‘THERE WILL BE ANOTHER DAY…..’
By Peadar O’Donnell ; first published in January 1963.

I was brought before District Justice Cussen and I observed the usual IRA formula - I refused to recognise the court. The State asked for a remand for a week and Cussen, the kindly man, took the unusual step of asking to see my wife after the court adjourned to say he didn’t like the idea of sending me to Mountjoy Jail and would she please explain to me that all he wanted from me was my word that I would turn up there that day week. No bail , just my word.

I could not avail myself of this neighbourly offer, so Mountjoy Jail again it had to be , and ghost-rich ‘D Wing’ at that : it was to this Wing that the Four Courts Garrison was brought in 1922. I found the experience of sharing the prison van that shuttled from the jail to the district court and back , with men on remand on a great variety of charges, intensely interesting ; occasionally strangely disturbing. Scared men are pathetic and the man in trouble for the first time for an act not sanctioned from within himself is a scared man.

There were those who took things lightly , of course, but each man was pretty well alone with his thoughts , and there was no buoyancy left in any of them to sustain him in the presence of the jailer. By and by they would find odd ways of sharing life together , but the numbness of the early days had to wear off first , as there is a climate of oppression which derives from the sense of defeat in the prisoners themselves…..(MORE LATER).

THE WRONG ARM OF THE LAW……

Roisin McConnell claims she was abused, called “a murdering bitch” , “Satan” and “the Devil”. She claims gardai told her that her child would be taken away, that her husband was having an affair, that she would “do seven years in jail” and that she was “going to get stabbed”. A named garda told her that when this happened, he would spit on her grave, she says.
By Sandra Mara.
From ‘Magill’ Annual 2002.

Roisin, wife of Mark McConnell , was also arrested , despite the fact that several gardai at a pre-arrest conference in Letterkenny Garda Station had expressed their concern about their powers of arrest of the wife of a suspect “after the fact” and indeed, about the legality of her arrest.

On the morning of the 4th December 1996 , Roisin McConnell , the 36-year-old mother of a young baby, left home at Tullyvinney, Raphoe, to go to work. A workmate, Lorna O’ Donnell from Rusky, gave her and another friend, Marie Pearson, a lift. All three women headed off to work at the ‘Fruit of the Loom’ factory in Raphoe and, as they drove along the road they approached Raphoe Garda Station, close to the McConnell family home.

They were surprised to see around 20 gardai and detectives on the roadway. Lorna O’Donnell’s car was stopped and Garda ‘A’ told Roisin McConnell , who was seated in the back of the car, - “You’re under arrest for the murder of Richie Barron.” She was taken from the car and put into the back of a Garda car, surrounded by four gardai. Garda ‘A’ sat in the back with McConnell and another garda…….(MORE LATER).

30TH JANUARY 1972 - 30TH JANUARY 2013.

According to British Army ‘evidence’ , 21 soldiers fired their weapons on ‘Bloody Sunday’ and shot 108 rounds between them. Two soldiers were responsible for firing a total 35 bullets - Soldier ‘F’ fired 13 shots and Soldier ‘H’ fired 22 shots and both soldiers were in the area of Glenfada Park at the time of the shooting.

The fatal shooting on ‘Bloody Sunday’ began at approximately 4.10pm when soldiers entered the Rossville Street area of the Bogside. However, before the fatal shooting began two people were shot and wounded in William Street at about 3.55pm. The two people were Damien Donaghey (15) and John Johnson (59). The soldiers involved, Soldier ‘A’ and ‘B’, claimed that they had come under attack from nailbombs. No other witnesses, civilian or military heard any nailbombs explode at 3.55pm. Johnson was shot twice in the incident and died on 16th June 1972. His family is convinced that he died prematurely and that his death was due to the injuries received and trauma he underwent on ‘Bloody Sunday’.

Most of those shot dead on ‘Bloody Sunday’ were killed in four main areas: the car park (courtyard) of Rossville Flats; the forecourt of Rossville Flats (between the Flats and Joseph Place); at the rubble and wire barricade on Rossville Street (between Rossville Flats and Glenfada Park); and in the area around Glenfada Park (between Glenfada Park and Abbey Park). The following accounts look at the shootings in each of these areas in turn. It is not possible to give the exact time of any particular shooting or the exact order in which all 13 people were shot dead.

As soldiers of the Parachute Regiment entered the Bogside a number of their Humber Armoured Vehicles (’Pigs’) drove into the car park (courtyard) of Rossville Flats. Alana Burke (18) and Patrick Campbell (53) were run down by two different Army vehicles as they fled across the car park. In addition to Jack Duddy (17), who was shot dead in the car park, four people were wounded by shooting: Margaret Deery (37, the only woman shot and injured on ‘Bloody Sunday’), Michael Bridge (25), Michael Bradley (22) and Patrick McDaid (24).

John ‘Jack’ Duddy (17): Jack Duddy was killed by a single shot that passed through his upper chest from right to left and slightly forward. Four witnesses, Edward Daly, then a Catholic priest, Mrs Bonner, Mrs Duffy and Mr Tucker, all stated that Duddy was unarmed at the time he was shot and that he was running away from soldiers when he was shot. Three of these witness stated that they saw a soldier take deliberate aim at Duddy as he fled across the courtyard of Rossville Flats. Jack Duddy was probably the first person to be shot dead on ‘Bloody Sunday’.

As the shooting intensified a group of people became caught in the area between Rosville Flats and the maisonnettes of Joseph Place. Pat Doherty (31) was among them and was shot as he tried to crawl to safety. Barney McGuigan (41) heard the calls of Doherty and left the relative safety of the side of Rosville Flats to go to his aid but McGuigan was shot dead within a couple of paces of where he had been. Two other people were shot and wounded in this area, Daniel McGowan (37) and Patrick Campbell (53).

Patrick ‘Pat’ Doherty (31): Patrick Doherty was shot from behind while trying to crawl to safety in the vicinity of the forecourt of Rossville Flats, between the Flats and Joseph Place. He was shot once and died at the scene. The bullet entered his right buttock and travelled forward and upward through his body before exiting from the left of his chest. Patrick Doherty was photographed by Gilles Peress moments before he died. The photographs showed that he was not armed. Lord Widgery concluded that he had probably been shot by Soldier ‘F’ (who was in Glenfada Park at the time) who claimed that Patrick Doherty had a pistol in his hand.
The Saville Inquiry concluded: “3.65 … We are sure that Lance Corporal ‘F’ fired at and shot Bernard McGuigan and Patrick Doherty and it is highly probable that he was also responsible for shooting the other two casualties.”

Bernard ‘Barney’ McGuigan (41): Barney McGuigan was going to the aid of Patrick Doherty and was signalling with a white handkerchief held in his hand when he was shot dead by a single bullet through the back of his head. The bullet entered close to his left ear and exited through his right eye travelling forward and upward through his skull. He died where he fell near the corner of Rossville Flats between Rossville Street and Joseph Place. A number of eyewitnesses stated that he was unarmed.

