DYING BY THE SWORD .......
By Emer Woodful .
The murder of LVF leader BILLY WRIGHT has ignited the most violent spell in the North's recent history and threatened the peace process . He may well have considered it an appropriate legacy .
First published in 'MAGILL' magazine , February 1998 , pages 30,31,34 and 35 .
Re-published here in 17 parts .
(7 of 17).
In August 1996 , the UVF 'stood down' one of its Units in Portadown ; it is believed that Billy Wright and Alex Kerr then set-up the Loyalist Volunteer Force , which led to their being issued with the Combined Loyalist Military Command's death threat . The CLMC's statement read -
- " Failure to comply with this directive (ie to leave the Six Counties within 72 hours) will result in summary justice for your treasonable and subversive activities . " At the time , support for Wright and Kerr came from the DUP's Ian Paisley junior , who said that "... any death threat on any individual by any organisation is contemptible and reprehensible , and I condemn it with every ounce of strength I have . "
There was quite a fuss about Billy Wright having met the UUP leader David Trimble at Drumcree ; Wright had manned the barricades , fortified with a mechanical digger and a slurry tank filled with petrol that could have been sprayed over the British security forces in the event of any battle developing .
The newspaper headlines barked banners like ' Mallon Accuses Trimble of Breaking the Law ' and ' Trimble's Talk with Wright Raises Queries about his Refusal to Meet Garvaghy Group ..... '
(MORE LATER).
WOMEN IN IRELAND'S FIGHT FOR FREEDOM .......
By the late Cork Republican , Gearoid MacCarthaigh .
" On December 8th 1936 , Na Fianna Eireann were holding a Four Martyrs Commemoration Concert in Cork City Hall ; the late Mary McSwiney , one of the last survivors of the Second All-Ireland Dail Eireann , was the speaker . At the outset of her speech she declared as follows :
: " Republicans in this city are wary of using this Hall as it has never been properly opened . Since no-one is more entitled to use it than Republicans I now declare this City Hall officially opened in the name of the Irish Republic . "
In 1936 , Cumann na mBan was declared an 'illegal organisation' by the Fianna Fail Free State government and their Head Office in Dublin was locked and sealed-up by the Broy Harriers ; they were never again to gain admission to their Head Office but this did not stop them from fighting on .
In 1939 , when the English bombing campaign started , women again played an active part ....... "
(MORE LATER).
SURVIVORS , SERVERS , AND SAVIOURS.......
From 'The United Irishman' newspaper , Aibrean [April] 1957 , page 1.
(IML. IX. UIMHIR 4 - price Tri Pingin [Three Pennies].
Thanks to my late friends Christy and Theresa L. for giving me this 48-year-old newspaper ; this thread published in memory of those two old Fenians ! - John.
' At the 1955 Annual Dinner of the Institute of Bankers in Ireland , Sir George Erskine , President of the Institute of Bankers in England , listened to a speech made by the Minister of Finance ; afterwards , he made a speech himself - he said that , as he listened to the Minister , he thought that if only he closed his eyes he might have been listening to the (British) Chancellor of the Exchequer -
- " To my mind , " he said , " from what the Minister said , your problem is the same as ours . "
Sinn Fein believes that the problems are dissimilar , and that financial independence is essential to political independence and , for the prosperity and growth of the population of Ireland we must control our national resources . At present we make use of a foreign currency , the circulation of which is controlled by foreign financiers .
With a national currency , the volume in circulation could be regulated to provide stability of prices , full employment and the stoppage of emigration . At present , outside agencies artifically alter the value of money by regulating the supply of credit ....... '
(MORE LATER).
