“The Special Branch had him (Frank Driver) on their list….his contacts, his friends and his services made possible, after 1970, an extensive net that absorbed , stored and distributed most of the imported IRA arms…”
(From here.)

Members and supporters of the new Frank Driver Cumann, RSF.

On Friday 30th January 2009 , a new Cumann of Republican Sinn Fein was officially launched in the Town House Hotel in Naas , County Kildare : the Frank Driver Cumann , which is based in North Kildare . A crowd of about fifty supporters and well-wishers assembled in one of the function rooms and , at about 8.30pm , the Chairperson of the new Cumann , Damien Dillon , welcomed the crowd , introduced himself and gave a brief history of Frank Driver , stressing that the new Cumann intends to be as steadfast , honest and dedicated to the aims and objectives of Irish republicanism as the man they are named in honour of.
The musical entertainment (a mad ballad session , loudly appreciated!) was supplied by Liam Bridgeman and friends of Celbride, Kildare , Des Dalton ,Kildare, Vice President of RSF and Ger Foran from Mooncoin in County Kilkenny both delivered rousing speeches throughout the night , as did Sean Fleming from the Francis Hughes Cumann, Glasgow, who spoke about the Palestinian Conflict.
Peter Fitzsimons was amongst those in the audience , and best wishes in his election campaign was extended to him by all present.
We publish with this post a few photographs from the event , and more of same can be viewed on our ‘Sister’ blog , here(post dated Saturday 31st January 2009) . (Apologises for the poor quality of some of these pics , as we were working with borrowed equipment . It has nothing at all to do with this stuff, which someone (!) insisted on plying me with all night…;-) !)

Bobby Sands plaque , one of the raffle prizes at the event.

Des Dalton on Stage.

Ger Foran giving it loads!

John , from RSF Scotland, speaking on the current situation in Gaza.

Liam Bridgeman , working on the crowd!

Plaque on the back of the framed 1916 Proclamation presented to the new RSF Cumann by Comhairle Ceantair Átha Cliath.

More pic’s at the above-mentioned link.
Thanks!
Sharon.

THE IRA : the new IRA is younger , more radical and has seen little of life other than violence…….
By Ed Moloney.
From ‘Magill’ magazine, September 1980.

Since the 1979 Athlone Conference , the Provisionals have spent their time healing wounds . Daithi Ó Conaill was elected joint Vice President with Gerry Adams at the 1978 Ard Fheis and Ruairí Ó Brádaigh, a consummate wound healer if ever there was one , symbolically spans the gap between .

Between May and July this year (1980) leading Ard Comhairle members representing both ‘wings’ have toured the country : in a public show of unity , Ó Brádaigh , Ó Conaill , Joe Cahill, Charlie McGlade and Niall Fagan of the ‘Traditionalists’ and Gerry Adams, Foreign Affairs spokesperson Richard Behal and ‘AP/RN’ editor Danny Morrison for the ‘radicals’ (!) took pains to assure Sinn Féiners throughout Ireland that the trouble was over and that unity and peace reigned once again in the Movement .

As part of this strategy , an interview was arranged for journalist Ed Moloney to speak to a leading member of the Provisional IRA who has been authorised to speak on behalf of the IRA Army Council…….

(MORE LATER).

THE KITSON EXPERIMENT…….
Review by Cathal McGivern of Roger Faligot’s 1983 book ‘Britain’s Military Strategy in Ireland : The Kitson Experiment’.
From ‘IRIS’ Magazine , 1983.

Within the British politico-military establishment , British Army General Frank Kitson pushed the view that the situation had developed to such a point that , in order to isolate the IRA , it would be necessary to take a number of immediate steps - initiate a fake peace movement (done!) , manipulate loyalist gangs and orchestrate a campaign of assassinations that would terrorise the population , and wage a massive psychological war , using the SAS and other ’special’ units to discredit the IRA and, in the short term, to try and split them between left/right , ‘doves/hawks’ , North/South and military/political axes.

The programme was too ambitious however for the William Whitelaw regime who , apart from implementing the propaganda war and an invasion of the no-go areas to engage in control of populations , adopted a more traditional plan - direct rule , brutal repression , indiscriminate internment without trial and Bloody Sunday.

