'THE PRESS' Newspaper , October 1797 - March 1798 .
Too Radical for the Radicals .......
....... in February 1798 , the representative of the United Irishmen leadership , Arthur O'Connor , was arrested by the Brits in Margate , England , whilst on his way to France to help organise assistance for the Rebel Cause in Ireland . He was 'tried' with 'sedition' (in May 1798) - but found 'not guilty' ! He was immediately re-arrested , transported to Kilmainham Jail in Dublin and charged , again , with 'sedition' : but not given a 'trial' this time . He was just simply locked-up in Kilmainham - then , after seven months (ie in January 1799) he was brought before the prison administration .......
He was told he was to be moved to Fort George Prison in Scotland ; he was incarcerated there for three years and two months (ie until March 1802) and was only released , as stated earlier in this piece , because the French 'named' him under the 'Peace Of Amiens' Treaty which was signed between the French and the British on 25th March 1802 to bring their war to an end . On his release , Arthur O'Connor was deported to France and enlisted in their Army .
Within two years (ie by 1804) he was appointed General-Of-Division by Napoleon ; on 25th April , 1852 , at 92 years of age (or 87 , depending on your source - I believe it was the former) Arthur O'Connor died . However (before that small 'tangent' !) - after his 'arrest' by the Brits (in February 1798) , Westminster was aware that his colleague , 'Lord' Edward Fitzgerald , was still free and they knew he was capable of using 'The Press' newspaper as a 'tool' with which to rally the thousands of United Irishmen who supported Fitzgerald and O'Connor in their call for an immediate armed Rising ...
... - so Westminster ordered their uniformed thugs in Ireland to 'visit' the Offices of 'The Press' newspaper .......
(MORE LATER).
LIGHTS , CAMERA , REAGAN .......!
By John Dean.
First published in 'MAGILL' magazine , October 1980 , pages 30, 31, 35, and 37.
Re-published here in 20 parts .
(12 of 20).
Edward Langley , a 'PR' man with the General Electric group , travelled America with Ronald Reagan in the mid-1950's :
: " Gradually , and only he knows precisely when , he came to share the 'Middle American' views of his audiences . Reagan , then as now , was a consummate crowd-pleaser who loved the applause and the interplay with his listeners . Eventually , from whatever mixture of performing instinct and new conviction , he started taking his audiences' opinion for his own , and telling them what they wanted to hear . "
In 1964 , Reagan gave his now famous " Islands of Freedom ... " speech for the ill-fated Republican Presidential candidate , Barry Goldwater - " We stand here on the only island of freedom that is left in the whole world , " he told a national television audience , " there is no place to flee to , no place to escape to . We defend freedom here or it is gone ... "
Contributions poured in after his address - still , Goldwater lost by a landslide .......
(MORE LATER).
DEATH LIST 1989 .......
Two RUC Officers and two British soldiers , one based in West Germany , were killed by the IRA since mid-May , while a Catholic barman was shot by the UFF bringing the total death toll to 39 this year .
No by-line.
From 'MAGILL' magazine , July 1989 , pages 22 and 23 .
Re-published here in 14 parts .
(8 of 14).
19th March : David Braniff (63) , a father of 13 , was shot dead at his home in Alliance Avenue , Belfast , as he knelt with his wife and one daughter reciting the rosary . Two loyalist gunmen burst into the house and killed Mr. Braniff despite an attempt by his wife to save his life .
20th March : Chief Superintendent Harry Breen (51) from Banbridge , County Down , and Superintendent Bob Buchanan (55) from Moira , County Down , died when the car they were travelling in was attacked by an IRA Unit near Jonesboro in South Armagh . The two men had just crossed the border from the south on an unapproved road when they encountered an IRA checkpoint . They had been attending a meeting with Chief Superintendent John Nolan at Dundalk Garda Station where 'cross border security' was discussed . Chief Supt. Breen was Commander of the RUC's 'H' Division which includes Newry , South Armagh and Armagh City , while Supt. Buchanan was in charge of RUC 'liaison' with the Gardai , a key post in the RUC hierarchy .
(MORE LATER).
Thursday, March 03, 2005
'THE PRESS' Newspaper , October 1797 - March 1798 .
Too Radical for the Radicals .......
....... a disagreement was taking place within the United Irishmen organisation between those who wanted immediate armed action against British mis-rule in Ireland and those who wanted to wait for French assistance : the latter won the day . It was agreed that a representative of the United Irishmen leadership be sent to France to help organise whatever assistance was on offer .......
Arthur O'Connor was chosen by the leadership to travel to France and , in February 1798 , as he was travelling through Margate , in England , he was stopped and arrested by the Brits ; he was 'tried' in May 1798 in Maidstone , England , charged with 'sedition' (ie " talk or action exciting discontent or rebellion ... " against the Westminster Administration ) - but found not guilty !
In typical British arrogance , they had not bothered to 'back-up' their 'case' against O'Connor , believing that their opinion alone should be enough to gain a conviction .
Arthur O'Connor walked .... a few yards , anyway : he was immediately re-arrested , transported to Kilmainham Jail in Dublin and charged , again , with 'sedition' . But this time - no 'trial' ; the Brits were 'once bitten , twice shy ' - he was held in that prison for seven months (ie until January 1799) when he was brought before the prison administration .......
(MORE LATER).
LIGHTS , CAMERA , REAGAN .......!
By John Dean.
First published in 'MAGILL' magazine , October 1980 , pages 30, 31, 35, and 37.
Re-published here in 20 parts .
(11 of 20).
By 1951 , Ronald Reagan's acting career was fading ; then , in 1954 , he received the biggest break in both his showbusiness and political career - General Electric , with plants all over the United States , paid him $125,000 dollars a year to host a new TV series and to travel around their plants boosting company morale .
Reagan went on the road from eight to sixteen weeks a year , sometimes giving fourteen speeches a day to GE employees . Mostly he talked about Hollywood , but when they started asking his opinion on current events Reagan was somewhat surprised to hear himself starting to form a political philosophy in his answers .
Although for all practical purposes Reagan was a conservative by this time , he still considered himself a Democrat - now even that was changing ; Edward Langley , a public relations man for GE who travelled with Reagan during those years , remembers the metamorphosis .......
(MORE LATER).
DEATH LIST 1989 .......
Two RUC Officers and two British soldiers , one based in West Germany , were killed by the IRA since mid-May , while a Catholic barman was shot by the UFF bringing the total death toll to 39 this year .
No by-line.
From 'MAGILL' magazine , July 1989 , pages 22 and 23 .
Re-published here in 14 parts .
(7 of 14).
14th March : Thomas John Hardy (48) , a part-time UDR man , was shot dead at the Granville Meats plant , Dungannon , County Tyrone . Mr. Hardy , from Dungannon , was shot dead after he drove into a loading bay at the company premises on the Augnacloy Road . He joined the UDR on its formation in 1970 .
16th March : John Irvine (49) was shot dead on the street outside his shop on Skegoneill Avenue in North Belfast . The IRA , who claimed the killing , said that Mr. Irvine , who was a defendant in the Budgie Allen supergrass trial some years ago , was an active member of the UVF , a charge denied by that loyalist organisation .
17th March : Niall Davies (42) , a Catholic Senior Civil Servant , was shot dead in front of his wife and daughter at their home in Glengormley , North Belfast ; loyalist attackers used a sledgehammer to break down a door at the Davies home on Church Road and then shot their victim at least three times in the chest . Mr. Davies worked in the North's 'Department of Health and Social Services' .
(MORE LATER).
Too Radical for the Radicals .......
....... a disagreement was taking place within the United Irishmen organisation between those who wanted immediate armed action against British mis-rule in Ireland and those who wanted to wait for French assistance : the latter won the day . It was agreed that a representative of the United Irishmen leadership be sent to France to help organise whatever assistance was on offer .......
Arthur O'Connor was chosen by the leadership to travel to France and , in February 1798 , as he was travelling through Margate , in England , he was stopped and arrested by the Brits ; he was 'tried' in May 1798 in Maidstone , England , charged with 'sedition' (ie " talk or action exciting discontent or rebellion ... " against the Westminster Administration ) - but found not guilty !
In typical British arrogance , they had not bothered to 'back-up' their 'case' against O'Connor , believing that their opinion alone should be enough to gain a conviction .
Arthur O'Connor walked .... a few yards , anyway : he was immediately re-arrested , transported to Kilmainham Jail in Dublin and charged , again , with 'sedition' . But this time - no 'trial' ; the Brits were 'once bitten , twice shy ' - he was held in that prison for seven months (ie until January 1799) when he was brought before the prison administration .......
(MORE LATER).
LIGHTS , CAMERA , REAGAN .......!
By John Dean.
First published in 'MAGILL' magazine , October 1980 , pages 30, 31, 35, and 37.
Re-published here in 20 parts .
(11 of 20).
By 1951 , Ronald Reagan's acting career was fading ; then , in 1954 , he received the biggest break in both his showbusiness and political career - General Electric , with plants all over the United States , paid him $125,000 dollars a year to host a new TV series and to travel around their plants boosting company morale .
Reagan went on the road from eight to sixteen weeks a year , sometimes giving fourteen speeches a day to GE employees . Mostly he talked about Hollywood , but when they started asking his opinion on current events Reagan was somewhat surprised to hear himself starting to form a political philosophy in his answers .
Although for all practical purposes Reagan was a conservative by this time , he still considered himself a Democrat - now even that was changing ; Edward Langley , a public relations man for GE who travelled with Reagan during those years , remembers the metamorphosis .......
(MORE LATER).
DEATH LIST 1989 .......
Two RUC Officers and two British soldiers , one based in West Germany , were killed by the IRA since mid-May , while a Catholic barman was shot by the UFF bringing the total death toll to 39 this year .
No by-line.
From 'MAGILL' magazine , July 1989 , pages 22 and 23 .
Re-published here in 14 parts .
(7 of 14).
14th March : Thomas John Hardy (48) , a part-time UDR man , was shot dead at the Granville Meats plant , Dungannon , County Tyrone . Mr. Hardy , from Dungannon , was shot dead after he drove into a loading bay at the company premises on the Augnacloy Road . He joined the UDR on its formation in 1970 .
16th March : John Irvine (49) was shot dead on the street outside his shop on Skegoneill Avenue in North Belfast . The IRA , who claimed the killing , said that Mr. Irvine , who was a defendant in the Budgie Allen supergrass trial some years ago , was an active member of the UVF , a charge denied by that loyalist organisation .
17th March : Niall Davies (42) , a Catholic Senior Civil Servant , was shot dead in front of his wife and daughter at their home in Glengormley , North Belfast ; loyalist attackers used a sledgehammer to break down a door at the Davies home on Church Road and then shot their victim at least three times in the chest . Mr. Davies worked in the North's 'Department of Health and Social Services' .
(MORE LATER).
Wednesday, March 02, 2005
'THE PRESS' Newspaper , October 1797 - March 1798 .
Too Radical for the Radicals .......
... the Irish Rebel newspaper 'The Press' was founded in 1797 by two of those in the leadership of the United Irishmen organisation - Arthur O'Connor and 'Lord' Edward Fitzgerald .......
Others in the leadership of that organisation (notably Thomas Addis Emmet and Dr. William James MacNeven) were worried that 'The Press' newspaper was promoting too militant an agenda .
Emmet and MacNeven were concerned that the revolution being openly called-for in the pages of 'The Press' would only encourage the political 'establishment' (ie Dublin Castle ) to investigate with a renewed vigour the organisation with which that newspaper was associated - the United Irishmen .
The more 'moderate' (if you like) leadership of the United Irishmen considered it preferable to , as they put it , " calm the peasantry ... " while the Rebel Army was being recruited and organised . Thomas Addis Emmet convinced the leadership that the French were prepared to assist the Irish Rebels in an armed rising and it was agreed that one of those in leadership position in the United Irishmen be sent over to France to enter into liaison with the French Administration .
Arthur O'Connor packed his bags - but it was not to be .......
(MORE LATER).
LIGHTS , CAMERA , REAGAN .......!
By John Dean.
First published in 'MAGILL' magazine , October 1980 , pages 30, 31, 35, and 37.
Re-published here in 20 parts .
(10 of 20).
After the war , as newly elected President of the Screen Actors' Guild , Ronald Reagan had to grapple with labour problems that threatened to shut down Hollywood ; Reagan believed that the problems were instigated by the communists who were trying to " .. take over the motion picture business for a grand , world-wide propaganda base . "
His liberal friends' opposition to the McCarthyism exposed to him , he later said , the " seamy side of liberalism . " Most accounts give his growing absorption in Guild politics as the reason for his divorce from Jane Wyman in 1948 .
In 1951 he met a young starlet named Nancy Davis ; they were married a year later . Her father was a prominent Chicago surgeon and a staunch right-wing Republican , and Reagan's friends say Dr. Davis was a strong influence on him .......
(MORE LATER).
DEATH LIST 1989 .......
Two RUC Officers and two British soldiers , one based in West Germany , were killed by the IRA since mid-May , while a Catholic barman was shot by the UFF bringing the total death toll to 39 this year .
No by-line.
From 'MAGILL' magazine , July 1989 , pages 22 and 23 .
Re-published here in 14 parts .
(6 of 14).
7th March : Leslie Dallas (39) , Ernest Rankin (72) and Austin Nelson (62) were killed when an IRA Unit attacked a garage in Coagh , County Tyrone , which they claimed was being used by the loyalist UVF to prepare sectarian attacks on Catholics in the area and specifically on Republican supporters .
8th March : British soldiers Private Miles Daniel Amos (18) and Private Stephen Jeffery Cummins (24) died after a massive landmine blew their landrover off the Buncrana Road in Derry near the Donegal border checkpoint . The second of two vehicles in the British Army patrol was completely destroyed and six other British soldiers were injured , two seriously .
10th March : Mr. James McCartney (39) was shot dead outside the Orient Bar on the Springfield Road in West Belfast where he worked as a security man . Another man was seriously injured when the loyalist attackers shot into the crowded bar in one of a number of attacks on nationalists over a twenty-four hour period in Belfast .
(MORE LATER).
Too Radical for the Radicals .......
... the Irish Rebel newspaper 'The Press' was founded in 1797 by two of those in the leadership of the United Irishmen organisation - Arthur O'Connor and 'Lord' Edward Fitzgerald .......
Others in the leadership of that organisation (notably Thomas Addis Emmet and Dr. William James MacNeven) were worried that 'The Press' newspaper was promoting too militant an agenda .
Emmet and MacNeven were concerned that the revolution being openly called-for in the pages of 'The Press' would only encourage the political 'establishment' (ie Dublin Castle ) to investigate with a renewed vigour the organisation with which that newspaper was associated - the United Irishmen .
The more 'moderate' (if you like) leadership of the United Irishmen considered it preferable to , as they put it , " calm the peasantry ... " while the Rebel Army was being recruited and organised . Thomas Addis Emmet convinced the leadership that the French were prepared to assist the Irish Rebels in an armed rising and it was agreed that one of those in leadership position in the United Irishmen be sent over to France to enter into liaison with the French Administration .
Arthur O'Connor packed his bags - but it was not to be .......
(MORE LATER).
LIGHTS , CAMERA , REAGAN .......!
By John Dean.
First published in 'MAGILL' magazine , October 1980 , pages 30, 31, 35, and 37.
Re-published here in 20 parts .
(10 of 20).
After the war , as newly elected President of the Screen Actors' Guild , Ronald Reagan had to grapple with labour problems that threatened to shut down Hollywood ; Reagan believed that the problems were instigated by the communists who were trying to " .. take over the motion picture business for a grand , world-wide propaganda base . "
His liberal friends' opposition to the McCarthyism exposed to him , he later said , the " seamy side of liberalism . " Most accounts give his growing absorption in Guild politics as the reason for his divorce from Jane Wyman in 1948 .
In 1951 he met a young starlet named Nancy Davis ; they were married a year later . Her father was a prominent Chicago surgeon and a staunch right-wing Republican , and Reagan's friends say Dr. Davis was a strong influence on him .......
(MORE LATER).
DEATH LIST 1989 .......
Two RUC Officers and two British soldiers , one based in West Germany , were killed by the IRA since mid-May , while a Catholic barman was shot by the UFF bringing the total death toll to 39 this year .
No by-line.
From 'MAGILL' magazine , July 1989 , pages 22 and 23 .
Re-published here in 14 parts .
(6 of 14).
