IRELAND , JANUARY 15th , 1920 : ELECTIONS .......
....... Ireland , 1940's - the island had been partitioned by the Brits , and Westminster was looking at the Six County area and thinking , again , of conscription ; the pro-British U. S. Ambassador to the Free State , a Mr. David Gray , contacted his 'boss' , the American Secretary of State , on 24th May 1941 , regarding the political situation on the island .......
In his message , Mr. Gray stated - " Opposition leaders yesterday informed me that conscription without a conscientious objectors escape clause for minority Catholic nationalists will constitute a major irretrievable and probably fatal political blunder at this time and play directly into de Valera's hands with grave possibilities for American interests . They [the opposition leaders] predict draft riots , the escape of draft dodgers to Southern Ireland who will be acclaimed as hero martyrs by three-quarters of the population and the fomenting of trouble by Republicans and Fifth Columnists .
The clearest headed leader predicts that de Valera will seize the opportunity to escape from economic and political realities by proclaiming himself the leader of the oppressed minority and with the blessings of the Cardinal will rouse anti-British feeling and call a Holy War . I think it a very likely prediction . All classes of opinion here unite in condemning the move as calamitous . It appears to be a repetition of the same fatal blunder made during the last war .
The weak and failing Ulster [sic] Government is probably seeking to sustain itself by provoking a crisis . Unless Great Britain is prepared from a military point of view to seize the whole country it appears to be madness . So little can be gained and so much lost ... "
(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.
AISLINGI .......
" ....... Aileach , ancient fortress of the O'Neills , is over two thousand years old ; one of its Chieftains was baptised by Saint Patrick ....... "
" Out of Aileach came the High Kings from whom were descended Hugh , and Shane the Proud and Eoin Rua . They , with their neighbours the O'Donnells of Tir Conaill , will be ever remembered for the prolonged fight they made . Aubrey de Vere says of them - " Lo ! these are they that year by year , rolled back the tide of England's war . "
And finally , when Red Hugh O'Donnell had been poisoned and Hugh O'Neill forced to exile in his old age :
: " He sits abstracted by the board ,
Old scenes are pictured in his brain ;
Blackwater , Armagh , the Yellow Ford ,
He fights and wins them o'er again .
Again he sees fierce Bagenal fall ,
sees craven Essex basely yield ;
Meets armoured Seagrave , gaunt and tall ,
And leaves him lifeless on the field . "
There is a legend that , in a cave under the Hill of Aileach , a group of Knights of the Gael stand by their steeds ; all are asleep , but only wait the word of Sile Ni Ghardha [Ireland] to spring into action for the ultimate freedom of their country . Our gifted and patriotic poetess , Ethna Carbery , describes Aileach and the sleeping warriors . I believe , with her , that the men of today are as good as the men of the past .
" Oh , Sile Ni Ghardha , why rouse the stony dead ?
since at your call a living host will circle you instead ,
Long is our hunger for your voice , the hour is drawing near -
Oh , Dark Rose of our Passion ; call , and our hearts shall hear ! " "
[END of 'AISLINGI ' ; END of the book - 'Where Mountainy Men Have Sown'].
(Next - A few details about the author , Micheal O'Suilleabhain.)
Communication from BOBBY SANDS , Long Kesh H-Blocks , early December 1978 .......
As published in 'IRIS' magazine , November 1981 .
Re-published here in 6 parts .
[6 of 6].
" We will not allow ourselves to be tortured to death in this modern day stalag which has nothing to offer but a modern day holocaust and remembering Germany after the war , it cannot be said - 'We did'nt know...' "
Republican POW's ,
H-Block 3, 4 and 5 ,
Long Kesh .
(PS : A Chara , have had to rush this . Can you issue it as a statement . This is the seriousness of the situation here . It's very , very bad . But we shall not be broken . Venceremous , Marcella ).
[END of ' Communication from BOBBY SANDS.....'].
(Next - 'One that got away' ; 1978 - Donegal IRA men , the RUC , the Gardai and the Free State High Court : from 'Magill' magazine , June 1987 .)
Thursday, October 28, 2004
IRELAND , JANUARY 15th , 1920 : ELECTIONS .......
....... the Brits tried to introduce conscription in Ireland in 1918 ; it went bad for them , but they did'nt learn from it : in 1941 , they looked at the Six partitioned North-Eastern Counties of Ireland -and considered conscription again ! At a meeting in January 1941 between the US Ambassador to the 26-County State , a Mr. David Gray , and Eamon de Valera , strong words were spoken .......
Mr. Gray stated that de Valera "...had capitalised on hatred of Great Britain for political reasons and so must take some responsibility for the existing popular state of mind ..." , by which he meant the Free State policy of (so-called) 'neutrality' and the then impending strong possibility of conscription by Westminster in the Six Occupied Counties , which de Valera and his State Administration were opposed to .
David Gray said afterwards - " He ( de Valera ) began to talk about his rights . I told him that the only right that he and myself enjoyed was to believe in our religion , and be burned for it if need be . Every other right depended upon force to maintain it , and he was steering a very dangerous course if he thought otherwise ... " ('1169...' comment - that is a truism that the Free Staters and their latest 'new friends' , the Provisional Sinn Fein political party , amongst others , would do well to remember ) .
Although pro-British in his mindset , Mr. Gray recognised the reality of the then existing political situation on the island of Ireland - on 24th May , 1941 , he sent a wire-cable (ie - like a 'text message' , for our younger readers !) to the American Secretary of State ...
(MORE LATER).
WHERE MOUNTAINY MEN HAVE SOWN :
war and peace in rebel Cork ,
in the turbulent years 1916-21.
By Micheal O'Suilleabhain : published 1965.
AISLINGI .......
" ....... all places steeped in history - Slaine , connected with our Saint Patrick , and Sliabh Mis , where the herdsmen gathered ......."
" We pass over time and space to visit the mighty Brian at Kincora ; he is mighty because by his energy and tenacity he succeeded in uniting the warring factions of his country-men , and with one strong blow drove from Ireland a powerful invader . The death of Brian and the almost entire destruction of his race on the day of victory at Clontarf was a calamity not fully appreciated at that time . For , when the next invader came , a weak-kneed monarch occupied the throne of Ireland .
To encompass within a small space even the names of all the historic places of Ireland would be difficult ; to enumerate the battles , large and small , which, during the past ten centuries , have been fought on the sod of Ireland would take a long time . To assess the amount of suffering endured by the people of Ireland during one day of foreign rule would be impossible .
I will mention only one more famous place - Aileach : ancient fortress of the O'Neills ; its age is over two thousand years ... "
(MORE LATER).
Communication from BOBBY SANDS , Long Kesh H-Blocks , early December 1978 .......
As published in 'IRIS' magazine , November 1981 .
Re-published here in 6 parts .
(5 of 6).
" We have now reached the stage where we have not a single thing left to lose except the loss of life among us and we know that even this is imminent . We are not prepared to sit back and be battered to pulp , to be literally torn apart , to have our naked bodies scalded and scarred .
In our naked state we are easy prey and very vulnerable to attack . We have little to fight back with . We can suffer no more than is being inflicted upon us now . If necessary we shall fight to the death ... "
(MORE LATER).
....... the Brits tried to introduce conscription in Ireland in 1918 ; it went bad for them , but they did'nt learn from it : in 1941 , they looked at the Six partitioned North-Eastern Counties of Ireland -and considered conscription again ! At a meeting in January 1941 between the US Ambassador to the 26-County State , a Mr. David Gray , and Eamon de Valera , strong words were spoken .......
Mr. Gray stated that de Valera "...had capitalised on hatred of Great Britain for political reasons and so must take some responsibility for the existing popular state of mind ..." , by which he meant the Free State policy of (so-called) 'neutrality' and the then impending strong possibility of conscription by Westminster in the Six Occupied Counties , which de Valera and his State Administration were opposed to .
David Gray said afterwards - " He ( de Valera ) began to talk about his rights . I told him that the only right that he and myself enjoyed was to believe in our religion , and be burned for it if need be . Every other right depended upon force to maintain it , and he was steering a very dangerous course if he thought otherwise ... " ('1169...' comment - that is a truism that the Free Staters and their latest 'new friends' , the Provisional Sinn Fein political party , amongst others , would do well to remember ) .
Although pro-British in his mindset , Mr. Gray recognised the reality of the then existing political situation on the island of Ireland - on 24th May , 1941 , he sent a wire-cable (ie - like a 'text message' , for our younger readers !) to the American Secretary of State ...
(MORE LATER).
WHERE MOUNTAINY MEN HAVE SOWN :
war and peace in rebel Cork ,
in the turbulent years 1916-21.
By Micheal O'Suilleabhain : published 1965.
AISLINGI .......
" ....... all places steeped in history - Slaine , connected with our Saint Patrick , and Sliabh Mis , where the herdsmen gathered ......."
" We pass over time and space to visit the mighty Brian at Kincora ; he is mighty because by his energy and tenacity he succeeded in uniting the warring factions of his country-men , and with one strong blow drove from Ireland a powerful invader . The death of Brian and the almost entire destruction of his race on the day of victory at Clontarf was a calamity not fully appreciated at that time . For , when the next invader came , a weak-kneed monarch occupied the throne of Ireland .
To encompass within a small space even the names of all the historic places of Ireland would be difficult ; to enumerate the battles , large and small , which, during the past ten centuries , have been fought on the sod of Ireland would take a long time . To assess the amount of suffering endured by the people of Ireland during one day of foreign rule would be impossible .
I will mention only one more famous place - Aileach : ancient fortress of the O'Neills ; its age is over two thousand years ... "
(MORE LATER).
Communication from BOBBY SANDS , Long Kesh H-Blocks , early December 1978 .......
As published in 'IRIS' magazine , November 1981 .
Re-published here in 6 parts .
(5 of 6).
" We have now reached the stage where we have not a single thing left to lose except the loss of life among us and we know that even this is imminent . We are not prepared to sit back and be battered to pulp , to be literally torn apart , to have our naked bodies scalded and scarred .
In our naked state we are easy prey and very vulnerable to attack . We have little to fight back with . We can suffer no more than is being inflicted upon us now . If necessary we shall fight to the death ... "
(MORE LATER).
Wednesday, October 27, 2004
IRELAND , JANUARY 15th , 1920 : ELECTIONS .......
....... the 16th April 1918 'Conscription Act' in Ireland (the 'Military Services Bill') was opposed by the majority in Ireland - even a previous 'recruitment officer' for the British , a Cardinal Logue , objected to it .......
This member of the Catholic Hierarchy , Cardinal Logue , had allowed his name to be added to the list of those which were published on British Army recruiting posters which urged Irishmen to join the British Army but , following the passing in Westminster of the British 'Military Services Bill' , the Catholic Church Hierarchy announced at each Sunday Mass that anti-conscription pledges were available to be signed outside the Church Gates following the Mass !
But , as usual , the Brits did'nt learn from the experience in 1918 - in 1941 , conscription was again being discussed in Westminster ; this time for the partitioned Six North-Eastern Counties of Ireland . It is recorded that , at a meeting between the then ' American Ambassador to Ireland' (sic- the Free State) , a Mr. David Gray , who was said to be friendly with the British Ambassador to America , 'Lord' Halifax , and Eamonn de Valera , which took place in January 1941 , Gray rounded on de Valera " ...for capitalising on hatred of Great Britain ..." .......
(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.
AISLINGI .......
" ....... Tara and Clonmacnois are known the world over as being associated with Irish Kings and as places of learning . There are other places , perhaps less well known but just as important ......."
" Rath Cruachan of Daihi , Maebh , the Kings of Connaught , and the Tuatha de Danaan Queens who gave their names to Ireland - Eire , Fodhla and Banba - are all buried there , not forgetting Conn of the Hundred Battles . Sheep and bullocks graze on this once mighty and populous plain . Cnoc Almhain , hosting-place of the Fianna , and Eamhain Macha , headquarters of the Red Branch Knights , recall Fionn and Oisin and Oscar and Cuchulainn , Ireland's greatest warriors of the past .