In 1972 Frank Kitson had failed to convince his superiors of the need for a co-ordinated counter-insurgency ‘offensive’ , but some of his more brutal suggestions , like the assassination campaign against Catholics , were kept in mind . And , even though on April 22nd 1972 he was returned to Britain , gradually his ideas made headway in the North , so that- to quote Roger Faligot - “From 1975 onwards , they were totally implemented and his theories reached the top circles in the British Army , research centres , lobbies and think-tanks with NATO , and the ruling classes within Europe , beginning with West Germany , where he continued his career.”

(MORE LATER).

THE UNDAUNTED WOMEN IN ARMAGH…….
The full story of the republican prisoners in Armagh Jail has yet to be told. It has yet to be sung , and properly described , other than as an after-thought in public speeches - “…and of course the women in Armagh..” Republicans have a right to be proud of those women who, from the Divis Flats grandmother doing six months for what an Orange judge called “riotous behaviour” to the young IRA Volunteer inside for the second time and not yet 25-years-old , have managed, whether they numbered 12 or 120 , to maintain their resistance to the most vicious prison system in Europe. The words that follow , says writer Patricia Collins , were written to encourage more of those women to come forward and tell their story , and are based on conversations with several
ex-prisoners , and on visits and letters from those women presently imprisoned. They were written in the hope of jogging the memory of all those women who wrongly think their contribution to Ireland’s future peace is not worth mentioning.
From ‘IRIS’ magazine , August 1984.

Limerick Prison, a condemned building since 1948 , currently houses 100 male prisoners as opposed to only 14 women , following the transfer of small groups of male prisoners from Portlaoise Prison . Since this transfer , the women’s exercise yard has been halved , leaving only a small pathway for the women to use .

Marion Coyle’s demand to be allowed access to the yard , and her refusal to use the pathway until then , has led to her being denied any exercise at all since November 1982.

The ‘privileges’ for women in Limerick Prison are practically non-existent . Marion takes one visit of one hour’s duration each fortnight , since she feels it is too much of a burden to impose a weekly visit on her family who have to travel from Derry , and the prison authorities have denied access to visitors other than close relatives…….

(MORE LATER).

We don’t normally do ‘requests’ on this blog, but….

…on this occasion , we are happy to give the above-mentioned function a wee bit of a plug!

‘Mad Kevin’ and the lads and lassies that he hangs around with are fantastic supporters of Republicanism and have , on more than one occasion, gone out of their way to attend gigs organised by the Republican Movement in Dublin : so now it’s pay-back time!
As stated on the above-pictured ticket , a ballad session featuring Allan and Padráig Mór from Shebeen will be held on Saturday 21st February 2009 in The Village Inn, Finglas, Dublin. A raffle will be held on the night and ‘halftime’ entertainment has been organised. Doors open at 9pm and admission is €10 per person.
Kevin and that particular ‘Celtic Crew’ are a lively bunch, to put it mildly (!) so a good night is guaranteed. This blog will be represented on the night , even if we do have to pay full price at the door … !
If you’re in Dublin yourself on February 21st next , see you there!
(One of the Organisers for this Celtic ballad night , Kevin , has asked that a contact mobile-phone number be made available for those wishing to inquire re ticket availability etc .
That number is : 085-8376208.)
Thanks!
Sharon.

THE IRA : the new IRA is younger , more radical and has seen little of life other than violence…….
By Ed Moloney.
From ‘Magill’ magazine, September 1980.

The unease and leftward shift in Republicanism allied to the change of attitude on Federalism has led inevitably to talk of there being two identifiable wings in the Movement , one led by the spokesman for the ‘radicals’ , Gerry Adams, and the other led by Dáithí Ó Conaill.

Twice last year (1979) the tensions between the two men surfaced briefly - the first was in reaction to Gerry Adams’ fiercly socialist oration at Bodenstown and the other was at a special weekend conference of 200 Sinn Fein leaders in Athlone last October : by co-incidence , the Dublin ‘Sunday World’ ‘newspaper’ published that weekend an essentially accurate report claiming that Federalism was about to be abandoned and the Provos were about ‘to lurch to the left’ . The article also talked about the “waning influence” of Ruairí Ó Brádaigh and Dáithí Ó Conaill .