7th March : Leslie Dallas (39) , Ernest Rankin (72) and Austin Nelson (62) were killed when an IRA Unit attacked a garage in Coagh , County Tyrone , which they claimed was being used by the loyalist UVF to prepare sectarian attacks on Catholics in the area and specifically on Republican supporters .
8th March : British soldiers Private Miles Daniel Amos (18) and Private Stephen Jeffery Cummins (24) died after a massive landmine blew their landrover off the Buncrana Road in Derry near the Donegal border checkpoint . The second of two vehicles in the British Army patrol was completely destroyed and six other British soldiers were injured , two seriously .
10th March : Mr. James McCartney (39) was shot dead outside the Orient Bar on the Springfield Road in West Belfast where he worked as a security man . Another man was seriously injured when the loyalist attackers shot into the crowded bar in one of a number of attacks on nationalists over a twenty-four hour period in Belfast .
(MORE LATER).
Tuesday, March 01, 2005
'THE PRESS' Newspaper , October 1797 - March 1798 .
Too Radical for the Radicals .......
....... in July 1798 , seventy-six Irish political prisoners - including Dr. William James MacNeven , Arthur O'Connor and Thomas Addis Emmet - entered into an 'agreement' with their British jailers that , in return for certain information , the Brits would stop the on-going slaughter of the now-leaderless United Irishmen organisation and release the 76 prisoners , allowing them to be exiled to a country of their own choice . The 'trade-off' began .......
However : once the Brits had got the information they wanted , they changed their mind ! They assembled the 76 Irish political prisoners but , instead of allowing them to go and to be exiled to a country of their own choice , as per the 'Treaty of Newgate' agreement , they shipped them off to a Scottish prison , Fort George ! That was in 1798 ; four years later (ie 1802) Dr. William James MacNeven and the other 'Treaty of Newgate' prisoners were finally released - they went to France .
The majority of them , led by MacNeven , enlisted in the 'Irish Brigade' of the French Army in the hope that the French military leadership could be persuaded to launch an invasion of Ireland to help remove the British presence . After three years 'pushing' the Irish agenda within the French Army , MacNeven realised that it was'nt going to happen ; he resigned his Commission in 1805 (he was by then a Captain) and left France for New York .
He practised his medical skills in that city on the poor Irish wretches that landed there , having been forced to leave their own country . On 12th July 1841 , at 78 years of age , Dr. William James MacNeven died in New York . He is buried on Riker Farm , in Queens .
However (tangents , tangents !) - back to the Irish Rebel newspaper that Arthur O'Connor and 'Lord' Edward Fitzgerald founded ; 'The Press' .......
(MORE LATER).
LIGHTS , CAMERA , REAGAN .......!
By John Dean.
First published in 'MAGILL' magazine , October 1980 , pages 30, 31, 35, and 37.
Re-published here in 20 parts .
(9 of 20).
In 1942 , Ronald Reagan joined the United States Army , though despite his 'hawkishness' in later years he never himself went into battle - becoming a Captain with a film unit in Hollywood . Up until his army years , Reagan was a card-carrying liberal : " I was a near helpless hemophiliac liberal . I bled for causes . I had voted Democratic , following my father , in every election . "
Reagan's father was a first-generation Irish Catholic ; his mother a Scots-English Protestant . He ascribes his love of politics , as well as his early liberalism , to his background - " As a first-line Irishman , I relish it . There seems to be something blarney-green in the blood of most sons of the old sod that gives zest to the shillelagh psyche . " ('1169...' Comment - apologises to our readers for that .... !)
Unlike most candidates today , Ronald Reagan does not wear his religion or ancestry on his sleeve and that bit of 'green hokum' is the only nod he gives to his Irish background .......
(MORE LATER).
DEATH LIST 1989 .......
Two RUC Officers and two British soldiers , one based in West Germany , were killed by the IRA since mid-May , while a Catholic barman was shot by the UFF bringing the total death toll to 39 this year .
No by-line.
From 'MAGILL' magazine , July 1989 , pages 22 and 23 .
Re-published here in 14 parts .
(5 of 14).
26th February : Joseph Fenton (35) from Sawel Hill , Andersonstown , was shot dead by the IRA in Bunbeg Park , Lenadoon . A claim by the IRA that Mr. Fenton was working as an agent for the British Army and RUC was immediately denied . However , later in the week the dead man's father , Patrick Fenton , said that he accepted the IRA's claim having been given evidence that his son had worked as a paid informer since 1982 . His information had lead to the capture of several IRA Volunteers and the seizure of arms and explosives by the RUC . Mr. Fenton left behind four children .
28th February : Retired RUC Inspector Gabriel Mullaly , of Kirkliston Park , Belfast , was killed when a bomb exploded under his car at the junction of North Road and Upper Newtownards Road . The IRA claimed responsibility for the killing .
(MORE LATER).
(Sorry for the delay in posting today , Tue 1st March : the 'Blogger' 'PUBLISH' button was down until recently - Sharon .)
Too Radical for the Radicals .......
....... in July 1798 , seventy-six Irish political prisoners - including Dr. William James MacNeven , Arthur O'Connor and Thomas Addis Emmet - entered into an 'agreement' with their British jailers that , in return for certain information , the Brits would stop the on-going slaughter of the now-leaderless United Irishmen organisation and release the 76 prisoners , allowing them to be exiled to a country of their own choice . The 'trade-off' began .......
However : once the Brits had got the information they wanted , they changed their mind ! They assembled the 76 Irish political prisoners but , instead of allowing them to go and to be exiled to a country of their own choice , as per the 'Treaty of Newgate' agreement , they shipped them off to a Scottish prison , Fort George ! That was in 1798 ; four years later (ie 1802) Dr. William James MacNeven and the other 'Treaty of Newgate' prisoners were finally released - they went to France .
The majority of them , led by MacNeven , enlisted in the 'Irish Brigade' of the French Army in the hope that the French military leadership could be persuaded to launch an invasion of Ireland to help remove the British presence . After three years 'pushing' the Irish agenda within the French Army , MacNeven realised that it was'nt going to happen ; he resigned his Commission in 1805 (he was by then a Captain) and left France for New York .
He practised his medical skills in that city on the poor Irish wretches that landed there , having been forced to leave their own country . On 12th July 1841 , at 78 years of age , Dr. William James MacNeven died in New York . He is buried on Riker Farm , in Queens .
However (tangents , tangents !) - back to the Irish Rebel newspaper that Arthur O'Connor and 'Lord' Edward Fitzgerald founded ; 'The Press' .......
(MORE LATER).
LIGHTS , CAMERA , REAGAN .......!
By John Dean.
First published in 'MAGILL' magazine , October 1980 , pages 30, 31, 35, and 37.
Re-published here in 20 parts .
(9 of 20).
In 1942 , Ronald Reagan joined the United States Army , though despite his 'hawkishness' in later years he never himself went into battle - becoming a Captain with a film unit in Hollywood . Up until his army years , Reagan was a card-carrying liberal : " I was a near helpless hemophiliac liberal . I bled for causes . I had voted Democratic , following my father , in every election . "
Reagan's father was a first-generation Irish Catholic ; his mother a Scots-English Protestant . He ascribes his love of politics , as well as his early liberalism , to his background - " As a first-line Irishman , I relish it . There seems to be something blarney-green in the blood of most sons of the old sod that gives zest to the shillelagh psyche . " ('1169...' Comment - apologises to our readers for that .... !)
Unlike most candidates today , Ronald Reagan does not wear his religion or ancestry on his sleeve and that bit of 'green hokum' is the only nod he gives to his Irish background .......
(MORE LATER).
DEATH LIST 1989 .......
Two RUC Officers and two British soldiers , one based in West Germany , were killed by the IRA since mid-May , while a Catholic barman was shot by the UFF bringing the total death toll to 39 this year .
No by-line.
From 'MAGILL' magazine , July 1989 , pages 22 and 23 .
Re-published here in 14 parts .
(5 of 14).
26th February : Joseph Fenton (35) from Sawel Hill , Andersonstown , was shot dead by the IRA in Bunbeg Park , Lenadoon . A claim by the IRA that Mr. Fenton was working as an agent for the British Army and RUC was immediately denied . However , later in the week the dead man's father , Patrick Fenton , said that he accepted the IRA's claim having been given evidence that his son had worked as a paid informer since 1982 . His information had lead to the capture of several IRA Volunteers and the seizure of arms and explosives by the RUC . Mr. Fenton left behind four children .
28th February : Retired RUC Inspector Gabriel Mullaly , of Kirkliston Park , Belfast , was killed when a bomb exploded under his car at the junction of North Road and Upper Newtownards Road . The IRA claimed responsibility for the killing .
(MORE LATER).
(Sorry for the delay in posting today , Tue 1st March : the 'Blogger' 'PUBLISH' button was down until recently - Sharon .)
Monday, February 28, 2005
'THE PRESS' Newspaper , October 1797 - March 1798 .
Too Radical for the Radicals .......
....... in March 1798 , Dr. William James MacNeven was one of the 15 leaders of the United Irishmen organisation that were 'arrested' by the British at the home of Oliver Bond , in Dublin . The now leaderless Irish Rebel Army was easy pickings for the Brits - they began slaughtering the Irish fighters , showing no mercy .......
The men in prison had to do something to stop the butchery of their followers outside ; in July that year (1798) , Dr. William James MacNeven , Arthur O'Connor , Thomas Addis Emmet and 73 other Irish political prisoners agreed a compromise with the British - this became known as the 'Treaty of Newgate' and , under it , the Irish Rebels agreed to outline the aims and the objectives of the United Irishmen organisation and to give certain details of its contacts with other countries ; both sides agreed that individuals involved , at home or abroad , would not be named .
In return , the Brits would stop the slaughter of the Irish Rebels ; those prisoners that gave such information to the British would be allowed to exile themselves to a country of their choice . Dr. William James MacNeven was later to say , re the 'Treaty of Newgate' -
- " It was the best service they could perform to save the country from the cold-blooded slaughter of its best , its bravest , its most enlightened defenders . "
And so the 'trade-off' began ; however - once the Brits got as much information as they could from the 76 Irish political prisoners , they assembled those men in one area .......
(MORE LATER).
LIGHTS , CAMERA , REAGAN .......!
By John Dean.
First published in 'MAGILL' magazine , October 1980 , pages 30, 31, 35, and 37.
Re-published here in 20 parts .
(8 of 20).
The response to Ronald Reagan's first political speech - in the late 1920's , in support of a student strike - left an impression on the young Reagan ; " I discovered that night that an audience has a feel to it and , in the parlance of the theatre , the audience and I were together . When I came to actually presenting the motion , there was no need for parliamentary procedure : they came to their feet with a roar . Even the faculty members present voted by acclamation . It was heady wine . "
Graduating in 1932 , Ronald Reagan got a job as a sportscaster with an Iowa radio station ; while covering a baseball game on the west coast he got a screen test at Warner Brothers and was given a contract at 200 dollars a week . Between 1937 and 1951 he made fifty-one movies , most of them forgettable .
" The studio " , he says , " did'nt want the pictures good , it wanted them Thursday ....... "
(MORE LATER).
DEATH LIST 1989 .......
Two RUC Officers and two British soldiers , one based in West Germany , were killed by the IRA since mid-May , while a Catholic barman was shot by the UFF bringing the total death toll to 39 this year .
No by-line.
From 'MAGILL' magazine , July 1989 , pages 22 and 23 .
Re-published here in 14 parts .
(4 of 14).
18th February : Stephen McCrea (36) of Ebor Street , off the Shankill Road , died two days after being seriously injured in an attack by the IPLO on the Orange Cross Social Club on the Shankill Road . The IPLO claimed that several recent loyalist assassinations of nationalists had been planned in the club and that loyalist killers were present at the time of their attack . An off-duty UDR man was also seriously injured in the attack . Stephen McCrea had served a lengthy prison sentence for his part in the murder of Catholics some years ago .
20th February : Patrick Feeney (32) of Tullylish , Gilford , County Down , was the second member of his family to be killed by random loyalist attack . In 1975 his uncle John was shot by the UVF in Portadown . Patrick Feeney was manning a security gate at the Ewart Liddell Linen Mill in Donaghcloney five miles from his home where he had worked for ten years when he was shot dead just before 9.00pm .
22nd February : Lance Corporal Norman Duncan (27) was shot dead by an IRA Unit as he drove from Ebrington Barracks in Derry to the nearby Ebrington Primary School to collect the children of British soldiers in a school bus . He was a native of Craigellanchie in Scotland .
(MORE LATER).
Too Radical for the Radicals .......
....... in March 1798 , Dr. William James MacNeven was one of the 15 leaders of the United Irishmen organisation that were 'arrested' by the British at the home of Oliver Bond , in Dublin . The now leaderless Irish Rebel Army was easy pickings for the Brits - they began slaughtering the Irish fighters , showing no mercy .......
The men in prison had to do something to stop the butchery of their followers outside ; in July that year (1798) , Dr. William James MacNeven , Arthur O'Connor , Thomas Addis Emmet and 73 other Irish political prisoners agreed a compromise with the British - this became known as the 'Treaty of Newgate' and , under it , the Irish Rebels agreed to outline the aims and the objectives of the United Irishmen organisation and to give certain details of its contacts with other countries ; both sides agreed that individuals involved , at home or abroad , would not be named .
In return , the Brits would stop the slaughter of the Irish Rebels ; those prisoners that gave such information to the British would be allowed to exile themselves to a country of their choice . Dr. William James MacNeven was later to say , re the 'Treaty of Newgate' -
- " It was the best service they could perform to save the country from the cold-blooded slaughter of its best , its bravest , its most enlightened defenders . "
And so the 'trade-off' began ; however - once the Brits got as much information as they could from the 76 Irish political prisoners , they assembled those men in one area .......
(MORE LATER).
LIGHTS , CAMERA , REAGAN .......!
By John Dean.
First published in 'MAGILL' magazine , October 1980 , pages 30, 31, 35, and 37.
Re-published here in 20 parts .
(8 of 20).
The response to Ronald Reagan's first political speech - in the late 1920's , in support of a student strike - left an impression on the young Reagan ; " I discovered that night that an audience has a feel to it and , in the parlance of the theatre , the audience and I were together . When I came to actually presenting the motion , there was no need for parliamentary procedure : they came to their feet with a roar . Even the faculty members present voted by acclamation . It was heady wine . "
Graduating in 1932 , Ronald Reagan got a job as a sportscaster with an Iowa radio station ; while covering a baseball game on the west coast he got a screen test at Warner Brothers and was given a contract at 200 dollars a week . Between 1937 and 1951 he made fifty-one movies , most of them forgettable .
" The studio " , he says , " did'nt want the pictures good , it wanted them Thursday ....... "
(MORE LATER).
DEATH LIST 1989 .......
Two RUC Officers and two British soldiers , one based in West Germany , were killed by the IRA since mid-May , while a Catholic barman was shot by the UFF bringing the total death toll to 39 this year .
No by-line.
From 'MAGILL' magazine , July 1989 , pages 22 and 23 .
Re-published here in 14 parts .
(4 of 14).
18th February : Stephen McCrea (36) of Ebor Street , off the Shankill Road , died two days after being seriously injured in an attack by the IPLO on the Orange Cross Social Club on the Shankill Road . The IPLO claimed that several recent loyalist assassinations of nationalists had been planned in the club and that loyalist killers were present at the time of their attack . An off-duty UDR man was also seriously injured in the attack . Stephen McCrea had served a lengthy prison sentence for his part in the murder of Catholics some years ago .
20th February : Patrick Feeney (32) of Tullylish , Gilford , County Down , was the second member of his family to be killed by random loyalist attack . In 1975 his uncle John was shot by the UVF in Portadown . Patrick Feeney was manning a security gate at the Ewart Liddell Linen Mill in Donaghcloney five miles from his home where he had worked for ten years when he was shot dead just before 9.00pm .
22nd February : Lance Corporal Norman Duncan (27) was shot dead by an IRA Unit as he drove from Ebrington Barracks in Derry to the nearby Ebrington Primary School to collect the children of British soldiers in a school bus . He was a native of Craigellanchie in Scotland .
(MORE LATER).
Friday, February 25, 2005
'THE PRESS' Newspaper , October 1797 - March 1798 .
Too Radical for the Radicals .......
... at 34 years young (in 1797) , Dr. William James MacNeven , a leader of the United Irishmen organisation , travelled to France to seek help for an armed Rising in Ireland . Eight months previously , the French had attempted to offer assistance to the Irish .......
