1169 And Counting.....

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Ernie O'Malley, pictured during his arrest in Dublin Castle in 1921 . He was using the alias 'Bernard Stewart' .

ERNIE O'MALLEY : SOLDIER OF OGLAIGH na hEIREANN .......
Following the recent publication of O'Malley's third book 'Raids And Rallies', on the Tan War years 1920-1921 , Frances-Mary Blake , who edited the book and his earlier works , writes an appreciation of the man who wrote 'On Another Man's Wound' and 'The Singing Flame'.
From 'IRIS' magazine , July 1983.

The prison chapters of his books illustrate how he and his comrades defied the prison system and bewildered their guards who , as O' Malley stated , "...had been told that we were murderers . That meant an image from a Sunday newspaper - twitching hands and furtive walk , or sullen hardness . They heard us laugh and sing , rag and annoy each other , joke and refuse to take prison regulations seriously.." But he pays tribute , too , to those who showed humanity to prisoners , which makes his verdicts on the others and on the British caste system all the more convincing .

After an historic escape from Kilmainham Jail on 14 February 1921 , Ernie O' Malley returned to the Martial Law areas and an intensified war campaign , until he was first baffled , then broken-hearted by the truce called in July 1921. One of the grimmest incidents had taken place one month previously , when Ernie O' Malley , as Officer Commanding of the IRA Division involved had taken it upon himself to execute three captured British Army officers because "...any officers we capture in this area are to be shot until such time as you cease shooting your prisoners.."

He wanted the Irish Republican Army to have status abroad , rather than be hidden behind the image of a suffering colonial people. As he bluntly put it to his affronted superiors later in 1921 - " We (the IRA) had never consulted the feelings of the people . If so , we would never have fired a shot . If we gave them a good strong lead , they would follow . " If his books were required reading in schools and universities , instead of the shoneen or revisionist (or simply non-existent) versions of modern Irish history , then the people of Ireland would be better prepared to achieve a true independence . As Ernie O' Malley wrote of the best of the IRA recruits , in words that typify his own unyielding spirit - " At times one came across a man who had been born free . There was no explaining it . One just accepted and thanked God in wonder ! "
(MORE LATER).

AN OUTLINE HISTORY OF THE RUC . RUC brutality , torture , murder and lies were brushed aside as the unionist establishment congratulated itself for the continuing existence of a paramilitary force which had maintained and safe-guarded its rule in the Occupied Six Counties of Ireland.......
From 'IRIS' magazine , July/August 1982.

The late 1960's saw this repressive role emphasised again , as RUC thugs batoned civil rights marchers to the ground , first on October 5th 1968 in Derry, in full view of the television cameras . Despite the outcry no investigation took place . When on August 14th 1969 the RUC finally admitted defeat , faced with the undaunted nationalist resistance of the Battle of the Bogside, and British troops entered Derry and then Belfast to safeguard the status quo , the 'B' Specials gave full vent to their anti-nationalist spleen , shooting dead a bystander in Armagh and Francis McCloskey in Dungiven, while in Belfast 'B' Specials and RUC men led loyalist mobs on attacks into nationalist streets .

When the first flames died down and the nationalists counted the cost in terms of human tragedy , the British summoned 'Lord' Hunt to prepare a report on the RUC - like subsequent reports it was essentially a whitewash .

August 1969 had revealed to the watching world that the RUC was a sectarian paramilitary force , and the British felt pressurised to act . Typically they summoned an academic , 'Lord' Hunt , to prepare a report which essentially would salvage the 'credibility' of the force : Hunt's report was issued on October 3rd 1969 and was announced as the 'reform' of the RUC . The 'reforms' , however , were not real but apparent . The 'B' Specials were disbanded but were replaced by the 'Ulster (sic) Defence Regiment' (UDR), which were attached to the British Army rather than to the RUC . But 90 per-cent of all 'B' Specials in 1969 joined the UDR at its formation in 1970 , meaning that 80 per-cent of the UDR was composed of former 'B' Specials.......
(MORE LATER).

OPERATIONAL COMMENTS OF A BRITISH ARMY OFFICER.......

British Lieutenant-Colonel Michael Dewar of the Royal Green Jackets has served in Cyprus , Borneo and Malaya , as well as in the Occupied Six Irish Counties . He has written three previous books - 'Internal Security Weapons And Equipment Of The World' and 'Brushfire Wars' . The extracts reproduced here are from 'The British Army In Northern Ireland' , which was published by 'Arms and Armour Press' in 1985 . The underlined comments in this article are ours . This article reflects the operational thinking of a British military commander , more so than his political or ideological outlook.
From 'IRIS' magazine , October 1987.

After Warrenpoint, British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher visited her army in the Occupied Six Counties on several occasions and always made her support for those thugs very clear : it is said that she has an affinity with military men and this may very well be the case , but she certainly expects the same degree of efficiency from them as she demands elsewhere and having some of then killed in action does not fit-in with her overall strategy . Her Senior Officers have learned to get their briefings correct in every detail and have to be prepared to be cross-questioned minutely .

At the end of 1980 , the strength of PIRA was estimated to be between three and four hundred active members , with about one thousand active supporters who provided safe houses , transport and other facilities . The hard-core strength was about a third of the active strength of 1972 , but the reduction probably reflected deliberate policy as much as the effects of attrition . Thus by the end of 1980 startling advances had been made by the British - the level of violence had been reduced drastically since the early and mid 1970's , but PIRA still operated effectively .