Uisneach , one of our most storied hills , where the ancient divisions of Ireland met ; once a great city crowned it . Here was lighted the first fire to the pagan gods in Ireland . Here fell Lugaidh Lamhfada , one of Ireland's greatest Kings and here , Saint Brigid founded a convent . Tleachta and Tailteann , old pagan meeting-places famous for druidical sacrifices and the great fair .
Nearby Slaine where Saint Patrick lighted the fire that quenched the fire of Tleachta and all other pagan fires . From Slaine our thoughts fly to Sliabh Mis where a youth tended his earthly master's herds ....... "
(MORE LATER).
Communication from BOBBY SANDS , Long Kesh H-Blocks , early December 1978 .......
As published in 'IRIS' magazine , November 1981 .
Re-published here in 6 parts .
(4 of 6).
" The media has reported the barbarities taking place in these hell blocks ; for anyone to say they don't know what is taking place here is an untruth . Many people have sought , to their everlasting shame , to remain silent . We have also listened to many people speak of the atrocious conditions and torture here and we have heard of many seeking solutions , making proposals and investigations .
There has been too much talk and too much talk of talk but no ease in the torture of 345 naked men in these H-Blocks . The torture has multiplied while we have suffered and bled .
While people have remained silent or talked in circles , we have now reached a stage ......."
(MORE LATER).
....... the 16th April 1918 'Conscription Act' in Ireland (the 'Military Services Bill') was opposed by the majority in Ireland - even a previous 'recruitment officer' for the British , a Cardinal Logue , objected to it .......
This member of the Catholic Hierarchy , Cardinal Logue , had allowed his name to be added to the list of those which were published on British Army recruiting posters which urged Irishmen to join the British Army but , following the passing in Westminster of the British 'Military Services Bill' , the Catholic Church Hierarchy announced at each Sunday Mass that anti-conscription pledges were available to be signed outside the Church Gates following the Mass !
But , as usual , the Brits did'nt learn from the experience in 1918 - in 1941 , conscription was again being discussed in Westminster ; this time for the partitioned Six North-Eastern Counties of Ireland . It is recorded that , at a meeting between the then ' American Ambassador to Ireland' (sic- the Free State) , a Mr. David Gray , who was said to be friendly with the British Ambassador to America , 'Lord' Halifax , and Eamonn de Valera , which took place in January 1941 , Gray rounded on de Valera " ...for capitalising on hatred of Great Britain ..." .......
(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.
AISLINGI .......
" ....... Tara and Clonmacnois are known the world over as being associated with Irish Kings and as places of learning . There are other places , perhaps less well known but just as important ......."
" Rath Cruachan of Daihi , Maebh , the Kings of Connaught , and the Tuatha de Danaan Queens who gave their names to Ireland - Eire , Fodhla and Banba - are all buried there , not forgetting Conn of the Hundred Battles . Sheep and bullocks graze on this once mighty and populous plain . Cnoc Almhain , hosting-place of the Fianna , and Eamhain Macha , headquarters of the Red Branch Knights , recall Fionn and Oisin and Oscar and Cuchulainn , Ireland's greatest warriors of the past .
Uisneach , one of our most storied hills , where the ancient divisions of Ireland met ; once a great city crowned it . Here was lighted the first fire to the pagan gods in Ireland . Here fell Lugaidh Lamhfada , one of Ireland's greatest Kings and here , Saint Brigid founded a convent . Tleachta and Tailteann , old pagan meeting-places famous for druidical sacrifices and the great fair .
Nearby Slaine where Saint Patrick lighted the fire that quenched the fire of Tleachta and all other pagan fires . From Slaine our thoughts fly to Sliabh Mis where a youth tended his earthly master's herds ....... "
(MORE LATER).
Communication from BOBBY SANDS , Long Kesh H-Blocks , early December 1978 .......
As published in 'IRIS' magazine , November 1981 .
Re-published here in 6 parts .
(4 of 6).
" The media has reported the barbarities taking place in these hell blocks ; for anyone to say they don't know what is taking place here is an untruth . Many people have sought , to their everlasting shame , to remain silent . We have also listened to many people speak of the atrocious conditions and torture here and we have heard of many seeking solutions , making proposals and investigations .
There has been too much talk and too much talk of talk but no ease in the torture of 345 naked men in these H-Blocks . The torture has multiplied while we have suffered and bled .
While people have remained silent or talked in circles , we have now reached a stage ......."
(MORE LATER).
Tuesday, October 26, 2004
IRELAND , JANUARY 15th , 1920 : ELECTIONS .......
.......7th May , 1918 - 73 people , comprising the leadership of the then Sinn Fein organisation , were 'arrested' by the British , in what Westminster promoted as the 'German Plot' arrests . But the Irish Republican leadership had been told that that would happen .......
The Sinn Fein leadership was aware of the impending 7th May 1918 'arrests' but did not leave their usual haunts for 'safe houses' (except for Michael Collins , who decided that his time would be better spent 'outside' , stirring things up over the 'arrests' , rather than 'inside') - they (correctly) assumed that the Irish people would be incensed by the British action , thus helping the Rebel cause .
Then , as mentioned previously , on 3rd July 1918 , Sinn Fein , the Irish Volunteers and the Gaelic League were 'outlawed' by Westminster . A good indicator of anti-conscription feeling in Ireland can be gauged by the actions of that most anti-Republican institution , the Catholic Church Hierarchy , and a certain Cardinal Logue in particular : this man had previously joined forces with the British to assist them in their recruitment campaign in Ireland .......
(MORE LATER).
WHERE MOUNTAINY MEN HAVE SOWN :
war and peace in rebel Cork ,
in the turbulent years 1916-21.
By Micheal O'Suilleabhain : published 1965.
AISLINGI .......
" ....... when we think of the past , we think of places like Tara and Clonmacnois , the two most famous in Ireland ... "
" Tara , seat of the Kings of Ireland , was old when Christ was born ; it was abandoned in the second half of the sixth century but , because of its ancient glories , is still an inspiration . One hundred and fifty-three Irish Kings had reigned there before A.D. 563 . Its traces alone , without the written word , give ample testimony of its former greatness ; four hundred pikemen of 1798 lie buried there - their dust further sanctifies the soil of Tara .
Clonmacnois , founded by Saint Ciaran on 23rd January A.D. 544 , quickly became a seat of piety and learning and a city grew up around it . Students from every country in Europe attended its schools ; now it is a vast graveyard where rest the greatest and noblest of the land . T. W. Rolleston writes of it -
- " In a quiet watered land , a land of roses ,
Stands Saint Ciaran's city fair ;
And the warriors of Erin , in their famous generations ,
Slumber there . "
Other old places , Pagan and Christian , next in renown to Tara and Clonmacnois , pass in review before us ....... "
(MORE LATER).
Communication from BOBBY SANDS , Long Kesh H-Blocks , early December 1978 .......
As published in 'IRIS' magazine , November 1981 .
Re-published here in 6 parts .
(3 of 6).
" Within the past nine months we have seen outbreaks of jaundice , ringworm , dermatitis , disentry and severe diarrihoea - as well as dozens of minor and serious rashes . Never have the medical staff here blinked an eye or even handed out a painkiller to a sick man . We have suffered until men have collapsed and had to be taken out to hospital .
Our resistance to the daily brutalities has been token , in that, when the screws come to drag us out to be forcibly bathed or subjected to a degrading body search , we have sat on the floor of the cell and refused to move ......."
(MORE LATER).
(...and its great to be back ! Our 'Junior' enjoyed his time with the girlfriend , while the rest of us here at '1169...' had a break in County Waterford - it rained [all day !] Friday , on our way down , 'monsooned' with more rain on Saturday and Sunday ... but the sun finally broke through on the Monday , as we were heading home to Dublin ! Ah , sure , we still have our health ...).
.......7th May , 1918 - 73 people , comprising the leadership of the then Sinn Fein organisation , were 'arrested' by the British , in what Westminster promoted as the 'German Plot' arrests . But the Irish Republican leadership had been told that that would happen .......
The Sinn Fein leadership was aware of the impending 7th May 1918 'arrests' but did not leave their usual haunts for 'safe houses' (except for Michael Collins , who decided that his time would be better spent 'outside' , stirring things up over the 'arrests' , rather than 'inside') - they (correctly) assumed that the Irish people would be incensed by the British action , thus helping the Rebel cause .
Then , as mentioned previously , on 3rd July 1918 , Sinn Fein , the Irish Volunteers and the Gaelic League were 'outlawed' by Westminster . A good indicator of anti-conscription feeling in Ireland can be gauged by the actions of that most anti-Republican institution , the Catholic Church Hierarchy , and a certain Cardinal Logue in particular : this man had previously joined forces with the British to assist them in their recruitment campaign in Ireland .......
(MORE LATER).
WHERE MOUNTAINY MEN HAVE SOWN :
war and peace in rebel Cork ,
in the turbulent years 1916-21.
By Micheal O'Suilleabhain : published 1965.
AISLINGI .......
" ....... when we think of the past , we think of places like Tara and Clonmacnois , the two most famous in Ireland ... "
" Tara , seat of the Kings of Ireland , was old when Christ was born ; it was abandoned in the second half of the sixth century but , because of its ancient glories , is still an inspiration . One hundred and fifty-three Irish Kings had reigned there before A.D. 563 . Its traces alone , without the written word , give ample testimony of its former greatness ; four hundred pikemen of 1798 lie buried there - their dust further sanctifies the soil of Tara .
Clonmacnois , founded by Saint Ciaran on 23rd January A.D. 544 , quickly became a seat of piety and learning and a city grew up around it . Students from every country in Europe attended its schools ; now it is a vast graveyard where rest the greatest and noblest of the land . T. W. Rolleston writes of it -
- " In a quiet watered land , a land of roses ,
Stands Saint Ciaran's city fair ;
And the warriors of Erin , in their famous generations ,
Slumber there . "
Other old places , Pagan and Christian , next in renown to Tara and Clonmacnois , pass in review before us ....... "
(MORE LATER).
Communication from BOBBY SANDS , Long Kesh H-Blocks , early December 1978 .......
As published in 'IRIS' magazine , November 1981 .
Re-published here in 6 parts .
(3 of 6).
" Within the past nine months we have seen outbreaks of jaundice , ringworm , dermatitis , disentry and severe diarrihoea - as well as dozens of minor and serious rashes . Never have the medical staff here blinked an eye or even handed out a painkiller to a sick man . We have suffered until men have collapsed and had to be taken out to hospital .
Our resistance to the daily brutalities has been token , in that, when the screws come to drag us out to be forcibly bathed or subjected to a degrading body search , we have sat on the floor of the cell and refused to move ......."
(MORE LATER).
(...and its great to be back ! Our 'Junior' enjoyed his time with the girlfriend , while the rest of us here at '1169...' had a break in County Waterford - it rained [all day !] Friday , on our way down , 'monsooned' with more rain on Saturday and Sunday ... but the sun finally broke through on the Monday , as we were heading home to Dublin ! Ah , sure , we still have our health ...).
Friday, October 22, 2004
IRELAND , JANUARY 15th , 1920 : ELECTIONS .......
.......the British 'Military Services Bill' (the 'Conscription Act') was 'introduced' to Ireland by Westminster in 1918 ; the then leader of the Irish Volunteers , John Dillon , warned the Brits that it would cause further trouble for them in Ireland .....