The effect of the article when it landed on breakfast tables at the Hudson’s Bay and Shamrock Lodge hotels , where the Provo delegates were staying , was to say the least traumatic . According to one source the uproar from rural delegates was such that Adams was forced to deny other reports that there were Marxists in the Provos : another source stated that there would have been a walkout had he not denied it . Needless to say leading Provisionals are not keen to talk about that Athlone conference - ” We wouldn’t want to air that sort of thing in the press” , said Dáithí Ó Conaill , ” we don’t have any fundamental differences and any we do have will be settled internally .” But according to another source , Athlone was something of a victory for the traditionalists in that Marxism is now a dirty word in the Provos…….

(MORE LATER).

THE KITSON EXPERIMENT.
Review by Cathal McGivern of Roger Faligot’s 1983 book ‘Britain’s Military Strategy in Ireland : The Kitson Experiment’.
From ‘IRIS’ Magazine , 1983.

This book is a detailed survey of Britain’s military confrontation with the IRA . Roger Faligot, a well-known Breton-French journalist and author , argues that with the putting into practice of British General Frank Kitson’s theory of low intensity operations , the deployment of the SAS, M16’s dirty tricks department , and tough measures against political prisoners , the Occupied Six Counties have become a laboratory to experiment with new methods of controlling civilian populations .

Frank Kitson , who became a full general in July 1982 and commander-in-chief of the British Land Forces had served in British colonial wars in Kenya , Malaya and Cyprus before coming to Ireland . His book ‘Low Intensity Operations : Subversion , Insurgency and Counter Insurgency’ was published in 1971 , but later withdrawn from circulation . From 1970 to 1972 , Kitson was in Ireland commanding the British Army’s 39th Infantry Brigade which covered Belfast . Roger Faligot’s account of the implementation of Kitson’s theories in Ireland , which came into full operation about 1975 , makes fascinating , if chilling , reading .

Though Kitson had no sympathy for the hundreds of Irishmen thrown into prison without trial on August 9th 1971 he was a reluctant participant in internment for he knew that , carried out as it was without any real knowledge of IRA infrastructure , it would not only fail to put the IRA out of action , but would intensify support for it in the nationalist areas…….

(MORE LATER).

THE UNDAUNTED WOMEN IN ARMAGH…….
The full story of the republican prisoners in Armagh Jail has yet to be told. It has yet to be sung , and properly described , other than as an after-thought in public speeches - “…and of course the women in Armagh..” Republicans have a right to be proud of those women who, from the Divis Flats grandmother doing six months for what an Orange judge called “riotous behaviour” to the young IRA Volunteer inside for the second time and not yet 25-years-old , have managed, whether they numbered 12 or 120 , to maintain their resistance to the most vicious prison system in Europe. The words that follow , says writer Patricia Collins , were written to encourage more of those women to come forward and tell their story , and are based on conversations with several
ex-prisoners , and on visits and letters from those women presently imprisoned. They were written in the hope of jogging the memory of all those women who wrongly think their contribution to Ireland’s future peace is not worth mentioning.
From ‘IRIS’ magazine , August 1984.

One of the women POW’s in Armagh Jail stated - ” Strip-searches are used not only to humiliate , but as a deterrent of inter-prison visits , which are the only contact we have with loved ones . We have since the introduction of the practice 15 months ago repeatedly petitioned the British ‘NIO’ to have the strip-searches regulation withdrawn on moral grounds , but the response has been in favour of prison Governor Murtagh’s decision that the measures should stand ‘in the interest of security’ - a completely invalid argument . Today , strip-searching remains a ’standard practice’ , punishments continue , psychological maltreatment is a systematic ‘must’ . But all these we can , and we will , overcome .

The years have taught us that survival lies in the ability to mentally apply yourself to the situation . What have Murtagh and his administration to show for their efforts to subdue republican prisoners ? And while we maintain our stance , such will be the case , because the system is dependent on us in order to function fully - we can exist without it , and we will .”

Marion Coyle is another republican prisoner who has fought the system from the outside and the inside : she has now served nine years of a fifteen-year sentence imposed on her following her arrest in 1975 . It had been expected that Marion - who has suffered ill health in recent months - would , with remission , be released in January 1986 but she has now been informed that the previous one-third remission granted to women prisoners in Limerick Jail will in future be reduced to one-quarter , which is the remission rate allowed to male prisoners . She will be the main sufferer from this ‘reform’…….