British Army Corporal William Lindfield was in command of a mobile patrol , which was taking an RAF Sergeant from his Brigade HQ to the 'C' Company base at North Howard Street Mill . The patrol mounted its two Macralon Land Rovers (which were said to be blast resistant but not bullet-proof) inside the Springfield Road RUC Barracks and drove out through the back gates . They turned right and right again down Crocus Street back towards the Springfield Road . When the leading Land Rover , driven by Corporal William Lindfield , was 50 yards down Crocus Street , all hell was let loose - automatic fire was brought to bear on it from very close range.......
(MORE LATER).

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

...and we're back . From New York , that is.... !

Well , that's not strictly true : John stayed in Dublin , catching-up with other things , and 'Junior' spent most(some?) of the time studying for his college exams . Myself and three of the girlfriends jetted off to New York for a week-long party....

...shopping.....

...mixing sport.....

...with a few bottles of cider.....

...and then going shopping again !

The 'Transportation Security Administration' branch of the ' U S Department Of Homeland Security' said 'Hello' to me as they 'borrowed' a suitcase padlock from me and 're-arranged' one of my suitcases but , apart from that and the 5-hour time difference between Ireland and New York and the 7-hour airplane journey to get there (and another seven hours to get back!) and really missing the kids , it was a brilliant holiday!

But we're back now , and the usual 'three-in-one' blog post will be published tomorrow (Wednesday May 14th) , probably a little later than usual ,as I'm still a wee bit jet-lagged . No , I tell a lie . I have sooooooo many new clothes to try-on that I just know I'm gonna be late with the post.....
;-)

Sharon.

Friday, May 02, 2008

BOBBY SANDS COMMEMORATION 2008 :

BOBBY SANDS 1954-1981.

Between the years 1917 and 1981 , twenty-two Irish men died on hunger-strike in our on-going fight for Irish freedom -

Thomas Ashe, Kerry, 5 days, 25 September 1917(force fed by tube , died as a result).
Terence McSwiney, Cork, 74 days, 25 October 1920.
Michael Fitzgerald, Cork, 67 days, 17 October 1920.
Joseph Murphy, Cork, 76 days , 25 October 1920 .
Joe Witty, Wexford , 2 September 1923.
Dennis Barry, Cork, 34 days, 20 November 1923.
Andy O Sullivan , Cork, 40 days, 22 November 1923.
Tony Darcy, Galway, 52 days, 16 April 1940.
Jack 'Sean' McNeela, Mayo, 55 days, 19 April 1940.
Sean McCaughey, Tyrone ,22 days, 11 May 1946 (hunger and thirst Strike).
Michael Gaughan, Mayo , 64 days, 3 June 1974.
Frank Stagg, Mayo , 62 days, 12 February 1976.
Bobby Sands, Belfast , 66 days, 5 May 1981.
Frank Hughes , Bellaghy (Derry) , 59 days, 12 May 1981.
Raymond McCreesh , South Armagh , 61 days, 21 May 1981.
Patsy O Hara , Derry , 61 days, 21 May 1981.
Joe McDonnell , Belfast , 61 days, 8 July 1981.
Martin Hurson , Tyrone , 46 days, 13 July 1981.
Kevin Lynch, Dungiven (Derry) ,71 days, 1 August 1981.
Kieran Doherty , Belfast , 73 days, 2 August 1981.
Tom McIlwee , Bellaghy (Derry) , 62 days, 8 August 1981.
Micky Devine , Derry , 60 days, 20 August 1981.

The sectarian realities of ghetto life materialised early in Bobby's life when at the age of ten his family were forced to move home owing to loyalist intimidation even as early as 1962. Bobby recalled his mother speaking of the troubled times which occurred during her childhood; "Although I never really understood what internment was or who the 'Specials' were, I grew to regard them as symbols of evil".
Of this time Bobby himself later wrote: "I was only a working-class boy from a Nationalist ghetto, but it is repression that creates the revolutionary spirit of freedom. I shall not settle until I achieve liberation of my country, until Ireland becomes a sovereign, independent socialist republic..."
(From here.)
The fight for the same Cause that Bobby Sands died for in 1981 is on-going today , as six Irish counties remain under the jurisdictional control of Westminster , which enforces that control with military occupation. For the 28th successive year , a commemoration will be held in Dublin in honour of Bobby Sands , the thirteenth republican to die on hunger-strike since 1917: those attending this commemoration are asked to assemble at the Garden of Remembrance in Dublin at 2pm on Saturday May 10 , 2008 , and to march from there to the GPO in O'Connell Street .
All Welcome!
Sharon.
(Please note - we are taking a wee break for a week or so : we should be back before the middle of May. Go raibh maith agat!)

Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Ernie O'Malley, pictured during his arrest in Dublin Castle in 1921 . He was using the alias 'Bernard Stewart' .

ERNIE O'MALLEY : SOLDIER OF OGLAIGH na hEIREANN .......
Following the recent publication of O'Malley's third book 'Raids And Rallies', on the Tan War years 1920-1921 , Frances-Mary Blake , who edited the book and his earlier works , writes an appreciation of the man who wrote 'On Another Man's Wound' and 'The Singing Flame'.
From 'IRIS' magazine , July 1983.

Ernie O' Malley was very active in attacks on British Army barracks , ambushes , raids and always in organisation and leadership crucial for the building of a people's army . He fought the Auxiliaries, an elite group of ex-BA officers attached to the RIC - a sort of 1920 SAS . He admitted that the RIC had "...the guts to stick it out.." but insisted "...we can't admire Irishmen who fight for foreigners against us..". His books are still useful handbooks for contemporary guerrillas .

Britain was not immune then , either : Cathal Brugha was ready to wipe out the British Cabinet if Conscription was enforced in Ireland . English warehouses and docks went up in flames in a series of contemporary reprisals .

