but you can still read about the continuing struggle for Irish Freedom here. Irish Republicanism needs your help : read the 'paper , take out a subscription - 'Play Your Part' .

[END of " 'TAN WAR' REPUBLICAN NEWSPAPER - 'An tOglach' , 1918-1921."].
(Tomorrow : 'July 29th , 1848 - RIC , Firearms , Pikes ; and Five Children ...').


WHERE MOUNTAINY MEN HAVE SOWN :

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

By Micheal O'Suilleabhain : published 1965.

THE TRUCE.......

".......on arriving in Cork , we met the 'shawlies' and the 'echo' boys - all 'spoofers' , no-where to be seen when the fight was on ......."

" The outcome of our visit to Cork was the formation of an IRA Brigade Officers training camp at Coomroe , Valley Desmond ; this lasted for a fortnight , and four men from each of the nine IRA Battalions of the Brigade attended . The training was intensive and the discipline rigorous ; we were routed out at five in the morning and until half-past seven were engaged at the most severe physical exercises . We then had breakfast .

The same regularity was maintained all day at the various military exercises - we had four hours off in the evening and went to bed at half-past ten and , after such a day , sleep came to us quickly but , almost immediately after sleep came we would hear Sean Murray shouting - " Show a leg - up ! " It was five o'clock again ...

The work was hard but it made us strong and healthy ; we thoroughly enjoyed our intervals of rest , as we had good story-tellers , singers and musicians to provide entertainment . But a simple incident or accident one evening caused more laughter than I ever remember - we had amongst us one IRA Officer , much older than the majority of us ....... "

(MORE LATER).


TINKER , TAILOR , HIGH RISK SPY .......
By Frank Doherty .

First published in ' New Hibernia ' magazine , May 1987 , pages 7 , 8 and 9 .
Re-produced here in 11 parts .
(10 of 11.)

According to one former MI6 man , Maurice Oldfield had been involved with two key men who worked with MI6 - Maurice Foley MP and Ronald Burroughs , in the Biafran-Nigerian war in 1969 . A year later , all three were heavily involved in bringing together the disparate nationalist MP's .

Ronald Burroughs , who was then in Belfast with the cover title - ' British Government Representative' , had prepared much of the groundwork for Maurice Foley MP since his arrival five months earlier . With 'Sir' Maurice Oldfield only now being exposed for what he was , it is still too early to predict how much more about him and his role in recent Irish history will emerge . His real persona was revealed because of the increasingly bitter internecine feuding between MI5 , MI6 and various factions within both , of which the Peter Wright affair in Australia and the Holroyd/Wallace revelations are just part .

How much more will be told remains to be seen .......

(MORE LATER).

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'TAN WAR' REPUBLICAN NEWSPAPER - 'An tOglach' , 1918-1921.......

.......on 11th July 1921 a 'Truce' between the IRA and the British was signed ; then , on 6th December 1921 , Michael Collins accepted 'Dominion' status and an 'oath' which gave 'allegiance' to the new Irish Free State and 'fidelity' to the British Crown . He knew it was a mistake .......

Walking through the foggy London streets after signing the British document , Michael Collins stated -

- " When you have sweated , toiled , had mad dreams , hopeless nightmares , you find yourself in London's streets , cold and dank in the night air . Think - what have I got for Ireland ? Something which she has wanted these past seven hundred years ? Will anyone be satisfied at the bargain ? Will anyone ? I tell you this ; early this morning I signed my death warrant . I thought at the time how odd , how ridiculous - a bullet may just as well have done the job five years ago . " That 'Treaty' ripped Irish society asunder ; within six months a Civil War had erupted and , to this day , the issue remains unsolved . Other 'Treaty's ' , such as those entered into at Sunningdale , Hillsborough , Stormont and now Leeds Castle in Kent , England , will also fail , and for the same reason - the British claim of jurisdiction over any part of this island .

However - (Tangents aside ...!) - the 'An tOglach' newspaper , 'The Official Organ of The Irish Volunteers' , was not re-published after the 'Treaty of Surrender' in 1921 ; its first and last Editor , Piaras Beaslai , unfortunately followed the example of a previous Editor of 'An tOglach' , Ernest Blythe - he 'jumped ship ...' .......

(MORE LATER).


WHERE MOUNTAINY MEN HAVE SOWN :

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

By Micheal O'Suilleabhain : published 1965.

THE TRUCE.......

