Saturday, October 25, 2003

13 HOURS IN NEW ROSS , WEXFORD - 5th JUNE , 1798 .......


....... while on the move to New Ross , the army of United Irishmen ( and women ) , about three-thousand strong , had captured artillery pieces from British forces ; the rebels spent about three days at Carrickbyrne Hill learning how to use their new weapons .......


After two or three days , the leaders of the Rebel Army --- Beauchamp Bagenal Harvey , John Kelly and Fr. Philip Roche --- moved the approximately three-thousand-strong force the short distance from Carrickbyrne Hill to Corbett Hill ; they could now look down on the town of New Ross , which was then a walled town .

The Rebel leaders knew that there was about three or four-thousand enemy soldiers in New Ross , commanded by a General Johnson and a ' Lord ' Mountjoy , the latter in charge of an enemy Brigade from Dublin . One of the Rebel leaders , Harvey , wanted to take the town without bloodshed , if possible , and sent a number of his men , under a flag of truce , to let the British know that he was willing to accept their surrender and take prisoners ....... (MORE LATER).



THE TRAGEDIES OF KERRY , by Dorothy Macardle - first published in 1924 .


CLASHMEALCON CAVES .......


"....... the Free State troops had a search-light trained on the cave ; they were pounding the area with machine-gun fire and grenades . The explosions and gun-fire lasted all night ......."


" In the grey dawn , exhausted , they began to say the Republicans must be dead . Free State soldiers volunteered to go down . There was hesitation for a long time and disputes arose . The people from the cottages began to venture out . For some hours , nothing was done by the Staters . At ten o'clock that morning , the people heard it had been decided to send down a scout .

What would the scout find ? Were they all dead in the cave , or drowned ? Was the cave empty ? There had been no sign from it for thirty hours . Could they --- it would be like Aero Lyons --- could they , by some miraculous feat of daring , have got away ? How Aero would laugh .

If the cave was empty what would the Staters do ? Make sure they were drowned , maybe , and go away ..... And then , supposing they had escaped ! " (MORE LATER).



A WELL-DRESSED THUG....... ---->


<---- " Before the end of the year we'll burn the Tricolour over the GPO in Dublin and then we'll fire their city centre . Ulster (sic) has buried its dead and its widiws and orphans have wept , and Ulster has proved its commitment to the cause .

Now is the time for the Dublin people's commitment to their cause to be put to the test and it will have its fill of Irish widows and orphans to mourn their dead by the time we're finished . All loyalist efforts should be channeled against the Irish Republic because that is the weakest point in the British-Irish Agreement , and if bombs go off and fires consume Dublin , the ordinary people whose relatives are burnt or blown to bits will soon put pressure on their Irish Government (sic) to abort the Anglo-Irish Agreement . "


--- George Seawright , a loyalist who spoke his mind ( as opposed to the rest of his type , who put on a suit and wrapped the above type of sentiment in a greasy spin ) , speaking in Newtownards , County Down , as quoted in ' The Sunday World ' newspaper , 14th September , 1986 , page 8.

That's the mentality we've been dealing with here for over 800 years ; is it possible to sell-out to people like that and still hold on to your own principles , your own (alleged) ' bottom-line ' ? Ask Gerry .......

Friday, October 24, 2003

13 HOURS IN NEW ROSS , WEXFORD - 5TH JUNE , 1798 .......


.......the Irish rebels, camped at Three Rock ( and about four-thousand strong ) were divided by their leader , Beauchamp Bagenal Harvey , into three groups -- two of the groups went towards Wicklow , while the third group ( of about three-thousand men and women ) headed-off towards New Ross in Wexford .......


The two ' Wicklow ' groups put up a fierce struggle against professional British Yeomanry , but were eventually forced to scatter , leaving hundreds of fellow rebels dead or dying . By this time , the largest group ( under Harvey ) had reached Carrickbyrne Hill , about two-hours march from New Ross ; on their journey from Three Rock to Carrickbyrne Hill they had encountered and defeated armed British contingents and Harvey decided they should set-up base at the Hill and teach the rebel army how to use the captured pieces of artillery which they had obtained from the British forces they had met along the way .

