1169 And Counting.....

2012-01-28T20:29:00.000Z

RSF BLOODY SUNDAY RALLY , DUBLIN , SATURDAY 28th JANUARY 2012 : brief report and some pics....

Approximately thirty members of Republican Sinn Féin , Leinster, held a rally on O'Connell Street today (Saturday 28th January 2012) for about two hours to mark the 40th Anniversary of 'Bloody Sunday' , Derry when , on 30th January 1972 , British soldiers massacred 13 Civil Rights protestors.
In a wide-ranging speech delivered to the crowds that had assembled under the pillars of the GPO and on the traffic isle itself , RSF Dublin PRO John Horan outlined the events of that day forty years ago , mentioning that in fact forty-two people had actually been shot by the British Army Paratroopers on 30th January 1972 , of whom 13 died on the day - one other man , John Johnston , died six months later from the gunshot wounds that were inflicted on him that day.

"No more Bloody Sundays..."

The name and age of each of the other 13 victims was read out at the Dublin Rally , along with brief details of their location on the day , and of the wound(s) inflicted on them : Jack Duddy (17) , Hugh Gilmore (17) , Bernard McGuigan (41) , Gerald McKinney (35) , William McKinney (26) , Kevin McElhinney (17) , John Young (17) , Michael McDaid (20) , William Nash (19) , Michael Kelly (17) , Gerald Donaghey (17) , Patrick Doherty (31) and James Wray (22).

RSF on O'Connell Street , Dublin , Saturday 28th January 2012.

The RSF speaker also re-called the words of British Army Major Hubert O' Neill , the then Derry City coroner who , at the end of his 'inquest' into the 'Bloody Sunday' shootings (on 21st August , 1973 - 19 months after the massacre!) declared - "It strikes me that the British Army ran amok that day and they shot without thinking of what they were doing. They were shooting innocent people. I say it without reservation - it was sheer unadulterated murder...."

RSF Clondalkin at the 'Bloody Sunday' Rally , Dublin , Saturday 28th January 2012.

RSF 'Map of Ireland' placard at the 'Bloody Sunday' Rally in Dublin , Saturday 28th January 2012.

Finally : only two things went 'wrong' at the Rally today - we experienced the usual harassment from the State 'Special Branch' and , about twenty minutes from the end of the event, we ran-out of leaflets! Six hundred RSF 'Bloody Sunday' leaflets had been distributed in the past week throughout various parts of Leinster and 1,400 were distributed to the public today , at the Rally - had we had another 500 , the four-person 'Leaflet Team' might just about have had enough to distribute to everyone that asked for one! A proper report on this Rally will be published in the February 2012 issue of 'Saoirse' , which goes to print on Wednesday 8th of that month. Also , if you're a 'Facebooker' , keep an eye on this 'Facebook' page , as our 'Mr T' (!) , a solid supporter of RSF , took a few pics and a video or two of the Rally and sure you might even see meself smiling at the camera.....!
Thanks for reading ,
Sharon.

2012-01-25T16:14:00.000Z

THE MURDER OF JOHN CORCORAN -

- THE COVER-UP CONTINUES.......
From 'MAGILL' magazine , March 1998.

MR. DICK SPRING :
" Does the Minister believe that ?"

MR.JOHN O DONOGHUE :
" However, this investigation is hampered by the continued absence of the person released from prison in Northern Ireland (sic) in 1996 from the jurisdiction."

MR. DICK SPRING :
" I will bring him to the minister."

MR. JOHN O DONOGHUE :
" I can fully understand the distress which has been caused to the family of the victim in this case. They have endured an ordeal of ignorance about the circumstances surrounding the summary execution of a husband and father. The continuing drip-feeding of information and speculation has not helped. I assure the deputy that I intend to ensure this uncertainty is brought to an end as quickly as possible. I will keep in close contact with the garda about the progress they are making in bringing their investigations to a conclusion."

MR. DICK SPRING :
" That reply is an absolute disgrace."

[END OF 'THE MURDER OF JOHN CORCORAN'.]
(NEXT : 'There Will Be Another Day' , by Peadar O' Donnell - first published in January 1963.)

THE PETER BERRY PAPERS....... The Top Secret Memoirs of Ireland's Most Powerful Civil Servant : Dirty Tricks, Election '69/ Spying on a Unionist Politician/ Keeping the (State) Taoiseach informed/ The Garda Fallon Murder/ Advice to Jack Lynch- 'Fire the pair of them...'/ Vivion De Valera's advice to O'Malley/ Rumours of a Coup D'Etat/ The Internment Plot, November 1970/ Secret Meeting with William Craig.
From 'MAGILL' magazine , June 1980.

MAY 4TH , 1970 :

" I was at Mount Carmel at 8.45am to meet the Taoiseach in order to show him Mr. O Morain's room ; the Taoiseach had phoned me late on the previous evening (Sunday) to be there, saying that he intended to settle matters. Afterwards, before he entered his car, the Taoiseach said to me 'he will go quietly' , and then asked if I thought that Mr. O Morain would recollect his conversation with me on 13th April and I said that I did not think so , that on that day after his journey from Mayo he seemed to be in a fuddled condition. The Taoiseach told me that he was coming back in the afternoon to receive Mr O Morain's formal resignation in writing.

On numerous occasions in the Dail the Taoiseach was to say that he had known nothing before the 20th April - see for instance Vol. 246 No. 7 Col. 755 : 'The first indication I got was on Monday 20th April. I do not know what the deputy is relying on for asserting ortherwise...'

MAY 6TH , 1970 :

" At about 2.00am the Taoiseach phoned me to tell me of Deputy Cosgrave's disclosures to him and of his decision to dismiss Mr Haughey and Mr Blaney from the Cabinet. We surmised as to the source of the leak but by that time it would have been a miracle if the rumours had not percolated through the persons outside official circles. There was a persistent rumour that the matter had been discussed at a meeting of Government on Friday , 1st May , and if that were so it would not surprise me in the least if the matter were leaked from there as one Member , in particular, had shown , again and again, that he was incapable of resisting temptation to air his knowledge. But the Garda investigations in following days indicated another source , without positively establishing it......."
(MORE LATER).

RATS RULE THE SINKING SHIP......

Population of Ireland 1841: - 8,175,124 (32 Counties).
Population of Ireland 2010 :- 6,280,822 (32 Counties).

For most of us in Ireland , the 'Master' has changed over the above-mentioned years but all that has really changed is that we have seen one arrogant bully 'leave' and a native one take his place : the owners of the 'Big Houses' have moved , attitude intact, into the one 'Big House' - Leinster House , in Kildare Street , Dublin.
This native 'Toff' , a 'poacher turned gamekeeper' , has decided that they , too, should be entitled to the best of everything, with little or no effort on their behalf , whilst offering nothing in return for their 'keep'. In order to maintain their lifestyles , they are bleeding not only the working and non-working population dry but are thieving whatever natural resources they can get their fat-fingered hands on and selling it to the highest bidder in return for personal 'donations'.
And , unfortunately, rather than take them on , challenge and stop them, most people take the view that it's easier - less hassle - to just leave the country and try and start a new life in a society that will treat them with some respect. And, in our opinion, that's a shame , and it's the wrong choice : the native 'Toff' , morally , financially and spiritually self-'insulated' from those he/she looks down on - and surrounded by a legal and 'security' barrier (ironically paid for in taxes by those at the bottom of the heap) has feet of clay and stands on a weak foundation. They can be toppled , but not from a distant shore. To quote Oscar Wilde : "The development of the race depends on the development of the individual , and where self-culture has ceased to be the ideal, the intellectual standard is instantly lowered and , often, ultimately lost."
We , as a people, haven't quite "lost" it , yet - but we're getting there.

DON'T REGISTER , DON'T PAY......

.....THE 'HOUSEHOLD TAX'.

The following email is 'doing the rounds' re this €100 tax :

'Household Charge - how to LEGALLY avoid paying it-
You don't have to legally pay Household Tax!!- You wont get a bill because the charge is a Statute. People need to understand this: A Statute is a "legislated rule of society given the force of law by the consent of the governed."(Blacks Law Dictionary 4th edition).
Who are those it governs? Us, the public.
This household charge is a Statute, otherwise known as an Act of Government and only carries the force of law upon you if you consent to it which means that your legally
obliged to pay if you consent or in other words register(for it).If you do not consent, a Statute cannot affect you in any way whatsoever. The courts know this and the last thing they will do is tell you. In fact they will hide this from you at every opportunity they can. On the other hand, if you tell them, they will accept it because they know it is actually true. According to the above definitions a statutory instrument is a contract. If you register for this "charge" you are consenting to this statuate ie: signing the contract. This is why the Government are ASKING the people to register and not just billing them instead.'

From the point of view of those of us who run this blog , whether this new tax is a State "Statute" or not is immaterial , as we have no intention of paying it anyway but , for those who have been wondering if they can 'get away' without having to pay it , the above email might just help to strengthen their resolve. Or , then again , of course, this new tax might just be 'the straw that breaks the camel's back' for some of our readers and , as per our 'Big House' post , above , finally 'convinces' them that their only choice now is to flee the State. Granted , that is an option , and one which will ensure that you don't become 'liable' for this new tax , but at a much higher cost, all things considered, not least to your self-respect. For those thinking along those lines , we would ask that you re-consider and ask yourself if, as a younger man/women in, for example, school , the fact that you might have been able to outrun the bully didn't guarantee that that bully would stop harassing you , did it ?

AND FINALLY....

....I have been asked by an RSF Comhairle Laighean rep to kindly make myself available this coming Saturday , January 28th , for about two hours , to assist with the distribution of what remains of the 2,000 leaflets which that body produced for the annual 'Bloody Sunday' Rally in Dublin : of course I agreed and, if you can make it , please do - and/or spread the word about this Rally. This British massacre occurred almost forty years ago to the day and should never be forgotten.
Thanks for reading,
Sharon.

2012-01-22T17:21:00.000Z

"PUMP LEAD AND WATCH THE BLOOD FLOW...."

BRITISH ARMY LIEUTENANT A.F.N. CLARKE : 'When an IRA gunman is wounded and captured, they let him bleed to death. When they pull in suspects, they beat them up, quickly and almost casually: the rougher things are done at a higher level by the people who come and take the suspects away for proper interrogation. When they are off duty, the ‘toms’ improve the hour by sticking pins and razor blades into 'baton rounds' and filing bullets down into expanding 'dum-dums' (something British soldiers have done ever since the invention of the rifle). Clarke reconstructs his own thoughts: "I was really quite a nice guy before I came out here ... build an outer casing round your emotions, enjoy the sense of power, revel in the excitement of the chase...."
(From here.)

To understand what the military occupation of an urban area by British paratroopers actually means, it is helpful to read the memoirs of Lieutenant A.F.N Clarke of 3 Para who completed a tour of duty in Belfast in early 1973. Clarke's account gives an illuminating picture of undisciplined, racist thugs, spoiling for blood, unleashed on a defenceless civilian population.
Describing his "peacekeeping role", he writes:

"The whole camp is praying for a contact. For an opportunity to shoot at anything in the street, pump lead into any living thing and watch the blood flow. Toms sitting in their overcrowded rooms putting more powder into baton rounds to give them more poke; some insert pins and broken razor blades into the rubber rounds. Buckshee rounds have had the heads filed down for a dum-dum effect, naughty, naughty, but who's to know when there are so many spare rounds of ammunition floating about?
Lead filled truncheons, Magnum revolvers, one bloke even has a bowie knife...We have spent months and years training, learning from pamphlets called Shoot To Kill, Fighting In Built Up Areas and others. So now we're let loose on the streets trained to the eyeballs, waiting for a suitable opportunity to let everything rip.
A few kills would be nice at this stage, good for morale, good to inject some new life into the jaded senses of the company...."
(From the above book , authored by Ciarán De Baróid.)

That British Army "pump-lead-into-any-living-thing-and-watch-the-blood-flow" murderous attitude is the same one which prevailed in the British Army and within their political leadership in the years before (and during) 'Bloody Sunday' and which prevails to this day within the approximate 5,000 British troops that maintain an armed presence in the Occupied Six Counties in Ireland. Indeed, that "...pump lead.." attitude was how Westminster managed its 'affairs' in the dozens of other countries it claimed as part of 'the British Empire'. And it is that attitude , and that on-going unwanted presence , that Republican Sinn Féin will continue to campaign against.
Thanks for reading,
Sharon.

2012-01-18T18:41:00.000Z

THE MURDER OF JOHN CORCORAN -

- THE COVER-UP CONTINUES.......
From 'MAGILL' magazine , March 1998.

Mr John O' Donoghue :
" In November 1988 , three-and-a-half years after the murder, a person surrendered to the police in England and made certain statements about his involvement in murder and other serious offences committed in Northern Ireland (sic) and in the State. This included the murder of the person concerned in Cork in 1985.

As a result of those statements , a garda investigation file was forwarded to the director of public prosecutions with a view to prosecuting the person involved in Northern Ireland (sic) under the provisions of the Criminal Law Jurisdiction Act 1976. However, this aspect was subsequently overtaken by events when the person was convicted on a charge of murder in Northern Ireland (sic) and received two life sentences there.

The garda investigation into the murder in 1985 is continuing. I am satisfied from a report I recently received from the garda that they are pursuing the investigations as far as they can......."
(MORE LATER).

THE PETER BERRY PAPERS....... The Top Secret Memoirs of Ireland's Most Powerful Civil Servant : Dirty Tricks, Election '69/ Spying on a Unionist Politician/ Keeping the (State) Taoiseach informed/ The Garda Fallon Murder/ Advice to Jack Lynch- 'Fire the pair of them...'/ Vivion De Valera's advice to O'Malley/ Rumours of a Coup D'Etat/ The Internment Plot, November 1970/ Secret Meeting with William Craig.
From 'MAGILL' magazine , June 1980.

" It happened as had been anticipated - Captain Kelly sought to see Mr Gibbons privately and when the Minister had instructed him to make a full statement the Minister proceeded to settle himself comfortably to listen-in but it was indicated to him that he should leave.

The Chief Superintendent reported that there was a rapport between the Minister and the Army Officer which was very evident : he strongly suspected from all his enquiries that Mr Gibbons had pre-knowledge of the attempts to import arms. He also reported that , having begun a statement, Captain Kelly desisted, saying that he would name names if he saw the Taoiseach. I so informed the Taoiseach who agreed to see him.

In the evening I had a phone call from the President who referred to the arrest of Captain Kelly and the many rumours about arms importations. He asked as to the dependability of the Garda Force and I said that it was 100% behind the Government. I said , also, that there was no fear of disaffection in the Army, that only a very small number were involved. The President thanked me and , as I had no Minister at the time, I did not think it necessary to inform the Taoiseach......."
(MORE LATER).

On this day 90 years ago (18th January 1922) a group of unemployed Dublin workers seized the concert hall of the Rotunda ; this group , led by Liam Ó Flaithearta (Liam O Flaherty , author of , amongst other works, 'The Informer') , had constituted itself as 'the Council of the Unemployed' and this action was reported on by 'The Irish Times' of the day in the following manner - "The unemployed in Dublin have seized the concert room at the Rotunda, and they declare that they will hold that part of the building until they are removed, as a protest against the apathy of the authorities.....a 'garrison', divided into 'companies', each with its 'officers' , has been formed, and from one of the windows the red flag flies...."
(More here , and here.)

And now , it seems , we have come 'full circle' in relation to this same issue : "apathy of the authorities..." to the 'old' and 'new' unemployed ie State promises to establish 'task forces' (where overpaid career politicians wring their hands in 'solidarity' with the jobless) and the biggest trade union in the State has been 'outed' , along with other such bodies , in regards to just how 'cosy' they are with employers and Leinster House politicians - for a price, of course: not only are the Trade Union leadership reluctant to challenge their 'slush-fund suppliers' in Leinster House , they also shy away from fully supporting their membership least , in doing so, they come into conflict with those 'suppliers'. Now , having sold out what remained of our sovereignty to the IMF and a Brussels bank, those same overpaid career politicians can only stand back and make empty , worthless promises and excuses as the dole queue grows and the 'Departure Lounge' in airports in the State fill-up to capacity. It must now be obvious to all that this State is , to coin a phrase, 'a failed political entity' : equally , it should be obvious to all that we need a new beginning and a new outlook on how Ireland should be governed. The alternative now is either the dole queue or the 'Departure Lounge'.

40 years ago yesterday (17th January 1972),seven IRA prisoners escaped from an "escape proof" British prison ship , which was anchored in Irish waters : the ship had three decks , the top one of which was sometimes used as an 'exercise yard' for a few hours each day by the Republican POW's , with the other two 'converted' into living quarters. Approximately 850 people were present on the ship at any one time , consisting of around 700 British military personnel and 150 prisoners , including Provisional and Official IRA members and some others that were not involved with either group.

James Emerson Bryson , Tommy Tolan , Thomas Kane , Tommy Gorman , Peter Rodgers , Martin Taylor and Sean Convery , a group of Irish Republicans that became known as 'The Magnificent Seven' because of the nature of their escape from the Maidstone prison ship on January 17th , 1972 , were determined that their 'stay' on the ship would be a short one.
Of the 226 men detained following the introduction of internment in August 1971,124 were initially held in Crumlin Road Jail while the remainder were held on the Maidstone , a prison ship moored at the coalwharf in Belfast docks. The prison ship ,used as an emergency billet for British troops who arrived in 1969 , was totally unsuitable as a prison - it was cramped , stuffy and overcrowded , with the 'lock-up' section located at the stern below the deck , which was used twice a day for exercise. On January 16th , 1972 , fifty men were transferred from the ship to the new camp at Magilligan : this sudden move spurred on some of the internees who were planning to escape.

One of the group had spotted a seal slip through a gap in the barbed-wire draped around the ship and it was decided that if the seal could come in , then they could go out! The men used black boot polish to camouflag themselves and smeared each other in butter , to keep out the cold. They had already cut through a bar in a porthole which they now slipped through , and clambered down the Maidstone's steel hauser and entered the water . Several of them were badly cut by the barbed-wire , but they all managed to get through it. In single file , they swam the 400 yards through the ice-cold floodlit water to the shore : it took them twenty minutes , as some of the men could not swim and had to be helped by the others. On the bank, Volunteers of the Andersonstown unit of the IRA's Belfast Brigade were waiting with four cars to transport the escapees to safety , but the escapees landed at the wrong spot ; approximately 500 yards away. The men realised their mistake and made their way to Queen's Road bus terminus where they commandeered a bus and drove across the city to the Markets area. During the journey , the bus was spotted by a British Army Land Rover which attempted to stop the vehicle ; however , the Brits backed-off when the bus entered the staunchly republican Markets district , which was then surrounded by British reinforcements. A search of the area was carried out by the British Army and RUC , but none of the escapees were found - the 'Magnificent Seven' were long gone to a different part of Belfast !
Thanks for reading,
Sharon.

2012-01-11T16:20:00.000Z

THE MURDER OF JOHN CORCORAN -

- THE COVER-UP CONTINUES.......
From 'MAGILL' magazine , March 1998.

Mr. Dick Spring : " I would remind the minister - I am probably reminding him of a concern which he shares - of the concern of the Corcoran family to get full and vital information in relation to this dreadful murder. Every effort should be made not only to establish the facts and to bring those involved in this murder before the courts but to establish the truth and the sequence of events which led to the callous murder of John Corcoran. I appeal to the minister to be forthcoming and to put all the information on the record."

Mr John O' Donoghue : " When in opposition I promised that , if nominated as minister for justice by the incoming Taoiseach, I would order an inquiry into this matter. I have done that. I thank Deputy Spring for raising the matter and , being mindful of the twin perils of ensuring that I do not interfere with the independence of the director of public prosecutions or with the course of an individual garda investigation , I propose, nevertheless, to depart from precedent and to outline some evidence in this difficult and complex case because I regard it as exceptional.

The facts are that a person was murdered in March 1985 and all the indications point to a Provisional IRA assassination. A major investigation was carried out by the Garda Síochána into the murder but , as it turned out, sufficient evidence was not available to prefer charges against any persons at that time....."
(MORE LATER).

THE PETER BERRY PAPERS....... The Top Secret Memoirs of Ireland's Most Powerful Civil Servant : Dirty Tricks, Election '69/ Spying on a Unionist Politician/ Keeping the (State) Taoiseach informed/ The Garda Fallon Murder/ Advice to Jack Lynch- 'Fire the pair of them...'/ Vivion De Valera's advice to O'Malley/ Rumours of a Coup D'Etat/ The Internment Plot, November 1970/ Secret Meeting with William Craig.
From 'MAGILL' magazine , June 1980.

" Chief Superintendent Fleming and I conjectured as to the purpose of the exercise and it did not become apparent that the Taoiseach was bridge-building until he delivered himself of the following in the Dail on 9th May : Col. 246 No. 7 cols. 1331/2/3 - '....I had consultations jointly with Officers of the Special Branch of the Garda and the Army Intelligence Service and the Attorney General and the Minister for Defence were also present at these consultations. The Minister for Justice, who would have been the other appropriate Minister, was not present because he had entered hospital some days previously.

The purpose of that meeting was to co-ordinate as well as I could the evidence that was available from both of the special source and also to receive guidance from the Attorney General....' . As a result of the mis-statements already recorded , with more to follow , I lost respect for the Taoiseach's credibility."

MAY 1 , 1970 :

" Captain James Kelly was arrested and questioned in the Bridewell . He asked to see the Minister for Defence , Mr Gibbons. Chief Superintendent informed me of the request and I conveyed it to the Taoiseach and it was arranged that Captain Kelly would be brought to Chief Supt. Fleming's office in Dublin Castle where he would be confronted with Mr Gibbons. I warned Mr Fleming that as Captain Kelly was in custody there could be no question of a private meeting between the two and that after Mr Gibbons had indicated to Captain Kelly that he should speak up - as he had said he would , if instructed by the Minister - the Minister should be politely shown the door....."
(MORE LATER).

Results of 650-ticket Republican raffle , held on Sunday 8th January 2012 -

Getting the results out as they happen - laptops and mobiles....!

- and, once again , we ran out of tickets to sell ; so much so , that we sold more than sixty tickets for next month's raffle ! Anyway - congrats to our eight winners who , between them , won €440 on the day : Sheila , who won €200 with ticket number 46,David collected €100 with ticket number 345, 3rd prize went to Jacinta (319) , Ray won 4th prize (532), 5th prize went to Joe (322) and his near-neighbour (!) Catherine won prize number 6 with ticket number 321. The second-last prize was collected by 'Jella' ,the holder of ticket number 491 and the last prize went to 'Joey S' , with ticket number 267.
Unfortunately - for now , anyway - there can only be eight winners , but such is the success of this venture that the organising committee are looking at 'tweaking' it a wee bit , but nothing definite just yet - the adage 'if it's not broke, don't fix it...' currently holds sway , but there is huge scope with the format and the fantastic team involved to take this to a new level - 'More Later' , hopefully...!

IRA Volunteer Fergal O'Hanlon Commemoration , Sunday 8th January 2012....

....at which the main oration was delivered by Republican Sinn Féin's Diarmuid Mac Dubhghlais, who delivered a timely reminder re the manner in which this corrupt State is attempting to fund itself and asked for people to "...get involved in opposing unfair and unjust taxes and cuts, and to demand a fairer deal for all...." : a 'YouTube' recording of the commemoration can be viewed here.

40th Anniversary of 'Bloody Sunday' to be marked in Dublin on Saturday 28th January 2012....

...an intercepted letter to the commander of the 1st Battalion of the British Parachute Regiment , Lt. Colonel Derek Wilford , was printed on the front page of 'The Sunday Press' newspaper on the Sunday following the massacre in Derry .
It was penned by Brigadier F.P. Barclay , DSO , MCDL , Colonel , The Royal Norfolk Regiment , and says -

1/2/'72.
Dear Wilford ,
As an ex-parachute Brigade Commander I write to say how proud it made one feel to see the way , on TV , which your lads went into action against those blighters last Sunday . They looked splendid and , as usual , bang on the ball .
It seems to me and many others that prompt retaliatory action such as this is long overdue . It will have , I've little doubt , a most salutory effect . Should have happened long since!
I sincerely trust you successfully weather those thoroughly unjustified but seemingly inevitable brickbats and recriminations emanating mostly from those who either have no sense of law and order , duty or perspective , or who are spineless .
With best wishes to you and yours ,
Sincerely ,
Peter Barclay ,
Little Dunham Lodge ,
Kings Lynn , Norfolk.

After a peaceful Civil Rights march on January 30th , 1972 - from Creggan to Free Derry Corner - 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 by the British Army on Bloody Sunday.

On Saturday , 28th January 2012 , Republican Sinn Féin will mark the 40th Anniversary of 'Bloody Sunday' with a Rally in Dublin (on the traffic isle , facing the GPO in O'Connell Street) , between 12 Noon and 1.45pm : ALL WELCOME !

AND FINALLY : just another 'YES' man......

Josephine Hayden , speaking at the Eamonn Ceannt Commemoration , Dublin.

.....re our piece last week in connection with the TG4 interview with Josephine Hayden for their 'Mna an IRA' series (to be shown on TG4 on Thursday 12th January 2012 , at 10.30pm) , it seems that there are some who take offence at an Irish television station talking about Irish history !

I will go easy on the 'objector' and say that , in my opinion, he is simply out to prove to the political 'Establishment' in this corrupt State that he is a 'safe pair of hands' and, as such , could/should be rewarded with , say.... a seat in the State Senate or some other such morally useless but shiny babel , which he no doubt would consider to be most 'fitting' to what he appears to see as his 'station' in this life : were I NOT to go easy on the TG4 board member in question , he would then genuinely have something to complain about.
Thanks,
Sharon.

2012-01-04T19:56:00.000Z

THE MURDER OF JOHN CORCORAN -

- THE COVER-UP CONTINUES.......
From 'MAGILL' magazine , March 1998.

Mr Dick Spring : " A number of very serious questions have been raised in the reporting of this matter in the public domain in recent months - it seems that some concerned members of the Garda Síochána were to the fore in supplying the media with information in relation to the circumstances surrounding this murder. I have questions I would like the minister to address :

Did the garda have prior knowledge of the IRA's plan to murder John Corcoran ?

If so , why was no action taken to prevent the murder and to arrest those who were torturing him ?

Why have the garda not interviewed Mr Seán O Callaghan , who has publicly confessed to carrying out this murder on IRA instructions , and why has he not been brought in for questioning by the garda since he made his public confession ?

Can the minister explain to the House the statement from the garda in December 1996 to the effect that the Corcoran case had been fully investigated and that a file was on its way to the director of public prosecutions , and the contradiction of that statement from the garda press office about one week later to the effect that the investigation had not been completed.......? "
(MORE LATER).

THE PETER BERRY PAPERS....... The Top Secret Memoirs of Ireland's Most Powerful Civil Servant : Dirty Tricks, Election '69/ Spying on a Unionist Politician/ Keeping the (State) Taoiseach informed/ The Garda Fallon Murder/ Advice to Jack Lynch- 'Fire the pair of them...'/ Vivion De Valera's advice to O'Malley/ Rumours of a Coup D'Etat/ The Internment Plot, November 1970/ Secret Meeting with William Craig.
From 'MAGILL' magazine , June 1980.