".......the 'Truce' was on ; ten feet apart stood four armed British Auxies and four armed IRA men - a Model T. Ford car was parked between them . The car used to belong to the Brits , but was now in the employ of the IRA . One of the British Auxies was adament that the car should be returned ; he squared-up to us and asked his colleagues to back him up ....... "

" "Sorry , old bean ," one of his colleagues replied , "there's a Truce you know . We were just going in across the way . Will you come ? " So saying , they turned away and , without looking back , made straight for the hotel . We stood motionless ; the British gunman held his ground for a few moments only then , putting his pride in his pocket , he started after his colleagues . As he passed by the front of the car on his way across the street , I passed by the rear of it . I could not forbear to fling at him a taunt - " Well , what about it ? " I said to him . " Some other time , " was the reply , as he continued on his way .

We resumed our journey ; again , we wondered how the next enemy group would receive us - a few miles to the west of Ballincollig we met them ; it was a lorry of British Auxiliaries , coming towards Macroom . They slowed down to have a look at the car - realising what we were , they waived gaily and shouted to us ! We waived back - that particular crowd was in good humour at any rate . At Ballincollig we got another friendly reception from the Brit Tommies ; every group and individual saluted us good humouredly , even the sentry at the gate . Arriving in Cork , we got a great ovation from the ordinary people who recognised us as IRA men , but the "shawlies" and "Echo" boys were especially embarrassing to us .

Wherever we stopped they gathered around us , and the " shawlies" would shout to their friends across the street - " Look at 'em , Mary Ann , look at 'em ! Ah, dere the lads dat knocked de stuffing outa d'ould Royal Irish and de Black-and-Tans . More power to ye , boys , more power to ye ! " The "Echo" boys examined our Model T. Ford , pointing out the scars of battle and weaving tales about its adventures ; it had dashed through enemy-occupied towns , overturned barricades and knocked out armoured cars ... !

Spoofers all , no-where to be seen when the fight was on ......."

(MORE LATER).


TINKER , TAILOR , HIGH RISK SPY .......
By Frank Doherty .

First published in ' New Hibernia ' magazine , May 1987 , pages 7 , 8 and 9 .
Re-produced here in 11 parts .
(9 of 11.)

Just how many of the various British 'initiatives' in Ireland were 'sired' by Maurice Oldfield is uncertain , but he was certainly behind the two sets of 'truce talks' with the Provos , in 1972 , when Sean MacStiophan , Gerry Adams ('1169...' comment - Gerry was only there to fetch drinking water for the participants - he must have been as , according to himself , he was never a 'member' ...) and others were flown to London to meet British politicians in an MI6 'safe house' and in the 1976 'incident centre' ceasefire .

Talks on that occasion were held in the MI6 Station at Laneside , conducted largely by Maurice Oldfield's people , led by James Allan . Ironically , the pick-up point for the two IRA representatives at some of those talks was at an MI6 house on Old Hollywood Road , Belfast , which, it later emerged, was also used for homosexual orgies , although not while the Provos were visiting . (!)

But it was in the long-term strategy which Maurice Oldfield and his colleagues in the 'Foreign Office' applied to Ireland that he left his mark .......

(MORE LATER).

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'TAN WAR' REPUBLICAN NEWSPAPER - 'An tOglach' , 1918-1921.......

.......when he was 'released' from Strangeways Prison in Manchester by the IRA on 20th October 1919 , Piaras Beaslai took over again as Editor of 'An tOglach' , and was also appointed as 'Director of Publicity' for the IRA .......

Under his stewardship , that Irish Republican newspaper which , since its inception in August 1918 had been published twice monthly , became a weekly publication . Each issue contained a leading article , Editorial notes and a 'War News' column , highlighting the activities carried out since its last issue .

It was a useful propaganda tool and a morale booster for all IRA Units throughout the island . The 'An tOglach' newspaper was published , at first, twice a month and then weekly , between August (15th) 1918 and July 1921 , when it was deemed, by the powers that were , that its job was done ; negotiations between the Irish Republicans and Westminster were underway .

Those negotiations were to lead to the 'Treaty of Surrender' being signed ; a 'Truce' between both sides was signed on 11th July 1921 and , on 6th December 1921 , at ten minutes past two in the morning , by signing the British document, the 'Free State' came into being - as did its minders (tenants?) , the Free Staters .

However , as he walked through the foggy streets of London having signed the 'Treaty' , Michael Collins had an inkling of what was to come.......

(MORE LATER).


WHERE MOUNTAINY MEN HAVE SOWN :

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

By Micheal O'Suilleabhain : published 1965.

