Monday, February 09, 2004

JOSEPH DENIEFFE , 1833 - 1910 : 'Irish Republican Brotherhood' Founder .......



....... Chicago , in the early 1860's ; Irish Rebel Joseph Denieffe found himself on a fund-raising tour when there was a falling-out between the Rebel leadership.......


He stayed in America , spreading the word and building contacts for the Irish Republican cause . In 1904 , at seventy-one years of age , he wrote a number of articles for the New York newspaper , ' The Gael ' ; those articles were later published as a book , entitled - ' A Personal Narrative of the Irish Revolutionary Brotherhood ' , , and is a fantastic read for those interested in the history of the on-going struggle for full Irish freedom .

At 77 years of age , Joseph Denieffe died in Chicago , on 20th April , 1910 . He gave sixty-three years of his life to the Irish cause , working for the most part either in the background or underground , never seeking the limelight . He is not as well-known as he should be but , like all true Irish Republicans , his objective was to promote and further the Irish cause , not himself .


" This land of mine , the old man said ,
will be alive when we are dead .
My fathers words still ring divine -
"God Bless this lovely land of mine." "


[End of - JOSEPH DENIEFFE , 1833 - 1910 : 'Irish Republican Brotherhood' Founder .]



WHERE MOUNTAINY MEN HAVE SOWN :

war and peace in rebel Cork ,
in the turbulent years 1916-21.

By Micheal O'Suilleabhain : published 1965.


A QUIET PERIOD.......




".......Two RIC men had waited outside the house , while the other two entered the kitchen . They were armed with revolvers and were curious as to who was in the house . Donncadh MacNeilus drew the hinged bolt on his Parabellum rifle and let it crash home with a wallop . The RIC Sergeant knew the sound ......."


" He turned pale , and for a few seconds stood motionless . Then , turning , he walked out of the kitchen , followed by his comrade . Quickly , the four RIC men reached the end of the short boreen , recovered their bicycles and rode away . They left in good time , as Donncadh , with a loaded .45 revolver , was edging forward to attack . That Sergeant appeared to have been gifted with no small share of commonsense .

Our programme for September was cancelled by GHQ , IRA . While they commended us for our enterprise , they advised that it was better to wait until other areas were ready for a more widespread operation ."


[END of - ' A QUIET PERIOD....... '].




THE BEATLES AND IMELDA MARCOS - the beat and the beast.......

[From an article by Jackie Hayden , published in 'Hot Press' magazine , 1988].

(1 of 3).


While Mark Chapman has gone down in ignominious history as the man who shot John Lennon , how many remember that Imelda Marcos came astonishingly close to causing the deaths of all four Beatles and their entourage ?

The near-fatal incident occurred during The Beatles' last world tour and involved a dangerous cocktail of oriental pomposity , Brian Epstein's carelessness and The Beatles' collective hostility towards authority . ('1169...' comment - tell that to 'Sir' Paul ...) With the 'Fab Four' scheduled to play two gigs at Manila's ' Araneta Coliseum ' , Imelda Marcos organised a party at the Malacanang Palace for three-hundred children and assorted Palace favourites to meet The Beatles .......

(MORE LATER).