After a few days in training , the rebel army were judged to be ready to be moved to the next ' camp ' -- the last such stop before they would attack the town of New Ross ....... (MORE LATER).



THE TRAGEDIES OF KERRY , BY DOROTHY MACARDLE - FIRST PUBLISHED IN 1924 .


CLASHMEALCON CAVES .......


" .......the seven IRA men crept out of Dumforts Cave in the darkness and made their way to another cave ; then two of them , Tommy McGrath and Patrick O' Shea , said they would keep going to try and get help . Both men lost their grip and fell to their death......."



" With daylight on Tuesday , lorry after lorry came tearing out from Tralee with troops and munitions , bombs and grenades and mines . A machine-gun was placed on the point that commanded the cave . An armoured car was run out to the edge of the cliff . The Free State soldiers were swarming above the cliffs like green-flies , the people said .

The bombardment of the cave went on all day . The crackle of the machine-gun and the thunderous concussion of bursting shells , the rending explosion of mines and grenades , shook the houses in Causeway and Ballywilliam ; shook the listening people , fathers and mothers , wives and sisters of the besieged Republicans , to their hearts .

All day it went on and all day there was no answer from the silent cave . Aero Lyons was laughing , no doubt . That night darkness was routed from Clashmealcon . The white beam of a search-light crept over the rock-face , making every ridge and hollow stand out clear . Crimson flame and smoke from burning tar-barrels mixed with yellow , choking sulphurous fumes , made the creek below look like the pit of Hell .

The roar of the ocean and the roar of the fire , the pounding of brakers on rocks and the crash of explosions filled the night with a fiendish din . Rage and fury grew in the defeated horde of Free State soldiers above the cliff ........ " (MORE LATER).



GREEDY CUBS....... ----->


....... <----- In 1983 , the leader of Fine Gael was Garret Fitzgerald -- he was Free State Minister for Foreign Affairs 1973--1977 , became leader of Fine Gael in 1977 and was Free State Taoiseach for nine months between 1981 and 1982 . He was appointed 'Taoiseach' again in the Leinster House administration which was formed on the 14th December 1982 .

Twenty years ago , Mr. Fitzgerald was on Punts 826 a week ( Euro 1048 ) from the taxpayer to look after the finances of the State ; those that could'nt get a job or did'nt want to emigrate , in 1983 , went on the dole --- and Garret and his type decided that they could live on Punts 29 ( Euro 37 ) a week ! So , twenty years ago , it took a person on the dole 22 weeks to get the same amount of money that our politicians were pocketing in one week !

See -- it was'nt the ' Celtic Tiger ' that made them greedy .....

Thursday, October 23, 2003

13 HOURS IN NEW ROSS , WEXFORD - 5th June , 1798 ........


.......the town of Enniscorthy , and Wexford Town itself , had both fallen to the British in late May , 1798 ; the United Irishmen planned to take New Ross , and use it as a base .......


The plan was to use New Ross as a base from which to march on Waterford and Kilkenny . There were at least four-thousand Irish rebels , all brave at heart but undisciplined in matters military .

They set-up a temporary base at Three Rock , just outside Wexford Town , and spent about three days there , drilling and learning basic military manoeuvres ; their leader , Beauchamp Bagenal Harvey , was aware that they needed to strike at the British quickly , before they could 'bed' themselves down in New Ross .

The United Irishmen were divided into three groups ; two of the groups , each consisting of hundreds of rebels , were dispatched towards Wicklow ( to delay and confuse the enemy ) while the third contingent , consisting of about three-thousand men and women , headed off towards New Ross , in Wexford ....... (MORE LATER).



THE TRAGEDIES OF KERRY , by Dorothy Macardle - first published in 1924 .


CLASHMEALCON CAVES .......


".......the IRA men were trapped in Dumforts Cave ; the Free Staters had tried to burn them out , but were not successful . When darkness fell , the IRA men crept out , one-by-one , in an attempt to escape ......."