THE TRUCE.......

".......I was the only one at the car when an armed British Auxie approached ; he looked at me , then at the Model T. Ford - " That car belongs to us ...." he said ......."

" " Belonged , would be more correct , " I said . " It will be ours again ," came his reply . " That depends on your ability to take it , " I answered . The Auxie looked me up and down ; his hands rested on his hips, the palms outwards . I watched him carefully - his guns were quite convenient in open holsters , and it would take him little time to get them out . But I had the advantage , for mine were already in my hands .

Suddenly he raised his right hand and beckoned - three more Auxiliaries crossed the street towards us : I waited until they came to him . They looked at him questioningly , and he started to explain what had been said between us . With this advantage I turned my head and shoulders quickly - my brother Pat was just coming out of a doorway , and I beckoned to him with my head ; he came quickly , the others behind him .

" What's this about ? " Pat asked , as he drew up in line with me . " That fellow " , I said , indicating the elite gunman , " wants the car back . " The four British Auxies now faced the four IRA men , ten feet apart . They heard Pat's question to me , and my reply . " Oh , well , " said Pat , generously , " you are welcome to it , " but then added " ...if you can take it . "

" Well , chaps , " said the first Auxie , loosening up , " will you stand by me ? " His colleagues looked at each other ......."

(MORE LATER).


TINKER , TAILOR , HIGH RISK SPY .......
By Frank Doherty .

First published in ' New Hibernia ' magazine , May 1987 , pages 7 , 8 and 9 .
Re-produced here in 11 parts .
(8 of 11.)

The Littlejohn brothers who bombed and robbed in the 'Irish Republic' ('1169 ...' comment - the Irish Republic has been declared but not yet established ; the author is referring to the Free State) in 1971 and 1972 had Maurice Oldfield as their ultimate boss . It was not their idea but his that Jack Lynch's Government (ie the then Fianna Fail FS Administration) should be pressurised into introducing internment by a series of phoney IRA incidents .

Oldfield was in charge also of the spying in Garda HQ which led to the Crinnion/Wyman Case , and was probably the man who arranged the deal that allowed both of them to walk free . While he had to complete with Martin Furnival Jones , the Director General of the British Security Services (MI5) until 1972 , and his successor , Michael Hanley , until 1978 , Maurice Oldfield still managed to retain his key position as ' Senior Advisor on Irish Affairs '.

In Whitehall , 'Irish Affairs' were regarded as largely a 'security matter.......'

(MORE LATER).

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'TAN WAR' REPUBLICAN NEWSPAPER - 'An tOglach' , 1918-1921.......

.......Liam Mellows wrote his last letter (to his mother) on December 8th , 1922 - he was then executed by a Free State Army firing squad . However , forty-six years after that execution (ie in 1968) more information regarding that deed was made public .......

In a letter to the media forty-six years after the execution of Liam Mellows (ie on April 24th , 1968) a Free State Army Captain , Ignatius O'Rourke , who was present at the execution of Liam Mellows and the other three men - Dick Barrett , Rory O'Connor and Joe McKelvey - wrote that , a few minutes before Mellows was shot dead he [Mellows] sent for the prison chaplain , a Father McMahon .

Captain O'Rourke wrote that "... a few minutes later .." he saw Father McMahon leaving the room (cell) "...accompanied by Liam Mellows , with his right arm around Liam's shoulders , and they walked along together leading the group as we all walked to the sandbags . Liam and Father McMahon appeared to be in deep , friendly conversation , with no sign of discord , disagreement or argument , just like two men discussing some point in a friendly fashion . They continued to talk until Father McMahon left Liam in the number one position at the sandbags ...."

However - (tangents ..!) - back to the 'An tOglach' Irish Republican newspaper ; when he was 'released' from Strangeways Prison in Manchester by the IRA on 20th October 1919 , Piaras Beaslai took over again as Editor of 'An tOglach' and was also appointed as 'Director of Publicity' for the IRA .......

(MORE LATER).


WHERE MOUNTAINY MEN HAVE SOWN :

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

By Micheal O'Suilleabhain : published 1965.

THE TRUCE.......

"...we drove into Cork City in a Model T. Ford , which we had previously taken from the enemy , and parked in Main Street . Three of us got out of the car and went into a shop , while I stood beside the car - the 'Truce' was on , we were in the uniform of the IRA , and an armed British Auxie stood yards away from me , staring at me and the car ......."

