Saturday, January 28, 2012

RSF BLOODY SUNDAY RALLY , DUBLIN , SATURDAY 28th JANUARY 2012 : brief report and some pics....



Approximately thirty members of Republican Sinn Féin , Leinster, held a rally on O'Connell Street today (Saturday 28th January 2012) for about two hours to mark the 40th Anniversary of 'Bloody Sunday' , Derry when , on 30th January 1972 , British soldiers massacred 13 Civil Rights protestors.
In a wide-ranging speech delivered to the crowds that had assembled under the pillars of the GPO and on the traffic isle itself , RSF Dublin PRO John Horan outlined the events of that day forty years ago , mentioning that in fact forty-two people had actually been shot by the British Army Paratroopers on 30th January 1972 , of whom 13 died on the day - one other man , John Johnston , died six months later from the gunshot wounds that were inflicted on him that day.



"No more Bloody Sundays..."

The name and age of each of the other 13 victims was read out at the Dublin Rally , along with brief details of their location on the day , and of the wound(s) inflicted on them : Jack Duddy (17) , Hugh Gilmore (17) , Bernard McGuigan (41) , Gerald McKinney (35) , William McKinney (26) , Kevin McElhinney (17) , John Young (17) , Michael McDaid (20) , William Nash (19) , Michael Kelly (17) , Gerald Donaghey (17) , Patrick Doherty (31) and James Wray (22).


RSF on O'Connell Street , Dublin , Saturday 28th January 2012.

The RSF speaker also re-called the words of British Army Major Hubert O' Neill , the then Derry City coroner who , at the end of his 'inquest' into the 'Bloody Sunday' shootings (on 21st August , 1973 - 19 months after the massacre!) declared - "It strikes me that the British Army ran amok that day and they shot without thinking of what they were doing. They were shooting innocent people. I say it without reservation - it was sheer unadulterated murder...."


RSF Clondalkin at the 'Bloody Sunday' Rally , Dublin , Saturday 28th January 2012.


RSF 'Map of Ireland' placard at the 'Bloody Sunday' Rally in Dublin , Saturday 28th January 2012.


Finally : only two things went 'wrong' at the Rally today - we experienced the usual harassment from the State 'Special Branch' and , about twenty minutes from the end of the event, we ran-out of leaflets! Six hundred RSF 'Bloody Sunday' leaflets had been distributed in the past week throughout various parts of Leinster and 1,400 were distributed to the public today , at the Rally - had we had another 500 , the four-person 'Leaflet Team' might just about have had enough to distribute to everyone that asked for one! A proper report on this Rally will be published in the February 2012 issue of 'Saoirse' , which goes to print on Wednesday 8th of that month. Also , if you're a 'Facebooker' , keep an eye on this 'Facebook' page , as our 'Mr T' (!) , a solid supporter of RSF , took a few pics and a video or two of the Rally and sure you might even see meself smiling at the camera.....!
Thanks for reading ,
Sharon.







Wednesday, January 25, 2012

THE MURDER OF JOHN CORCORAN -

- THE COVER-UP CONTINUES.......
From 'MAGILL' magazine , March 1998.

MR. DICK SPRING :
" Does the Minister believe that ?"

MR.JOHN O DONOGHUE :
" However, this investigation is hampered by the continued absence of the person released from prison in Northern Ireland (sic) in 1996 from the jurisdiction."

MR. DICK SPRING :
" I will bring him to the minister."

MR. JOHN O DONOGHUE :
" I can fully understand the distress which has been caused to the family of the victim in this case. They have endured an ordeal of ignorance about the circumstances surrounding the summary execution of a husband and father. The continuing drip-feeding of information and speculation has not helped. I assure the deputy that I intend to ensure this uncertainty is brought to an end as quickly as possible. I will keep in close contact with the garda about the progress they are making in bringing their investigations to a conclusion."

MR. DICK SPRING :
" That reply is an absolute disgrace."

[END OF 'THE MURDER OF JOHN CORCORAN'.]
(NEXT : 'There Will Be Another Day' , by Peadar O' Donnell - first published in January 1963.)