(MORE LATER).

90th Anniversary of An Céad Dáil Éireann (the First Dáil Éireann) : held in Wynn’s Hotel , Dublin , on Tuesday , 20th January 2009.

Des agus Tomás at the ‘Top Table’ .

Approximately sixty people gathered in a room in Wynn’s Hotel , Dublin , on Tuesday 20th January 2009 , to hear various Irish Republican speakers outline what that political event of 90 years ago means to them - all the speeches , and the many contributions from the crowd , shared one common theme : that the present institution in Kildare Street in Dublin , and those that sit in same, share absolutely no linear connection to the people , or the actual institution , which met in Dublin’s Mansion House on January 21st , 1919 .
The Wynn’s Hotel lecture began at 7.45pm and ended at 10.15pm : proceedings were Chaired by Des Dalton , and amongst the other Irish Republicans that spoke during the evening (in Irish , French and English) was Tomás Ó Clérigh , Richard Walsh , Róisin Hayden , Seán Ó Brádaigh , Séamus Ó Súilleabháin , Ruairí Ó Brádaigh and Séan Ó Sé . Following the main speakers , a ‘Question and Answer’ session was held , with many from the audience taking part . Our National Anthem was then sung by all present , the audience was thanked for braving the wet and windy elements (and for not being intimidated by the State ‘elements’ , who were inside and outside the hotel) , the ‘Top Table’ people were beseeched by autograph hunters (!) and , eventually , all present retired to the private function room where refreshments were being served. Overall , the function was a fitting and proper tribute to An Céad Dáil Éireann , an institution with which Republican Sinn Féin is proud to be associated.
We publish with this post four more photographs from that evening , with another five photographs published on our ‘Sister’ blog , which we have linked to at the end of this post. A full report and other photographs will be published in the February 2009 issue of ‘Saoirse‘ , which will be published on the 4th of that month.

As stated above , five more photographs from that event can be viewed here (post dated Wednesday 21st January 2009) . Also , please note that our usual ‘three-in-one’ post will be published this Friday or Saturday.
Thanks!
Sharon.

90th Anniversary of An Céad Dáil Éireann (the First Dáil Éireann) (Above photo from here.)

“Ireland to-day reasserts her historic nationhood the more confidently before the new world emerging from the war, because she believes in freedom and justice as the fundamental principles of international law; because she believes in a frank co-operation between the peoples for equal rights against the vested privileges of ancient tyrannies; because the permanent peace of Europe can never be secured by perpetuating military dominion for the profit of empire but only by establishing the control of government in every land upon the basis of the free will of a free people, and the existing state of war, between Ireland and England, can never be ended until Ireland is definitely evacuated by the armed forces of England….”
(From here.)

Help us to celebrate our past. And fight for our future!
Thanks!
Sharon.

THE IRA : the new IRA is younger , more radical and has seen little of life other than violence…….
By Ed Moloney.
From ‘Magill’ magazine, September 1980.

In 1974 , Dáithi Ó Conaill praised the UWC Loyalist strikers ; they showed “…tremendous power and acted in a responsible way..” , he said . On several occasions since he has described moves by Loyalist paramilitary groups towards the idea of Northern independence as ‘encouraging’ .

Although Federalism remains the official policy of Sinn Fein it has now being rejected by the radical and Northern-dominated IRA Army Council - one Army Council member explained why : ” We are opposed to it because of the historic abuse of power by the Loyalists in the North of Ireland . Federalism wouldn’t unite the Irish people but perpetuate sectarian division.” (’1169…’ Comment : in other words , ‘a sop to Loyalists’: and that from the ‘rebels’ that went on to administer British ‘rule’ in the Six Counties!)

Dáithi Ó Conaill’s thinking as represented by his public statements between 1972 and 1975 led directly to the Feakle and post-Feakle Talks but is now light years away from the Northern ‘radicals’ . Provisional members in the North are said to be ‘more sectarian’ than their Southern counterparts not least of all because of the bloody carnage in Belfast and elsewhere in the Six Counties ; their view of Northern Unionists is said to be influenced by left-wing groups like the People’s Democracy ie that the Northern State is irreformable and so are most Northern Unionists . (’1169…’ Comment : the ‘Northern State’ is “irreformable” as long as it continues to be reared on the poisoned milk from Westminster .)