A significant section of ' On Another Man's Wound' concerns his eventual capture by British forces in Inistioge , County Kilkenny on 9th December 1920 (a notebook found on him had the names of all the members of the 7th Battalion IRA (Callan) of the West Kilkenny brigade - many of whom were subsequently arrested) and the torture and imprisonment he underwent at the hands of the British Army , including his interrogation ordeal in Dublin Castle, the 'Castlereagh of the Tan War' . Threatened with hanging for an action he did not commit , in the midst of brutal questioning , Ernie O' Malley replied - " With us hanging is no disgrace." It is a revealing line , and one which puzzled his British torturers , who never will understand the mentality , motivation and moral strength of their opponents.......
(MORE LATER).

AN OUTLINE HISTORY OF THE RUC . RUC brutality , torture , murder and lies were brushed aside as the unionist establishment congratulated itself for the continuing existence of a paramilitary force which had maintained and safe-guarded its rule in the Occupied Six Counties of Ireland.......
From 'IRIS' magazine , July/August 1982.

Both the 'Specials' and the RUC proceeded to wage a terror campaign against the nationalist people , indulging in widespread pogroms : reports of atrocities were common place between 1922 and 1925 and the 'Murder Gang' (a 1920's version of the 'Shankill Butchers') was composed of ex-British soldiers , UVF men and RUC/'B' Specials , and typical of their atrocities was the McMahon Murders on March 24th 1922 (which was organised and carried-out by RUC Detectives and District Inspectors J.W. Nixon and Harrison) in which all the male members of the McMahon family and a man employed by them were killed .

In another incident around this time , two elderly sisters were killed when 'B' Specials threw a hand-grenade into the bedroom of their Thompson Street home in east Belfast's isolated nationalist ghetto of Short Strand . Perhaps the most sadistic killings took place in Tyrone in 1924 - four IRA Volunteers were captured by a large platoon of 'B' Specials and shot on the spot . Their genitals were cut off and placed in their mouths and obscenities about the Pope were written on the road with blood from their entrails . At the inquest , the 'B' Specials' Commander defended their actions by stating that his men "...had seen action in Palestine.." . No action was taken against the perpetrators.

In the intervening years , the RUC came to reinforce its position as the institutional guardian of Orange sectarian privilege in the Occupied Six Counties , periodically (as in 1932 during the 'Outdoor Relief' strikes ) repressing nationalists by extreme brutal force . Its importance in that institutional repression can be gauged by the fact that the RUC , through its advice and intelligence reports , were instrumental in operating the internment of nationalist opponents of the state , not just in 1971 but in every decade since the foundation of the state in 1920. The late 1960's saw this repressive role emphasised again , as RUC thugs continued to 'keep the peace' with their batons.......
(MORE LATER).

OPERATIONAL COMMENTS OF A BRITISH ARMY OFFICER.......

British Lieutenant-Colonel Michael Dewar of the Royal Green Jackets has served in Cyprus , Borneo and Malaya , as well as in the Occupied Six Irish Counties . He has written three previous books - 'Internal Security Weapons And Equipment Of The World' and 'Brushfire Wars' . The extracts reproduced here are from 'The British Army In Northern Ireland' , which was published by 'Arms and Armour Press' in 1985 . The underlined comments in this article are ours . This article reflects the operational thinking of a British military commander , more so than his political or ideological outlook.
From 'IRIS' magazine , October 1987.

Late in the afternoon of August 27th , 1979 , a convoy of three British Army vehicles was travelling from Ballykinler Barracks , County Down (where one-time Barracks Commander Frank Percy Crozier used rally his troops by shouting at them - "You must lose your gentle selves .You must steel your hearts and minds and be callous of life and death. That is war." ) to Newry with men of Second Para on board. At 4.30pm they approached a trailer loaded with hay and straw bales parked in a lay-by at a place called Narrow Water, where Carlingford Lough is only a couple of hundred yards wide and where it separates Ulster from the 26-County State . As the end-of-convoy four-ton British Army truck passed the trailer there was a large explosion - an estimated 500lb of explosives had been placed in milk churns which had been hidden in the hay and straw bales and detonated by men in the 26-County State using a remote-control device .

A nearby British Army patrol in the town of Warrenpoint reported the explosion and , even as they were doing so , their remaining colleagues at the scene of the explosion were , in wild panic , spraying the surrounding area with gunfire , hitting a young English tourist who died from his injuries . Two BA Land Rovers from Second Para , on patrol in Warrenpoint , sped to the scene and , at Bessbrook in County Armagh the 1st Battalion of the 'Queen's Own Highlanders' put an airborne reaction force on standby , but it was held back until its Commanding Officer had evaluated the situation for himself . This Battalion of 'The Queen's Own' had started a 20-month residential tour only the previous month : BA Lieutenant-Colonel David Blair , with his radio-operator , Lance-Corporal Victor McLeod , landed in a Gazelle helicopter in a field behind a lodge with gates leading to a larger house .

Behind the gates and the associated wall , the surviving paratroopers had taken cover and were returning fire at the IRA Volunteers across the Lough . Doctors had also landed in a Wessex helicopter and were tending the wounded . It was 4.59pm when Lieutenant-Colonel David Blair ran over to talk to the Para Officer in Command , Major Furseman , and the Wessex with wounded in it commenced its take off . At that moment a 1,000lb device , placed in the lodge gates , exploded and killed twelve men including Lieutenant-Colonel David Blair , and seriously wounded two others . So close was Blair to the explosion that his remains were never found . The Wessex helicopter was damaged but not irreparably . In all , eighteen British soldiers , mostly Paras , were killed at Warrenpoint . It was the worst single incident - for the British forces in Ireland - up to that point in time.......
(PLEASE NOTE : we will be taking a break for a week or so in early May.)
(MORE LATER).

