1169 And Counting.....

Saturday, November 24, 2007

WHERE DOES THE TIME GO....?

On A Walk Through Rebel Dublin with the Patriot and Heroine Anne Devlin and Charles Stewart Parnell ,
Charlie Kerins , Charlotte Despard, and Che Guevara , we talked ,with A Servant of the Queen , about A Compact History of Ireland .

It was a Courious Journey, this Oral History of Ireland’s Unfinished Revolution and many of the Milestones in Irish History were discussed , as we passed through Dublin Tenement Life . We had No Faith in the System , so we agreed on a Secret Map of Ireland but promised that , despite the Partition of Ireland and all of the ensuing Raids and Rallies , we would not strive for same On Another Man’s Wound....
.....see what else is available here!
Finally - in answer to the question asked at the top of this post -
keep an account of next years time with one of these -

- a 2008 Republican calendar,available from here for a fiver (Euro or Sterling) !
Calendars, books, pamphlets, CD's, tapes, T-Shirts etc - all of a Republican 'flavour' - make great 'stocking fillers' and , indeed , make great presents all year round. Visit the Dublin shop at 223 Parnell Street ('phone 01-8729747) or the Belfast shop at 229 Falls Road ('phone 90319004) to make your choice .
Thanks !
Sharon.

Friday, November 23, 2007

REPUBLICAN MARTYRS OF 1957.
From 'The United Irishman' newspaper, January 1958 .

They gave their lives for you and me and the generations yet unborn . May they be remembered forever -

SEÁN SABHAT of Limerick City . Gave his life for Ireland on January 1 , 1957 .
PATRICK PARLE of Wexford Town . Gave his life for Ireland on November 11 , 1957 .
GEORGE KEEGAN of Enniscorthy , County Wexford . He gave his life for Ireland on November 11 , 1957 .
PAUL SMITH of Bessbrook , County Armagh . He gave his life for Ireland on November 11 , 1957 .
MICHAEL WATTERS of Edentubber , County Louth . He gave his life for Ireland on November 11 , 1957 .
OLIVER CRAVEN of Newry , County Down . He gave his life for Ireland on November 11 , 1957 .
FEARGAL Ó hANNLUAIN of Monaghan Town . Gave his life for Ireland on January 1 , 1957 .

These are the men who gave their lives for freedom in Ireland in 1957 , one-hundred-and-sixty-seven years after the first Irish Republican martyr , William Orr, was hanged for the 'crime' of wanting his country separated from Britain .

Except for Michael Watters , who was 55 years of age , the rest were young men under 30 . Paul Smith was only 19 , Oliver Craven was 19 , Feargal Ó hAnnluain was 20 , Patrick Parle was 26 , George Keegan was 27 and Sean Sabhat was 28.......
(MORE LATER).

REPUBLICAN MOURNERS DEFEAT RUC.......
Between December 1983 and May 1987 , over 25 republican or nationalist funerals were systematically attacked by the RUC as a matter of deliberate British policy . The objective was to drive mourners off the streets so that later Britain could claim dwindling support for republicanism as 'evidenced' by the small numbers attending IRA funerals . As Jane Plunkett reports , the opposite happened . More and more people came out to defend the remains of republican dead , the RUC were exposed as being as brutal and sectarian as ever , and these two factors , combined with damaging international news coverage , eventually forced the British government to reverse its policy of attacking republican funerals .
From 'IRIS' magazine , October 1987.

RUC Chief John Hermon claims that the RUC are present at republican funerals to prevent any appearance by a (P)IRA firing party, but the RUC were aware , as everyone was aware , that the (P)IRA had already paid their last respects to their fallen comrade with a volley of shots the previous Sunday , and had made it clear that they would be playing no formal part in the funeral .

And John Hermon's excuse cut no ice with those who recalled that the RUC had already attacked several other republican funerals on the same pretext , again though they were well aware that (P)IRA firing parties had already paid their last tribute .

Since December 1983 , a period of little more than three years , more than a score of republican or nationalist funerals had been attacked as a matter of British policy : sometimes the RUC's pretext was to demand the removal of beret and gloves from the coffin or , when there was no beret , the Tricolour , but they also attacked private funerals , such as that of Volunteer Jim McKernan (in September 1986) , where no flag was on display . The RUC attacked the funerals not just of Volunteers who died on active service but also those of republican veterans . On rare occasions when the RUC gave undertakings to bereaved families that they would allow a dignified burial , they broke those undertakings.......
(MORE LATER).

Thursday, November 22, 2007

Anti-censorship picket on RTE Studios in Dublin, Saturday December 1st , 2007 , from 12 Noon to 1.30pm .

As a publicly-funded institution , RTE leaves a lot to be desired : the coverage it provides could be said to be based on the political 'prevailing winds' of the day . It has consistently and spectacularly failed to either report on what it apparently views as 'delicate' issues or will cover same in a light which is favourable to its own administration and the administration-of-the-day in Leinster House .
Regardless of the importance of the issue - whether it concerns the political situation in the north-east of this isle, the 'Shell To Sea' issue or the State Health Service (or lack of same) , RTE , it seems , will do its utmost to spare the blushes of its political colleagues and part-paymasters in Kildare Street .
With this in mind , an anti-censorship picket will be placed on the RTE Studios in Donnybrook , Dublin , on Saturday 1st December 2007 , between the hours of 12 Noon and 1.30pm . If you can't make it on the day , check-back here on this blog on the following day where we will publish a piece on how the picket went . Just don't expect it to be covered on RTE.....