" Quite naturally , my hands slipped through the slip-pockets of my trench coat and closed on the butts of my Smith and Wessons ; he came striding up the roadway , straight towards the car . I knew , even at a distance , that he came looking for trouble . As the picture of a gunman he was the real thing - very tall , well built and sporting a moustache , which achieved the slightly sinister and military appearance he doubtless fancied .

His armament left nothing to be desired ; he was a two-gun man , with his holsters swung far below his waistbelt and strapped half way down his thighs , in 'cowboy' parlance , tied low . The riding breeches , putties and tunic he wore were well fitting , and the tasselled beret set off a handsome bravo . He halted in front of the car and gave it a general survey , then he leaned over the bonnet and examined the bullet holes around the wind-screen . Next he walked around it twice and , finally , stood up on the footpath straight in front of me .

" That car belongs to us ," he said . I said nothing . " I said that car belongs to us ," he repeated . I looked him in the eye ....... "

(MORE LATER).


TINKER , TAILOR , HIGH RISK SPY .......
By Frank Doherty .

First published in ' New Hibernia ' magazine , May 1987 , pages 7 , 8 and 9 .
Re-produced here in 11 parts .
(7 of 11.)

And on top of Maurice Oldfield being a child-molesting homosexual sadist , he was a disaster as a spy chief - for example , in attempting to crush the IRA (*) he introduced the 'Supergrass' system , a variation of the 'converted terrorist' idea used when he was fighting Communists in Malaya . As the present (ie 1987) upsurge in IRA activity ( (*) '1169...' comment - please note that in late 1986 the Provisional IRA had been disowned , and rightly so, by IRA Comdt. General Tom Maguire , from Cross , Claremorris , in County Mayo , who was then the last and faithful survivor of the Second (All-Ireland) Dail Eireann 1921 . This action was taken against the Provos because they had agreed to take seats in a British-imposed Administration in Ireland ie Leinster House ) has shown , the 'Supergrass' system backfired .

Court cases revealed enough information to the Provos about British security forces' intelligence gathering methods and sources to allow them to successfully purge their ranks and re-group in a manner which may take years to penetrate as far again . But perhaps the most misleading myth about Maurice Oldfield is that his influence on Ireland only began when he was made 'Security Co-ordinator' .

In fact , as the real head of MI6 from 1969 to 1978 (he was formally given the 'top job' in 1973 by Ted Heath whose Common Market negotiations were made easier by Oldfield's spying !) he was the master-planner of much that went on .......

(MORE LATER).

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'TAN WAR' REPUBLICAN NEWSPAPER - 'An tOglach' , 1918-1921.......

.......December 8th , 1922 - Liam Mellows , an IRA leader , was in Mountjoy Prison in Dublin , and was shortly to be shot dead by a Free State firing squad . He was writing his last letter , to his mother .......

' Through you , I also send another message ; it is this - let no thought of reprisal or revenge dominate Republicans because of our deaths . We die for the truth , vindication will come, the mist will be cleared away , and brothers in blood will before long be brothers in arms , against the oppression of our country and imperialist England .

In this belief I die happy forgiving all , as I hope myself to be forgiven . The path the people of Ireland must thread is straight and hard and true , though narrow ; only be following it can they be men . It is a hard road , but it's the road our Saviour followed - the road of Sacrifice . The Republic lives , our deaths make that a certainty .

I have had the Chaplain to see me . It is sad but I cannot agree to accept the Bishops' Pastoral , my conscience is quite clear , Thank God , with the old Gaels . I believe that those who die for Ireland have no need for prayer .
God Bless and Protect you ,
Your Loving Son Willie . '

That was the last letter that Liam Mellows , IRA leader , wrote . That was in 1922 ; however , 46 years later (ie in 1968) , a Free State Army Captain , an Ignatius O'Rourke , spoke of what happened next .......

(MORE LATER).


WHERE MOUNTAINY MEN HAVE SOWN :

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

By Micheal O'Suilleabhain : published 1965.

THE TRUCE.......

"...mid-year , 1921 ; an uneasy time . We were glad to be home , no need to 'duck and dive' , for now, anyway . We were summoned to an IRA Brigade meeting in Cork City ......."

" Paddy Donncha , our IRA Vice-Commandant , and Patsy Lynch , IRA Company Captain of Ballyvourney , had come over on a visit to us ; the four of us uncovered a Model T. Ford , once the property of the enemy . We found that , like 'Kempenfelt's ship' , " ...her timbers they were sound , and she would float again ! " She bore the marks of some of our bullets but none had penetrated her vitals ; we started her up and found her quite roadworthy .