In December 1796 , a French expedition to assist the Irish Rebels had failed ; that was under the command of French General Hoche . The Irish , one and all , were now paying the price for daring to involve the French in British 'internal' affairs . Now the British had a fleet of fighting ships anchored off the French Coast - William MacNeven's plea for assistance was described by the French as being "impractical" , and he returned to Ireland empty-handed .
Dr. William James MacNeven was one of the 15 members of the Leinster Provincial Directory of the United Irishmen that were 'arrested' by the British in March 1798 at the home of Oliver Bond in Dublin ; the informer Thomas Reynolds had led the Brits to them , and MacNeven was imprisoned in Kilmaimham Jail in Dublin .
With most of the United Irishmen leadership in prison , the Brits went on the rampage throughout the country , slaughtering the rank-and-file of the (now leaderless) Irish Rebel Army . The men in prison had to do something .......
(MORE LATER).
LIGHTS , CAMERA , REAGAN .......!
By John Dean.
First published in 'MAGILL' magazine , October 1980 , pages 30, 31, 35, and 37.
Re-published here in 20 parts .
(7 of 20).
Ronald Reagan's political 'package' is an attractive one ; the simple slogans , the irrevalent data , jokes , camera appeal and social grace - neatly wrapped and presented with the skill and timing of a professional actor . It has , in an age of confusion , brought the American Presidency within Reagan's grasp . It's a development that many find difficult to take seriously - the rumour goes that when Jack Warner , the head of Warner Brothers , first heard that Ronald Reagan was going to run for President he responded - " No , no , the casting is all wrong . Jimmy Stewart for President , Ronnie Reagan for best friend . "
Reagan's first political speech was as 'Class President' at Eureka College , a small Christian college in rural Illinois ; he entered the college in 1928 after a relatively poor childhood , with his family moving from one small Midwest town to another .
Ironically , that speech was in support of a student strike , a phenomena that Reagan would encounter again and again as Governor of California in the turbulent 1960's .......
(MORE LATER).
DEATH LIST 1989 .......
Two RUC Officers and two British soldiers , one based in West Germany , were killed by the IRA since mid-May , while a Catholic barman was shot by the UFF bringing the total death toll to 39 this year .
No by-line.
From 'MAGILL' magazine , July 1989 , pages 22 and 23 .
Re-published here in 14 parts .
(3 of 14).
9th February : Tony Fusco (33) of Milford Row , Divis Flats was shot by the UVF as he walked to work in the Smithfield Market in Belfast city centre . His family denied a UVF claim that Mr. Fusco was a member of the IRA and said he was shot solely because he was a Catholic .
12th February : A solicitor Patrick Finucane was killed by a UFF squad in front of his wife and children at his home in Fortwilliam Drive in North Belfast . A UFF claim that he was a member of the IRA was denied by his family and by the Republican Movement . Mr. Finucane was solicitor for Bobby Sands during the 1981 hunger strike and was prominent in representing families of the victims of the shoot-to-kill policy later investigated by John Stalker .
14th February : John Davey , a Sinn Fein Councillor in his late fifties , from Magherafelt , County Derry , was shot dead as he returned to his home after a meeting of Magherafelt District Council . Exactly a year earlier he had survived a similar assassination attempt . Mr. Davey's car was found stationary with its headlights switched off and handbrake on - giving rise to speculation that he thought he had been stopped at a checkpoint at the end of a wooded laneway to his home .
(MORE LATER).
Too Radical for the Radicals .......
... at 34 years young (in 1797) , Dr. William James MacNeven , a leader of the United Irishmen organisation , travelled to France to seek help for an armed Rising in Ireland . Eight months previously , the French had attempted to offer assistance to the Irish .......
In December 1796 , a French expedition to assist the Irish Rebels had failed ; that was under the command of French General Hoche . The Irish , one and all , were now paying the price for daring to involve the French in British 'internal' affairs . Now the British had a fleet of fighting ships anchored off the French Coast - William MacNeven's plea for assistance was described by the French as being "impractical" , and he returned to Ireland empty-handed .
Dr. William James MacNeven was one of the 15 members of the Leinster Provincial Directory of the United Irishmen that were 'arrested' by the British in March 1798 at the home of Oliver Bond in Dublin ; the informer Thomas Reynolds had led the Brits to them , and MacNeven was imprisoned in Kilmaimham Jail in Dublin .
With most of the United Irishmen leadership in prison , the Brits went on the rampage throughout the country , slaughtering the rank-and-file of the (now leaderless) Irish Rebel Army . The men in prison had to do something .......
(MORE LATER).
LIGHTS , CAMERA , REAGAN .......!
By John Dean.
First published in 'MAGILL' magazine , October 1980 , pages 30, 31, 35, and 37.
Re-published here in 20 parts .
(7 of 20).
Ronald Reagan's political 'package' is an attractive one ; the simple slogans , the irrevalent data , jokes , camera appeal and social grace - neatly wrapped and presented with the skill and timing of a professional actor . It has , in an age of confusion , brought the American Presidency within Reagan's grasp . It's a development that many find difficult to take seriously - the rumour goes that when Jack Warner , the head of Warner Brothers , first heard that Ronald Reagan was going to run for President he responded - " No , no , the casting is all wrong . Jimmy Stewart for President , Ronnie Reagan for best friend . "
Reagan's first political speech was as 'Class President' at Eureka College , a small Christian college in rural Illinois ; he entered the college in 1928 after a relatively poor childhood , with his family moving from one small Midwest town to another .
Ironically , that speech was in support of a student strike , a phenomena that Reagan would encounter again and again as Governor of California in the turbulent 1960's .......
(MORE LATER).
DEATH LIST 1989 .......
Two RUC Officers and two British soldiers , one based in West Germany , were killed by the IRA since mid-May , while a Catholic barman was shot by the UFF bringing the total death toll to 39 this year .
No by-line.
From 'MAGILL' magazine , July 1989 , pages 22 and 23 .
Re-published here in 14 parts .
(3 of 14).
9th February : Tony Fusco (33) of Milford Row , Divis Flats was shot by the UVF as he walked to work in the Smithfield Market in Belfast city centre . His family denied a UVF claim that Mr. Fusco was a member of the IRA and said he was shot solely because he was a Catholic .
12th February : A solicitor Patrick Finucane was killed by a UFF squad in front of his wife and children at his home in Fortwilliam Drive in North Belfast . A UFF claim that he was a member of the IRA was denied by his family and by the Republican Movement . Mr. Finucane was solicitor for Bobby Sands during the 1981 hunger strike and was prominent in representing families of the victims of the shoot-to-kill policy later investigated by John Stalker .
14th February : John Davey , a Sinn Fein Councillor in his late fifties , from Magherafelt , County Derry , was shot dead as he returned to his home after a meeting of Magherafelt District Council . Exactly a year earlier he had survived a similar assassination attempt . Mr. Davey's car was found stationary with its headlights switched off and handbrake on - giving rise to speculation that he thought he had been stopped at a checkpoint at the end of a wooded laneway to his home .
(MORE LATER).
Thursday, February 24, 2005
'THE PRESS' Newspaper , October 1797 - March 1798 .
Too Radical for the Radicals .......
....... at 20 years young , in 1783 , William James MacNeven returned to Dublin to establish himself as a medical doctor ; he also joined the 'Catholic Committee' , which sought legal changes to the way Catholics were being victimised because of their religion .......
However - a campaign , well-meaning as it was , to obtain better employment opportunities in 'high' Office for ('upper-class') Catholics was not the number-one priority when you and yours had empty bellies ; the immediate cause of that type of poverty was British mis-rule and the treatment dished-out to the Irish 'peasantry' by Westminster's military and its political leadership .
Dr. William James MacNeven must have come to that same conclusion because , at the invitation of 'Lord' Edward Fitzgerald , he joined the militant 'Society of United Irishmen' and soon became one of the leaders of that organisation . However , the two men were later to 'fall-out' over how , and when , to tackle the Brits in an armed uprising . When he was 34 years young (ie in 1797) Dr. William MacNeven would have witnessed the British Yeomen and Militia , under direction from their General Lake , persecuting the starving Irish ; it was agreed that MacNeven should travel to Paris in July that year (1797) to again seek French help for a Rising in Ireland .
He would have been aware of French efforts to assist the Irish eight months previously (ie in December 1796) .......
(MORE LATER).
LIGHTS , CAMERA , REAGAN .......!
By John Dean.
First published in 'MAGILL' magazine , October 1980 , pages 30, 31, 35, and 37.
Re-published here in 20 parts .
(6 of 20).
Ronald Reagan almost always talks in generalities , making it extremely difficult to pin him down on specifics ; Elizabeth Drew , of 'The New Yorker' says - " Talking to Reagan can be something like grappling with a wet cake of soap . He is pleasant enough , responsive , even garroulous , but often he follows much the same script that he does on stage , and many of his answers slide away . "
Ronald Reagan is not dumb : he knows full well that elections are won on image , and by generalists . Saying the same things over and over is safe , lessening the chance of being tripped up and looking bad . He is also one of the best public speakers in American politics today , knowing how to stir a crowd and keep them in their seats listening - it's the use of humour with a good delivery .
He is sincere , and whether you agree or not with what he's saying , he says it well and obviously believes what he is saying .......
(MORE LATER).
DEATH LIST 1989 .......
Two RUC Officers and two British soldiers , one based in West Germany , were killed by the IRA since mid-May , while a Catholic barman was shot by the UFF bringing the total death toll to 39 this year .
No by-line.
From 'MAGILL' magazine , July 1989 , pages 22 and 23 .
Re-published here in 14 parts .
(2 of 14).
28 January : RUC Constable Stephen Montgomery (26) was killed and another RUC man seriously injured when a drogue bomb hit their vehicle close to midnight at Sion Mills in County Tyrone . The bomb was thrown from a roof top . The IRA claimed responsibility .
31 January : British Army Private Nicholas Peacock (20) from Grantham , Lincolnshire , was killed in a bomb blast at the side of the 'Rock Bar' at the junction of the Falls Road and Rockmore Road in West Belfast . In the North for less than a month , Private Peacock was the first British soldier to die in Ireland in 1989 .
6 February : James Joseph Connolly (20) , an IRA Volunteer from Castlederg , County Tyrone , was killed when a bomb he was planting under the car of an RUC Officer exploded prematurely at Drumquin , County Tyrone . Josie Connolly was born in Glasgow in August 1968 and was a bricklayer by trade and a well-known amateur boxer .
(MORE LATER).
Too Radical for the Radicals .......
....... at 20 years young , in 1783 , William James MacNeven returned to Dublin to establish himself as a medical doctor ; he also joined the 'Catholic Committee' , which sought legal changes to the way Catholics were being victimised because of their religion .......
However - a campaign , well-meaning as it was , to obtain better employment opportunities in 'high' Office for ('upper-class') Catholics was not the number-one priority when you and yours had empty bellies ; the immediate cause of that type of poverty was British mis-rule and the treatment dished-out to the Irish 'peasantry' by Westminster's military and its political leadership .
Dr. William James MacNeven must have come to that same conclusion because , at the invitation of 'Lord' Edward Fitzgerald , he joined the militant 'Society of United Irishmen' and soon became one of the leaders of that organisation . However , the two men were later to 'fall-out' over how , and when , to tackle the Brits in an armed uprising . When he was 34 years young (ie in 1797) Dr. William MacNeven would have witnessed the British Yeomen and Militia , under direction from their General Lake , persecuting the starving Irish ; it was agreed that MacNeven should travel to Paris in July that year (1797) to again seek French help for a Rising in Ireland .
He would have been aware of French efforts to assist the Irish eight months previously (ie in December 1796) .......
(MORE LATER).
LIGHTS , CAMERA , REAGAN .......!
By John Dean.
First published in 'MAGILL' magazine , October 1980 , pages 30, 31, 35, and 37.
Re-published here in 20 parts .
(6 of 20).
Ronald Reagan almost always talks in generalities , making it extremely difficult to pin him down on specifics ; Elizabeth Drew , of 'The New Yorker' says - " Talking to Reagan can be something like grappling with a wet cake of soap . He is pleasant enough , responsive , even garroulous , but often he follows much the same script that he does on stage , and many of his answers slide away . "
Ronald Reagan is not dumb : he knows full well that elections are won on image , and by generalists . Saying the same things over and over is safe , lessening the chance of being tripped up and looking bad . He is also one of the best public speakers in American politics today , knowing how to stir a crowd and keep them in their seats listening - it's the use of humour with a good delivery .
He is sincere , and whether you agree or not with what he's saying , he says it well and obviously believes what he is saying .......
(MORE LATER).
DEATH LIST 1989 .......
Two RUC Officers and two British soldiers , one based in West Germany , were killed by the IRA since mid-May , while a Catholic barman was shot by the UFF bringing the total death toll to 39 this year .
No by-line.
From 'MAGILL' magazine , July 1989 , pages 22 and 23 .
Re-published here in 14 parts .
(2 of 14).
28 January : RUC Constable Stephen Montgomery (26) was killed and another RUC man seriously injured when a drogue bomb hit their vehicle close to midnight at Sion Mills in County Tyrone . The bomb was thrown from a roof top . The IRA claimed responsibility .
31 January : British Army Private Nicholas Peacock (20) from Grantham , Lincolnshire , was killed in a bomb blast at the side of the 'Rock Bar' at the junction of the Falls Road and Rockmore Road in West Belfast . In the North for less than a month , Private Peacock was the first British soldier to die in Ireland in 1989 .
6 February : James Joseph Connolly (20) , an IRA Volunteer from Castlederg , County Tyrone , was killed when a bomb he was planting under the car of an RUC Officer exploded prematurely at Drumquin , County Tyrone . Josie Connolly was born in Glasgow in August 1968 and was a bricklayer by trade and a well-known amateur boxer .
(MORE LATER).
Wednesday, February 23, 2005
'THE PRESS' Newspaper , October 1797 - March 1798 .
Too Radical for the Radicals .......
....... the other 'main man' in the leadership of the United Irishmen organisation who was wary of (if not actually opposed to) ' The Press' newspaper was Dr. William James MacNeven .......
MacNeven was a Galway man , born in March 1763 at Ballymahowma , near Aughrim . At the time of his birth , the 'Penal Laws' were in operation in Ireland - that British instrument practically 'outlawed' the Catholic Religion .
Augustinians , Dominicans and Roman Catholic Bishops and Archbishops etc were " banned on pain of transportation or death ... " and it was further 'deemed' that Catholic children need not be educated . When he was 12 years young (in 1775) William James MacNeven's parents sent him to Prague to live with his uncle and get some schooling ; at 20 years young (in 1783) , he graduated in medicine from a college in Vienna and returned to Dublin to establish a practice .
He was interested in working against injustice and soon joined the 'Catholic Committee' , which fought against the existing legal discrimination which victimised Catholics because of their religion . However , a campaign to obtain the 'right' for ('upper-class') Catholics to sit in Parliament and/or occupy other 'high' Offices was not the number-one priority when your belly was empty and you and your family were starving .......
(MORE LATER).
LIGHTS , CAMERA , REAGAN .......!
By John Dean.
First published in 'MAGILL' magazine , October 1980 , pages 30, 31, 35, and 37.
Re-published here in 20 parts .
(5 of 20).
Ronald Reagan had the same 'Speech' for different occasions ; it had two main points -
- One : there is too much government in our lives ,therefore we have inflation , high taxes , a bloated bureaucracy and any other domestic evil he can think of at the time ;
Two : the Russians are coming , therefore let's spend on defence , and lets re-assert ourselves in foreign affairs .
The key phrases - many times even the gestures and cadences - are repeated over and over again , even in informal , spontaneous situations . Another favourite Reagan tactic is throwing out grossly exaggerated 'examples' to make his point : discussing government waste , for instance , he will announce that the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration has 144 regulations on climbing ladders . In fact , it has two !
The problem here is what his staff members explain as Reagan's over-reliance on magazine and newspaper articles that support his and Nancy's ideas , or as one aide complains - " He's stubborn . He says 'I know I read this somewhere' , and if he thinks it's accurate and you can't find out otherwise , he'll use it ....... "
(MORE LATER).
DEATH LIST 1989 .
Two RUC Officers and two British soldiers , one based in West Germany , were killed by the IRA since mid-May , while a Catholic barman was shot by the UFF bringing the total death toll to 39 this year .
No by-line.
From 'MAGILL' magazine , July 1989 , pages 22 and 23 .
Re-published here in 14 parts .
(1 of 14).
15 January : Former RUC Reservist Harry Keys (23) from Ballycassidy , Co. Fermanagh , was killed outside his girlfriend's home in Ballintra , Co. Donegal . He had been warned of the danger of crossing the Border to visit his nineteen-year-old girlfriend by his former colleagues .