Hugh Gilmour (17): Hugh Gilmour was shot by a single bullet that passed through his body and through his left forearm as he was running away from soldiers in Rossville Street. The bullet travelled from right to left through his chest travelling horizontally and slightly forward. A photograph of Gilmour, taken seconds after he was hit, showed that he was unarmed a fact confirmed by a number of witnesses. Gilmour was shot close to the rubble barricade but managed to run for several meters before falling to the ground at the side of Rossville Flats.

Kevin McElhinney (17): Kevin McElhinney was shot from behind, probably by Soldier ‘K’, as he was attempting to crawl to safety in the Rossville Flats. The bullet entered his left buttock and travelled up through his body exiting near his shoulder. Two eyewitnesses, including a Catholic priest, testified that McElhinney was unarmed. He was shot close to the front entrance of Rossville Flats, near to the rubble barricade, and was dragged inside by some people who were already sheltering there. He died almost immediately.

Michael Kelly (17): Michael Kelly died from a single shot to his abdomen, probably fired by Soldier ‘F’. The bullet entered from the front and travelled backward and downward. He died within a few minutes of being shot. He was shot near the rubble barricade in front of Rossville Flats.
Lord Widgery accepted that Kelly was not armed but concluded that he must have been standing close to someone who had discharged their weapon because of lead particles on Kelly’s right cuff. This finding ignored the strong likelihood of contamination from soldiers who handled the bodies when they were taken to the morgue (this was true in the case of many of those killed).

John Young (17): John Young was killed by a single shot to the head at the rubble barricade on Rossville Street. The bullet entered close to his left eye and travelled backward and downward before exiting through his ribs on the left side of his back. Two eyewitnesses gave evidence to the Widgery tribunal that Young was unarmed when he was shot.

William Nash (19): William Nash was killed by a single shot to his chest near the rubble barricade in front of Rossville Flats. The bullet entered his right upper chest from the front and travelled backward and downward exiting from his lower back. He was possibly shot by Soldier P. He was killed at almost the same time and in the same circumstances as John Young. Eyewitness accounts state that Nash was unarmed and was going to the aid of someone else when he himself was shot.

Michael McDaid (20): Michael McDaid was killed by a single shot to his face at the rubble barricade in front of Rossville Flats. He probably died immediately he had been shot.

James Wray (22): James Wray was shot dead in Glenfada Park. James was shot twice, the first bullet travelled ’superficially’ from right to left across his body, the second bullet entered his back and travelled from right to left. Two eyewitnesses gave evidence to the Widgery Tribunal that Wray was shot and wounded and then was shot dead, from close range, while he lay on the ground. A number of people, who were not called to give evidence to the Widgery Inquiry, stated that Wray was complaining that he was unable to move his legs when he was shot a second time and killed.

Gerald Donaghey (17): Gerald Donaghey was shot once in the abdomen, probably by Soldier ‘G’, but did not die at the scene. He was trying to run to safety between Glenfada Park and Abbey Park when he was shot.

Gerald McKinney (35): Gerald McKinney was also shot dead in Glenfada Park. He had been part of the group of people who were caught in Glenfada Park and who were trying to get to safety towards Westland Street. He decided to make a run for it at the same time as Gerald Donaghey who was just ahead of him. Donaghey was shot and McKinney must have seen the soldier. Two eyewitnesses stated that McKinney then raised his arms in surrender and shouted, “Don’t shoot!, Don’t shoot!”. The trajectory of the bullet through his chest from left to right is consistent with this evidence. Had McKinney’s arms not been raised the bullet would have passed through one or both arms.

William McKinney (26): William McKinney was shot dead after he left the safety of cover to try to assist Gerald McKinney (not a relation) who had been shot moments before. He was shot from behind, as he was bent over Gerald McKinney, and the bullet travelled through his chest from right to left and then through his left wrist.

As stated in the caption of the picture at the top of this piece, that Derry march was held seeking civil rights, not a British withdrawal : the former request is acceptable to some whilst others rightly demand a more sustainable solution - that of a British withdrawal.

DOLOURS PRICE 1951-2013.
REST IN PEACE.

I met Dolours three times in the past number of years - once in Dublin , once in her native Belfast and once in Derry - and , on each occasion, I was in the company of different members of the Republican Movement and we bumped-into each other at protests/pickets in connection with three separate issues. But the one ‘constant’ was Dolours : a deeply committed and resolute republican activist with a sharp instinct and a genuine grá for her passion - Ireland.

The sentiments I was going to express here have already been expressed in a far more eloquent manner by another stalwart supporter of Irish Republicanism , Ruairí Ó Brádaigh , and I am proud to re-post them here :

“The untimely passing of Dolours Price is a moment in Republican history.
Born into a staunch Republican household in Belfast she came under the influence of her father, Albert Price, who was active in the 1940s and was imprisoned, and her aunt Bridie Dolan who was severely injured when a grenade she was handling exploded prematurely.

In more recent times she publicly attacked what she saw as deceit, hypocrisy and public lying in high places. She exposed it relentlessly. She saw all that as a
contradiction to the mountain of sacrifice that had been made over the decades. She herself had contributed more than her share and she was outraged at the developments. Never did she participate in deceit, hypocrisy or public lying. She will be remembered : cuimhneofar ort, a Dholours.You have triumphed in the end. Sincere sympathy is expressed to her sisters Marian and Clare and to her two sons, Danny and Oscar.”
Slán go foill anois, a Dholours.

‘ THERE WAS POLITICAL INTERFERENCE IN DECIDING AND PRIORITISING HOSPITALS….’

But how much does he charge for journeys to hospitals….?
Oh Really Reilly : we have mentioned the antics of Mr James Reilly before (as have others) but it seems the man still has a reckless desire to pad-out his own future by (ab) using not only his political position but taxpayers money, too. It has been remarked in some left-wing political circles that the man’s political desire and his machinations to further secure his own financial future in so blatant a manner is puzzling considering that he is already a millionaire but the only element of it that I find ‘puzzling’ is why anyone of a socialist inclination would find it surprising that a millionaire Fine Gael/right wing politician would seek to increase his ’stakeholding’ , thus ensuring an even more luxurious lifestyle and retirement for himself than he had already secured ?

The answer , in my opinion, is because of an absence of ethics on the part of the afflicted person ie greed , described by theologian Thomas Aquinas as “…a sin directly against one’s neighbour, since one man cannot over-abound in external riches without another man lacking them…” . Mr Reilly probably never heard of Thomas Aquinas as there is no profit to be gained by him in doing so. We live in a sad society , as is so remarkably demonstrated by Mr Reilly and his ilk.

DEMOCRACY AT WORK : MORE OF THIS IS NEEDED.