Two days after Conscription was 'introduced' into Ireland (16th April 1918) , a meeting was held in the Mansion House , in Dublin (on 18th April) , at which representatives of all political opinion (and none) turned up . A statement was issued to the media following that meeting -
- " Denying the right of the British Government to enforce compulsory service in this country , we pledge ourselves solemnly to one another to resist conscription by the most effective means at our disposal . " The 'natives' were stirring ... and 19 days later , the Brits struck back : on the night of 7th May , 1918 , the British 'Lord Lieutenant of Ireland' , Field Marshal 'Lord' French , sent out his armed thugs and 'arrested' the leadership of the then Sinn Fein organisation - 73 people in all .
This 'round-up' by the Brits became known as the 'German Plot' arrests . However - those 'arrests' backfired on Westminster ; Sinn Fein had been 'tipped-off' in advance about them .......
(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.
AISLINGI .......
" Padraig Pearse , Roger Casement , Jim Daly - all knew the 'Aisling' , and all had their spirits raised by it . As did James Fintan Lalor , who made the following resolution ....... "
" That of natural right , on the grant of God , the soil of Ireland belongs to the people of Ireland , who therefore have a clear vested right of property in the soil to the extent of full , comfortable , and secure subsistence therefrom , which never could or can be parted with , pass or perish .
And which no power on earth , nor any length of adverse possession can take away , annul , bar , or diminish . That the people of Ireland have for ages been deprived of their natural right to property in their own soil , that their right has been in practical effect , utterly defeated and diverted , and that it now requires to be asserted , enforced and established . "
The all-encircling ocean is the boundary of their heritage . Let the thoughts wander like fleeting cloud-shadows over the land ; they will pause , here and there , above the dust of our illustrious forefathers , and over that of the great men and women of our own time . All are now part of the spirit-world of the Gael , an invisible but potent force . When we think of the past , we think of places like Tara and Clonmacnois ....... "
(MORE LATER).
Communication from BOBBY SANDS , Long Kesh H-Blocks , early December 1978 .......
As published in 'IRIS' magazine , November 1981 .
Re-published here in 6 parts .
(2 of 6).
" At present , and with the coming of Christmas , the prison administration here have set about and are carrying out an escalated and massive torture offensive aimed directly at breaking the blanket protest . Within the past week here the prison administration have claimed that an epidemic of head lice has broken out in H-Block 3 , and using this as an excuse - with the backing of their own medical cronies - they have dragged blanket men from their cells , beat them senseless , threw them into baths of disenfectant , forcibly scrubbed them , cut their hair and shaved their beards off with a razor .
This is simply another blatant brutal attempt to brutalise us into submission ....... "
(MORE LATER).
(Please note - the 'Long Weekend' starts today , Friday , 22nd October - the coming Monday is a Bank Holiday here in the 26 Counties ie the whole State practically shuts down ! Our 'Junior' is off with his 'moth' , so we may or may not be here on the Monday . If not , Tuesday will be business as usual -Sharon ).
.......the British 'Military Services Bill' (the 'Conscription Act') was 'introduced' to Ireland by Westminster in 1918 ; the then leader of the Irish Volunteers , John Dillon , warned the Brits that it would cause further trouble for them in Ireland .....
Two days after Conscription was 'introduced' into Ireland (16th April 1918) , a meeting was held in the Mansion House , in Dublin (on 18th April) , at which representatives of all political opinion (and none) turned up . A statement was issued to the media following that meeting -
- " Denying the right of the British Government to enforce compulsory service in this country , we pledge ourselves solemnly to one another to resist conscription by the most effective means at our disposal . " The 'natives' were stirring ... and 19 days later , the Brits struck back : on the night of 7th May , 1918 , the British 'Lord Lieutenant of Ireland' , Field Marshal 'Lord' French , sent out his armed thugs and 'arrested' the leadership of the then Sinn Fein organisation - 73 people in all .
This 'round-up' by the Brits became known as the 'German Plot' arrests . However - those 'arrests' backfired on Westminster ; Sinn Fein had been 'tipped-off' in advance about them .......
(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.
AISLINGI .......
" Padraig Pearse , Roger Casement , Jim Daly - all knew the 'Aisling' , and all had their spirits raised by it . As did James Fintan Lalor , who made the following resolution ....... "
" That of natural right , on the grant of God , the soil of Ireland belongs to the people of Ireland , who therefore have a clear vested right of property in the soil to the extent of full , comfortable , and secure subsistence therefrom , which never could or can be parted with , pass or perish .
And which no power on earth , nor any length of adverse possession can take away , annul , bar , or diminish . That the people of Ireland have for ages been deprived of their natural right to property in their own soil , that their right has been in practical effect , utterly defeated and diverted , and that it now requires to be asserted , enforced and established . "
The all-encircling ocean is the boundary of their heritage . Let the thoughts wander like fleeting cloud-shadows over the land ; they will pause , here and there , above the dust of our illustrious forefathers , and over that of the great men and women of our own time . All are now part of the spirit-world of the Gael , an invisible but potent force . When we think of the past , we think of places like Tara and Clonmacnois ....... "
(MORE LATER).
Communication from BOBBY SANDS , Long Kesh H-Blocks , early December 1978 .......
As published in 'IRIS' magazine , November 1981 .
Re-published here in 6 parts .
(2 of 6).
" At present , and with the coming of Christmas , the prison administration here have set about and are carrying out an escalated and massive torture offensive aimed directly at breaking the blanket protest . Within the past week here the prison administration have claimed that an epidemic of head lice has broken out in H-Block 3 , and using this as an excuse - with the backing of their own medical cronies - they have dragged blanket men from their cells , beat them senseless , threw them into baths of disenfectant , forcibly scrubbed them , cut their hair and shaved their beards off with a razor .
This is simply another blatant brutal attempt to brutalise us into submission ....... "
(MORE LATER).
(Please note - the 'Long Weekend' starts today , Friday , 22nd October - the coming Monday is a Bank Holiday here in the 26 Counties ie the whole State practically shuts down ! Our 'Junior' is off with his 'moth' , so we may or may not be here on the Monday . If not , Tuesday will be business as usual -Sharon ).
Thursday, October 21, 2004
IRELAND , JANUARY 15th , 1920 : ELECTIONS .......
....... 1918 ; Sinn Fein declared by the Brits to be "...an illegal organisation ...." , as was the Irish Volunteers and the Gaelic League . 'The Great War' ('WW1') was going badly for Westminster , and conscription was made law in England in 1916 - now the Brits were looking towards Ireland ...
Since the outbreak of 'The Great War' in August 1914 , tens-of-thousands of Irishmen had fought , and were fighting , side-by-side as volunteers in the British Army , having answered the call by British 'Lord' Kitchener to help defeat "...the dastardly Hun ..to protect small nations ....." . But the 'Conscription Act' worked against the British - even the then leader of the Irish Volunteers , John Dillon , was against it .
It should be noted that that same organisation (Irish Volunteers) , then under the leadership of John Redmond , had , in 1914 , backed the British war machine , which led to a split in the Irish Volunteers . However - John Dillon stated , in the British 'House of Commons' , as he was leading his members in a walk-out from that institution in protest over the Conscription Act - " All Ireland will rise against you ."
He was to be proved right .......
(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.
AISLINGI .......
"....... those with the 'Vision' were not 'contented serfs' , happy with their lot as long as their bank account eased their conscience . But the Ireland which Padraig Pearse envisaged was not yet established ....... "
" Padraig Pearse wanted an Ireland " ...not Gaelic merely but free as well ; not free merely but Gaelic as well . " Some progress has been made , but there is yet much to be done . What has been achieved was the result of great sacrifice and hard work by good Irishmen and women ; the ranting of politicians had no part in it , and it is not to be expected ever will have in future progress . It is Irish men and women , educated to the true meaning of freedom , who will one day achieve it .
The 'Aisling' of the Ireland of the future , as seen by the greatest as well as the most humble among her lovers was simply a picture of the people , happy , prosperous and Gaelic-speaking , back on the good land from which they had been driven to make room for the bullock and the sheep . This condition once achieved , the prosperity of the towns and cities was assured . The old virtures , culture and pride of race would soon return ; the politicians say that such a movement was begun soon after the Treaty of 1921 : its progress is not perceptible . The people are still in the waste places where they were driven to die , while the bullock and the sheep live on the fat of the land .
Our people must go up again to the mountain and look out over their splendid heritage and into the mighty past ; there they will see an 'Aisling' that will raise their hearts and cause them to make certain resolutions . Some of these will be the resolutions of James Fintan Lalor ....... "
(MORE LATER).
Communication from BOBBY SANDS , Long Kesh H-Blocks , early December 1978 .
As published in 'IRIS' magazine , November 1981 .
Re-published here in 6 parts .
(1 of 6).
This communication was written by Bobby Sands in early December 1978 . At that time he was the PRO of the protesting Republican prisoners . This 'comm's' contents say more of the conditions which the prisoners were subjected to in the H-Blocks than any external publicist of the H-Block protest ever could and is an explanation in itself of the conditions and the political commitment of the prisoners which eventually forced them to use the hunger-strike weapon as their last alternative means of protest having exhausted every other method .
" In the past 27 months , we republican prisoners of war on the blanket protest for political status , in the H-Blocks of Long Kesh , have been subjected to continual and extreme torture to break our resistence and protest . We have faced untold and constant brutalities , indignities and torture from the prison administration ...whose daily aim is to break our resistence ...
Not a single day passes in these hell blocks without several blanket men being beaten unconscious . We are hosed down , forcibly bathed until the skin is scrubbed from our backs . We are constantly moved from wing to wing and made run , naked , a gauntlet of merciless screws . We are spread eagled across a table to have intimate parts of our bodies probed and examined . Young lads , some barely 17 and 18 years of age , are punched senseless .
Such injuries as a broken nose , split head and multiple bruising are common place ... "
(MORE LATER).
....... 1918 ; Sinn Fein declared by the Brits to be "...an illegal organisation ...." , as was the Irish Volunteers and the Gaelic League . 'The Great War' ('WW1') was going badly for Westminster , and conscription was made law in England in 1916 - now the Brits were looking towards Ireland ...
Since the outbreak of 'The Great War' in August 1914 , tens-of-thousands of Irishmen had fought , and were fighting , side-by-side as volunteers in the British Army , having answered the call by British 'Lord' Kitchener to help defeat "...the dastardly Hun ..to protect small nations ....." . But the 'Conscription Act' worked against the British - even the then leader of the Irish Volunteers , John Dillon , was against it .
It should be noted that that same organisation (Irish Volunteers) , then under the leadership of John Redmond , had , in 1914 , backed the British war machine , which led to a split in the Irish Volunteers . However - John Dillon stated , in the British 'House of Commons' , as he was leading his members in a walk-out from that institution in protest over the Conscription Act - " All Ireland will rise against you ."
He was to be proved right .......
(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.
AISLINGI .......
"....... those with the 'Vision' were not 'contented serfs' , happy with their lot as long as their bank account eased their conscience . But the Ireland which Padraig Pearse envisaged was not yet established ....... "
" Padraig Pearse wanted an Ireland " ...not Gaelic merely but free as well ; not free merely but Gaelic as well . " Some progress has been made , but there is yet much to be done . What has been achieved was the result of great sacrifice and hard work by good Irishmen and women ; the ranting of politicians had no part in it , and it is not to be expected ever will have in future progress . It is Irish men and women , educated to the true meaning of freedom , who will one day achieve it .
The 'Aisling' of the Ireland of the future , as seen by the greatest as well as the most humble among her lovers was simply a picture of the people , happy , prosperous and Gaelic-speaking , back on the good land from which they had been driven to make room for the bullock and the sheep . This condition once achieved , the prosperity of the towns and cities was assured . The old virtures , culture and pride of race would soon return ; the politicians say that such a movement was begun soon after the Treaty of 1921 : its progress is not perceptible . The people are still in the waste places where they were driven to die , while the bullock and the sheep live on the fat of the land .
Our people must go up again to the mountain and look out over their splendid heritage and into the mighty past ; there they will see an 'Aisling' that will raise their hearts and cause them to make certain resolutions . Some of these will be the resolutions of James Fintan Lalor ....... "
(MORE LATER).