Almost 12 months since it was 'only' thirty years.....

It began - properly structured and organised - in 1976 ,as a 'fundraiser with a difference' combined with the need to gain extra publicity for a situation which was then - as now - making world headlines . Those that sat down together in early September 1976 to tighten-up the then 'hit-and-miss' affair were a dedicated team who fully understood that to fail in their business would not only bring derision on them and the issue they sought to highlight , but would give their enemy a publicity coup which they would exploit to the fullest extent . With that in mind , the team persevered - favours were called-in , guarantees were secured , provisions obtained and word dispatched to like-minded individuals in the near-locale . At the appointed time on the agreed day - 12 Noon , Christmas Day 1976 - a soon-to-be 31-years-young event was 'born'.......
The CABHAIR Christmas Day Swim is , thankfully , still going strong and will be , as mentioned , 31-years-young on December 25th next!
Photographs of last years event can be viewed here and , if you can't make it to the actual swim itself , you might consider posting a donation to the following address :
CABHAIR
Irish Republican Prisoners Dependants Fund
223 Parnell Street,
Dublin 1.
Ireland.
Thank You,
Go Raibh Maith Agat,
Sharon.

Wednesday, November 21, 2007

THE COALISLAND STORY : British Torture In Ireland.......
From 'The United Irishman' newspaper, January 1958 .

The London 'Observer' newspaper on December 15 , 1957 , carried an article on brain-washing in which this statement appeared : " The real tortures are isolation and solitary confinement , prolonged interrogation , humiliation..." Now read the story of the Coalisland youths again and see if the description fits .

Britain may have gotten away with torture in Cyprus and other places , but she won't get away with it in Ireland . This isn't Kenya . There are Irish exiles with powerful voices in every corner of the globe and they will see to it that this story is told in full . The Irish people at home will not stand for it either . Our job now is to expose British atrocities in Ireland and tell the world the full story .

[END of 'THE COALISLAND STORY : British Torture In Ireland']
(Next : 'Republican Martyrs of 1957' - from the same source)

KING OF THE YUPPIE HEARTLAND....... !

Dessie O'Malley would expect to draw his support almost exclusively from middle-class areas , but if he is to succeed in getting the twenty seats he hopes for that support base would also have to include working-class areas , especially in Dublin . On the evidence of one day spent with PD leader O'Malley ,that working-class support is unlikely to be forthcoming.
From 'IN DUBLIN' ELECTION SPECIAL , 1987.
By Derek Dunne.

RTE interview Dessie O' Malley walking around ; he now believes that the PD's can get more than twenty seats . One on-looker remarks that he has his work cut out for himself to get that number of seats . Dessie shakes hands with a travelling woman who is standing minding her own business . " Would ya dance with that woman...? " , asks a passing cyclist , which prompts Dessie's handlers to make snide remarks and jokes about the woman's appearance . Of such are the PD's made.

There are ten minutes to spare now , and Dessie is clearly not too enthusiastic about getting on the bus again . It is also clear that he is getting fed up , but they eventually move off . In Ranelagh , the PD's are in the heart of 'Yuppieland' : there are enough middle-class voters here who know the local candidate Michael McDowell and who will vote for him , although it is unlikely that he will be elected.

Dessie , it emerges , believes in diagnostic medicine more than most - he believes that you can have better medical services with less money being involved. One journalist remarks that Dessie O Malley sounds exactly like Margaret Thatcher before she came to power in Britain - that she rose on a middle class vote and proceeded to screw everyone on social welfare . Dessie looks to be heading the same way , and he is the 'Man Of The Moment' . Then he made a comment about people's lack of understanding where money is concerned.......
(MORE LATER).

REPUBLICAN MOURNERS DEFEAT RUC.
Between December 1983 and May 1987 , over 25 republican or nationalist funerals were systematically attacked by the RUC as a matter of deliberate British policy . The objective was to drive mourners off the streets so that later Britain could claim dwindling support for republicanism as 'evidenced' by the small numbers attending IRA funerals . As Jane Plunkett reports , the opposite happened . More and more people came out to defend the remains of republican dead , the RUC were exposed as being as brutal and sectarian as ever , and these two factors , combined with damaging international news coverage , eventually forced the British government to reverse its policy of attacking republican funerals .
From 'IRIS' magazine , October 1987.

The May 1987 attack by the RUC on the funeral of (P)IRA Volunteer Finbarr McKenna was the pre-planned and bloody culmination of a strategy launched by the British government over three years earlier . But , paradoxically , Finbarr McKenna's funeral also signalled that strategy's defeat .

Once again , thousands of mourners , and in particular a bereaved family , had shown to the world that - despite escalating repression - the determination of nationalists in the occupied Six Counties to bury their dead with honour and dignity was as strong as ever . On May 6th , 1987 , the world's TV cameras recorded scenes reminiscent of South Africa as steel-helmeted RUC men batoned and kicked peaceful mourners .