Sunday, April 27, 2008

American soldiers in Shannon , British Navy in Dublin...

British HMS Tyne, a 'River Class Patrol Vessel' , pictured , docked in Dublin , Sunday April 27th 2008.

A reader of this blog , driving along the Dublin Quays today , noticed a small crowd gathered in the one spot , parked her car and walked over to have a look . The crowd consisted of the curious and the annoyed - the source of same was the HMS Tyne , a British Navy ship which was built in Woolston Docks, Southampton and which is normally based at HM Naval Base Portsmouth.
The ship , which our reader suspects might be in for repairs , is heavily guarded on Sir John Rogerson's Quay -
armed Irish Special Branch on the quayside and armed 'Royal' Marine's on board , and is flying the 'Union Jack' flag in front , over one of its machine guns. One of the 'Royal' Marine guards , eager to impress a local lass (!) said he hoped to meet our reader later on tonight in the Temple Bar area , where "...they kicked up a storm last night.."
She told him to hold his breath and passed-on her wishes that he get a good night's sleep...

The 'Tyne' is a ship with a bloody past and one which its crew has been awarded a 'Freedom Award' which they described as "... one of the highest awards that can be bestowed upon a ship of the Fleet. It is a privilege which in days of old formed a contract between the military and the civil authorities of a city or borough such that in exchange for protection the military unit would be able to march freely through the place, bearing arms and flying their colours..."
So , if you're out and about in Temple Bar or another night-spot in Dublin tonight , keep an eye out for those 'colours' , won't you.....

A few more photographs from today :

The HMS Tyne docked in Dublin , guarded by armed 'Royal' Marines and armed Irish Special Branch members.

A fully-armed British Navy ship in Dublin ,Sunday 27th April 2008 .

....and , if you can't make it to Temple Bar tonight , the ship's crew expect to be out 'socialising' Monday and Tuesday nights as well - a 'British Bulldog' told our 'little Bird' that they 'up anchor' on Wednesday morning...
Sharon.

Friday, April 25, 2008

IRISH ATHLETES PHYSICALLY PROTEST THE OLYMPICS....

Two Irish athletes protest over the political nature of the Olympics :
Peter O'Connor ,Waterford (or Wicklow or England?) , and Limerick man Con Leahy staged a highly visible political protest on the claims that they were part of the 'United Kingdom' or 'Great Britain' team - they did this by raising an Irish Flag to the top of the 200 foot mast which dominated the stadium in Athens...

Peter O' Connor...

...and Con Leahy.

Erin go Bragh: The King Of Spring....

"My name's Duncan Campbell from the shire of Argyll
I've travelled this country for many's the mile
I've travelled through Ireland, Scotland and a'
And the name I go under's bold Erin-go-bragh

One night in Auld Reekie as I walked down the street
A saucy big polis I chanced for to meet
He glowered in my face and he gi'ed me some jaw
Sayin' "When cam' ye over, bold Erin-go-bragh?"
(From here)

Contrast the above with this - 'Frank Greally, spokesman for the Athletics Association of Ireland, admitted the political atmosphere was "getting quite stormy", but said he couldn't see any athletes "...breaking ranks .There is lots of pressure, but it is more political pressure than anything involving the athletes."
Management for medal hopeful Derval O'Rourke indicated that she did not wish to comment on politics, but was "just going out there to . . . hopefully win a medal".'
(From here.)

"It is only the superficial qualities that last . Man's deeper nature is soon found out."
Oscar Wilde.
Shame on them.
Sharon.

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Ernie O'Malley, pictured during his arrest in Dublin Castle in 1921 . He was using the alias 'Bernard Stewart' .

ERNIE O'MALLEY : SOLDIER OF OGLAIGH na hEIREANN .......
Following the recent publication of O'Malley's third book 'Raids And Rallies', on the Tan War years 1920-1921 , Frances-Mary Blake , who edited the book and his earlier works , writes an appreciation of the man who wrote 'On Another Man's Wound' and 'The Singing Flame'.
From 'IRIS' magazine , July 1983.

Hopefully , Ernie O' Malley's books should fire the imagination of a new generation of Irish republicans . In so many ways ' On Another Man's Wound' relates to what is happening today between the British and Irish nations . It is tragic that his wartime experiences should remain so pertinent but , nevertheless , those experiences are a source of guidance and encouragement to those who continue the struggle today. That book is one to convert the unbeliever and to inform the ignorant , just as Ernie O' Malley himself turned to republicanism at Easter 1916 when as a young medical student he witnessed Padraig Pearse reading the Proclamation outside the GPO in Dublin and then followed the subsequent events of the Rising .

His well-to-do family never discussed national politics at home - his elder brother was an officer in the British Army and died in that service , but Ernie devoted the best years of his life to the fight for the Irish Republic , so that in 1923 the Sinn Fein news-sheets claimed that he had '...perhaps the greatest individual record during the Tan War and was one of the bravest soldiers who ever fought for the independence of Ireland.' He wanted to show the struggle of a mainly unarmed people against the might of an 'empire' and his book pays constant tribute to the heroism of a risen people .

He was famed for his own courage , although like the truly brave he freely admitted to feelings of fear and inadequacy . Undeterred by mass condemnations from the British and their Irish allies, by newspapers and professional politicians and by the Catholic Hierarchy , between 1919 and 1921 the Irish Republican Army waged a war that also involved shooting 'policemen' , executing British Officers , burning buildings , punishing spies and informers - in short , all those actions which Westminster and Leinster House vie with each other in condemning today . And Ernie O' Malley was very active in all such actions.......
(MORE LATER).