" Chief Superintendent Fleming said that he was bewildered as to why he was summounded to the Taoiseach's house as he had not been asked any questions or for an opinion. He told me that the Attorney General and the Minister for Defence , Mr Gibbons , were present, as was Colonel Delaney , Director of Military Intelligence (only since 9th April 1970 ie for 3 weeks) who was not asked any questions either - not, said the Chief , that he could contribute anything.

He said that the Taoiseach and the Attorney General did most of the talking to one another with an occasional remark from the Minister for Defence but it was inconsequential kind of talk which did not clarify any matter that he could see. While the Chief Superintendent was speaking to me the phone rang and I answered it - it was the Taoiseach. He said 'I have had a conference with......including Colonel Delaney and Chief Superintendent Fleming and I now have a better understanding of the position.'

I said - ' Mr Fleming called to my home after he had left your house and he told me that he was bewildered as to why he was present as he was not asked any question and his opinion was not sought. He also told me that Colonel Delaney was not questioned. I think that you should know this as the Chief Superintendent will be making a report on these lines tomorrow to the Commissioner.'

There was an appreciable pause and then the Taoiseach said - ' Why did he not ask questions if he was in doubt about anything ?' , and I said that nobody had told him for what purpose he had been summounded to the Taoiseach's house. The Taoiseach's voice was angry....... "
(MORE LATER).

Mná an IRA ('Women of the IRA')....

Josephine Hayden , General Secretary of Republican Sinn Féin.

".....born in County Waterford, Josephine Hayden became aware of a curious fact when she worked in a hotel for the summer as a young woman. She noticed that a large influx of people arrived around the time of the 12th July and she discovered that they came South to avoid the Orangemen’s marches. This piqued her interest and made her question what life was like for Catholics in the North. Over the years, what began as sympathy for the people she met then hardened into direct involvement in the armed movement towards a united Ireland. She served four-and-a-half years in Limerick prison for transporting arms and ammunition for the Continuity IRA...."

- from a thirty-minute television documentary to be broadcast on TG4 on Thursday 12th January, 2012 , at 10.30pm : over many years , this blog has , on regular occasions, worked alongside Josephine at various pickets , protests , meetings , commemorations and other such events and we can honestly declare that never once has she compromised her Irish Republican beliefs , whether faced with Free State 'security force' thugs or their British equivalent - and she never will !
This TG4 documentary should be well worth viewing , so make a note now of the time and date that it's on - TG4 ,Thursday 12th January 2012 , 10.30pm - because , as Josephine herself might say : "I'll be asking questions afterwards...." !

Dan Hoban speaks , unscripted , about Seán Sabhat......

Mayo Republican , Dan Hoban , pictured in Bodenstown , 2008 .

On Sunday, January 1st, 2012, the annual Seán Sabhat commemoration was held at the Republican Plot, Mount St. Lawrence cemetery in Limerick , which is the burial place of IRA Volunteer Sean Sabhat who gave his live 55 years ago in the cause of Irish freedom.
The event was organised by the Munster Executive of Republican Sinn Féin and RSF
members and supporters marched from Mulgrave St to Mount st Lawrence cemetery led by a Republican Colour Party.
The commemoration was chaired by Geraldine McNamara , national PRO of Republican Sinn Féin who ,in her opening address , said - "Sean Sabhat was a scholar, a fluent Irish speaker and a freedom fighter and we honour him today by continuing that struggle in the same honourable way that he and his comrades did.
It is an honour to be here amongst respectable members of Republican Sinn Féin who have had to endure a great deal in the past for the cause for Irish freedom...."
Wreaths were laid on behalf of the republican prisoners by Adrian O’Hare, on behalf of Republican Sinn Féin by Joan Kennedy and on behalf of the Republican Movement by Donal Malone.
A decade of the rosary was recited by John Mangan which was followed by a minutes silence and the last post.
Thomás Ó Curráin read the New Year Statement from the Leadership of Republican Sinn Féin following which the main oration was delivered , unscripted, by Mayo Republican , Dan Hoban :

" Friends and fellow Republicans, I feel deeply honored to be asked here today to pay tribute to Sean Sabhat the soldier of the Irish Republican Army who gave his life in the fight for Irish freedom fifty five years ago on New Years eve 1956 and in doing so he was continuing a tradition of the Irish people and those who never accepted British rule in Ireland. For 800 years the Irish people have resisted British rule and Sean Sabhat was part of that resistance movement and he gave his life on New Years eve 1956 and he also handed on that tradition to those who came after him. We have a long history of battle to liberate ourselves from British rule in this country and it has gone on for over 800 years, but in every generation we haven't been successful so far to achieve our goal, but every generation of Irish men and Irish women have come out at different times when all the forces that were against us thought they had Republicans defeated. Right up to the proclamation of 1916 when you had Padraig Pearse and his comrades who so gallantly fought in Easter week and then were executed by firing squad. At that time we had the Proclamation, the Proclamation which Republicans are still true to today, those who believe that we will achieve that ultimate goal. Many have fallen by the wayside in the meantime but Republicans have stuck together and eventually will come out and achieve that goal and one time there recently the patron of Republican Sinn Féin who is not with us here today , Ruairí Ó'Brádaigh, when he was asked in an interview is this it, have we gone into politics now ? - and are the McGuinnesses and the Adams' and all those going to take over? ; and his answer was this "while British rule remains in Ireland there will always be some form of an IRA, somebody will take on the powers that be". We had that glorious fight in 1916 and then we had the treaty of surrender in 1922 when Irish men were divided over what course we should take and at that particular time people were compromised when they went over to London and they signed a deal but then there were others, true Republicans who said we will not have this deal we will fight on and then further on down the road we had people who stood with the Republican cause decided they had enough and we had the formation of Fianna Fail, and we had De Valera and his cohorts said put your guns away they will be needed another time but the next time they were needed was to execute men in the 30s and the 40s. We have a long history and we have a long memory and we dont forget and those men who were executed during that period by Eamon De Valera and his government who knew so much about the IRA that they said they were going to defeat them for all times and when the men of the 1940s we owe a huge deal of respect to for keeping things together during those lean years, men who lay in English jails, men who lay in the Curragh, who lay in Portlaoise and the sacrifice made by men like Charlie Kerins, Maurice O'Neill , McNeela and Darcy who died on hunger strike and all the sufferings, women in jail in England who fought on and said we will have the whole thing, the Irish Republic or nothing. And at the end of that period when the people were released from the Curragh concentration camp and all the others came out of English jails De Valera and his cohorts said we have the IRA put down for all times but they were making a sad mistake but I can tell you one thing, they were the nearest people who came to defeating the IRA and they failed and when they failed nobody else will succeed. We had then right on to the 1950s campaign in which Sean Sabhat paid the supreme sacrifice along with Fergal O'Hanlon the Border campaign and many more , the Wexford men, Michael Watters and all those people kept the tradition going and that campaign then they thought it had fizzled out - they thought the IRA were gone again. But in 1969 when Bernadette Devlin and her comrades came to Burntollett Bridge a new generation of Irishmen and women were on the march again. And then we had a glorious campaign that was fought for over 30 years and with victory in sight we had men who got greedy , men who wanted power, who wanted to take part of the apple and not the whole apple and what did they do ; they had their Good Friday Agreement and everything that went with it and they turned around and said the paths of fighting are over now we will go back to the politics that our former friends De Valera and Cosgrave and all those who came before them were going to free Ireland with this type of politics. But there was only one type of politics that the British understood and that was the politics that came from the point of a gun and that was the only message that they had ever answered and so McGuinness and Adams and all his friends are lying there now in Leinster House and lying in Stormont and they are over in London and they are taking big salaries and they have forgotten about the men who died in the H-Blocks, they have forgotten about the men who have fought and struggled for the last 30 years but there are still people who haven't forgotten about them and those people will come back and they will reorganise the Republican Movement and if it wasn't achieved by a generation in the past it will be achieved by a generation in the future and there will always be men and women who are prepared to fight and to die to liberate their country and while the last generation was a great generation there will come a greater one and we have to struggle on to achieve what hasn't come to fruition. And we have all types of propaganda now from the British and from this side and that side, from former comrades , and we had recently in the last few days British papers released on something that happened over 30 years ago. They have released the papers and what the British version is on what happened on the Hunger Strike of 1981 when ten men paid the supreme sacrifice once more, and Maggie Thatcher was embarrassed by what the outside world would think about her and now they are coming along and saying that she wanted to end it, that they were attempts made to end it and that Bobby Sands was prepared when he was near to death to compromise and talk but in the previous Hunger Strike that they had to give up there was compromise and there was talk and what was given was never given so it was organised during the H-Block hunger strike in which they died that there would be no compromise and let them not try to besmirch the name of Bobby Sands or Patsy O'Hara or anyone else and saying that when they were on their death bed they were prepared to take food there was nothing on offer and they cannot take away what those men stood up and fought for, they stood up and fought for political status for Irish Republican prisoners and they fought for the liberation of their country and all these people talking from one to the other the British agent who was supposed to be an expert on it was talking to a man in Belfast and Martin McGuinness was involved in it and they are all clapping one another on the backs and they are all getting big salaries. We are standing here today as the true standard bearers of Irish Republicanism and we will continue on to encourage and support everybody who opposes British rule in Ireland and who uses whatever means is at their disposal to get rid of it that there be no peace in Ireland until the last Brit is gone out of it. Finally, I wont hold you much longer but in conclusion and coming back to Sean Sabhat and Fergal O'Hanlon : Sean Sabhat was a very inspirational figure not alone to those who fought side by side with him but to those who came after him and to many of the Volunteers who died in the struggle over the last twenty years. I am very sure that a lot of them were inspired by Sean Sabhat and I would like to conclude by saying that he was an inspiration to all of us in the struggle for Irish independence and I will conclude by referring back to the opening lines in the introduction of that famous balled that has been sung by Irish people all over the world Sean Sabhat of Garryowen and in that version of the song it said '....sad are the homes around Garryowen, since they lost their joy and pride and the banshees cries over every vale along the Shannonside the city of the ancient walls and broken treaty stone undying fame surrounds your name Sean Sabhat from Garryowen...'. An Phoblacht Abu ! "

Oration by Líta Ní Chathmhaoil at the Dáithí Ó Conaill commemoration, Glasnevin Cemetery, Dublin, January 1, 2012...

Lita , pictured recently at an RSF Rally in O'Connell Street , Dublin.

" It is an honour to be invited here to speak at the grave of my fellow
Corkonian and comrade Dáithí Ó Conaill. His untimely death at the age of
51 was a great blow to the Republican Movement.

Dáithí came from a strong Cork Republican family. His uncle Michael O’Sullivan (17), along with five of his comrades, was bayoneted to death by British Crown forces in March 1921. He joined Sinn Féin at the age of 17 during the local elections in 1955. By the end of the following year he was on active service as a Volunteer in the Irish Republican Army , serving as an organiser under GHQ staff in Co Fermanagh.

On January 1, 1957 he was second-in-command of the Pearse Column during the attack on Brookeborough RUC barracks which resulted in the deaths of two of his comrades, Fearghal Ó hAnluáin and Seán Sabhat. Four others were wounded including the column commander. At 18 years of age Dáithí took command and led a successful withdrawal back across the border – evading 400 RUC, B-Specials, two helicopters and the British army – where they were forced to retire. He was then imprisoned in Mountjoy and the Curragh Concentration camp from where he escaped with his friend and
comrade Ruairí Ó Brádaigh in September 1958.

He returned to active service and for a period was Director of Operations. He was critically wounded in an ambush by the RUC and B-Specials in Arboe, Co Tyrone on the shores of Lough Neagh in November 1959. He made his escape but was forced to seek help because of loss of blood and his weakened condition. He was captured by Crown Forces and was sentenced to eight years which he served in Belfast’s Crumlin Road
Jail. Following his release in 1963 he reported back to active service.

In 1969/70 he again made his talents available to the Republican Movement. Ruairí Ó Brádaigh said of him he possessed the 'ablest mind in the Republican Movement for over 20 years'. The sheer breadth of his ability and intellect was evidenced by his service to the All-Ireland Republic both militarily and politically. He had a central role in framing ÉIRE NUA and remained a tireless advocate of it right up to his death in 1991.

Dáithí Ó Conaill never equivocated on what was the cause of the war in Ireland or what was required to deliver a just and lasting peace for all of the Irish people. Speaking in Belfast at Easter 1973 he said: 'Today, the central issue in the war is one of conflict between Ireland’s right to freedom and England’s determination to keep us in subjection. All other issues are subordinate to this basic point. There can be no compromise on the fundamental issue as to who should rule Ireland: the
British Parliament or the Irish people. We have had 800 years of British ineptitude in ruling Ireland; we have never known rule by the Irish, of the Irish, for the Irish. Until we do, we shall never enjoy peace and stability in our land.'

In the past year we have seen the Establishments in Britain and Ireland move to cement the status quo – the British presence in Ireland. The visit of the Queen of England, which was a non-event in the eyes of most of the Irish people, has been elevated to almost a holy event where we are told 'the relationship between Ireland and Britain is changed forever'. The shoneens in the Dublin Administration would have us believe that because she spoken a few words of broken Irish the past must be forgotten and all is forgiven.

Well, that can only come about when the British presence is removed from all of Ireland and its military apparatus has gone, lock, stock and barrel. While Britain holds sway over any part of our country there will always be men and women to resist that presence, no matter how many former comrades take the British shilling and do her dirty work. Empty gestures will not bring about a 32-County United Ireland where all, nationalist and unionist, may live in peace together.

The coming year presents us all with huge challenges but also opportunities. The two fronts on which it is essential that we engage in 2012 are political and economic.
The young people in the Six Counties who took on the forces of the British Crown during 2011 were once again dismissed as 'apolitical thugs' or merely representing an anti-social sub-youth culture. We know what the truth is. These young people represent a new undefeated generation prepared to take on British rule in Ireland. They are young people simply taking their place in the latest phase of the historic
struggle for Irish freedom.

It is our duty in Sinn Féin –the only political organisation representing the revolutionary Irish Republican tradition – to give political expression and
leadership to this new generation.
I take this opportunity to send new year greetings to the Republican prisoners in both Portlaoise and Maghaberry. The situation of the Republican prisoners in Maghaberry in their fight for political status is extremely serious and the conditions they are enduring requires all of us to make a huge effort in the coming year to bring their protest to a successful end. The internment of Martin Corey and Marian Price must be ended. It is up to all of us to do our utmost to publicise the plight of the Republican POWs.

Here the 26-County Administration, faced with a choice between taxing the rich or taking from the marginalised and vulnerable, have once more chosen to put their hands in the pockets of the poor. Employers and the State are intent on rolling back any advance made by workers over the course of the last century. Whatever sovereignty the 26-County State had is now in the hands of the so-called troika of the EU/EMF/IMF and this is set to get worse in coming years. Water taxes, septic tank taxes, property taxes and waste charges are crippling people while the rich
continue to get richer.

Ninety-six years after the 1916 Proclamation the children of the nation are certainly not cherished equally. The men and women who sacrificed their lives and freedom so that we could live in a country free from foreign interference are turning in their graves as they see the mess that has been made of the country by self-serving and incompetent politicians, bankers and developers. Once again our young people are being forced to emigrate all over the world to find work and whole
communities are being decimated.

In the run-up to the centenary of the 1916 Rising those of us who follow in their path must provide the lead to the Irish people as they struggle to fight the cuts and deprivation caused by the failure of those elected to run the country, north and south. Armed as we are with clearly thought out and radical programme for real
political and economic democracy ÉIRE NUA and SAOL NUA we can take our rightful place in the vanguard of the struggle.

One final thing: There are people, some former members of our organisation who either left because they were not prepared to accept the democratic decision of An Ard-Fheis or who were dismissed for bringing the organisation into disrepute, and their camp followers who were never members, are using the honourable name of the Republican Movement while engaging in criminal and nefarious acts.

These people are doing the work of the enemy and we in Republican Sinn Féin will not allow them to continue to do so. We demand that they cease using the name of this organisation forthwith. Republican Sinn Féin is not now, nor never has, been involved in gangsterism and criminality and these people will not be allowed to besmirch our name.
Our work is clearly marked out for us. It is our duty to bring to the task all our energies and abilities. This is the most fitting tribute we can pay Dáithí Ó Conaill and all those who lie in this pantheon of our patriot dead. 'Life springs from death; and from the graves of patriot men and women spring living nations.'

Beir Bua agus beannacht agus Áth-bhliain fé mhaise go léir ! "

AND FINALLY....

Fergal O'Hanlon.

....we were hoping to travel to Monaghan this coming Sunday (8th January 2012) to meet some of our many comrades , colleagues and friends at the Annual Volunteer Fergal O'Hanlon Commemoration but Dublin RSF has asked that , instead , we make ourselves available (and comfortable !) in a 4-Star hotel on the Dublin/Kildare border to assist in the holding of a 650-ticket Republican raffle ; the girl that rang us , from the Parnell Street Office, mentioned that it will be busier than usual at the raffle because 'Manchester is playing with itself that day and it's going to be shown on TV.....' !
And that's our weekend 'spoke for' , as we also assist , on the Saturday of the raffle weekend , to collect some of the 650 tickets that are to be entered into the raffle on the Sunday : so we'll be in a cosy , warm hotel 'for' Manchester rather than Monaghan this weekend - but we'll manage , somehow......;-) !
Thanks for reading,
Sharon.

2012-01-01T20:29:00.000Z

Dáithí Ó Conaill Commemoration , Dublin : Sunday January 1 , 2012 - brief report and photographs.

Republican Plot , Glasnevin Cemetery.

Approximately fifty Irish Republicans assembled at Glasnevin Cemetery Gates just before 1pm today and formed-up behind a Republican Sinn Féin Colour Party ; the assembly then marched to the grave of Dáithí Ó Conaill , for the Annual Commemoration.
The Chairperson , Andy Connolly , welcomed all those present and briefly outlined the history of the man being commemorated and began proceedings by calling on Padráig Ennis to step forward , as per the request of the Ó Conaill family, to deliver a Decade of the Rosary , in Irish.....

Padráig Ennis.

...following which Andy reminded the crowd that , unlike some today who are attempting to operate for self-gain under a cloak of 'republicanism' , Dáithí Ó Conaill had nothing but harsh words for those who tried to use Irish Republicanism for their own ends , a point which was later reiterated by Lita Ní Cathmhaoil , Republican Sinn Féin Ard Chomhairle , in the main oration which she presented to the gathering.

Lita delivering.....

....the main oration.

The Chairperson then asked ex-POW , Seán Ó Sé , to play a tin-whistle Lament to The Dead , following which a wreath was laid on the grave by Republican Sinn Féin President , Des Dalton -

RSF President , Des Dalton , laying the wreath.

- and the Chairperson then asked the gathering to stand to attention as the Colour Party dipped their flags in honour of Dáithí Ó Conaill :

RSF Colour Party dipping their flags.

Bringing proceedings to a finish , the Chairperson requested the Colour Party to stand to attention as the National Anthem was played on the whistle by Seán....

The RSF Colour Party stands to attention for our National Anthem.

....after which those present - apart from the six armed 'Special Branch' operatives - were invited to a local pub for refreshments. A full report , including the complete text of the main oration, will be available in the January 2012 issue of 'Saoirse' ,which goes to print on Thursday , the 12th of the month.
Thanks for reading,
Sharon.

2011-12-28T16:12:00.001Z

THE MURDER OF JOHN CORCORAN -

- THE COVER-UP CONTINUES.......
From 'MAGILL' magazine , March 1998.

Mr Dick Spring : " The matter I am raising on the adjournment this evening is one with which the minister for justice, equality and law reform is familiar - he raised it himself on many occasions when he was opposition spokesperson. This is a matter of fundamental importance to the public interest in relation to the administration of justice and the protection of human life.

In March 1985 , the body of John Corcoran of Riverview Estate , Ballyvolane , County Cork , was found dumped outside Cork city , the murder apparently having taken place in County Kerry. It has been widely reported in recent times that he was murdered by the IRA on the instructions of the chief of staff and that the Garda Síochána were aware, from information received over some days previously, that Mr Corcoran was going to be murdered.

A statement issued by the Department of Justice on 8 December 1997 stated that the minister for justice had sought a full report on all aspects of this matter a short time after he took up Office in the middle of 1997. What I would like to know this evening is whether the minister has that report and if he is going to make it public......."
(MORE LATER).

THE PETER BERRY PAPERS....... The Top Secret Memoirs of Ireland's Most Powerful Civil Servant : Dirty Tricks, Election '69/ Spying on a Unionist Politician/ Keeping the (State) Taoiseach informed/ The Garda Fallon Murder/ Advice to Jack Lynch- 'Fire the pair of them...'/ Vivion De Valera's advice to O'Malley/ Rumours of a Coup D'Etat/ The Internment Plot, November 1970/ Secret Meeting with William Craig.
From 'MAGILL' magazine , June 1980.

APRIL 30 , 1970 :
" The Taoiseach sent for me , and told me that he had seen Mr Blaney and Mr Haughey and that the matter was ended , that there would be no repetition. I asked incredulously - 'Does this mean that Mr Haughey remains Minister for Finance ? What will my position be ? He knows that I have told you of his conversation with me on 18th April and of the earlier police information.' The Taoiseach replied - ' I will protect you .' I felt a very sorry man returning to my Department where I told the tale to my usual colleagues.

It is interesting to read the Taoiseach's entirely different account in the Dail : Volume 246 , No. 7 col. 1331 - '...but I had said to both of them....that the information that I had would justify my asking for their resignations...the Minister for Agriculture asked for some time to consider the position. Because of the condition of the Minister for Finance I felt I just could not possibly pursue the enquiries with him...' The Taoiseach makes it clear at the foot of col. 1440 that he was speaking of his meetings with the Ministers, separately , on Wednesday , 29th April.

The Taoiseach phoned me later that evening to have the Head of 'S Branch' at his home at 8.00pm . I had assured him that this was the Garda officer who had the most knowledge of the arms conspiracy. I informed the Commissioner and , later, had a phone call from Chief Supt. Fleming for information as to the purpose of the meeting and who would be present . I told him that I knew no more than that he was to be at the Taoiseach's house at the time stated. 'But' , he said , 'you know more than anybody else. Will you not be there?' I replied that I had not been asked and that I did not know the purpose. Later in the night , at about 9.30pm , Chief Supt. Fleming called to my house......."
(MORE LATER).

Dáithí Ó Conaill Commemoration , New Years Day , Sunday 1st January 2012 , Dublin -

- the annual Dáithí Ó Conaill Commemoration will be held in Dublin on January 1 , 2012 , in Glasnevin Cemetery. Those attending are asked to assemble at the Cemetery Gates at 12.45pm. More information on Dáithí can be read here.

Seán Sabhat Commemoration , New Years Day , Sunday 1st January 2012 ,Limerick -

- the annual Seán Sabhat Commemoration will be held in Limerick on Sunday , January 1 , 2012 , at the Republican Plot in Mount St Lawrence Cemetery : those attending are asked to assemble at the 'Horse and Hound' Pub, Mulgrave St , in Limerick City, at 12.30pm.

AND FINALLY , re the recent CABHAIR Swim...

.....we forget to mention that the Organisers presented all the swimmers with a Republican handkerchief , all five of which had recently been decorated in Portlaoise Prison by Irish Republican POW's , and we also forgot to mention that a raffle was held at the event at which only the five swimmers had been given tickets for : the prize was a bodhrón which , as with the 'hankies' , was made in Portlaoise Prison , and was won by Dougie who , next year , will now be able to supply his own drumbeat before he belly-flops into the water....!

And really , really finally : as this will most likely be our last post in 2011 , we have to say a big 'Go Raibh Maith Agat' to all our readers (we are quickly approaching 475,000 overall 'hits' !) and wish you all a Happy New Year ; we'll be back on Wednesday 4th January 2012 for definite , and possibly before then , if anything 'out there' takes our fancy.....!
Thanks,
Sharon (and Team!).

2011-12-26T12:28:00.000Z

CABHAIR CHRISTMAS SWIM , 25th DECEMBER 2011 :

On what was , compared to last year's event , a Summer's day , the CABHAIR organisation 'fed and watered' approximately 100 people over the three-hour period that the Swim event lasted for - the CABHAIR Crew arrived on site at , as usual , 10am and packed-up 'shop' at about 1pm , in between which five sponsored swimmers 'earned their keep' (Lee , David , Dougie , Paddy and Tony) : the sixth swimmer , Declan , from near-by Driminagh , was asked repeatedly not to swim , as he had a small , fresh cut on his leg and , for safety reasons , the Organisers insisted he not enter the water which - eventually - he agreed was for the best. Those that sponsored Declan - he had two full sponsorship cards and one card half-full - will be offered their money back over the next few days.

Anyway ; the 'Declan Dilemma' (!) was one of three 'upsets' at the event - the nuisance caused by the eight 'Special Branch' men who , as usual, tried to turn people away from attending the Swim and the fact that three of their number had 'detained' Santa and two of his 'helpers' in a near-by street for twenty-five minutes (and actually repeatedly stood on his feet to stop him from moving away from them) were the only 'mishaps' in an otherwise flawless enterprise , and all of them outside of CABHAIR control.

The National Flag flew high and proud from the Naas Road-entrance point , surrounded by three CABHAIR banners , at one 'end' of the Swim Site Irish Rebel music blasted-out from twin speakers whilst at the other 'end' , a man with a guitar entertained a section of the crowd with a sing-song , an almost endless supply of 'soup' (including two bottles of a stronger brew!), lemonade , mince pies , crisps etc , and Christmas crackers , were consumed by the crowds , the weather held-up nicely for all concerned , the neighbours came out in force to cheer-on the five lads and the local swan family were easily distracted by some well-placed tit-bits ! All foodstuffs , including the 'Swan Bait' (!) were donated by local shops and pubs etc , and were gratefully received by the organisers and the crowd.

As always , the CABHAIR people are to be congratulated for this much-needed event and , as mentioned by one of the organisers , all monies raised go directly to the families of the Republican POW's in Maghaberry and Portlaoise Prisons : we publish with this report a few pics from the day in question and, down the bottom of this post , we publish a link to three videos and over 80 pics from the event - so put the kettle on now and be prepared to say goodbye to the next hour or so !

'Swim Stall' 2011 ;" The Right of the People of Ireland..."

All 'Gold' winners , not Silver....

One makes a break for it...

....two find the exit.....

...whilst these three are caught in the act !

This wannabe escapee was roasted on the fire....

...and his comrade was caught by a cameraman-cum-guard !

Two swimmers , linked by the Green !

Santa 'hip-hops' his way to the Swim Site!

Sing-Song at the 2011 CABHAIR Swim!

Finally - Congrats as well to the 3 swimmers who also braved the (fine summer's day!) elements for CABHAIR in Craigavon Lake and the 5 swimmers in Wexford who took the plunge : well done , Men - fair play to ye all !
The three videos and over 80 Swim pics I mentioned earlier can be located here - but you might need a 'Facebook' account to view them. Once again , CABHAIR have more than held their own , and our Irish Republican Prisoners , and their families have , once again , being reminded that they are not forgotten by their comrades , colleagues and supporters on the 'outside' - and they never will be !
Thanks for reading,
Sharon.

2011-12-21T22:01:00.002Z

THE MURDER OF JOHN CORCORAN -

- THE COVER-UP CONTINUES.......
From 'MAGILL' magazine , March 1998.