18 January : Ian Catney (27) a Catholic from Smithfield in West Belfast was shot dead in the Smithfield Market by the UVF , who alleged that he was a member of the INLA , a claim disputed by the IRSP.
25 January : David Dornan (26) a Protestant from Ballynahinch , Co. Down , was shot dead in Lisburn by loyalists apparently in a case of mistaken identity . His killers , according to the RUC , thought he was a Catholic . A 'Free Presbyterian' , he was shot at 8.30 am by two men as he sat in his mechanical digger at a site on Knockmore Road just outside Lisburn .
(MORE LATER).
Too Radical for the Radicals .......
....... the other 'main man' in the leadership of the United Irishmen organisation who was wary of (if not actually opposed to) ' The Press' newspaper was Dr. William James MacNeven .......
MacNeven was a Galway man , born in March 1763 at Ballymahowma , near Aughrim . At the time of his birth , the 'Penal Laws' were in operation in Ireland - that British instrument practically 'outlawed' the Catholic Religion .
Augustinians , Dominicans and Roman Catholic Bishops and Archbishops etc were " banned on pain of transportation or death ... " and it was further 'deemed' that Catholic children need not be educated . When he was 12 years young (in 1775) William James MacNeven's parents sent him to Prague to live with his uncle and get some schooling ; at 20 years young (in 1783) , he graduated in medicine from a college in Vienna and returned to Dublin to establish a practice .
He was interested in working against injustice and soon joined the 'Catholic Committee' , which fought against the existing legal discrimination which victimised Catholics because of their religion . However , a campaign to obtain the 'right' for ('upper-class') Catholics to sit in Parliament and/or occupy other 'high' Offices was not the number-one priority when your belly was empty and you and your family were starving .......
(MORE LATER).
LIGHTS , CAMERA , REAGAN .......!
By John Dean.
First published in 'MAGILL' magazine , October 1980 , pages 30, 31, 35, and 37.
Re-published here in 20 parts .
(5 of 20).
Ronald Reagan had the same 'Speech' for different occasions ; it had two main points -
- One : there is too much government in our lives ,therefore we have inflation , high taxes , a bloated bureaucracy and any other domestic evil he can think of at the time ;
Two : the Russians are coming , therefore let's spend on defence , and lets re-assert ourselves in foreign affairs .
The key phrases - many times even the gestures and cadences - are repeated over and over again , even in informal , spontaneous situations . Another favourite Reagan tactic is throwing out grossly exaggerated 'examples' to make his point : discussing government waste , for instance , he will announce that the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration has 144 regulations on climbing ladders . In fact , it has two !
The problem here is what his staff members explain as Reagan's over-reliance on magazine and newspaper articles that support his and Nancy's ideas , or as one aide complains - " He's stubborn . He says 'I know I read this somewhere' , and if he thinks it's accurate and you can't find out otherwise , he'll use it ....... "
(MORE LATER).
DEATH LIST 1989 .
Two RUC Officers and two British soldiers , one based in West Germany , were killed by the IRA since mid-May , while a Catholic barman was shot by the UFF bringing the total death toll to 39 this year .
No by-line.
From 'MAGILL' magazine , July 1989 , pages 22 and 23 .
Re-published here in 14 parts .
(1 of 14).
15 January : Former RUC Reservist Harry Keys (23) from Ballycassidy , Co. Fermanagh , was killed outside his girlfriend's home in Ballintra , Co. Donegal . He had been warned of the danger of crossing the Border to visit his nineteen-year-old girlfriend by his former colleagues .
18 January : Ian Catney (27) a Catholic from Smithfield in West Belfast was shot dead in the Smithfield Market by the UVF , who alleged that he was a member of the INLA , a claim disputed by the IRSP.
25 January : David Dornan (26) a Protestant from Ballynahinch , Co. Down , was shot dead in Lisburn by loyalists apparently in a case of mistaken identity . His killers , according to the RUC , thought he was a Catholic . A 'Free Presbyterian' , he was shot at 8.30 am by two men as he sat in his mechanical digger at a site on Knockmore Road just outside Lisburn .
(MORE LATER).
Tuesday, February 22, 2005
'THE PRESS' Newspaper , October 1797 - March 1798 .
Too Radical for the Radicals .......
....... when Oliver Bond's house was raided (on 12th March 1798) by the Brits , Thomas Addis Emmet was fortunate enough not to have been there . He knew he was a wanted man , and went 'on-the-run' .......
He was eventually captured by the Brits around May that year (1798) and imprisoned in Fort George Prison in Scotland until 1802 ; on his release , at 38 years young , he went to Brussels . When his younger brother , Robert , led the Rising in Ireland in 1803 (at 25 years young) , Thomas Addis Emmet was in Paris .
Following the failure of that armed insurrection , Thomas went to America and practiced law in New York . He had by this stage married an Irish girl , Jane Patten , the daughter of the Rev. John Patten from Clonmel in County Tipperary - that marriage took place in Ireland in 1791 , when he was 27 years young . Thomas Addis Emmet , born in 1764 in Cork , Ireland , died in New York City on 14th November 1827 , at the age of 63 .
The other 'main man' in the leadership of the United Irishmen organisation who was wary (if not opposed to) 'The Press' newspaper and its two main proprietors , Arthur O'Connor and 'Lord' Edward Fitzgerald , was Dr. William James MacNeven .......
(MORE LATER).
LIGHTS , CAMERA , REAGAN .......!
By John Dean.
First published in 'MAGILL' magazine , October 1980 , pages 30, 31, 35, and 37.
Re-published here in 20 parts .
(4 of 20).
Nancy Reagan is said to be the real power ; a case in point occurred during a recent press conference in Florida when Ronnie Reagan remarked that a marijuana cigarette was probably a bigger cancer hazard than a tobacco cigarette . A reporter catching Reagan offguard pointed out that it was'nt necessary to smoke as many marijuana cigarettes to get the desired effect ; as Reagan hesitated a beat , Nancy nudged him and whispered loud enough for one reporter to hear "... you would'nt know " .
" I would'nt know , " Reagan replied . Such momentary lapses are rare for Ronnie Reagan , who has pledged to take an annual senility test if he is elected .
Usually he knows what he's talking about , and for good reason - whenever he speaks he always falls back on what has come to be known as 'The Speech' : no matter how much the parts are re-arranged , updated or edited , the message - and the two main points - are the same and have been for the past 15 years .......
(MORE LATER).
BIG BROTHER HAS ARRIVED .......
An investigation into the extent of telephone surveillance in Ireland shows that with the aid of new technology , telephone tapping has reached alarmimg proportions and most of it is done illegally .
By Frank Doherty .
First published in 'MAGILL' magazine , December 1980 , page 19.
[6 of 6].
More recently , the UDA intercepted the telex line used by Pierre Salinger , U.S. President Kennedy's former Press Secretary , when he came to Belfast as a correspondent for ABC TV to interview IRA men . When Salinger telexed his office in Paris that he had made contact , the RUC , who intercepted the line as a matter of course , pounced .
But when they closed the net the only people in it were Salinger and a few local Sinn Fein people ; the Provos , it seemed , had either tapped Sallinger's line or the RUC lines .
The UDA , annoyed at the Provos' propaganda coup in getting the RUC to arrest Salinger without any loss to themselves , then showed copies of his primitively-coded messages to Paris to other pressmen , claiming he had come to Belfast to meet the IRA .
[END of ' BIG BROTHER HAS ARRIVED ....... '].
(Tomorrow - 'DEATH LIST 1989' - from 'MAGILL' magazine , July 1989).
Too Radical for the Radicals .......
....... when Oliver Bond's house was raided (on 12th March 1798) by the Brits , Thomas Addis Emmet was fortunate enough not to have been there . He knew he was a wanted man , and went 'on-the-run' .......
He was eventually captured by the Brits around May that year (1798) and imprisoned in Fort George Prison in Scotland until 1802 ; on his release , at 38 years young , he went to Brussels . When his younger brother , Robert , led the Rising in Ireland in 1803 (at 25 years young) , Thomas Addis Emmet was in Paris .
Following the failure of that armed insurrection , Thomas went to America and practiced law in New York . He had by this stage married an Irish girl , Jane Patten , the daughter of the Rev. John Patten from Clonmel in County Tipperary - that marriage took place in Ireland in 1791 , when he was 27 years young . Thomas Addis Emmet , born in 1764 in Cork , Ireland , died in New York City on 14th November 1827 , at the age of 63 .
The other 'main man' in the leadership of the United Irishmen organisation who was wary (if not opposed to) 'The Press' newspaper and its two main proprietors , Arthur O'Connor and 'Lord' Edward Fitzgerald , was Dr. William James MacNeven .......
(MORE LATER).
LIGHTS , CAMERA , REAGAN .......!
By John Dean.
First published in 'MAGILL' magazine , October 1980 , pages 30, 31, 35, and 37.
Re-published here in 20 parts .
(4 of 20).
Nancy Reagan is said to be the real power ; a case in point occurred during a recent press conference in Florida when Ronnie Reagan remarked that a marijuana cigarette was probably a bigger cancer hazard than a tobacco cigarette . A reporter catching Reagan offguard pointed out that it was'nt necessary to smoke as many marijuana cigarettes to get the desired effect ; as Reagan hesitated a beat , Nancy nudged him and whispered loud enough for one reporter to hear "... you would'nt know " .
" I would'nt know , " Reagan replied . Such momentary lapses are rare for Ronnie Reagan , who has pledged to take an annual senility test if he is elected .
Usually he knows what he's talking about , and for good reason - whenever he speaks he always falls back on what has come to be known as 'The Speech' : no matter how much the parts are re-arranged , updated or edited , the message - and the two main points - are the same and have been for the past 15 years .......
(MORE LATER).
BIG BROTHER HAS ARRIVED .......
An investigation into the extent of telephone surveillance in Ireland shows that with the aid of new technology , telephone tapping has reached alarmimg proportions and most of it is done illegally .
By Frank Doherty .
First published in 'MAGILL' magazine , December 1980 , page 19.
[6 of 6].
More recently , the UDA intercepted the telex line used by Pierre Salinger , U.S. President Kennedy's former Press Secretary , when he came to Belfast as a correspondent for ABC TV to interview IRA men . When Salinger telexed his office in Paris that he had made contact , the RUC , who intercepted the line as a matter of course , pounced .
But when they closed the net the only people in it were Salinger and a few local Sinn Fein people ; the Provos , it seemed , had either tapped Sallinger's line or the RUC lines .
The UDA , annoyed at the Provos' propaganda coup in getting the RUC to arrest Salinger without any loss to themselves , then showed copies of his primitively-coded messages to Paris to other pressmen , claiming he had come to Belfast to meet the IRA .
[END of ' BIG BROTHER HAS ARRIVED ....... '].
(Tomorrow - 'DEATH LIST 1989' - from 'MAGILL' magazine , July 1989).
Monday, February 21, 2005
'THE PRESS' Newspaper , October 1797 - March 1798 .
Too Radical for the Radicals .......
....... one of those opposed to taking immediate action against British mis-rule in Ireland was Thomas Addis Emmet , who believed that no such move should take place until such time as the French were willing to assist .......
Thomas Addis Emmet was born in Cork on 24th April 1764 ; when he was fourteen years young , his mother gave birth to another boy , Robert , who became more closely associated with the Emmet name than Thomas Addis .
He was educated at Trinity College in Dublin and Edinburgh University in Scotland , following which he went abroad to study medicine and returned to Ireland in 1788 , to help his family cope with the death of his older brother , Christopher Temple Emmet (who was only 27 years young [and a practicing barrister] when he died in 1788) . Thomas Addis Emmet dropped medicine as a career that year , and studied law .
He was called to the Bar in 1790 , and specialised in dealing with prisoners charged with political offences . This work brought him into contact with the United Irishmen organisation , which he joined in 1795 at 31 years young - within two years (ie by 1797) he was on that organisations Executive Committee .
As with 'Lord' Edward Fitzgerald , Thomas Addis Emmet escaped capture by the British when Oliver Bond's house was raided on 12th March 1798 and , as with Fitzgerald , was forced to go 'on-the-run' .......
(MORE LATER).
LIGHTS , CAMERA , REAGAN .......!
By John Dean.
First published in 'MAGILL' magazine , October 1980 , pages 30, 31, 35, and 37.
Re-published here in 20 parts .
(3 of 20).
Nancy Reagan is more than just a smiling lady in the pictures ; rather she is a true power and influence on her husband and his thinking . " Hell , Nancy's the one who brought him over to the right and made a conservative out of him ," a close friend of theirs told me . " She's strong and subtly pushes him , letting him think something was his own idea . But Ronnie would still be selling soap if it were'nt for Nancy , and I'll tell you this also : if he's elected President , she'll end up running the country . "
A bit of an overstatement , perhaps , but probably not much ; by all accounts Nancy Reagan is as sweet and charming as she appears . She is also intensely devoted to her husband and all that he stands for . So much so , in fact , that she has no qualms admitting - " Ronnie is my life ; my life began when we met ... " . Yet the line between fierce loyalty and overt control , whatever the degree , may be a fine one with the Reagans , be the issue large or small .......
(MORE LATER).
BIG BROTHER HAS ARRIVED .......
An investigation into the extent of telephone surveillance in Ireland shows that with the aid of new technology , telephone tapping has reached alarmimg proportions and most of it is done illegally .
By Frank Doherty .
First published in 'MAGILL' magazine , December 1980 , page 19.
(5 of 6).
'Official IRA' 'taps' even confirmed suspicions about an SAS presence in the North by providing a movement list ordering individual British soldiers and Officers on leave or to training camps for various courses . Almost all the messages were in plain language - a sign that even the British Army underestimated the ability of Irish tappers .
Walter Ellis , the 'Cork Examiner's ' sole employee in the North , was an east Belfast Protestant who had no connection with any Irish Republican group ; he left Belfast to report for 'The Irish Times' newspaper in Europe without ever discovering the story behind his office telex .......
(MORE LATER).
Too Radical for the Radicals .......
....... one of those opposed to taking immediate action against British mis-rule in Ireland was Thomas Addis Emmet , who believed that no such move should take place until such time as the French were willing to assist .......
Thomas Addis Emmet was born in Cork on 24th April 1764 ; when he was fourteen years young , his mother gave birth to another boy , Robert , who became more closely associated with the Emmet name than Thomas Addis .
He was educated at Trinity College in Dublin and Edinburgh University in Scotland , following which he went abroad to study medicine and returned to Ireland in 1788 , to help his family cope with the death of his older brother , Christopher Temple Emmet (who was only 27 years young [and a practicing barrister] when he died in 1788) . Thomas Addis Emmet dropped medicine as a career that year , and studied law .
He was called to the Bar in 1790 , and specialised in dealing with prisoners charged with political offences . This work brought him into contact with the United Irishmen organisation , which he joined in 1795 at 31 years young - within two years (ie by 1797) he was on that organisations Executive Committee .
As with 'Lord' Edward Fitzgerald , Thomas Addis Emmet escaped capture by the British when Oliver Bond's house was raided on 12th March 1798 and , as with Fitzgerald , was forced to go 'on-the-run' .......
(MORE LATER).
LIGHTS , CAMERA , REAGAN .......!
By John Dean.
First published in 'MAGILL' magazine , October 1980 , pages 30, 31, 35, and 37.
Re-published here in 20 parts .
(3 of 20).
Nancy Reagan is more than just a smiling lady in the pictures ; rather she is a true power and influence on her husband and his thinking . " Hell , Nancy's the one who brought him over to the right and made a conservative out of him ," a close friend of theirs told me . " She's strong and subtly pushes him , letting him think something was his own idea . But Ronnie would still be selling soap if it were'nt for Nancy , and I'll tell you this also : if he's elected President , she'll end up running the country . "
A bit of an overstatement , perhaps , but probably not much ; by all accounts Nancy Reagan is as sweet and charming as she appears . She is also intensely devoted to her husband and all that he stands for . So much so , in fact , that she has no qualms admitting - " Ronnie is my life ; my life began when we met ... " . Yet the line between fierce loyalty and overt control , whatever the degree , may be a fine one with the Reagans , be the issue large or small .......
(MORE LATER).
BIG BROTHER HAS ARRIVED .......
An investigation into the extent of telephone surveillance in Ireland shows that with the aid of new technology , telephone tapping has reached alarmimg proportions and most of it is done illegally .
By Frank Doherty .