Outside the Royal Victoria Hospital, in full view of horrified staff , the RUC fired at least five plastic bullets at head height into the crowd , on the pretext of a few stones being thrown . Several people were carried into the hospital with blood streaming from head wounds : at least 19 people altogether received hospital treatment and one of them had his shoulder broken by one of the bullets . Many more were too afraid of RUC harassment to seek hospital treatment . Gerry Adams stated that the aim of the RUC attack was "...purely to terrorise the nationalist people off their own streets.." ('1169...' Comment : ....which is not the job of the 'PSNI' , of course..)
(MORE LATER).

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

Monday, November 19, 2007

THE COALISLAND STORY : British Torture In Ireland.......
From 'The United Irishman' newspaper, January 1958 .

A father and son arrested in Fermanagh within the past month were both brutally treated by the RUC : the father is now in the Omagh Mental Hospital . A youth arrested in Kilkeel , County Down , had to be shifted to a mental hospital after his release from the RUC . A noted brain specialist has testified to his condition .

James Donnelly , Leo McGarry , James Hackett , Paddy Timony and Denis Cassin , of Armagh City , who were arrested on December 7 , 1957 , were kept in tubs of cold water for four hours , were then taken out and , while still naked , had their feet stamped on and their bodies punched . Later they were beaten with rubber truncheons . These things are happening in Occupied Ireland . The Coalisland youths may be put in the dock any day now on capital charges but , as yet , they are held uncharged and untried .

In Fermanagh , youths arrested during the last 'round-up' are also uncharged and untried , but this has not prevented Stormont declaring that four of them will be charged and will receive stiff sentences . British 'justice' in Ireland now follows the rule - '...announce the sentence first and then charge and try them.. ' Willing stooges rejoicing in the name of 'judges' are ready to dispense the required sentence whenever called upon.......
(MORE LATER).

KING OF THE YUPPIE HEARTLAND....... !

Dessie O'Malley would expect to draw his support almost exclusively from middle-class areas , but if he is to succeed in getting the twenty seats he hopes for that support base would also have to include working-class areas , especially in Dublin . On the evidence of one day spent with PD leader O'Malley ,that working-class support is unlikely to be forthcoming.
From 'IN DUBLIN' ELECTION SPECIAL , 1987.
By Derek Dunne.

In the South Inner City of Dublin , about half-a-dozen anti- Section 31 protestors emerge as if from the woodwork : Dessie's handlers are panicked . One young protestor stands in the doorway in front of O' Malley demanding to know his view of Section 31 . The entire world and his wife knows Dessie's view on Section 31 . The handlers push Dessie forward , and another handler bursts his trousers when he tries to kick the young protestor who , eventually , is hoisted backwards to disappear from view . Dessie is shook by the affair . It is claimed on the news that he got his suit torn , even though there is no evidence of this . Not one protestor laid a hand on him - he was pushed only by his own people .

He goes on with the canvass : he enters a workshop where there are kids doing all sorts of 'wurk' , but none of them are old enough to vote . Still , it's a great photo opportunity . He moves on to the Winstanley Shoe Co-Op , where he declares that he is very much in favour of self help . He and his team go on what is known as a 'walkabout' in the factory - this is another opportunity for him to meet the people and impress them .

By now , the gardai are on the scene . Here and there people avoid Dessie . Women run into a shop away from him . The reception he gets is anything but friendly and the image of him going to meet the people with a garda escort hardly conforms to the image that the PD's would like to project . One of his handlers remarks ruefully - " People are turning their backs and walking away..." Dessie then goes off to lunch with a priest from the locality , never one to forget the power of prayer . When he emerges , it's with hairbrush in hand , which he sneaks to a handler before anyone can get a photo of it . Another photo opportunity missed ! One woman wishes him the best of luck . The handlers are constantly pushing the other PD candidates into the picture line-up so that they will get their faces across . Most of them are completely unknown.......
(MORE LATER).

Sunday, November 18, 2007

Anti-censorship picket on RTE Studios in Dublin, Saturday December 1st , 2007 , from 12 Noon to 1.30pm .

As a publicly-funded institution , RTE leaves a lot to be desired : the coverage it provides could be said to be based on the political 'prevailing winds' of the day . It has consistently and spectacularly failed to either report on what it apparently views as 'delicate' issues or will cover same in a light favourable to its own administration and the administration-of-the-day in Leinster House .
Regardless of the importance of the issue - whether it concerns the political situation in the north-east of this isle, the 'Shell To Sea' issue or the State Health service (or lack of same) , RTE , it seems , will do its utmost to spare the blushes of its political colleagues in Kildare Street .
With this in mind , an anti-censorship picket will be placed on the RTE Studios in Donnybrook , Dublin , on Saturday 1st December 2007 , between the hours of 12 Noon and 1.30pm . If you can't make it on the day , check-back here on this blog on the following day where we will publish a piece on how the picket went . Just don't expect it to be covered on RTE.....

Saturday, November 17, 2007

Friday, November 16, 2007

THE COALISLAND STORY : British Torture In Ireland.......
From 'The United Irishman' newspaper, January 1958 .

One by one , the young men were taken out of solitary confinement and the torture and questioning began again - this went on all day . They were told the torture and ceaseless questions would continue until they signed the statements which the RUC had prepared .

