Friday, August 20, 2004

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

DANIEL O'CONNELL -1843 ;

THE PROVISIONALS -1994 TO DATE .


.......mid-19th Century Ireland : man-made 'Famine' , evictions , and 'landlords' and bailiffs adding to the misery . Then (June 1846) a change of government in London - and even more misery for the Irish people.......

In June 1846 , 'Lord' John Russell replaced 'Sir' Robert Peel as Prime Minister of England ; the new political power in London , in this case represented by Charles Trevelyan , Permanent Head of the British Treasury and a well-known 'bible-thumper' , even though he was only in his mid-thirties , was anxious to 'make his mark' and turned his attention to the Irish .

Trevelyan contacted the cargo-ship 'Sorciere' which was then on its way to Ireland with a hold full of Indian corn ; he ordered the Captain of the 'Sorciere' to abandon his mission - " The cargo of the Sorciere is not wanted . Her owners must dispose of it as they think proper . " The Brits justified that decision , and others like it , by stating (again , it was Charles Trevelyan who spoke) -

- " The only way to prevent people from becoming habitually dependent on (the British) government is to bring operations to a close . The uncertainty about the new crop (of wheat in Ireland) only makes it more necessary . Whatever may be done hereafter , these things (ie relief missions) should be stopped now , or you run the risk of paralysing all private enterprise and having this country (Ireland) on you for an indefinite number of years . "

In short - " The Irish might as well die now as later ...' A callous bastard .

(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.

SHOOTINGS.......

".......the 'abandoned' lorry was a trap ; British soldiers had fired point-blank at IRA Volunteer Liam Hegarty who still managed to turn and run . Dannie Healy and the other IRA men got away safely , as did the local children......."

" However , a young man , Michael Lynch , who lived a few hundred yards down the road to Macroom , had come out of his house on hearing the shots - he was mortally wounded by a rifle bullet . Whether the killers in the lorry aimed at him or not is unknown , but it is certain that one of the miscreants crossed the fence and shot Liam Hegarty again as he lay wounded . What was the motive for this killing ?

The enemy did not mention any motive , but we came to the conclusion that it must have been a reprisal for recent attacks on them . The last IRA action had taken place less than three weeks previously , at the Slippery Rock ; here , one British Army Officer and ten soldiers , all fully armed , had been opposed by a fewer number of the IRA , only two of whom were armed with rifles . The British soldiers had been invited to surrender before fire was opened on them - their Officer in charge had been killed and four of his men wounded .

But there had been no unnecessary shooting . Some IRA men had come out on the road and exchanged shots with the enemy , and a British soldier had struggled with one of our men to retain possession of his rifle . We had secured victory as easily as we could possibly have done , and had helped the wounded to the best of our ability . The treacherous killing of an unarmed IRA man and a civilian , and the attempted massacre of others , including children , was not far off the Cromwell 'standard' .

Whether the motive was just a vengeful one , or calculated to inspire terror , its result fell very short of the mark ......."

(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 .

(17 of 21).

Robert Kennedy , the U S Attorney General , ordered several of the attempts (to overthrow Fidel Castro) - it is inconceivable that his brother did'nt know what was going on . RFK was a 'covert action' buff ; he knew of the Mafia involvement in the assassination plans and did'nt blink . One of the gangsters , Sam Giancana , who had worked with the Capone organisation , had a lover named Judith Campbell . For three years , while the attempts to kill Castro were under way , Campbell also shared John F. Kennedy's bed !

The assassination attempts were called off only when Lyndon Johnson took office . Kennedy , recalled Johnson , " ... had been operating a damned Murder Inc. in the Caribbean . " JFK felt humilated by the 'Bay of Pigs' disaster and by a subsequent meeting with Khrushchev in which the Soviet leader gave him a rough dressing down : " He just beat hell out of me . So I've got a terrible problem - if he thinks I'm inexperienced and have no guts , until we remove those ideas we won't get anywhere with him . So we have to act ; now we have a problem to make our power credible and Vietnam looks like the place ......."