Communication from BOBBY SANDS , Long Kesh H-Blocks , early December 1978 .
As published in 'IRIS' magazine , November 1981 .
Re-published here in 6 parts .
(1 of 6).
This communication was written by Bobby Sands in early December 1978 . At that time he was the PRO of the protesting Republican prisoners . This 'comm's' contents say more of the conditions which the prisoners were subjected to in the H-Blocks than any external publicist of the H-Block protest ever could and is an explanation in itself of the conditions and the political commitment of the prisoners which eventually forced them to use the hunger-strike weapon as their last alternative means of protest having exhausted every other method .
" In the past 27 months , we republican prisoners of war on the blanket protest for political status , in the H-Blocks of Long Kesh , have been subjected to continual and extreme torture to break our resistence and protest . We have faced untold and constant brutalities , indignities and torture from the prison administration ...whose daily aim is to break our resistence ...
Not a single day passes in these hell blocks without several blanket men being beaten unconscious . We are hosed down , forcibly bathed until the skin is scrubbed from our backs . We are constantly moved from wing to wing and made run , naked , a gauntlet of merciless screws . We are spread eagled across a table to have intimate parts of our bodies probed and examined . Young lads , some barely 17 and 18 years of age , are punched senseless .
Such injuries as a broken nose , split head and multiple bruising are common place ... "
(MORE LATER).
Wednesday, October 20, 2004
IRELAND , JANUARY 15th , 1920 : ELECTIONS .
13 months after the landslide 1918 General Election results for the then 13-years-young Sinn Fein party , the British and pro-British elements in the country were still 'sore' about the outcome ; it was in that same year (1918) that the 'Military Services Bill' (Conscription) was 'introduced' in Ireland by Westminster (on April 16th) .
The Sinn Fein organisation was declared by the British to be " illegal " , as was the 'Irish Volunteers' and the 'Gaelic League' (all 'outlawed' on the 3rd July , 1918) . Conscription had been law in what Westminster referred to as "the United Kingdom" since 1916 , but 'The Great War' was going badly for the Brits and they needed more 'front-line fodder' ...
... so they looked to 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.
AISLINGI .......
" 'Roisin Dubh' ; 'the Old Woman' ; the 'Aislingi' : Visions . Of an Ireland free from outside interference . Padraig Pearse had that 'Vision' , as did Tom Clarke . So , too , did Roger Casement and Jim Daly ....... "
" Roger Casement , who returned a 'Knights Insignia' , and Jim Daly of the Connaught Rangers who removed his tunic so that the bullets of the British firing-party might not pierce his body through a British uniform had that same 'Vision' . It thrills one to think that such men belong to Ireland ; their bodies were destroyed in foreign lands but their indestructible spirit came home to live for ever in the hearts of their race .
There still live among us some of those who described Padraig Pearse and his comrades as " visionaries , " " dreamers ," " rainbow-chasers , " etc ; that type deserve no credit for their descriptive efforts , though they were literally correct . They forget that the vision precedes the reality - their own vision was one which was very remote from the Aisling ; it was that of an ever-increasing bank account , to be added to regardless of the humiliating slavery which bound their country , and their people . " Stability " was one of their favourite catchwords - to gather-up the goods of the world and live the lives of contented serfs , to fawn on their oppressors and to decry the actions of those who would break their chains , was its meaning for them . They called Padraig Pearse " ...a fool ....." , but he had anticipated them -
- " A fool that in all his day hath done never a prudent thing ,
Never had counted the cost , nor reckoned if another reaped
the fruit of his mighty sowing , content to scatter the seed . "
The Ireland which Padraig Pearse envisaged has not yet been realised ....... "
(MORE LATER).
THE IRA ATTITUDE TO ELECTIONS .......
First published in 'AP/RN' , September 5th , 1981 .
Re-published here in 5 parts .
[5 of 5] .
" There is room for republicans to examine if the struggle for independence can be improved by an intervention in the electoral process in order to show clearly that people support radical republicanism and resistance to the British presence more than they support any other (sic) collaborationist tendency .
There is fundamentally a need for Irish Republicans to bring about conditions whereby the Irish people may seize political and economic control of their own destinies ; whether this can be assisted by an intervention in the electoral process should be the basis for discussion within republican circles . What should not be the basis for discussion is whether this intervention means a run-down of the armed struggle : it patently does not . ('1169...' comment - should the Provos re-commence their armed struggle , it will only be to secure a better deal in Stormont for themselves , and/or to ensure that no other armed organisation will challenge the British militarily in the occupied Six Counties . Such is the 'price' of Provo acceptance by the 'Establishment'.)
We must fight on many fronts and the armed struggle has been historically and contemporarily shown to be the most important . It must be coupled , of course , with political and economic resistance . "
[END of ' THE IRA ATTITUDE TO ELECTIONS .......'].
(Tomorrow - ' Communication from BOBBY SANDS , Long Kesh H-Blocks , early December 1978 .)
13 months after the landslide 1918 General Election results for the then 13-years-young Sinn Fein party , the British and pro-British elements in the country were still 'sore' about the outcome ; it was in that same year (1918) that the 'Military Services Bill' (Conscription) was 'introduced' in Ireland by Westminster (on April 16th) .
The Sinn Fein organisation was declared by the British to be " illegal " , as was the 'Irish Volunteers' and the 'Gaelic League' (all 'outlawed' on the 3rd July , 1918) . Conscription had been law in what Westminster referred to as "the United Kingdom" since 1916 , but 'The Great War' was going badly for the Brits and they needed more 'front-line fodder' ...
... so they looked to 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.
AISLINGI .......
" 'Roisin Dubh' ; 'the Old Woman' ; the 'Aislingi' : Visions . Of an Ireland free from outside interference . Padraig Pearse had that 'Vision' , as did Tom Clarke . So , too , did Roger Casement and Jim Daly ....... "
" Roger Casement , who returned a 'Knights Insignia' , and Jim Daly of the Connaught Rangers who removed his tunic so that the bullets of the British firing-party might not pierce his body through a British uniform had that same 'Vision' . It thrills one to think that such men belong to Ireland ; their bodies were destroyed in foreign lands but their indestructible spirit came home to live for ever in the hearts of their race .
There still live among us some of those who described Padraig Pearse and his comrades as " visionaries , " " dreamers ," " rainbow-chasers , " etc ; that type deserve no credit for their descriptive efforts , though they were literally correct . They forget that the vision precedes the reality - their own vision was one which was very remote from the Aisling ; it was that of an ever-increasing bank account , to be added to regardless of the humiliating slavery which bound their country , and their people . " Stability " was one of their favourite catchwords - to gather-up the goods of the world and live the lives of contented serfs , to fawn on their oppressors and to decry the actions of those who would break their chains , was its meaning for them . They called Padraig Pearse " ...a fool ....." , but he had anticipated them -
- " A fool that in all his day hath done never a prudent thing ,
Never had counted the cost , nor reckoned if another reaped
the fruit of his mighty sowing , content to scatter the seed . "
The Ireland which Padraig Pearse envisaged has not yet been realised ....... "
(MORE LATER).
THE IRA ATTITUDE TO ELECTIONS .......
First published in 'AP/RN' , September 5th , 1981 .
Re-published here in 5 parts .
[5 of 5] .
" There is room for republicans to examine if the struggle for independence can be improved by an intervention in the electoral process in order to show clearly that people support radical republicanism and resistance to the British presence more than they support any other (sic) collaborationist tendency .
There is fundamentally a need for Irish Republicans to bring about conditions whereby the Irish people may seize political and economic control of their own destinies ; whether this can be assisted by an intervention in the electoral process should be the basis for discussion within republican circles . What should not be the basis for discussion is whether this intervention means a run-down of the armed struggle : it patently does not . ('1169...' comment - should the Provos re-commence their armed struggle , it will only be to secure a better deal in Stormont for themselves , and/or to ensure that no other armed organisation will challenge the British militarily in the occupied Six Counties . Such is the 'price' of Provo acceptance by the 'Establishment'.)
We must fight on many fronts and the armed struggle has been historically and contemporarily shown to be the most important . It must be coupled , of course , with political and economic resistance . "
[END of ' THE IRA ATTITUDE TO ELECTIONS .......'].
(Tomorrow - ' Communication from BOBBY SANDS , Long Kesh H-Blocks , early December 1978 .)
Tuesday, October 19, 2004
JULY 29th , 1848 : RIC , Firearms , Pikes - and Five Children .......
....... the British were quick to dismiss the failed 'Young Ireland' Rising of 1848 as "...a farce .." ; but , while the Brits were sniggering at the failure , the Irish were learning from it ...
The British derisively described that attempted Rising as "...the battle of the Widow MacCormicks cabbage garden .." ; the fact that armed British military personnel practically kidnapped five Irish children that day , and held them hostage to save their own skins , was not talked about . Incidentally , ten years after the Brits 'distinguished' themselves that day , 29th July , 1848 , in Ballingarry , County Tipperary , Irish Rebel veterans from that campaign , who had re-grouped , set-up the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB) (ie in 1858) .
James Stephens had organised the IRB in a 'cell' system (which he learned while 'on the run' in France after the 1848 Rising) and John O'Mahony used his enforced 'stay' in America , again after the 1848 action , to obtain material resources and support from the Irish community there to have another go at the Brits . With 'thanks' to the British themselves , it can be seen that the 1848 Young Ireland Rising led to the establishment of the Irish Republican Brotherhood in 1858 .
But the British would prefer that no link be made , that each Rising , each Rebellion , be dismissed as "...a farce .." , as the actions of an unrepresentative few 'malcontents' . That is , after all , how the 'Empire' was built and maintained ; and , for our part , this 'weblog' has no hesitation at all in cheering on those 'malcontents' !
[END of ' JULY 29th , 1848 : RIC , Firearms , Pikes - and Five Children .......'].
(Tomorrow - ' Ireland , January 15th 1920 - Elections'.)
WHERE MOUNTAINY MEN HAVE SOWN :
war and peace in rebel Cork ,
in the turbulent years 1916-21.
By Micheal O'Suilleabhain : published 1965.
AISLINGI .......
" .......in 1907 , at 49 years young , Irish Rebel Tom Clarke returned to Ireland and opened a newspaper shop in Parnell Street , in Dublin . Padraig Pearse was amongst those who were frequent visitors ..... "
" They sought the help of the man who had for so long been tested in the crucible of suffering and had been found unbreakable ; nor did he fail them . In 1916 , they repaid him by insisting that his should be the first signature to the Proclamation of the Republic ; it was the greatest day of Tom Clarke's life , though well he knew it meant for him the end . He was shot on 3rd May 1916 , at 58 years of age . Of those only eighteen had been spent in Ireland .
A man is judged by the life he has led ; I know of no more splendid figure than Tom Clarke ; the onset of the years chills the blood of most men - add to this the incredible physical and mental torture which he had endured for almost sixteen of those years . Most of the remainder were years of hardship and disillusionment . His father's influence and his early environment militated against his faith yet , like Padraig Pearse , he turned his back on 'the beautiful vision of the world' , and set his face to the road before him , the road indicated by 'the Old Woman...'
It would be easy to give many more examples from amongst the elite of the followers of Roisin Dubh , as 'the Old Woman' is sometimes called , but space would not allow it . Our own time produced many heroic men and women of a standard that could not be excelled ; some of the greatest came from the least-expected direction - the British service . I will mention only two : Roger Casement and Jim Daly ....... "
(MORE LATER).
THE IRA ATTITUDE TO ELECTIONS .......
First published in 'AP/RN' , September 5th , 1981 .
Re-published here in 5 parts .
(4 of 5).