Better late than never : hopefully this protest is a sign of things to come and it will become a regular occurrence to witness citizens directly challenge their employees (ie politicians) in regards to the manner in which they pompously and arrogantly waste taxpayers money on themselves and only then consider using the left over coin to supply public services. Until such time as the corrupt political system in this State is changed for the better we need to do this. Congratulations to the organisers and to all those who took part - to quote Oscar Wilde : “Yes , I am a dreamer. For a dreamer is one who can only find his way by moonlight, and his punishment is that he sees the dawn before the rest of the world.”

It would be reassuring to think that this protest and, hopefully, future protests like it, will herald a ‘new Dawn’.

HORSE AND BULL FROM A COLOUR-BLIND SHIT STIRRER !

This wee blog wishes continued success (!) to the (much-deserved) misunderstood Champion of All that is Good and Proper , Willie Frazer, whom we have mentioned before in this lil’ corner of cyberspace. In an attempt to capitalise on ‘BurgerGate’ …..

……our Willie claimed that the PIRA was ultimately responsible for that culinary terrorism (…and for a lot of other things, too, apparently..) - Interviewer : “The (P)IRA were involved with putting horsemeat into beef products?”

Willie Frazer : “Yes. Basically old fat cows that are 30 months old have been put into the food chain because the republicans have the means of getting it in…..” (From here)

It was probably whilst choking on one of the offensive burgers that poor Willie confused his colours and almost set his gang of thugs on the teachers , staff and pupils of a school which he described as “….the junior headquarters of IRA youth…” . If nothing else, in securing the headlines that he does, Frazer is a prime (!) example of the embarrassing human flotsam left behind when a wreckage of an ‘empire’ seeks to extract itself from an area in which it can no longer use barbarism to control without having its use highlighted. His ‘Best Before’ date is long gone.

Thanks for reading,
Sharon.

‘BLOODY SUNDAY’ PICKET , DUBLIN , SATURDAY 26TH JANUARY 2013 : BRIEF REPORT AND PICS.

Under the watchful eyes of six uniformed Garda members and at least three armed members of the ‘Special Branch’ political police, the RSF-organised picket in commemoration of the 1972 ‘Bloody Sunday’ massacre in Derry was held on Saturday 26th January 2013 in Dublin , on the traffic isle facing the GPO in O’Connell Street.

At 11.30am that morning, RSF members began handing out leaflet ‘packs’ at three locations in the city centre - at the GPO , in the vicinity of the O’Connell Bridge area and in and around Parnell Square. In total , 1,200 republican leaflets (350 leaflet ‘packs/booklets’) were distributed in a period of 135 minutes and each of the three leaflet teams reported that they could have distributed even more, had they had them to hand.

RSF President Des Dalton and Dublin PRO , John Horan , both delivered in-depth speeches during which the name and age of each of the 13 men and teenagers that were massacred that day by the British Army Parachute Regiment was read out in O’Connell Street , and a brief description of the wounds inflicted on each person was given. Also mentioned was the fact that the only female victim of those shootings , Margaret Deery, was a then-37-year-old mother of 13 children who was left crippled for life after being seriously wounded in the leg. This lady was shot by a British Army Para from a distance of 25 yards after he calmly took aim at her.

An intercepted letter to the commander of the 1st Battalion of the British Parachute Regiment , Lt. Colonel Derek Wilford , which was printed on the front page of ‘The Sunday Press’ newspaper on the Sunday following the massacre in Derry was read out at the Dublin picket - the letter was written on February 1st , 1972, by Brigadier F.P. Barclay , DSO , MCDL , Colonel , The Royal Norfolk Regiment , and stated -

‘1/2/’72.

Dear Wilford ,

Kings Lynn , Norfolk.’

As stated at the Dublin picket, those on that day in 1972 who obviously lacked a “sense of law and order , duty and perspective and who were spineless…” were the foreign gunmen who opened fire on unarmed Irish civilians.

A full report and more pics will be published in the February 2013 issue of ‘Saoirse’ , which goes to print on Wednesday 6th of that month.

Thanks for reading,
Sharon.

‘THERE WILL BE ANOTHER DAY…..’
By Peadar O’Donnell ; first published in January 1963.

I took it for granted McCool asked a few men of a local unit to go with him and that so neat a raid would be well protected by secrecy. It turned out, however , that in his anxiety to keep to the pattern of an affair of neighbours, he gathered round him a mixed group who took it all light-heartedly, so that the countryside soon knew all there was to know. The police had no trouble in getting evidence enough to make arrests - it was not so easy to expect people to believe I had no finger in it , when one of the arrested men was my brother, Brian.

I got a whisper that my own arrest was not far off and I spent all the time I could spare in the townlands getting ready for it. I followed my usual plan of giving a lot of time to the individuals I thought best fit to hold the townlands together. There was no recrimination among us on the raid which, by now , had back-fired badly. Members of the committee had encouraged it , and for the reasons I suspected - they felt people needed some evidence that they had at least hidden friends, somewhere.

At a gathering of the committee and townland delegates I gave the clearest statement of my views I had so far submitted at a formal conference. This skirmish we were conducting could lead into a land war which could restore the independence movement that the Treaty had wrecked. I was arrested in due course and charged with a number of offences, all rising out of the agitation - I do not remember the exact wording of the charge and I think it unlikely I even read it at that time for in any case I must refuse to plead…..(MORE LATER).

THE WRONG ARM OF THE LAW.

Roisin McConnell claims she was abused, called “a murdering bitch” , “Satan” and “the Devil”. She claims gardai told her that her child would be taken away, that her husband was having an affair, that she would “do seven years in jail” and that she was “going to get stabbed”. A named garda told her that when this happened, he would spit on her grave, she says.
By Sandra Mara.
From ‘Magill’ Annual 2002.

Of the increasing number of cases against the State as a result of claims in respect of some Garda activities in Donegal, the case of Roisin McConnell, a young Donegal mother arrested in the Richie Barron inquiry, is one of the most shocking.

In documents seen by Magill , the young mother claims she was subjected to treatment amounting to mental torture , was physically pushed around by gardai and had photographs of a dead body pushed into her face. During this time, Roisin McConnell claims she was abused, called “a murdering bitch” , “Satan” and “the Devil” . She claims gardai told her that her child would be taken away, that her husband was having an affair, that she would “do seven years in jail” and that she was “going to get stabbed”. A named garda told her that when this happened , he would spit on her grave, she says.

As a result of this, Roisin McConnell suffered a chronic nervous breakdown and spent nine weeks in Letterkenny General Hospital under the care of a psychiatrist.

In a wave of arrests following the death of Raphoe man Richie Barron in October 1996, gardai picked up local publican Frank McBrearty and his son Frank Jnr , together with Roisin’s husband, painter and decorator Mark McConnell , and brought them to Letterkenny Garda Station for questioning. Initially believed to have been a hit-and-run, gardai were now treating the Barron death as a murder inquiry, with Frank McBrearty Jnr and Mark McConnell as their prime suspects…..(MORE LATER).