Mentally and physically exhausted from the torture , constant questioning , lack of food and sleep , fearful of the continuation and what might befall their families , they eventually 'admitted' anything the RUC wanted them to admit : they signed the RUC-written statements . Any of these days now they may stand in the dock charged with the death of RUC Sergeant A.J. Ovens. The torture-mill confessions will be used to send them - and others - to the scaffold .

The most vicious forms of torture combined with brain-washing techniques are now being practised by the British Crown authorities in Occupied Ireland to obtain 'confessions' . The Coalisland story is not an isolated instance ; we have examples also from Derry , Down , Fermanagh - indeed , from all areas of Occupied Ireland.......
(MORE LATER).

KING OF THE YUPPIE HEARTLAND....... !

Dessie O'Malley would expect to draw his support almost exclusively from middle-class areas , but if he is to succeed in getting the twenty seats he hopes for that support base would also have to include working-class areas , especially in Dublin . On the evidence of one day spent with PD leader O'Malley ,that working-class support is unlikely to be forthcoming.
From 'IN DUBLIN' ELECTION SPECIAL , 1987.
By Derek Dunne.

Outside the Leo Laboratories factory in Dublin , Dessie O' Malley is interviewed by the media and something comes across quite clearly - he says " I'm not necessarily saying that I should be Taoiseach..." He then says that there are precedents for a 'backbencher Taoiseach' , so what he is really saying is that he should be Taoiseach ! He wants to rule Ireland . He smokes in the entrance to the building , dragging heavily on the cigarette . He drags so hard that the cheeks of his face come together .

On the bus , RTE have their cameras and they want an interview , but Dessie is nervous . " Where's the camera ? When are you starting it ? Are you going to use a bright light ...? " The RTE people start to put make-up on him , but he is clearly embarrassed by this - " Ah stop that , now ..." , he chides , as his hair is combed for him . One of his handlers , a female , reflects ruefully - " He always has a bit at the back that sticks out no matter what you do..." , and she's right . The RTE crew tell him to get relaxed .

Then it's " Lights ! Camera ! " Dessie 'switches' himself on , and , in an authoratative voice , begins to moralise on the state of the 'nation' . The Limerick East constituency is good , he tells RTE , and fifty per-cent of the Fianna Fail organisation went over to the PD's . The 'feedback' - in the jargon of politics - is 'very positive' . As the bus moves along Lower Kimmage Road , bemused passers-by are treated to an insight into how RTE 'set up' these type of interviews . Dessie signs a release form for RTE to allow them to screen the interview , but there are no 'fees' , this time . It then occurs to some of us that he may actually have gotten paid for past appearances.......
(MORE LATER).

THE EAMON BYRNE CASE .......
Eamon Byrne , a 19-year-old Dubliner , was shot dead by a garda detective during an attempted robbery at the B+I terminal in November 1982 . For his family , obtaining justice , or simply the truth , could be a long and expensive process.
From 'The Phoenix' magazine , July 1983 .

State Justice Minister Michael Noonan (Fine Gael) , who had been an ardent advocate of an independent garda authority and complaints tribunal before coming to Office , suffered a sudden conversion afterwards . In contrast to Willie Whitelaw, Noonan uttered no statements on the issue , either in Leinster House or out of it . The only politician who did attempt to raise the Eamon Byrne case was independent Leinster House member Tony Gregory, whose constituent Eamon Byrne was .

Tony Gregory found his questions disallowed by the Leinster House Ceann Comhairle (ie the House Chairperson) because the matter was sub judice , when in fact it wasn't , as charges were not preferred against anyone for Eamon Byrne's death . Gregory was later told that it was the preserve of the Dublin City Coroner and his Court.

Meanwhile , neither of these factors prevented the trial going ahead of Byrne's accomplices - the trial was brought forward , in fact , so that the inquest proceedings on Eamon Byrne wouldn't unduly affect its outcome . Subsequently , the survivors of the abortive raid , David and Stephen Conroy , both received seven years for armed robbery in the State Central Criminal Court, on June 17 , 1983 . The outcome of the inquest on Eamon Byrne hardly came as a surprise.......
(MORE LATER).

Thursday, November 15, 2007

Wednesday, November 14, 2007

THE COALISLAND STORY : British Torture In Ireland.......
From 'The United Irishman' newspaper, January 1958 .

The interrogation of the four young men continued all through the night : between 5AM and 6AM the four were returned to their cells - they were in bad shape physically and mentally .

At 6AM they were pulled out of their cells - squads of three men now started the questioning in relays . Cocked revolvers were placed against the stomachs , throats and temples of the youths , and sticks were pressed into their bodies . Hankerchiefs were twisted around their necks , as a cloth soaked in a foul-smelling liquid was pushed against their faces while their noses were held . They were thrown on the floor and held there as the cloth around their neck was woven tighter and tighter , then it would be snapped open and they'd be told to 'confess' .

Then they were beaten around the head and body with rubber truncheons . These beatings continued in different forms throughout all day Wednesday and from midnight to 6AM Thursday morning . They were returned to their cells before being put in solitary confinement . A detective whom they had not seen before rushed into the cell almost immediately after them and acted like a maniac , shouting , as he clawed all over them , " I'm Ovens. I'll haunt you for the rest of your lives..." When this maniac detective left the cell , the young man inside was taken out again.......
(MORE LATER).