First published in 'MAGILL' magazine , December 1980 , page 19.
(5 of 6).
'Official IRA' 'taps' even confirmed suspicions about an SAS presence in the North by providing a movement list ordering individual British soldiers and Officers on leave or to training camps for various courses . Almost all the messages were in plain language - a sign that even the British Army underestimated the ability of Irish tappers .
Walter Ellis , the 'Cork Examiner's ' sole employee in the North , was an east Belfast Protestant who had no connection with any Irish Republican group ; he left Belfast to report for 'The Irish Times' newspaper in Europe without ever discovering the story behind his office telex .......
(MORE LATER).
Friday, February 18, 2005
'THE PRESS' Newspaper , October 1797 - March 1798 .
Too Radical for the Radicals .......
....... 'The Press' newspaper was judged by the Brits to be a militant publication , as it should have been ; however , some within its own 'camp' were wary of it , too , for much the same reason .......
A typical Editorial in 'The Press' newspaper ran (from Tuesday , 3rd October 1797) -
- " In a country really independent , the laws and policy originate within its own bosom and are calculated to extend the advantages of the state... (but) ... the government of this country has almost uniformly proposed to itself , as the ultimate end of its policy , the maintenance of an English interest as erroneously contra-distinguished from the interests of Ireland ..... "
Supporters of 'The Press' newspaper and the people behind that publication believed that they should strike a blow for freedom regardless of whether any assistance was promised from elsewhere or not - others within the United Irishmen leadership were opposed to such a move , notably Thomas Addis Emmet and a Dr. William James MacNeven , believing that they should wait for assistance from the French .
Thomas Addis Emmet was born in Cork on 24th April 1764 ; when he was 14 years young , his mother gave birth to another boy , Robert , who became more closely associated with the 'Emmet' name than Thomas Addis .......
(MORE LATER).
LIGHTS , CAMERA , REAGAN .......!
By John Dean.
First published in 'MAGILL' magazine , October 1980 , pages 30, 31, 35, and 37.
Re-published here in 20 parts .
(2 of 20).
In January 1970 , I questioned California Governor Ronald Reagan about new drug laws ; when I finished , I waited for him to question me , as had the other governors : he had no questions . So I asked him a few more questions but backed off very quickly for I realised that he had no idea what I was really talking about . Governor Reagan made a few banal remarks about drugs and then changed the subject to the speech he would soon be delivering , " .. on television " . It was clear the speech was far more 'important' than anything I had to offer , so I quickly ended the meeting .
Within the inner circles of the Nixon Administration , Reagan was considered a 'lightweight' , so I was not surprised at our meeting ; nor was John Mitchell when I reported back - " Reagan's into images and only images , " said Mitchell . And over the years I was struck by how attractive that image was and is .
Off-camera , the Reagans look good but they also look their years . On-camera , they look like an ad agency's conception of the perfect older couple , which is to say not old at all , even though today he is 69 and she is 57 .......
(MORE LATER).
BIG BROTHER HAS ARRIVED .......
An investigation into the extent of telephone surveillance in Ireland shows that with the aid of new technology , telephone tapping has reached alarmimg proportions and most of it is done illegally .
By Frank Doherty .
First published in 'MAGILL' magazine , December 1980 , page 19.
(4 of 6).
One of the most audacious interceptions was organised by the Official IRA and controlled by the late Liam McMillan ; the operational telegraph network of the British Army in the North was tapped and its signals sent into the telex machine of the 'Cork Examiner' newspaper's Office , to which the Officials had a key .
At that time , in 1971 and 1972 , reporter Walter Ellis , the 'Examiner's ' sole employee in the North , arrived at the one-room office in Lombard Street only at predictable times - to telex his copy to Cork . At other times the teleprinter spewed out requests for 'Q cars' for undercover intelligence from the tactical Headquarters of various British battalions , request lists to British Army 'Northern Ireland' (sic) Command , Lisburn , for permission to raid specified houses for named individuals .
Also , at midday , an intelligence precis of the previous 24 hours , which was broadcast to all British units , would be printed-off by the telex machine .......
(MORE LATER).
Too Radical for the Radicals .......
....... 'The Press' newspaper was judged by the Brits to be a militant publication , as it should have been ; however , some within its own 'camp' were wary of it , too , for much the same reason .......
A typical Editorial in 'The Press' newspaper ran (from Tuesday , 3rd October 1797) -
- " In a country really independent , the laws and policy originate within its own bosom and are calculated to extend the advantages of the state... (but) ... the government of this country has almost uniformly proposed to itself , as the ultimate end of its policy , the maintenance of an English interest as erroneously contra-distinguished from the interests of Ireland ..... "
Supporters of 'The Press' newspaper and the people behind that publication believed that they should strike a blow for freedom regardless of whether any assistance was promised from elsewhere or not - others within the United Irishmen leadership were opposed to such a move , notably Thomas Addis Emmet and a Dr. William James MacNeven , believing that they should wait for assistance from the French .
Thomas Addis Emmet was born in Cork on 24th April 1764 ; when he was 14 years young , his mother gave birth to another boy , Robert , who became more closely associated with the 'Emmet' name than Thomas Addis .......
(MORE LATER).
LIGHTS , CAMERA , REAGAN .......!
By John Dean.
First published in 'MAGILL' magazine , October 1980 , pages 30, 31, 35, and 37.
Re-published here in 20 parts .
(2 of 20).
In January 1970 , I questioned California Governor Ronald Reagan about new drug laws ; when I finished , I waited for him to question me , as had the other governors : he had no questions . So I asked him a few more questions but backed off very quickly for I realised that he had no idea what I was really talking about . Governor Reagan made a few banal remarks about drugs and then changed the subject to the speech he would soon be delivering , " .. on television " . It was clear the speech was far more 'important' than anything I had to offer , so I quickly ended the meeting .
Within the inner circles of the Nixon Administration , Reagan was considered a 'lightweight' , so I was not surprised at our meeting ; nor was John Mitchell when I reported back - " Reagan's into images and only images , " said Mitchell . And over the years I was struck by how attractive that image was and is .
Off-camera , the Reagans look good but they also look their years . On-camera , they look like an ad agency's conception of the perfect older couple , which is to say not old at all , even though today he is 69 and she is 57 .......
(MORE LATER).
BIG BROTHER HAS ARRIVED .......
An investigation into the extent of telephone surveillance in Ireland shows that with the aid of new technology , telephone tapping has reached alarmimg proportions and most of it is done illegally .
By Frank Doherty .
First published in 'MAGILL' magazine , December 1980 , page 19.
(4 of 6).
One of the most audacious interceptions was organised by the Official IRA and controlled by the late Liam McMillan ; the operational telegraph network of the British Army in the North was tapped and its signals sent into the telex machine of the 'Cork Examiner' newspaper's Office , to which the Officials had a key .
At that time , in 1971 and 1972 , reporter Walter Ellis , the 'Examiner's ' sole employee in the North , arrived at the one-room office in Lombard Street only at predictable times - to telex his copy to Cork . At other times the teleprinter spewed out requests for 'Q cars' for undercover intelligence from the tactical Headquarters of various British battalions , request lists to British Army 'Northern Ireland' (sic) Command , Lisburn , for permission to raid specified houses for named individuals .
Also , at midday , an intelligence precis of the previous 24 hours , which was broadcast to all British units , would be printed-off by the telex machine .......
(MORE LATER).
Thursday, February 17, 2005
'THE PRESS' Newspaper , October 1797 - March 1798 .
Too Radical for the Radicals .......
....... there was hardly any activity by the 1798 Rebels in the county of Tipperary and , in order to keep it that way , the Brits covered that county with threatening posters .......
NOTICE
TO THE INHABITANTS OF THE TOWN AND NEIGHBOURHOOD OF TIPPERARY
IT IS ORDERED
That should a Shot at any Time be fired on the Military
from
any House or Cottage whether in the Town or County,
EVERY SOUL WITHOUT DISCRIMINATION found within
will be
PUT TO THE SWORD AND THE HOUSE DESTROYED
That should the Daringness of the disaffected lead
them
to Outrage or Cruelty on the Properties or Families of
the
peaceable and well-disposed the WHOLE
NEIGHBOURHOOD
WILL BE LAID WASTE
T.H. FOSTER
Colonel , Louth Regiment
British Colonel T.H. Foster was , by all accounts , the 'Sir' Richard Dawson Bates of his day ...
However - Arthur O' Connor and 'Lord' Edward Fitzgerald were the two 'main men' behind ' The Press ' newspaper ; it was based in Dublin , and published an issue twice a week , selling for 2d a copy .
Its Editorials annoyed not only the Brits , but some within the United Irishmen organisation as well .......
(MORE LATER).
LIGHTS , CAMERA , REAGAN !
By John Dean.
First published in 'MAGILL' magazine , October 1980 , pages 30, 31, 35, and 37.
Re-published here in 20 parts .
(1 of 20).
When I was ushered into Governor Ronnie Reagan's Office I was mildly shocked ; he was wearing lipstick , a heavy coat of pancake makeup on his face and rouge on his cheeks . He looked as if he could have been in drag moments before my arrival , but had slipped out of his dress and into a well tailored, navy blue suit for our meeting ...
" Oh , this makeup " , he began with a nervous laugh , " well , you see , I've got to deliver my 'State of the State' message to the legislature this morning ... " . I nodded my understanding and proceeded to give my pitch about drug laws , which had become a nice little speech since by this time I have given it to a dozen governors .
It was January 1970 , and I went to see Ronald Reagan , then Governor of California , at the request of then Attorney General John Mitchell , who wanted me to visit with the governors of all the large states to convince them to adopt new drug laws consistent with a Federal Law being proposed by the Richard Nixon Administration .......
(MORE LATER).
BIG BROTHER HAS ARRIVED .......
An investigation into the extent of telephone surveillance in Ireland shows that with the aid of new technology , telephone tapping has reached alarmimg proportions and most of it is done illegally .
By Frank Doherty .
First published in 'MAGILL' magazine , December 1980 , page 19.
(3 of 6).
The IRA eavesdropping network was found only because of the arrest of Brian Keenan , the Provos' Director of Operations in Belfast . The discovery was identical to one made in 1973 when Brendan Hughes (now on hunger strike in one of the H-Blocks) was arrested in a house in Myrtlefield Park , off Belfast's Malone Road .
Besides IRA contingency plans for a Doomsday situation - which Harold Wilson read in the British House of 'Commons' - searching British Army troops found a huge quantity of recording tapes containing conversations of senior Civil Servants and British Army Officers , including Lt. General 'Sir' Timothy Creasey's predecessor as British GOCNI , Lt. Gen. 'Sir' Harry Tuzo .
Also recovered from the garage of the house was a Frequency Changer - a 'scrambler' device which allowed the Provos to decode conversations on ' VIP lines ' they tapped .......
(MORE LATER).
Too Radical for the Radicals .......
....... there was hardly any activity by the 1798 Rebels in the county of Tipperary and , in order to keep it that way , the Brits covered that county with threatening posters .......
NOTICE
TO THE INHABITANTS OF THE TOWN AND NEIGHBOURHOOD OF TIPPERARY
IT IS ORDERED
That should a Shot at any Time be fired on the Military
from
any House or Cottage whether in the Town or County,
EVERY SOUL WITHOUT DISCRIMINATION found within
will be
PUT TO THE SWORD AND THE HOUSE DESTROYED
That should the Daringness of the disaffected lead
them
to Outrage or Cruelty on the Properties or Families of
the
peaceable and well-disposed the WHOLE
NEIGHBOURHOOD
WILL BE LAID WASTE
T.H. FOSTER
Colonel , Louth Regiment
British Colonel T.H. Foster was , by all accounts , the 'Sir' Richard Dawson Bates of his day ...
However - Arthur O' Connor and 'Lord' Edward Fitzgerald were the two 'main men' behind ' The Press ' newspaper ; it was based in Dublin , and published an issue twice a week , selling for 2d a copy .
Its Editorials annoyed not only the Brits , but some within the United Irishmen organisation as well .......
(MORE LATER).
LIGHTS , CAMERA , REAGAN !
By John Dean.
First published in 'MAGILL' magazine , October 1980 , pages 30, 31, 35, and 37.
Re-published here in 20 parts .
(1 of 20).
When I was ushered into Governor Ronnie Reagan's Office I was mildly shocked ; he was wearing lipstick , a heavy coat of pancake makeup on his face and rouge on his cheeks . He looked as if he could have been in drag moments before my arrival , but had slipped out of his dress and into a well tailored, navy blue suit for our meeting ...
" Oh , this makeup " , he began with a nervous laugh , " well , you see , I've got to deliver my 'State of the State' message to the legislature this morning ... " . I nodded my understanding and proceeded to give my pitch about drug laws , which had become a nice little speech since by this time I have given it to a dozen governors .
It was January 1970 , and I went to see Ronald Reagan , then Governor of California , at the request of then Attorney General John Mitchell , who wanted me to visit with the governors of all the large states to convince them to adopt new drug laws consistent with a Federal Law being proposed by the Richard Nixon Administration .......
(MORE LATER).
BIG BROTHER HAS ARRIVED .......
An investigation into the extent of telephone surveillance in Ireland shows that with the aid of new technology , telephone tapping has reached alarmimg proportions and most of it is done illegally .
By Frank Doherty .
First published in 'MAGILL' magazine , December 1980 , page 19.
(3 of 6).
The IRA eavesdropping network was found only because of the arrest of Brian Keenan , the Provos' Director of Operations in Belfast . The discovery was identical to one made in 1973 when Brendan Hughes (now on hunger strike in one of the H-Blocks) was arrested in a house in Myrtlefield Park , off Belfast's Malone Road .
Besides IRA contingency plans for a Doomsday situation - which Harold Wilson read in the British House of 'Commons' - searching British Army troops found a huge quantity of recording tapes containing conversations of senior Civil Servants and British Army Officers , including Lt. General 'Sir' Timothy Creasey's predecessor as British GOCNI , Lt. Gen. 'Sir' Harry Tuzo .
Also recovered from the garage of the house was a Frequency Changer - a 'scrambler' device which allowed the Provos to decode conversations on ' VIP lines ' they tapped .......
(MORE LATER).
Wednesday, February 16, 2005
'THE PRESS' Newspaper , October 1797 - March 1798 .
Too Radical for the Radicals .......
....... the informer Thomas Reynolds had done his 'job' well - in March 1798 , the Brits (under the command of a Major Henry Sirr) raided the home of Oliver Bond in Bridge Street , Dublin , and 'arrested' most of the leadership of the United Irishmen organisation . Edward Fitzgerald was not amongst them , and a 'bounty' of £1,000 for information leading to his capture was offered by the Brits .......
'Lord' Edward Fitzgerald went 'on-the-run' but , two months later (ie May [19th] 1798) Major Sirr's men raided a house on Thomas Street , in Dublin , where Fitzgerald was staying ; a struggle ensued , during which Edward Fitzgerald shot one of his attackers dead but was himself shot in the arm - he died , apparently from that wound , in Newgate Prison on 4th June 1798 , at 35 years young .
Incidentally , during the 1798 Rising , the county of Tipperary was particularly 'quiet' , with little or no Rebel activity ; in order to keep it that way , the Brits put up hundreds of copies of a poster , describing the level of retribution those taking part in " the Outrage ... " (the Rising) or assisting the Rebels in any way could expect .......
(MORE LATER).
A STICKY END.......
Rise and decline of the 'Officials' .
No by-line.
First published in 'IRIS' magazine , Volume 1 , No. 2 , November 1981 , pages 76 and 77.
Re-published here in 8 parts .
[8 of 8].
The ' Sinn Fein - The Workers Party ' 'solution' was to call in the multi-national corporations ; for the 26 County State anyway , because the North must be allowed its devolved (Orange) government . Only " terrorism " from the ' starry-eyed Hibernian Nationalists ' prevent this wonderful scenario from materialising . If it was not so sad this would be funny ; even their long time allies in the Communist Party were forced to issue a heavily critical pamphlet on this disgraceful document .
So - what happened between 1968 and 1978 ? This current emerged from Republicanism with an imported version of 'socialism' known as the 'stage theory' (apparently invented by Stalin) which said - 1) Democracy in the Six Counties : 2) National Unification : 3) Socialism . However , they seem to have got stuck at the first stage , ignoring that in the real world the tasks of all three are posed simultaneously .
Republicanism is the Irish revolutionary thought answering to the needs of the Irish people . The lesson of this current , today a mere trickle , should be that you get lost if you leave that tradition . ('1169....' Comment - and where better to "get lost... " than on a seemingly 'gold-paved' alleyway between Leinster House , Stormont and Westminster ... ?).