(MORE LATER).

BLACK PROPAGANDA AND BLOODY MURDER…….
British Army Captain John Colin Wallace.
First it was the Maguire family - claiming they had been wrongly convicted of bombings in London on faulty forensic tests and circumstantial evidence . Then the Birmingham Six were shown to have been the victims of another miscarriage of British ‘justice’ . Now , in the most bizarre case of all , a former British Intelligence officer , who served in the North of Ireland , has claimed that he was framed for a killing he didn’t commit .
British Captain John Wallace , now serving ten years for manslaughter , claims that his conviction was part of a plan to destroy his credibility because he knew too much about covert operations in Ireland - on both sides of the border . Frank Doherty talked to Wallace and to another former British Intelligence officer , Captain Fred Holroyd , who is lobbying politicians to re-open a case which is as potentially embarrassing for the British Secret Service as the Wright case in Australia has proved to be.
From ‘MAGILL’ magazine , December 1986 .

British spy Fred Holroyd stated : ” This is another of those strange cases with Irish links , where forensic evidence is of crucial importance . I have no doubt that Colin Wallace is innocent . I have never seen a more clear-cut case in my life .”

Fred Holroyd has spent more than a year probing the affair , visiting Wallace every month in Lewes Jail to report progress . Holroyd states - ” I have got some MP’s interested in it , but I believe I’m fighting for more than the reputation of an innocent man . I’m fighting against the shadowy people with whom Colin and I both worked with when we were in British Intelligence in Ireland , and they are very powerful people . In December (1985) they are going to give Colin parole - maybe they think that will keep him quiet . But he is determined to clear his name . I don’t think he will ever give up his fight for justice.”

[END of ‘BLACK PROPAGANDA AND BLOODY MURDER…….’]
(Next : ‘The Kitson Experiment’ - from 1983)

THE UNDAUNTED WOMEN IN ARMAGH…….
The full story of the republican prisoners in Armagh Jail has yet to be told. It has yet to be sung , and properly described , other than as an after-thought in public speeches - “…and of course the women in Armagh..” Republicans have a right to be proud of those women who, from the Divis Flats grandmother doing six months for what an Orange judge called “riotous behaviour” to the young IRA Volunteer inside for the second time and not yet 25-years-old , have managed, whether they numbered 12 or 120 , to maintain their resistance to the most vicious prison system in Europe. The words that follow , says writer Patricia Collins , were written to encourage more of those women to come forward and tell their story , and are based on conversations with several
ex-prisoners , and on visits and letters from those women presently imprisoned. They were written in the hope of jogging the memory of all those women who wrongly think their contribution to Ireland’s future peace is not worth mentioning.
From ‘IRIS’ magazine , August 1984.

One of the women POW’s stated - ” In February 1982 we ended the protest and moved into the ’system’ ; immediately on telling Prison Governor Thomas Murtagh that we were available for work he told his staff that each and every one of us was to be given cleaning chores until such time as other work was allocated to us . On his assessment we were within a few days designated to orderly duties , laundry and work-room (stitching) - all unproductive and menial tasks . Having placed us in the positions he considered suitable , Murtagh then embarked on a campaign of harassment and intimidation . Our ending the protest , rather than satisfying , had in fact increased Murtagh’s hunger to bring republicans not merely to their knees but to grovel on their bellies .

That ‘Unit’ theory failed to produce the results presupposed by Murtagh - he had hoped that division would cause disunity and eventually lead to the collapse of the internal prisoner-company structure . His failure caused him once again to resort to intimidation : threats to forfeit remission , punishments , solitary confinement . All have proved equally unproductive . In November 1982 , Murtagh implemented the strip-search and , since his appointment as Governor , almost two years ago , he has sought to discourage , degrade and demoralise republican prisoners . His controlling reign has been spent organising and maintaining a campaign of psychological torture against us…….”

(MORE LATER).