KING OF THE YUPPIE HEARTLAND....... !

Dessie O'Malley would expect to draw his support almost exclusively from middle-class areas , but if he is to succeed in getting the twenty seats he hopes for that support base would also have to include working-class areas , especially in Dublin . On the evidence of one day spent with PD leader O'Malley ,that working-class support is unlikely to be forthcoming.
From 'IN DUBLIN' ELECTION SPECIAL , 1987.
By Derek Dunne.

Dessie O' Malley worked very hard in government with Charlie Haughey . Charlie wasn't his choice , he said , but one thing is sure - he wouldn't serve in another government with him . And somehow , that's what the PD's are all about - not serving in a government with Charlie Haughey . There , in a nutshell , is the reason for their existance . Forgot all this 'mould-breaking' stuff .

Dessie is now most disturbed about Sellafield, and about the leaks and the lies that have been told : he is against nuclear power , you see . This is quite a turnaround. Anyway - the bus moves on up Molesworth Street , around Saint Stephen's Green and onto the South Circular Road . It stops at a company called 'Leo Laboratories' , waiting for Dessie . He finally arrives and says that he has been here before with the King of Denmark , and says that he has a photo to prove it . But the photo shows him posing with the Queen of Denmark . But no matter . He was here before in any event...

There are a large number of workers in the labs and most of them live locally . Dessie puts on a white coat to 'preswerve sterile conditions' , and gets his photo taken , which is the whole point of the exercise . He is in the building exactly three minutes when he starts looking at his watch - he looks bored . When questioned , he says that he is "...going to do even better that we had thought at the start , believe it or not.." Not . He goes into the workers canteen , where those inside are interrupted at their lunchbreak to shake his hand . " Will you say a few words there , Des.." asks one of his handlers . He does , and included in the words are "...committed to radical changes.." : it is a truth that in this election language has been turned on its head . The word 'radical' coming from Dessie O' Malley does not ring true . By the time the local PD candidate begins to speak , Des has gone out the door . Throughout the day it is the same story - Dessie will
step in to be followed by the local candidate , and then he will leave.......
(MORE LATER).

THE EAMON BYRNE CASE .......
Eamon Byrne , a 19-year-old Dubliner , was shot dead by a garda detective during an attempted robbery at the B+I terminal in November 1982 . For his family , obtaining justice , or simply the truth , could be a long and expensive process.
From 'The Phoenix' magazine , July 1983 .

Irish coroners' courts have traditionally concentrated on the immediate cause of death and nobody in authority , including (Fine Gael's) State Justice Minister Michael Noonan, saw fit to probe any further . The contrast with the British treatment of the Stephen Waldorf Case is outstanding : Mr Waldorf was shot by London police in January 1983 in a case of mistaken identity with a dangerous fugitive . The then British Home Secretary , Willie Whitelaw, took immediate action -

First , he suspended the three police officers concerned , then he made an immediate apology to Stephen Waldorf (who survived the shooting) , then a British Home Office enquiry investigated the incident and passed on a file to the (British) Director of Public Prosecutions - in three days - which is now the basis of a prosecution still pending against the suspended detectives . Also , a statement was issued in the British House Of Commons declaring that the system of issuing firearms to police officers was under review and details of the existing procedures were made public .

What happened in Ireland ? An internal garda enquiry was instituted which took a month to complete its report - it was then forwarded to the Director of Public Prosecution's Office where it rested for two months before being passed back to the Commissioner as providing insufficient grounds for a prosecution . One unusual feature of the file , apparently , was that it did not contain the statements of the only two civilian witnesses to the incident.......
(MORE LATER).

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

103rd RSF ARD FHEIS , Saturday 10-Sunday 11 November 2007 .
A brief report on the Ard Fheis , some photographs and the Presidential Address can be found here and here, and the 113 motions which were discussed and voted on over the weekend can be found here.
The occasion was , as usual , a welcome chance to meet-up with old friends and comrades from throughout Ireland , England , Wales , Scotland and America . And all of us missed the company of Dan.....

Monday, November 12, 2007

THE COALISLAND STORY : British Torture In Ireland.......
From 'The United Irishman' newspaper, January 1958 .

At 12.10AM on the morning of Wednesday , November 20 , 1957 , the four young men - Kevin Mallon , James O' Donnell , Francis Talbot and John O' Neill - were taken from Dungannon RUC Barracks and informed they were being moved to Belfast . They were then handcuffed . Somewhere between Lurgan in County Armagh and Lisburn in County Antrim the cars they were in swung up a by-road and stopped . The four lads were removed from the cars and beaten on the side of the road .

In Belfast they were taken to Crumlin Road RUC Barracks ; the time was about 2AM , Wednesday , November 20 , 1957 . Relays of interrogators now pounced on them , with their questions couched in the foulest language . They were threatened that their homes would be destroyed and their families thrown on the streets ; that their brothers would be put away for 20 years ; that it made no difference to them who was 'got' but that "...someone was going to be got for the Brackaville job and it might as well be them.." The interrogation took the following form -

One of the four prisoners would be returned to a cell after about three-quarters of an hour of beatings combined with threats and questions . He would hear clearly the screams of the other lads and the shouted oaths and threats of the RUC , who were roaring the following - "...you are a dirty rotten communist....your mother is nothing but a whore......you killed Sergeant Ovens......no man ever went through our hands that we didn't break , and we're going to break you .." When one of the young men was brought back to his cell in the dark , he lay on the bunk : the pillow was wet . It was covered in blood . An RUC detective entered and told him - " That is the sheet that covered Sergeant Ovens . It will cover another body soon......."
(MORE LATER).

