Wednesday, June 02, 2004

JOSEPH BRENAN ; 1828-1857 : 'Young Ireland' Leader .......


.......When Joseph Brenan was 14 years young (1842) , a man named Hughes was hung in Armagh by the British Administration ; the then Editor of 'The Belfast Vindicator' newspaper , Charles Gavan Duffy , described Hughes' execution as "legal assassination" and was prosecuted by the British Attorney-General for doing so . That was in the summer of 1842 .......


One day that summer , Charles Gavan Duffy (who , incidentally , went on to become Premier of Australia !) , Thomas Davis and John Dillon were walking through Dublin's Phoenix Park , discussing the Hughes case and the feeble newspaper reportage of same , when all three decided to do something about it ; ' The Nation ' newspaper was born . It published an issue every week for 58 years (1842 - 1900) , sold for sixpence a copy (which was a days wages at the time !) and , at its most popular , was shifting 10,000 copies a week ! Indeed , so popular was 'The Nation' newspaper (and , in those days , so expensive) that some of its readers 'hired' the 'paper from newsvendors at one-penny an hour !

....... digressive tangents - I'm full of them !


Joseph Brenan was 19 years young (in January 1848) when he first met John Mitchel , one of the leaders of the 'Young Ireland' Movement , while both were in the city of Cork on separate business .......

(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 , and in a tight spot ; Black and Tans in front and a British Army patrol in a car following us . We walked past the Tans and kept going . Then a shout - "HALT !" We walked on ......."


" The demand to 'halt' was repeated , and we heard footsteps running behind us . We stopped and looked back ; a Black and Tan was running towards us , so we walked slowly back to meet him . Jim was the nearer to him and I lagged behind . Now he stood in front of Jim with his hands out-stretched and raised slightly , in the attitude of one preparing to search : " What is your name ?" he asked Jim , who replied " Grey . " "Grey ! From where ?" " Cork Barracks ," came the answer .

Jim took a chance ; his name was 'mud' at Cork Barracks for some time , but the Black and Tans at Tuckey Street did not know that . The answer seemed to impress the Tan . Now there was another diversion - a sudden gust of wind blew off his peaked cap , and it rolled along the ground towards me . Stooping , I caught it , straightened myself up and , walking towards him with a pleasant smile , gave it to him . He was delighted ! It was not often that a Black and Tan received such courtesy . "Thank you very much indeed ," he said to me , with a smile , "I suppose you have not a gun on you ? ," he added , as raising his hands high he brought them down in a slow sweeping motion , the motion of searching or feeling for a hidden weapon .

This movement of the hands was merely a show for his comrades at the corner - he never touched my body , neither did he touch Jim . I must say he was a decent-looking man for a Black and Tan : his face showed no signs of the brutality that stamped most of them as a type . I would have been sorry for him had he rubbed us the wrong way , for we had guns on us . Our lives were forfeit anyway this long time and while , with our hands in the dog's mouth , we were willing to try out diplomacy to its fullest extent , no enemy , however strong numerically , was going to deprive us of loaded guns , and then torture and kill us at their leisure ......."

(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].


(4 of 10).



The economy of the North is in severe crisis . In the 1950's and 1960's , the 'province' was transformed as local industry was run down and multinationals moved in to dominate its economy . But in the last 20 years this process has gone into reverse , with multinationals reducing their activities or pulling out altogether .

Only huge subsidies from the British Government keep the 'province' afloat : in 1985 , some £1,700 million Sterling in all , now (ie 1988) something approaching £2,700 million Sterling . Despite its numerous problems and high unemployment - around 18 per cent - the 'Republic' (ie-the Free State) has a much stronger economy than 'Northern Ireland' and its long-term prospects are much better (though they are by no means rosy) . Protestants fear that re-unification would bring impoverishment ; but if they co-operated in that re-unification , then peace would come rapidly , and with it the benefits of economic recovery .

If they were to fight a rearguard action , the benefits of peace would take longer to materialise . Even so , it could take some 15 to 20 years for the economy of the North to be strong enough to stand on its own feet . Continuing aid would therefore involve a significant commitment from Britain , even counting the savings from military withdrawal . In the longer run , the cost would be of course much less than that of continued involvement and would eventually come to an end ...

(MORE LATER).