90th Anniversary of An Céad Dáil Éireann(the First Dáil Éireann)-

- a Lecture on this subject will be held on Tuesday 20th January 2009 , at 7.30pm , in Wynn’s Hotel, Lower Abbey Street,Dublin 1. The Clár (Programme of Events) is as follows :

7.45pm - Cathaoirleach (Chairperson) , Des Dalton, will open proceedings.
8pm - Reading of the Declaration of Independence,as Gaeilge agus i mBéarla, by Tomás Ó Clérigh agus Richard Walsh.
8.15pm - Reading of An Scéal Ó Dháil Éireann Chum Saor-Náisiún an Domhain (the Address to the Free Nations of The World) in English and French (Appel aux Nations),by Róisin Hayden agus Séan Ó Bradaigh.
8.30pm - Reading of the Democratic Programme of Dáil Éireann by Séamus Ó Súilleabháin.
8.45pm - Lecture on the First Dáil Éireann by Ruairí Ó Brádaigh, Uachtarán (President) ,Sinn Féin Poblachtach.
10pm - Questions from the floor followed by a social hour.

An Clár for the 90th Anniversary Lecture.

On January 21st , 1919 , the First Dáil Éireann met in the Mansion House, Dublin. The Declaration of Independence , the Address to the Free Nations of the World and the Democratic Programme of Dáil Éireann were read. On Tuesday , January 20 , 2009 , Republican Sinn Féin will host a lecture by Ruairí Ó Brádaigh to commemorate the anniversary. Republicanism is currently under threat from revisionist historians , politicians and the media so it is imperative we bring the truth to the people. It is through people like you that we can do this. We hope to see you on Tuesday night , January 20th 2009 at 7.30pm in Wynn’s Hotel in Dublin City Centre. All Welcome!
Thanks!
Sharon.

Saturday, January 10, 2009:
Day 15 of Israeli War On Gaza…
“Dear Editors, Journalists and Friends,
Most of the Gaza Strip plunges into deep darkness since the start of this war. I find several hardships to send out this report due to power problem. Today, a rocket targeted my uncle’s house. My house got several splinters and rocket shrapnel. Thanks to God, we all safe but I don’t know what will happen next. I live east of Gaza, Toffah area, were artillery shells rained down every single moment….”

From this blog , which we have been following for the last while : it needs no futher comment from us , only a request that you read it as often as you can . It may not be ‘on air’ for too long…
Sharon.

THE IRA : the new IRA is younger , more radical and has seen little of life other than violence…….
By Ed Moloney.
From ‘Magill’ magazine, September 1980.

For an Economic Resistance Campaign to be really successful it clearly needs to get into the business of making demands on the State , both North and South of the border . Building campaigns around the demand for jobs or better housing will lead , say the republican ‘traditionalists’ , to a de facto recognition of Leinster House and whatever institution it is that Humphrey Atkins can devise in the North of Ireland to replace Stormont . So far an uneasy compromise has been reached which allows for agitation in the South but only glorified social work in the North .

The most significant change in the ‘Eire Nua’ document has come in the present differing attitudes of the IRA Army Council and Sinn Féin to the core of the 1972 document , that is - federalism or the creation of strong Provisional government in Ireland when the British withdraw . Underlying Federalism was an implicit hope that it would mollify Northern Unionists and persuade them that , however un-realistic * the chances of re-unification , the Provisionals didn’t really bear them any ill will .

The Provos were even prepared to give them a large measure of self-government should the distant dream * of re-unification be realised . The Provisional leader most closely identified with Federalism is of course Dáithí Ó Conaill -as the Director of Publicity of the IRA between 1972 and 1975 , Ó Conaill spoke more often of the need to build a ‘United Ulster’ than a ‘United Ireland’ , and even banned * the latter phrase from Provisional vocabulary for a while . (* ‘1169…’ Comment : What rubbish ! To claim that any Irish Republican leader would seek to have the term ‘United Ireland’ banned within that organisation is simply ludicrous ! Certain descriptions ie ‘Northern Ireland’/'the Province’ etc are self-censored by republicans themselves as they are geographically (and morally) inaccurate , but the term ‘United Ireland’ would not have been self-censored , never mind internally “banned”. The author’s use of the terms “un-realistic” and “distant dream” speaks volumes of where he is coming from ie a slightly nationalist perspective rather than a republican one…)

(MORE LATER).