KING OF THE YUPPIE HEARTLAND !

Dessie O'Malley would expect to draw his support almost exclusively from middle-class areas , but if he is to succeed in getting the twenty seats he hopes for that support base would also have to include working-class areas , especially in Dublin . On the evidence of one day spent with PD leader O'Malley ,that working-class support is unlikely to be forthcoming.
From 'IN DUBLIN' ELECTION SPECIAL , 1987.
By Derek Dunne.

Sometimes it can be acutely embarrassing to be in the company of Dessie O' Malley. Like when he is posing for the photographers , for instance . In order for a particular photo opportunity to be exploited fully , it is necessary to smile when posing , whether it be with a shovel , an old woman of the King of Denmark ! But Dessie has this problem - it appears that he cannot raise the necessary smile without an accompanying laugh . His laugh begins someplace deep within the man and comes out as a sort of guffaw that one might hear in a rugby club very late at night when 'the boys' are filling up the toilet bowl with beer and someone notices that the water is flooding out the door...

The laugh and smile are embarrassing , but they are all part and parcel of electoral work in what passes for elections in this part of the world . Dessie's style often leaves a lot to be desired . He will walk past people and is never totally comfortable shaking hands or making small talk - he appears to consider the whole exercise a huge bore . On this day , a private coach has been hired and this is in keeping with the spirit of private enterprise that the Progressive Democrats would say they wish to foster . A parking ticket is placed on the bus before it even moves off . The vehicle itself is splattered in posters and slogans - 'Dessie Can Do It' . Nobody bothers to ask what it is he can 'do' . 'Put Your Foot Down' , reads another poster . The driver of the bus looks at the poster , and tells us he is a supporter of Charles J. Haughey!

When the coach starts off , Dessie is not on board . He is in RTE talking to John Bowman on the 'Day By Day' programme . Listeners can phone in with comments , and one does , asking about the time that Dessie said that Charlie Haughey was unfit for Office and how he squared this with the fact that he served as a minister under the same man.......
(MORE LATER).

THE EAMON BYRNE CASE .......
Eamon Byrne , a 19-year-old Dubliner , was shot dead by a garda detective during an attempted robbery at the B+I terminal in November 1982 . For his family , obtaining justice , or simply the truth , could be a long and expensive process.
From 'The Phoenix' magazine , July 1983 .

The gun which killed Eamon Byrne , a .38 Smith and Wesson police special revolver , had never been properly tested and a garda ballistics officer confirmed its hair trigger action rendered it unsafe and unsuitable for police work . Also , the officer who fired the gun admitted that he had only received four days instructions in the use of firearms .

The case had other unusual dimensions , only one of which emerged in court . The gardai admitted that they were keeping watch on the B+I terminal because they had been tipped off that an attempt would be made to rob the car ferry when it docked . In fact there is strong evidence to suggest that the robbery was the work of an agent provocateur . It seems that Eamon Byrne and the two Conroy brothers who were captured with him were set up .

No evidence involving the robbery was allowed in the coroner's court , nor was the fact that , prior to his death , Eamon Byrne had approached journalists and the Prisoners Rights Organisation , to say he had been threatened by garda officers , and he subsequently gave a statement to the Irish Council for Civil Liberties detailing the threats . Subsequent to Eamon Byrne's death , several of his associates gave sworn affidavits alleging they had been offered inducements to 'stitch him up' . None of this emerged at the inquest.......
(MORE LATER).

(Thank You , 'O Neill' , for your words of encouragement - hope we have been of some assistance to you !)

Saturday, November 10, 2007

103 And Counting !

This blog would like to extend congratulations to the Republican Sinn Fein organisation on its 103rd Ard Fheis , which is being held this weekend (Saturday 10 November and Sunday 11 November 2007) in a Dublin venue: as we ourselves know , from past experience, a virulent gauntlet of those representing this corrupt Statelet has to be breached - quite forcibly , on occasion - by not only those attending the event , but also by those entering the venue (hotel) on unrelated business . And this year will , no doubt , be the same in that regard as any of the 102 such gatherings which precede it , and will , no doubt , completely fail to deter the Republicans gathered there from doing the same next year !

The system of partition government in Ireland has been maintained since 1922, and since 1973 under the growing influence of the EU. It is an inescapable fact, on the supreme test of results, that this system has failed. It is time to think of radical change.
It is that radical change which the State goons , and those that pay them , fear so much...
Ni seoinini sinn go leir!

Friday, November 09, 2007

THE COALISLAND STORY : British Torture In Ireland.......
From 'The United Irishman' newspaper, January 1958 .

