JOSEPH BRENAN ; 1828-1857 : 'Young Ireland' Leader .......
.......'Living' in mud hovels , evictions , jobless , hungry , homeless ; that was Ireland in the 19th Century . A baby , Joseph Brenan , was born into that poverty in Cork , in November 1828.......
When he was in his early teens , Joseph Brenan helped to establish the 'Cork Historical Society' and , within a few years , was helping-out at Editorial level on the local 'Cork Magazine', which was published on a regular basis between the end of 1847 and late 1848 - those working on the 'Cork Magazine' were forced to go 'on-the-run' by the British or had been imprisoned already by them ; J D Frazer , Martin MacDermott and 'Mary of The Nation' newspaper - Ellen Mary Patrick Downing ...
... a tangent re 'The Nation' newspaper - A man called Hughes was sentenced to death at Armagh Assizes , even though it had been assumed by all who knew the details that the 'evidence' against Hughes (which itself had been invalidated by witnesses to the mans alleged 'crime') was such that a short prison sentence might be handed down ; instead , Hughes was hung .
The then Editor of 'The Belfast Vindicator' newspaper (1839-1848) , Charles Gavan Duffy , a Monaghan man (who had left 'The Northern Standard' newspaper [founded in March 1839] to work on 'The Belfast Vindicator') described Hughes' death as "legal assassination" and was prosecuted by the British Attorney-General for doing so - that was in the summer of 1842 .......
(MORE LATER).
WHERE MOUNTAINY MEN HAVE SOWN :
war and peace in rebel Cork ,
in the turbulent years 1916-21.
By Micheal O'Suilleabhain : published 1965.
A DRIVE TO CORK CITY .......
"....... Jim Grey and myself were in Cork City to purchase supplies ; we were on East Parade - and so were the Brits , in their armoured Rolls-Royce Whippet . Jim reacted immediately ......."
" " 'Monkey Mac' the spotter is in that car , " Jim said , " and he knows me as well as a bad halfpenny . We'll cross the road . " We crossed the first half of the wide Parade ; the British car was cruising along slowly , a sign that there was a 'spotter' (ie - a tout) aboard . We had to chance Tuckey Street or the Brits - we chose Tuckey Street , but there were about twenty Black and Tans at the corner ; out of the frying pan and into the fire ...
...there was a middle course at first but it ran out on us - people were walking in the middle of the street towards the Fountain , and we went with them . The Brits in the car screened us for a time , as did the gang of Black and Tans on the corner . Then both groups got the same notion , like geese - the Black and Tans moved towards us and the Brits in the car behind came closer . These fellows had nothing else in life to do now but to watch us ; without speaking , we both veered towards the Black and Tans , approaching them slant-wise , as if heading for Tuckey Street - it was the best policy , and we could hope to get away with it were it not for our appearance .
We passed in front of them and about ten yards away from them ; they said not a word until we were ten yards past them - every man of them was engaged in assessing us during our march past them . We heard them say - " That's the IRA uniform ! But why the devil should they march so brazenly towards us , and parade in front of us ? Better see all the same ..." They talked between themselves for a minute , allowing us to gain a further ten yards . Then a shout - " HALT ! " We did not stop ; The " HALT ! " warning was repeated , and we heard footsteps running behind us ....... "
(MORE LATER).
GETTING OUT .......
'Britain has the economic clout to impose peace in Northern Ireland (sic), argue BOB ROWTHORN and NAOMI WAYNE . Why does'nt it use it ? '
(First published in 'New Statesman and Society' Magazine , 9th September , 1988 , pages 12 and 13).
Re-produced here in 10 parts .
[Apologises beforehand for the use of the descriptions "Northern Ireland" and "Province" , and the constant use of the terms "Catholics" and "Protestants" in the following ten-part article ; they are not our descriptions or terms , but the Authors].
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But Britain could put its economic power over 'Northern Ireland' to use in a constructive two-pronged strategy : actively using this power to undermine and divide resistance to re-unification among the Protestant community , while simultaneously offering to deploy its economic resources to shore up the new re-unified state . Britain would have to make absolutely clear its willingness to use economic sanctions against a large-scale Protestant state or any group resisting re-unification .
Such a firm approach would be enough to deter resistance from all but a handful of Protestants . At the same time , Britain would promise to continue external aid , following re-unification , until the North's economy had been rebuilt . Britain should insist that the money was spent on the North and demand satisfactory arragements for the future employment of Protestants in the new state .
This would allow living standards in the North , including those of most Protestants , to be broadly maintained , without imposing an unacceptable burden on the Southern population .......
(MORE LATER).