About four o'clock in the evening we were on the road to Cork . We had read something about no ' provocative display of arms ' in the Truce terms , but we felt that it would be a very uncomfortable sensation travelling unarmed amongst the enemy and we therefore carried our revolvers inside our trench coats . We wore our brown gaiters and boots and so were complete in the uniform of the IRA . As we approached Macroom we wondered how the Brits and especially the Auxies would take to us .

It would be a new departure to meet and pass them by as non-belligerents ; our Model T. Ford rattled bravely down Pound Lane , and we would soon know what the enemy made of us now . We drove gallantly up Castle Street past the 'home' of the British Auxiliaries , and across the Square into the Main Street . Here we stopped .

Three of the lads went into a draper's shop a few doors away , while I stood on the kerb a few yards from the rear of the car . A few yards down the road stood a British Auxie - he was staring , looking for trouble ....... "

(MORE LATER).


TINKER , TAILOR , HIGH RISK SPY .......
By Frank Doherty .

First published in ' New Hibernia ' magazine , May 1987 , pages 7 , 8 and 9 .
Re-produced here in 11 parts .
(6 of 11.)

Only now (ie 1987) have British newspapers started to reveal , for example in 'The Observer' , that Maurice Oldfield liked to recall his days as an interrogator in the infamous Maadi Camp , in Cairo , when he "...talked cheerfully about beating (the Jews) up and pushing their heads under buckets of water ..."

Another of the myths about Oldfield is that his homosexuality was unknown - he was as notorious around Whitehall as his friend and fellow spy , Tom Driberg MP , who combined his political career with work for both MI5 and the KGB .

But 'Sir' Maurice Oldfield was not simply a homosexual ; he was a child molester and sadist . That is what the so-called 'rough trade' is all about ; he liked to pick up helpless youngsters and subject them to indignities and sexual assaults .......

(MORE LATER).

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'TAN WAR' REPUBLICAN NEWSPAPER - 'An tOglach' , 1918-1921.......

.......Ireland , 1922 - the Free State 'Minister for Home Affairs' , Kevin O'Higgins , had agreed with his Free State Cabinet colleagues that four IRA prisoners - Rory O'Connor , Liam Mellows , Richard Barrett and Joe McKelvey - should be executed immediately . O'Higgins had a troubled mind because of that decision .......

At that Free State Cabinet meeting , which condemned the four IRA prisoners to death , Kevin O'Higgins interrupted proceedings and asked - " Is there no other way ...? " And well he may have felt guilty ; O'Higgins was the 'best man' at Rory O'Connor's wedding ...

At 5 AM on the morning of December 8th , 1922 , one of the men soon to be shot by the Staters , Liam Mellows , sat in his cell and wrote his last letter :

Mountjoy Prison , Dublin . December 8th 1922 , 5 AM.
My Dear Mother ,
The time is short and much I would like to say must go unsaid but you will understand in such moments heart speaks to heart . At 3.30 AM this morning , we (Dick Barrett , Rory O'Connor , Joe McKelvey and I) were informed that we were to be executed as a reprisal .
Welcome be the will of God , for Irelad is in His keeping despite foreign monarchs and treaties . Though unworthy of the greatest human honour that can be paid an Irishman or woman , I go to join Tone and Emmet , the Fenians , Tom Clarke , Connolly , Pearse , Kevin Barry and Childers . My last thoughts will be on God , and Ireland , and on you .

You must not grieve , Mother Darling . Once before you thought you had given me to Ireland . The reality has now come . You will bear this as you have borne all the afflictions the cause of Ireland brought you - nobly and bravely . It is a sore trial for you , but that great courageous soul of yours will rejoice for I die for the truth ; life is only for a little while , and we shall be returned hereafter .......

(MORE LATER).


WHERE MOUNTAINY MEN HAVE SOWN :

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

By Micheal O'Suilleabhain : published 1965.

THE TRUCE.

" Looking back on the Truce with the British in July 1921 , one regrets that it ever came about . For it was but the prelude to the Civil War in which we lost the best of our men , on both sides . That the Truce was brought about for that very motive I have no doubt . That the Civil War happened as a sequel to the Truce no one can deny , not even the 'wise men' - the 'statesmen and politicians' . I heard a prophecy made on May eve , 1921 , by a member of the IRA Flying Column , as we sat on a big stone near Paddy Sheehan's house at Inchamore , Ballyvourney : he foretold the coming of the Truce , the return of the politician and a civil war .

