This treaty is designed tolock people and states into aprogramme of socialdeprivation and economicapartheid by removing anyremaining vestiges of economicsovereignty from the hands ofthe people and their directlyelected representatives.

Fear and intimidation arebeing used once again by the26-County Administration andtheir political masters inBrussels as they attempt tosteamroll the Irish people intogiving away the last vestiges ofindependence.

The political elites ofLeinster House and the EUhave set the tone for theforthcoming referendum on theEU Austerity Treaty by

threatening people about thedire consequences of arejection of the treaty.

EU power is based on theFEAR of the people not theWILL of the people

Of course we have heard itall before during the referendaon the Lisbon and Nice treaties.And on both occasions peoplewere forced to vote again fortreaties they had alreadyrejected. The power elites ofthe EU are not interested in thewill of the people but insteadare intent on grabbing evenmore power using the fear ofthe people. In this they havewilling collaborators in thepolitical establishment of the26-County State.

The system of finance capitalism, driven by Franceand Germany’ created theeconomic collapse of the pastfour years — yet it is theworking people of Ireland andEurope who are being asked topay the price. In a May Dayaddress to the Irish trade unionmovement the President ofRepublican Sinn Féin pointsout: “The orthodoxy of thepolitical and economic elitesboth here in Ireland and withinthe EU is to rebuild the

collapsed structure of financecapitalism rather than deal withthe human cost of that collapse.The legacy for futuregenerations will be an inabilityto educate the young, care forthe sick and provide for the old,the very markers of a civilisedsociety.”

The forthcomingreferendum on the AusterityTreaty in the 26 Counties is anopportunity to send out a clearstatement of intent that people

are not prepared to cede anymore power to theundemocratic and unelectedbureaucratic elite that is theEU. We should also beconscious of events in the restof Europe with the collapse ofthe Dutch government over theissue of austerity as well as theopposition to the same policyexpressed in the Frenchpresidential election.

Writing in the SundayBusiness Post on April 29 Tom

McGurk said that a war is beingwaged against austerity bypeople across Europe andargued that it is in this contextthat the referendum in the 26Counties should be viewed: “Ifthe Irish say No just days aftera new French president, who isalready critical of the austerityagenda, is elected, we mayhave a whole new ball-game.”

A No vote will be a positivestep towards regaining controlof our future and that of thegenerations to come.

As we approach thecentenary of the 1916 Risingwe now have an opportunity tofight back and show that the1916 Proclamation still speaksfor this generation when itdeclares: “The right of thepeople of Ireland to theownership of Ireland, and to theunfettered control of Irishdestinies, to be sovereign andindefeasible.”

Begin the fight back for ourcountry and vote NO.

Vote NOto austerity

UIMH 301 BEALTAINE — MAY 2012 http://saoirse.info €2 (£1.50 stg, USA $35 p.a.)

SAOIRSEIrish FreedomThe Voice of the Republican Movement

Easter commemorations wereheld throughout Ireland, in

London, Liverpool, Glasgowand New York.

See special four-page supplementwith two pages of

photos.Pages 9-13 inside.

ON May 31 the people of the 26 Counties will havethe chance to step up the fight back against austerityby voting NO to the EU Austerity Treaty.

CABHAIRIrish Republican

Prisoners DependantsFund

ANNUAL TESTIMONIAL

DINNER& REPUBLICAN

REUNIONAcademy Plaza Hotel,

DublinSaturday, May 19, 2012

Dinner €30Honorees:Honorees:Rosemary

& Tom Doran(Leinster)

Tess Moten(Munster)

Peter Quinn (Connacht)

Sarah Murphy(Ulster)

Brian Mór Ó Baoighill(USA, posthumously)

For further information contact:

Ard-Oifig Dublin 872 9747

WOLFE TONE COMMEMORATION

Bodenstown, 2.30pm SUNDAY, JUNE 10, Sallins, Co Kildare

Buses: Aston Quay, Dublin 12.45pm Táille: €10

• People across Europe are figthing back against austerity. (Above) 26-County policeusing pepper spray against some of the 6,000 protesters at the Labour Party conference inGalway on April 14 last.

COMMANDANT NEIL ‘PLUNKETT’O'BOYLE COMMEMORATION

KNOCKNADRUCE, CO WICKLOW,SUNDAY, MAY 13, 3pm

Assemble Hollywood, 2.30pm

Householders simply cannottake another burden, followinghousehold and a likely propertytax. ACRA along with theCAHWT pledges to organise amass grassroots campaign onthis issue in every estate, townand village in the Country.

Speaking today to membersMalachy Steenson, GeneralSecretary of ACRA, said

“Water is already paid for

from central taxation. It wasnever ‘free’, so talk of a freeallocation is nonsense. Ourmembers up and down theCountry are already pinned tothe collar trying to survive,recent surveys have shown thatone in five Children are going tobed or school hungry whilst theCredit Union Survey has shownthe 1.6 million people only havea disposable income of €25 at

the end of each week, while500,000 have no disposableincome.”

He added that “The onlypurpose in setting up Irish Wateris to pave the way for theeventual privatisation of thewater supply - a bonanza to behanded over to a privateoperators and to the speculatorsand gamblers who have alreadydestroyed this country, toprofiteer from a vital resource.

“This is yet another naturalresource that would be handedto the private sector, chargingresidents at will, as we have seen

with waste collectioncompanies.

“The prediction by JohnFitzgerald of the ESRI last yearthat domestic charges wouldquickly amount to €1,200 is nowrapidly becoming evident. Theseproposals for water meteringand charges on top of a home taxwill be met with massiveresistance.”

Finally he said “Wesuccessfully made the householdtax one of the biggest campaignsin recent decades. Water chargeswill be even more forcefullyopposed.”

SAOIRSE June editionpublished 30/5/2012

2 Saoirse-Irish Freedom — Bealtaine/May 2012

GearrscéaltaHarassment by RUC inDerryA HUMAN rights group has agreed to monitorRUC/PSNI searches in Derry after a series ofallegations of harassment by residents in the Cregganarea.

The Belfast-based Committee for the Administration of Justice(CAJ) confirmed on April 24 that it will now work alongside CregganWomen’s Group to log all allegations of British colonial policeharassment in the area and will later present its findings to the BritishPolice Ombudsman’s Office.

The move arose out of a public meeting called by members of thewomen’s group who had been alarmed and shocked by the storiesthey were being told about ‘stop and searches’ of women and childrenin the areaGroup spokeswoman Betty Doherty said: “People don’tknow what their rights are, which is why I contacted the CAJ.”

Daniel Holder, CAJ deputy director, added: “We heard someserious reports of misuse of stop and search powers.”

RUC left gun on child’s bedafter Belfast raidIT was reported on April 18 that members of theRUC/PSNI had to return to a house in north Belfastto recover a gun belt including a pistol that was leftbehind following the arrest of a man suspected ofRepublican activity

The 39-year-old man who owns the property has indicated that heintends to make a complaint about the RUC blunder to the BritishPolice Ombudsman’s office in Belfast.

Covenant parade toconverge on StormontTHOUSANDS of Orangemen are set to converge onStormont later this year to mark the centenary of theUlster Solemn League and Covenant according to areport on April 5.

The Orange Order has confirmed that Parliament Buildings willprovide the symbolic backdrop for a major parade by members ofthe loyal institutions in Belfast on September 29.

Aprils edition of the Orange Standard the Order’s monthlypublication reports that Stormont Finance Minister Sammy Wilsonhas granted permission for the large event to be staged in the groundsof the historic estate.

Organisers want the route to incorporate the City Hall, the venuefor the most famous Covenant signing led by Sir Edward Carson in1912. The parade will be open to all of the loyal orders, with both theIndependent Orange Institution and Apprentice Boys already havingconfirmed their participation.

On April 18 it was reported that the Orange Order had receiveda grant of almost £900,000 from the European Union to “help addressthe legacy of the conflict in Northern Ireland (sic).

Explosive device found inNewry was ‘fully primed’A VIABLE explosive device found in a van justoutside Newry on April 27, was ‘fully primed andcontained 600lbs of explosives’, according to newsreports.

The device was ‘twice as big as the bomb which explodedoutside the courthouse in Newry in February 2010’. It was found ina white van in the Fathom Line area on April 27 which had beenabandoned at Fathom Line. A member of the public alerted the RUC.

The road was closed for two days while the van was examinedand removed.

The moral hijackingof Bloody SundayIN an article carried in spiked, the editor, Brendan O’Neill, wrote anexcellent piece titled The moral hijacking of Bloody Sunday. It wascarried in IRIS 294 but due to lack of space the long article cannotbe reprinted in SAOIRSE. However it s available onhttp://www.spiked-online.com/index.php/site/article/12022/ and wellworth a read.

“It beggar’s belief that thestate can remove itself from theresponsibility of supplyingclean water to its people; cleanwater is a basic human right andshould not be privatised,””Geraldine said.

“Since the collapse of thebanking system, the 26-Countyadministration is doingeverything to support the bankbailout and is doing this to thedeterment of the most

vulnerable in society. People arebeing told that on top of watercharges they are going to haveto pay to have water metersinstalled at a total charge ofnearly €800. This will be part ofthe standing charge and then wewill have to pay for every dropof water used.

“This scheme should beresisted with even more gustothan the household tax and isanother household charge.

“During the Celtic tigeryears local councils were stilldeprived of finance to upgradeand repair water supply pipesand reservoirs. New housingestates were built with no

thought as to the burden onexisting water and sewagenetworks, now when there is arisk of drought here due to lowrainfall.

“Phil Hogan is takingadvantage of people’s fears totransfer the public water supplyinto private hands at enormouscost to every individual in thestate.”

“We must fight against thisbackhanded scheme and keepour water supplied by localcouncils. Phil Hogan is usingthe water meter charge todistract people from the pointthat the supply will be privatisedand that water will no longer besupplied free to all in society,”Geraldine concluded.”

Fight against the privatisation of water GERALDINE McNamara, PRO, RepublicanSinn Féin, stated on April 17 that the decision byLeinster House representative Phil Hogan tohand over the water supply services to An BordGáis “is an absolute disgrace.” This newcompany is to be known as Irish Water and willsupply water to householders in the 26 Counties.

Results of Dublin raffleAPRIL Draw results were as follows: 1st prize ticket no258; 2nd prize ticket no 257; 3rd prize 247; 4th prize 311;5th prize 182; 6th prize 558; 7th prize 462; 8th prize 634.

Cumann na Saoirse Náisiúnta (National Irish Freedom Committee)

• is committed tosupportingprisoners for

which CABHAIRis responsible• is generating

publicity in supportof Irish national

independence.

We need your support. Our websiteaddress is:

http://irishfreedom.net

‘We will not be paying anytax on the family home’

A SPOKESPERSON for the Association ofCombined Residents Associations (ACRA) said onApril 18 that mass opposition is predicted to anyattempts to impose a tax on water.

• Geraldine McNamara

Between six and eightthousand people gathered onEyre Square to march on theLabour conference and air arange of grievances fromhousing, water and septic tankcharges, anti-bondholder bailoutcampaigners, anti-war, anti-fracking, SPARK, Shell to Seaand the Rossport campaigners,

as well as many peopleunaffiliated with any group.

As the crowd grewthroughout the morning, itbecame clear that there wasmassive discontent at the waythat the Labour Party hasrepresented itself ingovernment.

Thousands of people were

there and wished to ensure thatthe Labour delegates wereaware of their presence but wereherded into the area at the frontof the NUIG quad building, noteven within sight of theconference.

This left many of theprotesters with the feeling thatthey were, once again, beingignored by their electedrepresentatives. When severalyoung demonstrators werepepper-sprayed for simplyapproaching the barrier to theconference hall, the crowd

became even more determinedto push their way past thegardaí.

Dismissive comments byÉamonn Gilmore that he hopedthe demonstrators “have a niceday”, and accusations of “bully-boy tactics” leveled at thepeople present only served tofurther distance the LabourParty from their electorate.

The march on the LabourParty conference was a hugelysuccessful show of solidarityand people power.

Protest at Labour Partyconference in Galway

MEMBERS of Occupy Galway took part in whatwas the biggest peaceful demonstration of solidarityand people power in Galway for many years on April14.

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New ‘No Fiscal Treaty’websiteA NEW website outlining Republican Sinn Féin’sopposition to the Fiscal Treaty referendum in the 26Counties, to be held on May 31, has been set up; itcan be acessed at: http://www.nofiscaltreaty.net/.

NIFC at ‘Tent State’Rutgers UniversityA NATIONAL Irish Freedom Committee (NIFC)information booth at ‘Tent State’ University RutgersUniversity, New Brunswick, NJ was in place fromApril 15 to 22.

Speakers and events were planned throughout the week. Thiswas a joint tent-hosting information about Ireland and Palestine.

Irish/Palestinian solidarity tent supplied information aboutMartin Corey, a political hostage in Maghaberry jail and otherpolitical prisoners; CABHAIR, the Political Prisoners DependentFund; ÉIRE NUA and SAOL NUA political policy documents;copies of SAOIRSE, a Palestinian flag, Shell-to-Sea banner, ÉIRENUA SAOL NUA banner, Irish Republican and Palestinian posterson display.

Cumann Na Saoirse Náisiúnta (National Irish FreedomCommittee); http://www.irishfreedom.net/

Peats reopens its doors inDublinDUBLIN electrical chain store Peats World ofElectronics re-opened its doors on Saturday, April28, just weeks after it had closed its eleven branchesand announced plans to go into liquidation.

The family-owned company said earlier this week that a “waveof goodwill” from customers and suppliers had allowed it tocontinue in business.

The Parnell Street store re-opened selling stock from the storeswhich closed on 23 April at discounted prices. The store plans to re-establish itself with a lower cost base and a restructured business.

Chairman Ben Peat said it was an “emotional but good day”.“We’ve been blown away by the positive reaction we’ve had

from customers, staff and suppliers. The support we’ve received hasbeen nothing short of phenomenal”.

The company hopes that a successful re-launch in Parnell Streetwill lead to the re-opening of its other stores in Dublin.

“Clearly the Peat’s brand resonates with people and it’s greatthat we’re still in business after 78 years, and we plan to be arounda lot longer,” said Ben Peat.

The Rathmines branch of the store is also due to open shortly.The company has been able to seek a petition to the High Court toenter into examinership, which will allow the business to resumetrading.

Greyhound set to issue finalCity Council waste billsIN the third week of April, 140,000 households inDublin city received their waste bills for the lastquarter of 2011. It is believed that technicalproblems matching the Greyhound and council ITsystems caused further delays after an initialdeferral due to data protection concerns.

Council bills, which were due to be issued at the end ofDecember 2011, are now three months overdue. The bills, whichwill be the last ever to be issued by the council, cover the last quarterof 2011. Despite the bills covering the period in which the councilwere collecting, the bills will in fact be issued by Greyhound andpayments will also be collected by the private operator.

GAA club cancels eventover RUC involvementTHE Derrytresk GAA club, Co Tyrone called off anevent after some members objected to theinvolvement of the RUC/PSNI.

The Live to Play events were organised to educate young GAAmembers about road safety after a number of fatal crashes. Theyhave been seen as a sign of an improving relationship between theGAA and the British colonial police.

However, the Derrytresk club said it had cancelled the eventfollowing complaints from some members.

Derrytresk chairman Barney Campbell claimed the club had notbeen made aware that the police would be involved.

“As it turned out, the [RUC/]PSNI were coming to it and wewere never informed about that and there were a few people in theclub not very happy about that [so] we just called it off,” he said.

A spokesman for the Tyrone county board said they would haveto respect the decision taken by the Derrytresk club.

Saoirse-Irish Freedom — Bealtaiine/May 2012 3

Gearrscéalta

The orthodoxy of the politicaland economic elites both here inIreland and within the EU is torebuild the collapsed structure offinance capitalism rather than dealwith the human cost of thatcollapse. The legacy for futuregenerations will be an inability toeducate the young, care for thesick and provide for the old, thevery markers of a civilisedsociety. In Europe the resistanceto this is growing as evidenced inGreece but also by the collapse ofthe government in Holland andthe Presidential election inFrance.

Here in Ireland it is time forthe trade union movement to takeup the banner first held aloft bythe founders of the movement acentury ago. James Connolly’swords are as relevant today aswhen first penned in 1916: “Thecause of labour is the cause ofIreland, the cause of Ireland is thecause of labour.

“They cannot be dissevered.Ireland seeks freedom. Labourseeks that an Ireland free shouldbe the sole mistress of her owndestiny, supreme owner of allmaterial things within and uponher soil. Labour seeks to make thefree Irish nation the guardian ofthe interests of the people ofIreland, and to secure that endwould vest in that free Irish nation

all property rights as against theclaims of the individual, with theend in view that the individualmay be enriched by the nation,and not by the spoiling of hisfellows”.

Or James Larkin in hisaddress to the Irish Trades UnionCongress in 1914: “I submit thatthe working-class have as muchright as any section or class in the

community to enjoy all theadvantages of science, art andliterature. No field of knowledge,no outlook in life, and no bookshould be closed against theworkers. We should demand ourshare in the effulgence of life andall that was created for theenjoyment of mankind.”

We applaud the stand takenby MANDATE, the TEEU and

UNITE in calling for a rejectionof the Austerity Treaty in thereferendum on May 31. We callon the rest of the trade unions totake a similar position and join thecampaign against thisundemocratic power grab by theEU. By voting No the Irish peoplewill be reaffirming in the words ofthe 1916 Proclamation: “…the

right of the people of Ireland tothe ownership of Ireland.”

This decade will mark thecentenaries of some of thedefining moments in IrishRevolutionary history includingthe heroic 1913 Lockout as wellas the 1916 Rising, both of whichwe will mark with pride. Thetrade union movement was in thevanguard of the forces ofdemocracy and progress duringthose momentous years, 100 yearslater it must do so again if it is toretain its relevance to the workingpeople of All-Ireland.