(MORE LATER).





We have recently received a favourable mention on SLUGGER (much appreciated !) and , as a result , have noticed an increase in visitors , some of whom have left comments in our 'Guestbook' . One of those visitors , 'DAVROS' , wrote - " To paraphrase : I came , I saw , I pissed myself laughing . "

'Davros' was , I believe , attempting to 'rub our nose in it' by his choice of paraphrasing ie 'I came , I saw , I conquered' , re the British 'conquest' of Ireland . Apart from that , however , this 'blog' has been attacked and dismissed before by those who are politically opposed to Irish Republicanism - and fair enough ; they have their political point of view and we have ours .


We have also been attacked and dismissed by visitors as being " ...morally evil ..justifying terrorism .." etc - and again , fair enough ; we will argue our position as best we can with those visitors , as we have done in the past and will no doubt have to do in the future . BUT....
... : to find the history of this (or any) country 'funny' enough to ".. piss yourself laughing ..." is a new low for us to witness . By all means dis-agree with us politically , or morally , and dismiss us as 'propagandists' if you want to , but be human enough NOT to "..piss yourself laughing..." at the sufferings endured by other people . It's childish , immature and shows up your own failings more so than the failings forced on those you "laugh" at .
"There but for the grace of God...." , 'DAVROS' . I truly hope the sun always shines on you , because I doubt very much that you are mature enough to handle the darkness .
Sharon O'Sullibhan , '1169 And Counting .....'

Thursday, August 19, 2004

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

DANIEL O'CONNELL -1843 ;

THE PROVISIONALS -1994 TO DATE .


.......The 'Famine' in mid-19th Century Ireland was nothing of the sort ; every foodstuff except the potato was available - but not for the poor and hungry . The Irish people were distraught ; the Brits and their friends in the 'landlord class' moved in to take further advantage .......

As if man-made 'Famine' was'nt enough for the Irish people to contend with , the Brits made life even more miserable for the dying ; a report in 'The Freemans Journal' newspaper (Summer 1846) gave the following description of an eviction in County Galway -

- " It was the most appalling sight I ever witnessed : women , young and old , running wildly to and fro with small portions of their property to save it from the wreck . The screaming of the children , and wild wailings of the mothers driven from home and shelter ... in the first instance the roofs and portions of the wall only were thrown down .

But that Friday night the wretched creatures pitched a few poles slant-wise against the walls covering them with thatch in order to procure shelter for the night . When this was perceived the next day the bailiffs were despatched with orders to pull down all the walls and root-up the foundations in order to prevent the poor people from daring to take shelter amid the ruins ..."

Meanwhile , as the Irish people were suffering - un-necessarily , for the most part - a different government came to power in England ; a new Prime Minister , 'Lord' John Russell , replaced 'Sir' Robert Peel at the end of June 1846 . The situation was to change for the Irish - but not for the better .......

(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.

SHOOTINGS.......

" An 'abandoned' British military lorry ; genuine , or a trap ? If we waited too long to investigate , and the lorry was genuinely broke down , the Brits might return to tow it away . But , if we moved in too quickly ....... "

" The children had again returned to the vicinity of the lorry , and a few local IRA Volunteers had strolled along from the village and had stopped on the opposite side of the road from it . It was their intention to give it only a few moments of inspection and then move on again . But their brief scrutiny revealed nothing and they lingered on , intrigued by the mystery , and loth to leave without finding a solution .

Meanwhile , Liam Hegarty and Dannie Healy arrived at the lorry ; with little delay , Liam passed by one side to grasp the engine bonnet fastenings , while at the other side Dannie lifted a corner of the body covering . From within came a fusilade of rifle shots - Liam , whether hit or not , managed to cross a low bank which served as the road fence on his side . Then turning left he travelled in its small shelter for a short distance before he fell .