[END of 'A STICKY END...'].
(Tomorrow - 'Lights , Camera , Reagan ! ' - from October 1980 ).
BIG BROTHER HAS ARRIVED .......
An investigation into the extent of telephone surveillance in Ireland shows that with the aid of new technology , telephone tapping has reached alarmimg proportions and most of it is done illegally .
By Frank Doherty .
First published in 'MAGILL' magazine , December 1980 , page 19.
(2 of 6).
More sophisticated interceptions by the IRA have been discovered only by chance ; the latest was mentioned in a Belfast Court in June 1980 when it was stated that the RUC had uncovered " sophisticated electronic equipment used to decode British Army messages . " 'The Sunday Times' later revealed that among the British Army messages mentioned were the decoded conversations of Lt. General Sir Timothy Creasey , the General Officer Commanding 'Northern Ireland' and messages arranging an SAS ambush which later went wrong .
What the IRA had done was to intercept dozens of 'phone lines in the city at roadside connection boxes (called cabinets) and 'shunt' them into a safe house by running a special cable from the local distribution point .
Such an operation presents little difficulty for a Post Office engineer or former engineer .......
(MORE LATER).
Too Radical for the Radicals .......
....... the informer Thomas Reynolds had done his 'job' well - in March 1798 , the Brits (under the command of a Major Henry Sirr) raided the home of Oliver Bond in Bridge Street , Dublin , and 'arrested' most of the leadership of the United Irishmen organisation . Edward Fitzgerald was not amongst them , and a 'bounty' of £1,000 for information leading to his capture was offered by the Brits .......
'Lord' Edward Fitzgerald went 'on-the-run' but , two months later (ie May [19th] 1798) Major Sirr's men raided a house on Thomas Street , in Dublin , where Fitzgerald was staying ; a struggle ensued , during which Edward Fitzgerald shot one of his attackers dead but was himself shot in the arm - he died , apparently from that wound , in Newgate Prison on 4th June 1798 , at 35 years young .
Incidentally , during the 1798 Rising , the county of Tipperary was particularly 'quiet' , with little or no Rebel activity ; in order to keep it that way , the Brits put up hundreds of copies of a poster , describing the level of retribution those taking part in " the Outrage ... " (the Rising) or assisting the Rebels in any way could expect .......
(MORE LATER).
A STICKY END.......
Rise and decline of the 'Officials' .
No by-line.
First published in 'IRIS' magazine , Volume 1 , No. 2 , November 1981 , pages 76 and 77.
Re-published here in 8 parts .
[8 of 8].
The ' Sinn Fein - The Workers Party ' 'solution' was to call in the multi-national corporations ; for the 26 County State anyway , because the North must be allowed its devolved (Orange) government . Only " terrorism " from the ' starry-eyed Hibernian Nationalists ' prevent this wonderful scenario from materialising . If it was not so sad this would be funny ; even their long time allies in the Communist Party were forced to issue a heavily critical pamphlet on this disgraceful document .
So - what happened between 1968 and 1978 ? This current emerged from Republicanism with an imported version of 'socialism' known as the 'stage theory' (apparently invented by Stalin) which said - 1) Democracy in the Six Counties : 2) National Unification : 3) Socialism . However , they seem to have got stuck at the first stage , ignoring that in the real world the tasks of all three are posed simultaneously .
Republicanism is the Irish revolutionary thought answering to the needs of the Irish people . The lesson of this current , today a mere trickle , should be that you get lost if you leave that tradition . ('1169....' Comment - and where better to "get lost... " than on a seemingly 'gold-paved' alleyway between Leinster House , Stormont and Westminster ... ?).
[END of 'A STICKY END...'].
(Tomorrow - 'Lights , Camera , Reagan ! ' - from October 1980 ).
BIG BROTHER HAS ARRIVED .......
An investigation into the extent of telephone surveillance in Ireland shows that with the aid of new technology , telephone tapping has reached alarmimg proportions and most of it is done illegally .
By Frank Doherty .
First published in 'MAGILL' magazine , December 1980 , page 19.
(2 of 6).
More sophisticated interceptions by the IRA have been discovered only by chance ; the latest was mentioned in a Belfast Court in June 1980 when it was stated that the RUC had uncovered " sophisticated electronic equipment used to decode British Army messages . " 'The Sunday Times' later revealed that among the British Army messages mentioned were the decoded conversations of Lt. General Sir Timothy Creasey , the General Officer Commanding 'Northern Ireland' and messages arranging an SAS ambush which later went wrong .
What the IRA had done was to intercept dozens of 'phone lines in the city at roadside connection boxes (called cabinets) and 'shunt' them into a safe house by running a special cable from the local distribution point .
Such an operation presents little difficulty for a Post Office engineer or former engineer .......
(MORE LATER).
Tuesday, February 15, 2005
'THE PRESS' Newspaper , October 1797 - March 1798 .
Too Radical for the Radicals .......
....... on 27th December 1792 , at 29 years young , 'Lord' Edward Fitzgerald married 19-years-young Pamela de Genlis . Pamela's mother was , by most accounts , Mme de Genlis and her father was thought to be the 'Duke' of Orleans - a 'family connection' that was to be raised later .......
In 1796 , 'Lord' Edward Fitzgerald travelled to Basel , in France , with Arthur O'Connor and Wolfe Tone - but he got a 'frosty' reception from the French because his wife was considered to be connected to the 'Royalists' ! However , the honesty of his political conviction became obvious to the hosts , and his statement to them (the 'French Directory') that the strength of the United Irishmen organisation stood at approximately 280,000 armed men helped convince them to send assistance - the 'Hoche Expedition' , already mentioned in this piece .
Edward Fitzgerald was not with the rest of the leadership of the United Irishmen organisation in March 1798 at the home of Oliver Bond in Bridge Street , Dublin , when the Brits raided and 'arrested' those within , acting on information sold to them by the informer Thomas Reynolds .
When British Major Henry Sirr realised that Fitzgerald was not amongst those captured , he offered a 'bounty' of £1,000 for information leading to his capture ; Edward Fitzgerald went 'on-the-run' .......
(MORE LATER).
A STICKY END.......
Rise and decline of the 'Officials' .
No by-line.
First published in 'IRIS' magazine , Volume 1 , No. 2 , November 1981 , pages 76 and 77.
Re-published here in 8 parts .
(7 of 8).
'Sinn Fein - The Workers Party's' politics , such as they are , can best be seen in the remarkable document 'The Irish Industrial Revolution' (Repsol , 1978) ; the main aim is to pin the blame for Ireland's problems on the Nationalist 'middle class' - " They refused to industrialise . They refused to create a modern society . They refused to spend their money . "
This is all a bit simplistic but , worse than that , it totally ignores the role of imperialism which is recognised by most historians as the cause of Ireland's failure to industrialise in the 19th Century . Anyone working on the land is also automatically a reactionary , according to this document , thus writing-off the small farmer at one stroke .
The 'way out' is simple - call in the multi-national corporations , a 'progressive force' , and build-up the State sector .......
(MORE LATER).
BIG BROTHER HAS ARRIVED .
An investigation into the extent of telephone surveillance in Ireland shows that with the aid of new technology , telephone tapping has reached alarmimg proportions and most of it is done illegally .
By Frank Doherty .
First published in 'MAGILL' magazine , December 1980 , page 19.
(1 of 6).
The difficulty in uncovering tapping operations is shown by the lack of success the authorities have shown against illicit interceptions which have been carried out extensively by the Provisional IRA and various other organisations during the last ten years .
In July 1973 a night telephonist employed at a Posts and Telegraphs Exchange in Dublin was prosecuted for recording conversations for the IRA during a period between September 1972 and April 1973 .
An interception of this sort - where an operator uses TKO selectors to switch in on a temporary basis - is a 'hit and miss' affair which depends on the eavesdropper dialling up the line at a time when there was a worthwhile conversation in progress . It is also hazardous , as events proved ...
...TKO equipment causes a distinct 'click' as it brings the listener into the line , and it is easy for investigators to walk along 'final selector racks' in a telephone exchange and find a TKO Selector which is being mis-used by a particular operator .......
(MORE LATER).
Too Radical for the Radicals .......
....... on 27th December 1792 , at 29 years young , 'Lord' Edward Fitzgerald married 19-years-young Pamela de Genlis . Pamela's mother was , by most accounts , Mme de Genlis and her father was thought to be the 'Duke' of Orleans - a 'family connection' that was to be raised later .......
In 1796 , 'Lord' Edward Fitzgerald travelled to Basel , in France , with Arthur O'Connor and Wolfe Tone - but he got a 'frosty' reception from the French because his wife was considered to be connected to the 'Royalists' ! However , the honesty of his political conviction became obvious to the hosts , and his statement to them (the 'French Directory') that the strength of the United Irishmen organisation stood at approximately 280,000 armed men helped convince them to send assistance - the 'Hoche Expedition' , already mentioned in this piece .
Edward Fitzgerald was not with the rest of the leadership of the United Irishmen organisation in March 1798 at the home of Oliver Bond in Bridge Street , Dublin , when the Brits raided and 'arrested' those within , acting on information sold to them by the informer Thomas Reynolds .
When British Major Henry Sirr realised that Fitzgerald was not amongst those captured , he offered a 'bounty' of £1,000 for information leading to his capture ; Edward Fitzgerald went 'on-the-run' .......
(MORE LATER).
A STICKY END.......
Rise and decline of the 'Officials' .
No by-line.
First published in 'IRIS' magazine , Volume 1 , No. 2 , November 1981 , pages 76 and 77.
Re-published here in 8 parts .
(7 of 8).
'Sinn Fein - The Workers Party's' politics , such as they are , can best be seen in the remarkable document 'The Irish Industrial Revolution' (Repsol , 1978) ; the main aim is to pin the blame for Ireland's problems on the Nationalist 'middle class' - " They refused to industrialise . They refused to create a modern society . They refused to spend their money . "
This is all a bit simplistic but , worse than that , it totally ignores the role of imperialism which is recognised by most historians as the cause of Ireland's failure to industrialise in the 19th Century . Anyone working on the land is also automatically a reactionary , according to this document , thus writing-off the small farmer at one stroke .
The 'way out' is simple - call in the multi-national corporations , a 'progressive force' , and build-up the State sector .......
(MORE LATER).
BIG BROTHER HAS ARRIVED .
An investigation into the extent of telephone surveillance in Ireland shows that with the aid of new technology , telephone tapping has reached alarmimg proportions and most of it is done illegally .
By Frank Doherty .
First published in 'MAGILL' magazine , December 1980 , page 19.
(1 of 6).
The difficulty in uncovering tapping operations is shown by the lack of success the authorities have shown against illicit interceptions which have been carried out extensively by the Provisional IRA and various other organisations during the last ten years .
In July 1973 a night telephonist employed at a Posts and Telegraphs Exchange in Dublin was prosecuted for recording conversations for the IRA during a period between September 1972 and April 1973 .
An interception of this sort - where an operator uses TKO selectors to switch in on a temporary basis - is a 'hit and miss' affair which depends on the eavesdropper dialling up the line at a time when there was a worthwhile conversation in progress . It is also hazardous , as events proved ...
...TKO equipment causes a distinct 'click' as it brings the listener into the line , and it is easy for investigators to walk along 'final selector racks' in a telephone exchange and find a TKO Selector which is being mis-used by a particular operator .......
(MORE LATER).
Monday, February 14, 2005
'THE PRESS' Newspaper , October 1797 - March 1798 .
Too Radical for the Radicals .......
....... as M.P. for Kildare , the 'Rebel Lord' , Edward Fitzgerald , attended a political 'Dinner Party' one night ; his refusal to hide his 'rebel streak' had an immediate effect on his 'career' .......
At that dinner party he joined in a toast to the abolition of hereditary titles and was , shortly afterwards , 'cashiered' (ie "discharged with ignominy") from the British Army (and from the 'Establishment' ie - 'those that dinner-partied' !) by way of punishment !
He went to Paris in 1792 , at 29 years young and , two days after Christmas that year , he married a 19-years-young girl , Pamela , thought to be the daughter of Mme de Genlis . It was generally accepted that Pamela's father was the 'Duke' of Orleans - a 'family connection' which was to re-bound on Edward Fitzgerald a few years later ... (Incidentally - while in Paris , 'Lord' Edward Fitzgerald stayed with a certain Mr. Thomas Paine.)
In 1793 , Mr. and Mrs. Fitzgerald returned to Dublin and lived in Frascati House in Blackrock ; three years later (ie 1796) , 'Lord' Edward Fitzgerald travelled to Basel in France with Arthur O'Connor and Wolfe Tone to seek assistance with an armed Rising against the British ; but his above-mentioned 'family connections' were raised at a meeting with the French military .......
(MORE LATER).
A STICKY END.......
Rise and decline of the 'Officials' .
No by-line.
First published in 'IRIS' magazine , Volume 1 , No. 2 , November 1981 , pages 76 and 77.
Re-published here in 8 parts .
(6 of 8).
It is the height of political bankruptcy to blame one's failure on an assault from " the ultra-left ... " and " the right... " at once ! But then the 'Sticks' always did slander the Republican Movement in precisely this way . The truth is that the Nationalist people of Belfast showed their determination to fight British imperialism and support the hunger-strikers . There is nothing " ultra-left" or "right" about this , it is just a resurgence of Republican resistance .
The 'Officials' were now so far away from that tradition that they could not recognise the fact .......
(MORE LATER).
HAMMER AND TONGS.......
'Survivors' : collected by Uinseann MacEoin .
Reviewed by Tim Pat Coogan.
First published in 'MAGILL' magazine , December 1980 , page 53.
Re-published here in 7 parts .
[7 of 7].
The 'Survivors' are part of the heritage of the community they shape and leave behind them and they have an obligation to tell that community , for which the men mentioned above in particular shed their own and others' blood , endured incredible privations , bitterness and dissention , what it was that motivated them to take the decisions and courses they did . The proper study of man is man .
We can learn guidances for our own actions by studying the actions of others ; it is many years since I researched my IRA book , in the 1960's to be exact , when I first discovered that in many parts of the country it was the example and in some cases the direct encouragement of some of the figures mentioned above in 'Survivors' (who , in turn , often were influenced firstly by their mothers) which had brought some of the figures I was then interviewing into 'the Movement' .
They in turn later brought others in . The existence of economic deprivation , the British Army and the sectarian assassins have in turn ensured that as long as this country is divided there will be 'Survivors' .
[END of ' HAMMER AND TONGS - 'Survivors' '].
(Tomorrow : 'BIG BROTHER HAS ARRIVED' - from 1980 ).
Too Radical for the Radicals .......
....... as M.P. for Kildare , the 'Rebel Lord' , Edward Fitzgerald , attended a political 'Dinner Party' one night ; his refusal to hide his 'rebel streak' had an immediate effect on his 'career' .......
At that dinner party he joined in a toast to the abolition of hereditary titles and was , shortly afterwards , 'cashiered' (ie "discharged with ignominy") from the British Army (and from the 'Establishment' ie - 'those that dinner-partied' !) by way of punishment !
He went to Paris in 1792 , at 29 years young and , two days after Christmas that year , he married a 19-years-young girl , Pamela , thought to be the daughter of Mme de Genlis . It was generally accepted that Pamela's father was the 'Duke' of Orleans - a 'family connection' which was to re-bound on Edward Fitzgerald a few years later ... (Incidentally - while in Paris , 'Lord' Edward Fitzgerald stayed with a certain Mr. Thomas Paine.)
In 1793 , Mr. and Mrs. Fitzgerald returned to Dublin and lived in Frascati House in Blackrock ; three years later (ie 1796) , 'Lord' Edward Fitzgerald travelled to Basel in France with Arthur O'Connor and Wolfe Tone to seek assistance with an armed Rising against the British ; but his above-mentioned 'family connections' were raised at a meeting with the French military .......
(MORE LATER).
A STICKY END.......
Rise and decline of the 'Officials' .
No by-line.
First published in 'IRIS' magazine , Volume 1 , No. 2 , November 1981 , pages 76 and 77.
Re-published here in 8 parts .
(6 of 8).
It is the height of political bankruptcy to blame one's failure on an assault from " the ultra-left ... " and " the right... " at once ! But then the 'Sticks' always did slander the Republican Movement in precisely this way . The truth is that the Nationalist people of Belfast showed their determination to fight British imperialism and support the hunger-strikers . There is nothing " ultra-left" or "right" about this , it is just a resurgence of Republican resistance .