AN OUTLINE HISTORY OF THE RUC . RUC brutality , torture , murder and lies were brushed aside as the unionist establishment congratulated itself for the continuing existence of a paramilitary force which had maintained and safe-guarded its rule in the Occupied Six Counties of Ireland.......
From 'IRIS' magazine , July/August 1982.

A departmental committee established under the Stormont administration to enquire into the organisation of a force to replace the RIC, recommended (on March 31st 1922) that a new force , the 'RUC' , be set up comprising 3,000 men . Nominally , this force was to include one-third Catholics in its number , but because of loyalist sectarianism and the force's political role in defending partition , it was from the outset an almost exclusively Protestant and loyalist force .

The first priority of the newly-formed RUC was to eliminate the republican forces who still enjoyed popular support in the nationalist areas of the Occupied Six Counties . To achieve this , the 'Constabulary Act (Northern Ireland) 1922', incorporated the already established 'Special Constabulary' fully into the RUC . This 'Special Constabulary' had been set up in 1920 by the British administration to combat the increasingly effective IRA forces in the north-east of the island . The unionist leader , 'Lord' Edward Carson, had organised it , and it was composed almost entirely of former units of the Ulster Volunteer Force from the gun-running era.

Within a year of its formation the 'Specials' - 'A' , 'B' and 'C' classes, although only the 'B' Specials lasted long , numbered more than 30,000 men , and at the end of 1921 the Stormont administration assumed control over them from the British government . By the end of 1922 when they were incorporated into the RUC , the 'Specials' numbered 50,000 well-armed men.......
(MORE LATER).

OPERATIONAL COMMENTS OF A BRITISH ARMY OFFICER.......

British Lieutenant-Colonel Michael Dewar of the Royal Green Jackets has served in Cyprus , Borneo and Malaya , as well as in the Occupied Six Irish Counties . He has written three previous books - 'Internal Security Weapons And Equipment Of The World' and 'Brushfire Wars' . The extracts reproduced here are from 'The British Army In Northern Ireland' , which was published by 'Arms and Armour Press' in 1985 . The underlined comments in this article are ours . This article reflects the operational thinking of a British military commander , more so than his political or ideological outlook.
From 'IRIS' magazine , October 1987.

Many lessons emerged from this operation : the 'chain of success' began with the suspicions of an alert British Army corporal on a routine patrol and the planned surveillance of the pub in question . The Observation Post Commander sent to watch it moved in time to evade trouble and to turn the tables on his probable assailants . The rapid arrival of reinforcements and their efficient direction from an airborne command post captured three of the four men directly involved and their weapons . It was a well-planned and stage-managed operation at every level .

The main technical innovations of the Provisional IRA in 1978 were the increased use of remote-controlled bombs which enabled them to destroy targets in greater safety and with more precision , and a new method of making explosives from fertilisers . Clearly this made life more difficult for the British despite restrictions on the sale of sodium chloride-based weed-killers , and the control in the import and movement of explosives .

Clearly radio-controlled bombs have made the British task immeasurably more difficult . The jamming of radio frequencies is difficult because of not knowing which frequencies to jam . The search for a counter to this threat continues by the British but , in the meantime , the IRA have a much more effective bombing capacity . The year 1979 saw an upsurge in attacks against British forces , particularly against 'off-duty' UDR men - the PIRA appreciated their importance as the eyes and ears of Westminster , and their value in supporting the RUC. Remotely-detonated bombs caused nearly thirty per cent of enemy deaths in an IRA campaign against the British Army which concentrated on rural and border areas.......
(PLEASE NOTE : we will be taking a break for a week or so in early May.)
(MORE LATER).

Sunday, April 20, 2008

(For 'Brit Queen Poster' article, click here)
(UPDATE : the foreign queen has left her Dublin 'throne' ...)

Captain Mártan Ó hÓgáin's Commemorative Stone , Gracepark Road , Dublin.

" A few months after Mártan Ó hÓgáin was done to death by Free State forces , four Tyrone IRA anti-treaty Volunteers were captured by a platoon of 'B' Specials and shot dead on the spot. Their genitals were cut-off and placed in their mouths and obscenities about the Pope were written on the road with blood from their entrails . At the 'inquest' into this butchery , the platoon Commander defended the savagery of his troops by stating that they had recently seen action in Palestine . No 'Court' penalty followed...."

- a section of the short speech delivered by the Chairperson of today's wreath-laying ceremony , John Horan -

Pike and RSF banner .

" The time of Captain Ó hÓgáin's death was the period in which the Free Staters sanctioned the executions of seventy-seven anti-treaty POW's . It was the period in which Free Staters tied nine POW's to a landmine at Ballyseedy before detonating it and riddling the mangled remains with machine-gun fire..."

1916 Proclamation being read at the Ó hÓgáin wreath-laying ceremony.

" Up to 1923 - when Mártan Ó hÓgáin was done to death by the Free Staters - seven Irish republicans had died on hunger-strike : Tom Ashe from Kerry , Michael Fitzgerald , Terence McSwiney ,Joe Murphy ,Denis Barry and Andy O' Sullivan, all from Cork , and Joe Witty from Wexford . Today - 85 years after the death of Captain Ó hÓgáin - twenty-two Irish men have died on hunger-strike. All fought and died for the same Cause , part of the same on-going struggle..."

Laying the wreath .

Those in attendance marched the short distance from the corner of Collins Avenue/Gracepark Road to the Commemorative Stone , where they were welcomed by the Chairperson , John Horan . After a short speech , John called for one minutes silence and then asked the Flag Bearer to dip the National Flag . He then asked Donal to play a lament ('The Foggy Dew') on the tin whistle , following which a Wreath was laid . The attendees were thanked (with the stated exclusion of the four Special Branch men present) and the Chairperson again reiterated the link between that which Captain Ó hÓgáin fought for and that which republicans today are fighting for . He then brought proceedings to an end.