" For those who would be concerned that such an intervention in the West Belfast election is a new tendency , or departure , they can be assured that the military struggle will go on with all the energy at our disposal and , in fact , victory would actually be hastened with the development of a complementary radical political offensive . ('1169...' comment - the Provo military struggle , against the British , at least , is over , and their "radical political offensive" now involves sitting in Stormont and Leinster House - the more things change etc .)
Our attitude to constitutional politics is quite simple and clear cut - there is no such thing as constitutional politics in this country ; the last legitimate constitutional forum in Ireland , Dail Eireann , was proclaimed "illegal" and subverted by the British and the Free Staters . Outside of a thirty-two county sovereign , independent , democracy the IRA will have no involvement in what is loosely called 'constitutional politics ' . " ('1169...' comment - "...no involvement ...in constitutional politics ..." Stormont ? Leinster House ? )
(MORE LATER).
....... the British were quick to dismiss the failed 'Young Ireland' Rising of 1848 as "...a farce .." ; but , while the Brits were sniggering at the failure , the Irish were learning from it ...
The British derisively described that attempted Rising as "...the battle of the Widow MacCormicks cabbage garden .." ; the fact that armed British military personnel practically kidnapped five Irish children that day , and held them hostage to save their own skins , was not talked about . Incidentally , ten years after the Brits 'distinguished' themselves that day , 29th July , 1848 , in Ballingarry , County Tipperary , Irish Rebel veterans from that campaign , who had re-grouped , set-up the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB) (ie in 1858) .
James Stephens had organised the IRB in a 'cell' system (which he learned while 'on the run' in France after the 1848 Rising) and John O'Mahony used his enforced 'stay' in America , again after the 1848 action , to obtain material resources and support from the Irish community there to have another go at the Brits . With 'thanks' to the British themselves , it can be seen that the 1848 Young Ireland Rising led to the establishment of the Irish Republican Brotherhood in 1858 .
But the British would prefer that no link be made , that each Rising , each Rebellion , be dismissed as "...a farce .." , as the actions of an unrepresentative few 'malcontents' . That is , after all , how the 'Empire' was built and maintained ; and , for our part , this 'weblog' has no hesitation at all in cheering on those 'malcontents' !
[END of ' JULY 29th , 1848 : RIC , Firearms , Pikes - and Five Children .......'].
(Tomorrow - ' Ireland , January 15th 1920 - Elections'.)
WHERE MOUNTAINY MEN HAVE SOWN :
war and peace in rebel Cork ,
in the turbulent years 1916-21.
By Micheal O'Suilleabhain : published 1965.
AISLINGI .......
" .......in 1907 , at 49 years young , Irish Rebel Tom Clarke returned to Ireland and opened a newspaper shop in Parnell Street , in Dublin . Padraig Pearse was amongst those who were frequent visitors ..... "
" They sought the help of the man who had for so long been tested in the crucible of suffering and had been found unbreakable ; nor did he fail them . In 1916 , they repaid him by insisting that his should be the first signature to the Proclamation of the Republic ; it was the greatest day of Tom Clarke's life , though well he knew it meant for him the end . He was shot on 3rd May 1916 , at 58 years of age . Of those only eighteen had been spent in Ireland .
A man is judged by the life he has led ; I know of no more splendid figure than Tom Clarke ; the onset of the years chills the blood of most men - add to this the incredible physical and mental torture which he had endured for almost sixteen of those years . Most of the remainder were years of hardship and disillusionment . His father's influence and his early environment militated against his faith yet , like Padraig Pearse , he turned his back on 'the beautiful vision of the world' , and set his face to the road before him , the road indicated by 'the Old Woman...'
It would be easy to give many more examples from amongst the elite of the followers of Roisin Dubh , as 'the Old Woman' is sometimes called , but space would not allow it . Our own time produced many heroic men and women of a standard that could not be excelled ; some of the greatest came from the least-expected direction - the British service . I will mention only two : Roger Casement and Jim Daly ....... "
(MORE LATER).
THE IRA ATTITUDE TO ELECTIONS .......
First published in 'AP/RN' , September 5th , 1981 .
Re-published here in 5 parts .
(4 of 5).
" For those who would be concerned that such an intervention in the West Belfast election is a new tendency , or departure , they can be assured that the military struggle will go on with all the energy at our disposal and , in fact , victory would actually be hastened with the development of a complementary radical political offensive . ('1169...' comment - the Provo military struggle , against the British , at least , is over , and their "radical political offensive" now involves sitting in Stormont and Leinster House - the more things change etc .)
Our attitude to constitutional politics is quite simple and clear cut - there is no such thing as constitutional politics in this country ; the last legitimate constitutional forum in Ireland , Dail Eireann , was proclaimed "illegal" and subverted by the British and the Free Staters . Outside of a thirty-two county sovereign , independent , democracy the IRA will have no involvement in what is loosely called 'constitutional politics ' . " ('1169...' comment - "...no involvement ...in constitutional politics ..." Stormont ? Leinster House ? )
(MORE LATER).
Monday, October 18, 2004
JULY 29th , 1848 : RIC , Firearms , Pikes - and Five Children .......
....... one of those who escaped from the battle at the Widow McCormicks house at Ballingarry , County Tipperary , on July 29th , 1848 , James Stephens , had made his way to Paris , France , but eventually returned to Ireland . In Dublin , on Saint Patricks Day (17th March) in 1858 , he helped to found the 'Irish Republican Brotherhood ' (IRB).......
James Stephens had learned of a better way in which to organise a secret society - his 'stay' in France had been spent studying the structures of anti-government organisations there , and the IRB (Ireland) and the Fenian Brotherhood (America) were established to consist of 'closed circles' , in which only one member was allowed to know only one other member of any other 'circle' , and all 'business' was to be conducted in public venues ie bars , restaurants , sporting events etc , instead of holding same , as had been done , in a room in an hotel or in a members house .
The new system worked - only months after its inception (ie towards the end of 1858) a young man named Jeremiah O'Donovan Rossa , who worked for the Irish Republican Brotherhood , was caught in Cork with three or four other men , whom the RIC alleged were acting suspicious ; it was actually a 'swearing-in' ceremony which the RIC had discovered but , due to their lack of information (their informers knew nothing about it) the RIC let the men go , believing , as they were told by O'Donovan Rossa , that the group were discussing the possible establishment of a political grouping , to be called ' The Phoenix Society' !
However - the failed 'Young Ireland' Rising of 1848 , which began on July 29th that year , was dismissed by the British as " ...a farce.." - but it was that which came from the attempted Rising that was to prove the British wrong in that description .......
(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.
AISLINGI .......
"....... arriving in London on Active Service for the Irish Republican Brotherhood , Isle-of-Wight -born Tom Clarke , in his mid-twenties , was arrested by the British and sentenced to penal servitude for life ......."
" For 15 years and nine months , in the prisons of Chatham and Portland , Tom Clarke endured imprisonment without flinching ; 15 years and nine months of an incessant attempt , by the British , to deprive him of his life or reason . This torture did not cease with daylight and recommence on the following day ; it was maintained during the hours of darkness when even the vilest criminal was entitled to sleep and rest . But Tom Clarke and his comrades got neither sleep nor rest .
Cunning devices for producing continuous disturbing sounds were erected over their cells - these are described in his book 'Glimpses of an Irish Felon's Prison Life' . The relentless brutality at length drove two of his comrades , Whitehead and Gallagher , hopelessly insane . With John Daly , they were released in 1896 ; Daly had been arrested a year after Tom Clarke , and had hitherto shared the same prisons with him ; though kept apart , they had managed to communicate with each other now and again . The release of his friend was a sore loss to Tom Clarke who , for a further two years , had to endure alone an even more intensified form of torture .
Released in 1898 , he spent a short time in Limerick with his friend John Daly before returning to America where , in 1901 , he married Kathleen Daly , John Daly's daughter . With Devoy , he founded the 'Gaelic American' newspaper and , as its Assistant Editor , worked in New York until 1907 . Then he returned to Ireland and opened a newspaper shop at Parnell Street , Dublin .
It quickly became the meeting-place for Padraig Pearse and all that valiant company of a new generation who had also seen the Aisling ....... "
(MORE LATER).
THE IRA ATTITUDE TO ELECTIONS .......
First published in 'AP/RN' , September 5th , 1981 .
Re-published here in 5 parts .
(3 of 5).
" Irish Republicans have periodically contested elections in both six and twenty-six county states ; in 1917 , 1918 and 1919 , before partition , and from then until the 1950's and in 1964 , republicans contested elections on an abstentionist ticket . There is no reason now , where practical , as it appears in West Belfast , that republicans should not oppose nationalist collaboration .
If Sinn Fein contests this election the IRA will obviously whole-heartedly support their decision . Sinn Fein spokespersons and prisoners' supporters have demanded Gerry Fitt's resignation over the hunger-strike when it was obvious that Fitt was totally out of step with those whom he purported to represent .
There is an obvious need to give the people of West Belfast the opportunity of showing whether they support the politics of Gerry Fitt , the benign unionism of the SDLP or a republican candidate ..."
(MORE LATER).
....... one of those who escaped from the battle at the Widow McCormicks house at Ballingarry , County Tipperary , on July 29th , 1848 , James Stephens , had made his way to Paris , France , but eventually returned to Ireland . In Dublin , on Saint Patricks Day (17th March) in 1858 , he helped to found the 'Irish Republican Brotherhood ' (IRB).......
James Stephens had learned of a better way in which to organise a secret society - his 'stay' in France had been spent studying the structures of anti-government organisations there , and the IRB (Ireland) and the Fenian Brotherhood (America) were established to consist of 'closed circles' , in which only one member was allowed to know only one other member of any other 'circle' , and all 'business' was to be conducted in public venues ie bars , restaurants , sporting events etc , instead of holding same , as had been done , in a room in an hotel or in a members house .
The new system worked - only months after its inception (ie towards the end of 1858) a young man named Jeremiah O'Donovan Rossa , who worked for the Irish Republican Brotherhood , was caught in Cork with three or four other men , whom the RIC alleged were acting suspicious ; it was actually a 'swearing-in' ceremony which the RIC had discovered but , due to their lack of information (their informers knew nothing about it) the RIC let the men go , believing , as they were told by O'Donovan Rossa , that the group were discussing the possible establishment of a political grouping , to be called ' The Phoenix Society' !
However - the failed 'Young Ireland' Rising of 1848 , which began on July 29th that year , was dismissed by the British as " ...a farce.." - but it was that which came from the attempted Rising that was to prove the British wrong in that description .......
(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.
AISLINGI .......
"....... arriving in London on Active Service for the Irish Republican Brotherhood , Isle-of-Wight -born Tom Clarke , in his mid-twenties , was arrested by the British and sentenced to penal servitude for life ......."
" For 15 years and nine months , in the prisons of Chatham and Portland , Tom Clarke endured imprisonment without flinching ; 15 years and nine months of an incessant attempt , by the British , to deprive him of his life or reason . This torture did not cease with daylight and recommence on the following day ; it was maintained during the hours of darkness when even the vilest criminal was entitled to sleep and rest . But Tom Clarke and his comrades got neither sleep nor rest .
Cunning devices for producing continuous disturbing sounds were erected over their cells - these are described in his book 'Glimpses of an Irish Felon's Prison Life' . The relentless brutality at length drove two of his comrades , Whitehead and Gallagher , hopelessly insane . With John Daly , they were released in 1896 ; Daly had been arrested a year after Tom Clarke , and had hitherto shared the same prisons with him ; though kept apart , they had managed to communicate with each other now and again . The release of his friend was a sore loss to Tom Clarke who , for a further two years , had to endure alone an even more intensified form of torture .
Released in 1898 , he spent a short time in Limerick with his friend John Daly before returning to America where , in 1901 , he married Kathleen Daly , John Daly's daughter . With Devoy , he founded the 'Gaelic American' newspaper and , as its Assistant Editor , worked in New York until 1907 . Then he returned to Ireland and opened a newspaper shop at Parnell Street , Dublin .