According to 'The Kerryman' newspaper of November 29 , 1988 , Seán O' Callaghan said in an interview (with the editor of that newspaper , Gerard Colleran) : " I personally shot Corcoran using a machine gun. I felt no remorse for the murder.....I had to travel to Monaghan to meet the IRA's Chief of Staff to get permission to shoot [Corcoran].......[leading up to the murder] John Corcoran spoke to me. I taped most of what he said. I sent the tape to his family. [Prior to the murder] we were sitting in a field chatting for three or four hours. He didn't try to get away. He was not arguing. He was not blindfolded. He knelt down on the ground and I shot. I said a prayer, an act of contrition, before I shot him. He turned his back. He was shot in the back of the head. Corcoran said 'go easy'. That was it."

O' Callaghan gave similar accounts in interviews later with the 'Sunday Times' and the 'Boston Globe' , detailing in these interviews how he had informed the gardaí of where John Corcoran was being held and of the imminence of his murder.

" An Absolute Disgrace...."
On Wednesday , January 28 , 1998 , former Tánaiste Dick Spring raised the issue in an adjournment debate in Leinster House. The following is the full text of Mr Spring's speech and the reply by the minister for justice , John O' Donoghue .......
(MORE LATER).

THE PETER BERRY PAPERS....... The Top Secret Memoirs of Ireland's Most Powerful Civil Servant : Dirty Tricks, Election '69/ Spying on a Unionist Politician/ Keeping the (State) Taoiseach informed/ The Garda Fallon Murder/ Advice to Jack Lynch- 'Fire the pair of them...'/ Vivion De Valera's advice to O'Malley/ Rumours of a Coup D'Etat/ The Internment Plot, November 1970/ Secret Meeting with William Craig.
From 'MAGILL' magazine , June 1980.

" All my doubts of earlier months that the Taoiseach could not have some knowledge of what was going on in the background came flooding back : his remarks and attitude did not seem to fit a Head of Government who was anxious to bring malefactors to justice. "

APRIL 29 , 1970 :
" The Taoiseach sent for me and told me that he was about to confront Mr Neil Blaney and Mr Charles Haughey with their parts in the arms conspiracy. We discussed the situation , and he was very troubled , walking up and down the room , muttering to himself. I heard him say 'What will I do , what will I do...' and , thinking that he was addressing me , I said - 'Well , if I were you I'd sack the pair of them and I would tell the British immediately , making a virtue of necessity , as the British are bound to know, anyway, all that is going on....' .

The Taoiseach rounded on me and abused me for giving him advice. I apologised and said that I thought that he had asked for advice. He went back to muttering , then suddenly made up his mind to go......."
(MORE LATER).

CABHAIR RAFFLE....

.....the CABHAIR organisation , which seeks to financially aid Irish Republican POW's and their families , held a fund-raising raffle on the 11th December last , in a hotel on the Dublin-Kildare border : the event was over-subscribed and , even though all 650 tickets were purchased in advance (with 50 being held back for 'on-the-day' sales) another 100 tickets , at least , could have been sold had they been available !
However : the lucky eight winners were -
1st..........John...............243...........Seller,
2nd........Theresa..........269............Laois,
3rd.........Liam Roberts...346..........Carlow,
4th.......Kevin Kavanagh...281......Enniscorthy,
5th......John Power..........460.......Arklow,
6th.....John Gilraine.......585.......Dublin 1,
7th......Eileen.................095......'H',
8th.....Declan................296......Mullingar.

- all prizes have since been claimed , and the next raffle will take place in early January 2012 : details to follow.

CABHAIR CHRISTMAS SWIM....

....for the 35th consecutive year , the CABHAIR organisation will hold a sponsored Swim in the Grand Canal , in Inchicore , Dublin , on Christmas Day at 12 Noon : preparations , which were finalised two weeks ago , have been checked and re-checked and declared 'AOK!' , Santa has been booked for an hour - by 'Special Request' of the many kids that would otherwise run riot (!) at the location , although he may be too 'tired and emotional' to make it to the other two CABHAIR Swims which are being held that same day (details here) - and the local community has , as always , been more than generous with the 'Goodies' offered , which will be more than enough to sustain swimmers , on-lookers , passers-by and the swans , which have to be bribed with tit-bits to vacate the area for an hour or two!

Last years Swim can be read about here , and pics from it and previous Swims can be seen here : this blog will try its best on Christmas Day to give a report and supply a few pics from this years Swim , but we can't promise anything - the CABHAIR Swim Crew have asked us to assist with 'catering' at the event , which includes making sure that all guests , on-lookers and passers-by etc are 'fed and watered' and that's a very dodgy place to put us on what is otherwise a 'dry day' as far as the pubs are concerned..... !

UP THE REPUBLIC - OUR DAY WILL COME !

NOLLAIG SHONA DAR LEITHEOIRI !

Ar eagle an dearmaid ....

Ba bhrea an rud e siocháin bhuan bunaithe ar an gceart a bheith againn in Éireann . Is i an bronntanas is fearr a d'fheadfaimis a thabhairt duinn fein agus dar gclann .

Coinniodh an ceart agus an tsiocháin uainn le breis agus ocht gcead bliain , de bharr ionradh , forghabhail agus miriaradh na Sasanach. Socrú ar bith a dheantar in ainm mhuintir na hÉireann agus a ghlacann le riail Shasana agus a dhaingnionn an chriochdheighilt , ni thig leis an ceart na an tsiocháin bhuann a bhunu .

Ni dheanfaidh se ach la na siochána buaine a chur ar an mhear fhada agus an bhunfhadb a thabhairt do ghluin eile . Tharla se seo cheana nuair a siniodh Conradh 1921 agus cuireadh siar ar mhuintir na hÉireann e in ainm na siochána . Is mór ag Sinn Féin Poblachtach Éire a bheith saor agus daonlathach , an cuspoir ceanna a bhi i gceist ag Wolfe Tone agus ag na Poblachtaigh uile anuas go dti 1916 agus an la ata inniu ann .

Rinne a lan fear agus ban croga iobairti mora , thug a mbeatha fiu , ar son na cuise uaisle seo .

CEART . SAOIRSE. DAONLATHAS .

-----------------

A PEACEFUL CHRISTMAS TO OUR READERS !

Least we forget ....

A just and permanent peace in Ireland is most desirable . It is the greatest gift we could give to ourselves and our children . We have been denied justice and peace for more than eight centuries , because of English invasion , occupation and misrule of our country .

Any arrangement which , in the name of the Irish people , accepts English rule and copperfastens the Border , will not bring justice and lasting peace . It will only postpone the day of permanent peace , handing over the basic problem to another generation .

This happened before when the Treaty of 1921 was signed and was forced on the Irish people in the name of peace . Republican Sinn Féin cherishes the objective of a free , democratic Ireland , as envisaged by Wolfe Tone and all Republicans down to 1916 and our own day . Many brave men and women sacrificed a lot , even their lives , for this noble Cause .

JUSTICE . FREEDOM . DEMOCRACY .
From the '1169...' Crew , December 2011 : we'll be back before the years end! Thanks for reading , Sharon.

2011-12-14T19:28:00.001Z

THE MURDER OF JOHN CORCORAN -

- THE COVER-UP CONTINUES.......
From 'MAGILL' magazine , March 1998.

We should expect a further twist to this case in the next few months , with the publication in May of Seán O' Callaghan's account of his life in the IRA and his role as a garda informer.

It is obvious that O' Callaghan will deny his involvement in the murder of John Corcoran and that he will have some elaborate but ultimately unbelievable explanation of why he earlier said he was involved.

However incredible that explanation will be , it will be seized upon by the gardaí as yet another reason for closing the file on the John Corcoran case forever - so , for the record , let us recall what Seán O' Callaghan said previously about his involvement in that murder.......
(MORE LATER).

THE PETER BERRY PAPERS....... The Top Secret Memoirs of Ireland's Most Powerful Civil Servant : Dirty Tricks, Election '69/ Spying on a Unionist Politician/ Keeping the (State) Taoiseach informed/ The Garda Fallon Murder/ Advice to Jack Lynch- 'Fire the pair of them...'/ Vivion De Valera's advice to O'Malley/ Rumours of a Coup D'Etat/ The Internment Plot, November 1970/ Secret Meeting with William Craig.
From 'MAGILL' magazine , June 1980.

23rd APRIL 1970 :

" On Thursday I had a telephone call from my Minister , Mr O Morain , from his home : he seemed to be in great distress. He asked me to get him into some nursing home immediately , that he felt seriously sick. With some difficulty , I got the Minister the suite in Mount Carmel Hospital which I had occupied in 1969 and he was admitted on April 24th ('1169...' Comment : no change there , then - if you are 'well connected' and/or have money [both, in this particular case] you will get the best of medical treatment immediately but if you're unemployed or just an 'ordinary' employee , you can expect between eight and fifteen hours of a wait in A+E before you're even looked at...) .

In the afternoon I saw the Taoiseach and told him off Mr O Morain's illness and of my arrangements - he said that he had ticked him off on Wednesday , saying that he would be hearing from him again. I concluded that this was what had triggered off Mr O Morain's break down.

The Taoiseach then told me that he had had a visit from the Chairman of the Revenue Commissioners who had told him of my threat that 'heads would roll' : the Taoiseach said - " You had no business saying that and you had no right to tell him that I had ordered the police investigation." I was taken completely aback , and replied - "But you gave me instructions that the police were to make a full investigation and the Commissioner complained that the customs people were stalling deliberately and he asked for my assistance, and I felt that it was my job to get co-operation." The Taoiseach said - " I don't understand why you are playing such a personal part in all of this , why do you not leave it to the police..."

I was dumbfounded : I had expected to be praised , not blamed......."
(MORE LATER).

€100 HOUSEHOLD TAX 'MUST BE INCREASED' - EU/IMF.....

In January 2012 , a new tax of €100 is to be imposed on approximately 1.6 million households in this State ; at least 240,000 households will be exempt , for now , due to their financial circumstances ie if those living in them qualify for mortgage interest supplements , if they live in social housing units , if they live in unfinished housing estates , if they are living in rented houses (although the owner/landlord will be liable which , in turn , means a rent increase....) , if the occupier meets certain social welfare criteria and tenants who live in local authority housing.

The households that will be instructed by the politicians in Leinster House to suffer the imposition of this unjust tax will be given until the 31st March 2012 to pay it or a 'fine' (a financial penalty) will be issued , before court cases proceed - if the household tax is not paid by that date , and if arrangements have not been made to pay it in four installments of €25 , then 'late payment fees' will be added to the amount owed . If , after two years, the tax remains unpaid , then the householder will 'owe' €280. Those who are deemed by the politicians to 'owe' this tax but don't pay it will be taken to court under the 'Fines Act 2010' and , depending on circumstances , will be ordered by State representatives to hand over between €1,000 and €2,500.

What is not so widely known in relation to this new tax , however , is that , on Friday 29th July 2011 , an 'MoU' ('Memorandum of Understanding') was issued by a joint committee comprising EU and IMF management stating that the €100 tax must be increased by December 2012 due to what that committee called "fiscal consolidation" issues - and the State Department of the Environment in Dublin has admitted that that is the case , although they attempted to claw back some dignity by declaring that the rate of increase has not been agreed upon ie they have not yet been told by the EU/IMF how much to increase it by !

And there's worse to come : in 2014 , another household tax will be enforced - again , at the dictat of the EU/IMF - which will be based "on the site value of each house" and a new company , 'Irish Water' , will be established to oversee the installation of water meters in all domestic dwellings : these three new taxes (€100 Household Tax , Site Value Tax and Water Tax) were demanded by the EU/IMF and signed-off on by the rich, useless , careerist time-serving suited muppets in Leinster House in the 'MoU' that was given to them by the EU/IMF on Friday 29th July 2011 , and it was in that same 'contract' that the latter shower agreed to enter into "discussions" with that EU/IMF committee in relation to how finances are controlled in this State.

The options facing those of us who retain a moral compass is clear : picket , protest , riot in the streets , cause civil unrest and havoc, and bloodshed , if need be - but , above all , DO NOT PAY the Household Tax , or the Site Tax , or the Water Tax ! Or.....take the 'easy' option : pay all new taxes plus the inevitable increases in the 'old' taxes plus the lower wage you'll be working for / lower welfare payments you will be on (if they don't 'knock you off' the welfare money altogether) and then decide , on a daily basis , whether you will put food on the table OR turn the heating on. Because it really will be that simple - hand your money over to them or fight to keep it. And you're going to have to make that choice very soon.....
Sharon.

2011-12-07T20:39:00.002Z

THE MURDER OF JOHN CORCORAN -

- THE COVER-UP CONTINUES.......
From 'MAGILL' magazine , March 1998.

Seán O' Callaghan has said repeatedly that prior to the murder of John Corcoran , he (O' Callaghan) , who was a top level garda informer at the time, told the gardaí of the imminent fate of John Corcoran and of where he was being held. We have been informed by garda sources that the gardaí at the time decided not to intervene to save the life of John Corcoran because by doing so they would "blow the cover" of their most valuable informer ever - Seán O' Callaghan.

Given that , at the time (1985) , O' Callaghan was supplying the gardaí with the most valuable information on what was going on within the IRA , it would have been inconceivable that he would have withheld information on the imminent execution of a low-level garda informant.

John Corcoran had been such an informant and , as such, one would have expected the gardaí to be particularly solicitous about his welfare. There is clear evidence of a concerted cover-up over what happened to John Corcoran : it is obvious that those involved in the cover-up are the gardaí , the Department of Justice and, now , John O' Donoghue himself who , less than a year ago , was promising full disclosure of what occurred.......
(MORE LATER).

THE PETER BERRY PAPERS....... The Top Secret Memoirs of Ireland's Most Powerful Civil Servant : Dirty Tricks, Election '69/ Spying on a Unionist Politician/ Keeping the (State) Taoiseach informed/ The Garda Fallon Murder/ Advice to Jack Lynch- 'Fire the pair of them...'/ Vivion De Valera's advice to O'Malley/ Rumours of a Coup D'Etat/ The Internment Plot, November 1970/ Secret Meeting with William Craig.
From 'MAGILL' magazine , June 1980.

" One anecdote regarding Mr Haughey's horse accident went like this - "Did you hear the real story - Charlie did not fall the horse , he fell off the groom..." . There was nothing much to it , the rumour was partly in affection for a public figure who was attractive to women. * ( * '1169...' comment : lol ! That last claim should have finished "....because he was loaded " , as that's the only way that that man could be properly described as 'attractive' !)

But when a new Minister , Mr O' Malley , was appointed in May , he questioned me as to the rumours and I told him of the Taoiseach's view that there should be no enquiry and that I had so informed the Commissioner - the Minister said : "I ORDER you to tell me of any information which you were given and I ORDER you to tell the Commissioner that I want to know any information that has come to the notice of the local Gardaí." I told the Minister one of the most far-fetched yarns that had come to my ears (which no man in his senses would believe) and I conveyed what he had said to the Commissioner , who replied , dryly, that if the Minister were to give him an order in writing he would consider it. That ended that.

Around 1.00PM the Commissioner phoned to say that the 'S Branch' were experiencing difficulty with customs officials who were stalling from answering police enquiries ; I phoned the Chairman of the Revenue Commissioners who said that he would have to wait until after lunch to consult the Revenue Commissioner on the customs side. I threatened that unless the Gardaí were given immediate co-operation I would phone the Taoiseach and that 'heads would roll'. In reply to a question I said that the Taoiseach personally had directed me to have a full police investigation......."
(MORE LATER).

DÓNALL Ó BRAOIN : A "THUG WITH BLOOD ON HIS HANDS..."

.....which was what the British political and military forces in Ireland called him. We refer , of course , to Dan Breen, an inspiration in his military days to generations of Irish Republicans.
The man was asked about the IRA ambush that will always be linked to his name , and gave this answer - "I would like to make this point clear and state here without any equivocation that we took the action deliberately having thought over the matter and talked it over between us. Treacy had stated to me that the only way of starting a war was to kill someone and we wanted to start a war, so we intended to kill some of the police whom we looked upon as the foremost and most important branch of the enemy forces . . . the only regret we had following the ambush was that there was only two policemen in it, instead of the six we had expected, because we felt that six dead policemen would have impressed the country more than a mere two......"
(From here.)

A 1967 interview with Dan Breen can be listened to here.

We came across the following item during our research on this man and realised that, with a few slight changes , it could be re-issued today and delivered to all those in Kildare Street and some corrupt individuals outside that useless institution -

- and it is that same loyalty to a 32-County Republic that is ever-prevalent to this day in true Irish Republicans , and , like Dan Breen in his military days , those true Irish Republicans will not compromise with Westminster : this struggle , through its good and bad days , will continue until a complete British military and political withdrawal has been achieved. We owe it to the heroes from the past , and to the children of the future !

'TAPPING' INTO THE CRAIC.....!

If you're in Dublin over the next few days , you could do worse - much worse ! - than to keep this coming Friday night free for what is guaranteed to be an 'under-the-radar/word-of-mouth' -type night in The Tap Bar in North King Street : a man quietly making a name for himself on the Irish ballad scene , Martin Walsh , will be playing a gig in The Tap this Friday night , 9th December - doors open at 8.30pm and admission is only a fiver per person. If you don't actually meet the spirit of Kevin Barry there , you'll certainly leave with it in your heart..... !
Thanks for reading,
Sharon.

2011-12-03T18:49:00.000Z

REPUBLICAN SINN FÉIN AND THE RESIGNATION OF LIAM KENNY , CLONDALKIN , DUBLIN.

The following statement was issued to the media today , Saturday 3rd December 2011 , by Dublin RSF , and we were requested to post same on this blog :

In light of media speculation it needs to be clarified that Liam Kenny,
Clondalkin , resigned in writing from Republican Sinn Féin on September 23 , 2010 and , on October 18 , 2010 , he accepted a letter from the Clondalkin-based Maire Drumm / Kevin Barry Cumann of Republican Sinn Féin confirming that his letter of resignation had been accepted.
From September 23 , 2010 , Liam Kenny had no input , locally or nationally , to or with the Republican Movement.

Signed
John Horan (PRO)
Comhairle Ceantair Atha Cliath,
Teach Dáithí Ó Conaill,
Republican Sinn Féin,
223 Parnell Street ,
Dublin 1.

As a resident in Clondalkin , and an Irish Republican activist , I can confirm the above as I knew Liam from his brief stay in the Movement and spoke with him on various occasions both before and after he left.
Thanks for reading ,
Sharon.

2011-11-30T18:06:00.000Z

THE MURDER OF JOHN CORCORAN -

- THE COVER-UP CONTINUES.......
From 'MAGILL' magazine , March 1998.

John O' Donoghue apparently has bought the line that the investigation of the case has been " hampered by the continued absence " outside the jurisdiction of Seán O' Callaghan - but they made no attempt at all to contact O' Callaghan on his release from jail ; indeed , even though 'MAGILL' magazine made O' Callaghan's mobile phone number available to the garda officer supposedly investigating this case , he couldn't be bothered pursuing the matter , at least until the end of January last, once his first attempt to telephone the number had failed to elicit an answer.

As we reported in the February issue of this magazine , the much-trumpeted report into the case had been completed and given to the Department of Justice before any contact had been made with Seán O' Callaghan or any contact had been attempted . In spite of this , John O' Donoghue declared to Leinster House - " I am satisfied from a report I recently received from the garda that they are pursuing the investigations as far as they can."

Is there not an extraordinary coincidence between the garda reluctance to pursue this case at all and the existence of evidence that they themselves were complicit in the murder of John Corcoran ? This evidence again comes from Seán O' Callaghan and , in this respect at least, it is compelling.......
(MORE LATER).

THE PETER BERRY PAPERS....... The Top Secret Memoirs of Ireland's Most Powerful Civil Servant : Dirty Tricks, Election '69/ Spying on a Unionist Politician/ Keeping the (State) Taoiseach informed/ The Garda Fallon Murder/ Advice to Jack Lynch- 'Fire the pair of them...'/ Vivion De Valera's advice to O'Malley/ Rumours of a Coup D'Etat/ The Internment Plot, November 1970/ Secret Meeting with William Craig.
From 'MAGILL' magazine , June 1980.

" When I was with the Taoiseach on 29th April he said suddenly to me - 'when you said last Tuesday that you thought that the Government might be secretly involved I saw RED , I was not able to speak to you I was so furious'. "

APRIL 22nd , 1970 :
" This was Budget Day and , during the morning, the Commissioner telephoned me to say that the Minister for Finance , Mr Haughey, had had an accident in a fall off a horse and that he was in the Mater Nursing Home. I informed the Taoiseach who had already heard from another source. Later , the Commissioner phoned me again to say that a strange rumour was circulating in North County Dublin that Mr Haughey's accident occurred on licensed premises on the previous night.

We discussed the matter and I said that I had better tell the Taoiseach that, too , making it clear that this was not police business and that unless he otherwise directed the Commissioner would not have any official enquiries. When I informed the Taoiseach of the rumour , as reported by the Commissioner , he said - 'Oh no , not that, too...' , and he went on to agree that there should be no police enquiries - he was emphatic on that . I conveyed the Taoiseach's view to the Commissioner.

Within a couple of days there were all sorts of rumours in golf clubs , political circles etc as to how the accident occurred , with various husbands , fathers , brothers or lovers having struck the blow in any one of dozens of pubs around Dublin. In short , the accident served a Rabelaisian purpose without anybody really believing that it was other than a fall from a horse......."
(MORE LATER).

IRISH REPUBLICAN CAR CONVOY , SATURDAY 3rd DECEMBER 2011 : FROM NEWRY TO DUBLIN....

This is an Independent event organised by Duleek Independent Republicans. That organisation are appealing to all Irish Republican organisations/independents to participate in this convoy from Newry to the British Embassy in Dublin to demand the full implementation of the 2010 agreement.
All participants are asked to decorate their vehicles with flags, posters, etc relevant to the convoy theme, "IMPLEMENT THE 2010 AGREEMENT IN FULL" . Let the message be loud and clear that Irish Republicans are not going to stand idly by and allow Republican prisoners to be criminalised.
The convoy will pass through Dundalk, Drogheda, Julianstown, Balbriggan, George's Quay, Trinity College and out to the British Embassy at Ballsbridge , where a one hour protest will take place outside the embassy.
Please forward the word and encourage as many as possible to participate.

A recently-produced (by RSF) POW poster , on display throughout the State and in the Occupied Six Counties.

RSF PROTEST AT CROKE PARK RE RUC/PSNI PRESENCE:

Republican Sinn Féin held a very successful protest at the main entrance to Croke Park on November 25th , 2011 , against the presence of the RUC/PSNI in the stadium, defying an attempt by the 26-County police to close the road to any protests. Inside a team from the 26-County police were playing a team from the RUC/PSNI in a Gaelic football match.

Speaking at the protest the President of Republican Sinn Féin Des Dalton said: "The protest today is about driving home the message that British occupation of any part of Ireland is neither normal nor acceptable. The presence of the British colonial police in Croke Park is a betrayal of the principles upon which Cumann Lúthchleas Gael was founded. Foremost amongst these principles is Ireland’s right to its essential unity as a nation. The GAA has never recognised the British-imposed border but today the leadership of the GAA has allowed the same British forces who deny that unity of Ireland on to the pitch at Croke Park.

The GAA is being hijacked by the British and 26-County political establishments to bolster their campaign of normalising British rule and the partition of Ireland. The very fact that this game is being played behind closed doors and under tight security tells us that it is far from normal. If, as we are constantly told, that relations with the British State are now normal why all the secrecy and security? The truth is that British rule in Ireland will never be normal." Republican Sinn Féin is to be congratulated for , once again, publicly highlighting the on-going injustice that is the British military and political presence in Ireland.

'SIT-DOWN' MORE EFFECTIVE THAN A MARCH :

On July 6th 1953, 1,000 unemployed people sat on O' Connell Bridge , in Dublin, for 15 minutes holding up traffic - they were protesting a three-day waiting time for relief (unemployment benefit/dole) money.

In the opinion of this blog , a sit-down protest in the main street of a city/town would be a more effective form of social protest than a march through that main street : with yet another savage budget due to hit employed and unemployed in this State within the next week , the trade union movement - such as it is - should begin organising sit-down protests in as many areas as possible and should maintain same until such time as major financial changes are introduced ensuring that the poor and the poorly paid stop being victimised for the 'mistakes' and/or greed of the politicians and their banker colleagues. But that's not likely to happen any time soon , as it appears that the trade union movement in this State has more in common with those politicians and the bankers than they have with those they are supposed to represent.
Shame on them.
Thanks for reading ,
Sharon.

2011-11-24T20:42:00.000Z

UPDATES RE 'RUC IN DUBLIN' AND 'SIPTU IN DUBLIN'.

The Republican Sinn Féin-organised protest to be held on Friday 25th November 2011 against the presence in Croke Park , Dublin, of a football team comprised of members of the RUC (also known by their new terror-tag 'PSNI') , an armed British paramilitary 'police force' in the six north-eastern counties of Ireland , will be held at 3pm outside Quinn's Pub , as per this RSF Press Release :

"Republican Sinn Féin oppose RUC/PSNI in Croke Park :

A spokesperson for Republican Sinn Fein said the decision by the GAA to host a match between the RUC and the Gardaí in Croke Park shows that the GAA is once again being used to normalise British Rule in Ireland.
The meeting of the RUC/PSNI v Garda Siochána for a match on Friday November 25 is a ‘private event’ according to Croke Park. The fact that the match has to be played ‘behind close doors’ shows just how abnormal and indeed how unwelcome it is.
Republican Sinn Fein opposes British occupation in any and all parts of Ireland. The PSNI, RUC, call it what you will, with its inherent sectarianism and bigotry, police that occupation.
Republican Sinn Féin will hold a protest against the presence of the RUC/PSNI in Croke Park on Friday 25. We will assemble at Quinn’s Pub in Drumcondra at 3pm and we call on all those who object to British occupation in our country to turn out and support the protest."

If you are unable to make it to this protest - or even if you are going! - you can register your protest against Croke Park management for inviting this British paramilitary gang to Dublin in the following manner -
Phone: +353 (0)1 819 2323 (if you are ringing from Dublin , just ring 8192300).
Fax: +353 (0)1 819 2324.
Email.
Thank You - now for the hypocrisy of SIPTU ......

SIPTU , the trade union who are organising a protest march this Saturday (26th November 2011) against the cutbacks to be implemented by Fine Gael and Labour this coming December is the same organisation which , in January and February this year , urged its members and supporters to vote for those same political parties !
"SIPTU asked its members and supporters to vote for the Labour Party because it - "....cares about workers and will strive to protect our interests in the difficult times which most certainly lie ahead......cares more about the citizens of the country than about bond markets and big business...." ". (From here.)

After they got into power in Leinster House by promising 'no more financial hits against employed and unemployed workers' , State Labour Party leader Eamon Gilmore stated - 'On the issue of welfare cuts, (Gilmore) said there was no avoiding the fact that welfare expenditure had to be reduced. Asked about his commitment in June (2011) not to cut welfare rates, he said that what he was doing at the time was repeating what was in the programme for government...' - "Sometimes these things are often misinterpreted " , he said.....' .
(From here.)