THE PETER BERRY PAPERS....... The Top Secret Memoirs of Ireland's Most Powerful Civil Servant : Dirty Tricks, Election '69/ Spying on a Unionist Politician/ Keeping the (State) Taoiseach informed/ The Garda Fallon Murder/ Advice to Jack Lynch- 'Fire the pair of them...'/ Vivion De Valera's advice to O'Malley/ Rumours of a Coup D'Etat/ The Internment Plot, November 1970/ Secret Meeting with William Craig.
From 'MAGILL' magazine , June 1980.

MAY 4TH , 1970 :

" I was at Mount Carmel at 8.45am to meet the Taoiseach in order to show him Mr. O Morain's room ; the Taoiseach had phoned me late on the previous evening (Sunday) to be there, saying that he intended to settle matters. Afterwards, before he entered his car, the Taoiseach said to me 'he will go quietly' , and then asked if I thought that Mr. O Morain would recollect his conversation with me on 13th April and I said that I did not think so , that on that day after his journey from Mayo he seemed to be in a fuddled condition. The Taoiseach told me that he was coming back in the afternoon to receive Mr O Morain's formal resignation in writing.

On numerous occasions in the Dail the Taoiseach was to say that he had known nothing before the 20th April - see for instance Vol. 246 No. 7 Col. 755 : 'The first indication I got was on Monday 20th April. I do not know what the deputy is relying on for asserting ortherwise...'


MAY 6TH , 1970 :

" At about 2.00am the Taoiseach phoned me to tell me of Deputy Cosgrave's disclosures to him and of his decision to dismiss Mr Haughey and Mr Blaney from the Cabinet. We surmised as to the source of the leak but by that time it would have been a miracle if the rumours had not percolated through the persons outside official circles. There was a persistent rumour that the matter had been discussed at a meeting of Government on Friday , 1st May , and if that were so it would not surprise me in the least if the matter were leaked from there as one Member , in particular, had shown , again and again, that he was incapable of resisting temptation to air his knowledge. But the Garda investigations in following days indicated another source , without positively establishing it......."
(MORE LATER).








RATS RULE THE SINKING SHIP......



Population of Ireland 1841: - 8,175,124 (32 Counties).
Population of Ireland 2010 :- 6,280,822 (32 Counties).


For most of us in Ireland , the 'Master' has changed over the above-mentioned years but all that has really changed is that we have seen one arrogant bully 'leave' and a native one take his place : the owners of the 'Big Houses' have moved , attitude intact, into the one 'Big House' - Leinster House , in Kildare Street , Dublin.
This native 'Toff' , a 'poacher turned gamekeeper' , has decided that they , too, should be entitled to the best of everything, with little or no effort on their behalf , whilst offering nothing in return for their 'keep'. In order to maintain their lifestyles , they are bleeding not only the working and non-working population dry but are thieving whatever natural resources they can get their fat-fingered hands on and selling it to the highest bidder in return for personal 'donations'.
And , unfortunately, rather than take them on , challenge and stop them, most people take the view that it's easier - less hassle - to just leave the country and try and start a new life in a society that will treat them with some respect. And, in our opinion, that's a shame , and it's the wrong choice : the native 'Toff' , morally , financially and spiritually self-'insulated' from those he/she looks down on - and surrounded by a legal and 'security' barrier
(ironically paid for in taxes by those at the bottom of the heap) has feet of clay and stands on a weak foundation. They can be toppled , but not from a distant shore. To quote Oscar Wilde : "The development of the race depends on the development of the individual , and where self-culture has ceased to be the ideal, the intellectual standard is instantly lowered and , often, ultimately lost."
We , as a people, haven't quite "lost" it , yet - but we're getting there.






DON'T REGISTER , DON'T PAY......



.....THE 'HOUSEHOLD TAX'.

The following email is 'doing the rounds' re this €100 tax :

'Household Charge - how to LEGALLY avoid paying it-
You don't have to legally pay Household Tax!!- You wont get a bill because the charge is a Statute. People need to understand this: A Statute is a "legislated rule of society given the force of law by the consent of the governed."(Blacks Law Dictionary 4th edition).
Who are those it governs? Us, the public.
This household charge is a Statute, otherwise known as an Act of Government and only carries the force of law upon you if you consent to it which means that your legally
obliged to pay if you consent or in other words register(for it).If you do not consent, a Statute cannot affect you in any way whatsoever. The courts know this and the last thing they will do is tell you. In fact they will hide this from you at every opportunity they can. On the other hand, if you tell them, they will accept it because they know it is actually true. According to the above definitions a statutory instrument is a contract. If you register for this "charge" you are consenting to this statuate ie: signing the contract. This is why the Government are ASKING the people to register and not just billing them instead.'