The trade union movementmust discard the language ofconciliation with forces that willnot be conciliated, it must speakwith a language described bySeán O’Casey as “not for anassignation with peace, darkobedience, or placid resignation,but trumpet-tongued of resistanceto wrong, discontent with leeringpoverty, and defiance of anypower strutting out to stand in theway of their march onward”.

Trade unions must once morebe prepared to take on the forcesof political reaction and capitaland join the struggle for a NewIreland based on the principles ofpolitical, social and economicjustice, freedom and democracy.James Connolly described LibertyHall as the: “unconquered citadelof the Irish working-class”, it isnow time for the entire tradeunion movement to prove itselfworthy of the proud legacybequeathed to it by itsunconquered and unconquerableforbears.

“The great appear greatbecause we are on our knees, letus rise.”

May Day Address to Irish TradeUnion Movement

THE following address from the President ofRepublican Sinn Féin Des Dalton was sent to all tradeunions in Ireland on April 28:ON this May Day we address ourselves to you onthe urgent need for a vibrant and radical tradeunion movement. Working people in Ireland andacross Europe are being sacrificed in order to bailout the failed neo-liberal economic model uponwhich the EU is based.

Over 1,000 further colonialfiles are still retained by theBritish Foreign andCommonwealth Office, whilelarge numbers of militarydocuments – including those onthe insurgency in Cyprus – aremissing. And official attempts tomanage the image of Britain‘srebellions extend beyond eventsin the colonies: there is evidencethe files relating to the SixOccupied Counties are beingsuppressed.

The Northern Ireland (sic)files, despite having passed the30-year mark laid down in thePublic Records Act, have not beenlisted with the British NationalArchives. A glimpse of theircontent can be gleaned from whathas seeped into the public domainabout the British army’s conductin the Occupied Six Counties inthe 1970s.

It gives a hint of whythousands of British Ministry ofDefence records from the era arelocked away: the Britishpreference for claiming to operatewithin the law, yet bending themeaning of the law to allowrepression – as documented in thecolonial archives now seen –carried on into the Occupied SixCounties. The commandinggeneral, the late Sir Harry Tuzo,quoted in an article in the 20th

Century British History journal inFebruary 2012, said allegationsagainst the army were merely“smoke without fire”.

The criminal courts supportedTuzo’s belief: between March1972 and September 1974, only17 soldiers received convictions.But as in the colonies, there wereproblems in bringing soldiers whokilled and injured civilians tojustice.

Much of the investigativework was done by the militarypolice. Judges noted soldiers“stonewalling” questions abouttheir comrades, and the RoyalUlster Constabulary used “theirown discretion … very liberally”when deciding whether to sendcases for prosecution.

Judicial rulings in 1974 and1977 allowed a number ofsoldiers to continue employingthe “shot trying to escape”defence when confronted withallegations of state-sanctionedmurder. Facing a rigid criminaljustice system, people pursued thestate through the civil courtsinstead. The first claims camefrom those illegally arrestedduring internment in 1971 andthose subjected to “deepinterrogation”. The British MoDdecided to settle out of court whenCrown counsel advised them thatthey would be likely to lose if a

case was brought before a judge.New evidence from the BritishNational Archives shows theBritish army continued harmingcivilians even after the disasters ofinternment, deep interrogationand Bloody Sunday.

By January 1975, the MoDhad reached 410 out-of-courtsettlements – even though it didso without admitting liability. Byearly 1976, compensation hadbeen paid for 13 fatal shootings(excluding those shot on BloodySunday).

Twelve non-fatal shootingcases were settled, plus anotherseven for injuries inflicted byrubber bullets. Numerous assaultclaims were settled. By December1974, the MoD faced another1,147 claims.

The British army’s Six-County headquarters worriedabout the effect all this washaving on military morale.General Frank King, Tuzo’ssuccessor, thought soldiers wouldfail to act aggressively if theyfeared prosecution.

From conflicts in Malaya toSix Counties and now to Iraq, ithas often taken legal interventionsto force the release of records thatrevealed what really happened.

The laws that allow importantrecords to be destroyed, retainedor whitewashed by Whitehallurgently need revision.

The British MoD’s secretarchives should not be allowed tobe concealed or destroyed in thesame way as the colonial records.

The release of colonial documents— what about Ireland?

ON April 18 a vast number of British files werereleased from the Hanslope colonial archive,causing considerable outrage (see World News,page 18). There are thousands more to come.

• The statue of James Connolly which stands in BeresfordPlace, Dublin, near Liberty Hall. Inscribed on it are hiswords: “The cause of Labour is the cause of Ireland - thecause of Ireland is the cause of Labour".”

Campaign fundsappeal

IN order to wage an effective campaign in theforthcoming referendum on the AusterityTreaty as well as the ongoing campaignsagainst the household tax and the septic tankcharges we are appealing to out friends andsupporters for much needed funds.

All donations will be gratefully received andacknowledged. Please forward donations to:

Ard Oifig, Teach Dáithí Ó Conaill, 223Parnell St, Dublin 1.

4 Saoirse-Irish Freedom — Bealtaine/May 2012

FRI. MARCH 30: Members of the DonegalAction Against Austerity group marched fromMalin Head, arriving in Dublin after four dayswalking.SAT. MARCH 31: Ten thousand people tookpart in a to the National Convention Centrewhere Fine Gael were having their 2012 Ard-Fheis in protest against the DublinAdministration’s austerity policies.MON. APRIL 2: Peat’s the family-ownedelectrical shops in Dublin, known to all asPeat’s’s of Parnell Street, went into liquidationwith immediate effect with the closure of 11shops.

A bomb was left in the garden of DUPcouncillor Harold Andrews in Roslea, CoFermanagh. It was discovered by his son.

Kevin Barry Murphy from Coalisland, CoTyrone, facing charges of possession ofexplosives, was denied parole fromMaghaberry jail for his son’s Confirmation. WED. APRIL 4: Dr Michael Maguire wasappointed the Police Ombudsman in theOccupied Six Counties. He has been chiefinspector of Criminal Justice InspectionNorthern Ireland (sic) since 2008 and replacesAl Hutchinson whose tenure was controversial. THURS. APRIL 5: Barney McKenna ,the lastoriginal member of the Dubliners, diedsuddenly at his home in Dublin. The group wasfounded in 1962 in O’Donoghue’s Pub inMerrion Row, Dublin.

Five remand prisoners from Roe House inMaghaberry jail were returned to the jail fromthe Serious Crime Suite in Antrim afterchallenging the RUC/PSNI ‘s decision to takethem directly from the jail for questioning.They sought an emergency judicial reviewarguing that prisoners can only be taken to abarracks for questioning from a jail on the wordof a magistrate. They had been taken from thejail the day before.

One of the protesters who walked fromMalin Head in Co Donegal to Dublin in protestat the austerity measures introduced by the 26-County Administration, was docked his welfarepayments as he was not available for work onthe days he was walking. Joe Murphy is anunemployed builder. FRI. APRIL 6: A‘viable device’ was foundnear the Cloughoge roundabout neaer Newry,Co Down resulting in the closure of the ForkhillRoad and both lanes in the A1. SAT. APRIL 7: A taxi driver was hijacked bytwo masked men and a device placed in his carwhich was abandoned in the Martin’s Lane areaof Newry, Co Down. Residents in the area wereevacuated for a time. The device turned out tobe a hoax. . APRIL 10: Leading French Resistance fighterRaymond Aubrac died aged 97. Moves toseparate links between the Catholic Church andaround 50 primary schools in the 26 Counties isexpected to begin next year.

Six men arrested after an EasterCommemoration in Derry organised by the 32-County Sovereignty Movement were releasedwithout charge.

Four men lost their bid against extraditionfrom Britain to the US on what Britain and theUS deemed “terrorism charges”. They are to beextradited “as quickly as possible” according toBritish home secretary Theresa May.

The Orange Order turned down asuggestion by the mayor of Belfast ProvisionalNiall Ó Donnghaile that he attend a unionistrally at Stormont marking the centenary of theUlster Covenant. WED. APRIL 11: The Occupy Movementstormed the corporate headquarters of theAllied Irish Bank in Dublin on Wednesdayevening just hours after it emerged that €1.5bn(£1.27bn) of Irish taxpayers’ money wastransferred to senior bondholders with the bank.They unfurled banners stating that “The Banks

Got Bailed Out, We Got Sold Out” and“Warning, Bail Out in Progress by AIB”.

Forty thousand people who applied to workwith children and vulnerable people were “red-flagged” over the last three years. Almost 9,000were deemed either unsuitable or hadrestrictions placed on them.

A bomb alert in the Lower Bennett Streetarea of Derry turned out to be a hoax.

Gordon Thompson who has 20 previousconvictions was jailed for eleven-and-a-halfyears for starting the fire that gutted the 140-year-old furniture store House of Reeves inCroyden, south London during the riots onAugust 8 last year.

Protesters heckled the 26-County Ministerof Environment Phil Hogan over theintroduction of the household charges at afunction in Carlow.FRI. APRIL 13: Eirgrid has begun a publicconsultation process to map a suitable corridorfor a €500million high-voltage power line toserve south Leinster and east Munster. The IFAcalled for consultation

Plans for the electronic tagging of early-release prisoners in the 26 Counties is toproceed. The contract has been put out to tenderby the 26-County prison service. MON. APRIL 16: The parents of a servingRUC/PSNI officer are believed to have been thetarget of a viable under-car bomb attack inDerry.TUES. APRIL 17: Legal proceedings wereinitiated by Thomas Pringle, Independent TDfor Donegal South-West, challenging the 26-County State on fundamental aspects of theEuropean Stability Mechanism (ESM) Treatyand the Stability, Coordination and Governancein the Economic and Monetary Union (FiscalCompact) Treaty.

Pringle stated that he is “of the opinion thatboth treaties raise serious legal difficulties bothat the level of EU treaty law and IrishConstitutional law”.WED. APRIL 18: The Irish News carried areport of the voting record of the MLAs atStormont with just six at 100%. MichaelMcGimpsey (UUP) and David McNarry (Ind)were bottom of the list when it came torecorded votes with 19/51, with MartinMcGuinness at only 21/51. THURS. APRIL 19: The Irish Penal ReformTrust (IPRT) welcomed as ‘highly significant’the announcement that the death of any prisonerin the custody of the Irish Prison Service willbe the subject of an independent investigationby the Inspector of Prisons, and that, for the firsttime, these reports will be made public.

All deaths in prisons in the 26 Counties willfrom now on be independently investigated and

reports into the deaths will be published. FRI. APRIL 20: The global computer giantApple is planning to add 500 jobs in Cork in amajor expansion of its operations there. Overthe next 18 months, Apple will boost its Corkstaff base to 3,300.SUN. APRIL 22: Mandate General SecretaryJohn Douglas called for a No vote on theAusterity Treaty.A rally was held in Derry city to protest at thecontinued detention of Marian Price inHydebank jail. Her husband Jerry was on of thespeakers at the protest.MON. APRIL 23: Magilligan prison nearDerry is to close in six years under newproposals.

The garda ombudsman will publish itsreport on the taped comments made by gardaíabout two female protestors arrested last yearat a Corrib Gas protest.

The search commenced last week in adisused bog in Co Monaghan for the remains ofColumba McVeigh who disappeared in 1975. TUES. APRIL 24: Former British intelligenceofficer Ian Hurst – otherwise known as MartinIngram – claimed at the Smithwick Tribunal inDublin that the now Deputy First Minister inStormont Martin McGuinness authorised thekillings of two members of the RUC in March1989. He claimed to the Smithwick Tribunal inDublin the intention of the IRA operation inwhich Chief Supt Harry Breen and Supt BobBuchanan were killed, was to abduct them,interrogate them, remove papers they wereexpected to be carrying and to ultimatelyexecute them.WED. APRIL 25: The Technical Engineeringand Electrical Union (TEEU) executive comeout against the European fiscal compact andwill urge its 40,000 members to vote No in thereferendum. It followed Unite and Mandate inopposition.

An elderly woman whose home has beentargeted three times by thieves says she stilllives in fear, after shocking new figuresrevealed the extent of the problem in theOccupied Six Counties. Four pensioners arerobbed every day, according to data obtained bythe Belfast Telegraph newspaper, with 2,977victims over the age of 65, since 2010.

The death took place in Dublin of artistLouis Le Brocquy aged 95.

Nationalists in Portadown say they shouldhave been consulted about the erection of agranite monument commemorating the signingof the Ulster Covenant in the town. The 6ft-highplinth will be unveiled in June.

Martin McGuinness denied anyinvolvement in the IRA sanctioning anoperation to abduct, torture and murder two of

the most senior RUC officers, ChiefSuperintendent Harry Breen andSuperintendent Bob Buchanan, killed in the1989 border ambush. THURS. APRIL 26: The Impact Union cameout in favour of the Fiscal Treaty.

Over 200 primary schools in the 26Counties which were scheduled to lose ateacher this year won their appeals against thedecision.

A road safety event organised by the GAAdue to be held in Derrytresk in Co Tyrone wascancelled after members of the club objected tothe involvement of the RUC/PSNI.

An inquest into the murder of DenisDonaldson, the British agent who was amember of the Provisionals, shot dead in CoDonegal in April 2006, was adjourned for theninth time in Letterkenny. The Gardaí requestedmore time to prepare a file for the Director ofPublic Prosecutions. His family intends to suethe 26-County State.FRI. APRIL 27: One of Ireland’s most iconicconfectionery brands Oatfield Sweets inLetterkenny, Co Donegal, in production since1927, is to close with a loss if 15 jobs. Theparent company, Zed Candy, will moveproduction to Kettering in England.

Permanent Trustee Savings Bank (TSB) isto shed 100 jobs and 15 branches inrestructuring plan.

More than 1,000 office workers wereevacuated from Tottenham Court Road inLondon after a man wearing gas canisters tookoffice workers hostage and threatened to blowhimself up. Tube stations were closed andbusinesses evacuated. Police arrested the manafter a time.

A number of homes were evacuated in northBelfast following the discovery of a bombunder a parked car in the Ballygomartin Roadarea. Earlier this month [April 11] a bomb wasfound near the Cloghogue roundabout inNewry, just off the main Belfast to Dublin dualcarriageway.SAT. APRIL 28: An arson attack was carriedout at a house near Dungannon, Co Tyrone. It isbelieved that bins were placed near the front ofthe house and then set alight.

The actions of two men who sent parcelbombs to Celtic manager Neil Lennon and otherprominent figures connected to the football clubwere described as “incomprehensible” as theywere jailed for five years each. TrevorMuirhead, 44, and Neil McKenzie, 42, werejailed for conspiring to assault Lennon, formerMSP Trish Godman and the late QC PaulMcBride, as well as people at the a republicanorganisation by sending devices they believedwere capable of exploding and causing severeinjury.SUN. APRIL 29: Finance Minister in the 26Counties Michael Noonan said that commentsmade by an IMF spokesperson in an article inthe Sunday Times, April 29 weremisrepresented. The article stated that Irelandcould apply to the agency for another bailout ifrequired, regardless of how the country votes inthe Fiscal Treaty referendum. Michael Noonansaid this was not so.MON. APRIL 30: A poll on breakingnews.ieshows that those intending to vote NO in theforthcoming referendum stands ay 48.8%, theyes vote is at 27.56% and 16.51 had not yetmade up their minds.

Residents of the Priory Hall apartmentcomplex (which was evacuated last Octoberover fire safety concerns) say they are“devastated” after their banks refused to enter aconciliation process aimed at resolving issuesbetween all parties. The resolution process wasannounced by Dublin City Council last weekand had the support of residents of the site.However it is understood the Irish BankingFederation and banks with mortgagesoutstanding at Priory Hall will not take part.

Petrol bombs were thrown at a house andthe car outside it in Derry during the night.Shortly after 1.30am, it was reported that twomen were seen lighting a device and throwing ittowards a car, before making off on foot in thedirection of the Church Brae area. Then, justbefore 2.25am, another device was thrown, thistime at the house. It caused some damage butno-one was injured.

ForTheRecord

• Members of the Donegal Action Against Austerity group who walked from Malin Headto the anti-austerity march to Leinster House in Dublin on March 31. Pictured inBarnesmore Gap on March 27 areTrevor Kilpatrick, Joe Murphy, John McLaughlin,John Wilson, Philip McFadden, Joe and Marie Bovard. Helen Mitchel, Noel McColganand Séamus Gallagher.

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Wednesday, March 7,2012. Co Down band SnowPatrol donated £10,000 to a fundlaunched by the Murphy familyafter 20-year-old Joby Murphydrowned in the river Lagan. Hisbody was found by a searchteam from Cork four weeks afterhe had fallen in after a SnowPatrol concert in the Odysseyarena in January. The Murphyfamily who have beencampaigning for an end to cheapdrink promotions are trying toraise £30,000 for sonarequipment which would helplocate missing bodies. Joby’sfather Joseph said therecurrently is one sonar unit in usefor the whole of Ireland

Thursday, March 8, 2012.The organisers of a publicdebate criticised St Paul’s GACafter refusing to uphold anagreement to hold a publicmeeting to discuss the ongoingtreatment of West Belfast

Republican Marian Price.Thousands of leafletsadvertising the event weredistributed. The meeting waschanged to the Conway Mill andwas well attended by membersof Republican Sinn Féin andother Republican groups, as wellas clergy, trade unions andhuman and civil rights activiststaking part.

Sunday, March 11, 2012. Asouth Belfast house was targetedin a petrol bomb attack.

Thursday,March 15, 2012:At least twelve men wereordered to leave the SixCounties over drug-dealing andanti-social and criminalbehaviour in West Belfast.

Monday, March 26, 2012:A 73-year-old was treatedhospital after three masked mebroke into his home. This is thelatest in a series of violentrobberies in which vulnerablepensioners are targeted. In this

case a rumour spread that theman had won £20,000 in thelottery.