It quickly became the meeting-place for Padraig Pearse and all that valiant company of a new generation who had also seen the Aisling ....... "
(MORE LATER).
THE IRA ATTITUDE TO ELECTIONS .......
First published in 'AP/RN' , September 5th , 1981 .
Re-published here in 5 parts .
(3 of 5).
" Irish Republicans have periodically contested elections in both six and twenty-six county states ; in 1917 , 1918 and 1919 , before partition , and from then until the 1950's and in 1964 , republicans contested elections on an abstentionist ticket . There is no reason now , where practical , as it appears in West Belfast , that republicans should not oppose nationalist collaboration .
If Sinn Fein contests this election the IRA will obviously whole-heartedly support their decision . Sinn Fein spokespersons and prisoners' supporters have demanded Gerry Fitt's resignation over the hunger-strike when it was obvious that Fitt was totally out of step with those whom he purported to represent .
There is an obvious need to give the people of West Belfast the opportunity of showing whether they support the politics of Gerry Fitt , the benign unionism of the SDLP or a republican candidate ..."
(MORE LATER).
Friday, October 15, 2004
JULY 29th , 1848 : RIC , Firearms , Pikes - and Five Children .......
.......British Crown re-inforcements had arrived at the Widow McCormicks house at Ballingarry , County Tipperary , to rescue their forty-six colleagues who were hiding-out in the house , and who were holding the five McCormick children as hostages , in order to stop the Irish Rebels from attacking them . The Rebels had to flee the scene.......
William Smith O'Brien , Thomas Francis Meagher and Terence Bellew MacManus were captured , but John O'Mahony , James Stephens and John Blake Dillon escaped . John O'Mahony went to America and was one of the founders in that country of the American Fenian Brotherhood (or 'Clann na Gael' , referred to in Ireland as simply 'The Organisation' or the 'IRB') , while James Stephens made it safely to Paris , France , and , that being the time of Louis Napoleon , made contact with several 'secret societies' which existed in France at that time .
(Small 'tangent' - eight years later [ie in 1856] , James Stephens was to go on a 3,000-mile 'tour' of Ireland , mostly on foot , organising opposition to British mis-rule in Ireland) On Saint Patricks Day in 1858 (17th March) , James Stephens was one of those who took an Oath , in Dublin , -
- "...in the presence of God , to renounce all allegiance to the Queen of England , and to take arms and fight at a moments warning to make Ireland an independent Democratic Republic , and to yield implicit obedience to the Commanders and Superiors of this Secret Society . " That "..Secret Society ..." was the Irish Republican Brotherhood ...
(MORE LATER).
WHERE MOUNTAINY MEN HAVE SOWN :
war and peace in rebel Cork ,
in the turbulent years 1916-21.
By Micheal O'Suilleabhain : published 1965.
AISLINGI .......
"....... in Ireland , the 'vision' of freedom is known as the 'Aisling' - a desire to strike back at the British , and lead others in that Cause . One who had this 'Vision' was Tom Clarke ... "
" Tom Clarke was born in a British military camp at Hurst Park in the Isle of Wight , on 11th March 1858 . His father was then a Corporal in the British Army but , like Tom's mother , was Irish born . A year later Corporal Clarke was drafted to South Africa where the family lived until 1865 . Tom first saw Ireland about 1870 , when his father was appointed a Sergeant of the Ulster Militia and was stationed at Dungannon , County Tyrone .
Here Tom grew to early manhood , and his father wished him to follow in his own footsteps and join the British Army , but the 'Old Woman' had already enlisted Tom in her own small but select Army , and at a time when prospects appeared most dreary . For the gloom of the 'Famine' and the defeat of the Fenians still hung heavy over the land . Tom Clarke was sworn into the Irish Republican Brotherhood by Michael Davitt and John Daly ; he could have had no more worthy sponsors .
In 1880 , at twenty-two years young , he emigrated to the United States where he joined Clann na Gael , and quickly volunteered for Active Service in Britain . The ship he travelled on struck an iceberg and sank , but he was rescued and landed on Newfoundland . Resuming his interrupted journey , he reached London where he was soon arrested - he had been followed from New York by 'Henri Le Caron' , a British spy . On 14th June , 1883 , at the 'Old Bailey' , he was , with three others , sentenced to penal servitude for life ....... "
(MORE LATER).
THE IRA ATTITUDE TO ELECTIONS .......
First published in 'AP/RN' , September 5th , 1981 .
Re-published here in 5 parts .
(2 of 5).
" There was also , at the time of the split , a simplistic republican attitude , heightened by the 1969 pogroms , to the 'Stickies' position . Therefore , there was a reaction within the Republican Movement against taking political control within the nationalist community or examining methods , even electoral , for doing this .
The 'Sticky' attitude towards elections is one of complete involvement with the system and cannot be divorced from their collaborationist attitude towards the RUC and loyalist paramilitiaries and reactionary elements within Fine Gael , and towards the whole national question , and the partitionist state , Leinster House and Stormont . ('1169 ...' comment - 'Stickies' [WP] then , Provos now ...)
Similarly , the republican attitude towards elections cannot be divorced from our total rejection of the six-county state , our struggle for the last twelve years , of unbroken resistance to the British government and to its crown forces , and our refusal to compromise with loyalism . "
(MORE LATER).
.......British Crown re-inforcements had arrived at the Widow McCormicks house at Ballingarry , County Tipperary , to rescue their forty-six colleagues who were hiding-out in the house , and who were holding the five McCormick children as hostages , in order to stop the Irish Rebels from attacking them . The Rebels had to flee the scene.......
William Smith O'Brien , Thomas Francis Meagher and Terence Bellew MacManus were captured , but John O'Mahony , James Stephens and John Blake Dillon escaped . John O'Mahony went to America and was one of the founders in that country of the American Fenian Brotherhood (or 'Clann na Gael' , referred to in Ireland as simply 'The Organisation' or the 'IRB') , while James Stephens made it safely to Paris , France , and , that being the time of Louis Napoleon , made contact with several 'secret societies' which existed in France at that time .
(Small 'tangent' - eight years later [ie in 1856] , James Stephens was to go on a 3,000-mile 'tour' of Ireland , mostly on foot , organising opposition to British mis-rule in Ireland) On Saint Patricks Day in 1858 (17th March) , James Stephens was one of those who took an Oath , in Dublin , -
- "...in the presence of God , to renounce all allegiance to the Queen of England , and to take arms and fight at a moments warning to make Ireland an independent Democratic Republic , and to yield implicit obedience to the Commanders and Superiors of this Secret Society . " That "..Secret Society ..." was the Irish Republican Brotherhood ...
(MORE LATER).
WHERE MOUNTAINY MEN HAVE SOWN :
war and peace in rebel Cork ,
in the turbulent years 1916-21.
By Micheal O'Suilleabhain : published 1965.
AISLINGI .......
"....... in Ireland , the 'vision' of freedom is known as the 'Aisling' - a desire to strike back at the British , and lead others in that Cause . One who had this 'Vision' was Tom Clarke ... "
" Tom Clarke was born in a British military camp at Hurst Park in the Isle of Wight , on 11th March 1858 . His father was then a Corporal in the British Army but , like Tom's mother , was Irish born . A year later Corporal Clarke was drafted to South Africa where the family lived until 1865 . Tom first saw Ireland about 1870 , when his father was appointed a Sergeant of the Ulster Militia and was stationed at Dungannon , County Tyrone .
Here Tom grew to early manhood , and his father wished him to follow in his own footsteps and join the British Army , but the 'Old Woman' had already enlisted Tom in her own small but select Army , and at a time when prospects appeared most dreary . For the gloom of the 'Famine' and the defeat of the Fenians still hung heavy over the land . Tom Clarke was sworn into the Irish Republican Brotherhood by Michael Davitt and John Daly ; he could have had no more worthy sponsors .
In 1880 , at twenty-two years young , he emigrated to the United States where he joined Clann na Gael , and quickly volunteered for Active Service in Britain . The ship he travelled on struck an iceberg and sank , but he was rescued and landed on Newfoundland . Resuming his interrupted journey , he reached London where he was soon arrested - he had been followed from New York by 'Henri Le Caron' , a British spy . On 14th June , 1883 , at the 'Old Bailey' , he was , with three others , sentenced to penal servitude for life ....... "
(MORE LATER).
THE IRA ATTITUDE TO ELECTIONS .......
First published in 'AP/RN' , September 5th , 1981 .
Re-published here in 5 parts .
(2 of 5).
" There was also , at the time of the split , a simplistic republican attitude , heightened by the 1969 pogroms , to the 'Stickies' position . Therefore , there was a reaction within the Republican Movement against taking political control within the nationalist community or examining methods , even electoral , for doing this .
The 'Sticky' attitude towards elections is one of complete involvement with the system and cannot be divorced from their collaborationist attitude towards the RUC and loyalist paramilitiaries and reactionary elements within Fine Gael , and towards the whole national question , and the partitionist state , Leinster House and Stormont . ('1169 ...' comment - 'Stickies' [WP] then , Provos now ...)
Similarly , the republican attitude towards elections cannot be divorced from our total rejection of the six-county state , our struggle for the last twelve years , of unbroken resistance to the British government and to its crown forces , and our refusal to compromise with loyalism . "
(MORE LATER).
Thursday, October 14, 2004
JULY 29th , 1848 : RIC , Firearms , Pikes - and Five Children .......
.......the forty-six RIC men had taken over a house for their own safety - the Irish Rebels they were hunting had 'turned the tables' on them . Five children were in the house , and were now being held as hostages by the RIC , as they knew the Rebels would not attack as long as the five McCormick children were there . They also knew that their RIC colleagues were on the way to assist them .......
The RIC men in the house 'got brave' ; refusing to release the hostages or surrender , surrounded yet safe from attack - so they cleared window-space in the house and fired a volley at the Rebels , killing two and wounding about a dozen . The McCormick children were by now hysterical , the Rebels were in disarray - they could'nt attack but were under fire , and were about to be surrounded themselves : British Crown re-inforcements had arrived .
The Irish Rebels - led by William Smith O'Brien , James Stephens and Terence Bellew MacManus - had to flee , and headed for the countryside . O'Brien , MacManus and Thomas Francis Meagher were captured within days and sentenced to death by the British , but the sentences were later commuted to transportation for life to Tasmania . Other leaders of the failed 1848 Rising - John O'Mahony , James Stephens and John Blake Dillon - escaped capture and left the country ...
(MORE LATER).
WHERE MOUNTAINY MEN HAVE SOWN :
war and peace in rebel Cork ,
in the turbulent years 1916-21.
By Micheal O'Suilleabhain : published 1965.
AISLINGI .
" What is it that has stirred the hearts of all true lovers of Ireland , in every generation , and has steeled them to do some deed worthy of recognition as a link in the unbroken chain of resistance to slavery ? It is the 'Aisling' or 'Vision' which only true lovers are privileged to behold . It is said that our forefathers saw it before they ever set foot on this land of Ireland ; since then , our bards and poets have sung of it and have spared no effort to describe it . The Spirit of Ireland invariably appears in the form of a woman , young and beautiful in appearance though of immeasurable age , older even 'than the old woman of Beara' . She is the Mother of the Irish race , her children are scattered to the four corners of the earth .
In her hour of need she appears before , and her sorrowful glance rests on some favoured one amongst her children ; sometimes it is at home in Ireland where the task she implies is comparatively easy , but sometimes it is far from it in a foreign land , alone among strangers or in the midst of bitter enemies . But wherever it be , whether on an Irish hillside , or deep in the gloom of a British gaol , or on a barrack square in India clad in the uniform of a British soldier , that appeal shall be , and has been , answered by the true son or daughter . Neither time , nor place , nor environment can intercept or obscure the 'Aisling' of Ireland from the chosen few .
And so it was for one child , the son of an Irish-born British Army Corporal ....... "
(MORE LATER).