Flag Bearer at Captain Mártan Ó hÓgáin's wreath laying ceremony.
(More on this wreath-laying ceremony can be found here and here.)
Sharon.

YIELD TO A BRITISH MONARCH!

The above poster - all seventy foot of it - was recently erected on the side of a building in Dublin which hires itself out for functions/gigs etc. No doubt in an effort to secure free publicity for some upcoming event or other , the owners/promoters decided to try and 'stir things up' by using a controversial image in the hope of selling more tickets for whatever gig it is they're trying to advertise. It seems that not everyone appreciated their efforts -

WE NEED A NEW POSTER....

Could we suggest that if the owners/promoters of said venue/gig wish to use an image of a British monarch to obtain free publicity for a planned event , they use an image which more properly represents the legacy which said monarch has visited on this isle , such as the following picture represents -

LEGACY OF THE CROWN.

- it might not help with ticket sales but , as well as being more honest , it could save a few bob on poster repairs.....
(UPDATE : Radio station news reports have stated that the torn poster has been further damaged by at least two petrol bombs which were thrown at it. More information and , hopefully , a picture or two will follow if and when we receive same.)
Sharon.

Friday, April 18, 2008

85th Anniversary of Poulacapple killing .*

20 April, 1923 : Frank Aiken is elected IRA Chief of Staff.

22 April, 1923 : Free State troops surround Frank Aiken, Paidrag Quinn and Sean Quinn, the leaders of the Anti-Treaty forces in the Dundalk area, in a safe house in Castlebellingham. A firefight breaks out in which the two Quinns are wounded - Sean mortally - and subsequently captured. In the confusion, Aiken manages to slip away....

Between the IRA election of Frank Aiken and the Castlebellingham incident (ie on 21 April 1923) IRA Captain Martin Hogan , from Dromineer in County Tipperary , was killed in action in Poulacapple , Tipperary .*

A commemoration in honour of Captain Hogan , organised by the Liam Mellows Cumann of Republican Sinn Fein (Dublin north inner city) will be held on Sunday , 20 April 2008 , at 3pm : those attending are asked to assemble opposite Whitehall Bingo Hall (Buses 16 or 16A from Dublin City Centre).

Sharon.
(*There are conflicting reports on where exactly Captain Mártan Ó hÓgáin was done to death by Free Staters : some reports have it that he was killed in action in Poulacapple , Tipperary, whilst others state that he was killed on the Gracepark Road in Whitehall, Dublin , on the spot marked by the above-pictured commemorative stone. It was common practice then for the Staters to 'lift' republicans off the street , torture and interrogate them before killing them and dumping their bodies in an area hundreds of miles away from where they were born. However - the commemoration is going ahead as outlined above)

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Ernie O'Malley, pictured during his arrest in Dublin Castle in 1921 . He was using the alias 'Bernard Stewart' .

ERNIE O'MALLEY : SOLDIER OF OGLAIGH na hEIREANN .......
Following the recent publication of O'Malley's third book 'Raids And Rallies', on the Tan War years 1920-1921 , Frances-Mary Blake , who edited the book and his earlier works , writes an appreciation of the man who wrote 'On Another Man's Wound' and 'The Singing Flame'.
From 'IRIS' magazine , July 1983.

Ernie O' Malley's book ' On Another Man's Wound' records the war against the British forces from 1916 until the calling of the 'Truce' in July 1921 and is told by one who volunteered for Oglaigh na hEireann in 1917 and by 1921 was Officer Commanding of the 2nd Southern Division and , later , Assistant Chief of Staff in the Civil War. It is an exciting read , always enthralling , beautifully written , and far and away the best of the Tan War books .

Ernie O' Malley was brave and energetic in his total dedication to the Republic as proclaimed in Easter Week 1916: his personal adventures , dramatic and varied , are an integral part of the wider significances of the national struggle . Unlike some of his companions who later called themselves 'the Old IRA' or 'the Neutral IRA' , he did not change his republican beliefs - indeed , he recognised that some Irish have always helped in the conquest. During the 'National Emergency' years of World War Two , de Valera himself was very keen to have so famous a fighter as Ernie O' Malley join the Free State army and pressure was put on him to follow many renowned republicans into its ranks . O' Malley asked -
- " Would I have to inform on my former comrades and work against them ? But of course ! Join ? Certainly not ! " And that was that . Indeed , only a month or so before his last illness he was writing in his diary - " I can never see a peeler without feeling uneasy....... "
(MORE LATER).

AN OUTLINE HISTORY OF THE RUC . RUC brutality , torture , murder and lies were brushed aside as the unionist establishment congratulated itself for the continuing existence of a paramilitary force which had maintained and safe-guarded its rule in the Occupied Six Counties of Ireland.......
From 'IRIS' magazine , July/August 1982.

The Northern RIC was almost entirely composed of Protestants : a British 'royal commission' reporting on the 1857 pogroms against Belfast Catholics found that this overwhelmingly Protestant para-military 'police' force had behaved in a sectarian fashion , and had actually led attacks on Catholic homes and businesses - just as at Burntollet in January 1969, and in the lower Falls in August , when out-of-uniform and uniformed RUC men and 'B' Specials co-ordinated the attacks on Catholics.

That 'royal commission' recommended that '...a total change should be made in the mode of appointment and the management of the local police.." . 112 years later , the Hunt Report commissioned by the British Government was still tinkering along the same lines of 'reform'. But just as in 1857 , so in 1969 - nothing changed in the essential sectarianism of the 'police' , and throughout the 19th century , attacks on Nationalist homes and property continued unabated .