TUES. APRIL 3: GerardGearon from Ardoyne wasapproached by BritishIntelligence when he was onholiday in Amsterdam. He wasvisiting the home of Anne Frankwhen he was approached andasked to become an informer. Hewas also approached by thesame two men in Stansteadairport 18 months ago when hewas offered £10,000 to provideinformation on named people inArdoyne.

Wednesday, April 4, 2012.A North Belfast man and hisdaughter were shot just off theCavehill Road in North Belfast.

An Ardoyne man visitingAmsterdam told that men whoidentified themselves asintelligence officers approachedhim in Anne Frank’s house. Themen had approached him beforeat Stansted Airport and asked

him to supply information onpeople living in Ardoyne.

A North Belfast man wasgiven a suspended sentence afterbeing caught with a crossbowand then head-butting RUCmembers who tried to take theweapon from him.

Thursday April 5, 2012:Around 25 families wereevacuated from their homes innorth Belfast by a bomb warningwhich turned out to be a hoax.

Young pupils from “poor”backgrounds in the Six Countiesare “missing too many days atschool” according to a newreport, and is causing seriousconcern.

Saturday, April 7, 2012.Four RUC members weresuspended over sending texts ofa sectarian and racial nature.

Monday, April 9, 2012. Aman required hospital treatmentafter being attacked by a maskedgang who were armed with aknife and a gun in the Hannah

Glen Heights area of Belfast.Friday, April 14, 2012. An

office belonging to the Provo-backed CRJ suffered fire andsmoke damage in an arsonattack.

The InShops centre inBelfast is to close at the end ofJune. Many units rent in thecentre at a reasonable rent. Up to60 jobs could be affected.

Monday, April 16, 2012. Abomb discovered in NorthBelfast is believed to have beenlying there for a period of time.

Tuesday, April 17, 2012: Amember of the RUC left his gunon the bed of a nine-year-oldchild for almost 30 minutesbefore they returned to retrieveit. The gun and holster were lefton the bed during a house raidby armed RUC members whilstthe child was at school. He hasnot been suspended from dutypending an investigation.

Monday, April 23, 2012. Afamily was awakened by smoke

after a gang of men broke intotheir home in the Falls area andset it alight. The gang locked thedoors before leaving.

A couple in Dunmurry saidthey have been subjected tosectarian abuse for the last 50years and suffered attacks ontheir home. Trevor George, aProtestant married to a Catholic,blamed loyalists from theSeymour Hill estate in southBelfast. No one has ever beencharged over these attacks, thelatest one on April 22.

Friday, April 27, 2012:.TheRUC investigating Republicanactivity recovered guns andammunitions during searches inArdoyne.

Saturday, March 28, 2012:Up to four shots were firedthrough the front window of aproperty in Drumcrow Road inGlenarm. A 44-year-old manwas arrested in Broughshane onsuspicion of attempted murder.

The St John’s Primary Schoolpupil was playing with friends onApril 16th, 1982 when a memberof the British army’s RoyalAnglian regiment shot him in thehead with a plastic bullet. He diedthree days later.

Eyewitnesses who tried to goto the boy’s aid were preventedfrom doing so by the soldiers, whothreatened to shoot anyone whowent near him.

More than 1,000 peopleattended the his funeral, includingthe Bishop of Derry, Dr EdwardDaly, and called for an end to theuse of plastic bullets.

No British soldiers have everbeen charged in connection withStephen McConomy death.Stephen’s brother Emmett, whowas just seven years-old when hisbrother was killed, said it is stillharrowing for the family.

Emmett also said that it isclear Stephen was not posing athreat to the soldiers when he wasshot. “Stephen was small instature. There is no way anyonecould have taken him for anythingother than a child. The armyclaimed he was shot from adistance of 17 feet; eyewitnesseshave told us it was more like sevenfeet. He was completely innocent.Everyone knows that”.

The lack of a properinvestigation into the incident hasadded to the family’s pain.”

“In 2003 we met senior[RUC/]PSNI detectives in StrandRoad to get information on theinitial police investigation. We

were told that the soldier who firedthe fatal shot was interviewedunder caution and said that it wasan accident. That was the extent of

the investigation.“It is unbelievable that

someone can take the life of achild and explain it away as an

accident and even moreunbelievable that it was taken nofurther than that.”

The gun used in the shootingwas later destroyed.

Emmet called for a freshinquest to be held into hisbrother’s death. He also said thefamily hope to see an end to theuse of plastic bulletsTo mark the30th anniversary of Stephen’sdeath a plaque was unveiled onFahan Street close to the spotwhere he was shot on Thursday,April 19.

An event in the Tower Hotelexamining the details of his deathand the campaign for justicefollowed.

Saoirse-Irish Freedom — Bealtaine/May 2012 5

News from the Occupied Six Counties...News from the Occupied Six Counties...News from the Cccupied Six Counties...

RUC LEAV E GUN IN CHILD’S ROOMA Belfast Chronology

Stephen McConomy remembered in DerryIN April 1982 eleven year-old Derry schoolboyStephen McConomy made his Confirmation. Twoweeks later he was dead. He was shot and killed bya plastic bullet, fired by a British soldier just yardsfrom his home in the Bogside.

An affidavit from the British PrimeMinister’s private secretary blocks anychance of questioning him about claimshe told the lawyer’s widow Geraldine thatothers around Downing Street would notallow a full independent probe, a judgewas told.

Lawyers for Geraldine Finucane areto seek an order striking out the “hearsay”statement that David Cameron deniesmaking the comments.

It was also alleged that a shamconsultation process was undertaken

when the decision not to hold an inquiryhad been pre-determined.

With papers in the case now to beserved on the Dublin government, thehearing scheduled for May of thechallenge has been put back.

Pat Finucane was shot dead at hisnorth Belfast home by a loyalist deathsquad in 1989.

His family have campaigned for a fullindependent inquiry and believed theywere set to achieve that when they wentto Downing Street to meet the British Prime Minister last October.

Instead, they were shocked to be told

that a review, conducted by a seniorlawyer, rather than an inquiry would takeplace.

In an affidavit filed as part of theirlegal challenge, Geraldine Finucaneclaimed the family was treated “cruelly”.

According to her, the onlyexplanation for the apparent change ofmind was the intervention of a person orpersons unknown.

She alleged: “This view wassupported by a comment made by thePrime Minister during the meeting whenhe said ‘It is true that the previousadministration could not deliver a publicinquiry and neither can we.

“ ‘There are people in buildings allaround here who won’t let it happen’.”

It was revealed on Tuesday, however,that a senior official has averred that

David Cameron instructed him that he didnot use the words alleged.

Barry Macdonald QC, for theFinucanes, told the court his clients havea record of the meeting but no minuteshave been made available from the Britishgovernment.

Because the affidavit was not by thePrime Minister himself, he cannot bequestioned on its contents.

Barry Macdonald said: “Weessentially will be suggesting this hearsayaverment is a device to avoid thepossibility of the Prime Minister beingsubjected to cross-examination on thatissue.”

Geraldine Finucane was in court asher barrister further contended that thedecision not to hold a public inquiry wastaken months before the October meeting.

Finucanes’ bid to question Cameron blockedPOTENTIAL cross-examination of David Cameron about therefusal to order a public inquiry into the murder of Belfastsolicitor Pat Finucane is being thwarted, the English HighCourt heard on April 23.

• Geraldine Finucane

In a surprise move Coroner JohnLeckey started inquest proceedings intothe shooting of former Republicanprisoner Sam Marshall in Lurgan, CoArmagh in 1990. Just a few weeks prior to theannouncement, John Leckey ruled that thecase should be investigated by the PoliceOmbudsman before he could proceedwith the inquest.

Lawyers for the Marshall familyproduced a letter from the ombudsman’s

office confirming it was unable toinvestigate the Army and was unable toforce former or retired police officers togive evidence.

In March a review of the caserevealed that eight undercover membersof the British army and the RUC were atthe murder scene in Lurgan at the time ofthe attack.

According to Associated Press, MarkMulholland QC for the family, told MrLeckey that investigations revealed that

both troops and police were involved inthe surveillance operation that wastracking Sam Marshall when gunmenfrom the loyalist Ulster Volunteer Force(UVF) jumped from a car and fired 49shots from automatic rifles.

Mr Mulholland added: “This was allsomehow not within the sight or hearingof any of the individuals who were on theground.” He told the hearing in Belfastthat the Marshall family alleged securityforce collusion in the killing.

Mr Leckey said he would now beginthe process of seeking disclosure ofinformation from the security forces:“disclosure from the chief constable,

disclosure from the MoD (Ministry ofDefence) and an interrogation of theStevens archive to see what it contains.”

Sam Marshall and two otherrepublicans had just signed bail at thebarracks in Craigavon when they cameunder fire from the loyalist gang. Therepublicans claimed the pre-arranged timefor their bail signing was known only tothemselves, their lawyers and police.

The presence nearby of a red Maestrocar, later found to be a militaryintelligence vehicle, fuelled the claims atthe time of a security force role in thekilling.

However a recent review by the

police Historical Enquiries Team (HET)revived the controversy when it revealedthe unmarked car - a red Maestrobelonging to military intelligence - wasone of six security force vehicles in amajor surveillance operation involvingeight armed undercover soldiers whowere reporting to a commanding officerat a remote location.

At least eight officers from the RoyalUlster Constabulary Special Branch arealso believed to have been involved in theoperation. The loyalist killers launchedthe attack within yards of armedundercover troops who were followingthe republicans on foot.

Sam Marshall inquest to be heldALLEGATIONS of security force collusion in a high-profilekilling carried out by the loyalist death squad the UVF in CoArmagh are to be investigated it was announced on April 26.

• Stephen McConomy died three days after being shot by aBritish army plastic bullet in 1982.

Lugar’s intervention followsletters to Holder from SenatorsJohn Kerry and CharlesSchumer expressing concernover the legal pursuit of archivedmaterial stored in the college’slibrary and dealing with the Six-County Troubles.

Lugar’s move adds abipartisan twist to the politicalefforts to prevent the turningover of files to the U.S.Attorney’s Office in Boston.Lugar is a prominent Republicanwhile Kerry and Schumer areleading Democrats.

Lugar has asked AG Holderfor the Department of Justice’s“official position” on the BostonCollege subpoenas.

According to journalist andauthor Ed Moloney, one of theprinciple compilers of the BCarchive, Lugar’s interest derivesfrom the fact that he served onthe Senate Foreign RelationsCommittee when the US-UKextradition treaty was ratified.

“It exempted pre-GoodFriday Agreement offences from

the scope of the treaty, anexemption that many believealso applies to the Mutual LegalAssistance Treaty which wasratified by the US Senate atexactly the same time and whichhas been used to enforce theBoston College subpoenas,”Moloney said in a statement.

Meanwhile, the attorneys forMoloney and co-archivistAnthony McIntyre haveresponded to a letter from theUS Attorney handling the BCcase, Carmen Ortiz, which wassent to a panel of appeals courtjudges after the court heardarguments in the case.

In the letter, also mailed tothe US Court of Appeals for theFirst Circuit in Boston, attorneysÉamon Dornan and JamesCotter stated that they “could notfind any provisions in theFederal Rules of AppellateProcedure or US Court ofAppeals for the First Circuit’sRulebook which would permitthe Department of Justice tomake further submissions or

communications once the Panel

has risen following oralargument.

“However, in the bestinterests of our clients, we feelcompelled to respond andrequest that you kindly bring thisletter to the attention of thePanel.”

The attorneys wrote that itwas their “respectfulsubmission” that the Departmentof Justice’s letter “merelyconfirms that the

District Court’s denial of theAppellants’ motion to interveneprevented them from providing

evidence that is essential toassessing their claims that theGovernment’s position poses agrave risk of physical harm tothe Appellants and theirfamilies.”

This is a reference toAnthony McIntyre in particular.McIntyre lives in Ireland and hisfamily is of the view that he is inphysical danger as a result of thearchives being opened forinspection by the Police Serviceof Northern Ireland, whichinitiated the action resulting inBoston College having to open

the archive at its Burns

Library.Both Moloney, who lives in

New York, and McIntyre,sought and failed to intervene asinterested parties in the case andit was this unsuccessful bid thatled to the appeals court hearing.

In her post-hearing letter tothe appeals judges, DA Ortizdisputed claims made during thehearing that the release ofarchives resulted in danger tothe appellants, Moloney andMcIntyre. Moloney describedthe writing of the letter as an“extraordinary” and “perhapsunprecedented” legal moves.

When Tamboran Resources,the company who is proposingto use the controversial processof hydraulic fracturing to minefor gas in the 26 Counties,announced recently that theywould be focusing all theirenergies in North Leitrim, thename Thur Mountain wasreferred to. For some this wouldbe the first time that they heardit. But farmers who live underthe mountain close toKiltyclogher in Leitrim know itfor the special place it is.

If the resolve of thesefarmers holds fir Thur Mountainmay gain national significance,and could have the potential toshine a spotlight on Irish values.

There is something aboutthe drive to Kiltyclogher fromManorhamilton. Surrounded bysymbols of previous resistance,Mass Rock and archaeological

sites, small farm-holds litteredon the hilltops, some whoemigrated, many of whombraced it out to survive.

The statue of Sean MacDiarmada executed leader of1916 Rising stands in the centreof his hometown, his cottagenestled protected under ThurMountain.

The main thing you gainfrom meeting farmers is theirsense of pride of the place theylive, and how well farming isdoing now. And well might theybe proud at recent statisticswhich prove farming is on theup.

Jim Dillon, a native farmerwho has worked the farm fordecades laughs while his senseof love of his industry ispalpable, “Farmers are hardly init for the money. Farming is abug; the only cure to it is when

you die. And then it goes andcarries on into the nextgeneration!”

The place missed the worstravages of the Celtic tiger. Thisis an area famous for its sceniclakes and along with ramblingtreks, abundant deer andarchaeology.

Thur Mountains’ stone slabtop, used to host dance andmusic sessions and there’s talkof reviving that. In LoughMcNean under Thur Mountain,local children learn how to swimin the fresh water lakes every

summer in organised classes.However, when you bring

up the topic of gas extraction,the mood changes for thefarmers. Michael Gallagher whofarms sheep under ThurMountain says of their lack oftrust in the companies

“They know the area totarget, this area is not denselypopulated, has an olderpopulation and they think theycan walk all over them”.

Jim Dillon, who is in his70’s, agrees and adds: “If wehave to have placards on

Zimmer frames we will protestagainst this!”

They speak of pollutionthrough stories from farmers inAmerica, of stark warnings fromAustralian tourists not to lethydraulic fracturing take hold.They speak of hearing all thepromises before, of the tobaccoindustry and asbestos companiessounding the same decades ago.They have learnt to readpromises. They are more thenacutely aware of the history oftheir locality.

Jim says: “People fought foryears to get away from foreignlandlords…When the gas goeswhat land are we left with then.The centenary of the 1916Rising is in four years time.What would Sean MacDiarmada say to all of this?”

They don’t believe theclaims that this particularcompany will stop at Leitrim inthe 26 Counties and Fermanaghin the Six Counties. They see the

issue as a national issue and inlight of recent growth trendsthey warn that internationalmarkets don’t differentiate onecounty from another in Ireland.They see this as a direct attackon the reputation of the farmingindustry and cite examples inBSE and Spanish cucumbermarkets decimated.

Speaking at the Eastercommemoration at the PatMcManus/James Crossanmemorial at Mullan Road nearSwanlinbar, Co CavanRepublican Sinn Féin ArdChomhairle member told thosepresent:

“The signs were ominousfor the anti-fracking communityin the Fermanagh/Cavan regionas the Provisionals had postersat all crossroads which read ‘NoFracking’. They had similarposters some years ago at thecrossroads which read ‘NoStormont’.”

6 Saoirse-Irish Freedom — Bealtaine/May 2012

Anyone wishing to join Republican Sinn Féin shouldcontact:

Cork: Mac Curtáin/Mac Swiney Cumann: 086-3352006 or rsfcork@gmail.com

Kerry: 087-097 0835Dublin:01-8729747 or e-mail saoirse@iol.ie

Meath: Niall Fagan/Thomas Allen Cumann:086-0684400

Wexford: Mick at 0876150484; mick@rsf-wexford.comKildare: desdalton@eircom.net, 086-329 1809,

www.rsf-kildare.ieLongford: 087-2240061 or 086-3384017

Westmeath: 086 124 3265; email: rsfwmeath@gmail.com

Enniscorthy: 086-0608382 or 087 6284338Belfast: rsfbelfast@googlemail.com

Donegal: rsfdonegal@googlemail.comNewry: Brendan Watters/Joe Conway Cumann:

rsfnewry@aol.comRoscommon: Kevin Coen Cumann: Joe Murphy, 086

1281 861Mayo: McNeela/Gaughan/Stagg Cumann: 087 0926420

Galway: Cumann an hAthair Ó Gríofa: Tomás,087 2933 782; Seán at 091 525 977, text: 0871496885;

rsfgaillimh@live.ieLeitrim: Micheál at 071 9641 804 or John at 086

4061454London: Roger Casement/James Stephens Cumann,

0044-7926357676; londoncumann@gmail.comGlasgow: Francis Hughes Cumann,

rsfglasgow@yahoo.com, web: rsfglasgow.webs.comDumbarton: John Torley/Séamus McElwaine Cumann

dumbartonrsf@live.co.ukRSF Germany/Austria: www.irish-solidarity.net

irish-solidarity@gmx.net, 0664 170 02 92 RSF Italy: rsf-roma@email.it

BRIGADES TO CUBAJosé Martí Brigade, July 2 - 20, 2012Brigada Por Los Caminos Del Che, September 30 to October 14, 2012

For further information contact 00353-85-1457286

* * * *SEÁN MAC DIARMADA COMMEMORATION

KILTYCLOGHER, CO LEITRIMSUNDAY, MAY 6, 3PM

* * * *

BOBBY SANDS COMMEMORATIONGPO, DUBLIN

SATURDAY, MAY 5Assemble: Garden of Remembrance,1.45pm for parade to GPO.