THE IRA ATTITUDE TO ELECTIONS .
First published in 'AP/RN' , September 5th , 1981 .
Re-published here in 5 parts .
(1 of 5).
In September 1981 , a spokesperson for the (then - ie ; 1981 , before they went constitutional in 1986) IRA authorised to speak on behalf of the leadership outlined the attitude of the Army to republican participation in elections .
He spoke about the republican attitude to contesting the West Belfast Westminster seat presently held by Gerry Fitt and how the IRA generally view constitutional politics , especially given the experience of republicans of a bitter split with the 'Sticks' (ie - the so-called 'Workers Party') , part of which was their reformist attitude to elections -
- " There can be no doubt that media speculation regarding Sinn Fein contesting the West Belfast constituency may have caused some confusion among republicans , especially given the intensity of falling-out between republican supporters and their erstwhile comrades in the so-called Republican Clubs .
Sections of the Republican Movement have , over the decades , had vastly differing attitudes to an intervention in the British or Free State electoral process . Generally speaking , what was wrong with the Sticks was not just that they contested elections but that they had a totally incorrect analysis of the nature of British imperialism .
They believed that the six-county state could be 'democratised' from within (*) and that the so-called democratic process was one method by which this reformation could be made . "
(* '1169...' comment - as do the Provisionals , but now they call it "...parity of esteem ." )
(MORE LATER).
.......the forty-six RIC men had taken over a house for their own safety - the Irish Rebels they were hunting had 'turned the tables' on them . Five children were in the house , and were now being held as hostages by the RIC , as they knew the Rebels would not attack as long as the five McCormick children were there . They also knew that their RIC colleagues were on the way to assist them .......
The RIC men in the house 'got brave' ; refusing to release the hostages or surrender , surrounded yet safe from attack - so they cleared window-space in the house and fired a volley at the Rebels , killing two and wounding about a dozen . The McCormick children were by now hysterical , the Rebels were in disarray - they could'nt attack but were under fire , and were about to be surrounded themselves : British Crown re-inforcements had arrived .
The Irish Rebels - led by William Smith O'Brien , James Stephens and Terence Bellew MacManus - had to flee , and headed for the countryside . O'Brien , MacManus and Thomas Francis Meagher were captured within days and sentenced to death by the British , but the sentences were later commuted to transportation for life to Tasmania . Other leaders of the failed 1848 Rising - John O'Mahony , James Stephens and John Blake Dillon - escaped capture and left the country ...
(MORE LATER).
WHERE MOUNTAINY MEN HAVE SOWN :
war and peace in rebel Cork ,
in the turbulent years 1916-21.
By Micheal O'Suilleabhain : published 1965.
AISLINGI .
" What is it that has stirred the hearts of all true lovers of Ireland , in every generation , and has steeled them to do some deed worthy of recognition as a link in the unbroken chain of resistance to slavery ? It is the 'Aisling' or 'Vision' which only true lovers are privileged to behold . It is said that our forefathers saw it before they ever set foot on this land of Ireland ; since then , our bards and poets have sung of it and have spared no effort to describe it . The Spirit of Ireland invariably appears in the form of a woman , young and beautiful in appearance though of immeasurable age , older even 'than the old woman of Beara' . She is the Mother of the Irish race , her children are scattered to the four corners of the earth .
In her hour of need she appears before , and her sorrowful glance rests on some favoured one amongst her children ; sometimes it is at home in Ireland where the task she implies is comparatively easy , but sometimes it is far from it in a foreign land , alone among strangers or in the midst of bitter enemies . But wherever it be , whether on an Irish hillside , or deep in the gloom of a British gaol , or on a barrack square in India clad in the uniform of a British soldier , that appeal shall be , and has been , answered by the true son or daughter . Neither time , nor place , nor environment can intercept or obscure the 'Aisling' of Ireland from the chosen few .
And so it was for one child , the son of an Irish-born British Army Corporal ....... "
(MORE LATER).
THE IRA ATTITUDE TO ELECTIONS .
First published in 'AP/RN' , September 5th , 1981 .
Re-published here in 5 parts .
(1 of 5).
In September 1981 , a spokesperson for the (then - ie ; 1981 , before they went constitutional in 1986) IRA authorised to speak on behalf of the leadership outlined the attitude of the Army to republican participation in elections .
He spoke about the republican attitude to contesting the West Belfast Westminster seat presently held by Gerry Fitt and how the IRA generally view constitutional politics , especially given the experience of republicans of a bitter split with the 'Sticks' (ie - the so-called 'Workers Party') , part of which was their reformist attitude to elections -
- " There can be no doubt that media speculation regarding Sinn Fein contesting the West Belfast constituency may have caused some confusion among republicans , especially given the intensity of falling-out between republican supporters and their erstwhile comrades in the so-called Republican Clubs .
Sections of the Republican Movement have , over the decades , had vastly differing attitudes to an intervention in the British or Free State electoral process . Generally speaking , what was wrong with the Sticks was not just that they contested elections but that they had a totally incorrect analysis of the nature of British imperialism .
They believed that the six-county state could be 'democratised' from within (*) and that the so-called democratic process was one method by which this reformation could be made . "
(* '1169...' comment - as do the Provisionals , but now they call it "...parity of esteem ." )
(MORE LATER).
Wednesday, October 13, 2004
JULY 29th , 1848 : RIC , Firearms , Pikes - and Five Children .......
....... fleeing from a crowd of about one-hundred armed Irish Rebels , the RIC forced their way into a two-storey house just east of the town of Ballingarry , County Tipperary . There were no adults in the house at the time , but five children were inside .......
An RIC Inspector , followed by forty-five of his men , ran into the house shouting - " British Grenadiers ! British Grenadiers ! " They then proceeded to thrash the dwelling , ignoring the cries of the children , and used what little furniture there was , and the debris they created , to block doors and windows .
On being told that there were five children in the siege house , Rebel leader William Smith O'Brien offered the RIC hostage-takers the opportunity to surrender , making it clear that they would only lose their weapons , not their lives ; but the offer was rejected . The RIC contingent inside the house realised that the Rebels would not attack as long as the McCormick children remained in the house .
They also knew that their RIC colleagues were on the way ; so they 'got brave' , refusing to release the child hostages or surrender : surrounded by their enemy , yet safe from attack . They cleared window-space in the house and readied their rifles .......
(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.......
" ....... one of the neighbouring Republican judge's , a good man in all ways , had let his new position go to his head , with talk of "...long experience..." on the bench ......."
" The Courthouse was packed when he made that remark - people looked at each other , but the heavy silence was maintained . It continued long enough to allow the full import of the judge's opening remark to be assimilated by even the most dull-witted among the audience . And then the ' envious Casca' struck - not from behind the judge's back , but from somewhere amongst the edge of the populace . It was not a short sword or dagger that was used ; it was a high-pitched cachinnation .
It rent the silence with cumulative effect , for it was possessed of that diabolical quality which compelled the listeners to genuine laughter in spite of their utmost efforts to restrain it . Alas for the blight on flowering genius ! Olagon for the glories departed !
It is indeed a fact that people in high places must needs walk warily , and even the utmost circumspection will sometimes avail them little ..."
[END of ' THE TRUCE....... '].
(Tomorrow - 'AISLINGI'['Visions']).
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 .
[6 of 6].
Cumann na mBan was incredible in its militancy - Eithne Coyle (Cumann na mBan President) recalls how ..."...as things developed in 1922 , we could see that the Free State was toeing the line for Britain . Nearly all the girls stayed Republican , but the men seemed to waver ." Later , in a political address to Cumann na mBan in 1935 , she stated : " We offer no apology to the rulers North or South of this partioned land in asserting our rights as freeborn Irish women to repudiate that Treaty and the Imperial Parliament of partioned Ulster . We fight for an Ireland where the exploitation of Irish workers by imported or native capitalists will be ruthelessly exterminated . (We will) put an end for all time to that state of chaos and social dis-order which is holding our people in unnatural bondage . "
In this book , Republican women and men recall for the first time the vivid and historic epoch through which they lived ; the high hopes , the scrambles , the fights , the escapes , periods of imprisonment , executions ; the long weary road back into civilian life , back to an Ireland where the reality fell far short of the dream ...
[END of 'HISTORY LIVES ON .......'].
(Tomorrow - 'The IRA Attitude to Elections' : first published in 1981).
....... fleeing from a crowd of about one-hundred armed Irish Rebels , the RIC forced their way into a two-storey house just east of the town of Ballingarry , County Tipperary . There were no adults in the house at the time , but five children were inside .......
An RIC Inspector , followed by forty-five of his men , ran into the house shouting - " British Grenadiers ! British Grenadiers ! " They then proceeded to thrash the dwelling , ignoring the cries of the children , and used what little furniture there was , and the debris they created , to block doors and windows .
On being told that there were five children in the siege house , Rebel leader William Smith O'Brien offered the RIC hostage-takers the opportunity to surrender , making it clear that they would only lose their weapons , not their lives ; but the offer was rejected . The RIC contingent inside the house realised that the Rebels would not attack as long as the McCormick children remained in the house .
They also knew that their RIC colleagues were on the way ; so they 'got brave' , refusing to release the child hostages or surrender : surrounded by their enemy , yet safe from attack . They cleared window-space in the house and readied their rifles .......
(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.......
" ....... one of the neighbouring Republican judge's , a good man in all ways , had let his new position go to his head , with talk of "...long experience..." on the bench ......."
" The Courthouse was packed when he made that remark - people looked at each other , but the heavy silence was maintained . It continued long enough to allow the full import of the judge's opening remark to be assimilated by even the most dull-witted among the audience . And then the ' envious Casca' struck - not from behind the judge's back , but from somewhere amongst the edge of the populace . It was not a short sword or dagger that was used ; it was a high-pitched cachinnation .
It rent the silence with cumulative effect , for it was possessed of that diabolical quality which compelled the listeners to genuine laughter in spite of their utmost efforts to restrain it . Alas for the blight on flowering genius ! Olagon for the glories departed !
It is indeed a fact that people in high places must needs walk warily , and even the utmost circumspection will sometimes avail them little ..."
[END of ' THE TRUCE....... '].
(Tomorrow - 'AISLINGI'['Visions']).
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 .
[6 of 6].
Cumann na mBan was incredible in its militancy - Eithne Coyle (Cumann na mBan President) recalls how ..."...as things developed in 1922 , we could see that the Free State was toeing the line for Britain . Nearly all the girls stayed Republican , but the men seemed to waver ." Later , in a political address to Cumann na mBan in 1935 , she stated : " We offer no apology to the rulers North or South of this partioned land in asserting our rights as freeborn Irish women to repudiate that Treaty and the Imperial Parliament of partioned Ulster . We fight for an Ireland where the exploitation of Irish workers by imported or native capitalists will be ruthelessly exterminated . (We will) put an end for all time to that state of chaos and social dis-order which is holding our people in unnatural bondage . "
In this book , Republican women and men recall for the first time the vivid and historic epoch through which they lived ; the high hopes , the scrambles , the fights , the escapes , periods of imprisonment , executions ; the long weary road back into civilian life , back to an Ireland where the reality fell far short of the dream ...
[END of 'HISTORY LIVES ON .......'].
(Tomorrow - 'The IRA Attitude to Elections' : first published in 1981).
Tuesday, October 12, 2004
JULY 29th , 1848 : RIC , Firearms , Pikes - and Five Children .......
....... a contingent of forty-six RIC men from Callan in County Kilkenny arrived in Ballingarry , County Tipperary , on 29th July 1848 , to arrest the Irish Rebels that were in that town . Realising they were outnumbered , the RIC retreated - but were seen by the Rebels .......
The RIC gang quickly headed out of the town , followed closely by the insurgents . The British 'policemen' headed East out of Ballingarry and took refuge in a two-storey grey-stone farmhouse on the top of a small hill (the house now boasts a plaque above its door , inscribed 'Remember 1848' , and is known locally as 'The War House' ) .