" They moved stealthily , for fear of stirring a pebble , between the lonely pinnacle and the cliff , out of the creek and along to the flat rock over which hung , they knew well , a ledge they would be able to climb to and , above it , another cave . They came to the flat rock and stood there , cold and wet , hungry and victorious , their ruse wholly successful , their going unheard .

It seemed that the enemy were so idle in the wet night that if only aid could be summoned , one little company ambushing above might save them now . Tommy McGrath and Patrick o'Shea volunteered to go farther , to try to make their way out and get help . For a little distance they groped their way safely , but the night was black and the rocks baffled them ; there was no pathway now , no escape -- only rocks jutting everyway overhead and slippery masses of seaweed below .

They had come within reach of the breakers that flung themselves like monsters against the rocks and dragged the shingle back with a grinding roar . They were torn from their hold in the darkness and drowned ........" (MORE LATER).



LORD.......

On the eve of the 17th Century plantations , Sir William Parson , an English ' Overlord ' , stated ---

--- " We must change the Irish course of government , apparel , manner of holding land , language and habit of life . It will otherwise be impossible to set up in them obedience to the law and the British Empire . "

That was the 17th Century, this is the 21st Century : and they're still at it ......



.......SAVE US ---->

[from ' The Sunday Times ' , 20th October , 1985 , page 16]


British ' Lord ' Grey Gowrie resigned as British Arts Minister in September 1985 because his £33,000 sterling salary per year -- " was not sufficient to support my lifestyle . "

The poor man could'nt put bread on the table , in 1985 , on £687 Sterling a week !

DAMN IT, Grey , old man ; if we had known in time we would have organised a collection for you .......

Wednesday, October 22, 2003

, 13 HOURS IN NEW ROSS , WEXFORD -- 5th June , 1798 .......


....... the United Irishmen attacked the British forces in New Ross , Wexford on 5th June , 1798 , and were successful ; but the British re-grouped and took back the town , driving the Irish rebels out.......


The rebels themselves re-grouped , under the command of Beauchamp Bagenal Harvey , Thomas Cloney , Father Philip Roche and John Kelly . They forced their way into New Ross again and scattered the British forces but , once again , for the second time , the Brits re-grouped , attacked , and put the rebels to flight .

Feeling that a final victory was within their grasp , the United Irishmen assembled for another push -- the third such attack . The thirteen-hour battle for the town of New Ross in Wexford was one of the most ferocious and bloody fights of the 1798 Rising . In late May , 1798, the town of Enniscorthy and Wexford Town itself fell to the British ; the Irish rebels in the area , under Harvey , planned to take New Ross and use it as a base ....... (MORE LATER).




THE TRAGEDIES OF KERRY , by Dorothy Macardle - first published in 1924 .


CLASHMEALCON CAVES.......


"....... two Free State soldiers attempted to enter Dumfort's Cave --- both were shot dead by the IRA unit inside . The other's knew not to try it again ......."


" Free State Officers went into the village and sent wires : " Prominent irregulars in caves . Come on ! " The Free Staters believed De Valera and Humphrey Morgan were there . They sent soldiers to every cottage to take out the hay and brought it to the cliff's edge and bundled sods of turf into it and threw it down , flaming and smoking , to the mouth of the cave . They wired to Tralee for paraffin , oil and tar . Lorries came tearing out loaded with oil and petrol and something that seemed like sulphur .

They got sheets from the houses and saturated them with the sulphurous stuff and set fire to them and flung them down . They made a choking smoke with a poisonous fume . They poured oil and tar and petrol into hay and turf and flung it all , flaming , down to the cave . A roaring blaze and a yellow smoke . The people thought that the rocks themselves would be consumed . But the wind changed and blew the flames out to sea . It was the season in Kerry of " the rough weather of the cuckoo " -- the weather called " scoriveen " . At nightfall torrents of rain came down .