BALLAD SESSIONTHE BARN HOUSE

DOLPHIN’S BARN, DUBLINDoors open 8.30pm; Admission €5

* * * *COMMANDANT NEIL ‘PLUNKETT’ O'BOYLE

COMMEMORATIONKNOCKNADRUCE, CO WICKLOW,

SUNDAY, MAY 13, 3pmAssemble Hollywood, 2.30pm.

* * * *

JOIN NA FIANNA ÉIREANNIRELAND’S REPUBLICAN YOUTH

MOVEMENT223 Parnell Street, Dublin 1

IMEACHTAÍ TEAGMHÁLACHA

Men on Thur Mountain: Farming or Fracking?“IF we have to have placards on Zimmer frames wewill protest against this!”

Lugar intervenes in BC caseIT was reported on April 24 that the senior Senatorfrom Indiana, Sen Richard Lugar, has intervened inthe Boston College case, writing to Attorney GeneralEric Holder.

• Senator Richard Lugar

Vita Cortex workers willescalate protestTHIRTY-two Vita Cortex workers who have beenoccupying the facility in Cork for 135 days saythey’re “disgusted” at the rejection of resolutionproposals by the company’s owners.

The SIPTU members say that the company has rejected theguidance issued by independent mediators, and instead has “issueda statement which contains a number of untruths and legallyquestionable assertions”.

SIPTU organiser Anne Egar said that the statement assertedthat the union had sought to exclude some workers from anequitable share of any settlement, and also rejected the company’sclaims that it cannot afford to pay redundancy.

In its statement on April 28, Vita Cortex said that it believes ithas carried out all of its duties and obligations as required.

Last week the company pulled out of the mediation processwhich was being overseen by the Labour Relations Commission,saying that there was still “significant distance” between the twoparties. A general meeting of the Vita Cortex workers will be heldon Monday 30 April.

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Among Republican SinnFéin, comrades of the Turkishorganisation Halk Cephesi, theCampaign to free the Cuban 5,the Committee Release MumiaAbu-Jamal and comrades of theNational Democratic Front ofthe Philippines are involved inthe Network.

The picket on April 19 wasthe third picket since lateFebruary. The protest was heldon Saint Stephens Square in theCity Centre of Vienna. It wasmoderated by Sandra Bakutz ofthe Turkish Halk Cephesi(Peoples Front) and wasaddressed by a comrade fromthe Philippines and RepublicanSinn Féin internationalspokesperson DieterBlumenfeld.

Blumenfeld outlined thecurrent situation in Maghaberryand demanded the immediateimplementation of the August2010 Agreement. He informedthe people about politicalinternees Marian Price andMartin Corey. Corey’s case wason review in the BelfastCourthouse on April 19 and 20and judgement was deferred.Blumenfeld wished him well onbehalf of all assembled.

At the end of his speech, n

Dieter Blumenfeld informedthose assembled of the case ofMichael Campbell who is heldin inhumane conditions inLithuania. Blumenfeld said:“Campbell was lured into a trapby British and Lithuanianagents. This is a fatal breach ofinternational law. In ademocratic society suchunlawful behaviour by secretagents must never be toleratedand Campbell must be releasedimmediately andunconditionally.”

The speech was followed bythe crowed shouting: “Freedomfor all Political Prisoners!”

On Thursday, April 17, anevent in solidarity for PoliticalPrisoners was held in Paris,France. A representative of theIrish Republican SolidarityGroup Libération Irlandeaddressed the meeting and readgreetings from Republican SinnFéin.

Over the days of Easter,Republican Sinn Féin supporterscontinued their leaflet drop inthe street of Gothenburg inSweden. Another POW picketwas organised by the London-based Irish Republican PrisonersSolidarity Group outside theEmbassy of the 26 Counties in

London for April 20.Meanwhile, Dieter

Blumenfeld sent the followingmessage to a conference in Pariswhich took place on April 15.

“On behalf of RepublicanSinn Féin I want to sendgreetings to the organisers of the

Journee Internationale desPrisonniers Politiques/International Evening forPolitical Prisoners and all thosein attendance this evening inParis. Those revolutionariesbehind bars are those who havegiven most and suffer most dueto their fight for freedom anddemocracy. They are in jailbecause they fought for us. It isour duty to fight for them.

“What makes events likethis so important is the fact thatsimilar minded revolutionariescan share their experiences andhighlight the repression and thesituation of the PoliticalPrisoners in their own countries.

“There are currently overone hundred RepublicanPrisoners held in Irish andBritish jails, as well as one

Republican as far as Lithuania.While some former comradesclaim there is ‘no war to finish’the very fact that there aredozens of Prisoners of War heldin Portlaoise, Maghaberry andLithuania belies this claim.

“In early 2010 theRepublican Prisoners of Warheld in Maghaberry jail wereforced to go on protest. Thisprotest culminated in the mendestroying their cells on EasterSunday 2010, resulting in severepunishment for the men andconsequentially their livingconditions worsened. So too didtheir visiting conditions andcontact with their families. Thepractice of forced full strip-searching is a brutal, degradingpractice and the men haverefused to co-operate with theprison warders on this issue.

“In August 2010 anAgreement was reached withfour independent facilitators, theStormont Justice Minister andthe prison service. But to datethis Agreement has not beenimplemented.

“The Republican prisonerson protest currently are locked-down for 23 hours every day.They are smearing theirexcrement on the cell walls aspart of the protest. Thoseconditions, combined with theforced full-body strip-searching,lack of fresh air and exercise,lack of stimulation, no educationfacilities and lack of contactwith each other, are very

unhygienic and unhealthy – bothphysically and mentally.

“Due to the StormontAgreement in 1998 theRepublican Prisoners had lostpolitical status won by the menin the H-Blocks. Yet, you cannotsign away the legitimisation ofthe Freedom Struggle.Republicans fight for a united,free and democratic-socialistIreland. Ireland is still dividedand as long as this situationremains the RepublicanMovement will fight against thisoccupation.

“On behalf of RepublicanSinn Féin I want to sendgreetings to all organisationstaking part in today’s event. Wewant to offer you all our supportfor your political prisoners andwe ask you to inform yourorganisations, comrades, friendsand families of the IrishRepublican Prisoners of Warand their protest in Maghaberry.

“I also want to use thisopportunity to thank allsupporters of the RepublicanPrisoners, especially oursupporters in France, for all thework they have done for thePolitical Prisoners.

“Free all PoliticalPrisoners!”

— Dieter Blumenfeld Cathaoirleach, Sinn

Féin Poblachtach RoinnGnóthaí Idirnáisiúnta PRO Republican Sinn

Féin, InternationalBureau

On entering the jail we gaveour names along withphotographic ID to the prisonwarder inside the door. Ourright index finger was scannedand our photograph taken. Aprinted copy containing thesedetails was printed out given tous as we overcame the “obstaclecourse” to the visiting box.These details were checkedthree times before we got to thevisit – each time our finger wasscanned and the ID checked,likewise on the way out.

The visit itself went well –the men look different with theirlong beards and long hair.Morale is high among the CIRAPOWs. They have no choice butto continue with the ‘dirty’protest until their status aspolitical prisoners isrecognised.This includes freeassociation and an end tocontrolled movement and thebrutal practice of stripsearching. They are locked upfor 22-and-a-half hours per day(except on the day they receive avisit) with one hour in the yardand 30 minutes to shower andmake a phone call. Spending somuch time in a cell smearedwith excrement must surely behorrific.

Dialogue betweenthemselves and the facilitators

(who helped broker the August2010 Agreement) and betweenthe facilitators and the prisonregime is continuing on an effortto end the protest.

In his statement, Progresson the prison reformprogramme, on March 26, 2012.David Ford justice minister atStormont said: “NIPS hasconducted a further Review ofFull Body Imaging Scanners, inline with recommendation 8 ofthe Prison Review Team’sreport. On the basis of thatreview, I intend to initiate a pilotof Full Body Imaging Scanners,as soon as the necessaryauthorisation for use of thistechnology in prisons isobtained”.

The POWs can only waitand see what is meant by thatstatement and if and when thecontent will be implemented,and what, if any, impact it willhave on the protest and thestatus of the men.

At all EasterCommemorations solidaritygreetings were sent to the POWsin Maghaberry and Portlaoisejails, to Marian Price inHydebank and MichaelCampbell in Lithuania.

MARTIN COREYMeanwhile Martin Corey is

still a political hostage. The

decision on judicial review onMarch 20 and 21 – at which hewas not present – may not beknown for some weeks. In theinterim Martin is as wise as hewas the day when is licence wasrevoked two years ago.

WILLIAM WONGWilliam Wong, Willy to all

who know him, Armagh, wasjailed in July 2011 to aminimum five years. He has norelease date; such indeterminatesentencing is not acceptable.

POWS PUNISHEDOVER EASTER

LILIESRepublican prisoners in

Maghaberry Prison were placedunder 24-hour lock-up forrefusing to remove their EasterLilies on Easter Sunday, April8.Visit to the prisoners were alsorefused.

MARIAN PRICEMarian Price is still held in

Hydebank on a spurious chargewhile the British government

denies she ever received apardon – she was released fromjail over 30 years ago. Protesterscontinue to demand here releasewith protests in Derry, Belfastand Dublin.

The latest was in Derry onApril 22 at which over 200turned out to show their supportfor her.

Demonstrators marchedfrom Free Derry Corner toGuildhall Square where themarch was addressed by anumber of different speakers,including Gerry McGlinchey,husband of Marian Price,Monsignor Raymond Murray,former Long Kesh and Armaghjail chaplain, Kate Nash, BloodySunday relative, and FoyleSDLP MLA Pat Ramsey.

Gerry McGlinchey calledfor the secretary of state torelease his wife, who wasreturned to prison when herlicence was revoked followingher arrest after an Eastercommemoration in Derry last

year.“He has not made clear in

any way what threat she poses. Idon’t think she poses any threat.He refuses to say what evidencehe has,” he said.

‘SITIATION OUT OF HAND’

The Irish Law &Democracy Committee on April4 posted a statement on their sitewhich included the following:“The situation in Roe HouseMaghaberry is well and truly outof hand…

“The crux of the matter iscontrolled movement and stripsearching. The issue appearedresolved in August of 2010which agreed that the issueswould be resolved by an end tostrip searches through the use ofa BOSS chair which wouldessentially x-ray the prisonerand remove the need for stripsearching. However theagreement was reneged upon bythe prison authorities”

“There is no access to

education facilities andrecreation facilities for those onprotest.

“In an era of Human Rightsit is unthinkable that men areliving in 23-hour lockdown intheir own excrement…

“This issue has beenavoided by many human rightsgroups in Ireland who haveturned their back on this issuefor whatever reason, regardlessof the political opinion of thoseinvolved, this situation is starkand cannot be ignored anylonger”.

(The Law & DemocracyCommittee was established by agroup of Queen’s Universitylaw students and graduates inSeptember 2010 who cametogether as a result of a sharedconcern over the current failuresin fundamental legal rights andfreedoms in Ireland, andbeyond; e-mail: the-law-and-democracy-committee@hotmail.com.)

(http://theirishlawanddemocracycommittee.wordpress.com/)

NB. In the midst of all thisthe post of director general ofthe prison service – at a salary ofup to £160,000 - is advertised.The current director ColinMcConnell is moving at the endof May to head up the ScottishPrison Service.

The current deputy directorMax Murray will fill in until theposition is filled. Let us hope thenew appointee will do a betterjob of recognising the humanrights of prisoners.

Saoirse-Irish Freedom — Bealtaine/May 2012 7

• Members of Republican Sinn Féinprotesting outside Maghaberry jail, Co Antrim.

No improvement in Maghaberry POW conditions

Monthly POW pickets continue in Vienna

ON Sunday, March 22, Des Dalton and GeraldineTaylor, the President and Vice-President ofRepublican Sinn Féin respectively, along with thehead of the POW Department Josephine Hayden,visited with a political prisoner on protest inMaghaberry jail, Co Antrim.

REPUBLICAN Sinn Féin and the Austrian Networkfor Political Prisoners held their monthly picket insolidarity with the Political Prisoners. The Networkfor Political Prisoners was established in February2012 to highlight the situation of the PoliticalPrisoners in various countries around the world.

• The banner carried at the picket in Vienna on April 19.

• Dieter Blumenfeldspeaking at the picket.

“Dear Sir, We the undersignedsurviving relatives of the late Seán MacDiarmada, executed 1916 leader andsignatory to the Proclamation of theIrish Republic, wish to register ourstrongest protest against the action ofthe Dublin Government in holding asecond Commemoration in his hometown of Kiltyclogher on Easter Sunday1966, in the form of a parade a 26-County Army.

“We believe that it is hypocriticalfor that Government to attempt to do

honour to Seán Mac Diarmada while atthe same time announcing a ban on thehistoric Easter Lily, the Emblem ofEaster Week 1916. Seán died for a 32-County Republic which has yet to beachieved. The Forces of the 26-CountyState raided our home in recent yearswhile engaged in patrolling andmaintaining the British-made Border.

“We have made it clear to a FreeState Army Officer who called on ussome weeks ago that theCommemoration being held by the

Breffini Branch of the National GravesAssociation in Kiltyclogher on EasterSunday afternoon is adequate, and thatit is against our wishes that the FreeState Army is coming there thatmorning. We will not attend or berepresented at the 26-County Army andFCA parade.

“The Leitrim Roll of Honour isinscribed on the base of the Memorialstatue of Seán Mac Diarmada inKiltyclogher. It includes the names ofmen killed by the British Crown Forcesin 1921; by the Free State Forces 1922-23 as well as the names of JJ Reynoldsof Bornacoola, killed near the Border in1933, and James Crossan of Aughavas,shot dead by the RUC and B-Specials

in 1958. “That states our position. We are

true to the 32-County Republic forwhich all these Leitrim men, includingSeán, died, and we object toCommemoration ceremonies organisedby those who have accepted less.”

Thanking youYours faithfully,

(Mrs) Margaret McDermott(Sister)

(Miss) Rose McDermott (Sister)(Mrs) K B Kenny (Sister)CoranmoreKiltyclogher, Co LeitrimApril 2, 1966

We, the POWs, extend Eastergreetings to our comrades, friends andsupporters throughout the world, andwould also like to thank RSF andCABHAIR for all the work done onour behalf. We extend special greetingsto our families whose support isinvaluable.

As you gather at the graves andmonuments of Ireland’s patriot deadyou do so with great courage, unbowed

and unbroken but mindful of the factthat the road ahead has never beenharder. But as true Republicans wehave never turned our backs on ourstruggle.

Those of us imprisoned at homeand abroad have been so, for ourpolitical beliefs. Our belief in theProclamation of 1916 and all that itentails is steadfast and will remain so.As you are aware we the Republican

POWs commenced protest actioncoming up on a year now. This decisionwas not taken lightly and is a directresult of the non-implementation of theAgreement which was signed onAugust 12, 2010. This agreement wassigned by Republican POW’s in goodfaith. It had become clear that theBritish Government and their relevantdepartments had no intention ofimplementing the agreement theysigned. Once again the BritishGovernment have embarked on acriminalisation policy within thisconcentration camp againstRepublicans and as such we had no

alternative but to commence protestaction.

We are prisoners of War; we cannotbe broken or criminalised and any suchattempt to do either will be met withresistance. Our protest will continueuntil we see the full implementation ofthe August 12 Agreement.

We thank our families, Republicansand comrades for their renewed andcontinual support.

We, the Republican POWs,applaud those who took to the streets inprotest in our name Once again wepledge our full support to theLeadership of Óglaigh na hÉireann and

our comrades-in-arms who continue tofight for Irish freedom. We salute you.

We, the POWs, continue to resistall attempts by the NIO to criminaliseus and our struggle and with yourcontinued support we are confident ofvictory. In the words of Liam Lynch“we have declared for a Republic andwill live by no other law”.

Continuity not compromise.Tiocfaidh ár lá.

O/C Republican POWs,Maghaberry

8 Saoirse-Irish Freedom — Bealtaine/May 2012

Easter Statement from theRepublican POWs, Maghaberry jail

IT is a great honour that we - the Republican POWs here inMaghaberry - have this opportunity once again to addressyou, the people of Ireland and abroad, on this the 96thanniversary of the 1916 Rising.

• Seán Mac Diarmada

1966 statement by relatives of 1916leader Seán Mac Diarmada

THE following letter was written by the sisters of 1916 leaderSeán Mac Diarmada in connection with the Free Statecommemorations of the Easter Rising in 1966.

However, James Gill, thesergeant found to have maderemarks about two femaleprotesters arrested at a Shell gasproject at Erris, Co Mayo willescape any action because herecently retired.

The Garda Ombudsman saidthere were no grounds for anycriminal case, based on theavailable evidence, against anyof the five Gardaí involved inthe incident on March 31 lastyear.

They were investigated forpotential criminal offences,under misconduct in public

office laws, after a pocket videocamera seized from one of twoarrested female demonstratorsinadvertently recorded thesergeant afterwards in a patrolcar joking about raping them.

The remarks were madepublic by one of the protesters,Jerrie Ann Sullivan, who washanded back the digital cameraafter her release. The secondwoman, believed to be a UScitizen, did not wish to benamed.

The ombudsmaninvestigation found four rank-and-file gardai involved

confirmed the “rape” remarkswere made by Sgt Gill.However, the sergeant exercisedhis right to silence throughouthis questioning and “largelygave a ’no-comment’interview”, it was found.

The watchdog has sent areport to Garda CommissionerMartin Callinan, recommendingdisciplinary proceedings againstGarda B.