Dannie dashed to the other side of the road and , gaining some scanty cover , got away unscathed . The other IRA Volunteers and the children all escaped injury . But it was not over yet ......."

(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 .

(16 of 21).

U S President John F. Kennedy and the CIA made frantic efforts to get rid of Fidel Castro ; in 1959 , the CIA used their part-time agent Robert Maheu (he had made the Sukarno porn movie and in 1954 he had bugged Aristotle Onassis for the CIA in a little sting to protect American oil interests) to organise Castro's assassination . Maheu offered $150,000 dollars to three gangsters to kill Castro ; the gangsters had lost their gambling and prostitution palaces in Cuba and they wanted them back .

They were happy to oblige ; over the next three years there were several attempts to kill Castro - in February 1961 one of the gangsters , John Rosselli , got poison pills from the CIA and organised two assassination attempts . There were attempts with poison pens , bacterial powder in a diving suit and a poison dart gun !

There were lots of "whatever works" ideas floating about : like putting toxic dust in Castro's shoes which would cause his beard to fall out , so he would lose his 'charisma' and be overthrown ! Like staging a " second coming " to convince Catholic Cubans that Christ would come to Cuba if they overthrew Castro ...

... - apparently , a similar project had been mounted in the Philippines years earlier , broadcasting to 'primitive' tribes from helicopters !

(MORE LATER).






Wednesday, August 18, 2004

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

DANIEL O'CONNELL -1843 ;

THE PROVISIONALS -1994 TO DATE .


....... Ireland 1843 - Daniel O'Connell and the 'Loyal National Repeal Association' had been 'side-lined' by both Westminster and the Irish people ; the 'Young Irelanders' were attempting to 'gear-up' for a Rising against British mis-rule - but the people were dying from the effects of the 'Great Hunger' . Those that had the strength tried to help themselves and their famlies .......

'The Freemans Journal' newspaper wrote on 15th April 1846 : " There have been attacks on flour mills in Clonmel by people whose bones protruded through the skin which covered them ; staring through hollow eyes as if they had just risen from their shrouds , crying out that they could no longer endure the extremity of their distress and that they must take that food which they could not procure . As we pass into summer , we pass into suffering . Every week develops the growing intensity of the national calamity ..."

It should be noted that every sort of food except the potato was available because the harvest in every other crop but the potato was excellent ; food was leaving the country for export in vast quantities , and even more was coming in ! Apart from the Indian corn , nearly four times as much wheat was being imported into Ireland as exported : but that food was not for the hungry .......

(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.

SHOOTINGS.......

"....... it was a quiet Sunday in early September 1920 , in the village of Ballymakeera ; two British military lorries drove through the small streets and came to a halt about four-hundred yards outside the village . The local children were curious ......."

" The children approached the British lorries and loitered around them to try and discover the cause of the stoppage ; the British soldiers made no effort to keep secret the cause of their delay . The covered lorry had broken down - they wandered about the road talking loudly about it , and now and then cursing it . The children returned to the vilage of Ballymakeera , and all told the same story to the few local IRA Volunteers they met : " The covered lorry had broken down . The soldiers had said so . It could not be repaired . Some of the soldiers had suggested burning it , others had said that it was not worth the trouble of burning but to "let it there to hell....." "

That last suggestion was acted upon ; all of the British soldiers had mounted the open lorry and had driven away . The covered lorry was now abandoned on the spot where it had stopped . IRA Section-Leader Liam Hegarty had got ready a bicycle to go on a journey when the news reached him about the lorry - with Dannie Healy and a few other IRA Volunteers he discussed the children's report . They did not doubt its accuracy , but saw the possibility of a trap ; all were agreed that before taking the risk of a near approach to the lorry , it should be tested by firing a few shots into it . Had any firearm been near at hand the test would undoubtedly have been applied but , unfortunately , there was none within easy distance . They knew that , before a weapon would be available , the enemy would return to recover the lorry .