KINCORA AND (OTHER) BRITISH CHILD ABUSE CASES.

“A list of names seized by police probing allegations of child abuse includes ministers, members of the royal household and a world-famous pop star….all were recorded as visitors to a suburban guest house that operated as a gay brothel…” (from here) - the latest (…at the time of writing, anyway..) ’sex scandal’ to center around the British ‘Establishment’ , following hot on the heels of the Jimmy Savile disgrace.

Administrations the world over have made an art form of using what it would coyly term ‘human nature’ to keep its ‘interests’ secure and/or as a reason for disposing of those ‘interests’ (when the time suited it to do so, of course) and you would have to be extremely naïve (and not only politically) to believe otherwise.

However , despite what is at times overwhelming evidence , there are those who seemingly refuse to accept that those they support(ed) are/were ‘like that’ (”William McGrath and his fellow defendants spent whole lifetimes building up images of familial rectitude . They never once said anything about their homosexual orientation . It is worth questioning whether they were entirely homosexual at all . No hint of their being gay ever seeped out into the gay community , much less the general community ……. “ - from here, post dated August 31, 2005 , and they do that for reasons best known to themselves. Regular readers will know that this blog constantly questions the actions and inactions of various administrations - Leinster House , Stormont and Westminster , for instance - but we do so from what we believe to be a yardstick of common sense , and not from a position of being an almost blind follower of either the administration(s) or that which it (they) rail against. In short , we haven’t been ‘bought’ by one side or the other and we intend to stay that way!

A MAN-CHILD TRYING TO LIVE IN (AND WITH) THE REAL WORLD.

“Take a life to save a life. That’s what we revolve around, I suppose….if there are people trying to do bad stuff to our guys, then we’ll take them out of the game…..I  am one of these people who like playing Play Station and Xbox,  so with my thumbs I would like to think that I am quite useful….”
- Britain’s ‘Prince’ Harry , as quoted here, on a rare moment when he wasn’t using his thumb to cover his modesty. Or sucking it. His thumb, that is…..

Never dawning on him for one moment that he and his type are “….the people trying to do bad stuff…” , this half-idiot sits in his Apache helicopter , wired into it like a Borg (and with as much free-thinking as same) firing Hellfire missiles and rockets at ‘the enemy’ , from a safe distance, before training his 30mm gun on what remains of them. He then heads back to base at 200mph to play war games : ” It’s a joy for me because I’m one of those people who loves playing Playstation and Xbox so, with my thumbs, I like to think that I’m probably quite useful….” (from here)

He’s a “useful” idiot, to the ‘Establishment’ and the tabloids,  but not half as much an idiot as are the millions of people in ‘Great Britain’ that, financially, keep him and his ‘royal’ family insulated from real people. He doesn’t have any experience of what goes on in real people’s lives and is more at home ‘whacking the bad dudes’ on his Playstation or from the comfort of his Apache helicopter , interrupting same occasionally to party with his Chelsea-type friends. Had he not been born into a life of privilege he would have been dead by now as he is incapable of making his own way in this world and, indeed, I doubt whether he can walk and chew gum at the same time. And the gum would have more intelligence.

1200 (250X4 + 100X2) 4 26TH…..

RSF Head Office has organised a total of 1,200 leaflets for distribution at the ‘Bloody Sunday’ picket in Dublin on Saturday 26th January 2013 : these will be ‘formed’ into two different types of booklets/packs , 250 of which will contain four leaflets and 100 of which will contain two leaflets. This method of distributing political leaflets has been used by RSF for years now (if, indeed, not actually pioneered by them) and has proved to be very successful.

The ‘Four Pack’ contains a ‘Bloody Sunday’ leaflet , a Martin Corey leaflet, an RSF ‘Youth’ leaflet and an ‘anti-household tax/septic tank/water charge’ leaflet, whilst the ‘Two Pack’ contains one each of the first and third of those leaflets. If you are in Dublin city centre on Saturday 26th January 2013 between 11.30am and 1.45pm , I’ll be on one of the leaflet teams at the O’Connell Bridge and/or Ambassador end of O’Connell Street - come over, take a ‘pack’ and say Hello!

“HAVE YOUR PEOPLE CONTACT MY PEOPLE…..!”

Earlier on this month (January 2013) a London-based journalist contacted me and asked if I would be interested in writing a short piece for them for publication. We discussed the issue and a brief on the type of article required (political) was given to me and, after more discussion between us (during which payment to me was offered but which I refused - although I will be getting a free copy of the publication in question in the post!) I threw a few aul (!) words together and these will , I’m told, shortly be gracing the pages of the publication in question!

I’ll say no more for now , except to state that my evil plan to take over the print world as well as this interweb-blog yoke is running to plan and you , dear reader, will (hopefully!) soon be able to declare “….ah sure I knew her when she was a nobody..” !

‘MORE LATER’ , as they say on an ‘almost famous’ blog….. !

Thanks for reading,
Sharon.

‘THERE WILL BE ANOTHER DAY…..’
By Peadar O’Donnell ; first published in January 1963.

My first startled reaction was that IRA repudiation of the raid would take the heart out of the resistance ,for , in however vague a way, they must have encouraged themselves to believe they were not without some support from that body. Fortunately Agent Sweeney called the raiders “Republicans” so that the word “official” had no meaning.

On the level of Republicans the raid was an affair of neighbours , but what was I to do about this telegram ? Had the police come to challenge me on the raid, I should have refused to discuss it or, maybe, in order to lessen the challenge that was in it , and the excuse it gave for vigorous government action. I might have said I was certain the committee had nothing to do with it but I could not dodge this cheeky, impertinent message, so I replied that I would not use my influence to have the books returned nor even to have the landlord’s agent returned should he happen to serve a useful purpose by following the books, and I published both messages in that week’s ‘An Phoblacht’.

The townlands were delighted with the raid, and I soon had encouraging reports that people hitherto hesitant were now coming our way. I urged on Phil McCauley that this was a time to win new townland delegates and impress on everybody that the townlands were their own weapon against the bailiff. It should not be possible for the bailiff to drive cattle out of the area without finding himself and his escort driving through a storm - but I had no great success along this line. The government could strike back with a lot more confidence at a movement that left most of its chores to small groups moving in the dark. Phil reported that for the moment the bailiff seemed to have passed out of the picture and that the townlands were now infested with plain-clothes policemen, looking for evidence to pin the raid on local people.(MORE LATER).

FEAR AND LOATHING IN SOUTH ARMAGH……

From ‘Magill’ magazine , April 2003.
By John Keane.

Should the generals be simply ordered to dump arms - the ‘pike in the thatch’ solution - or should the army be stood down and the generals retired?

The (P)IRA statement condemning the killers of (P)IRA Volunteer Keith Rodgers was signed “P O’Neill, Runai” , the traditional imprimatur of the chief of staff but, if the (P)IRA is formally stood down, then that signature can no longer be used as a flag of convenience to drape the coffins of the victims of vendetta. Slab Murphy may just have shot himself in the foot.