The Ombudsman said it wasnot recommending any actionagainst NUI Maynoothacademics behind the deletionof some files on the videocamera which captured theremarks.

Files were removed fromthe university-owned device,which had been borrowed byone of the arrested women,before being handed over to the

watchdog because they wereconfidential and had no bearingon the investigation, academicssaid.

The Ombudsman hadinsisted only it could determinethat, but later said it was of theview that the main recording ofthe remarks was not tamperedwith in any way.

Although one academic wasquestioned under caution aboutthe incident, the Ombudsmansaid it has decided not to sendany report the Director of PublicProsecutions.

In a statement, NUIMaynooth said it abides by thelaw, and prioritises the safetyand welfare of its staff andstudents.

“NUI Maynooth abides bythe law at all times, it upholdsand supports the process of

statutory bodies, and compliedfully with its obligations inrelation to this investigation,” aspokeswoman said.

In around 20 cases wherethe Garda SíochánaOmbudsman Commission hasrecommended disciplinaryaction against members of theforce for their roles in policingthe Shell-to-Sea protests, nonehas been acted upon.

The commission has thepower to investigate complaintsagainst gardaí using two routes.

It can pursue a criminalroute, during which allegedcriminal wrongdoing can beprobed and files sent to the DPPrecommending prosecution.

For more minor allegationsit goes down the disciplinaryroute. Gardaí alleged to havebreached disciplinary

regulations can be investigated,with recommendations sent tothe Garda Commissioner thatthe member be disciplined.

However, under both formsof investigation thecommission’s powers stop shortof being the sanctioning body. Itis the DPP who decides if gardaíshould face charges and thecourts that impose sanction.

Under the disciplinary route,it is up to the GardaCommissioner to decide whatsanction, if any, will beimposed.

Since the ombudsmancommission’s inception fiveyears ago, its disciplinaryrecommendations on gardaípolicing Corrib have alwaysbeen ignored by thecommissioner.

No action against 26-County police in Shell-to-Sea casesON April 24 the 26-County Garda Ombudsmanpublished its report on an incident in which severalmembers of the gardaí had been recorded makingremarks about women arrested by them said thatone policeman should have disciplinary actiontaken against him.

The Discriminating IrritantProjectile (Dip) has been underdevelopment by the BritishHome Office’s centre for appliedscience and technology (Cast) asa potential replacement forplastic bullets.

Documents obtained by the

Guardian revealed that the 2011summer riots in Englandprovided a major impetus to theBritish Home Office researchinto ‘new-generation riot controltechnology’.

The briefing by Cast for theRUC/PSNI said that last year’s

disorder sparked a surge of ideasto the Home Office from thepublic as well as companiesmanufacturing policetechnology. To capitalise on theinterest, Cast convened abrainstorming event in Octoberwgich included members of theRUC/PSNI and the Londonpolice, the Police Federation,the Serious Organised CrimeAgency (Soca) and the Ministryof Defence’s Defence Scienceand Technology Laboratory.

It is understood that the Dip,would be loaded with CS gas,pepper spray or another irritant.

The Guardian said that theless lethal technology discussedincluded heat rays and soundweapons. One weapon thatparticularly interested policeofficers was something Casttechnicians referred to as skunkoil.”.

The system would involvepellets containing foul-smellingliquids being fired from

weapons similar to paintballguns. Such would be the smellthat individuals hit by the pelletswould want to go home tochange their clothes, whileassociates would be reluctant tostay close to them.

The Guardian also obtainedfigures illustrating the extent ofrecent spending by police forcesaround the country on theexisting generation of plasticbullets, now referred to asattenuating energy projectiles

(AEPs). Many areas havestocked up on plastic bulletsspending anythingfrom £19,630 to £76,000 overthe last two years or so.

A number of forces,including Merseyside and WestYorkshire, declined to provideinformation. Merseyside usedthe Home Office’s claim thatterrorism remains a“substantial” threat as a reasonfor not providing the

Riots may be controlled with chemicalsIT was reported on April 9 that future riots inEngland and the Occupied Six Counties could bequelled by projectiles containing chemicalirritants. They would be intended to be accurate at arange of up to 65 metres.

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ULSTERAntrim

BELFASTTHE parade assembled at gates ofMilltown Cemetery and marched to theRepublican Plot. Proceedings werechaired there by Seán Grant.

The 1916 Proclamation was GerardO’Neill and his daughter said a decade ofthe Rosary in Irish. The Statement fromthe Leadership was read by GeraldineTaylor and Kay Davidson read thestatement from the Republican POWs,Maghaberry jail.

Wreaths were laid of behalf ofÓglaigh na hÉireann, by Cumann namBan, Na Fianna Éireann, RepublicanSinn Féin, Belfast and RepublicanMovement Belfast.

The main oration was given byDiarmaid Mac Dubhghlais, Dublin.

ArmaghTHE 96th Anniversary of the 1916 risingwas commemorated in Armagh City onEaster Sunday. The RUC were out in fullforce in a vain attempt to intimidaterepublicans from entering the graveyardto commemorate their patriot dead, at alltimes the RUC were recording the eventand those attending.

Proceedings were chaired by KevinTrainor of the Charlie Agnew CumannArmagh City who welcomed the crowdand spoke of the importance and themessage of the historic proclamation.

Malachy Trainor an ex-blanket mandelivered an impassioned recital of theProclamation to the assembled crowd.This was followed by the laying ofwreaths, the first wreath was laid onbehalf of the Republican movement byCaoimhe Rafferty, followed by a wreathon behalf of the Charlie Agnew CumannArmagh City laid by Magda Trainor.

A statement on behalf of theleadership of the Republican Movementwas read by local Ard Chomhairlemember Cáit Trainor. A statement fromthe POWs was delivered by Oliver Whitefrom Newry to rapturous applause fromthe crowd. A minute’s silence and thedipping of the flags was then observed inproud memory of all those who gave theirlives in the pursuit of Irish freedom.

The main oration was delivered byinvited Republican Sinn Fein activistPaddy Tidd from Kildare.

Chairman Kevin Trainor brought theoccasion to a close by urging allRepublicans to continue in their activismand not to be intimidated and demoralisedby the obvious state force presence in thegraveyard today.

LURGANREPUBLICANS assembled in Lurgan onHoly Saturday in the Kilwilkee Estate andmarched behind a colour party to theRepublican Plot in St Colman’s Cemeteryfor their Easter Commemoration.

The Easter Statement was read, aswere the statements from the POWs inMaghaberry and Portlaoise prisons andthe Statement from the leadership of theRepublican Movement. Wreaths were laidand a minute’s silence observed for thedipping of the flags. The RUC/PSNI had alarge presence and showed large placardswarning that those taking part werebreaking the law and risked legal action.

The oration was delivered byRepublican Sinn Féin National TreasurerDiarmaid Mac Dubhghlais.

DerryAROUND 60 people gathered in the CityCemetery, Derry city on Easter Sunday.Mickey McGonigle chaired theproceeding and welcomed everyone.

Alice Fleming laid the wreath onbehalf of the leadership of the RepublicanMovement. Damian McGonigle laid awreath on Seán Keenan’s grave. Adecade of the Rosary was recited byGeraldine McNamara. The Proclamationwas then read followed by the EasterStatement from the Leadership read byMary Ward. Mickey McGonigle read astatement from the POWs in Maghaberry.

National PRO Geraldine McNamara,Tipperary, gave the main oration.

Wreaths were laid at the grave of SeánLarkin at the Loop by Damian McGonigle

yand at the graves of hunger strikers VolsFrancis Hughes and Thomas McElwainein Bellaghy Cemetery. Micky McGoniglelaid a wreath at the grave of Dominic andMary McGlinchey.

In Dungiven Bridie Lynch laid awreath at the grave of hunger strikerKevin Lynch; Thomas Kealy laid a wreathat the grave of Vol James Kealy; a wreathwas laid on the graves of Vols O’Carolanand Kilmartin and Michael Begley laid awreath at the grave of Tommy Toner.

DonegalTHE county commemoration took placeat the Drumboe Martyrs Memorial inStranorlar on Easter Sunday. Led by aflag-bearer and a band from Scotland, theparade marched to the memorial fromJohnson’s Corner.

Proceedings were chaired by JoeO’Neill, Bundoran. The 1916Proclamation was read by Pat Barry,Bundoran and the Roll of Honour by MaryWard who also read the Statement fromthe Leadership. The statement from thePOWs in Maghaberry was read by MickyMcGonigle, Derry. Wreaths were laid onbehalf of the Republican Movement,Republican Sinn Féin, Donegal ComhairleCeantair and on behalf of the RepublicanPOWs.

The oration was delivered by NationalPRO Geraldine McNamara, Tipperary .

DownNEWRY

A LARGE number of Republicansgathered on Easter Sunday at St Mary’sCemetery to commemorate the 96thanniversary of the historic 1916 EasterRising.

Following the march to theRepublican Plot led by a Colour Party,Cathaoirleach Oliver White welcomed allthose attending. Wreaths were then laid,on behalf of the Republican Movement byAislinn Callaghan, and on behalf of theJoe Conway/Brendan Watters Cumann,Republican Sinn Féin, by Nicola Larkin.Wreaths were earlier laid on the graves ofJoe Conway and of Vol Brendan Watters.Easter greetings from Republican POWsin Maghaberry Prison were read byDamian Mac an tSaoir.

The Easter Statement from theLeadership of the Republican Movementwas then read by Eddie McKeown,brother of Vol Patrick McKeown.Following a minute’s silence and thedipping of the flags by the colour party,Oliver introduced the main speaker, CáitTrainor from Armagh city.

“The Brits can take note, Republicanswill not be bought bribed or bullied, youcan never censor the truth and what isright, Republicans have proved time andtime again that we can flourish under allcircumstances and the attempts to bullyand harass us only strengthens our resolveto remove the root cause of all Ireland’swoes and that is British occupation.”

The crowd then reformed andmarched once again to the cemetery gatesconcluding proceedings.

Fermanagh/CavanREPUBLICAN Sinn Fein held a well-attended commemoration to VolunteersPat McManus and James Crossan atMullan Road, Swanlinbar, Co Cavan onEaster Sunday.

The joint Fermanagh/Cavancommemoration was chaired by FrancisQuigley who welcomed fellowRepublicans who were opposed to thecontinuance of two satelliteadministrations, one in the Six Counties,controlled from Whitehall, London, whilethe 26 Counties was now controlled fromBrussels. Both behaving like ineptbeggars, looking for handouts.

Wreaths were laid on behalf of theRepublican Movement. Solidaritygreetings were extended to Republicanprisoners in Maghaberry jail, Co Antrimand Portlaoise jail, Co Laois. Support wasexpressed for the demands of the POWson the dirty protest in Maghaberry jailwho are seeking political status.

John Joe McCusker delivered theoration.

MonaghanWREATHS were laid at the grave of

Volunteer Séamus McElwaine and also atthe grave of Fearghal Ó hAnluain byRepublican Sinn Féin Monaghan.

MUNSTERClare

DURING Easter Week three wreaths werelaid by members of the Keane/CalliganCumann, Republican Sinn Féin, WestClare at the Maid of Honour Monument inKilrush. Cumann members also laidwreaths at the grave of Captain MichaelMcNamara, OC, Doonbeg Company IRA;Comdt Willie Shanahan, murdered byBritish Forces on December 22, 1920; atthe grave of Seán Breen, Kilmihil,murdered on April 18, 1920 and a thegrave of Martin Calligan, KilmurryMcMahon.

CorkON Easter Sunday Cork Republicansassembled at the Wilton Roundabout andled by a colour party followed by a lonepiper and a colour party of Cumann namBan marched to St Finbarr’s Cemetery,Cork.

The Cumann MacCurtáin/MacSwiney banner and the banner of theportraits of the 1981 hunger strikers led

the body of the general public as theymade their way to the Republican Plotwhere more supporters waited forcommencement of the commemoration.

The Cathaoirleach, Donal Varianopened the proceedings with the laying ofwreaths. Lucy O’Leary laid the Cumannna mBan wreath; the Republican SinnFéin wreath was laid by Noreen Varian;the Republican Prisoners’ wreath was laidby Alfie McAvoy and the RepublicanMovement wreath was laid by thespeaker, Emmett Walsh. A decade of theRosary was given, as Gaeilge, byKathleen Ahern. The Last Post andReveille were sounded and the piper,Norman O’Rourke played the Lament.

The Easter Statement on behalf of theRepublican Movement was read by AlfieMcAvoy followed by the Easter Statementon behalf of the Republican Prisoners readby Seán McCarthy, which was receivedwith applause.

The theme of the oration by EmmettWalsh was based on the history of betrayalof Republicanism to the present day.

The Commemoration closed with theplaying of Amhrán na bhFiann by piperNorman O’Rourke.

KerryBANNA STRAND

ON Good Friday, members of Sinn FéinPoblachtach Kerry assembled at theCasement Memorial, Banna Strand, wherea wreath of fresh lilies was laid to thememory of Rodger Casement, executedfor his part in the 1916 Rising by theBritish Government, by Ger Kelliher,Tralee. Stephen Brosnan, Tralee read theProclamation of the Irish Republic andthat was followed by the Easter Statementfrom the leadership of the RepublicanMovement, read by Brian Smullen.

CASTLEISLANDON Holy Saturday members ofRepublican Sinn Féin assembled at thecemetery gate in Castleisland and walkedthe short distance to the Republican Plotwhere a wreath was laid in memory of allthose who gave their lives for the cause ofIrish Freedom by Éamon Breen,Castleisland. The ceremony ended with aminute’s silence in memory of the 1916Martyrs.

CAHERSIVEEN

ON Easter Sunday the members andsupporters of Republican Sinn Féin Kerryassembled at the Republican monument atthe town square.

The commemoration was chaired byPádraig Ó Gairbhí, he welcomed everyonein attendance. He called on Tom Sullivan,Cahersiveen to lay a wreath to thememory of all those who gave their livesfor the cause of Irish Freedom. The piperplayed a lament in memory of all thosewho died for Ireland.

A decade of the Rosary as Gaeilgewas recited by Pádraig Ó Gairbhí and aminute’s silence was observed in memoryof the men and women of the 1916 Rising.The Proclamation of the Irish Republicwas read by Jim O Shea, Cahersiveen.

Joe O Sullivan, Cahersiveen read thestatement from the POWs in MaghaberryPrison, Co. Antrim, and that was followedby the reading of the Easter Statementfrom the leadership of the RepublicanMovement, by Mike O’Neill, nephew ofRepublican martyr Maurice O Neillexecuted by the Free State regime in 1942.

The Chairperson then called on BrianSmullen, Tralee, to deliver the mainoration.

TRALEE

ON Easter Sunday members andsupporters of Republican Sinn Féinassembled at the 1798 memorial DennyStreet, Tralee, the parade was led by twopipers and a flag bearer in full uniform,carrying the National Flag and marchedalong the route to the Republican PlotRath Cemetery.

George Rice, Tralee, chaired theproceedings and welcomed all inattendance. He called on Jimmy Scallon,Ballymacelligott, to lay a wreath inmemory of all those who gave their livesfor Irish freedom. A second wreath waslaid by Tom Lawlor on behalf of theRepublican POWs incarcerated inPortlaoise and Maghaberry jails. A finalwreath was laid by Eugene Dean, Traleeon Behalf of Republican Sinn Féin.Fionnuala Kissane, Listowel, read theKerry Roll of Honour,

John Mangan, Chairman, RepublicanSinn Féin, Kerry recited a decade oftheRrosary As Gaeilge, and a minute’ssilence was observed in memory of allthose who gave their lives for Ireland.

Stephen Brosnan, Tralee, then read astatement from the POWs in MaghaberryPrison, Co Antrim. Siobhán Walsh,Listowel, read the Proclamation of theIrish Republic. Then the chairpersoncalled on Éamon Breen, Castleisland toread the Easter Statement from theleadership of the Republican Movement.

The main oration was delivered byJosephine Hayden, Ard-Rúnaí.

KILLARNEY/KENMAREON Easter Sunday a wreaths was laid atthe Republican monument in KillarneyTown by Maurice Dowlin and at at theRepublican monument just outsideKenmare town by Tom Noonan, Kenmareon behalf of Republican Sinn Féin, Kerry.

LISTOWELON Easter Monday members ofRepublican Sinn Féin Kerry assembled atthe gate of the Old Cemetery, Listoweland walked behind a flag-bearer in fulluniform to the Republican Plot. BrianSmullen, Tralee chaired the ceremony.Ger Kelliher, Tralee laid a wreath inmemory of all those who gave their livesfor the cause of Irish Freedom a secondwreath was laid by Tom Lawlor, Tralee onbehalf of Republican Sinn Féin and a finalwreath was laid by James Smullen, Tralee

on behalf of the POWs in Portlaoise andMaghaberry Prisons.

John Mangan, Chairperson ofRepublican Sinn Féin Kerry recited adecade of the Rosary, as Gaeilge and thiswas followed by Stephen Brosnan, Traleereading the Proclamation of the IrishRepublic.

The Chairperson thanked those inattendance and the proceeding ended witha minute’s silence been observed inmemory of the men and women of the1916 Rising.

LimerickA WREATH-laying ceremony was held atthe Republican Plot in Mount StLaurence’s Cemetery on Easter Monday.

TipperaryNENAGH

DONAL Malone chaired the annualEaster Commemoration at the NenaghMemorial. The Proclamation was read byMait Ó Brádaigh, Galway; the Roll ofHonour by Liam Ó Broin, Toomevara, anda wreath laid by Michael Nolan, Roscrea.A decade of the Rosary was recited byTess Maloney (Moten). The statementfrom the Leadership was read by DonalMalone, who closed proceedings bythanking all those who attended.

ROSCREAWREATHS were laid by MichaelNolan at Joe Mangan’s grave and at theMemorial to Russell, Burke O’Shea andMcNamara at the old prison wall inRoscrea.