The 'Officials' were now so far away from that tradition that they could not recognise the fact .......
(MORE LATER).
HAMMER AND TONGS.......
'Survivors' : collected by Uinseann MacEoin .
Reviewed by Tim Pat Coogan.
First published in 'MAGILL' magazine , December 1980 , page 53.
Re-published here in 7 parts .
[7 of 7].
The 'Survivors' are part of the heritage of the community they shape and leave behind them and they have an obligation to tell that community , for which the men mentioned above in particular shed their own and others' blood , endured incredible privations , bitterness and dissention , what it was that motivated them to take the decisions and courses they did . The proper study of man is man .
We can learn guidances for our own actions by studying the actions of others ; it is many years since I researched my IRA book , in the 1960's to be exact , when I first discovered that in many parts of the country it was the example and in some cases the direct encouragement of some of the figures mentioned above in 'Survivors' (who , in turn , often were influenced firstly by their mothers) which had brought some of the figures I was then interviewing into 'the Movement' .
They in turn later brought others in . The existence of economic deprivation , the British Army and the sectarian assassins have in turn ensured that as long as this country is divided there will be 'Survivors' .
[END of ' HAMMER AND TONGS - 'Survivors' '].
(Tomorrow : 'BIG BROTHER HAS ARRIVED' - from 1980 ).
Friday, February 11, 2005
'THE PRESS' Newspaper , October 1797 - March 1798 .
Too Radical for the Radicals .......
....... the two 'main men' behind ' The Press' newspaper were Arthur O'Connor and 'Lord' Edward Fitzgerald .......
'Lord' Edward Fitzgerald was born on 15th October 1763 , in Carton House , County Kildare ; he was the 12th child of the first 'Duke' of Leinster and Emilia Mary , who was the daughter of the 'Duke' of Richmond .
At 16 years young he joined the 'Sussex Militia' and was posted to America on 'active service' - he was severely wounded at the battle of Eutaw Springs , when he was 18 years young (in 1781) and returned to Ireland.
At 25 years young he went to Canada and re-joined the British Army , following which 'adventure' he again returned to Ireland and was elected as M.P. for Kildare .
The events at a political 'Dinner Party' which he attended one night was to have a profound effect on his 'career' .......
(MORE LATER).
A STICKY END.......
Rise and decline of the 'Officials' .
No by-line.
First published in 'IRIS' magazine , Volume 1 , No. 2 , November 1981 , pages 76 and 77.
Re-published here in 8 parts .
(5 of 8).
The logic of this course was to become ' Sinn Fein-The Workers Party' in 1977 and one wonders why they did not drop the Sinn Fein tag altogether . The collapse of this reformist course came in the 1981 local elections in the North when they lost their three seats in Belfast .
In their journal 'Workers Life' [June 1981] they say that this was due to " an assault from two ultra-left groupings .... " referring to the two councillors elected for 'Peoples Democracy' and IRSP on a H-Block ticket : the remaining 'Sticky' prisoners had long since been disowned by their organisation .
But , bemoaning the fate of Gerry Fitt who lost his seat , they say that the results " indicate a sharp swing to the right in the Roman Catholic ghettoes ....... "
(MORE LATER).
HAMMER AND TONGS.......
'Survivors' : collected by Uinseann MacEoin .
Reviewed by Tim Pat Coogan.
First published in 'MAGILL' magazine , December 1980 , page 53.
Re-published here in 7 parts .
(6 of 7).
Sometimes one could have done with more rather than less from some of the survivors interviewed : Sean MacBride after all was not alone a survivor but a very active and significant participant in the Clan na Poblachta Inter-Party Government era of the late 1940's and early 1950's ; his insights on this decade would have been literally priceless .
And a figure like Connie Neenan could have opened that closed treasure house of information about the activities of the Irish Hospitals Sweepstakes network in America which he and the late Joe McGrath did so much to build-up on the shoulders of the old Clan na Gael organisation .
Both as a journalist and am an amateur historian myself I feel strongly that if people of this calibre and significance are going to talk they should talk the whole way , as it were , because , in many ways , public men's lives are not really their own exclusive property .......
(MORE LATER).
Too Radical for the Radicals .......
....... the two 'main men' behind ' The Press' newspaper were Arthur O'Connor and 'Lord' Edward Fitzgerald .......
'Lord' Edward Fitzgerald was born on 15th October 1763 , in Carton House , County Kildare ; he was the 12th child of the first 'Duke' of Leinster and Emilia Mary , who was the daughter of the 'Duke' of Richmond .
At 16 years young he joined the 'Sussex Militia' and was posted to America on 'active service' - he was severely wounded at the battle of Eutaw Springs , when he was 18 years young (in 1781) and returned to Ireland.
At 25 years young he went to Canada and re-joined the British Army , following which 'adventure' he again returned to Ireland and was elected as M.P. for Kildare .
The events at a political 'Dinner Party' which he attended one night was to have a profound effect on his 'career' .......
(MORE LATER).
A STICKY END.......
Rise and decline of the 'Officials' .
No by-line.
First published in 'IRIS' magazine , Volume 1 , No. 2 , November 1981 , pages 76 and 77.
Re-published here in 8 parts .
(5 of 8).
The logic of this course was to become ' Sinn Fein-The Workers Party' in 1977 and one wonders why they did not drop the Sinn Fein tag altogether . The collapse of this reformist course came in the 1981 local elections in the North when they lost their three seats in Belfast .
In their journal 'Workers Life' [June 1981] they say that this was due to " an assault from two ultra-left groupings .... " referring to the two councillors elected for 'Peoples Democracy' and IRSP on a H-Block ticket : the remaining 'Sticky' prisoners had long since been disowned by their organisation .
But , bemoaning the fate of Gerry Fitt who lost his seat , they say that the results " indicate a sharp swing to the right in the Roman Catholic ghettoes ....... "
(MORE LATER).
HAMMER AND TONGS.......
'Survivors' : collected by Uinseann MacEoin .
Reviewed by Tim Pat Coogan.
First published in 'MAGILL' magazine , December 1980 , page 53.
Re-published here in 7 parts .
(6 of 7).
Sometimes one could have done with more rather than less from some of the survivors interviewed : Sean MacBride after all was not alone a survivor but a very active and significant participant in the Clan na Poblachta Inter-Party Government era of the late 1940's and early 1950's ; his insights on this decade would have been literally priceless .
And a figure like Connie Neenan could have opened that closed treasure house of information about the activities of the Irish Hospitals Sweepstakes network in America which he and the late Joe McGrath did so much to build-up on the shoulders of the old Clan na Gael organisation .
Both as a journalist and am an amateur historian myself I feel strongly that if people of this calibre and significance are going to talk they should talk the whole way , as it were , because , in many ways , public men's lives are not really their own exclusive property .......
(MORE LATER).
Thursday, February 10, 2005
'THE PRESS' Newspaper , October 1797 - March 1798 .
Too Radical for the Radicals .......
....... in 1803 , Arthur O'Connor was deported to France , where he became a General in Napoleon's Army - he quickly rose to the rank of General-of-Division .......
Arthur O'Connor married Elisa de Condorcet , daughter of the French philospher and statesman , the Marquis de Condorcet . Arthur became known as ' General Condorcet O'Connor of the French Service' ; his wife was a niece of the Marshal de Grouchy who himself actually commanded an abortive expedition to Ireland between 1796 and 1797 to assist the Irish Rebels .
On 25th April 1852 , Arthur O'Connor died , at 92 years of age (or 87 years of age , depending on your source) . Arthur had a brother , Roger (1763-1834) , who was also a barrister , and was a member of the United Irishmen , too - and , like Arthur , Roger O'Connor had 'done time' for 'membership' in Fort George Prison , in Scotland . And full marks to that side of the O'Connor (Conner) Clan - a thorn in the side of the Brits ! :
' There's not an Irishman today would ever wish to roam
unto a foreign land to live , if he could live at home ,
So give us our liberty , let our banners be unfurled -
In Ireland , then , her children shall prove a credit to the world ! '
The other 'main man' behind the launch of 'The Press' newspaper was 'Lord' Edward Fitzgerald , an interesting character .......
(MORE LATER).
A STICKY END.......
Rise and decline of the 'Officials' .
No by-line.
First published in 'IRIS' magazine , Volume 1 , No. 2 , November 1981 , pages 76 and 77.
Re-published here in 8 parts .
(4 of 8).
On this basis Hitler's Third Reich was also 'legitimate' ; the 'two nations' theory was , of course , one of the reactionary justifications for partition - loyalists had ' the right to national self-determination ' .
However , this theory has absolutely no historical or practical validity , it is just an imperialist smoke-screen to maintain an anti-Nationalist 'beachhead' in Ireland . As the 1970's wore on , the 'Officials' settled down to an electoralist path , regularly running candidates in the North and South , and trying to win official positions in the trade unions .
In the North , particularly , they entered enthusiastically into local councils , trying to replicate William Walker's 'gas and water socialism' , so soundly criticised by James Connolly .......
(MORE LATER).
HAMMER AND TONGS.......
'Survivors' : collected by Uinseann MacEoin .
Reviewed by Tim Pat Coogan.
First published in 'MAGILL' magazine , December 1980 , page 53.
Re-published here in 7 parts .
(5 of 7).
But it is important to remember that , for example , my generation born in the mid-thirties , was the first to emerge into the political arena in which the old 'catch-cries' about "Blueshirts" , "the 77" , "the Treaty" , "the Oath " and the rest of it began to be overlain by debate about the new men and the new ideas that Sean Lemass , Ken Whitaker , and Sean O Connchubair brought forward and thereby allowed the careers of contemporary figures such as Charles Haughey to take their rise .
But it was this earlier feeling of bitterness which shaped and mis-shaped the political and economic climate in which we were brought up ; not that all the memories are bitter . The phenomenal Sean MacBride , for instance , is his usual urbane and multi-faceted self and the memoirs of Sighle Ui Dhonnchadaha , May Dalaigh , Eithne Coyle and indeed of all the women generally , are a joy .
Then , to the left , the recollection of Frank Edwards and John Swift cannot be faulted on the grounds of either objectivity or clarity or charity .......
(MORE LATER).
Too Radical for the Radicals .......
....... in 1803 , Arthur O'Connor was deported to France , where he became a General in Napoleon's Army - he quickly rose to the rank of General-of-Division .......
Arthur O'Connor married Elisa de Condorcet , daughter of the French philospher and statesman , the Marquis de Condorcet . Arthur became known as ' General Condorcet O'Connor of the French Service' ; his wife was a niece of the Marshal de Grouchy who himself actually commanded an abortive expedition to Ireland between 1796 and 1797 to assist the Irish Rebels .
On 25th April 1852 , Arthur O'Connor died , at 92 years of age (or 87 years of age , depending on your source) . Arthur had a brother , Roger (1763-1834) , who was also a barrister , and was a member of the United Irishmen , too - and , like Arthur , Roger O'Connor had 'done time' for 'membership' in Fort George Prison , in Scotland . And full marks to that side of the O'Connor (Conner) Clan - a thorn in the side of the Brits ! :
' There's not an Irishman today would ever wish to roam
unto a foreign land to live , if he could live at home ,
So give us our liberty , let our banners be unfurled -
In Ireland , then , her children shall prove a credit to the world ! '
The other 'main man' behind the launch of 'The Press' newspaper was 'Lord' Edward Fitzgerald , an interesting character .......
(MORE LATER).
A STICKY END.......
Rise and decline of the 'Officials' .
No by-line.
First published in 'IRIS' magazine , Volume 1 , No. 2 , November 1981 , pages 76 and 77.
Re-published here in 8 parts .
(4 of 8).
On this basis Hitler's Third Reich was also 'legitimate' ; the 'two nations' theory was , of course , one of the reactionary justifications for partition - loyalists had ' the right to national self-determination ' .
However , this theory has absolutely no historical or practical validity , it is just an imperialist smoke-screen to maintain an anti-Nationalist 'beachhead' in Ireland . As the 1970's wore on , the 'Officials' settled down to an electoralist path , regularly running candidates in the North and South , and trying to win official positions in the trade unions .
In the North , particularly , they entered enthusiastically into local councils , trying to replicate William Walker's 'gas and water socialism' , so soundly criticised by James Connolly .......
(MORE LATER).
HAMMER AND TONGS.......
'Survivors' : collected by Uinseann MacEoin .
Reviewed by Tim Pat Coogan.
First published in 'MAGILL' magazine , December 1980 , page 53.
Re-published here in 7 parts .
(5 of 7).
But it is important to remember that , for example , my generation born in the mid-thirties , was the first to emerge into the political arena in which the old 'catch-cries' about "Blueshirts" , "the 77" , "the Treaty" , "the Oath " and the rest of it began to be overlain by debate about the new men and the new ideas that Sean Lemass , Ken Whitaker , and Sean O Connchubair brought forward and thereby allowed the careers of contemporary figures such as Charles Haughey to take their rise .
But it was this earlier feeling of bitterness which shaped and mis-shaped the political and economic climate in which we were brought up ; not that all the memories are bitter . The phenomenal Sean MacBride , for instance , is his usual urbane and multi-faceted self and the memoirs of Sighle Ui Dhonnchadaha , May Dalaigh , Eithne Coyle and indeed of all the women generally , are a joy .
Then , to the left , the recollection of Frank Edwards and John Swift cannot be faulted on the grounds of either objectivity or clarity or charity .......
(MORE LATER).
Wednesday, February 09, 2005
'THE PRESS' Newspaper , October 1797 - March 1798 .
Too Radical for the Radicals .......
....... in January 1799 , Arthur O'Connor was locked-up in Fort George Prison in Scotland - the Brits left him there , without a 'trial' , for three years and two months .......
Then , in March 1802 , as one of the conditions insisted on by the French under the 'Peace Of Amiens' Treaty (signed between the French and the British on 25th March 1802) the Irish political prisoners in Fort George were released .
Incidentally - under the 'Peace Of Amiens' Treaty , the Brits agreed to relinquish 'control' over all the territories they had 'taken' , except for two - Trinidad and Ceylon . In return , France agreed to evacuate Italy ; if only Ireland had been part of that deal .... missed opportunity !
In 1803 , Arthur O'Connor was deported to France , where he became a General in Napoleon's Army ; within two years he had risen to the rank of General-of-Division . He was to marry into a family which had attempted to assist the Irish fight for freedom by leading an armed expedition to Ireland .......
(MORE LATER).
A STICKY END.......
Rise and decline of the 'Officials' .
No by-line.
First published in 'IRIS' magazine , Volume 1 , No. 2 , November 1981 , pages 76 and 77.
Re-published here in 8 parts .
(3 of 8).
Reaction throughout Ireland to the heroic hunger-strikers shows how real the question of British imperialism is - the 'Officials' now refer to " a mythical national question ... " diverting our attention from the 'real' (?) issues .
By 1972 , the 'Officials' had declared a unilateral ceasefire on the grounds that a continued military campaign would cause sectarian conflict ; it is hard to take this justification seriously . The Six County 'State' was built on sectarian discrimination and thrived on it until the 1970's when the final stage of the liberation struggle began .
Sectarian conflict is there because British imperialism built up a pro-imperialist minority in Ireland with the crumbs from its imperial table - the Labour 'aristocracy' .
The truth is that by this stage the 'Officials' , or 'Sticks' as they became known , had moved towards ' a two nations' theory . The collapse of Stormont in March 1972 , which was a great victory for the risen Nationalist people , was bemoaned by them because Loyalists saw it as their institution and hence it was 'legitimate' ('1169...' Comment - note that it is now the Provos themselves who " bemoan .... the collapse of Stormont ... " ; what a tangled web etc !!) .......
(MORE LATER).
HAMMER AND TONGS.......
'Survivors' : collected by Uinseann MacEoin .
Reviewed by Tim Pat Coogan.
First published in 'MAGILL' magazine , December 1980 , page 53.
Re-published here in 7 parts .
(4 of 7).
Uinseann MacEoin deliberately chose to interview those who had been on the Republican side in the Civil War ; I don't know whether this is intended to convey to the reader that the people he interviewed were not 'coloured' by the 'great parting' but I feel that he made a mistake in not including the Free Staters .
They were Irishmen too and fought gallantly during the Anglo/Irish War ; they did not become retrospectively less patriotic , or in some way reverse their earlier roles by the choices made . It would have been illuminating and balancing if the interviews had been carried out on both sides .