Your presence on a SIPTU-organised protest march next Saturday (26th November 2011) against Fine Gael/Labour cutbacks will most definitely be "misinterpreted" by SIPTU as 'support' for their so-called 'opposition' to those two political parties despite the fact that SIPTU called for support for those same two political parties only a few months ago !
After you hang-up in disgust having told Croke Park what you think of their invite to a Brit paramilitary gang , you might like to contact SIPTU Head Office (Phone 01-8586300, Fax: 01-6865567) to tell them what you think of their support for a State political gang.....
Thanks for reading,
Sharon.

2011-11-23T15:41:00.000Z

THE MURDER OF JOHN CORCORAN....

....THE COVER-UP CONTINUES.
From 'MAGILL' magazine , March 1998.

Dick Spring aptly characterised the statement in Leinster House on Wednesday , January 28th last , by the minister for justice , John O' Donoghue , on the 1985 murder of John Corcoran : Dick Spring said the reply was "...an absolute disgrace.." . The whole conduct of this case has been an 'absolute disgrace' all along. Those implicated in that disgrace are the Garda Síochána right up to the highest levels , the Department of Justice (of course) and , now - most spectacularly - Mr John O' Donoghue.

In his reply to Dick Spring in an adjournment debate on January 28th , John O' Donoghue made an intriguing disclosure - that in late 1988 or 1989 "...a garda investigation file was forwarded to the director of public prosecutions with a view to prosecuting the person involved [Séan O' Callaghan] in Northern Ireland (sic) under the provisions of the Criminal Law Jurisdiction Act 1976."

Mr O' Donoghue went on to say that "....this aspect was subsequently overtaken by events when the person was convicted on a charge of murder in Northern Ireland (sic) and received two life sentences there.....". But if in 1989 the gardaí wanted Séan O' Callaghan prosecuted for the murder of John Corcoran , why was it that they showed no interest at all in the case when Séan O' Callaghan was released from prison in the North in late 1996....... ?
(MORE LATER).

THE PETER BERRY PAPERS....... The Top Secret Memoirs of Ireland's Most Powerful Civil Servant : Dirty Tricks, Election '69/ Spying on a Unionist Politician/ Keeping the (State) Taoiseach informed/ The Garda Fallon Murder/ Advice to Jack Lynch- 'Fire the pair of them...'/ Vivion De Valera's advice to O'Malley/ Rumours of a Coup D'Etat/ The Internment Plot, November 1970/ Secret Meeting with William Craig.
From 'MAGILL' magazine , June 1980.

APRIL 19TH , 1970 :
" The Taoiseach was not in Dublin until late , when I made an appointment to see him next morning. I had a visit at my home later still from the Head of the 'S Branch' who gave me a copy of a report which he had submitted to the Commissioner who had directed that I should get a copy immediately."

APRIL 20TH , 1970 :
" I saw the Taoiseach shortly after noon , handed him the police report to read and gave him a full account of the events of Friday , Saturday and Sunday . He instructed me to have the matter fully investigated and to report to him at 9.30 the following morning . During the day I was kept informed from hour to hour of the progress of the police investigations and late that night the Head of the 'S Branch' delivered a continuing report to my home. My discussion with the Taoiseach that morning was restricted as the British Ambassador was waiting to see him. "

APRIL 21ST , 1970 :
" I delivered the police report to the Taoiseach and had a lengthy discussion with him. I told him that there was no danger whatsoever that a cargo of arms could be unloaded suddenly at any of the airports , that surveillance was continuing just in case , and I explained my reluctance to go over my Minister's head to him and I said , indeed, that I had qualms about approaching him, as I might be intruding on a secret Government mission. I said that in my dilemma I had spoken to the President who, without being told the nature of the subject, advised me that it was my duty to speak to the Taoiseach. The Taoiseach made no comment......."
(MORE LATER).

REPUBLICAN SINN FÉIN TO OPPOSE RUC/PSNI IN CROKE PARK :

Following a meeting of the Ard Chomhairle of Republican Sinn Féin on November 19th 2011, the following statement was issued:

"The announcement on November 11 that the RUC/PSNI is to play in Croke Park on November 25 shows that the GAA is once again being used to normalise British Rule in Ireland. Bringing the British Colonial Police into Croke Park - like the visit by the Queen of England in May - contravenes the principles upon which the GAA was founded, namely the essential unity of Ireland as a nation.
This principle is reflected in the fact that the GAA has never recognised the British-imposed border but has remained an All-Ireland Association. Faithful Irish Republicans, many of whom are members of the GAA, will oppose this visit and will use it to highlight the fact that British rule/occupation in Ireland is not or never will be normal or acceptable.
Like James Connolly we say ‘England has no right in Ireland, never had any right in Ireland and never can have any right in Ireland’ . Republican Sinn Féin will be holding a protest on Friday. We will assemble at Quinn’s Pub in Drumcondra at a time to be confirmed."

The Republican Movement is to be congratulated for the stand it is taking on this issue - the political 'Establishment' in this crooked State will use any and all means to project itself as a normal , democratic leadership attempting to govern as best it can over a recession-hit electorate when the actual reality of the situation is that they are a bunch of wealthy unprincipled lying and cheating con artists , ever-ready to renege on election promises : now , again, they seek to present themselves as 'trustworthy' to those they admire in Westminster by showing how 'politically mature' they are in welcoming to Dublin members of the same British paramilitary 'police force' which enforces a British political and military writ in six of our north-eastern counties !
Republican Sinn Féin are to be commended for the stand they are taking in the face of this injustice ; to quote Oscar Wilde - "If one tells the truth , one is sure, sooner or later, to be found out."

FOLLOWING THE CAUSE........

....AND NOT THE 'MAN' .

Trade unions in this State are - in the opinion of this blog , that is - (mis)lead by a 'Top Table' of 'pet rebels' : millionaire or extremely wealthy individuals who , once upon a time in their distant past , (probably) had a social conscience and might have genuinely believed that they could effect some change for the better for the employed and the unemployed by throwing their lot in with what they believed to be like-minded men and women who claimed to be trying to improve wages and conditions for fellow workers.
We are 100% in favour of the stated objectives of trade unionism but , equally , we are 100% opposed to the weak and watery methods used by the trade union leadership in attempts , they claim, to obtain those objectives. With this 'health warning' in mind , we wish to bring this SIPTU-organised Dublin protest to your attention , and will record the fact that, in our opinion, such a protest should be held on a weekly basis , mid-week, in various cities in this State , and should end in a mass sit-down protest in the centre of that particular city. But this is 'Free State Trade Unionism' we're talking about here.....
Thanks for reading,
Sharon.

2011-11-16T20:10:00.002Z

LAW IN DISORDER.......

The state trumpets every drugs seizure as a major victory over the barons. But the war against drugs is really a murky world characterised by botched operations , questionable use of informers and ego-driven squabbles between the Garda Siochana and customs officials.
Mairead Carey gets the inside story.
From 'MAGILL' magazine , August 2002.

The vast majority of customs officers who spoke to 'Magill Magazine' believe that a joint agency similar to the US 'Drug Enforcement Administration' (DEA) is the only answer to their current problems. They point to the success of the 'Criminal Assets Bureau' (CAB) as an example of how Customs and the Garda Siochana can work well together.

Labour Party justice spokesperson , Pat Rabbitte , also believes it is time that the Minister considered a single agency to tackle drugs - " There is no room for turf wars in the fight against the drug barons. The new Minister should look at the merits of streamlining , in a single agency, those in the frontline against drug dealing."

As for Jack Doyle's allegations , he says - " There seems to be a prima facie case that requires an investigation. If there is any truth in these allegations , there is a need to review whether legislative changes are necessary to govern these type of operations."

[END OF 'LAW IN DISORDER'.]
(Next : ' The Murder Of John Corcoran : The Cover-Up Continues' - from 'Magill Magazine' , 1998.)

THE PETER BERRY PAPERS....... The Top Secret Memoirs of Ireland's Most Powerful Civil Servant : Dirty Tricks, Election '69/ Spying on a Unionist Politician/ Keeping the (State) Taoiseach informed/ The Garda Fallon Murder/ Advice to Jack Lynch- 'Fire the pair of them...'/ Vivion De Valera's advice to O'Malley/ Rumours of a Coup D'Etat/ The Internment Plot, November 1970/ Secret Meeting with William Craig.
From 'MAGILL' magazine , June 1980.

" In speaking to Mr de Valera I was certain that I was adopting the right course : I had had many kindnesses from him and I knew that he would not resent my approach. When I was put in contact with him by his personal secretary , Miss O' Kelly, I said - "I have come into knowledge of matters of national concern and I am afraid that if I follow the normal course the information might not reach Government. Does my duty end with informing my Minister or am I responsible to Government by whom I was appointed ? ".

The President asked me to repeat what I had said and I did so : he said 'Are you sure of your facts' , and I said yes. The President asked 'Are you absolutely sure of your facts' and I replied that I was absolutely sure. "Then" , said the President , "You have a clear duty to Government , you should speak to the Taoiseach" . I thanked him.

I did not tell the President the nature of my information and he did not ask. After the dismissal of the Ministers on May 6th I had a phone call from Miss O' Kelly who asked me to repeat my conversation with the President. I did so in the terms above , of which I made a note. Miss O' Kelly thanked me and said that I had confirmed the President's recollection that the subject matter had never been mentioned by me...."
(MORE LATER).

RAFFLE RESULTS......

....from the monthly raffle held on Sunday 13th November 2011 :

First prize of €200 was won by Robin , Blanchardstown , with ticket No. 524 , Second prize went to C. Kennedy , ticket No. 345 , Third prize went to Eóin , from Tallaght , with ticket No. 322 and the 'Half-Way' prize - Fourth - was won by Maggo , with ticket No. 159.
Fifth prize went to the holder of ticket No. 589 , Colm , from Raheny , Sixth prize was won by Paul G. with ticket No. 003 , the second-last prize - Seventh - went to Jack P. , ticket No. 327 and the last prize - Eight - went to Greg K. , the holder of ticket No. 029.
Well done to all the winners - and especially to those who opened their prize envelopes and bought us all a round !

THREE IRISH REPUBLICAN COMMEMORATIONS TO BE HELD ON SUNDAY 20th NOVEMBER 2011 :

"Rev. Michael Griffin C.C., (Gurteen Galway.), A supporter of the Irish language and volunteer causes, was taken from his residence at 2 Mountpelier Tce. Galway on the night of 14 -15 November 1920 to the HQ of the Crown forces in Taylor’s Hill. His body was found on Sunday 20th. November having been buried in a boggy field at Cloghscoltia near Barna. A military inquiry held at Eglinton Police Station found that he died as a result of a gunshot wound to his head, fired feloniously, wilfully and with malice by some person or persons unknown......"
(From here.)

The Father Griffin Commemoration will be held on Sunday next at 12 Noon in Bearna , County Galway - details here whilst two other brave Irishmen - Kevin Barry and Frank Driver - will also be remembered by Irish Republicans on that same Sunday , in Kildare and Carlow.
Details here.

"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."

An 'Oscar Wilde' tribute , from this blog to those three brave men who , having seen the (political) "dawn" , joined like-minded men and women in an organisation which is campaigning to hasten its coming.....
Thanks for reading,
Sharon.

2011-11-12T20:32:00.000Z

RSF 107th ARD FHEIS : BRIEF EARLY REPORT AND PICS....

Although we couldn't stay as long as we wanted to at the RSF Ard Fheis , which began today in a Dublin hotel , during the four hours that we were 'on site' (8AM to 12 Noon) we witnessed seven 'Special Branch' cars parked(/abandoned) around the hotel entrance and counted more than one dozen armed representatives of this corrupt State at the hotel door , quizzing every person that went in to or came out from the premises : the 'indirect' message in doing so , of course , is to convince the hotel owner , management , staff and customers that 'having Irish Republicans about the place is bad for business'. It didn't work , as we were made feel most welcome by all concerned except the armed State thugs , who prowled the vicinity looking for 'fresh meat' to contaminate.
However : during out short stay , we were introduced to representatives from Na Fianna Éireann , Cumann na mBan , CABHAIR and a spokesperson representing POW's in Portlaoise and Maghaberry prisons , all of whom were present to read messages of support for Republican Sinn Féin.
The following pictures were taken during the 'build-up' stage ie between 8AM and 9.30AM and , as such , are not representative of the Ard Fheis proper , but we couldn't wait around for the hall to fill up as we had to leave to start organising for the monthly raffle , which is being held tomorrow (Sunday 13th November) in a hotel on the Dublin/Kildare border - we're 'living' in hotels this weekend......;-) !

Speakers lectern 'backdropped' by Flag display.

9AM , in the Main Hall.

9.15AM - getting there....!

9.30AM - and the crowd filters in....

The 2012 RSF Calendar , on sale now for €5.

If we get more pics we will post them here in the next day or two , if we have no more raffles to attend to , that is..... !
Thanks ,
Sharon.

2011-11-09T19:55:00.001Z

LAW IN DISORDER.......

The state trumpets every drugs seizure as a major victory over the barons. But the war against drugs is really a murky world characterised by botched operations , questionable use of informers and ego-driven squabbles between the Garda Siochana and customs officials.
Mairead Carey gets the inside story.
From 'MAGILL' magazine , August 2002.

Customs have primary responsibility for the detection of drugs being imported into the State , and the Garda are responsible for drug enforcement internally but , in recent years, the Garda have also developed a 'Garda Coast Watch'.

A Customs officer sums it up like this - " We're now fishing from the same pool. Who do you report to now ? The result is that Joe Bloggs public says 'Fuck the both of you , I won't report it at all'. I'm not saying that our side is all white either , but sharing goes both ways and it's one way only when it comes to the gardai. Information is being sent in but there's nothing coming out...."

1996 also saw the introduction of the 'Criminal Justice (Drug Trafficking) Act' which made provision, for the first time, for the attendance of officers of Customs and Excise at , and the participation of such officers in , the questioning of persons detained on drug-trafficking offences. The measure was dependent on the Minister for Justice making regulations for its introduction , however , and the measure has never been brought in. Customs believe it has been blocked.......
(MORE LATER).

THE PETER BERRY PAPERS....... The Top Secret Memoirs of Ireland's Most Powerful Civil Servant : Dirty Tricks, Election '69/ Spying on a Unionist Politician/ Keeping the (State) Taoiseach informed/ The Garda Fallon Murder/ Advice to Jack Lynch- 'Fire the pair of them...'/ Vivion De Valera's advice to O'Malley/ Rumours of a Coup D'Etat/ The Internment Plot, November 1970/ Secret Meeting with William Craig.
From 'MAGILL' magazine , June 1980.

" Briefly , Chief Supt Malone told me that Mr Tony Fagan had telephoned his office a short while before and asked that Chief Supt Fleming should phone him or Mr Haughey at given numbers. I instructed Mr Malone that there should be no telephone contacts between the police and the others , and I told him that Mr Haughey had just phoned me about the cargo. It was as a result of that call that I came to realise the enormity of the attempts that were being made to suborn the security forces.

From my conversation with Mr Haughey it was obvious that my Minister did not have knowledge of the attempted importation from him and that , accordingly, it was not likely to be a Government sponsored effort. I had some lingering doubt that all this could not have gone on for several months without the knowledge of the Taoiseach unless he was wilfully turning the blind eye. But it now seemed evident that, at most , a caucus was involved and that Government qua Government were not behind the arms conspiracy.

In my dilemma I decided to ask the President , Mr de Valera , for advice : analysing my motives afterwards , in speaking to him , I could only suppose that sub-consciously I retained lingering doubts about the Taoiseach and that by consulting the President , and telling the Taoiseach that I had consulted the President , I would be pushing the Taoiseach towards an enforcement of the rule of law. I had not forgotten that the Taoiseach had taken no effective steps to curb the activities of Captain Kelly of Military Intelligence about whom I had given him very definite information on 17th October 1969 in Mount Carmel Hospital......."
(MORE LATER).

GIVE ME AMBIVALENCE.....

.....OR GIVE ME SOMETHING ELSE !

"There is no country in the world so much in need of unpractical people as this country of ours. With us, Thought is degraded by its constant association with practice. Who that moves in the stress and turmoil of actual existence, noisy politician, or brawling social reformer, or poor narrow-minded priest blinded by the sufferings of that unimportant section of the community among whom he has cast his lot, can seriously claim to be able to form a disinterested intellectual judgment about any one thing? Each of the professions means a prejudice. The necessity for a career forces every one to take sides. We live in the age of the overworked, and the under- educated; the age in which people are so industrious that they become absolutely stupid....."
- Oscar Wilde.

Ambivalence
towards the Gravy Train is what happens when you piggy-back on that gravy train but , as with all the political 'elite' in Leinster House - from Fine Gael to Provisional Sinn Féin , and all 'shades' in between - ambivalence of turns into protection of that gravy train , the further you get into it and the longer you stay on it :

Letty Cottin Pogrebin had this to say about ambivalence in her own country - "America is a nation fundamentally ambivalent about its children, often afraid of its children, and frequently punitive toward its children."

Those in Leinster House who are now supposedly 'in charge' of this corrupt State and those who have 'parked' themselves in that lap of luxury in the past have repeatedly shown nothing but contempt for the 'children' and , to their shame - for the most part - those 'children' have accepted that treatment and, indeed , have come to accept such treatment as 'normal'.
The exception to our "most part" comment is an organisation which , this coming weekend , will hold its 107TH Ard Fheis in a Dublin Hotel and which will be harassed over those two days by armed representatives of this State ; those attending the Ard Fheis , and the State harassment of the event , will be ignored by the 'Establishment' media in this State or will be dismissed as 'dangerous elements' or some such slur and , once again , the 'children' will believe that such treatment is 'normal' .
Only in this - an abnormal society - could such a thing happen.
Thanks for reading,
Sharon.

2011-11-02T19:55:00.000Z

LAW IN DISORDER.......

The state trumpets every drugs seizure as a major victory over the barons. But the war against drugs is really a murky world characterised by botched operations , questionable use of informers and ego-driven squabbles between the Garda Siochana and customs officials.
Mairead Carey gets the inside story.
From 'MAGILL' magazine , August 2002.

A seizure of €1.4 million worth of cigarettes from a lorry stopped outside Clara , County Offaly , three weeks ago, has also annoyed Customs : cigarette-smuggling is the preserve of the Revenue Commissioners , they say - according to customs officers , no intelligence information was passed on to Customs prior to the haul by the 'National Drugs Unit'.

Since the find, the cigarettes have been stored at a Garda Barracks in Tullamore , County Offaly, when Customs say they should have been immediately handed over to them : " There are lines in the sand and when they are crossed it inevitably creates tension. We are living in an era of glory-hunting but we should be working together , but egos and private agendas are preventing this , " says one customs officer , " Customs are supposedly the frontline defence in terms of drug enforcement, but we are constantly undermined by the gardai."

Another customs officer says he has come across one case already this year where a drug runner who was hauled in by Customs was found in possession of a phone number of a member of the 'National Drug Unit' - " When you ask the gardai they deny that they are the handlers. What can you do ? It's the whole Declan Griffin thing all over again, " he says.......
(MORE LATER).

THE PETER BERRY PAPERS....... The Top Secret Memoirs of Ireland's Most Powerful Civil Servant : Dirty Tricks, Election '69/ Spying on a Unionist Politician/ Keeping the (State) Taoiseach informed/ The Garda Fallon Murder/ Advice to Jack Lynch- 'Fire the pair of them...'/ Vivion De Valera's advice to O'Malley/ Rumours of a Coup D'Etat/ The Internment Plot, November 1970/ Secret Meeting with William Craig.
From 'MAGILL' magazine , June 1980.

" When I picked up the phone I recognised Mr Haughey's voice with which I was familiar. He said - "You know about the cargo that is coming into Dublin Airport on Sunday?" , to which I replied 'Yes. Minister'. "Can it be let through on a guarantee that it will go direct to the North?" I answered 'No' , to which Mr Haughey replied - "I think that is a bad decision." I made no comment , and he asked "Does the man from Mayo know?" to which I stated 'Yes' He asked "What will happen to it when it arrives?" and I replied 'It will be grabbed'.

"I had better have it called off " , he commented. I made cryptic notes there and then in my personal diary , and also made notes of a phone call immediately afterwards from Chief Superintendent Malone of C3 , Garda HQ. In the Department of Justice on Monday 20th April , I made expanded entries of these notes in a Departmental file and those notes were seen on that day by some of my senior colleagues.

Immediately after my conversation with Mr Haughey I had a call with Chief Superintendent Malone......."
(MORE LATER).

ALL LEGITIMATE CONSENT REQUIRES THE ABILITY TO WITHHOLD CONSENT.......

The smarter option -'None Of The Above!'

Those with an open mind in relation to casting a ballot may be interested in the following 'NOTA'-type positions that exist in other jurisdictions :
"None of the Above (NOTA) or against all is a ballot choice in some jurisdictions or organizations, placed so as to allow the voter to indicate his disapproval with all of the candidates in any voting system. It is based on the principle that all legitimate consent requires the ability to withhold consent, allowing voters to withhold their consent in an election to office, just as they can by voting no on ballot questions...."
(From here.)
I particularly like the term - '....all legitimate consent requires the ability to withhold consent..' ; unfortunately , the 'powers-that-be' in this corrupt State have long-since turned their back on 'legitimate consent'.

"The Election Commission (EC) of Bangladesh disclosed a draft proposal few weeks back for introducing a system for casting ‘No Vote’ in parliamentary elections to express voters' lack of confidence in the contesting candidates in a constituency....."
(From here.)
"...to express voters' lack of confidence in the contesting candidates in a constituency.." - a good point : was 'one man,one vote' (sic) secured to demand that a voter should vote for a candidate that that voter had no faith in ? I don't think so , although those 'in power' do , or so it seems.....

RSF 107th ARD FHEIS 2011 ....

"All in favour...." - a scene from the 2010 RSF Ard Fheis.

The Republican Movement will hold its 107th Ard Fheis on Saturday 12th and Sunday 13th November 2011 - at which 166 resolutions , from Ireland and abroad, will be debated - in a Dublin venue : whilst those behind this blog offer our congrats and 'Best Wishes' to Republican Sinn Féin , we won't be there : there is another 'RSF VIP' event being held elsewhere in Dublin on that same weekend (bad timing or wha'!) and we have been requested to give a hand with same - 'more later' , as they (we!) say.... !
Thanks for reading,
Sharon.

2011-10-27T13:01:00.000Z

'NONE OF THE ABOVE' VOTE , 27th OCTOBER 2011 , STATE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION......

.....the above sample was registered today (Thursday 27th October 2011) at a polling station in Clondalkin , Dublin.

It has been suggested that those that 'spoil' their vote on purpose "will effect no change..." and/or "are wasting a hard-fought for opportunity.." - however , in the opinion of those of us that work on this blog , those that vote 'NOTA' are to be congratulated for freeing themselves from the 'pack mentality'.

In the case of this particular State presidential election , replacing one rich career politician with a 'different' one from the same 'Establishment' pool 'will effect no change' as far as the employed and the unemployed are concerned and, as for it being a 'hard fought for' privilege , it is a 'privilege' that, as an Irish Republican, I neither asked nor wanted anyone to secure for me - a vote in the running of a corrupt State.
Congrats again to those who , in the 'buzz' words of this failed political entity , 'stepped outside the box' and decided to give the political Establishment a 'haircut , going forward...' , in relation to electing a 'new' political elite.
There is hope for us yet....!
Thanks,
Sharon.

2011-10-26T14:34:00.001Z

LAW IN DISORDER.......

The state trumpets every drugs seizure as a major victory over the barons. But the war against drugs is really a murky world characterised by botched operations , questionable use of informers and ego-driven squabbles between the Garda Siochana and customs officials.
Mairead Carey gets the inside story.
From 'MAGILL' magazine , August 2002.

Two months after Urlingford , a memorandum of understanding between Customs and the Garda was signed in a bid to ease tensions between the two organisations. Leinster House was told that the document "would ensure that there would be a co-ordinated approach to the fight against drugs and the criminals who are engaged in this evil trade."

But the memorandum failed to lead to any real improvement in co-operation between the two agencies and, in October 2000, an operational protocol on drug law enforcement was signed by the Garda , Customs and the Naval Service to sort out the day-to-day issues which were still causing problems.

Customs officers throughout the State claim that the protocol is being ignored by the Garda ; a number of customs officers contacted by this magazine pointed to two recent seizures as evidence of the lack of co-operation between the two agencies. Gardai seized cannabis resin with a street value of €2.5 million frm a lorry in County Meath on June 17th . The lorry was stopped at Newtown Commons , outside Ashbourne, and 200 kilos of cannabis resin were found concealed inside a consignment of wine - customs officers say it was a controlled delivery in that the Garda had intelligence that the drugs were being brought in and kept them under surveillance until they reached Ashbourne . One man was arrested in connection with the seizure.

But Customs are supposed to be kept abreast of controlled deliveries , and they asked why the drugs were seized an hour from Dublin Port and why gardai failed to share information with their colleagues on the frontline.......
(MORE LATER).

THE PETER BERRY PAPERS....... The Top Secret Memoirs of Ireland's Most Powerful Civil Servant : Dirty Tricks, Election '69/ Spying on a Unionist Politician/ Keeping the (State) Taoiseach informed/ The Garda Fallon Murder/ Advice to Jack Lynch- 'Fire the pair of them...'/ Vivion De Valera's advice to O'Malley/ Rumours of a Coup D'Etat/ The Internment Plot, November 1970/ Secret Meeting with William Craig.
From 'MAGILL' magazine , June 1980.

" When I was under cross-examination by Mr Maguire , Counsel for Mr Haughey, he tried to attribute matters discussed between myself and Mr O Morain to a conversation between myself and Mr Haughey on Saturday 18th April. In fact , when Mr O Morain phoned me on Saturday I had immediately suggested to him that he should switch to the 'scrambler line' , so that we could talk freely.

Mr Maguire suggested that I had asked Mr Haughey if he had a scrambler which was an absurdity as I was aware of the persons who had 'scramblers' and that Mr Haughey was not one of them. The try-on must have been evident to State Counsel if they had read the documentation which I had supplied well in advance but they made no effort to re-examine me or to cross-examine Mr O Morain on many of his mis-statements some of which were repeated at the second trial.

At 6.30pm the phone rang in my bedroom. I was about to have a sauna and didn't have a stitch of clothes on. I let it ring for a few moments in the hope that it would be answered on my breakfast room or sitting room phone by my wife or daughter : Mr Haughey was to say in evidence that a child answered the phone , but there was no child in the house. While Mr Haughey was speaking the pips for the 6.30pm news from RTE sounded on a transistor radio on my bedside table and he mentioned those pips in his evidence at the arms trial......."
(MORE LATER).

"BANKERS AND SPECULATORS HAVE BOUGHT YOUR PARTY....

.....AND IN RETURN YOU HAVE SACRIFICED THE GREATER GOOD AND PROSPERITY OF THE IRISH NATION (sic) FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE FEW.
TRULY , A GOVERNMENT OF NATIONAL (sic) SABOTAGE."
- a statement directed at Fianna Fáil by the then State Garda Representative Association president Michael O' Boyce , last year.

