Wednesday, August 11, 2004

Working within British 'law' with a vow NOT to use force against the British....... :

DANIEL O'CONNELL -1843 ;

THE PROVISIONALS -1994 TO DATE .


....... Daniel O'Connell's speech on the 15th August 1843 on the Hill of Tara in County Meath was heard by approximately one million people . The British 'authorities' were listening , too , but they did'nt like it .......

The 'Monster Meetings' were a great success - despite all the "misfortunes" (as the Brits would have it) that the Irish people were suffering in their daily lives ; the desire , the demand , for a British withdrawal had not gone away . And , as stated here a few paragraphs back , after the Tara 'Monster Meeting' (15th August 1843) the Brits decided it just was'nt cricket : enough was enough .

A 'Monster Meeting' planned for Clontarf , in Dublin , which was to take place on Sunday , 8th October , 1843 , was banned by the Brits on Saturday , 7th October 1843 - the day before the event was due to take place ; Daniel O'Connell and others in the leadership of 'The Loyal National Repeal Association' quickly lodged a complaint.......

(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.

BURNINGS.......

".......the lands on which once stood 'the Great House' in Ballyvourney now hold no fear ; it is a place for a snooze on a nice day , under a chestnut tree , where you can dream of the 'landlord' looking for his 'rent' , and the RIC grabbing you , and the 'judge' scolding you ......."

" ...then you wake up - the cold weather has saved you ; with more or less hasty steps you brush the dew away across the lawn and , walking straight through the Great House , walk away .

The enemy won the next move in the game ; immediately the Great House was destroyed , he occupied a fair-sized building a half-mile from the RIC Barracks . During the remainder of the summer and early autumn , this half-company of the British regular Army was very active ; the RIC and Black and Tans did little . Both garrisons found it difficult to maintain their communications and supplies with Macroom , ten miles away .

We blocked and trenched the roads and , on a few occasions , roughly handled these elements of the enemy . Realising that the occupation of Ballyvourney during the winter months would pay very poor dividends , both garrisons were withdrawn at the end of the autumn . We did not burn the house which had sheltered the British military , but we burned the RIC Barracks .

Since both garrisons had departed , little precautions had been taken to guard against surprise while burning the RIC Barracks ; this was a mistake on our part ......."

(MORE LATER).


THE CIA : REAGAN'S SECRET ARMY .......

Since 1947 , the CIA has been a powerful force in covertly executing American internal and foreign policy . A major book detailing the workings , methods and sometimes incompetence of the secret service - 'The Agency ; The Rise and Decline of The CIA ' , by John Ranelagh , has recently been published .

Gene Kerrigan examines the books findings and assesses the importance of 'The Agency' and the role it has played over the last 39 years .


First published in 'The Sunday Tribune' newspaper , Dublin , 24th August 1986 , page 11.

Re-produced here in 21 parts .

(10 of 21).

In 1954 , the CIA revived its earlier plan (of 1952) to stage a coup against the Arbenz government in Guatemala - it spent $20 million dollars organising a guerilla army and air force . They selected Colonel Carlos Castillo Armas as the new leader and in June 1954 he overthrew Arbenz .

Sometimes other methods were tried : in 1957 , President Sukarno of Indonesia became a CIA target - he was considered too soft on communism . Frank Wisner , Deputy Director of CIA Operations , said - "I think its time we held Sukarno's feet to the fire ." Sukarno was sex mad ; when he visited Egypt in 1958 , he rang President Nasser from his hotel (this is known because the CIA had the phone tapped) and invited Nasser over ...

... " I have three gorgeous Pan American stewardesses here with me and they'd like to have a party ..." There was a pause , then Nasser curtly declined and slammed down the telephone .......

(MORE LATER).