WaterfordA wreath was laid in Waterford city atthe statue in memory of all those whodied for Ireland by Micheál Óg Ó Fiach.

CarlowTHERE was a good local turnout at theCarlow commemoration on Easter Sundaywhich took place in the Republican Plot inSt Mary’s Cemetery, Carlow town. TheProclamation was read by JimmyCorcoran and the Statement from theLeadership was read by Donal O’Connor.A wreath was laid and a decade of theRosary recited.

DublinDEANSGRANGE

ON Easter Sunday Republican Sinn Féinassembled at the gates of DeansgrangeCemetery. Led by the Tricolour carried byMaurice Isaccson they marched to theRepublican Plot. Andy Connolly,Cathaoirleach, Comhairle Átha Cliathchaired the proceedings and welcomed allpresent.

Padraig Ennis read the Proclamation,Eoin Mooney read the Statement from theLeadership and a wreath was laid onbehalf of the Movement by AndrewFitzpatrick. Peig Galligan spoke on behalfof the National Graves Association.

A minute’s silence was observed forthe dipping of the flag. Seán Ó Sé gave astirring oration. A very heavy andaggressive Special Branch presencemonitored the proceedings and demandedeveryone’s name and address. Despitethis harassment the Commemorationwent ahead and will continued to be heldannually.

GPO, DUBLINA VERY impressive colour party, as wellas members of Cumann na mBan and NaFianna Éireann, led those assembled fromthe Garden of Remembrance to the GPOon Dublin’s O’Connell Street for the SinnFéin Poblachtach main Eastercommemoration on Easter Monday.

Andy Connolly chaired theproceedings. The Proclamation was readby Róisín Hayden; the statement from thePOWs in Maghaberry by Líta NíChathmhaoil, Ard-Rúnaí and PádraigEnnis read the Easter statement. A laurelwreath was laid by Margaret Mullen and aminute’s silence was observed for thedipping of the flags.

The oration was delivered by ArdChomhairle member Tomás Ó Clérigh.

Saoirse-Irish Freedom — Bealtaine/May 2012 9

• The parade in Tralee making its way to Rath Cemetery.

1916 Easter Commemorations 2012

Cont. on page 13.

10 Saoirse-Irish Freedom — Bealtaine/May 2012

• The colour party leads Monday.

• Celia Conway, Peig King and Josephine Hayden at theEaster Commemoration in Dublin on Easter Monday.

• Led by flag-bearer Brianmarch to Donaghatrickcommemoration.

Easter Rising commemorated in Ire

• Led by a colour party LuColman’s Cemetery on Hopresence of the RUC/PSNI.

• Members of Na Fianna ÉCommemoration at the GPO

• Brendan Madden, Galway, laying a wreath at the EastMayo Brigade Memorial on Easter Monday.

• The colour party entering St Finbar’s Cemetery, Cork ontheir way to the Republican Plot on Easter Sunday.

• Pat Barry, along with the band the piper at the Drumboecommemoration in Stranorlar, Co Donegal on April 8.

• Tomás Ó Curraoin gave the oration atKilkelly, Co Mayo.

• Mary Ward, pictured here with MickyMcGonigle, read the Statement from theLeadership at the commemoration inDerry’s City Cemetery on Easter Sunday.

• Pat Barry laid a wreath at the Garden ofRemembrance in Bundoran on EasterMonday.

• A section of the crowd at the Easter Commemoration at the GPO in Dublin on EasterMonday.

• Joe O’Neill chaird the commemorationat the Drumboe Martyrs Memorial,Stranorlar, Co Donegal.

• Mícheál Óg Ó Fiaich laid a wreath atthe Quay, Waterford on Holy Saturday.

• Phyllis Cullen laid a wreath at theGarden of Remembrance in Bundoran.

the parade in Wexford on Easter

Saoirse-Irish Freedom — Bealtaine/May 2012

n Kilcommins, Galway Republicansk Graveyard for the County

eland, England, Scotland and the US

urgan Republicans marched to Stoly Saturday, regardless of heavy

Éireann at the Easter O, Dublin.

• Republicans at the Fenian Monument, Ford Cemetery, Liverpool held a commemoration onEaster Sunday, organised by the John Whelan Cumann, Republican Sinn Féin.

• Tomás Ó Clérigh delivered the oration atthe GPO, Dublin on Easter Monday.

• Members of Republican Sinn Féin held acommemoration in Glasgow Cemetery onEaster Sunday.

• Chris Kilcommins at the commemoration atOughterard, Co Galway.

• A wreath was laid at the Republican Plot inKerry on Easter Monday.

• Éamonn Breen, Castleisland reading the stthe Republican POWs, Maghaberry jail in TraSunday. Eugene Dean is on the left.

• Cáit Trainor delivering the oration at St MaryNewry on Easter Sunday.

• The colour party at the GPO, Dublin on Eas

• Walter Dunphy laid a wreath in RathciaranCemetery, Co Kilkenny.

• The Easter Commemoration at SandyhillCemetery, Armagh, on Easter Sunday.

• The colour party at Newry on EasterSunday.

12 Saoirse-Irish Freedom — Bealtaine/May 2012

OffalyWREATHS were laid at Republicanmonuments throughout the country.

Kildare/West WicklowREPUBLICAN Sinn Féin in Kildare heldtheir annual 1916 commemoration at thegrave of Martin O’Brien in St Corban’scemetery in Naas at 12 Noon on EasterSunday.

The 1916 Proclamation as well as theEaster Statement from the leadership ofthe Republican Movement along withstatements from the POWs in Maghaberryand Portlaoise Prisons were also read. Adecade of the rosary was recited asGaelige.

The oration was delivered byRepublican Sinn Féin Ard Chomhairlemember Matt Conway.

Wreaths were also placed in Kildaretown; Blessington; Naas; Old Kilcullen;Newbridge, Milltown; Ballymore;Hollywood/West Wicklow; Straffan;Moon; Allen and Dunlavin, WestWicklow. KilkennyWREATHS were also laid in RathciaranGraveyard, Mooncoin on the grave ofWalter Dunphy. Watty Dunphy, Walter’sson, laid the wreath with Mick Huntreading the Statement from the leadershipof the Republican Movement.

LaoisWREATHS were laid on the graves ofWilliam O’Connor and James Lacey,Barrowhouse Cemetery; grave of DenisO’Dwyer, Wolfhill cemetery, theRepublican Plot, Portlaoise and 1798Monument, Portarlington.

LongfordREPUBLICANS assembled atBallymaccork Cemetery, outsideLongford town to remember HenryHughes, a native of Longford town, aGaeilgeoir, a strong advocate of Irishlanguage and culture and a member ofLongford Urban Council and PatrickMcKeown, also from Longford town, diedon February 23, 1922 as a result of ill-treatment meted out to him in BallykinlarConcentration Camp in Co Down. T]

The proceedings were chaired bySeán Lynch who also read the EasterStatement from the Leadership and thestatement from the Republican POWs,Maghaberry jail. Mary Casey Tullyrecited a decade of the Rosary. The flag-bearer was Bernard Casey and the Roll ofHonour was read by Paddy Dolan.Stephen Fulham and Peter Quinn laidwreaths and Republican Sinn Féin Ard-Rúnaí Líta Ní Chathmhaoil gave theoration.

LouthDUNDALK

REPUBLICAN Sinn Féin members andsupporters assembled at the gates StPatrick’s Cemetery and walked behindFiachra Taffee, who carried the Tricolour,to the Republican Plot. The proceedingswere chaired by Francis Hanratty andMay Breatnach read the 1916Proclamation. A wreath was laid by SeánCollins on behalf of the RepublicanMovement. Séamus ‘Stan’ Clarke read thestatement from the Leadership of theRepublican Movement.

MeathON Easter Sunday wreath-layingceremonies took place at the grave ofSéamus Fox, Drumree; at the grave ofNiall Fagan, Summerhill and atBallinlough Cemetery, Kells. On EasterMonday a wreath-laying ceremony tookplace in Ardbracken Cemetery at thegrave of Vol George McDermott.

WestmeathAROUND 30 Republicans from aroundAthlone and Westmeath gathered behindthe national flag at Cornamagh Cemeteryon Easter Sunday for the march to thegrave of the late IRA Volunteer, CaptainThomas Hughes.

The event was chaired by localRepublican Ciarán Dolan who also readthe 1916 Proclamation. The Roll of Honor

was read by Seosamh Ó Maoileoin,Westmeath and the statement from theLeadership of the Republican Movementwas read by Tommy Morris from theAthlone side of Roscommon.

The POWs being held captive inMaghaberry Jail released a statementwhich was read by the chair during thecourse of the event. The oration on theday was delivered by Republican SinnFéin Ard Comhairle member from Dublin,Róisín Hayden.”

Earlier in the day the SeánCostello/Martin Hurson Cumann, Athloneheld wreath-laying ceremonies at theMemorial Cross, Moate at 10am; the TobyMannion Memorial Cross, Hill of Berries,Athlone 11.45am; the Memorial to theAthlone Brigade, 12 noon and theRepublican Plot, Cornamagh Cemetery,4.30pm at the grave of Teresa Melinn,Cumann na mBan veteran.

The Séamus Ó Dálaigh Cumann,Kilbeggan laid wreaths at the RepublicanPlot, Kilbeggan; the Republican Plot,Meelin and the grave of James Daly,Tyrellspass.

WexfordENNISCORTHY

OVER the Easter weekend theRafter/Mellows Cumann, RepublicanSinn Féin, Enniscorthy laid wreaths at thefollowing memorials: the RafterMonument; the Athenaeum, IRA HQ andthe last to surrender in 1916; the grave ofCharlie Farrell, Fenian and the grave ofGeorge Keegan, Edentubber Martyr andthe at the GPO, Enniscorthy. On EasterSunday we laid a wreath on theRepublican Plot in Crosstown Cemetery,Wexford.

WEXFORD TOWNTHE annual Easter commemoration inWexford was held on Easter Sunday.Republicans gathered at 3pm in the oldDunnes’ car park in the town and, headedby a colour party, marched up along thequay and through the historic Bullring inthe centre of the town and along the mainstreet eventually reaching the spot whereproceedings started.

A bus then took those who wished tothe Republican Plot in CrosstownCemetery where the second part of thecommemoration was held. Mick Hunt ofthe local Cumann chaired the proceedingsand said that earlier on that day wreathswere laid at the graves of Paddy Parle,Matthew Furlong, Matthew Moran, JohnLeacy, Jack Dunne and Billy Phillips, allwho are buried in Crosstown, and also atthe Kyle cross memorial and at thecommemorative plaque for Nicky Barnesin the Old Jail.

Mick then called on Brian Quinn whoread the 1916 Proclamation. PJ Kelly wasthen called upon to read the Wexford Rollof Honour. Wreaths were then laid on theRepublican Plot by Tom Malone; onbehalf of the Wexford Republican GravesAssociation; James Kinsella on behalf ofCumann Pádraig Ó Pearaill and KevinKavanagh on behalf of CumannMellows/Rafter of Enniscorthy.

Joss Kavanagh read theEaster Statement from the leadership ofthe Republican Movement, followed by aminute’s silence and a lament played by apiper. Jimmy Kavanagh gave the mainoration.”

The commemoration ended with thepiper playing Amhrán na bhFiann.

CONNACHTGalway

OUGHTERARDON Holy Saturday Republicans inGalway gathered at the Republican plot inOughterard cemetery for a wreath-layingceremony.

The event was chaired by ChrisKilcommins. A decade of the Rosary wasrecited as Gaeilge by Seán Mac anIomaire followed by a minute’s silence inmemory of those who died for Irishfreedom. A wreath was then laid by JerryFahy on behalf of Galway Republicans.

GALWAY CITYA LARGE crowd gathered at GalwayCathedral on Easter Sunday for the annual

Easter commemoration. After assemblingat the Cathedral the crowd paraded behinda piper and the Tricolour as far as theLiam Mellows Memorial in Eyre Square.

The commemoration was chaired byChris Kilcommins who welcomeeveryone to the event and began byreading the 1916 Proclamation.

Tomas Ó Curraoin read the EasterStatement from the Leadership of theRepublican Movement. Seán Mac anIomaíre recited a decade of the Rosaryfollowed by a minutes’ silence in memoryof those who gave their lives for Irishfreedom.

A wreath was laid on behalf of theRepublican Movement by Jimmy Murphyfrom Claregalway. The main speaker forthe commemoration was Republican SinnFein President Des Dalton.

HEADFORDON Easter Sunday Republicans from allover Co Galway and Mayo gathered atQueally’s cross in Caherlistrane to takepart in the Galway county Eastercommemoration. The assembled crowdthen paraded behind the tricolour and apiper to the graveyard at Donaghpatrick.

The commemoration was chaired byBrendan Madden. The chairperson calledon Seán Mac an Iomaire recited a decadeof the rosary. The Proclamation was readby Dan Hoban from Mayo. The GalwayRoll of Honour was read by John Clarke.Tomás Ó Curraoin read the EasterStatement from the leadership of theRepublican Movement.

Wreaths were then laid on behalf ofthe Republican Movement by Dr SeánMaguire, on behalf of Cumann na mBanby Maureen Madden, on behalf of theTuam Martyrs by Mary Gormley, onbehalf of Galway Republicans by BertMoran and on behalf of MayoRepublicans by Pearse Murray.

Brendan then called on the mainspeaker for the commemoration, thePresident of Republican Sinn Féin DesDalton to give the oration.

LeitrimTHE annual Easter 1916 commemorationceremony, sponsored by the Co LeitrimCommemoration Committee, was held inDrumshanbo Cemetery on Holy Saturdayat he graves of Staff-Captain Séan MacGlynn and Captain Jim Vaugh.

MC was Mícheál Mac Donagh,Drumshanbo. Wreaths were laid by JimMacCormack, nephew of Jim Vaugh onbehalf of relatives and John McGrath,Drumshanbo on behalf of the RepublicanMovement.

A decade o the Rosary in Irish wasrecited by Séamus MacGowan, Tullaghanand Thomas Kelly, Kinlough read theProclamation of the All-Ireland Republic,196.

Also on Easter Sunday, in NorthLeitrim, a wreath was laid at the PhilGilgunn monument in Manorhamilton.Other wreath-laying ceremonies tookplace on the day at the graves of JackMcCabe Rossinver and Declan Curneen,Glenade at which family membersparticipated.

MayoON Easter Monday Republicans fromMayo and Galway gathered outside of thechurch in Kilkelly to take part in the MayoEaster commemoration.

Those gathered then paraded behinda piper and the Tricolour as far as the EastMayo Brigade memorial on the mainSligo-Galway road. The commemorationwas chaired by Dan Hoban who started byasking Dr Seán Maguire to recite a decadeof the rosary. Wreaths were then laid onbehalf of the Republican Movement byPeadar Murray, on behalf of Cumann namBan by Geraldine McNamara ofTipperary, on behalf of GalwayRepublicans by Brendan Madden, onbehalf of Danny O’Neill by his nephewDonal O’Neill and on behalf of the menof the East Mayo Brigade by PatriciaMarvin.

Chris Kilcommins then read theProclamation. Dan Hoban read the Easterstatement from the leadership of theRepublican Movement and Paddy Reillyread the Roll of Honour. Dan then

introduced the main speaker for the eventRepublican Sinn Fein, Galway countycouncillor Tomás Ó Curraoin to give themain oration.

RoscommonAS part of its preparations for thecentenary of the Easter Rising of 1916,due in 2016, the Co Roscommon IRACommemoration Committee held itsannual ceremonies at three venuesthroughout the county on Easter Sunday.

Following Mass in Elphin, a paradetook place to the Co Roscommon IRAMemorial at Shankill Cross. DermotMullooly, Strokestown recited a decade ofthe Rosary in Irish and read theProclamation of the All-Ireland Republic1916. Frank O’Dowd, Cortober read the41 names on the County Roll of Honour.Seán Fitzmaurice, Kilmore and MícheálMac Donagh, laid wreaths.

At the Republican Memorial inBallinlough at 12 noon, Joe Murphypresided and Michael Foley, Clonfowerread the 1916 Proclamation. TommyFreeman, Lisacul, laid a wreath andSéamus Caulfield read the Roll of Honour.Stephen Isaacs read the Statement from

the Leadership of the RepublicanMovement.

At the county commemoration in theafternoon in Castlerea, wreaths were laidon the graves of John Vaughan,Cloonsuck, by Delia Vaughan (niece) andSeán Vaughan (nephew); on the grave ofPatrick Conry, Tarmon by Michael Foley,Clonfower and on that of Patrick Flynn,Tarmon by Paddy Kelly, Tarmon.

All three unarmed men were takenfrom their houses by Black-and-Tans inthe dead of night and shot. The houseswere then wrecked or set on fire.

Ruairí Ó Brádaigh, Roscommonrecited a decade of the Rosary in Irish forthe repose of their souls and all those whodied for Ireland.

A parade then formed up and led by acolour party and the Raheen Pipe Bandmarched through the town to the Churchof Ireland Cemetery. En route, it pausedfor a minute’s silence at the Fr MichaelO’Flanagan Bridge, named in honour ofthe Co Roscommon patriot priest.

At the grave of James Monds,Southpark, Joe Murphy, Ballinloughpresided. James Monds, a father of sixchildren, a Protestant and an agitator forland division, was likewise taken from hishouse by Black-and-Tans in 1921, on thesame night as his neighbour PatrickConry, and was found shot dead by theroadside next morning.

His grandson, Tommy Hanley ofTarmon, laid a wreath on his grave. PatsyHaugh, bugler, Castlerea, sounded theLast Post and Reveille.

Tommy Geraghty, Athleague, read the1916 Proclamation and Frank O’Dowdread the Roll of Honour. Henry Owens,Strokestown, read the Easter Statementfrom the Leadership of the RepublicanMovement.