The Free State Officers talked of rushing the cave under a shield of iron shutters , or attacking it from a boat , but the soldiers would make no such attack . They were cold and wet and their efforts subsided during the night . They tried once more to lower a lamp , but a shot from the cave smashed it , and they tried no more . The night was hung with thick , impenetrable darkness ; the tide , at midnight , was far out -- the elements were with the IRA men in the caves . One by one , they crept out from the narrow mouth of the cave and walked , barefoot , over the boulders , to the right , along by the friendly overshadowing rock wall........" (MORE LATER)>



TAKE IT DOWN FROM THE MAST .......
[from ' The Evening Press ' newspaper , 13th September , 1986 -- a Saturday , if memory serves -- page 4]

Peter Robinson ( Deputy leader of the ' Democratic Unionist Party ' at the time ) stated ---

--- " If someone will tell me the time and the place when the Union Jack will ever be banned , I'll be there with mine to make sure it keeps flying . Ulster (sic) is part of the United Kingdom , the Union Jack is its flag and no one can morally or legally order it to be taken down . If anyone here finds the flag provocative it is they who should be dealt with and not the flag . "


Mr. Robinson would do well to realise that most people on this island find that flag " provocative " , and for good reason -- it would serve him better in the long run to make his peace with the majority here , rather than threaten them .....



....... IRISH TRAITORS --->

[from ' The Sunday Business Post ' , 20th July , 1997 , page 14 ]


<--- Writing in ' The Irish News ' on Thursday , 17th July , 1997 , Gerry Adams stated that his party ( Provisional 'Spin' Fein ) wanted -- " Maximum constitutional change and a renegotiation of the Union . "

That's what Fianna Fail and the SDLP , amongst others , have always being willing to settle for . But its not what 1798 , 1803 , 1916 etc was about . Its not what the last 834 years have been fought for . And its not what the next 834 years , if it takes that long , will be fought for ......

Tuesday, October 21, 2003

THIRTEEN HOURS IN NEW ROSS , WEXFORD - 5th JUNE , 1798 .



The Irish poet William Rooney was so taken by the exploits of United Irishwoman Mary Doyle that , in the late 19th Century , he wrote one of his best known works about the 1798 fighter -- ' Heroine of Ross '.

Mary Doyle was to the fore in the thirteen-hour battle of New Ross , in County Wexford , on 5th June , 1798 ; during that battle , which involved thousands of fighters on both sides , the United Irishmen won the fight , and the town , on their first attack -- only to lose it when the British Yeomanry , under the command of a General Johnson , re-grouped and drove the rebels out .

However , within hours the Irish rebels had themselves re-grouped and were ready for another attack ....... (MORE LATER).



THE TRAGEDIES OF KERRY , by Dorothy Macardle - first published in 1924 .


CLASHMEALCON CAVES.......


"....... the Free Staters forced Jimmy McGrath to take them to the hidden caves in Clashmealcon where the IRA unit made camp ; he was tortured until he agreed to do so ; he was sure the cave was empty but , when he entered ......."


" 'Aero' Lyons and O'Shea and Jim McEnery and Greaney and the brave Englishman , Hathaway , and his own brother , Tom , were there . Dumfort's Cave was named , it is said , after a Fenian who used to hide there in '67 , or maybe from some fugitive of penal times . It is a small shallow hollow at the base of the rocks at the apex of the horse-shoe shaped creek .

Great boulders lie piled in front of it ; the tide flows almost to the hole -- half-way up the cliffs jut over it in an arch and the grassy edge above shelves out over that arch again . From no point , except one , far out on one butt of the horse-shoe , can the cave be seen . There is no way to it save the slippery path where only one man at a time can go , and he must cling with his hands ; the path is commanded , the whole way down , from the cave .

It is a position from which one man , had he provisions , might defy a besieging host ; the high rocks above are his allies , and the deep ocean below .

Not one of them blamed Jim McGrath . They took him into the cave . A Free State soldier tried to follow him , shouting " Come out ! " A bullet fired from the cave killed him instantly , and he fell on the flat rocks below . One more tried and was shot and fell into the sea . No soldier would go down after that ......." (MORE LATER).



TWISTED .......