BLACK PROPAGANDA AND BLOODY MURDER…….
British Army Captain John Colin Wallace.
First it was the Maguire family - claiming they had been wrongly convicted of bombings in London on faulty forensic tests and circumstantial evidence . Then the Birmingham Six were shown to have been the victims of another miscarriage of British ‘justice’ . Now , in the most bizarre case of all , a former British Intelligence officer , who served in the North of Ireland , has claimed that he was framed for a killing he didn’t commit .
British Captain John Wallace , now serving ten years for manslaughter , claims that his conviction was part of a plan to destroy his credibility because he knew too much about covert operations in Ireland - on both sides of the border . Frank Doherty talked to Wallace and to another former British Intelligence officer , Captain Fred Holroyd , who is lobbying politicians to re-open a case which is as potentially embarrassing for the British Secret Service as the Wright case in Australia has proved to be.
From ‘MAGILL’ magazine , December 1986 .

Before he died , Jonathan Lewis had told his wife that he was worried about his business and said that if anything happened to him she was to “look out for” ‘Mr Y’ - the business associate mentioned at the trial . Now Amanda Metcalf , Holroyd’s witness , is convinced that Colin Wallace is innocent - ” I feel terrible ,” she says , ” I am also scared , because if Colin Wallace is innocent there could be someone walking around looking for me because of what I saw…”

British Captain Fred Holroyd’s quest to prove Wallace’s innocence has brought him to another witness - an angler who was fishing on the River Arun around midnight on the day of the killing . This fisherman saw a man searching the riverbank with a torch and claims that the man was not Colin Wallace .

The British spy’s solicitor , James Morgan-Harris, has been trying to have the case re-opened since Wallace decided to go public shortly after seeing Fred Holroyd on TV . The solicitor , James Morgan-Harris , has been concentrating on the forensic evidence , which he believes is crucial because the case against Wallace was largely circumstantial : forensic tests on the body of Jonathan Lewis after it was pulled from the River Arun would have shown how many drinks he had taken and , if the barmaid at the ‘Golden Goose’ pub is right - that the dead man was drinking there at a time when police say he was in Wallace’s car boot - then those tests would have shown that he had more than one drink . But , despite the anomalies in the whole affair , the British Home Office has refused requests from the solicitor to have the case re-opened . Due to the ‘Irish link’ , perhaps…….

(MORE LATER).

THE UNDAUNTED WOMEN IN ARMAGH…….
The full story of the republican prisoners in Armagh Jail has yet to be told. It has yet to be sung , and properly described , other than as an after-thought in public speeches - “…and of course the women in Armagh..” Republicans have a right to be proud of those women who, from the Divis Flats grandmother doing six months for what an Orange judge called “riotous behaviour” to the young IRA Volunteer inside for the second time and not yet 25-years-old , have managed, whether they numbered 12 or 120 , to maintain their resistance to the most vicious prison system in Europe. The words that follow , says writer Patricia Collins , were written to encourage more of those women to come forward and tell their story , and are based on conversations with several
ex-prisoners , and on visits and letters from those women presently imprisoned. They were written in the hope of jogging the memory of all those women who wrongly think their contribution to Ireland’s future peace is not worth mentioning.
From ‘IRIS’ magazine , August 1984.

The women POW’s in Armagh Jail wrote - ” Easter 1981 : Thomas Murtagh was appointed Governor of this prison . The anti-republican policy was reinforced with greater vehemence . We were in the coming months to experience greater hardships than those created by Governor George Scott. When the hunger-strike ended on October 3rd (1981) , there followed from the 5th October onward a 28-day ‘breathing space’ . This was enforced by James Prior in the hope that within that time we would reconsider our position , end the protest and comply with the system .

Throughout the following year of 1982 a few more women prisoners infiltrated the system while an adequate number maintained the protest , a strategy which created even greater problems for the prison administration .The administration had to contend with the protest , and an even more alarming situation which had been quietly developing under their very noses since the infiltration exercise . Governor Thomas Murtagh reacted as we believed he would - lashing out with the heavy-handed treatment . Daily , women were charged with petty offences which ensured solitary confinement , lock-ups , loss of visits , parcels and remission . The women who had ventured into the system received the worst of this treatment ; they had consolidated their position , formed a structure and grasped every opportunity to advance company policy . In response , Murtagh not only meted out the most severe punishments to them , but also used emotional blackmail…….”

(MORE LATER).