Vice-President of Republican SinnFéin Fergal Moore, Monaghan, thendelivered an oration.

SligoON Easter Sunday, Republicansassembled at the gates of Sligo Cemeteryand proceeded to the Republican Plotwhere a wreath-laying ceremony washeld. Wreaths were laid on behalf if theLeadership of the Republican Movement.A decade of the Rosary was recited. The

Roll of Honour, the 1916 Proclamationand the Statement were read.

Earlier in the day gravesideceremonies were held at the graves ofKevin Coen, Seán McGoldrick andThomas Sheerin in Sooey Cemetery; ofÉamon Healy and Joseph McManus inSligo Cemetery.

ENGLAND LIVERPOOL

REPUBLICANS gathered at theFenian Monument in Ford Cemetery,Liverpool on Easter Sunday tocelebrate the Easter Rising 1916 and tocommemorate all those who gave giventheir lives for Irish freedom, before,during and since that time. Themonument was the only one in Englanddedicated to the Fenians. Thecommemoration was organised by thelocal John Whelan Cumann ofRepublican Sinn Féin.Pat McDonnell welcomed all thosewho attended, braving the elements anda potential threat from the EnglishDefence League,. And invitedDonnchadh Aghas to read theProclamation, which he did in his usualpowerful and ebullient fashion. WesleyCunliffe then laid a wreath at the footof the monument before MichaelLogan read out the Easter Statement.

LONDONTHE annual Easter Commemoration tookplace in Willsden Cemetery, NorthLondon Cemetery at the grave of JuneO’Connor. Proceedings were chaired bySeán Holohan who read the Statementfrom the Leadership and the statementfrom the POWs was read. MichaelKennedy read the 1916 Proclamation .

Seán introduced John O’Connor,Ard-Cisteoir, Sinn Féin Poblachtach, whotraveled to London for theCommemoration, to give the oration.

SCOTLANDGLASGOW

REPUBLICAN Sinn Féin in Scotlandheld their annual 1916 commemoration atthe Republican Plot in Glasgow Cemeteryon Easter Sunday.

The 1916 Proclamation, the EasterStatement from the Leadership of theRepublican Movement and a statementfrom the POWs in Maghaberry prisonwere read to those assembled.

Also read to those assembled was theRoll of Honour-Scotland and the poemThe Rhythm of Time by Bobby Sands.

A bouquet of flowers was laid by amember of the Dumbarton Cumann.

The Chairman of Republican SinnFéin Dumbarton gave the oration.

USANEW YORK

MEMBERS of Cumann naSaoırse Náısıúnta a were joined byRepublican supporters from throughoutthe Tri-State area at WoodlawnCemetery for Cumann naSaoirse Náisiúnta annual EasterCommemoration.

The assembled crowd was blessedwith a remarkably mild day, allowingthe piper’s music to resonatethroughout the gathering. Jane Enright,NIFC Chairperson, wasemcee. Seosamh Ó Flathartaigh readthe Easter Statement from theRepublican Movement in America, andPat Williams read the Easter Statementfrom the Republican Movement inIreland.

As the event closed, Liam ÓMurchadha gave a heartfelt tribute toour recently fallen Fenian great, BrıanMór Ó Baoıghıll and a wreath was laidupon the grave of Cumann na SaoırseNáısıúnta co-founder Joseph Stynes byJane Enright.

AUSTRALIAMELBOURNE

IN Melbourne, copies of the EasterStatement from the Leadership of theRepublican Movement were distributedat an Easter Commemoration by

1916 Easter Commemorations 2012Cont. from page 9.

• The banner of Cumann MacCurtáin/Mac Suibhne at Cork.

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Saoirse-Irish Freedom — Bealtaine/May 2012 13

Galway Co CouncillorTomás Ó Curraoin and MaryWard, Donegal co-chaired theseminar which was attended byover 70 people.

The day began with areading of the Proclamation byMick Hunt, followed by areading of Who Fears to Speakof Easter Week? by Ruairí ÓBrádaigh, Patron of Sinn FéinPoblachtach.

Andy Connolly sang JamesConnolly and Arbour Hillfollowed by Maurice Isaccsonwho sang Padraig Pearse. CrisNí Choistealbha recited MiseÉire while the music played inthe background.

Eoin Mooney read anexcerpt from Thomas J Clarke’sGlimpses of an Irish Felon’sPrison Life and Andy sangBanna Strand.

After a short breakrenowned historian RúanO’Donnell, (author of manybooks on Irish history the mostrecent the first of his threevolume study of IrishRepublican prisoners in Englishjails from 1968 to 1998) openedthe proceedings with awonderful lecture [part of whichis carried here] beginning withthe importance and significanceof the Proclamation as adocument which embraced allfaiths and traditions andespoused equality for all; anamazing document of its time.He then continued:

“The forthcoming decade ofcentenaries promises a sequenceof events in which the IrishEstablishment’s hierarchy ofendorsement can be clearlyviewed. There are signs that thekey year, 1916, will witnessendeavours to reduce the statusof the Easter Rising in thepopular consciousness.

“Advocates of this approachhave long since pointed to thestate supported 50th anniversaryand some aver, contrary to thebasic facts, that the tenor ofevents was at least a catalyst inthe outbreak of the Long War in1968-9.

“Those who quitereasonably contend that theevents of the Great War requiremore publicity and reflection inModern Ireland are unlikely tobe satisfied if formalobservances of the 1916 Sommecatastrophe are merely givenparity with the Rising.

“In all probability, issues ofscale will apply, in which theactions of the Volunteers inIreland must be diminished incomparison. The political needto placate powerful elements inthe North-East, howeverunderstandable, has alreadyensured the prioritisation of theSomme, in which the re-organised UVF featured, aheadof the equally devastatingexperience of more generic Irishunits destroyed in Suvla Bay in1915.

“Commemorations of theGreat War, if usually solemn intone, are generally delivered incontexts in which imperialism isby no means identified as one ofthe main factors of causation.Few would welcome argumentsthat the Rising in Ireland andslaughter on the Western Frontwere both inspired by

imperialist folly. “The destruction of the

Third Home Rule Bill markedthe defeat of Redmondism in itsconstitutional format and itshould be noted that those whohad backed the ballot until thatpoint in time turned their votingstrength to Sinn Féin inDecember 1918 when theRepublican separatist manifestowas emphatically endorsed.

“It is not encouraging thatproposals to effectively destroyhistory as an academic subjectare still on the table as asupposed ‘reform’. Whateverthe faults of the existingcurriculum, no country can hopeto prosper on the basis that itscitizenry are ignorant of thedynamics that shaped theirpolitical, social and culturalcharacter.

“Hopefully, the country willexperience a coherent andinclusive series ofcommemorations andcelebrations in which theintegrity of actual historicalforces are respected.”

After some Q&A thePresident of Republican SinnFéin Des Dalton made hiscontribution.

“Each year IrishRepublicans both in Ireland andabroad have commemorated1916 without fail. The 26-County State on the other handhas alternated between ignoringthe anniversary and banning anycommemoration of it. 1916commemorations throughout the

26 Counties were banned by theDublin administration in 1937.

“In 1966 Republicans werebaton-charged in Dublin by the26-County police. In 1976Republicans were prosecuted –including Fiona Plunkett sisterof Joseph Mary Plunkett —-andsome jailed for theirparticipation in a bannedcommemoration at the GPO.

“For forty years the 26-County administration ignoredthe anniversary of 1916 butsince 2006 it hasopportunistically seized on it inorder to sell the big lie thathistory has come to an end andBritish rule in Ireland is nowaccepted.

“This is the crux of theissue, 1916 is not merely anhistorical event which can betaken down from the shelf everyfew years and dusted off likesome neglected family heirloom,admired and then convenientlyshelved again for anothergeneration or two. It is an eventwhich still speaks to the Irelandof the 21st Century.

“It is this fact which mostunsettles the chattering classesin Leinster House andelsewhere. The speech byStormont First Minster PeterRobinson marking the centenaryof the signing of ‘SolemnLeague and Covenant’ in 1912in the 26-County Department ofForeign Affairs on March 30, isthe first step in a campaign to

dilute and sanitise the Centenaryof the 1916 Rising. The politicalestablishments in Stormont,Leinster House and Westminsterhave signalled their intention tosuppress any meaningfulcommemoration of the 1916Rising by burying it in acelebration of the imperialistcarnage of the First World War.

“A kind of state-sponsoredamnesia is employed in anattempt to erase the moreuncomfortable aspects of ourhistory. Those very aspects of1916 that serve as a reminder ofhow far short the politicalestablishment and the state overwhich they preside falls short ofthe ideals set out in the 1916Proclamation.

“The former curator of IrishArt at the National Gallery ofIreland Dr Sighle Bhreathnach-Lynch writing in History Irelandin its Spring 1997 edition said:

“‘By concentrating solely onglorifying the past it could bequietly forgotten that the aims ofthose who had sacrificed theirlives in the Rising had not yetbeen properly achieved.

“Leaders like Pearse andConnolly were promoted onlyfor their military exploits. Theirradical ideas on education andjustice, as yet unattained, werenot mentioned.

“This kind of simplisticapproach, largely fostered bypoliticians and propagandists,did not encourage much critical

exchange of ideas and as a resulta mood of disenchantmentquickly set in.’

“The role of historians suchas Ruán O’Donnell will be vitalin the coming years in the battleto ensure a new generation is notrobbed of their history orcollective memory as a nation.

“Over the next four yearsthe centenaries of the foundingof the Irish Volunteers, the IrishCitizen Army and Cumann namBan will be marked. Next yearwe will remember with pride theheroic 1913 Lockout. Therein isa message to the trade unionleadership of today – a starkreminder of how far removedthey are from the foundingideals of the trade unionmovement at precisely themoment when a vibrant andradical trade union movement ismost required.

“Other anniversariesincluding the landing of thearms off the Asgard in 1914 andPearse’s oration at the grave ofO’Donovan Rossa act asmilestones on the road to thecentenary of the Rising.

“Irish Republicansunapologetically declare that1916 will remain unfinishedbusiness while Ireland’s historicright to nationhood continues tobe denied by either the oldimperialism of Britishoccupation or the newimperialism of the EU and IMF.

“This is the unpalatable truththat the establishment most fearin the message of 1916 and it iswhat gives 1916 its continuedrelevance for a new risengeneration. 1916 remainsunfinished business whileBritain holds any part of Ireland.

“The message of 1916 couldnot be clearer; ‘Ireland unfreeshall never be at peace’.“Starting today let us embark ona commemorative journey thatrekindles the fires of revolution;political, social and economic,ideals and ideas which inspiredthe revolutionary generation of1913-23. Let us proclaim to allthat we still believe in the ‘Theright of the people of Ireland tothe ownership of Ireland.’”

In his talk, ‘1916: theprophetic shock-minority’SAOIRSE editor Ruairí Óg ÓBrádaigh said the term wascoined by Jacques Maritain, theFrench philosopher and aprominent drafter of theUniversal Declaration of HumanRights (1948).

“The term prophetic shock-minority can clearly be used toexplain the motivation andactions of the men and womenof Easter Week 1916. Maritaincalls them the ‘inspired servantsor prophets of the people’ whoact as a ‘dynamic leaven orenergy’ fostering politicalmovement.

“They are not necessarilyelected representatives and areneeded in the normalfunctioning of a democraticsociety, especially in periods ofcrisis, birth or basic renewal.

“In his book Man and theState (1954) Maritain listsexamples of propheticshock-minorities, including ‘theliberators of Ireland’, theoriginators of the FrenchRevolution and the authors ofthe American Constitution, JohnBrown who was convinced hehad a divine commission todestroy slavery by the force ofarms, and who captured the

arsenal of Harper’s Ferry, to behanged some months later inDecember 1859:

John Brown’s body lies a-mouldering in the grave,

But his soul goes marchingon.”

“He also includes Gandhiand the pioneers of tradeunionism and the labourmovement.

Their primary work is ‘toawaken the people to somethingbetter than everyone’s dailybusiness, to the sense of a supra-individual task to be performed’,something that IrishRepublicans, faced with the taskof leading resistance to Britishrule in this country in 2012, canreadily identify themselves with.

‘This is the same role asidentified by the late Dáithí ÓConaill of Cork, Republicanleader and author of ÉIRE NUA- A New Ireland, who said IrishRepublicans were ‘catalysts’:they caused change to happen.

“Maritain said that ‘only thefact, the event can decidewhether a prophetic shock-minority was right or wrong inoffering itself as thepersonification of the people,but the only thing which canmake that test a success is thefree approval by the people, assoon as the people can expresstheir will’.

“In the aftermath of the1916 Rising the free approval ofthe people was provided in theDecember 1918 All-Irelandelection, when a majority ofSinn Féin candidates, goingforward to secure the IrishRepublic of all 32 counties, werereturned.”

“Maritain also warned offalse prophets, of which Irishhistory is unfortunately full, andof how easy it is to slip fromgenuine inspiration to a corruptone:

“We know that ‘optimicorruptio pessima, corruption ofwhat is best is what is worst’.

“In the Irish context thosewho corrupted the best of theIrish people since 1916 are theBritish leaders and their Irishcollaborators, those who soldout the All-Ireland Republicfrom the Free Staters of 1922 tothe Provisionals in 1986 and upto the present day.”

Questions from the floorwere answered by all threespeakers.

Fergal Moore, VicePresident read Pádraig Pearse’saddress at the grave ofO’Donovan Rossa; ThomasMacDonagh’s address to hiscourt-martial was read by PaddyTidd; Martin Heffernan read Alament for Tomas McDonagh(Francis Ledwidge); RóisínHayden read The Rebel (PádraigPearse); Seán Dolan read Easter1916 (WB Yeats);

Cáit Trainor read A speechfrom James Connolly; JosephineHayden read quotations fromSéan MacDiarmada; ShaneBarns read The Rose Tree,(WBYeats); Peig King read Thisheritage to the race of kings,(Joseph Plunkett) and Líta NíChathmhaoil read The Ghost ofRoger Casement, (WB Yeats).

Interspersed with thereading were some songs fromPat Waters who wrote TheSignatories Easter 1916, sevensongs for the seven signatoriesto the Proclamation, which areavailable on CD.

‘The centenary of 1916 has real relevance for the Ireland of today’

• (left to rght) Des Dalton, Mary Ward, Tomás Ó Curraoin,Ruán O’Donnell and Pat Waters who performed two of thesongs from his CD The Signatories Easter 1916.

• A section of the packed attendance.

A VERY successful seminar entitled Who Fears toSpeak of Easter Week? was held in the IrelandInstitute, Pearse Street, Dublin on Saturday May 21,organised by Sinn Féin Poblachtach.

• Ruán O’Donnell

• Des Dalton

• Ruairí Óg Ó Brádaigh

• Ruairí Ó Brádaigh and Dr Seán Maguire at the seminar.

ApologyNeededFromBorisJohnston A chara

We delayed commentingon Boris Johnston’s remarksregarding the St Patrick’sDay banquet because wewanted to see what feedbackcame from the Irishcommunity here in London.Indeed the feedback is verypoor.

Why do we allow suchinsulting remarks to passwithout making a formalprotest? We seem to take allthose insults on the chininstead of standing up forourselves and out country.Johnson’s remarks are alsovery hurtful to IrishRepublicans.

St Patrick’s Day iscelebrated in the world. Itsbanquets and culture arepromoted around March 17.Isn’t it ironic that Johnston’scountry has no national dayof celebration, which speaksfor itself.

If he made those remarksabout the Notting HillCarnival or any other ethniccelebrations he would be inserious trouble. Johnston’skind seems to think that theycan say what they like. Weare sure that more think thesame only to keep it tothemselves. Does he notknow we Irish built most ofthe London. If Johnston hadbrains he would bedangerous. The trouble is hismouth is in the properposition but his brains are inhis trousers. As an old Irishsaying goes, ‘sure, he’s anauld gobs*

The Irish World isseeking an apology fromhim. There seems little pointas it would not be genuine.Just stand up for yourselvesand your country as trueRepublicans with any prideshould do.

PRORoger Casement/James

Stephens CumannRepublican Sinn Féin

London

TaraGroupCalls forResignationA chara

During a recent meetingin the Interpretive Centre onthe Hill of Tara regardingthe proposed TaraConservation Plan being putin place for the 100 acres ofState-owned lands on theHill, it emerged that arepresentative for MeathCounty Council SteeringCommittee overseeing theConservation Plan, is noneother than Tommy Reillywho famously said on the

Pat Kenny show (and quotedafterwards on Prime Time)that discoveries at Taraamounted to nothing morethan “pots and pans”.

The Tara/SkrynePreservation Group standutterly appalled that such aperson who displays whatcould only be regarded ascontempt for thearchaeological discoveries,should be elected onto thiscommittee. This follows theJanuary Council meeting inNavan at which delegatesfrom the Department ofArts, Heritage and theGaeltacht as well as theHeritage Council outlinedthe commissioning of theplan. This same Tommy“Pots and Pans” Reilly wasearlier mixed up in theFrank Dunlop controversyregarding the purchase oflands within the Tara SkryneLandscape and whichcreated such a scandal that itlost him his chance to run inthe 2005 by-election.

TSPG calls for theimmediate resignation fromhis post within the MeathCounty Council SteeringCommittee for the TaraConservation Plan, thusavoiding any further publicoutrage and embarrassmentto the archaeologicalcommunity and to thosewho take the conservation ofour historical monumentsseriously.

TSPG would also like totake this opportunity toremind Tara Skryne localsthat this same Councilloralso publicly vowed to shootdown the Draft Tara SkryneLandscape ConservationArea Plan even before it gotto submission stage. Thissame plan, had it been put inplace without the needlessfear-mongering by a varietyof Councillors and a TD,would have ensured that noinappropriate developmentsuch as that being proposednear Garlow Cross(Planning Ref na120218 )which includes two 70ftDigester Towers would everhave even been proposed.