[END of ‘FEAR AND LOATHING IN SOUTH ARMAGH……’]

(Next : ‘WRONG ARM OF THE LAW’ , from 2002.)

HOIST THE BUTCHERS APRON…..

When the Stormont Treaty was being spawned in 1998 by most of the political parties in the Six Counties and the Westminster and Leinster House administrations , one of the ‘terms and conditions’ that almost closed it down was the demand from the so-called ‘republican’ element, Provisional Sinn Féin, that ‘policing powers’ be gifted by Westminster to the Stormont Six-County Assembly and, after many tantrums were played-out in front of the cameras, the wish was granted , prompting ‘Lords’ Adams and McGuinness to declare that they could now “put manners” on the RUC(/PSNI).

The on-going (six-week old, at the time of writing) ‘Flag protest’ in the Six Counties has put paid to that lie : the ‘unmannered’ RUC(/PSNI) paramilitary ‘police force’ , renowned for moving against Irish republican street pickets , demonstrations and protest marches has, as expected by republicans, donned the kid gloves in relation to their fellow pro-union colleagues and even Provisional Sinn Féin members and supporters - and voters - must now be asking themselves where the ‘impartial police force’ is that they were promised in that 1998 Treaty - where is ‘the manners’ that was supposedly imposed on that pro-British ‘police force’ as a part trade-off for voting in favour of that Treaty ?

The reality , as stated at the time by the Republican Movement, is that that Treaty was but yet another stop-gap by Westminster and Leinster House to be used to buy time re ‘the Irish Question’ and to use that bought time to convince those that wanted to believe it, that ‘the conflict is at long last resolved’. That claim, like the ‘now-mannered RUC(/PSNI)’ , is nonsense : there is no such solution possible as long as Westminster continues to interfere in Irish affairs and the reason for that is clear - it is that very act of interference that is causing the problem. Remove the interference - rather than ‘tweak’ it - and the problem will be removed. And that is the objective of this Movement.

“AND NOLAN AND MAHON BOTH SCORE IN A THRILLING FIRST-OF-SEASON CONTEST….!”

Those bleedin’ GAAaaa and soccer supporters just can’t take no for an answer!

As hoped for, we received 23 unsold raffle tickets back but, by the time they were delivered to us, we had €70 (enough to buy 35 tickets!) in the ’stand-by’ dish from wannabe punters , 12 of whom we had to give money back to - plus, of course, we had the usual couple of dozen punters call over to our table between 12 noon and 2pm, looking for tickets , all of whom we had to disappoint !

One person who was LOUDLY not disappointed was Tony Nolan , from the Dublin 10 area, who was sold ticket number 181 by one of our regular ticket sellers , bus-driver Anto - Tony won first prize , €200, and himself and Anto immediately retired to the bar after booking a taxi for 4pm to take them both back home! But before he left our table, Anto pulled-out the second prize - ticket 449 - €100, which our Gerry had sold that very afternoon to local man Alex , who promptly disappeared to the ‘winners enclosure’ to join an exclusive club! We found Alex (under a table!) and managed to calm him down enough to pull-out the third prize (€40) for us, and he removed ticket stub 125, which elicited a loud ‘YES!’ from Kildare resident Cameron , who had bought her ticket from Darren, who was rewarded with a pint and a big sloppy gooser from the Diaz look-a-like. Darren was later heard crying hysterically, lamenting the fact that he hadn’t sold her the first prize lol!

Cameron put her delicate hand in the raffle drum and removed stub 014 - 4th prize , worth €20 - which was won by Robert, from Dublin city centre, who was sold the ticket by Owen and, in Robert’s absence, Owen pulled the fifth prize , (€20) for us - and ‘JR’ , from Wexford, stub number 380, was a few bob richer for it. Sixth prize went to a Wicklow man , Pat Keogh (388) who then pulled the second-last prize (also €20) which was won by Tommy D , who bought the ticket (495) from our Jeff , one of the lads who works that hotel for us regarding ticket sales. Tommy had the honour of pulling out the 8th and last prize of €20 which was won by Jimmy Hughes from Roscommon on stub 475.

Apart from the football madness and the packed house (and the never-ending requests for non-existent tickets!) the day , and the raffle, was great craic and a huge success : and we are fully confident that we can do the same again next month, but will ask Mr Nolan(/Mahon ?) to keep his shirt on…..!

‘BLOODY SUNDAY’ PICKET , DUBLIN , JANUARY 2013.

After a peaceful Civil Rights march on January 30 , 1972 - from Creggan to Free Derry Corner, in Ireland - units of the British army Parachute Regiment opened fire with automatic rifles and shot dead 13 unarmed civilians , injuring many more . It was later revealed that some days prior to the massacre , the British soldiers involved had been briefed to “…shoot to kill..” at the march.

“This Sunday became known as ‘Bloody Sunday’ and bloody it was . It was quite unnecessary . It strikes me that the (British) army ran amok that day and shot without thinking of what they were doing . They were shooting innocent people . They may have been taking part in a parade which was banned , but that did not justify the troops coming in and firing live rounds indiscriminately . I would say without reservations that it was sheer unadulterated murder. It was murder , gentlemen.”
- the words of British Major Hubert O’Neill , Derry City Coroner, at the conclusion of the inquests on the 13 people killed that day by the British Army.

On Saturday 26th January 2013 , a picket to mark the Anniversary of that massacre will be held at the GPO in Dublin , from 12 Noon to 2pm . All genuine republicans welcome!

TRADE UNION-ORGANISED ‘SAFETY VALVE’.

An ICTU protest against wage and welfare cutbacks, in which SIPTU, amongst other trade union groups will take part, has been organised in this State for Saturday 9th February 2013 : street protests will be held in Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Galway, Sligo and Waterford and, no doubt, hundreds of thousands of people will take part, and rightly so. And, again without a doubt, the trade union leadership will be given a loud ‘welcome’ - and rightly so.

This blog has posted before on this issue and we will be taking part in that protest on 9th February next but will be doing so to voice our objection against those in Leinster House more so than as a show of support for the leadership of the trade union movement in this State. And Mr O’Connor and anyone else beside him , on or off the Dublin stage, can again call me and other workers and the unemployed “fascists” if he wants and/or he can again speak over us but that won’t change the fact that he is emotionally and morally closer to those he is allegedly protesting against than he is to those on whose behalf he claims to be protesting. And no amount of waffle or fist-shaking can change that.

Thanks for reading,
Sharon.

‘THERE WILL BE ANOTHER DAY…..’
By Peadar O’Donnell ; first published in January 1963.

A temporary rent office was set up at Dungloe and tenants were asked to call there on promise that things would be made easy for them (’1169…’ Comment : shades of ‘Please self-register’ your family home with us so we can tax you on it…’). I took no notice of this performance and the committee placed no ban on it but I think it is likely , indeed, that this was a period when I gave little leadership to the townlands beyond reporting on incidents, for I find a poster issued at Dungloe in September 1926 that I can tell from the wording I did not write.