On December 6th , 1921 , the so-called 'Treaty' was initialled , soon to be ratified by the dominant Free State faction in the South of Ireland , and Ireland was partitioned . In the twenty-six counties the implementation of the new status was undertaken by Free State forces using British arms and equipment , and employing brutally repressive measures . In the Six Counties , the job of 'pacifying' Nationalist opposition fell largely to the RUC.......
(MORE LATER).

OPERATIONAL COMMENTS OF A BRITISH ARMY OFFICER.......

British Lieutenant-Colonel Michael Dewar of the Royal Green Jackets has served in Cyprus , Borneo and Malaya , as well as in the Occupied Six Irish Counties . He has written three previous books - 'Internal Security Weapons And Equipment Of The World' and 'Brushfire Wars' . The extracts reproduced here are from 'The British Army In Northern Ireland' , which was published by 'Arms and Armour Press' in 1985 . The underlined comments in this article are ours . This article reflects the operational thinking of a British military commander , more so than his political or ideological outlook.
From 'IRIS' magazine , October 1987.

Still keeping the reserve of four men airborne in the Scout helicopter , the British Army Company Commander ordered the rest of the newly arrived platoon , who were at House 'D' , to move over to House 'A' and search it . It was there that the Sten gun belonging to the wounded Volunteer was found , loaded and cocked , lying on the road near the driveway . In the tin shed they found the Peugeot car , its doors open , the heater on and two empty 9mm cartridge cases on the floor .

Houses 'A' and 'B' and the near-by bunkers were occupied and the order was given for all mobile operations to cease until first light . Early the following morning two British Army search teams , including two search dogs and a tracker dog , were flown in to search the areas of Houses 'A' and 'B' and the bunkers . In the thick bushes around the bunker , an 18-year-old Volunteer , Daniel McGuinness, was found , clutching his Armalite . He was carrying 141 rounds . It was his first mission .

Later in the day , the tracker dog found a positive track leading from the bunkers to House 'F' , just over 2,000 metres to the south-east . It subsequently transpired that a car had been hijacked by an armed man at about 5.50am : this was almost certainly used to evacuate Malachy McParland who was admitted to hospital in Dundalk , County Louth that day , with three bullet wounds in his back . The three captured Volunteers received 14 year prison sentences . What they had been planning is not certain , but they may have come to the area with the intention of attacking the original British Army Observation Post near the pub which the BA Staff Sergeant had feared had been compromised , or they may have been planning to ambush a routine BA patrol . What is certain , however , is that the British Army learned a lot from the operation.......
(MORE LATER).

Sunday, April 13, 2008

85th Anniversary of Poulacapple killing .

20 April, 1923 : Frank Aiken is elected IRA Chief of Staff.

22 April, 1923 : Free State troops surround Frank Aiken, Paidrag Quinn and Sean Quinn, the leaders of the Anti-Treaty forces in the Dundalk area, in a safe house in Castlebellingham. A firefight breaks out in which the two Quinns are wounded - Sean mortally - and subsequently captured. In the confusion, Aiken manages to slip away....

Between the IRA election of Frank Aiken and the Castlebellingham incident (ie on 21 April 1923) IRA Captain Martin Hogan , from Dromineer in County Tipperary , was killed in action in Poulacapple , Tipperary .

A commemoration in honour of Captain Hogan , organised by the Liam Mellows Cumann of Republican Sinn Fein (Dublin north inner city) will be held on Sunday , 20 April 2008 , at 3pm : those attending are asked to assemble opposite Whitehall Bingo Hall (Buses 16 or 16A from Dublin City Centre).

Sharon.

Wednesday, April 09, 2008

Ernie O'Malley, pictured during his arrest in Dublin Castle in 1921 . He was using the alias 'Bernard Stewart' .

ERNIE O'MALLEY : SOLDIER OF OGLAIGH na hEIREANN .......
Following the recent publication of O'Malley's third book 'Raids And Rallies', on the Tan War years 1920-1921 , Frances-Mary Blake , who edited the book and his earlier works , writes an appreciation of the man who wrote 'On Another Man's Wound' and 'The Singing Flame'.
From 'IRIS' magazine , July 1983.

While in exile in America , Ernie O' Malley's diaries showed support for the republican prisoners in the Free State , of whom he wrote - " ...who are there for the very same reason that the men we read of and revere were imprisoned . " Back in Ireland , at a meeting in 1939 of the Irish Academy of Letters, he voted in favour of Peadar O' Donnell's motion that a concert be organised to support dependants of IRA prisoners - not surprisingly the motion was rejected .

His was the drama and sacrifice of a really doctrinaire republican - a very brave man , at once ruthless and sensitive , whose contrasting traits of character are well revealed in his autobiographical writings . He was very nearly killed in November 1922 when Free State troops besieged his headquarters - ensuring ill health that affected the rest of his life and very likely resulted in his comparatively early death , aged 57 .

But while not shirking the possibility of death in action , he fought for military victory , and for a time believed that it was possible . An old Ulster proverb says it is easy to sleep on another man's wound : there are many in Ireland today who rest cruelly or carelessly on the hardships and sufferings of brave men and women who fought and still fight for their country's freedom. The only books Ernie O' Malley wrote were about the Irish wars and it is in those that he should be most remembered.......
(MORE LATER).

Sunday, April 06, 2008

AN GORTA MÓR.

"An Englishman applauds and assists insurrection in countries where they profess to have for their object the freedom of the individual or of the nation; he imprisons and stifles it at home, where the motive is precisely similar, and the cause, in the eyes of the insurgents at least, incomparably more valid...."