Those words could have been and, indeed , should have been , directed at ALL of those in Leinster House , and not just at Fianna Fáil ; that institution in Kildare Street in Dublin City Centre and those who endorse it have brought only shame on that section of the Irish people that it claims to 'govern' on behalf of.
The members and supporters of that institution have now directed that seven of its own sort be placed before the electorate in this State for election to what they deem to be 'the highest Office in the land' - the State Presidency. We have written before about this waste-of-space position which is due to be voted on tomorrow (Thursday 27th October 2011) and would , even at this late stage , refer our readers to the statement issued by the Republican Movement in relation to this issue and again ask our readers , our colleagues and our comrades to 'VOTE NOTA' tomorrow. You will have a choice in the polling booth to favour one rich career politician (or wannabe) over another , or telling them all that you have had enough of keeping them in a style that they don't deserve : use your vote as a protest - VOTE N.O.T.A. !
Thanks,
Sharon.

2011-10-19T19:20:00.002Z

LAW IN DISORDER.......

The state trumpets every drugs seizure as a major victory over the barons. But the war against drugs is really a murky world characterised by botched operations , questionable use of informers and ego-driven squabbles between the Garda Siochana and customs officials.
Mairead Carey gets the inside story.
From 'MAGILL' magazine , August 2002.

In Ireland , the issue of entrapment has rarely appeared before the courts , although some commentators believe that the courts would be favourably disposed to such a defence.

In a 1981 case , King v Attorney General , Mr Justice Henchy , speaking of the Constitutional guarantee that personal liberty would not be removed other than in due course of law , stated that "due course of law" meant "without stooping to methods which ignore the fundamental norms of the legal order postulated by the Constitution."

A barrister stated - " There is no provision in law that gives the Garda an exemption for being in possession of illicit drugs. If the Garda seize drugs for the purpose of using them as evidence in a criminal trial , that's fine. But if they go beyond that and use them to set up some other operation , for example, that would not be covered......."
(MORE LATER).

THE PETER BERRY PAPERS....... The Top Secret Memoirs of Ireland's Most Powerful Civil Servant : Dirty Tricks, Election '69/ Spying on a Unionist Politician/ Keeping the (State) Taoiseach informed/ The Garda Fallon Murder/ Advice to Jack Lynch- 'Fire the pair of them...'/ Vivion De Valera's advice to O'Malley/ Rumours of a Coup D'Etat/ The Internment Plot, November 1970/ Secret Meeting with William Craig.
From 'MAGILL' magazine , June 1980.

" During his evidence in the Arms Trial on 28th September 1970 , Mr O Morain said that he was in the West of Ireland on Saturday , that he had been informed by Mr Berry on the previous Thursday or Friday of information about the importation of arms and that it was after the weekend that he had heard from me "of the ring of steel" around Dublin Airport.

Mr O Morain made quite a number of false statement which could be totally disproved ; the next day , 29th September 1970, I had the very detailed newspaper reports divided in columns which were pasted to blank sheets of paper on which I made comments at the appropriate points in which I indicated for State Counsel the errors of fact.

I attached a photostat copy of the log-book of the Minister's car and a copy of the police driver's subsistence claim , each of which showed that the Garda car had clocked out of the Garda Depot at 9.30AM on Sunday 19th April . This documentation was in the hands of State Counsel before the second Trial began but no use whatsoever was made of it......."
(MORE LATER).

IN THE 12TH IN THE '11 , THE 35TH WILL BE HELD ON THE 25TH.....!

CABHAIR Christmas Day Swim , December 25th 2010.

The above picture was taken at the 2010 CABHAIR Christmas Swim on December 25th 2010 , at Inchicore , Dublin. That event marked the 34th successive year of the Christmas Swim and, as you can see from the link , it was held in sub-zero temperatures in an area that offers no shelter, natural or otherwise, from the elements.

A brief history of the CABHAIR Swim can re read here , and contact details for the CABHAIR organisation can be viewed here : this blog will be highlighting this event again , between now and the date involved , and we remind our readers that all funds raised for the Swim go directly to the families of the POW's which CABHAIR looks after , as not one of the many people involved in organising it claims expenses - the position within the Republican Movement is as it always has been ; they try to look after their own and do not seek or receive any funding whatsoever from Leinster House , Stormont , or Westminster , nor will (or has) any such funding been sought to organise the 2011 Swim , the 35th such event.
If you are unable to assist financially , the organisers would appreciate if you could 'spread the word' in whatever way you can, and as often as you can : the mainstream media in this State have consistently ignored this event since it began (although the 'Special Branch' haven't ; seen here , harassing Santa at the Swim) and have always refused to give it a 'mention' , either before or after. At the time of writing , four swimmers have been confirmed and are seeking sponsorship , and more will be 'booked' in the coming weeks.
The organisers , and those that actually swim , and those that take the time on Christmas morning to attend as observers are to be congratulated for , between them , managing to keep this event going for 35 successive years , despite the best efforts of hostile weather and an equally hostile State !
Thanks,
Sharon.

2011-10-12T15:08:00.000Z

LAW IN DISORDER.......

The state trumpets every drugs seizure as a major victory over the barons. But the war against drugs is really a murky world characterised by botched operations , questionable use of informers and ego-driven squabbles between the Garda Siochana and customs officials.
Mairead Carey gets the inside story.
From 'MAGILL' magazine , August 2002.

Journalist Paul Williams said - " In Cork , there was Tommy O' Callaghan and Paddy McSweeney , who is now fighting the Criminal Assets Bureau over a bill for more than €1m. There were dozens of people operating on a smaller level at that time , but the State had no mechanism to take them on - they were driving Jags and drawing the dole , and seemed to be operating with impunity."

There are no clear rules in terms of how far the Garda can go in their fight against the drug barons . In Britain , legislation has been introduced to deal with undercover operations but there are no such laws in Ireland , and this issue has never really been tested in the courts either.

Entrapment as a defence to a criminal charge has been recognised in America - it arises where a defendant is induced to commit a crime by a police officer , or someone working on behalf of the police. In one American case , Sherman v United States, the defendant had been asked on several occasions by a man working for the government to buy him heroin ; he did so , reluctantly, and was arrested. The Supreme Court quashed his conviction , saying that the police had effectively created the crime , although it accepted that stealthy police undercover work was necessary for the prevention of crime it stated that such work "....manifestly....does not include the manufacture of crime...."
(MORE LATER).

THE PETER BERRY PAPERS....... The Top Secret Memoirs of Ireland's Most Powerful Civil Servant : Dirty Tricks, Election '69/ Spying on a Unionist Politician/ Keeping the (State) Taoiseach informed/ The Garda Fallon Murder/ Advice to Jack Lynch- 'Fire the pair of them...'/ Vivion De Valera's advice to O'Malley/ Rumours of a Coup D'Etat/ The Internment Plot, November 1970/ Secret Meeting with William Craig.
From 'MAGILL' magazine , June 1980.

" From then on , I was in almost continuous telephonic communication with the Commissioner , C3 in Garda HQ , the Head of the 'S Branch' and the Department of T and P , as to what airports , other than Dublin, could land a plane with 6.8 tons of cargo , and the answer was Shannon , Cork , Farranfore in Kerry and Castlebar in Mayo. I also made enquiries as to the ceiling below which an approaching plane could divert to another airport without coming under radar notice. "

18th APRIL 1970 :

" My security arrangements recommenced early next morning with constant incoming calls according as arrangements were concluded and it was not until 12.30pm that I was able to receive a call from the Minister who was angry that I had not been in touch with him ; I explained that my line or his line had been blocked every moment that I had thought to get in touch with him but that I could assure him now that everything was safe.

I said ' You can sleep easy tonight , there is a ring of steel around Dublin Airport.' That phrase had appeared in the newspapers shortly before this in a description of the Soviet troops around Prague. I also told the Minister about my arrangements to cover the other four airports......."
(MORE LATER).

8 WINNERS WHO PAID FOR THEIR PRIZE...

Another very successful monthly raffle was held in our usual hotel venue last Sunday (9th October 2011) at which the full compliment of 650 tickets were sold : a well-attended birthday party in an adjoining function room would have guaranteed the sale of at least 100 extra tickets , had they been available for sale but , unfortunately , that was not to be - this time : the organising committee are seriously considering increasing the number of tickets in the raffle , such is the demand for them , and this is my little contribution towards nudging them in the right direction !
Anyway - congrats to Frank W , Mark Corcoran , Frank O , Natasha , Mark Kelly , Billy , Alan Hughes and Ryan on buying a winning ticket , the numbers of which were 596 , 667, 643, 685, 231, 188, 227 and 157 : perhaps in the New Year it will take us a wee bit longer to record the names and numbers of our raffle winners....!

...AND ONE WINNER THAT THE REST OF US WILL PAY FOR :

Vote 'None Of The Above' leaflets re the up-coming 27th October 2011 State Presidential election.

€5187 weekly wage , treated like the 'VIP' you believe yourself to be and never having to work a day in your life again : the rewards , at tax-payers expense , for the winner - having to foot the bill and trying not to vomit when you hear yet another "Going forward...." -type speech from the holder of the Office of State President ; the 'reward' for those that voted him/her into that position.
The above leaflets are being distributed in their thousands around ever-increasing parts of Dublin in what has become a 'viral' effect - for every 100 leaflets that are distributed door-to-door , for instance , an average of seven householders have approached the leaflet distributor and requested a few hundred leaflets which they themselves want to distribute ! Indeed , at the above-mentioned raffle , a 'block' of 500 leaflets was distributed , between 'table drops' and customers asking for a few dozen which they themselves will pass around in work , on the dole queue , or door-to-door.
This blog is of the opinion that the best way to appoint a 'new' State President - if such a position should exist at all , and it shouldn't , in our opinion - would be to line all seven candidates in a row , have each one hold a scissors in their left hand , with their right arm and hand being held in a position as if to shake hands with somebody and announce that the candidate who looks best in that position be declared the winner : because that will be all required from them for at least the next seven years !
If you can get your hands on a ballot paper on October 27th next , use it wisely : write 'None Of The Above' on it , or a message of your own choosing.....
Thanks,
Sharon.

2011-10-05T19:23:00.002Z

LAW IN DISORDER.......

The state trumpets every drugs seizure as a major victory over the barons. But the war against drugs is really a murky world characterised by botched operations , questionable use of informers and ego-driven squabbles between the Garda Siochana and customs officials.
Mairead Carey gets the inside story.
From 'MAGILL' magazine , August 2002.

It is not known exactly how much of the 2,000 kilos of cannabis that garda informant Edward Keating claimed to have imported into Ireland in controlled deliveries was ever seized : in 1996 , gardai seized a total of 1,993 kilos of cannabis resin in the State , involving 3,233 cases , and the following year they seized 1,247 kilos.

But Cork criminal Tommy O' Callaghan and his gang was only one of many bringing drugs into the State at that time : "There was at least a hard core of a dozen gangs , operating on an international level , bringing drugs into Ireland in the mid-90's...." , says 'Sunday World' crime correspondent , Paul Williams - ".....the 'Penguin' , George Mitchell , was the biggest operator. His people were caught trying to set up an E-factory in a farm shed in Dublin capable of turning out ecstasy with a street value of a couple of million a week.

Mitchell later developed major links with the Russian mafia and Colombian cartels . Now , he is regarded as one of the biggest drug barons in Europe. There was John Noonan , from Fairview , in Dublin, who was the target of the Urlingford operation , and there was obviously John Gilligan's gang and Tommy Savage , ex-INLA , and Mickey Weldon , both of whom went on to become major international players......."
(MORE LATER).

THE PETER BERRY PAPERS....... The Top Secret Memoirs of Ireland's Most Powerful Civil Servant : Dirty Tricks, Election '69/ Spying on a Unionist Politician/ Keeping the (State) Taoiseach informed/ The Garda Fallon Murder/ Advice to Jack Lynch- 'Fire the pair of them...'/ Vivion De Valera's advice to O'Malley/ Rumours of a Coup D'Etat/ The Internment Plot, November 1970/ Secret Meeting with William Craig.
From 'MAGILL' magazine , June 1980.

" We were told that a telephone call had been received from the Department of Transport and Power that a plane was chartered to bring a cargo of 6.8 tons of arms and ammunition from Hamburg to Dublin Airport for the use of the Garda and the Army and that a Captain Kelly's name was associated with the charter. The Department asked if it was in order to facilitate the flight. I was told that the receiving officer had communicated the message to Garda HQ for observations.

We returned to the Minister and I told him of the enquiry , adding that this was the Military Intelligence Officer of whom he had adverse police reports in September/October 1969 . Mr Ward , too, mentioned reports which had come to his notice in my absence on sick leave : the Minister was in a quandry as to what to do and I suggested that we should tell Transport and Power that it was in order for the cargo to come and that we would seize it on arrival at Dublin Airport.

The Minister asked why should we not stop it at Hamburg and I said that by seizing the arms we would be depriving the IRA of trying again later , that we would be putting a drain on their financial resources. The Minister approved , and mentioned that it had been his intention to leave that evening - it was now about 5.30pm - for his constituency but that he would stay over until I would report to him as early as I could on Saturday......."
(MORE LATER).

EXCLUSIVE !!
WE NAME THE LOSERS IN THE 27TH OCTOBER 2011 FREE STATE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION......

Seven candidates , each representative of the same or slightly different
'economic class' in this corrupt State (ie the wealthy or the very wealthy) would like you to vote for them on the 27th of this month to ensure that they become ever wealthier ; the 'winner' will receive a weekly salary of €5187 for , basically, entertaining 'fellow dignitaries' in a posh State-funded mansion in the Phoenix Park in Dublin ; up until recently , that position paid €6781 a week , but sure we're all feeling the pinch.....

One candidate looks like rigamortis has already set-in , physically as well as mentally ,and he lives his live through the poems he has read and memorised - a handy way to impress the aforementioned 'dignitaries' , I suppose - and is being supported by the State Labour Party who, between them, wouldn't recognise a days labour even if it was pointed out to them by James Connolly , whilst another candidate , a self-declared gay man, is said by the media to be almost blind and fond of the drink, and has been 'doing-the-double' for the last 16 years ie claiming disability benefit (of €2500 a month!) whilst 'working' as a State Senator.

A third contestant is a millionaire businessman who was a member of the Fianna Fail 'National Executive' whilst that party was operating its 'Galway Tent' policies (see 'Have-A-Flutter...' , here) , one of the two female candidates is a singer who is closely associated with right-wing 'catholicism' whilst the other is a 'charity worker' and 'Board-Member-For-Hire' who, between both 'professions', recently banked €390,000. One of the remaining male candidates is a leading-light in the right-wing 'Fine Gael' political party whilst the other is a leading-light in a so-called 'Irish Republican' political party and helps to administer British rule in the Stormont puppet 'parliament' in the Occupied Six Counties.

However : as per our headline , we will now 'name the losers' - YOU , the voters! Or , at least, those of you who claim your ballot and fill it in in the manner that is expected of you. But there is a way by which you can claim your ballot , fill it in - and exclude yourself from the 'Losers Circle' : by purposely spoiling it ! Write a wee 'message' on it , such as 'NOTA' , or something stronger!
But please remember : the candidates asking you to vote for them are representative of those that told you to 'Vote Yes For Jobs' in the Lisbon referendum - how's that workin' for ya ? - or are representative of those that make a very good living from your 'Yes' vote : as George Bush Junior tried to say - "Fool me once , shame on you , fool me twice , shame on me".
Don't get fooled (again) - vote 'NOTA' in the State Presidential election on 27th October 2011 : you don't owe anything to those candidates , so give them just that : nothing!
Thanks,
Sharon.

2011-09-28T19:13:00.000Z

LAW IN DISORDER.......

The state trumpets every drugs seizure as a major victory over the barons. But the war against drugs is really a murky world characterised by botched operations , questionable use of informers and ego-driven squabbles between the Garda Siochana and customs officials.
Mairead Carey gets the inside story.
From 'MAGILL' magazine , August 2002.

Garda Supt. John Farrelly told the 'Irish Times' newspaper that where Garda officers attempted to get close to the nucleus of a gang "over a period of years" , they would "obviously not have prevented the drugs getting to where they were going." This, he said , was in order to trace the individuals involved and it was not the same as Garda officers "importing" drugs into the State as alleged in the TV programme.

There has been no investigation since into the allegations. When 'Magill' magazine asked the Garda Press Office to respond to ex-Garda Jack Doyle's claims, they refused to comment.

In 2001 , Garda informant Edward Keating sold his bungalow and stables outside Blarney , Cork, and is understood to have left the country and Cork criminal Tommy O'Callaghan is believed to be living in Spain - he was never convicted by the Garda.......
(MORE LATER).

THE PETER BERRY PAPERS....... The Top Secret Memoirs of Ireland's Most Powerful Civil Servant : Dirty Tricks, Election '69/ Spying on a Unionist Politician/ Keeping the (State) Taoiseach informed/ The Garda Fallon Murder/ Advice to Jack Lynch- 'Fire the pair of them...'/ Vivion De Valera's advice to O'Malley/ Rumours of a Coup D'Etat/ The Internment Plot, November 1970/ Secret Meeting with William Craig.
From 'MAGILL' magazine , June 1980.

" When in the course of conversation with the Taoiseach I mentioned the Minister's meeting with the Commissioner and the head of the 'S Branch' in the previous December and the police information about the participation of Ministers in supplying arms to the IRA , he seemed to be genuinely surprised ; up to then , my feeling was that Mr. O Morain simply couldn't have kept the Taoiseach in the dark but that it was not polite to let me know.

The Taoiseach told me that he had been asked who were the IRA leaders in the North, the men who really mattered , that an eminent Church leader felt that a direct appeal from person to person might achieve a good result in bringing an end to violence. I said that I would find out . Later on - on 16th May 1970 - the Taoiseach was to ask me if Mr. O Morain would remember his conversation with me on 13th April 1970."

APRIL 17TH 1970 :

" In the afternoon , in the aftermath of a Government meeting , the Minister had a prolonged discussion with me and an Assistant Secretary , a Mr. Ward , who was suddenly summoned from the room. He returned to say that the matter required my personal attention and , with the Minister's permission , I left the room with Mr. Ward. An IRA arms shipment from Germany was apparently on its way......"
(MORE LATER).

CANDLES......

Republican Sinn Fein is organising a candlelight vigil for Wednesday, October 5th ,2011, at the GPO, Dublin from 6pm - 7pm on the 30th Anniversary of the ending of the 1981 hunger strike. All those who took part in the 1980/81 hunger strikes will be remembered as indeed will the 22 men who died on hunger strike in the cause of Irish freedom since 1917.
Please bring some candles with you and ask your neighbours and friends to do likewise.

.....AND CONIFERS -

All branches of the media in this State have gone into overdrive in relation to the State presidential election and the fact that seven candidates are now in the running for that well-salaried position [€5187 a week salary , recently reduced from €6781 a week - even the rich must suffer.... ;-) ] and the fact that a 65-year-old female pensioner has been jailed for trying to protect her land is not featuring in the news bulletins.
In 2006 , two electricity supply companies wanted to 'improve service for customers' by running overhead power cables across fields and farmlands that they had no claim over , and various community meetings etc were held in the areas that would be affected by the work involved : 65-year-old Teresa Treacy , living just outside Tullamore , in County Offaly, was one of those whose house and adjoining lands would have to be 'crossed' , with the removal of 12,000 trees, in order that those supply companies could 'improve service' (ie 'up their profits') and, as is her right, she objected to the proposals outlined to her by company reps - instead , she suggested that they go underground with their cables , thereby causing minimal damage to her property and also addressing her concerns re health implications ie exposed high-voltage cables and , over a five-year period, repeatedly offered the use of her property for same : just over two weeks ago , Teresa was jailed, for an indeterminate time (that is, until she surrenders the [ab]use of her land to the power companies) for 'contempt'.

Even for this corrupt State , this is a disturbing development and one which the mainstream media , and each of the above-mentioned seven State presidential candidates , would prefer to see 'buried' , unlike the high-voltage power cables which are the cause of this injustice. You might sign the petition for Teresa here , and/or write to the lady at ' Dóchas Centre, Mountjoy Women's Prison, North Circular Road, Dublin 7'.
Thanks for reading,
Sharon.

2011-09-21T19:40:00.000Z

LAW IN DISORDER.......

The state trumpets every drugs seizure as a major victory over the barons. But the war against drugs is really a murky world characterised by botched operations , questionable use of informers and ego-driven squabbles between the Garda Siochana and customs officials.
Mairead Carey gets the inside story.
From 'MAGILL' magazine , August 2002.

The 'Prime Time' TV programme was aired in July 2001 but became controversial for all the wrong reasons : 'Prime Time' decided to conceal the informant Keating's identity and his name was to be electronically 'blotted out' but it didn't work and he was in fact named several times during the programme. The cock-up became the story and RTE launched an internal investigation.

The Garda slammed the programme-makers , saying that "it was totally inappropriate for the programme to identify any individual who may or may not have been in contact with the Garda in relation to a controlled operation." The allegations were never aired again.

In relation to the programme itself , the Garda Press Office said that the force was involved in "controlled operations" in the Cork area a number of years ago which involved monitoring the movement of drugs into the State.......
(MORE LATER).

THE PETER BERRY PAPERS....... The Top Secret Memoirs of Ireland's Most Powerful Civil Servant : Dirty Tricks, Election '69/ Spying on a Unionist Politician/ Keeping the (State) Taoiseach informed/ The Garda Fallon Murder/ Advice to Jack Lynch- 'Fire the pair of them...'/ Vivion De Valera's advice to O'Malley/ Rumours of a Coup D'Etat/ The Internment Plot, November 1970/ Secret Meeting with William Craig.
From 'MAGILL' magazine , June 1980.

" In my room I phoned Dr. Nolan and explained the circumstances of the press release and then I went on to ask that the Government decision on the question of a 'native medal' be communicated to me formally so that I would know precisely what the Government had in mind. He said that he did not understand to what I was referring and when I explained he said that the Minister had not raised the matter at all. Stout Cortez never looked with such wild surmise, silent on the peaks of Darian as we, in my room, looked at one another. A gold medal was awarded posthumously to Garda Fallon a year later."

APRIL 13TH 1970 :

" I had a phone call from the Taoiseach - the first in some months - to say that he had been unable to contact Mr O Morain ; I replied that it was the Minister's practice to go to his constituency , Mayo, at each week end and that, this being Monday, he might not return to the office until this morning.

The Taoiseach said that I should come to Government Buildings that evening , that he wanted a run-down on the IRA situation vis-a-vis the North . Before I left to see the Taoiseach I learnt that the Minister had arrived , and I told him of the Taoiseach's phone call and said that I could not give a full picture without recounting the police information as to the involvement of Mr Haughey and Mr Blaney.

The Minister said : "Tell the Taoiseach whatever you feel and you should tell him " - he appeared to be in a very fatigued condition , as he muttered and was listless. I felt that he was scarcely conscious of what we were talking about....... "
(MORE LATER).

CLONDALKIN JI : NO SIPTU REPORT , WAGE TOP-UP STOPPED AND UNION-NOMINATED BOARD REPRESENTATIVE RESIGNS POST.

In the days following our recent piece on this subject , we were contacted by colleagues in Clondalkin JI and by a friend of ours in Liberty Hall - we have confirmed that a Clondalkin JI meeting was held last Wednesday night (14th September 2011) in the Neilstown area of Clondalkin , at which a SIPTU official was present. Angry and determined JI workers were "firm" in questioning him in relation to the LRC 'slip-up' (re case decision and appeal period) to which he gently replied that he doesn't know what happened in regards to that "communication error" as he is not the SIPTU official who was charged with processing the case (that person was "not available to attend the Clondalkin meeting..."!) and had no input whatsoever re the LRC case or 'slip-up'. He said that the SIPTU official involved had prepared "a report" on the matter , that it was to be studied by Branch officials that very day (Wednesday 14-9-11) and declared that same would be made known and available to Clondalkin JI 'as soon as possible'.
One week later and still no report : despite requests from Clondalkin to Liberty Hall for a copy of same or even, at least, an indictation of what it contains, the report - if , indeed, it exists at all - remains a mystery document as far as Clondalkin JI are concerned.
As if that wasn't enough on its own for these shabbily-treated workers to contend with ,FÁS announced in the last 48 hours that it had withdrawn the financial 'Top-Up' (which didn't exceed €20 a week) which it paid to a minority of JI workers within the State whom it deemed to be in extra need : again - as with imposed wage reductions - no consultation was entered into in relation to this matter.
Also within the last two days , the SIPTU-nominated JI worker in Clondalkin who was to take a seat , as a worker-representative, on the Board of the 'Clondalkin Partnership' group (which is 'in charge' of Clondalkin JI) withdrew from the position as it entailed 'working with SIPTU' , something she is not now prepared to do.
Due to its incompetence - or worse - SIPTU has worsened the already-poor position of these low-paid workers and has , as far as they are concerned , abandoned them to fend for themselves against the cruel dictat of an uncaring boss. And this from the Union with a social conscience.....
Thanks for reading,
Sharon.

2011-09-18T18:27:00.000Z

EVE OF ALL-IRELAND RALLY 2011 : BRIEF REPORT AND PICS.

RSF , 17-9-11 , Dublin : from GoR to GPO...

The RSF-organised 'Eve of All-Ireland Rally' was held yesterday (Saturday 17th September 2011) in O'Connell Street , Dublin and, between the traffic isle on which it was held, and the footpaths on both sides of O'Connell Street , it was observed by about 200 people. Both uniformed and 'Special Branch' State operatives were 'on hand' but caused no trouble to or for the organisers , although the 'SB' men and women tried their best to deter the crowd from remaining in observation of the Republican proceedings but to no avail. They also made their presence known to the organisers and to the crowd after the event had finished , as usual.

The day began , as is usual for this event , at 12.30PM when a van dropped-off the small stage unit etc and the 'electrics' (amp , speakers , control-box etc) in O'Connell Street , where the six-person RSF crew was waiting :the gear was then assembled on the traffic isle facing the GPO following which a three-person 'crew' was left to keep an eye on same whilst other RSF members and supporters made their way up O'Connell Street to the assembly point outside the Garden of Remembrance from where , at 2PM , a contingent of Irish Republicans, led by a Piper , Cumann na mBan representatives and an RSF Colour Party , made their way , marching down O'Connell Street , to the GPO.

The proceedings were Chaired by Andy Connolly , Dublin, who, in the course of his introductory speech , highlighted the fact that, although this was an 'Eve of All-Ireland' Rally , Republicans remain conscious of the fact that a British-imposed partition means that this is not , yet , an 'All-Ireland' Ireland , an injustice which Republican Sinn Féin is working to correct. The two main speeches were delivered by Róisín Hayden and Geraldine McNamara and , on command, the Flags were dipped in memory of all those who have given their lives to obtain that objective. The Rally was brought to an end after Séan , the Piper, played the National Anthem.
Both speeches , and more photographs , will be published in the October 2011 issue of 'Saoirse' , which goes to print on Wednesday 5th of that month : meanwhile , we post a few pics we managed to round-up and, if you are signed-in to 'Facebook' , there are more on view here.

A Cumann na mBan rep at the 'Eve Rally' , Dublin.

RSF Colour Party at the 'Eve Rally' , Dublin , 17-9-11.

Cumann na mBan and an RSF Colour Party at the Rally.

Over 750 in total of the above three types of leaflets were distributed at the Dublin 'Eve Rally' on Saturday 17-9-11 , mostly to American and Italian tourists - and Kerry people !

Thanks,
Sharon.