Seán McCool gave the committee a lot of help - I heard of him regularly from Phil McCauley and I was greatly encouraged by his active interest. He attended meetings of the committee and it is likely that the feeling of working in isolation , from which the townlands suffered at that period, influenced him towards some act on their behalf , outside the district, from which they might draw encouragement. Anyway, without a hint to me that he had the like in mind, he raided the office of the Conyngham Estate at Donegal town , a good thirty miles distant, and took away whatever documents he found there.

The first I knew of it was a telegram addressed to ‘Padra’ O’Donnell TD, Dungloe , and relayed to me from there : I was one of the Sinn Féin TD’s for County Donegal at the time. The telegram read - ‘ Men calling themselves Republicans called here last night , took away Conyngham rentals. If official and you have any influence , try to get them returned otherwise it will mean a claim of thousands of pounds on the already heavy-taxed Rosses people. Signed Sweeney Agent’. It was not a very welcome message. (MORE LATER).

FEAR AND LOATHING IN SOUTH ARMAGH……

From ‘Magill’ magazine , April 2003.
By John Keane.

The innuendo and smears aimed at the victims of these attacks have done little to satisfy the growing anger at what appears to be the settling of personal scores by prominent republicans. As the Adams/McGuinness leadership debates the final chapter in the (P)IRA’s history, the “act of completion” that will effectively allow the British government to legislate the unionist veto out of existence * , they cannot continue to ignore the crisis of confidence in South Armagh republicanism which might return to haunt the peace**.

The leadership is faced with the problem encountered by all revolutionary*** organisations - what to do with its generals when the armed struggle has outlived its usefulness.

* The only acceptable method by which the British government can “… legislate the unionist veto out of existence..” is to, firstly, announce a date for it to withdraw its military and political presence from Ireland and, secondly, implement that policy. Westminster (and Leinster House) have attempted everything else - direct rule, indirect rule, genocide, apartheid, puppet parliaments, real parliaments, martial law, civil law, colonisation, land reform and partition, all of which failed to solve their ‘Irish problem’. Withdrawal is the only proper solution.

**There has been no “peace” in this country in over 840 years nor can there be in the current circumstances. What there has been is ebbs in the level of opposition to British interference, the low points of which the British (and their colleagues in Leinster House and Stormont) are ever-eager to misrepresent as ‘peace’.

***In 1986, Provisional Sinn Féin morphed from a revolutionary organisation into a constitutional political party and was supported in doing so by the PIRA which eventually resulted in the latter surrendering its arms to the British. (MORE LATER).

COULD HAVE BEEN A ‘LOVE ULSTER’ ROUND TWO ?

The same gang of semi-political pro-British trouble-makers that caused trouble in Dublin in 2006 last week stated their intention to try and do so again on Saturday 12th January 2013 , and the same instigator was in charge - Willie Frazer , a man who, amongst other strings to his bow, has given EU money-men a reason to look twice before they agree to fund any other ‘good causes’ in troubled lands. When the 2006 loyalist parade was first mooted, the Republican Movement made its intention known to hold a counter protest and explained its reasons for doing so and those reasons are just as valid today.

There is no doubt that counter-protests would have been held on Saturday 12th 2013 (if these loyalists had again attempted to parade triumphantly with Union Jack flags through the streets of Dublin , as was their stated intention) and, should they parade through Dublin in their usual sectarian manner in the future and if the State authorities again try and prevent what was then (2006) and would be a peaceful political counter-protest then there is every likelihood that others would have sought to fill the void and raise objections in a non-political manner.

Michael McDowell is not now in the same State Administration position he was then in to welcome his loyalist colleagues to Dublin but his pro-British mentality is alive and well in the so-called ‘corridors of power’ in this kip of a State and, as such , the shared attitude of ‘loyalists welcome/republicans not’ still prevails and would no doubt have been acted on in the streets of Dublin had that loyalist parade taken place.

Now that this has been postponed, a lesson to be learned by all concerned is that the misguided so-called ‘republican voices of caution’ (Provisional Sinn Féin , the SDLP ,Fianna Fail and the State Labour Party , all of whom consider themselves to be ‘republicans’) re people taking to the streets in opposition to Frazer’s loyalist bigotry have again been exposed for what they are- establishment figures who haven’t the political strength of their alleged ‘republican convictions’ , who were witnessed to be closer to the establishment point of view than they are to a republican one. There should be no excuse now for politically-aware republican supporters to be taken in by them and, hopefully, supporters like that and others that are interested in Irish republicanism will in future know not to allow themselves to be misled and distracted by those ‘establishment republicans’ who are now politically and morally closer to those they once fought against then they are to those whom they once stood beside during this on-going struggle. We can thank Willie Frazer for that , if nothing else.

PRIVATE ADAMS.

As a mother of three children , working full time outside the family home (as well as in it) and involuntarily (ie it’s stopped at source) paying this State more than it deserves, it annoys and sickens me to see wealthy people, politicians in particular, in this society, pontificate about how they can emphasise with people like me and how they can ‘feel my pain’. They’ll agree that, for instance, it’s a dreadful situation to have to subject yourself to the trial and tribulation of that which remains of the taxpayer-funded so-called ‘health service’ in this State and will do they best to assure you that ‘we’re all in the same boat in that regard’.

Well , we’re not. Your health protection money is stopped at source yet when you visit a GP you pay between €50 and €80 for the visit, if sent to hospital you will get billed for it separately and if advised to get a prescription you will be charged, again, by the chemist. A huge percentage of the population in this State is failed and failed regularly by the ‘health system’ despite paying weekly taxes to maintain the system , and 10-hour ‘waiting time’ in A+E is now an expected and allowed-for part of , eventually, getting looked at by a doctor. The politicians , the health care ‘industry’ and the management and their committees are responsible for the collapsing system, as they pay and reward themselves way more than the kitty can sustain. Meanwhile, those of us who pay into the system not only get a very poor return for our money, but have now become conditioned into expecting nothing less than that poor return.

Gerry Adams is but the latest in a long line of hypocrites in this regard : a wealthy career politician who gained the trust of enough voters because, amongst other election promises, he stated that he understood the dangers associated with such a run-down and dilapidated health care system and loudly proclaimed that he could affect change to it if he got elected. And he did get elected to Leinster House but, instead of using his position there to constantly campaign , in-house, for the change he spoke about on the election trial he used part of his €1930 a week salary to go for private health care (in America) !

That particular politician claims that he ‘only’ earns €708 a week for his ‘job’ in Leinster House yet he can afford private health care in a foreign jurisdiction - about as believable as an election ‘promise’ !

‘APOLOGISES FOR TRYING TO DEFEND MYSELF WHILST YOU WERE TRYING TO ANNIHILATE ME , BUT CAN I HAVE YOUR PERMISSION TO CARRY A TOY GUN ON MY OWN STREET…..?’