It would be too bad if the British soldiers found it as they had left it ; it would be a disgrace . They would take the risk and burn it ......."

(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 .

(15 of 21).

John F. Kennedy was a spy buff ; he was an avid reader of the 'James Bond' novels and , soon after taking Office he demanded that the U S real-life version of James Bond be bought before him !

The corrupt Batista regime had been driven out of Cuba by the forces led by Fidel Castro at the beginning of 1959 . By the beginning of 1960 , the CIA was under orders to get rid of Castro - plans were under way by the time J F K took Office .

The new U S President endorsed an invasion planned for April 1961 , to be mounted by the CIA , using Cuban exiles . Word of the invasion plans leaked but the 'New York Times' newspaper obliged President Kennedy by suppressing the story . But Kennedy , nervous about his image , flinched at the last moment and cut back on air support ...

...the invaders were bogged down at the 'Bay of Pigs' and three-hundred of them died .......

(MORE LATER).






Tuesday, August 17, 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 and the 'Loyal National Repeal Association' were now victims of their own making - they had vowed to work within British 'law' only to achieve their objectives and now that same 'law' had been used to crack-down on them .......

One of the results of the decision by Daniel O'Connell to cancel the Clontarf 'Monster Meeting' was that the public lost faith in him and in the 'Loyal National Repeal Association' ; when he realised that he had lost that support , he expressed the view that "repeal of the Union" could not be won . The 'Young Irelanders' denounced him and began preparations for a military Rising - but the people were , for the most part , dispirited , and the 'Great Hunger' (so-called 'Famine') was taking its toll .

Hundreds of thousands of potential Irish Rebels died of hunger or related diseases between the years 1845 - 1849 . The then Catholic Archbishop of Dublin , Dr. Murray , prayed "that God in His mercy would vouchsafe to avert the calamity which seems impending over us ....."

Westminster stated that it could not give people food because , in doing so , it would undermine market prices ! The people , weak and dying from want of food , had nothing to lose - those that were strong enough to do so took matters into their own hands .......

(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.

SHOOTINGS.

" The British Auxiliaries , the Black and Tans , the RIC and other terrorists of our time were not so nice in their methods as Oliver Cromwell , but they did their best ! It was Oliver's invariable custom , before any fair-sized massacre , or mass murder , to intone a lengthy prayer , not for the souls about to depart , but for propaganda purposes . The 'project' over , this pious man started a second prayer , its length in proportion to the volume of blood which had been spilled ...

On one occasion , however, he was known to have departed from his usual edifying practice ; it was just after the Siege of Clonmel - two thousand of his 'psalm singers' lay dead inside the breach whilst he and the remainder were still outside the wall , and well back from it ! Hugh Dubh O'Neill had beaten him badly - " God damn Hugh Dubh O'Neill , " was Cromwell's prayer on that occasion ...

It was Sunday , 5th September 1920 : the people had come out from midday Mass at Ballyvourney and had scattered along the road westwards to the Mills and eastwards to the village . Two British military lorries , coming from the west , threaded their way between them ; the Brits were evidently returning to Macroom , having paid a visit to their barracks at Ballyvourney . The occupants of one lorry appeared to be in an unusually good humour and smiled and waved gaily to the people - the other lorry was covered-in , one of the usual type with light rain-proof canvas on the top and sides .

Having passed through the village of Ballymakeera , both lorries stopped at a point about four hundred yards beyond that village , at a spot on a height , on open ground which commanded a view in every direction - here they were out of sight for the time being . Then the children from the village discovered them , and approached ......."

(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 .

(14 of 21).

The year before John F. Kennedy came to power the CIA had considered assassinating Colonel Abdul Kassem of Iraq , Trujillo of the Dominican Republic and Fidel Castro of Cuba ! There was also a plot to kill Patrice Lumumba in the Congo (Zaire) ...