From the point of view of those of us who run this blog , whether this new tax is a State "Statute" or not is immaterial , as we have no intention of paying it anyway but , for those who have been wondering if they can 'get away' without having to pay it , the above email might just help to strengthen their resolve. Or , then again , of course, this new tax might just be 'the straw that breaks the camel's back' for some of our readers and , as per our 'Big House' post , above , finally 'convinces' them that their only choice now is to flee the State. Granted , that is an option , and one which will ensure that you don't become 'liable' for this new tax , but at a much higher cost, all things considered, not least to your self-respect. For those thinking along those lines , we would ask that you re-consider and ask yourself if, as a younger man/women in, for example, school , the fact that you might have been able to outrun the bully didn't guarantee that that bully would stop harassing you , did it ?






AND FINALLY....



....I have been asked by an RSF Comhairle Laighean rep to kindly make myself available this coming Saturday , January 28th , for about two hours , to assist with the distribution of what remains of the 2,000 leaflets which that body produced for the annual 'Bloody Sunday' Rally in Dublin : of course I agreed and, if you can make it , please do - and/or spread the word about this Rally. This British massacre occurred almost forty years ago to the day and should never be forgotten.
Thanks for reading,
Sharon.







Sunday, January 22, 2012

"PUMP LEAD AND WATCH THE BLOOD FLOW...."


BRITISH ARMY LIEUTENANT A.F.N. CLARKE : 'When an IRA gunman is wounded and captured, they let him bleed to death. When they pull in suspects, they beat them up, quickly and almost casually: the rougher things are done at a higher level by the people who come and take the suspects away for proper interrogation. When they are off duty, the ‘toms’ improve the hour by sticking pins and razor blades into 'baton rounds' and filing bullets down into expanding 'dum-dums' (something British soldiers have done ever since the invention of the rifle). Clarke reconstructs his own thoughts: "I was really quite a nice guy before I came out here ... build an outer casing round your emotions, enjoy the sense of power, revel in the excitement of the chase...."
(From here.)

To understand what the military occupation of an urban area by British paratroopers actually means, it is helpful to read the memoirs of Lieutenant A.F.N Clarke of 3 Para who completed a tour of duty in Belfast in early 1973. Clarke's account gives an illuminating picture of undisciplined, racist thugs, spoiling for blood, unleashed on a defenceless civilian population.
Describing his "peacekeeping role", he writes:


"The whole camp is praying for a contact. For an opportunity to shoot at anything in the street, pump lead into any living thing and watch the blood flow. Toms sitting in their overcrowded rooms putting more powder into baton rounds to give them more poke; some insert pins and broken razor blades into the rubber rounds. Buckshee rounds have had the heads filed down for a dum-dum effect, naughty, naughty, but who's to know when there are so many spare rounds of ammunition floating about?
Lead filled truncheons, Magnum revolvers, one bloke even has a bowie knife...We have spent months and years training, learning from pamphlets called Shoot To Kill, Fighting In Built Up Areas and others. So now we're let loose on the streets trained to the eyeballs, waiting for a suitable opportunity to let everything rip.
A few kills would be nice at this stage, good for morale, good to inject some new life into the jaded senses of the company...."

(From the above book , authored by Ciarán De Baróid.)

That British Army "pump-lead-into-any-living-thing-and-watch-the-blood-flow" murderous attitude is the same one which prevailed in the British Army and within their political leadership in the years before (and during) 'Bloody Sunday' and which prevails to this day within the approximate 5,000 British troops that maintain an armed presence in the Occupied Six Counties in Ireland. Indeed, that "...pump lead.." attitude was how Westminster managed its 'affairs' in the dozens of other countries it claimed as part of 'the British Empire'. And it is that attitude , and that on-going unwanted presence , that Republican Sinn Féin will continue to campaign against.
Thanks for reading,
Sharon.