We welcomed the Truce for its immediate benefits ; it eased the strain on our people , especially on parents and old people who waited nightly for the loud knock at the door , that forerunner perhaps of murder . Now they could sleep soundly , happy in the knowledge that their children were safe with them also . It was a great joy to us to return home to our people and stay with them , not for a hurried and fearful half-hour , but indefinitely . I well remember the first evening at home , the joy of my mother , father and sisters , and the neighbours who rushed in to welcome us back .

For a few days we forgot everything in the delights of home ; then a dispatch came summoning my brother , our IRA Commandant , to an IRA Brigade meeting in Cork City . To get there , we had to travel through areas held by the British ; however , the 'Truce' was active....... "

(MORE LATER).


TINKER , TAILOR , HIGH RISK SPY .......
By Frank Doherty .

First published in ' New Hibernia ' magazine , May 1987 , pages 7 , 8 and 9 .
Re-produced here in 11 parts .
(5 of 11.)

Since he first came to the public eye in 1979 on his appointment by Mrs. Margaret Thatcher as 'Northern Ireland (sic) Security Co-ordinator ' , Maurice Oldfield had been surrounded by myths , almost all projected by himself ! In the British media he was represented as a dedicated bureaucrat , superbly efficient , apolitical ; the epitome of the 'noble spy' .

The reality is that 'Sir' Maurice Oldfield was a drunken old pervert , ruthless and vicious , who used his position as the man who knew where everybody's 'skeletons' were buried to manipulate people in much the way J Edgar Hoover used his job as FBI head to spy on generations of American politicians and keep himself in power . Oldfield was frequently drunk , as he was when arrested in Comber by the RUC.

He had been a heavy drinker since his days as a spy in the Middle East during the War ; he was an advocate of torture or " robust methods " as he preferred to call it , and of " terminating people with extreme prejudice " , as the British Secret Service calls assassination.......

(MORE LATER).

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'TAN WAR' REPUBLICAN NEWSPAPER - 'An tOglach' , 1918-1921.......

....... Ernest Blythe , one-time Editor of 'An tOglach' , the Irish Republican newspaper , accepted the 1921 Treaty of Surrender ; in his new position within the Free State Cabinet he cut the old-age pension by one shilling and discussed , with his Free State Cabinet colleagues , which IRA prisoners should be executed next .......


At one such Free State Cabinet meeting it was agreed that IRA leaders Rory O'Connor , Liam Mellows , Richard Barrett and Joe McKelvey should be executed immediately ; at 3.30 AM on the morning of the 8th of December 1922 , the four men were told that they were to be placed in front of a Free State firing squad in a few hours time - no trial , no jury .

Indeed , in one month alone - January 1923 - 34 IRA members were executed by Free State firing squads in nine different towns in the new Free State . However - one of the Free State Cabinet Ministers that had condemned to death the four IRA men named above , Kevin O'Higgins , was only a couple of months in his new position as Free State 'Minister for Home Affairs' - effectively the 'hard man' of the new Administration .

But ordering the death of those four IRA prisoners gave O'Higgins a troubled mind ; and with good reason .......

(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.

RAIDS.......

" .......one of our supporters , Sean , lived off the beaten track , and was not accustomed to having his house raided ......."


" Sean was past middle age - stout , humorous and excitable . On this particular day he worked in a field at a good distance from his house and uphill from it ; his neighbour , a young man , came running downhill to him . " Sean , " he said , " have you anything in the house ? If you have , tell me , quickly , and I'll dump it . The Tans are coming ! "

" Oh ! H'anam an diol , na bitcheanna , " shouted Sean , as a prelude to a quick mental survey of all the rooms in his house . " No ! No ! No ! " he added . Then , an inspiration struck him : " H'anam an diol ! The picture of Archbishop Mannix ! Put out Mannix ! Put him out ! For the Tans hate him ...." Then , to ensure beyond a doubt the safety of the picture , he said - "....but put him under a stone , carefully ! "

The neighbour , trying to hide his laughter , was already speeding down the hill .

[END of 'RAIDS.......'].
(Next - 'THE TRUCE' : "...one regrets that it ever came about.....")


TINKER , TAILOR , HIGH RISK SPY .......
By Frank Doherty .

First published in ' New Hibernia ' magazine , May 1987 , pages 7 , 8 and 9 .
Re-produced here in 11 parts .
(4 of 11.)