But even the note of bitterness which some of the survivors occasionally strike in ungenerous references to their opponents will be salutory in reminding younger readers of what the post Civil War bitterness was like . Obviously , reading of the executions carried out during the Civil War against Republicans , this generation is going to have an insight into why such feelings are still held by old men .......
(MORE LATER).
Too Radical for the Radicals .......
....... in January 1799 , Arthur O'Connor was locked-up in Fort George Prison in Scotland - the Brits left him there , without a 'trial' , for three years and two months .......
Then , in March 1802 , as one of the conditions insisted on by the French under the 'Peace Of Amiens' Treaty (signed between the French and the British on 25th March 1802) the Irish political prisoners in Fort George were released .
Incidentally - under the 'Peace Of Amiens' Treaty , the Brits agreed to relinquish 'control' over all the territories they had 'taken' , except for two - Trinidad and Ceylon . In return , France agreed to evacuate Italy ; if only Ireland had been part of that deal .... missed opportunity !
In 1803 , Arthur O'Connor was deported to France , where he became a General in Napoleon's Army ; within two years he had risen to the rank of General-of-Division . He was to marry into a family which had attempted to assist the Irish fight for freedom by leading an armed expedition to Ireland .......
(MORE LATER).
A STICKY END.......
Rise and decline of the 'Officials' .
No by-line.
First published in 'IRIS' magazine , Volume 1 , No. 2 , November 1981 , pages 76 and 77.
Re-published here in 8 parts .
(3 of 8).
Reaction throughout Ireland to the heroic hunger-strikers shows how real the question of British imperialism is - the 'Officials' now refer to " a mythical national question ... " diverting our attention from the 'real' (?) issues .
By 1972 , the 'Officials' had declared a unilateral ceasefire on the grounds that a continued military campaign would cause sectarian conflict ; it is hard to take this justification seriously . The Six County 'State' was built on sectarian discrimination and thrived on it until the 1970's when the final stage of the liberation struggle began .
Sectarian conflict is there because British imperialism built up a pro-imperialist minority in Ireland with the crumbs from its imperial table - the Labour 'aristocracy' .
The truth is that by this stage the 'Officials' , or 'Sticks' as they became known , had moved towards ' a two nations' theory . The collapse of Stormont in March 1972 , which was a great victory for the risen Nationalist people , was bemoaned by them because Loyalists saw it as their institution and hence it was 'legitimate' ('1169...' Comment - note that it is now the Provos themselves who " bemoan .... the collapse of Stormont ... " ; what a tangled web etc !!) .......
(MORE LATER).
HAMMER AND TONGS.......
'Survivors' : collected by Uinseann MacEoin .
Reviewed by Tim Pat Coogan.
First published in 'MAGILL' magazine , December 1980 , page 53.
Re-published here in 7 parts .
(4 of 7).
Uinseann MacEoin deliberately chose to interview those who had been on the Republican side in the Civil War ; I don't know whether this is intended to convey to the reader that the people he interviewed were not 'coloured' by the 'great parting' but I feel that he made a mistake in not including the Free Staters .
They were Irishmen too and fought gallantly during the Anglo/Irish War ; they did not become retrospectively less patriotic , or in some way reverse their earlier roles by the choices made . It would have been illuminating and balancing if the interviews had been carried out on both sides .
But even the note of bitterness which some of the survivors occasionally strike in ungenerous references to their opponents will be salutory in reminding younger readers of what the post Civil War bitterness was like . Obviously , reading of the executions carried out during the Civil War against Republicans , this generation is going to have an insight into why such feelings are still held by old men .......
(MORE LATER).
Tuesday, February 08, 2005
'THE PRESS' Newspaper , October 1797 - March 1798 .
Too Radical for the Radicals .......
....... both Arthur O'Connor and 'Lord' Edward Fitzgerald were in favour of staging an immediate armed Rising in Ireland against British mis-rule ; but Thomas Addis Emmet , amongst others that were also in the leadership of the United Irishmen organisation , were not so sure .......
Thomas Addis Emmet managed to convince the United Irishmen leadership that they should hold-off on an armed Rising and , again , seek French help . Arthur O'Connor was sent to France to plead the Irish case - but he never got there .
Whilst passing through Margate , in England , he was arrested by British police , 'tried' in May 1798 (in Maidstone - having been charged with "talk or action exciting discontent or rebellion .... " ie 'sedition') but found 'Not Guilty' ! He was released .... only to be immediately re-arrested , transported to Kilmainham Jail in Dublin and charged , again , with ' sedition ' .
Probably fearful of a second 'trial' - or maybe they just did'nt give a damn either way ! - the Brits held Arthur O'Connor , without 'trial' , for seven months (ie until January 1799) and then moved him to Fort George Prison in Scotland .
A cell in that prison became his 'home' for the following three years and two months .......
(MORE LATER).
A STICKY END.......
Rise and decline of the 'Officials' .
No by-line.
First published in 'IRIS' magazine , Volume 1 , No. 2 , November 1981 , pages 76 and 77.
Re-published here in 8 parts .
(2 of 8).
In 1970 , the media attached the titles of Sinn Fein 'Provisional' and 'Official' which have stuck . The Provisionals have moved ahead to become the undisputed Republican Movement , whereas the Officials have written themselves out of the republican tradition . How did this happen ?
In 1971 , the Officials still posed as a revolutionary current ; in their journal 'Teoiric' (No. 1 , Summer 1971) we already see the seeds of their future trajectory -
- " There is a danger that our fight to establish ourselves among the people , and in our fight to establish the rights of the people .... we would tend to ignore ... the question of National Independence . " This is precisely what was happening .
Uniting Protestant and Catholic workers is something we all want to see , but it cannot be done by ignoring the partition of our country and the presence of British imperialism here . Likewise , taking up 'day to day' issues does not mean setting aside the question of British troops on our streets , which is very much a 'day to day' question for many people .......('1169...' Comment : ironic , now , that the Provos are doing just that - because that's where their 'votes' are ie in 'local issues' like street lighting , trimmimg grass verges in housing estates etc . They have abandoned a 'Brits Out' policy in favour of the 'nationalist'-type agenda of "let them stay if they want , just as long as they treat us better" !)
(MORE LATER).
HAMMER AND TONGS.......
'Survivors' : collected by Uinseann MacEoin .
Reviewed by Tim Pat Coogan.
First published in 'MAGILL' magazine , December 1980 , page 53.
Re-published here in 7 parts .
(3 of 7).
Tomas O Maoileoin's (Sean Forde's) fascinating if sometimes chilling account of his IRA connection ends as follows -
- " I must say after a lifetime of struggle on behalf of Irish culture and freedom for the Irish people , I see no differences in the fighting being waged against England's 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 . "
That is the voice of the physical force tradition in Irish politics . Other voices include Frank Edwards , Peadar O'Donnell , Sean McBride , Connie Neenan , Eithne Coyle , Sighle Bean Ui Dhonnchadha , Tom Maguire and many more . There are in fact some two dozen in all .
Uinseann MacEoin says in his preface that he deliberately chose people who had been on the Republican side in the Civil War because if he had chosen people who " at the great parting had gone Free State , much of their story would undoubtedly be coloured to account for it ....... "
(MORE LATER).
Too Radical for the Radicals .......
....... both Arthur O'Connor and 'Lord' Edward Fitzgerald were in favour of staging an immediate armed Rising in Ireland against British mis-rule ; but Thomas Addis Emmet , amongst others that were also in the leadership of the United Irishmen organisation , were not so sure .......
Thomas Addis Emmet managed to convince the United Irishmen leadership that they should hold-off on an armed Rising and , again , seek French help . Arthur O'Connor was sent to France to plead the Irish case - but he never got there .
Whilst passing through Margate , in England , he was arrested by British police , 'tried' in May 1798 (in Maidstone - having been charged with "talk or action exciting discontent or rebellion .... " ie 'sedition') but found 'Not Guilty' ! He was released .... only to be immediately re-arrested , transported to Kilmainham Jail in Dublin and charged , again , with ' sedition ' .
Probably fearful of a second 'trial' - or maybe they just did'nt give a damn either way ! - the Brits held Arthur O'Connor , without 'trial' , for seven months (ie until January 1799) and then moved him to Fort George Prison in Scotland .
A cell in that prison became his 'home' for the following three years and two months .......
(MORE LATER).
A STICKY END.......
Rise and decline of the 'Officials' .
No by-line.
First published in 'IRIS' magazine , Volume 1 , No. 2 , November 1981 , pages 76 and 77.
Re-published here in 8 parts .
(2 of 8).
In 1970 , the media attached the titles of Sinn Fein 'Provisional' and 'Official' which have stuck . The Provisionals have moved ahead to become the undisputed Republican Movement , whereas the Officials have written themselves out of the republican tradition . How did this happen ?
In 1971 , the Officials still posed as a revolutionary current ; in their journal 'Teoiric' (No. 1 , Summer 1971) we already see the seeds of their future trajectory -
- " There is a danger that our fight to establish ourselves among the people , and in our fight to establish the rights of the people .... we would tend to ignore ... the question of National Independence . " This is precisely what was happening .
Uniting Protestant and Catholic workers is something we all want to see , but it cannot be done by ignoring the partition of our country and the presence of British imperialism here . Likewise , taking up 'day to day' issues does not mean setting aside the question of British troops on our streets , which is very much a 'day to day' question for many people .......('1169...' Comment : ironic , now , that the Provos are doing just that - because that's where their 'votes' are ie in 'local issues' like street lighting , trimmimg grass verges in housing estates etc . They have abandoned a 'Brits Out' policy in favour of the 'nationalist'-type agenda of "let them stay if they want , just as long as they treat us better" !)
(MORE LATER).
HAMMER AND TONGS.......
'Survivors' : collected by Uinseann MacEoin .
Reviewed by Tim Pat Coogan.
First published in 'MAGILL' magazine , December 1980 , page 53.
Re-published here in 7 parts .
(3 of 7).
Tomas O Maoileoin's (Sean Forde's) fascinating if sometimes chilling account of his IRA connection ends as follows -
- " I must say after a lifetime of struggle on behalf of Irish culture and freedom for the Irish people , I see no differences in the fighting being waged against England's 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 . "
That is the voice of the physical force tradition in Irish politics . Other voices include Frank Edwards , Peadar O'Donnell , Sean McBride , Connie Neenan , Eithne Coyle , Sighle Bean Ui Dhonnchadha , Tom Maguire and many more . There are in fact some two dozen in all .
Uinseann MacEoin says in his preface that he deliberately chose people who had been on the Republican side in the Civil War because if he had chosen people who " at the great parting had gone Free State , much of their story would undoubtedly be coloured to account for it ....... "
(MORE LATER).
Monday, February 07, 2005
'THE PRESS' Newspaper , October 1797 - March 1798 .
Too Radical for the Radicals .......
....... two well-known Irish Rebels were the 'main men' behind the launch of the ' The Press ' newspaper in October 1797 : Arthur O'Connor and 'Lord' Edward Fitzgerald .......
Arthur O'Connor (born Arthur O'Conner) was a Cork man ; he was a barrister and an M.P. in Westminster - and a member of the United Irishmen . In June of 1796 he travelled to Paris , France , with Edward Fitzgerald and Wolfe Tone to seek assistance from the French Directory (Revolutionary Government) for an armed Rising in Ireland .
The French agreed , which led to the 21st December 1796 'Hoche Expedition' of thirty-five ships which failed to land in Ireland due to a storm . But Arthur O'Connor did not give up ; Edward Fitzgerald and O'Connor were amongst those in the United Irishmen organisation who pushed repeatedly for an armed Rising against the British .
As prominent members of the Leinster Directory of the United Irishmen , both men had 'pull' in Rebel circles ; but so had those who were not in favour of staging an armed campaign at that particular time , notably Thomas Addis Emmet .......
(MORE LATER).
A STICKY END.
Rise and decline of the 'Officials' .
No by-line.
First published in 'IRIS' magazine , Volume 1 , No. 2 , November 1981 , pages 76 and 77.
Re-published here in 8 parts .
(1 of 8).
In August 1969 , the Nationalist ghettos of Belfast were virtually defenceless when a fierce Orange pogrom was unleashed . This was mainly the result of a turn by the Republican Movement of the time towards social and economic agitation (quite laudable in itself) but which also meant a total run-down of the military organisation .
On top of this , the reformist and electoral direction of the Movement was taking it towards recognition of the puppet parliaments of the twenty-six counties (Leinster House) and the six counties (Stormont). ('1169...' Comment - NOTE : the above WAS penned in November 1981 - but could have been written today in relation to the Provisional movement !)
By the end of 1969 , militant Republicans in the North were beginning to reform the IRA , supported by people up and down the country . The split-off of the reformist elements was consumated in 1970 .......
(MORE LATER).
HAMMER AND TONGS.......
'Survivors' : collected by Uinseann MacEoin .
Reviewed by Tim Pat Coogan.
First published in 'MAGILL' magazine , December 1980 , page 53.
Re-published here in 7 parts .
(2 of 7).
Tomas O Maoileoin ('Sean Forde') , Commandant General of the IRA , was tortured after being captured while attemptiung to take on a group of four armed Black and Tans with his bare hands . He was part of the 'school' of Irish Republicanism which could endure - but would also inflict , as this anecdote concerning his escape from Spike Island illustrates -
- " Half creeping , half running , I made up the slope to him . He saw me alright , but he had no bullet up the breech of his rifle , and he did not know but that this might be a game . When he attempted to pull the bolt , I was already upon him , expertly swinging the hammer at his temple .
I had to prevent a shot being fired , or the whole barracks would be alerted . He went down pole-axed . To make sure , I struck his head a second blow ....... "
(MORE LATER).
Too Radical for the Radicals .......
....... two well-known Irish Rebels were the 'main men' behind the launch of the ' The Press ' newspaper in October 1797 : Arthur O'Connor and 'Lord' Edward Fitzgerald .......
Arthur O'Connor (born Arthur O'Conner) was a Cork man ; he was a barrister and an M.P. in Westminster - and a member of the United Irishmen . In June of 1796 he travelled to Paris , France , with Edward Fitzgerald and Wolfe Tone to seek assistance from the French Directory (Revolutionary Government) for an armed Rising in Ireland .
The French agreed , which led to the 21st December 1796 'Hoche Expedition' of thirty-five ships which failed to land in Ireland due to a storm . But Arthur O'Connor did not give up ; Edward Fitzgerald and O'Connor were amongst those in the United Irishmen organisation who pushed repeatedly for an armed Rising against the British .
As prominent members of the Leinster Directory of the United Irishmen , both men had 'pull' in Rebel circles ; but so had those who were not in favour of staging an armed campaign at that particular time , notably Thomas Addis Emmet .......
(MORE LATER).
A STICKY END.
Rise and decline of the 'Officials' .
No by-line.
First published in 'IRIS' magazine , Volume 1 , No. 2 , November 1981 , pages 76 and 77.
Re-published here in 8 parts .
(1 of 8).
In August 1969 , the Nationalist ghettos of Belfast were virtually defenceless when a fierce Orange pogrom was unleashed . This was mainly the result of a turn by the Republican Movement of the time towards social and economic agitation (quite laudable in itself) but which also meant a total run-down of the military organisation .
On top of this , the reformist and electoral direction of the Movement was taking it towards recognition of the puppet parliaments of the twenty-six counties (Leinster House) and the six counties (Stormont). ('1169...' Comment - NOTE : the above WAS penned in November 1981 - but could have been written today in relation to the Provisional movement !)
By the end of 1969 , militant Republicans in the North were beginning to reform the IRA , supported by people up and down the country . The split-off of the reformist elements was consumated in 1970 .......
(MORE LATER).
HAMMER AND TONGS.......
'Survivors' : collected by Uinseann MacEoin .
Reviewed by Tim Pat Coogan.
First published in 'MAGILL' magazine , December 1980 , page 53.
Re-published here in 7 parts .
(2 of 7).
Tomas O Maoileoin ('Sean Forde') , Commandant General of the IRA , was tortured after being captured while attemptiung to take on a group of four armed Black and Tans with his bare hands . He was part of the 'school' of Irish Republicanism which could endure - but would also inflict , as this anecdote concerning his escape from Spike Island illustrates -
- " Half creeping , half running , I made up the slope to him . He saw me alright , but he had no bullet up the breech of his rifle , and he did not know but that this might be a game . When he attempted to pull the bolt , I was already upon him , expertly swinging the hammer at his temple .
I had to prevent a shot being fired , or the whole barracks would be alerted . He went down pole-axed . To make sure , I struck his head a second blow ....... "
(MORE LATER).
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