2011-09-16T19:18:00.000Z

1169 EXCLUSIVE !!!

This Blog has been reliably informed that , contrary to speculation that Martin McGuinness will seek a six-week 'leave of absence' from his 'job' as a British Minister and Second-In-Waiting to the Throne of the 'Fiefdom Of Northern Ireland' in order that he may contest the election for the Free State Presidency , Martin McGuinness has secretly resigned from the British Stormont Administration and has been suitably rewarded by his employer for his years of service -

- our EXCLUSIVE !!! picture shows Lord McGuinness receiving a medal from his Majesty , Mrs Windsor-Saxe-Coburg-Gotha , who thanked Sir McGuinness "....for putting manners on the Natives and reminding them of where their place was in our society.." and slipped Viscount McGuinness a wee brown envelope , along with his wages and expenses, stating - ".....because one has been told how frightfully expensive those election things can be..".

When asked by this intrepid '1169 Reporter' to comment on his chances of being elected to the position of State President (a term which Master McGuinness objected to , claiming that it brought back woeful memories of when he had to hide from the British , rather than work alongside them) the Master(de)bater looked me squarley in the eye , through his monocle , stating - " My Dear , I don't leave anything to chance. I intend to go gunning for the other candidates but will fire several warning shots across their bow first..."
He then handed me this picture , and requested that it be published....

....stating that although, truthfully, he is not known as a 'straight shooter' , he used to have plenty of friends who were 'good at that type of thing' and that he would , if necessary , demand that his aide-de-camp contact one of them 'for a favour...'
I made my excuses and left , but not before thinking how apt that actually was , as His Excellency McGuinness had , many years ago , made his excuses and left.....
Thanks for reading,
Sharon.

2011-09-14T20:29:00.000Z

LAW IN DISORDER.......

The state trumpets every drugs seizure as a major victory over the barons. But the war against drugs is really a murky world characterised by botched operations , questionable use of informers and ego-driven squabbles between the Garda Siochana and customs officials.
Mairead Carey gets the inside story.
From 'MAGILL' magazine , August 2002.

The RTE TV programme 'Prime Time' spent over a year investigating the allegations made by ex-garda Jack Doyle - they interviewed Edward Keating , a former British soldier and firearms enthusiast , and a garda informant , and he confirmed much of Doyle's claims. Former State Justice Minister Nora Owen called for an inquiry into the case , saying she could understand if drugs were allowed into the State in order to capture somebody but "would not be happy" if it was the case that the drugs were allowed back on to the streets to reach addicts.

In one of the more bizarre events leading up to the TV broadcast , the programme presenter Brendan O'Brien was contacted by Cork Fianna Fail TD Noel O' Flynn , who wanted to "tip them off" on the backgrounds of some of those they had interviewed , including ex-garda Jack Doyle . O'Flynn said he had been asked to help , but refused to say who had asked him.

The Garda Press Office refused to answer any questions put to it by RTE in relation to the case but the programme was aired anyway , in July 2001 - and became controversial for all the wrong reasons.......
(MORE LATER).

THE PETER BERRY PAPERS....... The Top Secret Memoirs of Ireland's Most Powerful Civil Servant : Dirty Tricks, Election '69/ Spying on a Unionist Politician/ Keeping the (State) Taoiseach informed/ The Garda Fallon Murder/ Advice to Jack Lynch- 'Fire the pair of them...'/ Vivion De Valera's advice to O'Malley/ Rumours of a Coup D'Etat/ The Internment Plot, November 1970/ Secret Meeting with William Craig.
From 'MAGILL' magazine , June 1980.

" I said to the Minister - 'Before we commence , I want you to know that when I was told by Dr. Nolan (Secretary to the Cabinet) of the Government's decision I communicated the news to the Commissioner and gave a press release which was featured on Radio Eireann 'News at 1.30'....' . His reaction was alarmimg : " Fuck you , fuck you , fuck you...." , he roared five times while pounding the desk, "...you did that contrary to what the Government wished , they wanted no publicity...." . I replied - ' But , Minister, you approved in advance that publicity was desirable and I received no word from Dr. Nolan to the contrary . I simply carried out your decision of which my two colleagues were aware last evening....' .

They both nodded their agreement , so I went on to ask what had been the Government's decision on the question of a 'native medal' and he said that the Government had decided to leave it over until the matter was raised by the Garda authorities.

The conference proceeded for about an hour or so and , before we left, he said sheepishly to me - " I have been blowing my top at you when I should be doing it somewhere else". When we were in the corridor leading to my room one of the Assistant Secretaries said to me ; " How did you hold your cool , in my wildest dreams I could not have imagined such a scene...? " , and the Second Assistant Secretary remarked - " Did you notice that he was not able to pronounce the word 'fuck' properly - it sounded more like 'whack you , whack you ?' .

We exploded in laughter , rolling in the aisle........ "
(MORE LATER).

(€)2 FOR A CHANCE OF 1 IN 8.....

We held one of these on Sunday last (11th September) in the hotel , as usual and , again (as usual!), all 650 tickets were sold : there was some football match or other - or was it horse racing ? (!) - on the giant plasma telly and not alone did we run out of tickets to sell , but we sold about fifty tickets for next months raffle , too - 25 of them were bought and paid for , there and then , by one customer, Michael , who won the First Prize of €200 with ticket number 247, and immediately purchased 25 tickets for the next one , starting a 'mimi-avalanche' amongst his many mates , resulting in sales of a further 25 tickets for the October raffle !
The second prize (€100) was won by Carin , ticket number 331 , then Dano won prize number three (€40) with ticket 660, followed by 'Speddy' , who won €20 on ticket number 17.
The fifth prize of €20 was won by Mary Whelan , 419 , prize number six was won by ticket number 631 and claimed by Seámus , leaving Hannah and Catrióna to claim €20 each on ticket numbers 130 and 251.
It was another success story , run by (and on behalf of) Comhairle Ceantair Átha Cliath, Sinn Féin Póblachtach : we could tell you the exact date of the October 2011 raffle , but there's no point - we don't need the publicity and , anyway , all the tickets are 'spoke' for. And there's practically a 'waiting list' for them at this stage.....!

ANNUAL EVE OF ALL-IRELAND RALLY....

The Annual Eve Of All-Ireland Rally will be held , in Dublin , on Saturday 17th September 2011 : those attending are asked to assemble at the GPO , in O' Connell Street , at 2PM.

On Sunday , 25th September 2011 , a '1798 Remembrance Day' will be held at Fordstown Memorial Site in County Meath. The event has been organised by Meath Republican Sinn Féin and those attending are asked to assemble in Fordstown at 3pm : further details can be obtained by phoning 086-7326922.

On Saturday , 8th October 2011 , a Hunger-Strike Seminar will be held in Wynn's Hotel , Dublin , from 12.30pm to 5pm.
Details here.
Thanks for reading,
Sharon.

2011-09-07T18:48:00.003Z

LAW IN DISORDER.......

The state trumpets every drugs seizure as a major victory over the barons. But the war against drugs is really a murky world characterised by botched operations , questionable use of informers and ego-driven squabbles between the Garda Siochana and customs officials.
Mairead Carey gets the inside story.
From 'MAGILL' magazine , August 2002.

Jack Doyle had openly admitted to having a drink problem , but had been working in the force for 24 years without incident. He had never been the subject of a disciplinary inquiry and there was no psychiatric report to back-up the 'diagnosis' that he was ".....mentally infirm (and) so incapacitated by infirmity of mind that he was unable to perform his duties.." .

His own doctor had given him a sick note for three weeks because he was suffering from stress , but he later told RTE that it was a temporary sick note.

Former colleagues contacted by 'Magill' vouch for his honesty and integrity - " It may seem incredible , but what Jack Doyle says is the truth , the whole truth and nothing but the truth..." , said one such colleague.......
(MORE LATER).

THE PETER BERRY PAPERS....... The Top Secret Memoirs of Ireland's Most Powerful Civil Servant : Dirty Tricks, Election '69/ Spying on a Unionist Politician/ Keeping the (State) Taoiseach informed/ The Garda Fallon Murder/ Advice to Jack Lynch- 'Fire the pair of them...'/ Vivion De Valera's advice to O'Malley/ Rumours of a Coup D'Etat/ The Internment Plot, November 1970/ Secret Meeting with William Craig.
From 'MAGILL' magazine , June 1980.

" The Minister arrived shortly before 11.00AM when he was due to be in Government Buildings for the meeting : I told him that the memorandum for the admission of Fallon had been sent to the Secretary of the Cabinet for circulation and I handed him the memorandum on the 'native medal' to be circulated by himself by hand.

I again urged him to go slow , that there was no prohibition on a posthumous medal and that the substitution of a 'native medal' (by this hour my colleagues were dubbing it cynically the 'O Morain Medal') might cause offence within the rank and file and to relatives of those who had got awards in the past. He made no comment.

At 12.30PM I had a phone call from the Secretary to the Cabinet to say that Martin Fallon had been admitted to the Garda Force and I phoned the Commissioner to tell Garda Fallon's father - I released a statement to the press , through the Information Bureau, as approved by the Minister on the previous Saturday. At 3.30PM I was summoned , with two Assistant Secretaries, to a Ministerial conference. When we entered the Minister's room I noticed his bloated countenance which was streaming with perspiration and that his eyes were wild......."
(MORE LATER).

JI EMPLOYEES IN CLONDALKIN , DUBLIN......
....MOUNTAINS TO MOVE.

There are about fifty men and women employed permanently , in full-time positions - 39 hours a week - in the (now ex-FÁS -operated) Clondalkin 'Jobs Initiative' programme. In March 2007 , FÁS appointed the 'Clondalkin Partnership' group as the 'managing agent' for JI workers in Clondalkin and a new entity was established - the 'Clondalkin Employment Initiative' - to oversee the running of the Programme.
As in any 'new company' , a few 'teething problems' developed (some of which , over four years later, remain unresolved) and meetings were held between CEI , the Clondalkin Partnership and SIPTU ; meanwhile , the JI workers carried-on in their jobs in community-based (and run) creches , community centres , local sporting organisations etc and were paid €457.40 cents a week for doing so.
That was the wage they were on in December 2009 as they broke for their Christmas holidays : when they returned to work in January 2010 they found themselves on a wage of €432.00 cents , a reduction of €25.40 cents a week. There had been no meetings , discussion or agreement etc in relation to that wage cut - just a blanket across-the-board imposition , with a letter announcing same sent from CEI on 4th January 2010 and received by those employees on the 5th and 6th of January : the first pay-day (of the 'new rate' wage) was 7th January 2010.

To make a long story short : the JI workers in the State and their trade union , SIPTU , decided to challenge the wage reduction and their case was heard over a three-day period in March 2011 - four representatives from Clondalkin JI and two officials from SIPTU had their case heard by a 'Rights Commissioner' in the 'Labour Relations Commission' on Monday 21st March 2011 and were told that a judgement re same would be issued "within six to eight weeks" ie by approximately the end of May or early June.
During June , July and August this year , various JI employees in Clondalkin contacted SIPTU seeking information re the judgement but were told by their trade union that they had heard nothing back from the LRC : then , on August 30th last , one such inquiry from a Clondalkin JI worker elicited the response from SIPTU that they had lost their case. Plans were being made by the Clondalkin workers to appeal the decision - as had always been the intention , should the need arise - when they were told by the LRC that they could not now do so as the six-week appeal period had expired. On inquiring re same , Clondalkin JI established that SIPTU had been notified on June 2nd 2011 , by registered post from the LRC, that the case had been lost.
Through either pure sloppiness or laziness , or worse - 'brown envelopes' have been mentioned in Clondalkin JI circles - SIPTU have added to the financial 'hit' taken by their members in that part of Dublin and have given succour to the notion that SIPTU are not really interested in or concerned about small groups of their low-paid members who have no industrial 'muscle'.
At the time of writing this piece - and despite commitments to the contrary given by them to Clondalkin JI - SIPTU have not contacted any member in Clondalkin JI to explain their 'negligence' and appear to be hoping that this matter will disappear. It is to the credit of Clondalkin JI that they aren't about to let that happen without a fight : they now find themselves fighting the politicians who want to 'punish' them for the greed of the bankers , fighting FÁS/CEI and having to fight their own trade union. If you are in a position to help those low-paid community workers , or publicise their case , please do so.....
Thanks,
Sharon.

2011-08-31T13:32:00.002Z

LAW IN DISORDER.......

The state trumpets every drugs seizure as a major victory over the barons. But the war against drugs is really a murky world characterised by botched operations , questionable use of informers and ego-driven squabbles between the Garda Siochana and customs officials.
Mairead Carey gets the inside story.
From 'MAGILL' magazine , August 2002.

Concerned about who he could trust in the garda force , Garda Jack Doyle called in the help of a retired garda , Gerry McCarthy, who brought the rucksack to an inspector in the district. Doyle said he never heard of the guns again and no one was ever charged in connection with the find.

Dissatisfied with the way the Garda was handling the informer Edward Keating , Jack Doyle contacted then 'Sunday Independent' newspaper crime reporter Liz Allen and revealed the existence of the tapes : when it became apparent that he had gone public , he came under increasing pressure to hand the tapes over and eventually did pass them on to the Garda authorities , asking them to investigate the contents.

In November 1998 , he took three weeks sick leave due to stress and, on the night he was due to return to duty he turned up at Togher Garda Barracks , Cork, but was refused entry - he said he was later told by the Garda that he should leave the force on medical grounds or risk being kicked out without a pension. The retirement order , signed by Garda Commissioner Pat Byrne, stated that Jack Doyle was "..mentally infirm , so incapacitated by infirmity of mind that he was unable to perform his duties...." . That "incapacity" was "likely to be permanent" , according to the retirement order........
(MORE LATER).

THE PETER BERRY PAPERS....... The Top Secret Memoirs of Ireland's Most Powerful Civil Servant : Dirty Tricks, Election '69/ Spying on a Unionist Politician/ Keeping the (State) Taoiseach informed/ The Garda Fallon Murder/ Advice to Jack Lynch- 'Fire the pair of them...'/ Vivion De Valera's advice to O'Malley/ Rumours of a Coup D'Etat/ The Internment Plot, November 1970/ Secret Meeting with William Craig.
From 'MAGILL' magazine , June 1980.

" I assured the Minister that the Garda Commissioner was mistaken and that there was no prohibition in the Rules governing an award to prevent it being awarded posthumously. Immediately afterwards I sent for the appropriate files , discussed the matter with my senior colleagues and was satisfied that what I had told the Minister was correct.

At 9.30pm the Minister phoned me at my home - his speech was furred but he proceeded to give me instructions to have a memo ready for next morning - he proceeded as if he had never spoken to me on the subject earlier. When I told him that I had looked up the files and that I was absolutely certain that there was no prohibition against a posthumous award he interrupted me angrily and told me to stop talking and to have the memorandum prepared in time for the morning's meeting.

I sat down at 9.50pm to draft the memo which I completed after midnight : meanwhile , I had phoned my private secretary to be in my office at 7.45am to type the memo and also got in touch with the Secretary of the Representative Body for Gardai to ask what would be the reaction of the rank-and-file to the substitution of a 'native' medal for the Scott Medal and when he thought that the reaction would be against , I told him to say no more. I incorporated a reference to the view of the Secretary of the Representative Body in the memo......."
(MORE LATER).

TWO UP-COMING EVENTS TO COMMEMORATE THE 30TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE 1981 HUNGER STRIKES.

The 'National Graves Association' (Cumann Uaigheann na Laochra Gael) has organised a hunger-striker commemoration to take place in Milltown Cemetery, Belfast, on Sunday 25th September 2011 , at 2pm ,at which the oration will be delivered by former hunger striker Tommy McKearney.

A chartered bus will leave from the Municipal Gallery, Parnell Square, Dublin 1 and a limited number of seats are still available , priced at €25 each. Please note that payment must be received a week in advance of the commemoration : for more details phone 087 2282033.

The legacy of the 1981 H Block Hunger Strikes : to mark the 30th anniversary of the end of the 1981 hunger strikes Republican Sinn Féin are providing a unique opportunity to hear two people who played a central part in the events of 1981 both inside and outside the H Blocks of Long Kesh.
On Saturday October 8, 2011, in Wynn’s Hotel, 35-39 Lower Abbey St, Dublin, Ruarí Ó Brádaigh and Richard O’Rawe will be talking about the events of this momentous and painful year in Irish Revolutionary history. Beginning at 12.30pm the afternoon symposium will also include music, song, poems and writings of the 1981 Hunger Strikes. Posters, leaflets, papers etc of the period will also be on display. Ruairí Ó Brádaigh was President of Sinn Féin at the time of the hunger strikes. He has been one of the leading Irish Republicans in Ireland for almost 60 years and is currently Patron of Republican Sinn Féin. Richard O’Rawe was the PRO of the Republican prisoners in the H Blocks of Long Kesh throughout the hunger strikes. He is the author of 'Blanketmen', an untold story of the H Block hunger strike (2005) and 'Afterlives, The Hunger Strike and the Secret Offer that changed Irish History' (2010). The afternoon of reflection and commemoration will take place from 12.30pm to 5pm.
Thanks,
Sharon.

2011-08-28T17:16:00.000Z

30th ANNUAL HUNGER-STRIKE COMMEMORATION , BUNDORAN , SATURDAY 27th AUGUST 2011.

Republican Colour Party and Band , Bundoran , August 27th , 2011.

Bundoran Hunger-Strike Commemoration , Saturday 27th August 2011.

The 30th annual Hunger Strike Commemoration was held in Bundoran , County Donegal , on Saturday last , 27th August 2011. The largest turn-out in recent years joined the Bundoran/Ballyshannon H-Block Committee in remembering the ten men who died on hunger-strike in 1981 and listened intently as Richard Behal read a previously unpublished poem by Bobby Sands.
A full report will be published in the September 2011 issue of 'Saoirse' , which goes to print on Wednesday 7th September 2011 : meanwhile , photographs from this Commemoration can be viewed here.
Thanks ,
Sharon.

1169 And Counting : An award-nominated Irish blog on Irish history and Irish politics - from today and yesterday : all 32 Counties !

2011-08-24T20:07:00.002Z
LAW IN DISORDER.......

The state trumpets every drugs seizure as a major victory over the barons. But the war against drugs is really a murky world characterised by botched operations , questionable use of informers and ego-driven squabbles between the Garda Siochana and customs officials.
Mairead Carey gets the inside story.
From 'MAGILL' magazine , August 2002.

By mid-1997 , the informant Edward Keating had come to the notice of Customs , who pulled him over in Ringaskiddy in Cork and questioned him : he revealed that he was working with the Garda , so Customs sent a report on the case to Garda HQ. Keating felt under pressure.

In July 1997 , Garda Jack Doyle said that arrangements were made to find two bags of cocaine in a field beside Keating's home - no one was ever prosecuted in relation to the find , but it allowed both Keating and the Garda to sever their arrangement gracefully. In October 1997 , Garda Doyle took up duty at Togher Garda Barracks in Cork and was there only about six weeks when Keating was arrested after a shooting incident in Farranree , on the north side of Cork city.

Later that same night he got information about a rucksack which Keating had stored at his home outside Blarney and he travelled out to the house and picked it up. Inside the rucksack was a handful of firearms , including a Magnum 357 , the type of gun used to murder Veronica Guerin ; there was also a 9mm semi-automatic Browning pistol , a number of other hand guns and a couple of hundred rounds of ammunition.......
(MORE LATER).

THE PETER BERRY PAPERS....... The Top Secret Memoirs of Ireland's Most Powerful Civil Servant : Dirty Tricks, Election '69/ Spying on a Unionist Politician/ Keeping the (State) Taoiseach informed/ The Garda Fallon Murder/ Advice to Jack Lynch- 'Fire the pair of them...'/ Vivion De Valera's advice to O'Malley/ Rumours of a Coup D'Etat/ The Internment Plot, November 1970/ Secret Meeting with William Craig.
From 'MAGILL' magazine , June 1980.

" A State funeral was accorded to Garda Fallon who was taken from Mount Argus Church in Dublin to his family burial place in County Meath ; when the cortege was passing through the City I directed my police driver to slip aside around the Custom House to return to my office where I had urgent matters to attend to , including the preparation of a memorandum to Government seeking approval for the Fallon brother's admission to the Force.

Towards 6.00pm that evening , the Minister phoned me from licensed premises where he was in the company of the Commissioner and other senior officers of the Garda Siochana - he was not articulating well. He authorised me , at my request, to sign an "Urgency" certificate placing the item on the agenda of next morning's meeting of Government and also approved of immediate publicity of Garda Martin Fallon's admission should the Government so decide.

I had the newspaper blurb in readiness : the Minister then went on to say that he wanted another memorandum in readiness for the Government meeting seeking approval of the establishment of a 'native' medal for Garda bravery , saying that he had been told by the Garda Commissioner and his Officers that the Scott Medal could not be awarded posthumously and that Garda Dick Fallon's bravery should not go unrecognised......."
(MORE LATER).

PRESIDENTIAL PARASITES.....

On Thursday 27th October 2011 , the voters in this financially and morally bankrupt State will be asked to go to the polls to vote on three issues : whether or not State Judges should be paid less , whether increased powers should be given to Leinster House political committees to 'assist' them in 'bringing to justice' the robber-baron elite and to state their 'choice' regarding the next State 'President'.

The Judges in this State are directly or indirectly appointed either by the (political) State itself or on its behalf : in order to 'show' that the so-called 'elite' in this State are suffering , financially , like the rest of us, 'noises' are being made in relation to the outrageous salary being paid to same -hence the October 2011 'will of the people' decision. However , it's a safe bet that if their wages are cut , their 'expenses' will be increased to compensate because, if nothing else, this State looks after its own.

The various Leinster House 'Committees of Inquiry', and those established by same, have been on the receiving end of verbal abuse for a few years now due to their willingness to 'seek justice and compensation from those who bend or break the rules of society' ie if you are an unemployed labourer caught doing a cash-in-hand nixer then you will be 'punished' but, if you are a member of the State 'Elite' or connected to them , promoted by them or friends with them then it's not at all as straight forward : in short , you or one of your 'Elite' friends will no doubt know in whose closet certain skeletons lie and that information can be 'traded' for a 'Get-Out-Of-Jail-Free' Card. The politicians are hoping to remove themselves from this responsibility by 'ceding investigatory power' to what they will call 'Independent Committees' - the latter having been established , salaried and expensed, by those same politicians and therefore unlikely to (indirectly) 'bite the hand that feeds'. In short - the vote on this issue is a con job !

The third vote on that day will be to elect a different , or rather a 'new' (!) , State President : he or she will be paid a salary of €5008 a week , an 'entertainment allowance' of €8696 a week and, when they retire , will receive a pension of €3140 a week. He or she will be living beyond our means , carrying out a 'function' that only costs the tax-payer a fortune in money that we haven't got and will very quickly come to see themselves as 'State Royalty' and behave accordingly....

The best course of action for voters on polling day , Thursday 27th October 2011 , is to register your disgust of corrupt State practices - and,indeed, of the State itself - by spoiling your vote. It is the only course of action that an honourable person can take!
Thanks for reading,
Sharon.

1169 And Counting : An award-nominated Irish blog on Irish history and Irish politics - from today and yesterday : all 32 Counties !

2011-08-17T14:52:00.001Z
LAW IN DISORDER.......

The state trumpets every drugs seizure as a major victory over the barons. But the war against drugs is really a murky world characterised by botched operations , questionable use of informers and ego-driven squabbles between the Garda Siochana and customs officials.
Mairead Carey gets the inside story.
From 'MAGILL' magazine , August 2002.

Garda Jack Doyle was taken off all operations after the second delivery , but he maintained contact with Garda informant Edward Keating who , he said later, told him that the drug runs continued. Doyle was concerned , and began making secret recordings of his conversations with the informant.

Keating claimed that between 1995 and 1997 he had brought in 20 consignments of 100 kilos of cannabis , worth a million pounds each , and that nearly all of it made it on to the streets.

He also admitted to storing large quantities of drugs around his home in Blarney , Cork, where he had built a nine-bedroomed bungalow and stables . While there , the drugs were obviously not under the control of the Garda : the concept of a 'controlled delivery' is that the drug are permanently under the surveillance and control of gardai at all times.......
(MORE LATER).

THE PETER BERRY PAPERS....... The Top Secret Memoirs of Ireland's Most Powerful Civil Servant : Dirty Tricks, Election '69/ Spying on a Unionist Politician/ Keeping the (State) Taoiseach informed/ The Garda Fallon Murder/ Advice to Jack Lynch- 'Fire the pair of them...'/ Vivion De Valera's advice to O'Malley/ Rumours of a Coup D'Etat/ The Internment Plot, November 1970/ Secret Meeting with William Craig.
From 'MAGILL' magazine , June 1980.

3rd APRIL 1970 :

" In a 'Saor Eire' bank robbery in Dublin , Garda Fallon was shot dead : a reward of £5,000 was offered for information leading to arrest and conviction and a list of suspects was published by the Gardai.

On the next day , a Saturday , the Garda Commissioner informed me that Garda Fallon had been one of four brothers who were serving in the Force, that a fifth had failed to get entry as he had not qualified in the Irish test and that their father had now appealed for his admission : the Commissioner and I discussed the merits and were of the opinion that such a gesture, which would require the authority of Government as admission would be outside the normal statutory channels , would be good for the morale of the Force , and for the image of the Government.

I phoned the Minister at his home and got his consent to submit the question to Government with a formal recommendation. The Minister appreciated my arguments that an appointment would be largely valueless unless it were publicised immediately......."
(MORE LATER).

20th AUGUST 1981 - 20th August 2011....

On Thursday , 20th August 1981 , INLA Volunteer Michael Devine became the tenth man to die on Hunger-Strike that year , and the 22nd Irish Republican POW to die on Hunger-Strike since 1917.

On Saturday 20th August 2011 , Michael Devine and the other twenty-one Irish Republican Hunger-Strikers who died to obtain the yet unobtained goal of a complete British military and political withdrawal from Ireland will be commemorated in both Cork City and Wexford Town : at 1(one)PM at the National Monument in Cork City , at the corner of Grand Parade and South Mall, a wreath-laying ceremony will take place, at which Republican songs will be sung and poetry readings from the Hunger-Strikers will be recited. The event is organised by Republican Sinn Féin and RSF President , Des Dalton , will be the main speaker. ALL WELCOME !

Also on that same day (Saturday 20th August 2011) , at the Republican Garden Of Remembrance ('Old Jail') , Hill Street , Wexford Town , at 3PM , a sponsored 24-hour Fast will commence , with all monies raised being donated to the CABHAIR organisation.
Before the above-mentioned Fast , a picket in support of Republican POW's will be held at the Bullring , from 1.30PM to 2.30PM . The main Republican speaker in Wexford on the day will be Matt Conway, and the event has been organised by Republican Sinn Féin. ALL WELCOME!
Thanks for reading,
Sharon.

1169 And Counting : An award-nominated Irish blog on Irish history and Irish politics - from today and yesterday : all 32 Counties !

2011-08-10T15:51:00.000Z
LAW IN DISORDER.......

The state trumpets every drugs seizure as a major victory over the barons. But the war against drugs is really a murky world characterised by botched operations , questionable use of informers and ego-driven squabbles between the Garda Siochana and customs officials.
Mairead Carey gets the inside story.
From 'MAGILL' magazine , August 2002.