[from 'AP/RN' , 31st July , 1986 , page 4]


In 1975 , Margaret Thatcher said ---

--- " The pursuit of equality is a mirage . Opportunity means nothing unless it includes the right to be unequal . "

And the Tories are determined to give that " right " to the working class......



.......LOGIC ---->

[from ' The Evening Press ' , 7th August , 1986 -- a Thursday , if memory serves -- page 7]


<---- According to the British Royal Air Force , the true position of Rockall is nearly one nautical mile south-east of where it was thought to be -- in other words , it is a mile closer to Ireland .

The Rock itself is one-hundred foot long and sixty foot high , and is situated about 260 miles north-west of Donegal , 300 miles distance from Scotland , 350 miles from the Faroe Islands and 440 miles from Iceland . It's previous position was (incorrectly) fixed by a (British ?) naval surveyor , a Captain Alexander Vidal , in 1831 .


" Rock on , Rockall , you'll never fall , to Britains greedy hands ....... "

Monday, October 20, 2003

THE B-SPECIALS ; 1920 - 1970 .......


.......on April Fools Day , 1970 , the Brits announced the 'disbandment' of the B-Specials ; a few weeks later , they announced the establishment of a 'new' force of men --- the ' Ulster Defence Regiment' . The UDR was to be heavily armed .......


Self-loading rifles , sub-machine guns , Bren guns and Browning machine guns mounted on armoured cars ; about eight-thousand members of the 'old' B-Specials / Ulster Volunteer Force joined the 'new' force , put on a different British uniform and basically carried-on from where they had left off .

In one form or another , in one uniform or another and with one name or another , the British and/or their lackeys in this country have never shrinked from using violence to maintain their grip on Ireland or part thereof . It is of no concern to Republicans whether they call themselves the British Army , the Ulster Volunteer Force , the B-Specials , the Ulster Defence Regiment or the Police Service of Northern Ireland (sic).

Their shared objective is to sustain an unnatural entity -- the British presence in Ireland . They might as well try and stop the tide coming in ......


[END].



THE TRAGEDIES OF KERRY , by Dorothy Macardle - first published in 1924 .


CLASHMEALCON CAVES.......


".......after driving-off the Free State attackers , the IRA men knew they would be back in force the next day ; they prepared to go on the run ......."


" But it seems that the Free State soldiers had said to a woman in Causeway that they knew the Republicans had a cave , and that they would make a good search for it next day . " And she never stirred her tongue to give us the warning ." It is a thing that the people do not forgive .

Three of the nine had been wary and gone inland , but six men , losing, as though by some unavoidable doom , all judgement , went into Dumfort's Cave . They slept ; they put out no sentry ; they had taken in no food . The Free State troops took one prisoner on Sunday morning-- Jimmy McGrath . He was Tom's brother , but had not his quick wit ; he hardly understood what the danger was . The Free Staters ' interrogated ' him in Tralee Barracks by their inhuman methods until he broke down and promised to take them to the caves . It would do little harm , he thought --- there was nobody there .

Very early on Monday morning he came out with the Free State troops to Clashmealcon . The soldiers watched from above while he clambered down the half-hidden , perilous path . He came down the cliffs and up the steep slope of shingle to the mouth of Dumfort's Cave ........ " (MORE LATER).



SOCIALIST SHYSTER....... ----> [from ' The Evening Press' newspaper , 19th February --- a Tuesday , I think --- 1985]



----> John O'Connell , a Fianna Fail Leinster House member at the time , stated that Charlie Haughey " could claim to be a socialist as it was he who brought in free TV licences , electricity and travel for the elderly . "


And Charlie Haughey did those things ; to his credit . And they are still in operation to this day . But that's where his credit run's dry .......


....... The man ripped-off the taxpayer in this State for his own selfish , personal , financial benefit , and continues to live an extremely comfortable lifestyle . Fianna Fail's idea of a " socialist " is someone who does'nt rip them off ! There idea of an " honest politician " is someone who , once purchased , stays purchased .

But , now that I think of it , Haughey DID rip his own off as well -- remember his " best political and personal friend " , Brian Lenihan , was dying and needed an operation ? And the bould Charlie touched all his business buddies for cash to help poor Brian out ?