...two professional killers were hired , but Lumumba was killed by his domestic enemies before the CIA could get to him ! Likewise , Kassem and Trujillo were killed by indigenous enemies , although the CIA managed to supply the gun that killed Trujillo .

A CIA hankerchief impregnated with toxic substances arrived for Colonel Kassem by mail after the Colonel had been shot dead ...

(MORE LATER).






Monday, August 16, 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 and the 'Loyal National Repeal Association' issued posters on Saturday 7th October 1843 , requesting people NOT to travel to Clontarf , in Dublin , for the planned 'Monster Meeting' , as same had been banned by the British 'authorities' .......

The Brits had turned on their 'rebel pet' ; to enforce their ban , Westminster ordered a number of gunboats and land-based artillery pieces to train their weapons on the Clontarf area . Daniel O'Connell was aware that thousands of people would already be on their way to the Clontarf meeting (some having left their homes on the Friday , or earlier , for the walk to Dublin) so he sent his marshals out from Dublin on horseback , urging the crowds to return home : he could do nothing else ....

.... -in this scribblers opinion , O'Connell and his 'Loyal Association' had painted themselves into a corner ; they fell into a trap of their own making . He had publicly and repeatedly vowed to work within " the law " (ie British 'law') which could have at any time been used , as it eventually was , to ban his agitation and he had vehemently ruled out the use of force in any circumstances in challenging the British . The Provisional 'Republican' Movement (ie Provisional Sinn Fein and the PIRA) have , on the other had , since 1994 , used force in this country against those who have taken to the streets to protest the continuing British presence ! .

At least Daniel O'Connell never got his arm broken whilst attempting to rescue British soldiers .......

(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.......

".......there was another war going on alongside the military one - a war for information on the enemy . The Brits distributed a number of posters and leaflets in an attempt to get people to inform on the IRA - one such poster read as follows ......."


'

NOTICE



During the last twelve months innumerable murders and outrages have been committed by those who call themselves Members of the Irish Republican Army . Only by the help of self-respecting Irishmen can these murders be put a stop to .

It is possible to send letters containing information in such a way as to prevent their being stopped in the post ; if you have information to give and you are willing to help the cause of Law and Order act as follows :

Write your information on ordinary notepaper , being careful to give neither your name nor your address . Remember also to disguise your handwriting , or else print the words . Put it into an envelope , addressed to -

D. W. Ross ,
Poste Restante ,
G.P.O. , London .

Enclose this envelope in another (take care that your outer envelope is not transparent) and put with it a small slip of paper asking the recipient to forward the D.W. Ross letter as soon as he receives it . Address the outer envelope to some well disposed friend in England or to any well known business address in England .

You will later be given the opportunity , should you wish to do so , of identifying your letter , and should the information have proved of value , of claiming a Reward . The utmost secrecy will be maintained as to all information received . '

Just one of the posters put up by the British . And ignored by the people ......."

[END of 'BURNINGS....'].
(Next - 'SHOOTINGS' : " The Auxiliaries , the Black and Tans , the RIC , and other terrorists of our time were not so nice in their methods as Oliver Cromwell , but they did their best .......").


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 .

(13 of 21).

The by-now-routine organisation of a coup got under way ; there was a difficulty in that the head of the Chilean armed forces , General Rene Schneider , was a democrat who opposed unconstitutional action . The CIA supplied the guns which were sent to Chile in a diplomatic bag and were used to kill General Schneider .

The coup took $8 million dollars and three years to organise and in September 1973 , Allende and thousands of his supporters were killed and tortured and the military junta which still rules today (ie 1986) was set up . On 22nd November 1963 , John F. Kennedy was shot dead in Dallas and Major Rolando Cubela was offered a CIA poison-pen device and a rifle with telescopic sights as part of a plot to assassinate Fidel Castro .

For Kennedy , the assassination 'chickens' came home to roost that day .......

(MORE LATER).