The British authorities have turned East Tyrone into a terror-area : scores of young men have been arrested , interrogated , beaten , released , re-arrested - and the torture process repeated to force 'confessions' . This is the story of four such young men who are now held in pre-trial detention - no charges have yet been preferred against them - in Crumlin Road Jail in Belfast. This did not happen in Hungary , Algeria or Cyprus . It happened in Ireland . Now read it and see what the 26-County administration is co-operating with by using their forces to protect British rule in Ireland :

Four Coalisland , County Tyrone , youths - Kevin Mallon , James O' Donnell , Francis Talbot and John O' Neill , were arrested at various times on Monday November 18 , 1957 , and Tuesday , November 19 , by the RUC. They were taken to Dungannon RUC Barracks where the first interrogations began at 7.30pm on November 19 , 1957 , and lasted until midnight . The young men received no meals and a request for a cup of tea was ignored .

They were questioned continuously by relays of three men and in the course of the first questioning were beaten with fists , punched in the stomachs and face , caught by the hair and their heads banged against the wall . Then , shortly after midnight , the four young men were handcuffed.......
(MORE LATER).

A PORTRAIT OF IRELAND , by Saoránach.......
First published in the Republican Bulletin - Iris Na Poblachta , November 1986.

Ellen Hazelkorn wrote : " Through clientelism , the State has actively sought to deflect incipient conflict by channelling it instead into well-established clientele networks , controlled by parties of the dominant classes . Clientelism is institutionalised within the very fabric of the state , and reinforced by a consistent effort to exclude questions that refer to class differences . In this manner , protest is curtailed and the status quo enforced. "

This is how the 26-County state is run . This is how the masses are manipulated and kept docile . Our job is to find ways and means of changing it and this must surely begin as a process of education . 'Class , Clientelism and the Political Process in the Republic Of Ireland' is a book worth reading and studying . It is a serious but readable book and each chapter would provide an ideal basis for discussion in groups - if you cannot afford the price (or do not get a book token for Christmas!) then ask your local library to get it for you .

[END of 'A PORTRAIT OF IRELAND']
(NEXT: 'King Of The Yuppie Heartland' - from 1987)

THE EAMON BYRNE CASE .
Eamon Byrne , a 19-year-old Dubliner , was shot dead by a garda detective during an attempted robbery at the B+I terminal in November 1982 . For his family , obtaining justice , or simply the truth , could be a long and expensive process.
From 'The Phoenix' magazine , July 1983 .

Eamon Byrne , the 19-year-old Dubliner who was shot dead by a garda detective during an attempted robbery at the B+I terminal in November 1982 , has been disposed of by due bureaucratic process. But it's unlikely we've heard the last of the matter . The dead youth's teenage widow , Elizabeth , is currently considering an action against the Garda Commissioner and the Officers directly involved in the incident .

A lot of questions remain unanswered . The coroner's jury (handpicked by the gardai) returned , on July 5th , 1983 , an ambiguous verdict that Eamon Byrne died of wounds sustained when he was wounded by a detective garda . Verdicts don't come much more open-ended than that , but there is unlikely to be any follow-up by the authorities into precisely what happened on the Dublin Docks on the morning of November 22nd , 1982 , when Eamon Byrne was shot .

The new facts established at the inquest only deepen cause for concern . Byrne , for instance , was not armed at the time he was shot . Two detective gardai were grappling with him on the ground when the gun of one of them "...struck Byrne's head.." and went off , accidentally killing him.......
(MORE LATER).

Thursday, November 08, 2007

103 And Counting !

This blog would like to extend congratulations to the Republican Sinn Fein organisation on its 103rd Ard Fheis , which it is due to hold this coming weekend , Saturday 10 November and Sunday 11 November 2007, in a Dublin venue: as we ourselves know , from past experience, a virulent gauntlet of those representing this corrupt Statelet has to be breached - quite forcibly , on occasion - by not only those attending the event , but also by those entering the venue (hotel) on unrelated business . And this year will , no doubt , be the same in that regard as any of the 102 such gatherings which precede it , and will , no doubt , completely fail to deter the Republicans gathered there from doing the same next year !

The system of partition government in Ireland has been maintained since 1922, and since 1973 under the growing influence of the EU. It is an inescapable fact, on the supreme test of results, that this system has failed. It is time to think of radical change.
It is that radical change which the State goons , and those that pay them , fear so much...
Ni seoinini sinn go leir!

Wednesday, November 07, 2007

THE COALISLAND STORY : British Torture In Ireland.
From 'The United Irishman' newspaper, January 1958 .

Torture stories are not new . But the inhuman treatment meted out to young Irishmen in the name of British law in our Occupied Six Counties may be news to the majority of the Irish people .

The unwritten orders of the RUC are that a 'confession' must be got at any price . And this 'confession' must not only involve the youth who is being interrogated but many others also . Near Coalisland , in County Tyrone , an RUC Sergeant named Arthur James Ovens was killed in an explosion in a disused house at Brackaville , in August 1957 . The Stormont authorities had publicised a scheme of rewards for information leading to the capture of Irish freedom fighters and , accordingly , British military and RUC guides were rushed to Brackaville after being told by telephone that young men had been seen entering the disused house . RUC Sergeant A.J. Ovens was killed when a mine exploded .

The British authorities have , since then , turned East Tyrone into a terror-area . Uniformed British thugs have rounded-up scores of young men.......
(MORE LATER).

A PORTRAIT OF IRELAND , by Saoránach.......
First published in the Republican Bulletin - Iris Na Poblachta , November 1986.