The British Secret Intelligence Service , under Maurice Oldfield , its de facto chief , began preparing briefings on Ireland in the autumn of 1969 using two Officers sent from London to set up an intelligence network aimed at keeping " a watching brief " . By early 1970 , Maurice Oldfield had set up an MI6 station on the first floor of the Conway House Hotel at Dunmurray , Belfast : with secure , independent communications links to Secret Service HQ at Century House , London , the station became co-ordinating centre for MI6 Offices at Lisburn Army HQ and Stormont , where British Secret Service men served as ' political Officers ."

Ironically , it was Harold Wilson , who , according to Maurice Oldfield , would cross the street rather than speak to him, who sent MI6 into Northern Ireland (sic) , reportedly because he distrusted MI5 even more - with good reason as recent revelations by ex-MI5 man Peter Wright in Australia have shown .......

(MORE LATER).

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'TAN WAR' REPUBLICAN NEWSPAPER - 'An tOglach' , 1918-1921.......

.......Ernest Blythe TD , and Minister for Trade and Commerce in the First (All-Ireland) Dail Eireann , was Editor of the 'An tOglach' Irish Republican newspaper for a period in 1919 ; he probably regretted it later on , after he 'jumped-ship'.......

In 1933 , Ernest Blythe was the Editor of the (right-wing) 'Cumann na nGaedheal' party newspaper , which they called 'The United Irishman' (!) - this group was also known as 'the Blueshirts' , due to a coloured shirt their members wore in solidarity with the shirted fascist movements on the continent . Or you could believe the explanation given by the Blueshirts themselves for their dress-code -

- they claimed that they wore a blue shirt to prevent members from hitting each other should a fight break-out at a meeting they were at ! ('1169...' comment : colour- blindness must not have been 'invented' at the time .......!) But Ernest Blythe had 'changed sides' : he accepted the 1921 Treaty of Surrender and , by the following year , was to be found sitting at a Free State Cabinet table with , amongst others , William Cosgrave and Kevin O'Higgins , discussing which Irish Republican prisoners were next for execution .

Incidentally , it was at one such Free State Cabinet meeting that Ernest Blythe made a decision which was to haunt him for the rest of his political life - he cut one shilling from the old-age pension.......

(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.

RAIDS.......

".......the Irish were proud to display pictures of executed hero's , and almost every house had them - this , of course , was a great help to the British , as they immediately knew which side of the fence you were on , depending on the pictures hanging on the walls of your house ....... "

" Later on , as the resurgent spirit increased , the pictures of other patriotic Irish men and women were added ; among them was that of Most Rev. Dr. Mannix , Archbishop of Melbourne . When a British raiding party entered a house , the sight of a picture of Irish patriots did not tend to improve their goodwill towards its occupants ; very often the picture was torn down and trampled upon . This , in turn, did not help to soften the feelings of the householders for the British raiders .

As the Freedom struggle was intensified , most of the people removed their pictures to a place of safety - they would only be broken by the enemy , and their display would only incite the British to further effort and research which might perhaps reveal an arms dump in the vicinity or , worse still, a wanted man .

Our friend Sean lived on his farm off the beaten track between Kilnamartyra and Ballingeary ; it was not often , therefore, that the enemy paid him a visit . The year was 1920 , and most people had got accustomed to raids and searches . But not Sean ....... "

(MORE LATER).


TINKER , TAILOR , HIGH RISK SPY .......
By Frank Doherty .

First published in ' New Hibernia ' magazine , May 1987 , pages 7 , 8 and 9 .
Re-produced here in 11 parts .
(3 of 11.)

Nominally , 'Sir' John Rennie was in charge of MI6 ; he had been given the post in 1968 by the British Labour Government to keep Oldfield , bitterly disliked by both George Brown and Michael Stewart , out of the job after 'Sir' Dick White retired . Rennie , a 'black propagandist' with the misleadingly named ' Information Research Department' , had little knowledge of the bizarre world which Maurice Oldfield controlled .

Like many others who crossed the little fat man with the florid face and mincing step , Rennie met his 'Waterloo' quite quickly , falling victim to character assassination less than three years after his appointment , when his son and daughter-in-law were arrested with a huge haul of heroin .

When Rennie was forced to resign , after news of the heroin bust had been 'leaked' to Fleet Street , along with details of his sensitive and secret job , Maurice Oldfield was his only possible successor .......

(MORE LATER).

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'TAN WAR' REPUBLICAN NEWSPAPER - 'An tOglach' , 1918-1921.......