Ask Lenihan's widow how much of that cash got through to her .......

Sunday, October 19, 2003

THE B-SPECIALS ; 1920 - 1970 .......


....... an RTE camera-crew showed the B-Specials 'keeping the peace' at Civil Rights marches ; the bloody footage was shown world-wide and embarrassed the Brits to such an extent that , in October 1969 , they decided to give the impression that they were prepared to change things .......



It was announced , with fanfare , that the B-Specials would be disbanded -- and , on 1st April , 1970 ( April Fool's Day ! ) , they were --- in name only .....

The British presented the 'disbandment' of the B-Specials as a " fair solution " by a ' fair administration ' to a problem which they had only been made aware of and gratefully accepted the plaudits from those foolish enough to offer them .

However , the Brits , as usual , gave with the one hand and took with the other --- within weeks of the " disbandment " of the B-Specials , the Brits announced that a " new " part-time force was to be established -- the ' Ulster Defence Regiment ' (UDR) . The ' Ulster Defence Regiment ' was to be placed under the ' control ' of the British Army and was to be issued with top-of-the-range weaponary ....... (MORE LATER)



THE TRAGEDIES OF KERRY , by Dorothy Macardle - first published in 1924 .



CLASHMEALCON CAVES .......


"....... Jim McEnery's sister , Catherine, was holding a young , frightened Free State soldier as 'prisoner' in her family house --- he had run away during the gun-fight earlier that day . Four IRA men , including Timothy 'Aero' Lyons , called to the house and the Free State soldier thought he was done for ......."


" " I'm a Catholic, " , he was crying ; " get me a priest ." Lyons soothed him and told him to stay close to him and he would be safe . The 'prisoner' thankfully obeyed . A Free State cycling corps came up to the attack , was ambushed from as many sides as there were defenders -- some seven or eight , maybe-- broke up in confusion and returned to Tralee . The Free State 'prisoner' ran after his own army and rejoined it in the retreat .

When night fell all was quiet again . Catherine McEnery went out . She knew well that the comedy was over and there would be real danger next day , and she wanted to know what the men would do . She met 'Aero' Lyons wandering in the dark fields . He was in great delight over the day's work , but when she asked him " What are you going to do ? " he answered doubtfully - " I don't know ". She met her brother Jim then , with Tom Greaney . " What will you do at all ? " , she asked . " We are going to a place that's safe ," Greaney answered . " We'll send a scout tomorrow for whatever we want . "" (MORE LATER).



MALVINAS MARSHAL'S MINIMISE MICK MASSACRE ....... ---->

[from ' The Sunday Times ' , 22nd September , 1985 , page 4]


<---- BBC news executives and their equivalent suits in the BBC Current Affairs department held internal meetings during the Malvinas/Falklands War in 1982 ; four decisions were reached ---


--- 1) - ban interviews with bereaved relatives ;

2) - it was agreed that reporting be shaped to suit " the emotional sensibilities of the public " ;

3) - that to adhere to what they called the BBC's " normal detached reporting style " (!) would be " an unnecessary irritation " ( What a nice British way to describe propaganda ! ) and

4) - that the weight of BBC coverage would be concerned with " British government statements of policy . "


Would'nt ya love to be a 'fly-on-the-wall' while those Eton chappies at the Beeb are discussing what they'd no doubt describe as " the Irish problem " :


Eton chappie # 1 --- " I say , Clive , those damn Micks are still fighting back . "


Eton chappie # 2 --- " So I see , Edward - it's just not cricket ....."


Eton chappie # 1 --- " By jove , I've got it ! Let's jolly-well not interview the relatives of the Mick terrorists that we , eh , defend ourselves against , and we could also simply tell the public here on the mainland what they want to hear ... "


Eton chappie # 2 --- " Crikey , Edward , old sport , that's it ! And lets waive the rules and not be neutral in what we report - except of course if it comes from our man in Number Ten..... "


Then the 'fly-on-the-wall' buzzed around the two chaps -- and try as they might , they just could'nt swat it .......