Ellen Hazelkorn wrote : " There is a growth of cynicism and alienation from politicians and the political process , but political debate has not shown any significant alteration in style , content or ideological level .

The Workers' Party and sections of the Labour-left have occasionally succeeded in raising debate onto a more ideological plane , but change will not be easy or automatic . For them to operate in constituencies through clinics could be politically disastrous in the long-term ; suggestions that their councillors/TD's can be as effective as others in acquiring services or information will likely reinforce the traditional vertical/clientele links , and negate the horizontal/class ties which they ideologically favour .

In Ireland , clientelism is not merely a cultural or historic feature of rural life now appendaged onto the urban political scene , nor has its existence and persistence been merely the result of successful interventions by politicians - it is used by the State to deflect incipient conflict....... "
(MORE LATER).

ROBERT EMMET - THE DARLING OF ERIN.......

Margaret McKearney looks at the life and death of one of Ireland's most enduring heroes.
From 'Fourthwrite' magazine, Autumn 2003.

Robert Emmet's trial - on September 19 , 1803 - in Green Street Courthouse in Dublin - lasted all day and by 9.30pm he was pronounced guilty ; asked for his reaction , he delivered a speech which still inspires today . He closed by saying that he cared not for the opinion of the court but for the opinion of the future , "...when other times and other men can do justice to my character ." Robert Emmet was publicly executed on Tuesday September 20 outside St Catherine's Church in Dublin's Thomas Street .

The final comment on the value of Robert Emmet's Rising must go to Séan Ó Brádaigh who states that to speak of Emmet in terms of failure alone is to do him a grave injustice . He with the men and women of 1798 set a course for the Irish nation , with their appeal to Protestant , Catholic and Dissenter under the common name of Irishman , which profoundly affected Irish life for more than two centuries and which will , we trust , eventually bear abundant fruit .

[END of 'ROBERT EMMET - THE DARLING OF ERIN']
(NEXT : 'The Eamonn Byrne Case' - from 'Phoenix' magazine , 1983)

Tuesday, November 06, 2007

Monday, November 05, 2007

BRITISH OCCUPATION AND THE LONDON 'TIMES' .......

From 'The United Irishman' newspaper, January 1958 .

In a fit of pitiful pleading , David Bleakley stated : " It is an anachronism that an economically insecure Northern Ireland should exist in the midst of an industrially thriving British community . Ulster's labout force is ready , anxious and able to work its way through to prosperity . All it asks is to be given the tools and the jobs."

He should have said that the whole concept of Occupied Ireland is an anachronism - that the only way we can all 'work our way through to prosperity' is by first winning vocational independence and driving British imperialism from our land . That would be wisdom but one does not expect wisdom for Ireland in the columns of 'The London Times' newspaper .

[END of 'BRITISH OCCUPATION AND THE LONDON 'TIMES']
(NEXT : 'THE COALISLAND STORY - British Torture In Ireland')

A PORTRAIT OF IRELAND , by Saoránach.......
First published in the Republican Bulletin - Iris Na Poblachta , November 1986.

Ellen Hazelkorn's paper , 'Class Clientelism and the Political Process in the Republic of Ireland', points to the world of political patronage and brokerage , the 'clinics' operated by those in Leinster House and the use of public money to buy allegiance . Ignorance is perpetuated and democracy becomes a joke . As Ellen Hazelkorn put it - " Few politicians would seek to define themselves as legislators , preferring the image of representing or serving their constituents . The initial assertion that deputies spend their time in clinics and letter-writing has been substantiated by more recent research."

Clientelism she regards as a mechanism for manipulating political disorganisation among the dominated classes in society . Her conclusions are devastating , as she refers to the risks involved in trying to change the system by becoming part of it. The system swallows you up . She wrote - " Put simply , Irish clientelism involves individuals who seek out the elected rep , or similarly placed 'elites' , in order to acquire some benefit or service which they feel they would not receive by their own , or their group's , efforts . This leads to a growth of cynicism and alienation......."
(MORE LATER).

ROBERT EMMET - THE DARLING OF ERIN.......

Margaret McKearney looks at the life and death of one of Ireland's most enduring heroes.
From 'Fourthwrite' magazine, Autumn 2003.

For the English Army , which included Daniel O' Connell, it was then merely a mopping-up operation : in the aftermath , the English arrested and tortured Anne Devlin, even offering her the enormous sum of £500 to betray Robert Emmet - she refused .

Emmet himself hid out in the Harold's Cross area of Dublin , during which he met with his mother and Sarah Curran, however , on Thursday August 25 , 1803 , Robert Emmet was finally arrested . It has been stated by others that a £1000 reward was paid by Dublin Castle to an informer , for supplying the information which led to the capture of Emmet .

Robert Emmet's misfortunes did not stop on his arrest : he had the misfortune to be defended by one Leonard McNally who was trusted by the United Irishmen . However , after McNally's death in 1820 it transpired that he was a highly paid government agent and , in his role as an informer , that he had encouraged young men to join the rebels , betrayed them to Dublin Castle and would then collect fees from the United Irishmen to 'defend' those same rebels in court !

Emmet was tried before a 'Special Commission' in Green Street Court House in Dublin on September 19 , 1803.......
(MORE LATER).