.......when ' An tOglach' Editor , Piaras Beaslai was 'arrested' by the Brits in March 1919 , he was succeeded in that position by Ernest Blythe , a TD and Minister for Trade and Commerce in the First (All-Ireland) Dail (32-County Irish Parliament).......

Ernest Blythe had some experience in editing a newspaper - two years previously (ie in 1917) he assisted in re-organising ' The Southern Star' newspaper in Skibbereen , West Cork - that was in January 1917 , and Michael Collins ( still an Irish Rebel at the time) came in as a shareholder . Then , in February that year (1917) Ernest Blythe was appointed Editor of 'The Southern Star' .

In November 1916 , 'The Southern Star' newspaper had been suppressed by the British , as its "...increasingly nationalistic tone " did not meet with the approval of the 'authorities' . The real authorities , meanwhile , were left to read the other Skibbereen-based newspaper , ' The Skibbereen Eagle' , and IT did not " meet with their approval " ; so they raided the premises - again ! At the time , ' The Skibbereen Eagle' was being run by local solicitor and (British) MP for West Cork , Jasper Wolfe ; a Mr. Eldon Potter had founded the newspaper in 1907 , but it never quite 'clicked' with the nationalist population . Thus the 'visits' it received from the then real authorities , the IRA .

However - (mini-tangent , that ...!) - Ernest Blythe was to go on to have even more experience in the Editor's chair : this time from the 'opposite side of the house .....'

(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.

RAIDS.......

".......my uncle and Jerrick Sheehan were a few feet in front of us , leaning against a fence - they were not aware that myself and 'Mick the Soldier' were there ; we were all watching for enemy trucks , hoping to avoid them . Jerrick had taken his pint of stout with him ......."

" Suddenly , I saw something gleam in Mick's hand - it was Jerrick's pint of stout being carefully withdrawn from its resting place ; he brought it back safely , turned towards me and , bowing gravely , raised it to his lips . I saw it tilt slowly and thought of its previous owners care for its safe transport . I judged that a third of it had gone when it was again lowered . Then it was raised and lowered a few times until finally it was empty , and raised for my inspection !

Gently , it was replaced on the flat stone and the 'operation' was complete ; although taking no active part in the 'operation' , I must get credit for not jeopardising it , for the struggle I had to make to smother laughter was indeed a hard one . We resumed our positions and waited , and soon we heard the noise of the departing British lorries . Then my uncle spoke - " They are going up Ard a' Bhona , Jerrick , I think we can adjourn . " " All right , Dan , wait 'till I get my pint . " A clink of glass on stone and then - " H'anam an Diol , Farmer , 'tis empty ! "

" You must have spilled it , Jerrick . " " No , no , I put it down on that stone there and there was not a drop spilled out of it . Someone must have drank it - it bate the devil . Or who could do that ? " A voice from the other side of the fence answered him : " Another ould soldier ! "

When British forces raided the homes of our people they naturally looked for some indication as to where the peoples' sympathies lay ; in many houses , prior to 1916 , a large picture of Robert Emmet hung on the wall on one side of the fireplace and was sometimes balanced , symmetrically , by a picture of Daniel O'Connell on the other side . A very poor balance it was , in my opinion . After 1916 , however , equilibrium was restored , for a picture of the executed leaders was substituted for that of the politician ....... "

(MORE LATER).


TINKER , TAILOR , HIGH RISK SPY .......
By Frank Doherty .

First published in ' New Hibernia ' magazine , May 1987 , pages 7 , 8 and 9 .
Re-produced here in 11 parts .
(2 of 11.)

Maurice Oldfield was a regular visitor to 'The Highwayman Lounge Bar' in Comber , County Down , and to Balloo House , a pub/restaurant several miles away at Killinchey , where his favourite drink was vodka and tomato juice , which he refused to call a 'Bloody Mary' . Maurice was still 'flashing' when two uniformed RUC men from 'Golf' Division walked into the toilets and arrested him , bringing an end not only to the career of the Ulster Security Co-ordinator (sic) but to an era in Irish history .

For 'Sir' Maurice Oldfield was not just a retired Secret Intelligence Service Chief (MI6) turned Mrs Thatcher's 'special crusader against the IRA ' , he was without doubt the most influential Briton in Ireland since 1971 . Oldfield's association with 'John Bull's other island' began in 1969 after British troops were put onto the streets by Harold Wilson . Oldfield was then Deputy Chief of MI6 in name , but in reality was the man who ran the spy service .......

(MORE LATER).

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