Garda informant Edward Keating got through Customs on his own and the gardai met him in Rosslare , took possession of the drugs and brought them back to Anglesea Street Garda Barracks ; the drugs were later returned to the informant. The plan was that Keating would drive with the load to and through a garda checkpoint in the remote area of Ballycunningham in County Cork , drop the drugs , and be brought home by gardai.

The following day it was announced that 52 kilos of cannabis and 20,000 ecstasy tablets had been found by gardai after a car had failed to stop at a roadside checkpoint. The drugs were put on display for the television cameras , and the Cork drugs squad got the kudos.

The following day Garda Jack Doyle met Edward Keating in Blarney and asked what had happened to the rest of the drugs - he was told that they had been left in a drain at the 'Yellow House' , an area six miles west of Blarney , and picked up by the gang. Almost 50 kilos of cannabis and 30,000 ecstasy tablets had gotten through.......
(MORE LATER).

THE PETER BERRY PAPERS....... The Top Secret Memoirs of Ireland's Most Powerful Civil Servant : Dirty Tricks, Election '69/ Spying on a Unionist Politician/ Keeping the (State) Taoiseach informed/ The Garda Fallon Murder/ Advice to Jack Lynch- 'Fire the pair of them...'/ Vivion De Valera's advice to O'Malley/ Rumours of a Coup D'Etat/ The Internment Plot, November 1970/ Secret Meeting with William Craig.
From 'MAGILL' magazine , June 1980.

FEBRUARY 1970 :

" Early in the month I reminded the Minister (Mr O Morain) of his discussion with the Commissioner and asked did he yet want to see him - he said no. Later, he told me that he had discussed the information about the Baileboro meeting and Captain Kelly's part in it with the Minister for Defence who questioned Col Hefferon , the Director of Military Intelligence, who described the information as "pure poppycock". When I related this back to the 'S Branch' the comment was - "Christ , Hefferon must be in the swim, too."

Politically the month was uneventful , in my recollection, except that information of a highly confidential nature was coming through of imports of arms through Dublin Airport, facilitated by named members of the Customs staff : one consignment labelled "agricultural machinery" had been invoiced to a firm in Walkinstown in Dublin who were puzzled to receive notification from the Customs at Dublin Airport of a cargo for them but when the firm sent a representative to view the cargo it had disappeared.

Another cargo , weighing three-and-a-half cwts, labelled "machine parts" and invoiced to an engineering firm, disappeared in similar fashion . The 'S Branch' were aware from a highly confidential source of the dates the cargos were cleared , the names of the accommodating Customs and Dublin Airport officials and of the individual members of the IRA involved but for fear of a leak-back which might disclose the source the importations were not reported-on in writing. They had no doubt of the authenticity of their information......."
(MORE LATER).

AN 'EMPIRE' DEFINED : CIVIL UNREST....

The civil unrest that is taking place now in London , Birmingham , Bristol , Liverpool , Manchester , Wolverhampton etc is a mirror-image of that which has happened and/or is happening in Antigua and Barbuda,Australia,Bahamas,Bangladesh,Barbados,Belize,
Botswana,Brunei Darussalam, Cameroon, Canada ,Cyprus, Dominica , Fiji Islands,Gambia,
Ghana, Grenada, Guyana ,Ireland ,India,Jamaica,Kenya,Kiribati, Lesotho, Malawi ,
Malaysia, Maldives, Malta, Mauritius,Mozambique, Namibia, Nauru, New Zealand,Nigeria,
Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia ,Seychelles, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Solomon Islands, South Africa,Sri Lanka,
Swaziland, Tanzania, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tuvalu, Uganda, Vanuatu, Western Samoa, Zambia, Egypt, Palestine, the Falklands, Hong Kong, Aden and the United States : civil and social unrest , street riots and looting etc except , on this occasion , the British are doing it to themselves , on their own 'Mainland'.

One of the downfalls of having such a large and diverse 'family unit' (albeit , mostly, an enforced one) is that not every member 'gets along' - especially so when that 'family' is divided within itself , in this case , financially so : in London alone, there are 47,000 people with an average pre-tax income of £780,000 a year , and 420,000 people with a pre-tax income of between £100,000 and £350,000 :in 2006,London 'boasted' 19 billionaires-today (2011),there are 36 billionaires. Not one of those self-imposed 'financially divided' Captains of Industry , or any of their family members, have ever had to shed blood to 'secure the Empire' , yet it is they who benefit , financially, from that 'Empire'. In contrast, the young men and women who are on the streets , lashing-out (at the wrong targets) , will hurridly and horribly be used, by those 'Captains', as shrapnel bags , to secure the wealth , privileges and life-styles of the 'Elite'. Should they get 'uppity' , and demand a chance to have a decent standard of living, those that would 'praise' them should they return in a box from having 'defended the Empire' in Iraq , Ireland or Afghanistan will light another cigar and arrange for the State to give them their answer....

Finally - a little ditty that is doing the rounds in Irish Republican circles :
"For more than 800 Summers as they lay in their bed,
dragged from their sleep with a weapon to their head,
torn from their houses then burnt to a shell,
Belfast and beyond turned into Hell.
And still to this day the anger's still churning
now you know why I smile as I watch Britain burning...."
Thanks for reading,
Sharon.

1169 And Counting : An award-nominated Irish blog on Irish history and Irish politics - from today and yesterday : all 32 Counties !

2011-08-08T21:16:00.000Z
P.O.W. PICKET , TUESDAY 9th AUGUST 2011 , GPO , DUBLIN , 12 NOON - 4PM....

This morning (Monday 8th August 2011) , Irish Republican Prisoners in Maghaberry Jail began a 48-hour fast to highlight the fact that the prison authorities , the Stormont Administration and Westminster have renaged on an Agreement reached on 12th August 2010 in relation to the conditions that the Prisoners were forced to endure.
In support of those Republican Prisoners , a picket will be held at the GPO in Dublin tomorrow (Tuesday 9th August) from 12 Noon to 4pm : if you are in a position to attend , we ask that you please do so.
Thanks,
Sharon.

1169 And Counting : An award-nominated Irish blog on Irish history and Irish politics - from today and yesterday : all 32 Counties !

2011-08-03T15:17:00.001Z
LAW IN DISORDER.......

The state trumpets every drugs seizure as a major victory over the barons. But the war against drugs is really a murky world characterised by botched operations , questionable use of informers and ego-driven squabbles between the Garda Siochana and customs officials.
Mairead Carey gets the inside story.
From 'MAGILL' magazine , August 2002.

Garda Jack Doyle had been working as an ordinary uniformed garda in Blarney , Cork , when he was approached by Edward Keating , a former British soldier and firearms enthusiast , who offered to pass on information about the criminal underworld in Cork : Doyle contacted his superiors and, before long, Keating was hired as a paid Garda informant , supervised by Garda Supt Dermot Dwyer.

In March 1995 , Garda HQ approved his first 'controlled delivery' - one hundred kilos of cannabis were brought in through Ringaskiddy , packed into suitcases in the boot of a hired Opel Vectra car. They were brought to Anglesea Street Garda barracks where they were kept for three days , then handed back to the gang. By arrangement , Edward Keating brought the drugs to Inishannon wood , where gardai later arrested three men picking up the drugs. Thirty kilos were seized - the remaining 70 kilos were found in a follow-up operation. It was hailed as a major victory against the drug barons.

The second operation took place on 5th April 1995 : Keating , according to Garda Jack Doyle , had been given assurances that he would have a free run . There was supposed to be Customs clearance , but Doyle was informed that there had been a change of plan because Customs apparently wouldn't 'play ball' . A senior garda had called to his counterpart in the Revenue Commissioners the night before and had explained what was happening but , on moral grounds, Revenue said they could not allow it to go ahead. But the operation did go ahead nonetheless.......
(MORE LATER).

THE PETER BERRY PAPERS....... The Top Secret Memoirs of Ireland's Most Powerful Civil Servant : Dirty Tricks, Election '69/ Spying on a Unionist Politician/ Keeping the (State) Taoiseach informed/ The Garda Fallon Murder/ Advice to Jack Lynch- 'Fire the pair of them...'/ Vivion De Valera's advice to O'Malley/ Rumours of a Coup D'Etat/ The Internment Plot, November 1970/ Secret Meeting with William Craig.
From 'MAGILL' magazine , June 1980.

" I urged the Minister to convey the information to the Taoiseach , saying that, inevitably, it would get a wider circulation in police circles and, perhaps , reach his ears indirectly. The Minister said that he would like to give the matter further thought , that the allegations were of the most serious kind and he hesitated to be the harbinger of such bad news.

I said that I shared his dismay but that I felt that the information should be passed on so that if it were untrue or exaggerated it could be refuted.

It occured to me, of course , that the Minister had already told the Taoioseach who would not want it known that he knew, except in the tightest of circles. The Minister was quite obviously not in good health from January onwards and it was very difficult to get him to do ordinary Departmental work - additionally, he was having difficulty in the staffing and functioning of his solicitor's practice in Castlebar and he was trying to exercise control day by day from Dublin......."
(MORE LATER).

3/8 - 188 YEARS AGO......

On August 3rd , 188 years ago to the day , 48-year-old Daniel O'Connell - misnomered 'The Liberator' , as he did not, as the name would suggest, 'liberate' this country from British misrule (which has still to be done) but rather due to the fact that the majority of the country's population at that time considered O'Connell to be liberating them from political irrelevance - founded 'The Catholic Association'.
This new organisation grew rapidly , as 'associate membership' cost only one penny a month which was affordable to small land-owners , those that worked for them , the many who had no jobs or land , the so-called 'middle class' and even the Catholic Clergy - all of whom either joined or strongly supported 'The Catholic Association' , quickly ensuring that, with tens of thousands of members and associate members, Daniel O'Connell became a man to be reckoned with. And the British - masters at 'people-reckoning' - quickly came to realise that O'Connell would only use "moral force" to achieve what he termed "...repeal of the Union.. " and, even then ,they knew he favoured the island of Ireland remaining as a unit governed by the British 'Monarchy'.
In actual fact , O'Connell worked within British 'law' with a vow NOT to use force against the British : the latter , of course , impose no such restriction on themselves....

On the same day that O'Connell founded 'The Catholic Association' - 3rd August 1823 , 188 years ago to the day - a baby boy was born to the Meagher family in Waterford : this child was to dedicate twenty-four of his forty-four years on this earth to challenging British mis-rule in Ireland .......
Thanks for reading,
Sharon.

1169 And Counting : An award-nominated Irish blog on Irish history and Irish politics - from today and yesterday : all 32 Counties !

2011-08-01T17:23:00.000Z
BEWARE THE SELF-SERVING 'MONGO's'*.......

Natural / 'man'-made disasters , scenes of 'famine' (whether real or enforced) , television pictures of thousands of hungry , homeless people fleeing vast areas because of on-going strife and/or so-called 'civil war' , adult and child survivors of forced amputation etc - all accompanied by a serious-sounding voice-over person pleading with the readers/listeners/viewers to 'give generously...'
-but perhaps by so doing you could be prolonging the suffering ?

'A vast industry has grown up around humanitarian aid: a cavalcade of organizations--some 37,000--compete for a share of the $160 billion annual prize, with "fact-inflation" sometimes ramping up disaster coverage to draw in more funds. Insurgents and warring governments, meanwhile, have made aid a permanent feature of military strategy...'
(Here and here.)

"In case after case, a persuasive argument can be made that, over-all, humanitarian aid did as much or even more harm than good..."
-Philip Gourevitch, 'The New Yorker'.

However : not all those asking you for financial assistance are intent on ripping you off : CABHAIR is a charitable organisation, solely dependant on public subscriptions, which was established in early 1987 for "...the relief of cases of distress arising out of republican activity.." and can be contacted here.

As our regular readers know , we never ask for money and this post is no different : we are not looking for funds for ourselves but are asking you to donate whatever spare funds you can afford to the CABHAIR organisation to help the families of Irish Republican prisoners to meet their financial commitments. All monies donated will go directly to those families , with no administration costs being deducted.
Thanks for reading,
Sharon.
(*My Own Non-Governmental Organisation.)

1169 And Counting : An award-nominated Irish blog on Irish history and Irish politics - from today and yesterday : all 32 Counties !

2011-07-30T20:00:00.000Z
IRELAND 1871 : EVICTIONS , THE 'WESTMEATH ACT' AND THE BIRTH OF A CHILD TO THE SMYTH FAMILY IN LONGFORD....

In 1871 in Ireland , as evictions were being carried-out on a large scale , the British Parliament in Westminster realised that, as ever, there were still armed groups in Ireland that were not prepared to accept the genocidal diktat from the British as to how or, indeed, whether , they should live or die : amongst the measures employed by the British to destroy the Irish Rebels was the 'Westmeath Act' , which became 'law' in that year (1871)and which encouraged "....the arrest and detention without trial of persons reasonably suspected of membership in a secret society....."
Into this turmoil , a child was born to the Smyth family in Longford - a son , Patrick , who grew-up to be a good 'loyal subject of the crown' and , as such, wanted to 'serve queen and country' : he joined the 'Dublin Metropolitan Police' (seen here trying to drive striking workers off the streets of Dublin during the '1913 Lockout') and rose to the rank of 'Detective Sergeant' , and was known to viciously detest Irish Rebels of any class , creed or gender : he took particular delight in harassing Irish Republicans and , following the 1916 Easter Rising - which he appeared to have taken as a personal slight - he 'upped the ante' regarding his outright hatred of all things 'anti British' to the extent that he was warned by Irish Republicans to cease his activities against them - but he refused to do so.
On this day 92 years ago - 30th July 1919 - Detective Sergeant Patrick Smyth , having spent the day and evening 'serving queen and country' , returned to his home , alive, for the last time.......
Thanks for reading ,
Sharon.

1169 And Counting : An award-nominated Irish blog on Irish history and Irish politics - from today and yesterday : all 32 Counties !

2011-07-27T19:35:00.000Z
LAW IN DISORDER.......

The state trumpets every drugs seizure as a major victory over the barons. But the war against drugs is really a murky world characterised by botched operations , questionable use of informers and ego-driven squabbles between the Garda Siochana and customs officials.
Mairead Carey gets the inside story.
From 'MAGILL' magazine , August 2002.

In relation to the incident at Dublin Airpoprt , Det Sgt Denis Palmer said he was "horrified" to learn that Declan Griffin was caught with drugs , and was only there to meet him to get information about an unrelated crime. The jury of eight men and four women took just over an hour to reach a unanimous decision in the case : Griffin was acquitted.

Meanwhile , down in Cork , Customs had become aware of another operation where gardai were running a drugs courier who worked for one of the city's most notorious criminals , Tommy O' Callaghan: their concerns about the activities of Garda informant Edward Keating were raised at the highest level with the Garda but Garda HQ was well aware of what was going on - a garda from Blarney , Jack Doyle, had already raised the matter with senior officers in Dublin , so concerned was he that large amounts of drugs as well as firearms were reaching the streets in an operation which had been designed but had failed to catch Tommy O' Callaghan.

Garda Doyle had secretly recorded tapes of conversations with the informant Eddie Keating , who was the 'transportation manager' for O' Callaghan's drug gang , and handed the tapes over to the senior officers in the hope that they would carry out an internal investigation. Garda Doyle was then 'retired' from the force , on the grounds that he was mentally unfit to carry out his duties : he believes his forced retirement was a means of discrediting his story.......
(MORE LATER).

THE PETER BERRY PAPERS....... The Top Secret Memoirs of Ireland's Most Powerful Civil Servant : Dirty Tricks, Election '69/ Spying on a Unionist Politician/ Keeping the (State) Taoiseach informed/ The Garda Fallon Murder/ Advice to Jack Lynch- 'Fire the pair of them...'/ Vivion De Valera's advice to O'Malley/ Rumours of a Coup D'Etat/ The Internment Plot, November 1970/ Secret Meeting with William Craig.
From 'MAGILL' magazine , June 1980.

" In Captain Kelly's book "Orders For The Captain" the action in this case is described (page 12) as "...a continuation of this 'softly softly' approach.." whereas the exact opposite was the intention , the Government's - or at least the Taoiseach's - desire that it should be seen publicly that the 'Twenty Six'-side of the Border could not be used for violent purposes in the Six Counties."

MID-JANUARY 1970 :

" I told the Minister that I had learnt from Mr Ward (the Assistant Secretary) of the Commissioner's visit on December 10th , 1969 , and of his instruction to the Commissioner to have further checks as to the authenticity of the information. I told him that I had spoken to the Commissioner that morning and that he had assured me that the information had been checked immediately after 10th December and that it stood up.

I had asked the Commissioner why had he not reported back and he said that he thought that the initiative for another meeting should lie with the Minister - I was not satisfied with this , as it seemed to me that there was an anxiety on both sides to let the matter die......."
(MORE LATER).

BRENDAN LILLIS , MAGHABERRY AND BUNDORAN....

Brendan Lillis , dying in prison....

Call for the immediate release of Brendan Lillis :in a statement on July 18 last, the POW Department of Republican Sinn Féin called for the immediate release of a seriously ill Republican prisoner in Maghaberry jail, Co Antrim.

"The continued incarceration of Republican prisoner Brendan Lillis in Maghaberry jail in Co Antrim is just further proof of the bloody-mindedness of the British state to Irish political prisoners.

When Brendan Lillis was arrested and charged his licence was revoked. Yet when the charges against him were dropped he was not released. If the charges were genuine then he would surely have been taken before the Diplock court - as is considered "normal" by the British state. But the charges were not proceeded with, and yet Brendan Lillis is still in Maghaberry.

Brendan has been very ill for some time and is now just five and a half stone in weight. To continue to keep him is jail constitutes cruel and inhuman treatment.

Republican Sinn Fein calls for the immediate release of Brendan Lillis, if for no other reason than on humanitarian grounds. To continue to keep him in jail is nothing other than vindictive".
Josephine Hayden
Republican Sinn Fein POW Department
223 Parnell Street
Dublin 1.

Maghaberry Jail , Antrim.

POWs refuse to accept criminalisation policy :

"The situation in Maghaberry jail has worsened over the last several months
while David Ford, British minister of justice in the Stormont regime sat on a report that would solve the impasse in the jail. For eight months this report has been with Ford, and no doubt his bosses the First and Second Ministers Peter Robinson and Martin McGuinness, but he has refused to act on it and tries to justify his inaction by blaming the Republican prisoners.

The full-body humiliating and unnecessary strip search of the POWs is a major stumbling block to bringing about a conclusion to the protest and a major one in the commencement of this action by the POWs. The men were driven to take such drastic measures because they refuse to accept the British Government policy of criminalisation. A policy that was discredited by hundreds of POWs culminating in the deaths of Bobby Sands and his nine comrades in the H-Blocks in 1981.
For the past 13 days, (the ‘dirty’ protest commenced on June 5 last, alarmingly reminiscent of the notorious H-Block conditions) the prisoners have been locked-down 24-hours a day and were refused visits because of their refusal to be classified as criminals, similar to the stand taken by Bobby Sands and his comrades. Relatives are now being victimised and used to add extra pressure on the prisoners, including the ending of all visits until they capitulate on their principled protest.

The POWs are not allowed out of their cells even for a shower or exercise in the yard. They have been living in a ‘tomb’ for two weeks and it looks likely to continue. Everything except their mattress has been removed from the cells. The BOSS chair is a modern device which scans the prisoner’s body for concealed items without the POW having to be forcibly stripped naked and one is in use within the prison already. However in a bazaar twist, prisoners leaving and entering the prison, whether to courts or hospital, are still subjected to this vile naked body search. What is the rationale?
There is a hidden agenda here. Is it policy or disguised sectarianism?

The answer may lie in the mindset of the prison administration, the warders, all the way up to the British Government itself. The day–to-day running of the jail is done almost exclusively by men and women of a loyalist/unionist mindset with the express purpose of making life as difficult as possible for the Republican POWs. The very same mindset pertained at the time of the H-Blocks.

This, the 30th Anniversary of the H-Block Martyrs, is a grave indictment of the British and Stormont authorities that they still continue with the attempted criminalisation of Irish Republican political prisoners."

Issued by Josephine Hayden
POW Department
Republican Sinn Féin
223 Parnell Street
Dublin 1.

Bundoran Commemoration , Saturday 27th August 2011 , Donegal.

Show your support for Irish Republican Prisoners and for the Cause of Irish Republicanism.....
Thanks,
Sharon.

1169 And Counting : An award-nominated Irish blog on Irish history and Irish politics - from today and yesterday : all 32 Counties !

2011-07-20T13:32:00.000Z
LAW IN DISORDER.......

The state trumpets every drugs seizure as a major victory over the barons. But the war against drugs is really a murky world characterised by botched operations , questionable use of informers and ego-driven squabbles between the Garda Siochana and customs officials.
Mairead Carey gets the inside story.
From 'MAGILL' magazine , August 2002.

When the case came to court three years later , Declan Griffin pleaded not guilty to the charges of possession with intent to supply and importing heroin and ecstasy at Dublin Airport.

He told the Dublin Circuit Criminal Court that the importation of the drugs from Amsterdam had been cleared by his Garda 'handler' , Detective Sergeant Denis Palmer. When he was arrested and brought to Santry Garda Station , Griffin said he waited for Detective Sergeant Palmer to turn up "....and sort it all out , but when I saw the gates of Mountjoy Jail I realised Denis was not going to save me now, he's thrown me to the wolves to try and save himself...".

He told the court that his association with Palmer had begun in 1993 when he was arrested by gardai from Coolock station : Palmer had released him on £1000 cash bail and , Griffin claimed , the detective said that he would "look after" the charges against him . Those charges were dropped in exchange for information on petty crime. Palmer told the court that he and his colleagues believed there was insufficient evidence to warrant a prosecution, but agreed that he was wrong not to have contacted the DPP about dropping the charges.......
(MORE LATER).

THE PETER BERRY PAPERS....... The Top Secret Memoirs of Ireland's Most Powerful Civil Servant : Dirty Tricks, Election '69/ Spying on a Unionist Politician/ Keeping the (State) Taoiseach informed/ The Garda Fallon Murder/ Advice to Jack Lynch- 'Fire the pair of them...'/ Vivion De Valera's advice to O'Malley/ Rumours of a Coup D'Etat/ The Internment Plot, November 1970/ Secret Meeting with William Craig.
From 'MAGILL' magazine , June 1980.

" I did not know then and I was not to know until the arms trial in September 1970 of the Fort Dunree episode in the last week of September 1969 in which , with the approval of the Minister for Defence , a number of men from the Six Counties were taken into the FCA for training with rifled weapons - a course which was immediately cancelled when brought to the Taoiseach's notice.

Twenty-four hours later Mr Haughey was on the phone to me , furiously enquiring who had given the Gardai the "stupid" direction to arrest these men , and I told him that the decision came from the very top and he asked 'do you mean the Taoiseach?' and I said yes. I recapped what had happened and said that I had no doubt that when the defendants were before the court the indictable charges would be thrown out but that a new complication might arise if the defendants refused to recognise the court and were held to be in contempt , that for this they could be committed.

His language was not of the kind usually heard in church - he said that he would ensure that there would be no contempt. Subsequently , I consulted the Attorney General who, after consultation with the Taoiseach, instructed the local State Solicitor to appear at the District Court proceedings and the men were let go , but their weapons were held......."
(MORE LATER).

PAT CANNON COMMEMORATION , DUBLIN - SATURDAY 23rd JULY 2011 , BALGRIFFIN CEMETERY.

Pat Cannon (left) and Peter McElchar.

On Saturday 17th July 1976, two IRA Volunteers on active service - Patrick Cannon from Dublin and Peter McElchar from Donegal - set out in a car in which they were transporting an explosive device. They crossed the border from Donegal into Tyrone and were approaching the town of Castlederg when the device exploded prematurely. It was about 2.15pm.
Peter McElchar was killed instantly. Patrick Cannon was gravely injured and was taken to Tyrone County Hospital in Omagh. He was being transferred to hospital in Belfast when he died....

The Patrick Cannon Commemoration will be held on Saturday , 23rd July 2011 , at 1pm ; the assembly point is at the Cemetery gates. Bus number 42 from Dublin City Centre will get you there!

1169 And Counting : An award-nominated Irish blog on Irish history and Irish politics - from today and yesterday : all 32 Counties !

2011-07-13T12:57:00.000Z
LAW IN DISORDER.......

The state trumpets every drugs seizure as a major victory over the barons. But the war against drugs is really a murky world characterised by botched operations , questionable use of informers and ego-driven squabbles between the Garda Siochana and customs officials.
Mairead Carey gets the inside story.
From 'MAGILL' magazine , August 2002.

Almost a year after the Urlingford operation , a secret Customs dossier was reported stolen from Lord Edward Street in Dublin where Customs are based ; the documents ended up in the hands of anti-drugs activists in the city , and were also leaked to a number of journalists.

They contained details of Customs' internal investigation into the goings-on at Urlingford , but also contained details of the Declan Griffin case , where Customs were concerned about the modus operandi of the Garda.

It was Christmas week 1995 , six weeks after Urlingford , when Customs officials pulled 29-year-old Declan Griffin over as he made his way through the 'Blue Channel' at Dublin Airport : in his bags they found four packages , wrapped in black tape , which contained three kilos of heroin and over 2,000 ecstasy tablets with a street value of over one million Irish Punts. Outside in 'Arrivals' , Detective Garda Denis Palmer was waiting for Griffin . Customs hadn't been informed of any 'controlled delivery'.......
(MORE LATER).

THE PETER BERRY PAPERS....... The Top Secret Memoirs of Ireland's Most Powerful Civil Servant : Dirty Tricks, Election '69/ Spying on a Unionist Politician/ Keeping the (State) Taoiseach informed/ The Garda Fallon Murder/ Advice to Jack Lynch- 'Fire the pair of them...'/ Vivion De Valera's advice to O'Malley/ Rumours of a Coup D'Etat/ The Internment Plot, November 1970/ Secret Meeting with William Craig.
From 'MAGILL' magazine , June 1980.

DECEMBER 29th 1969 :

" I received a phone call late one evening from Gardai HQ to say that a group of men armed with rifled weapons had been arrested by uniformed Gardai in a disused house near the Border in County Donegal . Instructions were sought , so I informed the Minister.

He telephoned me back soon afterwards to say that he had consulted the Taoiseach and that they (a barrister and a solicitor) wanted to know what charges could be preferred and with what consequences. I replied that there were several courses open : (1) let them go , they had surrendered peacefully although they outnumbered the Gardai three to one, but their weapons could be confiscated / (2) they could be charged with unlawful possession of firearms which was a summary offence usually punishable with a fine of one Irish Punt - I mentioned that they could not be held in custody on this charge / (3) if it was the desire to hold them in custody it would be necessary to prefer charges of unlawful possession of firearms with intent to endanger life or property but , I added, while they could be held temporarily that charge could not be made stick when they were brought to Court.

The Minister telephoned back - the Taoiseach wants to throw the book at them , the indictable charges are to be preferred and they are to be lodged in Mountjoy Prison. I gave the necessary instructions and this seemed to indicate to me that the Taoiseach wanted it to be seen publicly that the Government would not tolerate any activity connected with violence......."
(MORE LATER).

"FOOL ME ONCE......

.....SHAME ON YOU......

......FOOL ME TWICE....

.....SHAME ON ME."