If you have lost your once-vaunted ’smell of sulphur’ , perhaps the smell of caps will do ? And, actually, the latter would attract a ‘better class’ of so-called ’support’ than the former , even if that former support base had heretofore been with you through hell and high water. Thus the now-prevalent SDLP-type of watery ‘nationalists’ that form the backbone of the Provisional Sinn Féin camp would have considered this to be ‘daring’ or somesuch - an opportunity to (safely!) ‘prove your rebel credentials’ in front of your family , friends and neighbours.

And those ‘rebels’ that participated would have stuck their chest out that wee bit further safe in the knowledge , as stated in the linked article, above, that, regardless of which type of cap gun /water pistol they swaggered through the streets with on that day last summer, they would not be accosted by the genuinely-armed representatives of the parliament responsible for the atrocity they were meekly highlighting : “…(Provisional)Sinn Fein has notified police and the Parades Commission of their intention to hold a public procession in Dungiven on Sunday, August 5, 2012 to commemorate the Hunger Strike…imitation/replica firearms will be on show during these re-enactments. (P)Sinn Fein holds valid certification for these items which will be inspected by police prior to the events…”

That encapsulates the ‘new republicanism’ promoted by British Crown Bailiffs Adams and McGuinness - ‘make a name’ for yourself during an on-going legitimate campaign of resistance and then , later, seek permission from those you were campaigning and fighting against to hold a demonstration in honour of those days! More like a strong smell of bullshit than a weak odour of sulphur.

WATER NEVER SEEN THE LIKE OF IT….!

The CABHAIR organisation were kept busy over the Christmas/New Year period with various fund-raising activities : a 650-ticket raffle and a Christmas Day sponsored swim kept them on the go in Dublin and they weren’t far behind in Armagh , Wexford or Kerry, either. And a team of CABHAIR supporters in New York also braved the elements on New Years Day and flew the Fenian flag for our prisoners in the waters of Coney Island !

This short post is just by way of saying a big ‘Thank You!’ to all involved in the above events, as those for whom it was done - the POW’S - are unable to do that themselves. I know from my contacts with the republican prisoners (and their families) how much the actual support - not just the money end of it - means to them in confirming that their comrades in their republican family have not forgot them and never will. And not only at Christmas/New Year time either. Well done to all involved and thanks !

WE HAVEN’T HAD ONE OF THESE SINCE LAST YEAR……

By all accounts we are going to be rushed off our feet this Sunday and, so far , we can only locate 25 possible tickets that might be returned to us for re-sale between now and then , but we know from experience that even if we had twice that amount it still wouldn’t be enough! If we get out of there in one piece and recover enough, I’ll post the raffle results here on Sunday night. If you don’t see them here by Monday night, send out a search party…..!

Thanks for reading,
Sharon.

‘THERE WILL BE ANOTHER DAY…..’
By Peadar O’Donnell ; first published in January 1963.

I had the great good fortune to realise almost at the outset that I was having an unusual experience and I canvassed every aspect of it : I was , perhaps, unusually well-equipped to pass through such a storm, for attacks on me had to be made on platform level where nobody is my master. Then , too, I had a mighty flail in ‘An Phoblacht’.

I was lucky also in that, for all the noise around my name, I was not known by appearance much, outside Dublin and Donegal, so that I was often able to join in the talk, at the next table to me in a provincial hotel, on this ‘blackguard’ Peadar O’ Donnell (!) , and I always added to their store of knowledge and helped them abuse him. I think I learned a lot about people during that period , about certain people, anyway. And I learned a little, too, about Peadar O’ Donnell…..

There were two fronts to the Donegal resistance - the trustees to the estate of the Marquess of Conyngham and the ‘Irish Land Commission’. The tenants of the Conyngham Estate were the more caught-up in the 1919 campaign and the trustees who were anxious to sell to the Commission had trouble with title, or some legal nicety, in many cases. They were willing to forgo arrears in some cases if tenants would only pay the current year but their greatest difficulty was with islands and they made some attempts to enforce payments there. I made noises in ‘An Phoblacht’ over attacks on Owey Island , Arranmore Island and Innisfree. (MORE LATER).

FEAR AND LOATHING IN SOUTH ARMAGH……

From ‘Magill’ magazine , April 2003.
By John Keane.

Peter Kelly laid the blame firmly at the door of the (P)IRA and described them as psychopaths who behaved like the mafia and alleged the gang had attempted to sever his son’s head with sledgehammer blows. (P) Sinn Féin’s response was to query why the family had waited for one month after the attack to blame the (P)IRA and, six months after the attack, (P) Sinn Féin still have not approached the Kelly family with an explanation. Local republicans privately admit that Raymond Kelly is not a criminal.

Described as a young man who ‘can handle himself’ , the keen athlete and kickboxer is believed to have got into a row with a leading republican shortly before the attack on him and an older brother, Barry, now 27, was the victim of a brutal punishment beating two years ago which left him with broken arms and legs. A kick-boxer too, he apparently gatecrashed a republican celebration and resisted vigorously when ejected. One of the party guests was top South Armagh Provo Michael ‘Micksey’ Martin , who served a 16-month sentence in a US jail for his part in the 1990 attempt by the PIRA to procure Stinger missiles for use against British Army helicopters in South Armagh.

A month after the near-fatal attack on Raymond Kelly , another young South Armagh man was targeted ; this time the gang rammed a chip van owned by Ciaran Toner (22) of Camlough just as he arrived to set up at his regular late-night pitch outside the Lough Inn public house. They dragged Toner behind the pub and set upon him with iron bars, breaking both his arms and one leg before burning a jeep belonging to him. He told his family he recognised his attackers as PIRA men who had previously demanded protection money from him for pitching his fast-food business in the ataunchly republican village. The PIRA did not admit the attack but local republicans hinted that there had been a spate of joyriding incidents……(MORE LATER).

‘STRONGLY FORTIFIED (AND) IMPREGNABLE…’ BRITISH BARRACKS TAKEN BY IRA.

Between the hours of 9pm and 10pm on Friday 2nd January 1920 - the same date and year, incidentally, when the British Government began its recruitment campaign for the notorious ‘Black and Tan’ paramilitary unit , which first reared its ugly head and body in Dublin on 25th March that year , 1920 (and which, apropos of nothing, like 2012 , was a leap year!) , IRA Volunteers in Cork began an operation which was to boost the morale of all those engaged in the on-going freedom struggle in Ireland : after a gun battle which lasted approximately four hours over Friday 2nd January 1920 and Saturday 3rd , the British Army barracks in Carrigtwohill, in Cork - which was staffed by armed members of the RIC Westminster militia - fell to rebel forces.