At that time , a British 'warrant' had been issued for the 'arrest' of William Smith O'Brien and , in all probability , the RIC detatchment from Callan , Kilkenny , were out to prove to their British paymasters that they were a trust-worthy bunch of loyal serfs , and decided that , by putting down a Rebel Rising and 'arresting' a wanted man , they could do just that .
But , out-numbered two-to-one , they fled - but could'nt escape their pursuers ; so they forced their way into a house owned by the Widow McCormick , who was not at home at the time . But her five children were .......
(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 Court system was up-and-running ; a neighbouring Republican , a small farmer , who acted as a judge , was on his third case ....... "
" His judgements had been applauded by the litigants , the people and the lawyers ; naturally , like all good workmen , he took a legitimate pride in his work , and why not the same in his new profession ? So far his efforts had been crowned with success , and a bright future beckoned to him imperatively . But the course of success , like that of true love , does not always run smoothly . Around the corner will be found the obstacle , awaiting its opportunity .
The scene was again the forum , and the third trial was in progress . The great interest it had aroused was manifest in the numbers of the populace who followed with respectful and rapt attention the varying stages in the unravelling of its tangled skein . For it was a fairly complicated legal problem ; at length , however , the full legal facts were before the bench , and nothing remained to be said but the pronouncement of judgement . All eyes were now turned on the judge .
Very efficient and calm , he seemed , as he handled his notes . After a reasonable period of time he appeared to have made up his mind . He glanced upwards , then lowered his eyes again and , clearing his throat a little , said :
" This has been a complicated case , the most difficult I have met with , in all my long experience on the bench ..." The people looked at each other ......."
(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 .
(5 of 6).
Most interesting of all I found Peter Carleton of Belfast , who was a Section Leader in Na Fianna Eireann ; he tells of when Frank Ryan came up to Belfast in 1925 for the Wolfe Tone Commemoration which was held on the summit of Cave Hill , at MacArts Fort .
Referring to the 'Union Jack' flags flying about the city , he declared - " Where I come from , if we can't pull them down , we shoot them down ..." . A new generation of Irish Republican fighters is now carrying out this task .
Until recently we knew about Republican men in the past but little about Republican women ; this book makes up for that to a large extent . Apart from Nora Connolly O'Brien , it collects the memoirs of a number of very brave and dedicated fighters - Marie Comerford , Eithne Coyle (President , Cumann na mBan) , May Dalaigh , and Shiela Humphreys (Vice-President , Cumann na mBan) .
The story of Cumann na mBan is still largely untold - the steady , hard and unrewarding work they did in the political and military spheres .......
(MORE LATER).
....... a contingent of forty-six RIC men from Callan in County Kilkenny arrived in Ballingarry , County Tipperary , on 29th July 1848 , to arrest the Irish Rebels that were in that town . Realising they were outnumbered , the RIC retreated - but were seen by the Rebels .......
The RIC gang quickly headed out of the town , followed closely by the insurgents . The British 'policemen' headed East out of Ballingarry and took refuge in a two-storey grey-stone farmhouse on the top of a small hill (the house now boasts a plaque above its door , inscribed 'Remember 1848' , and is known locally as 'The War House' ) .
At that time , a British 'warrant' had been issued for the 'arrest' of William Smith O'Brien and , in all probability , the RIC detatchment from Callan , Kilkenny , were out to prove to their British paymasters that they were a trust-worthy bunch of loyal serfs , and decided that , by putting down a Rebel Rising and 'arresting' a wanted man , they could do just that .
But , out-numbered two-to-one , they fled - but could'nt escape their pursuers ; so they forced their way into a house owned by the Widow McCormick , who was not at home at the time . But her five children were .......
(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 Court system was up-and-running ; a neighbouring Republican , a small farmer , who acted as a judge , was on his third case ....... "
" His judgements had been applauded by the litigants , the people and the lawyers ; naturally , like all good workmen , he took a legitimate pride in his work , and why not the same in his new profession ? So far his efforts had been crowned with success , and a bright future beckoned to him imperatively . But the course of success , like that of true love , does not always run smoothly . Around the corner will be found the obstacle , awaiting its opportunity .
The scene was again the forum , and the third trial was in progress . The great interest it had aroused was manifest in the numbers of the populace who followed with respectful and rapt attention the varying stages in the unravelling of its tangled skein . For it was a fairly complicated legal problem ; at length , however , the full legal facts were before the bench , and nothing remained to be said but the pronouncement of judgement . All eyes were now turned on the judge .
Very efficient and calm , he seemed , as he handled his notes . After a reasonable period of time he appeared to have made up his mind . He glanced upwards , then lowered his eyes again and , clearing his throat a little , said :
" This has been a complicated case , the most difficult I have met with , in all my long experience on the bench ..." The people looked at each other ......."
(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 .
(5 of 6).
Most interesting of all I found Peter Carleton of Belfast , who was a Section Leader in Na Fianna Eireann ; he tells of when Frank Ryan came up to Belfast in 1925 for the Wolfe Tone Commemoration which was held on the summit of Cave Hill , at MacArts Fort .
Referring to the 'Union Jack' flags flying about the city , he declared - " Where I come from , if we can't pull them down , we shoot them down ..." . A new generation of Irish Republican fighters is now carrying out this task .
Until recently we knew about Republican men in the past but little about Republican women ; this book makes up for that to a large extent . Apart from Nora Connolly O'Brien , it collects the memoirs of a number of very brave and dedicated fighters - Marie Comerford , Eithne Coyle (President , Cumann na mBan) , May Dalaigh , and Shiela Humphreys (Vice-President , Cumann na mBan) .
The story of Cumann na mBan is still largely untold - the steady , hard and unrewarding work they did in the political and military spheres .......
(MORE LATER).
Monday, October 11, 2004
JULY 29th , 1848 : RIC , Firearms , Pikes - and Five Children .......
.......in the midst of so-called 'famine' , with disease such as typhus fever and cholera stalking the land , the 'Young Irelanders' were attempting to recruit for a Rising against British mis-rule in Ireland . The British 'police' force , the RIC , were watching developments .......
The RIC were 'the eyes and ears of Westminster' , and were told by their informers of the intentions of the Irish Rebels and of the fact that armed men and women were gathering in Ballingarry , County Tipperary .
The RIC were also told that William Smith O'Brien , James Stephens and Terence Bellew McManus were in that town , organising the insurgents . A patrol of forty-six RIC men , from Callan in County Kilkenny , were the first to arrive in Ballingarry on that day , the 29th July , 1848 , knowing that more British Crown re-inforcements were on the way .
However , on seeing a rebellious crowd of about one-hundred people , armed with firearms and/or pikes , the RIC decided to retreat until their re-inforcements arrived ; but the Irish Rebels had seen them .......
(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 one case in the Republican Courts , at which my brother Pat was the judge , the defendant , Mikeen , was listening to the evidence against him ....... "
" An IRA policeman finished his evidence by stating " I took him into custody ..." , when Mikeen rose and shouted " Ya did , ya yob ya ! " . Calamity ! But the people and court bore up bravely ; not until they saw the learned judge show grave symptoms of disintegration did they surrender . Then , led by the bench , they all laughted together . The sentence was light - the judge lectured Mikeen on the virtures of self-restraint and , of course , on the evils of drink . Mikeen promised to reform completely , but the judge hastened to explain that that was not entirely necessary , that a fair distance along that particular road would suffice .
The neighbour whom he had assaulted was then brought forward and Mikeen completed his sentence by shaking his hand cordially . Furthermore , he promised the judge that never again would he interfere "...with the same man ," a pronouncement so specific as to be viewed with misgiving by some of the more discerning among his neighbours . However , their fears were never realised and , ever afterwards , they lived in the harmony which began on that night when judge and prisoner , people and policeman , all laughed together .
The next case occurred in a neighbouring parish . The new judge , a local farmer , had already dealt successfully with the first two cases to be brought before the Republican Court in his district ......."
(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 .
(4 of 6).
John Joe Sheehy , Commandant Kerry No. 1 Brigade , IRA , stated - " I admire the struggle of the oppressed Northern people , and how they are hitting back at an invading army trying to do the 'cos ar bholg' on them . " So much for the spineless commentators who tell us "...the old IRA was never like this , " etc etc .
Others who provide us with a personal view of the historic battles and ambushes are Pax O'Faolain (Brigadier General IRA) , Tom Kelleher (Commandant General IRA 1st Southern Division) , Tony Woods , Con Casey , Walter Mitchell , Connie Meenan and Dan Gleeson .
From the North there is Neil Gillespie (Volunteer 2nd Northern Division IRA) , who tells of the struggle in Derry , as does James McElduff (Captain 2nd Northern Division IRA) .
(MORE LATER).
.......in the midst of so-called 'famine' , with disease such as typhus fever and cholera stalking the land , the 'Young Irelanders' were attempting to recruit for a Rising against British mis-rule in Ireland . The British 'police' force , the RIC , were watching developments .......
The RIC were 'the eyes and ears of Westminster' , and were told by their informers of the intentions of the Irish Rebels and of the fact that armed men and women were gathering in Ballingarry , County Tipperary .
The RIC were also told that William Smith O'Brien , James Stephens and Terence Bellew McManus were in that town , organising the insurgents . A patrol of forty-six RIC men , from Callan in County Kilkenny , were the first to arrive in Ballingarry on that day , the 29th July , 1848 , knowing that more British Crown re-inforcements were on the way .
However , on seeing a rebellious crowd of about one-hundred people , armed with firearms and/or pikes , the RIC decided to retreat until their re-inforcements arrived ; but the Irish Rebels had seen them .......
(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 one case in the Republican Courts , at which my brother Pat was the judge , the defendant , Mikeen , was listening to the evidence against him ....... "
" An IRA policeman finished his evidence by stating " I took him into custody ..." , when Mikeen rose and shouted " Ya did , ya yob ya ! " . Calamity ! But the people and court bore up bravely ; not until they saw the learned judge show grave symptoms of disintegration did they surrender . Then , led by the bench , they all laughted together . The sentence was light - the judge lectured Mikeen on the virtures of self-restraint and , of course , on the evils of drink . Mikeen promised to reform completely , but the judge hastened to explain that that was not entirely necessary , that a fair distance along that particular road would suffice .
The neighbour whom he had assaulted was then brought forward and Mikeen completed his sentence by shaking his hand cordially . Furthermore , he promised the judge that never again would he interfere "...with the same man ," a pronouncement so specific as to be viewed with misgiving by some of the more discerning among his neighbours . However , their fears were never realised and , ever afterwards , they lived in the harmony which began on that night when judge and prisoner , people and policeman , all laughed together .
The next case occurred in a neighbouring parish . The new judge , a local farmer , had already dealt successfully with the first two cases to be brought before the Republican Court in his district ......."
(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 .
(4 of 6).
John Joe Sheehy , Commandant Kerry No. 1 Brigade , IRA , stated - " I admire the struggle of the oppressed Northern people , and how they are hitting back at an invading army trying to do the 'cos ar bholg' on them . " So much for the spineless commentators who tell us "...the old IRA was never like this , " etc etc .
Others who provide us with a personal view of the historic battles and ambushes are Pax O'Faolain (Brigadier General IRA) , Tom Kelleher (Commandant General IRA 1st Southern Division) , Tony Woods , Con Casey , Walter Mitchell , Connie Meenan and Dan Gleeson .
From the North there is Neil Gillespie (Volunteer 2nd Northern Division IRA) , who tells of the struggle in Derry , as does James McElduff (Captain 2nd Northern Division IRA) .
(MORE LATER).
Friday, October 08, 2004
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).
.......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).
Thursday, October 07, 2004
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).
.......'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).
Wednesday, October 06, 2004
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).
.......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).
Tuesday, October 05, 2004
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).
.......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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