And that , in a nutshell , is what this is all about : a majority of people in Roscommon (and,probably, elsewhere in this IMF State...) are disgusted with the Leinster House politicians they voted for in the 'General Election' which was held here on Friday 25th February last , because the Fine Gael and Labour candidates that were elected in Roscommon have renaged on election promises made during the campaign in relation to Roscommon Hospital.

"Here we go again; as they appear from the wood work
Promising and speaking party rhetoric and waffle
Their wholesome and goodness act makes me irk
With minders in tow, through towns they waddle.

All on offer, their coffers now open
Shaking hands, kissing babies and pretending to listen
Hospitals, roads and schools, their voices will deafen
Be wary of promises that sparkle and glisten......"
(From here.)

But.....

.....in the opinion of those of us who put this blog together , that anger is mis-placed : those voters should , first and foremost , be angry , sickened and disgusted with themselves for believing those promises and for voting accordingly : the politicians who fooled them were only doing what comes naturally to them (ie "...tell 'em what they want to hear...") and should be only second 'in line' to be held to account ; the top of that queue should be reserved for those amongst the Roscommon protestors who , in February last , actually voted for the same politicians they are now protesting against !

And , at the next chance they get , those same voters/protestors will fall for it again and elect a 'different' political snake-oil salesperson , possibly from Fianna Fail , the Greens , Provisional Sinn Féin or some other politically-warped outfit.....

.....which is why we advocated a 'N.O.T.A.' vote in that 'General Election' and will more than likely be doing so again on the next occasion. Those with a vested interest will tell you that such a vote '....is a wasted opportunity..' but , in our opinion, the real 'wasted opportunity' is in not voting against all of those who want into Leinster House to maintain this corrupt political system and make a very comfortable living for themselves at the same time , at your expense.
Thanks for reading,
Sharon.

1169 And Counting : An award-nominated Irish blog on Irish history and Irish politics - from today and yesterday : all 32 Counties !

2011-07-06T21:00:00.000Z
LAW IN DISORDER.......

The state trumpets every drugs seizure as a major victory over the barons. But the war against drugs is really a murky world characterised by botched operations , questionable use of informers and ego-driven squabbles between the Garda Siochana and customs officials.
Mairead Carey gets the inside story.
From 'MAGILL' magazine , August 2002.

The Urlingford issue marked a new low in the relationship between Customs and the Garda , but there was more to come : Customs documents stolen from Dublin Castle and leaked to the media highlighted concerns about other cases in Dublin.

They were also worried about the Garda dealings with a side-kick of the Cork drug lord , Tommy O' Callaghan , concerns which were also raised by a former member of the Garda , Jack Doyle . Today , the two agencies are still involved in a turf war - customs officers throughout the country (sic) say relations with their Garda counterparts are as bad as ever , if not worse.

The two forces are supposed to work together , share intelligence and share the spoils in the fight against drugs but customs officers complain that the information is given on a one-way basis only , and they point to two major Garda seizures of drugs and cigarettes in the last six weeks to prove their point.......
(MORE LATER).

THE PETER BERRY PAPERS....... The Top Secret Memoirs of Ireland's Most Powerful Civil Servant : Dirty Tricks, Election '69/ Spying on a Unionist Politician/ Keeping the (State) Taoiseach informed/ The Garda Fallon Murder/ Advice to Jack Lynch- 'Fire the pair of them...'/ Vivion De Valera's advice to O'Malley/ Rumours of a Coup D'Etat/ The Internment Plot, November 1970/ Secret Meeting with William Craig.
From 'MAGILL' magazine , June 1980.

" Knowing the Commissioner as well as I did I would regard it as entirely out of character for him to give such an expression of opinion and I do not think that he would go any farther than not to demur from an expression of opinion from the Minister.

It was known to me , of course , that it was known to Mr Wymes that he owed his appointment as Assistant Commissioner to Mr Haughey ; he was about twentieth in the order of seniority in 1963 and was not the nominee of the then Commissioner , Mr Costigan. Likewise , Mr Wymes was aware that he was not favoured by the then Minister for Justice , Mr Lenihan - when the question of selecting a successor to Mr Carroll was raised in March 1968 - and that it was largely due to Mr Haughey that he was given the post of Commissioner.

In such circumstances it would have been only natural that Mr Wymes should hope against hope - as I did myself - that the police information was not true in relation to Mr Haughey, or that at least whatever he was doing was Government policy......."

(MORE LATER).

LAST EVER POST ABOUT OUR 2011 NEW YORK HOLIDAY for now, anyway......
The 'Search And Destroy' alternative fashion store , East Village , New York - they tell it , and sell it , like it is......!

As you may have guessed (!) , I'm having a very hard time putting our recent New York holiday behind us and those of you who have been there for a holiday will understand why that is , whereas those of you who haven't probably won't have a clue as to why I am still in mourning.... :-(

.....however - I couldn't let the holiday pass without mentioning one of our best shopping experiences , in a rather racy establishment , pictured above , where Lady Gaga , amongst other famous people , can regularly be found : but a word of caution for those who would be what I consider reserved/prudish - shop elsewhere !

It's worth buying something - anything ! - in this shop , just to get your hands on one of their plastic bags :

.....now you know why I told you it is a "rather racy" store - but it's a brilliant experience. Just like the City itself....
Thanks for reading - I hope to have the NYC 'bug' out of my system in the next few days.....

1169 And Counting : An award-nominated Irish blog on Irish history and Irish politics - from today and yesterday : all 32 Counties !

2011-07-01T14:31:00.000Z
HOLIDAYS AND SHOPPING OVER , NEW YORK NOT TOO BADLY DAMAGED......!

Breathless and empty : we are all breathlessly exhausted and our purses are empty - but we'd head back to NYC in the morning if we could !
We had an unbelievable two weeks in Manhattan , Queens , the Bronx , the Bowery , Hells Kitchen , Brooklyn and all points in between (!) and , of course , in New Jersey , in the ginormous shopping outlet that is Jersey Gardens - which we had to visit twice , such was the sheer volume of the clothes etc etc that the five of us purchased : it was just simply physically impossible to transport all our bags back to base in Queens in the one trip !
Our friends , colleagues and comrades in New York - Frankie , Shay , Mal , Kev , Lizzie , Sue , Beth , Tara and Coleen , to name but a few, spoiled us something rotten : between them all , the five of us had the free use of new apartments in Queens and the Bronx , and separate storage space (badly needed and much appreciated!) in the Bowery District plus - and a special 'Go Raibh Maith Agat Go Léir' to Charlie - the free use of a mini-bus and driver for the two weeks !
We publish with this post a few pics of our travels ,but there are some other pics from same which must never see the light of day....
;-)!

Myself and the girls pictured on one of our many raids on a Manhattan shop.....!

One of two venues we didn't visit.....

....and the other one !

A corridor in Jersey Gardens named in our honour...!

Hot Dogs made even us 'Cool Cats' thirsty !

Thousands turned out to say 'Goodbye/Good Buy' to us...!

That's it for now , Readers - we will be back 'properly' (!) on Wednesday 6th July 2011 ; in the meantime , here's a good blog that should keep you going until then....
Slán go foill anois ,
Sharon and Crew.

1169 And Counting : An award-nominated Irish blog on Irish history and Irish politics - from today and yesterday : all 32 Counties !

2011-06-08T22:51:00.000Z
LAW IN DISORDER.......

The state trumpets every drugs seizure as a major victory over the barons. But the war against drugs is really a murky world characterised by botched operations , questionable use of informers and ego-driven squabbles between the Garda Siochana and customs officials.
Mairead Carey gets the inside story.
From 'MAGILL' magazine , August 2002.

RTE News had come and gone , leaving Customs to comment that the operation seemed to be stage-managed by the Garda. They assumed that the RTE correspondent was given ample notice earlier that day to be present for the Urlingford seizure. At first , the Garda claimed that the seizure of £130 million worth of cannabis resin was intercepted by them , but it soon became apparent that they had brought it in themselves. No criminals turned up to meet the consignment.

Nonetheless , the government of the day hailed the operation as a major success , an example of co-operation between the Garda , Customs and the Naval Service : nothing could have been further from the truth.

Fianna Fail , the main opposition at the time , shied away from the debacle - only the PD's , and most notably current Justice Minister Michael McDowell, insisted on raising awkward questions about the Garda operation. The public , he said, was entitled to know whether the Garda had standing authority to land huge amounts of drugs in the State without prior ministerial sanction.......
(MORE LATER).

THE PETER BERRY PAPERS....... The Top Secret Memoirs of Ireland's Most Powerful Civil Servant : Dirty Tricks, Election '69/ Spying on a Unionist Politician/ Keeping the (State) Taoiseach informed/ The Garda Fallon Murder/ Advice to Jack Lynch- 'Fire the pair of them...'/ Vivion De Valera's advice to O'Malley/ Rumours of a Coup D'Etat/ The Internment Plot, November 1970/ Secret Meeting with William Craig.
From 'MAGILL' magazine , June 1980.

" As my Assistant Secretary , Andy Ward, said to me - 'How lack of information on this simple point cast doubts on the validity generally of the police information is a strange conclusion for the Minister to make'. It is evident at any rate , from the Minister's own mouth, that before 10th December he was aware of the situation and that the subject matter to be discussed with the Commissioner and Chief Supt. Fleming was no surprise.

It was subsequently learned in the Department of Justice that no note was made of what transpired at the interview but the Commissioner supplied , on request by me in May 1970 , a photostat copy of an aide memoire written by Mr. Fleming on a foolscap sheet of paper which, according to the Commissioner , Mr. Fleming read to the Minister and then handed it to the Minister to read.

In the months January to April when the Minister resigned , neither the Minister nor the Commissioner ever expressed doubts to me as to Chief Supt. Fleming's source of information. I find it all the more extraordinary that either or both individuals should entertain doubts in view of the facts regarding the promotion in the previous week of Mr. Fleming (from the rank of Superintendent to Chief Superintendent) and the positive action taken in 1968 to give him consultative assistance.......
(MORE LATER).

WHICH SIDE ARE YOU ON......?

Turn on your speakers ,take a look , and make up your mind.....

DOUBLE-UP SUNDAY.....

This Sunday , 12th June 2011 , RSF in Dublin will be dividing its 'personpower' between two events : The Annual Wolfe Tone Commemoration in Bodenstown and the Monthly Raffle : we wish the team in Bodenstown every success (and good weather!) - but we won't be there , as this blog crew and three others have been 'seconded' to work inside a dry hotel , with an operational bar (!) to 'run' the Raffle. But sure we don't mind 'roughing' it...... ;-)

HAPPY HOLIDAYS.... !
As previously mentioned - once or twice before (!) - myself and four other girls are off very soon now for a wee two-week break in the shopping outlets and in-and-around the Fifth Avenue area of New York City and , as such , this will be our last post until early July 2011 . We hope you will miss us as much as we will miss you but one thing we won't miss is the shopping outlets in-and-around ..... etc !
See you when we get back - stay good , and stay true : slán go fóill anois.
Thanks,
Sharon.

1169 And Counting : An award-nominated Irish blog on Irish history and Irish politics - from today and yesterday : all 32 Counties !

2011-06-04T21:30:00.000Z
PRIORITIES....

....we should keep events in perspective.

Our regular readers will be aware that myself and four other girls are due to fly out in the next few days for a two-week holiday in New York ; this is not our first holiday in NYC , so we are well aware of just how good a break it is. All five of us work fulltime , have children (and all the responsibilities and expenses that accompany them !) and we have been saving-up for this holiday for the past six months. Due to the generosity of good friends and comrades 'over there' , we had obtained the use of an apartment in the Bronx , for one week , and another apartment had been gifted to us in Queens for our second week - all free of charge , which is how we could afford to stay for two weeks. Also , we had secured 'storage space' elsewhere , again FOC , for our shopping because , as you can imagine , five young Ladies , with money , in NYC equals bags and bags of 'Goodies' !
It now looks like we won't be going , as an industrial dispute seems set to put paid to our escapade - so the five of us had a 'meeting' today to discuss developments and , not surprising - as we are friends that share more than a liking for just shopping and sight-seeing in NYC - all five of us were instantly in agreement that our holiday is less important than the rights of workers.
Management in Aer Lingus are attempting to force new terms and conditions on their workforce and those employees are attempting to fight back , to defend and hold-on to their present work practices , using the only 'weapon' they have at their disposal - their labour.
We fully support those workers , and urge them not to be swayed by their management , the media or , indeed , by their own Union , should it come to that , into giving up the fight : pressure will be applied on them to do so , they will be shouted at in relation to 'how lucky they are to have a job in the first place' etc and they will be projected to the public by anti-worker/right-wing elements as 'troublemakers' : the anti-trade union 'establishment' will attempt to present them as 'ungrateful' and 'greedy' etc but , for what it's worth - here are five members of the public , five Aer Lingus customers , five working-class women , advising you , the Aer Lingus workforce , to stand firm : fight for your right, fight 'to hold what you have' , fight to improve on that which you already have - in our opinion , the outcome of your fight will have much wider consequences for other workers , as their management/boss/owner attempts to increase the profit margin by reducing , financially , that which they pay out in wages etc.
Although the five of us are disappointed that we probably won't get away for our two-week break - having booked holidays from our jobs , arranged for baby-sitters , cancelled the milk (!) etc , we recognise that our holiday was a short-term gain , for us , whereas your needs , as workers , are greater ,in the longterm, for society as a whole : so persevere , Aer Lingus workers - don't let yourselves be traded cheaply. You have support 'out here' from those of us who have our perspectives in order.
Thanks for reading ,
Sharon.

1169 And Counting : An award-nominated Irish blog on Irish history and Irish politics - from today and yesterday : all 32 Counties !

2011-06-01T18:06:00.002Z
LAW IN DISORDER.......

The state trumpets every drugs seizure as a major victory over the barons. But the war against drugs is really a murky world characterised by botched operations , questionable use of informers and ego-driven squabbles between the Garda Siochana and customs officials.
Mairead Carey gets the inside story.
From 'MAGILL' magazine , August 2002.

When Customs questioned the skipper of the Castletownbere trawler , he said he was working for the Garda , and the Customs officers informed their superiors. At a meeting at Garda HQ later that day , senior customs officers were told that a drugs operation was going down and , the following day, another meeting was held between the two where details of the operation were given.

Customs were told that after landing in Castletownbere , the drugs had been loaded on to a container and moved to a warehouse in Galway - the customs officers expressed concern at not being informed.

The following day gardai complained that a leak to the 'Cork Examiner' newspaper was causing serious operational difficulties , and stressed that they wanted the operation to be finished by that evening. The 'knock' location would be on the Galway to Dublin Road , they said - two customs officers waited in Athlone for word from the Garda about the exact location and , at 2.40pm , they were contacted by gardai to say the operation was going down in Urlingford but , by the time they arrived, the operation was well over.......
(MORE LATER).

THE PETER BERRY PAPERS....... The Top Secret Memoirs of Ireland's Most Powerful Civil Servant : Dirty Tricks, Election '69/ Spying on a Unionist Politician/ Keeping the (State) Taoiseach informed/ The Garda Fallon Murder/ Advice to Jack Lynch- 'Fire the pair of them...'/ Vivion De Valera's advice to O'Malley/ Rumours of a Coup D'Etat/ The Internment Plot, November 1970/ Secret Meeting with William Craig.
From 'MAGILL' magazine , June 1980.

EARLY DECEMBER 1969 :

" I phoned the Commissioner that it would be in the interests of all concerned that he , as Commissioner, should make a formal report to the Minister of the information that had been given to him by the head of the Special Branch as to the involvement of Ministers with the IRA in arms trafficing ; the Commissioner did not express any doubts to me then or at any other time that he had reservations about the sources of the information or the authenticity of the information itself so that it came as a surprise to me to read Mr O Morain's evidence at Para. 11774 of Booklet 28 in which he said to the CPA on 15th June 1971 -

"The source is a source that was not reporting direct to his [Chief Supt. Fleming's] section at all (this was untrue) and a source which was regarded as very doubtful by Commissioner Wymes and myself..." .

The Minister saw the Commissioner and Chief Supt. Fleming on this date at the Commissioner's request. I did not become aware that the visit had actually taken place until I was so informed by my Assistant Secretary , Mr Andy Ward (now Secretary) , in January , when he told me that the Minister had remarked to him that Chief Supt. Fleming had been unable to tell him the occupation of 'Jock' (Padraigh) Haughey (Charlie's brother) and on that account he doubted the general authenticity of the police information......."
(MORE LATER).

'ROYALTY' - A LICENCE TO KILL .......?

Whilst we on this humble blog are still trying to come to terms with the dreadful and disgusting shows of 'affection' and cap-doffing by Irish people in this 'republic' to a British 'queen' who colony-hopped her way over to us last month , we almost forgot to look at the whole 'royal' scenario from a different angle ie the manner in which they see themselves .

Our attention was drawn to the actions of a then 34-year-old member of the Saudi 'royal family' , who goes by the name 'Saud Abdulaziz bin Nasser al Saud' and who , like 'royals' the world over , had a 'Staff' working for him : his 'manservant' , a Mr. Bandar Abdulaziz , then 32, was found battered to death in a London hotel in February 2010 - the British 'Old Bailey' heard that the 'manservant' had '...been murdered in a sexual attack...' committed by his 'Master'....' . The 'butler' had been beaten and strangled , and had bite marks on his face, but his 'royal' boss denied murdering him , although he did admit to manslaughter and to one count of causing him grevious bodily harm , with intent!

The 'royal' Saudi 'prince' assaulted the 'manservant' before he died , but denied being in a gay relationship with him , even though he had been receiving 'visits' from what were termed 'gay escorts' at the hotel. During the 'trial' , CCTV footage was shown in which the 'royal prince' could be clearly seen repeatedly kicking and punching his 'manservant' in the lift of the hotel and reports at the time suggested that Mr. Abdulaziz was 'barely tolerated' by his Saudi boss and had the demeanor of one so demeaned.
It seems obvious that so-called 'royalty' , whether British or Saudi is , due no doubt in large part to the 'reality cushion' afforded it by the nature of how society perceives it and by its ill-gotten wealth , considers that it is a law on to itself and is set apart from the moral guidelines which should govern 'normal' interaction between people - and , having observed the various 'toadies' in this State that couldn't wait to curtsy , bow and scrape in front of or , indeed, in the mere presence of a 'royal' - it is not surprising that the 'royal elite' eventually , sooner rather than later , come to see themselves as being entitled to such 'reverence'.
As far as Irish Republicans are concerned , those 'royal elites' are a 'sponge' which soak-up resources which should be directed towards the employed and the unemployed , the healthy and the sick , and the young and the old : in good times or bad , it is simply immoral for any just society to elevate any section of that society to the position enjoyed by the British 'royal family' and other such 'institutions'. Those in this corrupt State that are 'gracious' to them have nothing to offer this society and should stop embarrassing the rest of us by their actions.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS.... !

SO GOOD THEY NAMED IT TWICE.....!

.....and we're practically packing our bags as I type - this will be our second-last Wednesday blog post as myself and four other girls are jetting-off to New York for a two-week holiday later on this month: we'll be staying , mostly , in the Bronx (thanks again to Frankie , Shay and the girls!) but will also be filling wardrobe space (!) in Queens , Brooklyn and Hell's Kitchen , with Kevin , Mal , Liz and Susie and all our other friends : which is why we can afford a whole two weeks - free accommodation !
And , if we have any money left over from our many shopping sprees (HELLO Jersey Gardens....!) we may take our hosts out for something to eat.
A hotdog , perhaps...... ;-) !

1169 And Counting : An award-nominated Irish blog on Irish history and Irish politics - from today and yesterday : all 32 Counties !

2011-05-29T21:05:00.001Z
CABHAIR TESTIMONIAL , SATURDAY 28TH MAY 2011 , DUBLIN.
CABHAIR 'Honoree Presentations'.

A fantastic night was had by approximately 100 Irish Republicans in Dublin on Saturday May 28th 2011 , in the Academy Plaza Hotel , at the Annual CABHAIR Testimonial Dinner : visitors , colleagues and comrades from England , Scotland , Wales and America were present to observe the presentations made to the five Honorees - Walter O'Dunphy , John Murphy , Neil Chambers , Joe O'Neill and Maggie Trainor.
A brief(ish!) history of the (on-going) involvement of each recipient with the Republican Movement was given , in some detail, by the Chairperson of the proceedings , Dan Hoban , and the presentation was then made by Lita Ní Chathmhaoil , on behalf of the CABHAIR organisation.
We publish with these few words some photographs from the event , and a full report and more photographs will be published in the June 2011 issue of 'Saoirse' , which goes to print on Wednesday the 8th of that month :

CABHAIR Testimonial Flagstand.

Section of the crowd.

CABHAIR bodhrán 'Shop' item - one of the many Republican items sold at the 'Testimonial Shop' on the night.

CABHAIR Mirror , sold at the event.....

....as were these two bodhráns -

Also , details were released regarding two up-coming Republican events - Bodenstown Sunday (12th June next) and the Bundoran Hunger-Strike Commemoration (Saturday 27th August next) , and posters for same were distributed :

Wolfe Tone Commemoration ('Bodenstown Sunday') 12th June 2011.

Bundoran Commemoration , Saturday 27th August 2011.

Finally , please note that a few words and some pics re the cleansing operation today at the Garden of Remembrance can be viewed on our 'Sister' site , here : thanks for reading !
Sharon.

1169 And Counting : An award-nominated Irish blog on Irish history and Irish politics - from today and yesterday : all 32 Counties !

2011-05-25T17:57:00.000Z
LAW IN DISORDER.......

The state trumpets every drugs seizure as a major victory over the barons. But the war against drugs is really a murky world characterised by botched operations , questionable use of informers and ego-driven squabbles between the Garda Siochana and customs officials.
Mairead Carey gets the inside story.
From 'MAGILL' magazine , August 2002.

Garda Commissioner Pat Byrne had yet to be appointed to the top job in An Garda Siochana when , in November 1995 , the Garda hired a trawler at Castletownbere , County Cork, and travelled 300 miles off the south-west coast to rendezvous with an oil-supply vessel to bring in what was , and remains, the largest consignment of cannabis ever landed in Ireland.

Pat Byrne was then Deputy Commissioner in charge of all Garda anti-drugs measures and Kevin Carty was in charge of the unit on a day-to-day basis. Chief Superintendent Dermot Dwyer , who headed the drug squad in Cork, is also expected to be called as a witness in the forthcoming trial.

About 20 Filipinos , armed and wearing balaclavas , were on board the oil vessel : Gardai , who later described the operation as "...like something out of 'Apocalypse Now'...." , loaded the 13 tonnes of cannabis on to the trawler and headed back to Castletownbere. Customs , who are responsible for the 'frontline' defence against drugs , were kept in the dark about the operation until local officers began investigating the suspicious activities of the Castletownbere trawler , which had its name and registration number painted over.......
(MORE LATER).

THE PETER BERRY PAPERS....... The Top Secret Memoirs of Ireland's Most Powerful Civil Servant : Dirty Tricks, Election '69/ Spying on a Unionist Politician/ Keeping the (State) Taoiseach informed/ The Garda Fallon Murder/ Advice to Jack Lynch- 'Fire the pair of them...'/ Vivion De Valera's advice to O'Malley/ Rumours of a Coup D'Etat/ The Internment Plot, November 1970/ Secret Meeting with William Craig.
From 'MAGILL' magazine , June 1980.

OCTOBER 22nd , 1969 :

" At about this period of the month I was put on sedatives and, in consequence, my records were not kept in my normal fashion. But I have a clear recollection of being told on one day of the involvement of the two Ministers in the importation of arms and on the next day hearing the Commissioner describing their activities as "....foul treachery to Government.." . I remember telling the Commissioner that on no account should the Ministers' names be recorded pending further checking.

I still disbelieved that Mr. Haughey could be involved . My Minister called before the end of the month , I told him the story and he approved of the suggestion that I had made to the Commissioner. "

NOVEMBER 3rd , 1969 :

" I left hospital for convalescent leave in my home which was to last until January 12th , 1970......."
(MORE LATER).

The CABHAIR organisation will be holding its annual Testimonial Dinner and Republican Reunion function this coming Saturday , 28th May 2011 , in the Academy Plaza Hotel in Dublin : the Honorees this year are Walter O'Dunphy (Leinster) , John Murphy (Munster) , Neil Chambers (Connacht) , Joe O'Neill (Ulster) and Maggie Trainor (USA).
As it happens , one or more of us that put this blog together have , at one time or another over the years , worked alongside each of the Honorees and can vouch without fear of contradiction on behalf of their commitment to the Cause of Irish Freedom - we are delighted that the internal Irish Republican 'powers-that-be' in Ireland , England and America have decided to honour these five stalwarts in a public ceremony and we are looking forward to the occasion !

BRITISH PRESENCE TO BE CLEANSED.....

Republican Sinn Féin will be holding a cleansing ceremony at the Garden of Remembrance in Dublin on Sunday 29th May at 12 Noon.
The purpose of the ceremony is to cleanse the Garden of Remembrance of any residue of British Imperialism as a result of the recent visit there by an English 'queen'.
This is a timely initiative , and one which should be supported , physically and/or morally , by all Irish Republicans : there can be no doubt that the Garden of Remembrance is now unclean and tarnished by the recent visit of that person and - in the opinion of this blog - by the presence , also , of the pro-British spittle left behind by the Free State political 'elite' , one of whom - Enda Kenny ,
Fine Gael leader and present 'Chief Lemming' of this corrupt State , courtesy of his pay-masters in the IMF - has queried the Irishness of those who protested against the visit here of the English 'queen' !
Considering that Fine Gael has advocated a 'United Ireland' within the British 'Commonwealth' , his 'query' does not surprise us : the man is politically and morally demented and is simply 'serving time' in Leinster House until his owners in the IMF/EU can create a 'job' for him , as was done for one of his predecessors , a Mr Bruton.
It would be a betrayal by Irish Republicanism if the aura left behind in the Garden of Remembrance by the above-mentioned elements was not to be expunged : those with a knowledge of their history and a sense of their cultural background will assemble at the Garden of Remembrance next Sunday , 29th May 2011 at 12 Noon , to restore the honour which anti-Republican and/or pro-British 'Commonwealth' political morons besmirched by their presence and actions on that particular day.
Thanks for reading,
Sharon.

1169 And Counting : An award-nominated Irish blog on Irish history and Irish politics - from today and yesterday : all 32 Counties !

2011-05-22T22:03:00.001Z
STATE DUMPS ITS OWN FLAG IN BIN LORRY TO APPEASE AN ENGLISH QUEEN....

The above photograph was taken in Dublin during the recent visit to this State by an English 'queen' : it clearly shows members of the State 'police' dumping their own flag in a bin lorry. The Irish National Flags in the photograph had been forcibly removed from the hands of people who were attending peaceful protests in opposition to the presence of that 'queen' , the Commander-In-Chief of the British Army. Apologists for that action tried to claim that it was the flag- poles that were being 'confiscated' but Tricolours that were been carried with no poles attached were also removed from their owners : it is obvious that the State ordered its compliant employees to trash any sign of 'Irishness' so as not to 'embarrass' the English 'queen' - a new low , surely , even for such toadies. And a disgusting low , but only to be expected.....

1169 And Counting : An award-nominated Irish blog on Irish history and Irish politics - from today and yesterday : all 32 Counties !