For IRA Commandant Mick Leahy , Officer Commanding of the IRA Battalion of Cork 1st Brigade comprising Volunteers from East Cork , Midleton and Cobh, the operation was a great success and even more so for the IRA GHQ , who were said to be somewhat reluctant to sanction the operation which was, in effect, officially, the first IRA attack on an RIC barracks. That particular barracks was said by its inhabitants to be ’strongly fortified and….almost impregnable…’ and was known to contain an arsenal of weapons including bombs, rifles, revolvers and ammunition. Those attacking the barracks, on the other hand, had twelve revolvers , a few rifles and some sticks of gelignite to rely on.

At about 9pm on Friday night, 2nd January 1920, the IRA Volunteers taking part in the operation silently placed themselves around the barracks and two of their number set about cutting the telephone wires going into the structure but, towards the end of the job, they were challenged by two RIC members returning from a foot patrol in the town as to what they were doing and who then tried to ‘arrest’ the two Volunteers , unsuccessfully. The RIC members ran into the barracks and raised the alarm to their Sergeant, a man named ‘Scott’, who immediately attempted to telephone for reinforcements but, because the lines were down, was unable to do so. He ordered his men to close the steel shutters , barricade the doors and to prepare for an assault.

A hay barn at the back of the barracks was contained within a five-foot high wall and it was from within the barn and from behind that wall that the attack began , proper - a volley of shots from IRA guns thudded into the barracks, from which heavy fire was returned. Continuous fire without cessation was exchanged between the two parties for a number of hours , under the cover of which an IRA Volunteer managed to place a stick of gelignite in a wall of the barracks thus blowing a hole in it : three IRA men - Diarmuid O’Hurley , Joe Aherne and Tadhg Manley - led a section of their men into the barracks, through the recently-created ‘entry’ , only to find that the ground-floor was deserted ; the RIC enemy had fled upstairs. Their surrender was demanded by the IRA unit and this demand was complied with. All remaining weapons and associated material in the barracks , and £115 in cash (worth about £4,700 in todays money!) , was commandeered by the Irish rebels and removed in a car to a safe house.

Today, the British Administration in Westminster and its spawn in Stormont consider that its writ in the six north-eastern counties of Ireland is ’strongly fortified (and) impregnable…’ but, thankfully, there are many five-foot high walls left to explore…..

OUR CUP OVERFLOWETH - McGUINNESS THE ARISTOCRAT JOINS BARON ADAMS IN THE TITLE AWARDS !

It would indeed be small-minded of us not to extend our congrats to Baron J118 , better known here as ‘Martin McGuinness’ , on reaching the same lofty heights as one of his Irish bosses , Baron Adams - and we do so not in a sarcastic manner, like this crowd, but in a spirit of genuine happiness for what it might mean : that more watery nationalists, (ex-)Stickies , Stoops , Labourites and Fianna Failers will see the ‘value’ in becoming a ‘Provie’ rebel and join-up in the hope , belief (and likelihood) that, one day in the near-distant future (after first being allowed to mingle with other Westminster-approved ‘Establishment’ figures) they too can get a name as an early riser despite staying in bed all day ie trade on and benefit, financially and ’socially’, from the ‘old days’ whilst still being allowed to reach new heights (!) in a political career which has been gifted to you by your new friends.

It must help , too, in realising that the person most likely to fill the void in your absence is a wannabe-go-getter with his tongue firmly placed on the career ladder, just like you and, again just like you, being supported by some VIP’s !

Master McGuinness, those of his ilk and those whose ambition it is to be of that ilk have long since proved that their (alleged) passion is but a quotation borrowed from other people. Those with a genuine republican aim recognised that fact decades ago.

CHARGING YOUR OWN MOTHER €7 EACH DAY TO VISIT HER.

The more I read of this , the angrier I get. And sadder, too. And frightened. And the more I appreciate the many I know in this community that look after their Mam or Dad because they love them, not because they get money from their parent(s) to do it. And it’s even more sickening when you consider that the parent in question is in her mid-80’s, living on her own, trying to pay her bills , feed and cloth herself and keep her small home warm on a widow’s pension.

One of the two daughters involved seemingly convinced herself that it was okay to keep taking big sums of money from her Mam’s pension account once she put the loose change back in every so often (here and here) whereas the other daughter not only re-paid none of it but also charged her own mother €7 each day she called in to see her. Those two women are definitely ill , God help them - there must be a shared mental and/or moral blockage or deficit that they are both inflicted with , otherwise they couldn’t possibly live with themselves after doing what they done. Not only must every day for them be a false statement but it is one lived with a deliberate intent to deceive. If people like that are free to walk the streets then none of us are safe.

” I SWEAR……

We get so much spam and mindless ‘contributions’ to this blog (99% of it through our ‘Blogsome’ site) that our ‘Junior’ has really earned his keep with the unbelievable amount of the stuff that he has sorted out but, now and then, even he gets a wee bit of craic from some of the nonsense that he has to deal with - like the following comment , which he retrieved from the bowels of one of our filters a few days ago :

ATTENTION DEAR,

Foreign Operation Manager

:- ) LOL!

But thank God that our ‘Junior’ got this before myself or the rest of the 1169 Team did, as we probably would have fallen for it (!) even though we should have learned our lesson after our ‘Mustafa Incident’. But….. then again, maybe it’s our ‘Junior’ that’s trying to scam us out of a small fortune , courtesy of Mr. Williams….? The thick plottens , but we’ll let you know how we get on later - right now I have to find my cheque-book….

Thanks for reading,
Sharon.

At the Dáithí Ó Conaill Commemoration in Glasnevin Cemetery in Dublin on Tuesday 1st January 2013, ten armed members of the State Special Branch made their presence felt by harassing those in attendance and generally making a nuisance of themselves. However, they failed to interrupt or delay proceedings and, at 12.45pm at the main gates, as planned, those present fell-in behind the RSF Colour Party and the uniformed Na Fianna Éireann and Cumann na mBan representatives and the parade made its way to the Republican Plot, where they were welcomed by the Chairperson , Andy Connolly , Dublin.

The Commemoration began with a decade of the Rosary as Gaeilge following which a Lament for the Dead was played on the tin whistle and two wreaths were laid from the Republican Movement. A fine oration was then delivered by Fergal Moore , Monaghan, during which Dáithí’s contribution to the on-going struggle against British interference in Irish affairs was outlined in some detail and a breakdown and timeline of his involvement in the formation of the ‘Éire Nua’ policy was highlighted by the speaker. The Chairperson brought the commemoration to an end by thanking all those present and our National Anthem was then played , following which the parade marched back to the cemetery gates and most of the attendees made their way to a local pub for refreshments. A full report and more pics will be published in the January 2013 issue of Saoirse , which goes to print on Wednesday 9th of that month. Meanwhile, we publish with this brief report some pics from the commemoration -

All concerned , except for ten of those present, are to be congratulated for such a dignified and well-planned commemoration - well done , Republican Sinn Féin , NFE, Cumann na mBan and the Colour Party : it was a fitting tribute to the man being honoured.

Thanks for reading,
Sharon.