" You have heard, no doubt, of wholesale evictions; they are of frequent occurrence in Ireland—sometimes from political motives, because the poor man will not vote with his landlord; sometimes from religious motives, because the poor man will not worship God according to his landlord's conscience; sometimes from selfish motives, because his landlord wishes to enlarge his domain, or to graze more cattle. The motive does not matter much to the poor victim. He is flung out upon the roadside; if he is very poor, he may die there, or he may go to the workhouse, but he must not be taken in, even for a time, by any other family on the estate. The Irish Celt, with his warm heart and generous impulses, would, at all risks to himself, take in the poor outcasts, and share his poverty with them; but the landlord could not allow this. The commission of one evil deed necessitates the commission of another. An Irish gentleman, who has no personal interest in land, and is therefore able to look calmly on the question, has been at the pains to collect instances of this tyranny, in his Plea for the Celtic Race. I shall only mention one as a sample. In the year 1851, on an estate which was at the time supposed to be one of the most fairly treated in Ireland , the agent of the property had given public notice to the tenantry that expulsion from their farms would be the penalty inflicted on them, if they harboured any one not resident on the estate. The penalty was enforced against a widow, for giving food and shelter to a destitute grandson of twelve years old. The child's mother at one time held a little dwelling, from which she was expelled; his father was dead. He found a refuge with his grandmother, who was ejected from her farm for harbouring the poor boy...."
(From here.)

It is from the likes of the above that republicanism was born : not to seek ‘revenge’ , but to obtain Justice. That same quest for true justice continues to this day and will continue - for as long as necessary - until the root cause of the injustice is removed .
Please help us, if you can : we are a small but significant organisation , as politically determined as we always were but we need your help...
Go raibh maith agat!
Sharon.

Thursday, April 03, 2008

Wednesday, April 02, 2008

Ernie O'Malley, pictured during his arrest in Dublin Castle in 1921 . He was using the alias 'Bernard Stewart' .
ERNIE O'MALLEY : SOLDIER OF OGLAIGH na hEIREANN .......
Following the recent publication of O'Malley's third book 'Raids And Rallies', on the Tan War years 1920-1921 , Frances-Mary Blake , who edited the book and his earlier works , writes an appreciation of the man who wrote 'On Another Man's Wound' and 'The Singing Flame'.
From 'IRIS' magazine , July 1983.

On August 10th and 11th , 1924 , the remaining original members of the pre-Civil War Irish Republican Army Executive (that is those of them who had opposed and fought against the Treaty of Surrender in 1921) , together with the co-opted members of the Executive during the Civil War (about 26 people in all) met secretly to review the past and decide policy for the future .

Ernie O' Malley was voted on the 'Sub-Commission Committee to the Executive for Emergency Consultative Purposes' , and it was he who proposed the motion , at this first post-Civil War general meeting of the Executive : 'That Volunteers be instructed not to recognise Free State and Six County Courts when charged with any authorised acts committed during the War or for any political acts committed since , nor can they employ legal defence except charged with an act liable to the death penalty.' This motion was passed unanimously , and that refusal to recognise those courts in one way or another lasted until the 1970's .

An important theme of his books is the treatment of republican prisoners , who were even then denied prisoner-of-war status : a concern for all IRA men unaccepted as political prisoners or prisoners-of-war , and all his life he supported their lonely cause . He himself had taken part in the mass hunger-strike of October/November 1923, although medically exempted and suffering intense pain from old wounds and bed sores , for the length of its 41 days and being one of the four in Kilmainham Jail who had wanted to continue.......
(MORE LATER).

British Lieutenant-Colonel Michael Dewar of the Royal Green Jackets has served in Cyprus , Borneo and Malaya , as well as in the Occupied Six Irish Counties . He has written three previous books - 'Internal Security Weapons And Equipment Of The World' and 'Brushfire Wars' . The extracts reproduced here are from 'The British Army In Northern Ireland' , which was published by 'Arms and Armour Press' in 1985 . The underlined comments in this article are ours . This article reflects the operational thinking of a British military commander , more so than his political or ideological outlook.
From 'IRIS' magazine , October 1987.

As soon as the British Army Staff Sergeant's report reached his Battalion HQ , four British soldiers were 'scrambled' in a Scout helicopter , and the Company Commander of the Patrol Company was also sent , in a Gazelle helicopter - another eight British soldiers under a Platoon Commander were bundled into a large Puma helicopter . The Company Commander issued orders on the radio as the British force flew into the operational area .

On arrival in the twilight at about 10.15pm , the Company Commander remained airborne to direct the action from the Gazelle helicopter - he ordered the Scout 'copter to land behind a knoll just north of the road , about 400 metres east of the bungalow at 'C' and close to the building from the east to block off the gunmen's escape northwards and eastwards . When the Puma arrived it was told to land southwest of the house near House 'D' , to prevent escape to the south and to 'deal' with the gunmen . As the British soldiers from the Puma moved in , all the escape routes from House 'C' were covered by fire from the British Observation Post patrol on the hillside and the two helicopter forces without endangering one another's safety .

Meanwhile , the IRA Volunteers had barricaded the door of the bungalow and closed the curtains : one of them , John Quinn, got in touch with the RUC on the telephone offering to surrender to them in preference to the British Army . By that time , the British soldiers from the Puma helicopter had surrounded the bungalow and its commander was shouting for those inside to surrender . They refused . A junior British Army officer , not knowing if the IRA Volunteers were holding the inhabitants of the cottage hostage , crept up to a window , smashed the glass with the butt of his rifle , fired three or four rounds up through the roof and called for those inside to surrender . John Quinn and Raymond McCreesh came out without their weapons.......
(MORE LATER).