CARMEL DIVINEYSecretary

Tara Skryne PreservationGroup

TheButcher’sApronA chara

I am an Irish Republicanwho detests Australia’scolonial flag because of theUnion Jack (the Butcher’sApron) in the corner and Iam not leaving. There arehundreds of thousands ofpeople born in Australiawho detest the Jack in theflag and THEY are notleaving, so why should I?Anyway, true IrishRepublicans don’t run awayfrom evil; they stand theirground and wage war on ituntil the evil is eradicated.

The Union Jack –irrespective of what flag itappears in – is an emblem ofevil. The Union Jack is anemblem of the butcheringBritish Empire that was builton blood and desolation.The Union Jack is theemblem of those whobutchered and mutilatedIreland! Any Irish person –be they clergy, politician,footballer or otherwise –who wants the colonial flagon their coffin, and anymember of an Irishorganisation that fly andflaunt the colonial flag onIrish property in Australiaare spitting on the graves ofIreland’s patriot dead, andspitting on the graves ofhundreds of thousands ofIrish people butchered andbrutalised over the centuriesby the evil anti-Christ –Masonic British Crownmurder machine!

To fly the colonial flag inIrish societies is spitting onthe graves of the Irishbutchered by the BritishBlack-and-Tans in CrokePark; the graves of thoseIrish massacred in Derrycity by British paratroopers;the grave of 12-year-oldMajella O’Hare on her wayto confession in Co Armagh;the graves of Bobby Sandsand his gallant comrades;and, of course, the graves ofthose heroic Irish men andothers massacred by Britishtroops at Eureka Stockade inBallarat. It is well toremember that the Butcher’sApron in the colonial flag isalso the emblem of thoseBritish aristocrats and otheragents of the British Crownwho engineer the throwingof pipe bombs at five-year-old Catholic school childrenon their way to school inBelfast.

I often dread that thehandful of stalwarts of GAAPark in Keysborough,Melbourne – who havewrapped themselves in theButcher’s Apron and whoparticipate in and attend the

Easter Weekcommemoration in CarletonCemetery – might insult ourpatriot dead by flying andflaunting the Butcher’sApron colonial flag on thegrave of Seán MacSwiney!

If they have the urge todo it on Irish propertysomewhere, they may havethe urge to do it at Irishundertakings everywhere.

Flying and flaunting thecolonial flag of Oz on Irishproperties in Oz, and at Irishevents, is giving aid andcomfort to the powers thatbe in Australia who supportthe butchery of the Irish byAustralia’s Queen. This isdemonstrated by the factthat not one politician in theFederal Parliament hasintroduced a PrivateMembers’ Bill to haveAustralians apprehendedwhen in Australia and put ontrial for war crimes andcrimes against humanity inIreland and Britain.

Speaking in New Yorkafter the Derry Massacre, DrPatrick Hillery – who laterbecame President of theBritish-created Irish semi-free state – said: “WhatEngland is doing in Irelandis an affront to justice. If shegets away with it, there is nojustice.” England is stillgetting away with it.

Those who fly, flauntand eulogise Australia’scolonial flag should come tothe realisation that the flag isthe emblem of an inferiorpeople! Who said a gross,insulting think like that? Theperson who said THATshould leave! No,Australia’s Queen did notsay that in words but said itby her actions when shesanctioned and signed with apen and ink the Act of theBritish parliament thatrelegated her Oz subjects toinferior and foreigner statusin England – the first headof state in world history tohave relegated her subjectsin such a fashion!

During World War II, the

British Prime Minister,Winston Churchill, with theacquiescence of KingGeorge (father of Australia’sQueen), said that “Australiawas dispensable” and thatAustralians were “aninferior people” with “poornerves” led by a PrimeMinister who was a“wretched and second-rateman”. How is that for a kickin the guts to those whoserve and eulogise QueenLiz, and those who flauntthe flag and fought for flagand Queen? When I gooverseas, I will carry anIrish passport that will haveme treated as an equal inBritain, and NOT as aninferior foreigner that arethe credentials allotted toAustralians by their Queen!

Australia’s Queencontinues to show her lackof concern for her fawningOz subjects by not makinguse of her constitutionalpower’s under Article 59 ofthe colonial Constitutionand annul the loony tradeunion politician carbon taxlaws that will increasepoverty and crime and retardAustralia’s progress! If theQueen doesn’t get up off herroyal arse and bring ameasure of sanity to ourpolitical institutions, and dosomething to safeguard thepeople from the ravages ofpoliticians, she shouldimmediately be given theRepublican Order of theBoot! She should bereplaced by a fair dinkumAussie Republican who, assomeone once said, willcentre his ideals in Australiaand consciously devote hislife to making Australiaprosper.

JOHN MURRAYMelbourne

Australia

InternetSafety A chara

Many communicationservices and social mediasites, uses its Terms ofService to forbid childrenunder the age of 13 fromcreating an account. Suchprohibitions are notuncommon in response tothe Children’s Online

Privacy Protection Act(COPPA), which seeks toempower parents byrequiring commercial Website operators to obtainparental consent beforecollecting data fromchildren under 13.

Research shows thatsuch bans are provingineffective. Millions ofunder–13 youth are onFacebook. Underagechildren gain access bylying about their age duringsite registration, therebyallowing Facebook to avoidthe 'actual knowledge'required by COPPA totrigger its protections andprohibitions.

This discrepancyprompted a survey to askwhat parents know aboutunderage children’sparticipation on Facebook.On the basis of discussionswith parents prior toconducting the survey, itwas learned that parents didnot identify COPPA or eventhe general issue of privacyas the source of agerestrictions on Facebook.Instead, they often told usthat Facebook, MySpace,and Twitter are ‘mature’sites, meant only forteenagers who are oldenough and mature enoughto handle the various onlinesafety issues present. Myown research lead me to achild's site that any parentwould not suspect containsunsuitable material, my firsttry was for Scooby Doo. Ihit on sites for this cartoondog that were definitelyunsuitable for children, tosay some of the pictureswere lewd would be anunderstatement.

What is needed is an agerestriction programme thatparents themselves cancontrol with the fullassistance of the web sitemakers to put in place anage code that will refuse togive access to their siteswithout the code that thecomputer owner has. Thiswill put the right to accessinto the hands of parents,who should decide whattheir children have accessto.

MICHAEL ROONEYMayo

14 Saoirse-Irish Freedom — Bealtaine/May 2012

Letters to the Editor should be as short, as possibleand written or typed in double-spacing on one side of

the page. Name and address must be included, but on request

will not be published.

Letters printed do not necessarily reflect the viewsand opinions of SAOIRSE.

Postal address: 223 Parnell Street, Dublin 1. Letters may also be faxed to

Dublin 872 9757 or sent by e-mail to saoirse@iol.ie

Please note that all material for publication,articles, features, news reports, comhbhróin,

congratulations and good wishes greetings, etcmust be accompanied by a name, address,

signature and telephone numberfor verification.

• The historic Hill of Tara (see letter on left).

“The research indicates that theinterviews with soldiers are notimpartial, they are not effective andthey are not transparent”, she said.

-- Dr Patricia Lundy, Senior lecturerwith the University of Ulster, hasquestioned the HET’s independence.Irish News under the heading HET‘treated soldiers favourably’, April 4,2012. According to the University ofUlster, the Historical Enquiries Team(HET) gave favourable treatment tosoldiers linked to killings during theTroubles.

The report said the HET does notinvestigate the cases properly [150killings by soldiers between 1970 and1973] – a claim the team has denied.

-- Irish News.The [RUC/]PSNI has suspended

four police officers as it carries out aninvestigation into alleged sectarianand racist text messaging.

Police said the investigation was“in relation to inappropriate andoffensive racist and sectarian textmessages”.

— Irish Times, April 7, 2012, GerryMoriarty, Northern Editor.

The threat to move Harland andWolff across the Irish Sea may havebeen bluff but it was credible: theyards belonged to an imperial andindustrial world, not to an Ireland ofromantic peasants.

Harland had let it be known (c1886) that, if Home Rule were to beintroduced, the firm would relocate tothe Clyde (Glasgow) or the Mersey(Liverpool).

— Irish Times Weekend Review,April 7, 2012, Century: 1912-22 byFintan O’Toole.

It [Belfast] surged past Dublin in1891 to become Ireland’s largest city,then grew by another 35% in the lastdecade of the 19th century alone.Harland and Wolff, moreover,embodied Belfast’s integration intoboth the UK and the British Empire.Edward Harland set up in Belfast onlybecause he was refused permission todo so in Liverpool.

— Irish Times Weekend Review,April 7, Fintan O’Toole.

Just three months after Titanicsank, vicious and organised assaultsforces all 2,000 Catholics out of theyards. But these workers had alreadybeen expelled from the officialmeaning of Titanic: its building wasuniversally hailed as a “great Anglo-Saxon triumph”.

Irish Catholics could not beallowed to share either that triumphor the commercial shock that followedthe sinking.

— Irish Times Weekend Review,April 7, Fintan O’Toole.

James Connolly, writing from anationalist and socialist perspective,saw the fate of the ship prefigured inthe hardship endured by the workerswho built her: “It has been computedthat some seventeen lives were lost onthe Titanic before she left the Lagan; alist of the maimed and hurt and ofthose suffering from minor injuries asa result of the accidents… would readlike a roster of the wounded after abattle.”

— Irish Times Weekend Review,April 7, Fintan O’Toole.

“Imagine her to be split in halffrom bow to stern so that you couldlook, as one looks at a hive. You wouldfind a microcosm of civilised societywith the rulers on top, surrounded bythe rich and luxurious, enjoying thebest of everything.

“A ways down, you would find theservants and parasites… up above arethe people who rest and enjoy; downbelow the people who sweat andsuffer.”

— Fintan O’Toole, quoting fromFilson Young’s instant book on thesinking of the Titanic.

There was no doubt that socialclass shaped the tragedy; the rich hada much better chance of survival. Ofthe 1,500 dead, 700 were among thecrew, made up largely of working-class men and 536 were third-classpassengers, made up largely of poorerimmigrants.

Only 38% of third-classpassengers survived, compared tomore than 60% of those in first class.

— Fintan O’Toole, Irish Times,April 7.

Many shipyard workers believedthat an apprentice painter working onTitanic daubed the challenge “LetGod sink this vessel if He can!” inlarge letter on the hull, beforepainting it over.

— Irish Times Weekend Review,April 7, 2012, Michael MacCaughanarticle.

After sectarian assaults onCatholic shipyard workers in thehighly-charged political atmosphereof 1912 [Home Rule crisis], a beliefspread among many Catholics thatthe sunken ship has enshrined anti-Catholic messages, such as the allegedship number 3909 OM. This was amirror image of the sectarian message“No Pope”.

— Michael MacCaughan, IrishTimes, April 7.

Virtually every book publishedabout Titanic ever since hasreproduced his photographs. He[Father Frank Browne, Irish Jesuit]also took the last photograph of CaptEdward Smith, as Smith leaned out tostarboard over the emergency cutterknown as Lifeboat No 1 – capacity 40,but later lowered with only 12 people.

— Rosita Boland report in the IrishTimes, April 7, 2012.

Whoever wishes to foresee thefuture must consult the past; forhuman events ever resemble those ofpreceding times.

This arises from the fact that theyare produced by men who ever havebeen, and ever shall be, animated bythe same passions, and thus theynecessarily have the same results.

— Niccoli Machiavelli (Italianauthor and statesman, writer of ThePrince) as quoted by Patrick Smyth inCentury: 1912-22, Irish Times WeekendReview, April 7, 2012.

On the day he will attend [the 26-County’ State’s] commemoration ofthe 1916 Rising at the GPO in Dublin,Taoiseach Enda Kenny is under firefor failing to honour a commitment tomeet relatives of the signatories to theproclamation of the Republic.

Kenny has been criticised byrelatives of the Volunteers, who fearthe government will agree to thedemolition of a large section of thehistoric “battlefield” on Moore Street.

[In the GPO last year] he assuredthe relatives that his officials wouldcontact them before the visit of QueenElizabeth II [of England] to schedule ameeting that would take place afterthe state visit in May 2011.

“I am surprised and disappointedthat we have yet to meet him a yearlater,” [James] Connolly-Heron[great-grandson of James Connolly],said.

— Sunday Business Post, April 8,2012 [Easter Sunday] article by NiamhConnolly, Political Correspondent.

The group [of 1916 relatives] isopposed to a property developer’sproposal to demolish most of thehistoric terrace and pathways where320 Volunteers and members of theIrish Citizen Army staged their finalbattle.

— Sunday Business Post, EasterSunday, Niamh Connolly.

“We would end up with the entirearea being demolished, except for fourfacades [to make way for a shoppingcentre]. In effect it’s an application todemolish a national monument,” saidJames Connolly-Heron.

— Sunday Business Post, EasterSunday.

[Provisional] Sinn Féin is talkingabout apologies and reconciliation,

while [Provisional] republicans areeven getting cosier with the concept ofliving within the union [withEngland].

— Sunday Business Post, EasterSunday, April 8, 2012, Tom McGurkcolumn

Its hard to define exactly what ischanging, but never before has theNorth seemed so politicallyhomogenous [dictionary definition:similar owing to common descent].

— Tom McGurk, Easter Sunday.Does “politically homogenous” thenmean that people in the Six Counties arenow politically all unionist, God helpus?

On March 5, Declan Kearney,[Provisional] Sinn Féin nationalchairman, wrote in An Phoblacht:“Republicanism needs to becomemore intuitive about unionistapprehensions and objections, andsensitive in our response. We need tobe open to using a new language andconsider making our compromises.”

— Tom McGurk column.Kearney added significantly:

“Regardless of the stance of others, weshould recognise the healing influenceof being able to say sorry for thehuman effects of all actions causedduring the armed struggle.”

— Tom McGurk column quotingKearney.

“All sensible people would wish ithad been otherwise, that these eventshad never happened, that otherconditions had had prevailed. Thepolitical reality is those actions cannotbe undone or disowned. It would bebetter they had never happened.”

— Tom McGurk column quotingKearney.

Given Kearney’s seniority in[Provisional] republican politics, thearticle [in An Phoblacht] was almostcertainly approved at the top of the[Provisional] republican movement,and, presumably, was intended toopen a debate.

— Tom McGurk on Easter Sunday.According to An Index of Deaths fromthe Conflict in Ireland 1969-1993 byMalcolm Sutton, 911 civilians werekilled by loyalist groups backed byBritish forces. Add three in 1966 and 37in 1994 (Irish Times, December 29,1994), bring the total to 951. More werekilled by them from 1995 to datebringing it up to about the 1,000 mark.The British army killed 294, otherBritish forces 55, total 349 in period1969-1993. Who said “sorry” for those1,300 deaths?

Not since the late 1960s has therebeen any critical appraisal ofjournalistic standards, practices andoutput at the station [RTÉ]. Thedamage done by the censorshipimposed by Section 31 of theBroadcasting Act over almost aquarter of a century was neverrepaired.

— Sunday Business Post, April 8,2012, “Between the Lines” by VincentBrowne.

Racism is now like a virus that hasmutated, and it can lie undetectedunless you look closely. Is there evergoing to be a cure? All I know for sureis that whatever is being done now tostop racism is not working, and achange is needed.

-- Alexandra Kosjakova, writing inthe Irish Times, April 19, 2012, underthe heading ‘An inclusive philosophy isvital if we are to beat racism’. AlexandraKosjakova attends BalbrigganCommunity College in Co Dublin.

People need to understand racismcomes from all races anywhere. Thereare no exclusions and nobody isimmune to it. Racism these days is notabout “white and black” or “nativesand immigrants”, as some mightthink. I have witnessed thatimmigrants can perpetrate it againstimmigrants.

-- Alexandra Kosjakova.I feel that, if racism is to be

stopped to a greater extent, countriesand nations should not boast about,for example, “Irish pride” or “beingproud to be African”, because itcreates moral confusion in people whomight take it the wrong way, thinkingthere is nobody better than Irish orAfrican. As a result all sides clash, andthis is where the origins of racismoccur in our society.

-- Alexandra Kosjakova.As part of its preparations for the

centenary of the Easter Rising of 1916,due in 2016, the Co Roscommon IRACommemoration Committee held itsannual ceremonies at three venuesthroughout the country on EasterSunday.

— Roscommon People, April 20,2102.

Businessman Paddy McKillenpersonally owed €240 million to AngloIrish bank in February 2011 and some€60 million of this debt was secured onhis shareholding in the Maybournehotel in London, he told the court.

-- Business section, Irish Times,April 21, 2012. McKillen was givingevidence against companies controlledby two brothers David and FrederickBarkley over their bid to take over theClaridges, Connaught and Berkleyhotels in London.

The nationalisation of Anglo in2009 was a severe blow to him and hiscompanies, he said, and he feared hisloans would be transferred to theState’s national Asset managementAgency.

-- Irish Times.A total of 24 AIB and EBS

employees are continuing to receivebasic salaries in excess of €250,000annually at a time when hundreds ofstaff at the institution are being maderedundant, according to the Ministerfor Finance [Michael Noonan].

-- http://www.thejournal.ie, April21, 2012

After one year of the Coalition,only a quarter of the sample feelsmore confident for the future

The public is strongly opposed tosome key elements of theGovernment’s policy according to thelatest Irish Times/Ipsos MRBI poll.

The strategy of introducing newtaxes like the household charge as analternative to income-tax increases isrejected by voters by a margin ofmore than two to one.

There is an even strongerrejection of the Croke Parkagreement, with a massive majority infavour of reforming or scrapping thedeal that protects public-sector payand pensions.

-- Stephen Collins, Political Editor,Irish Times,, April 21, 2012.

The prospect of the Governmentgetting limited or no support from thetrade union movement for thereferendum on the EU fiscal treatyincreased yesterday when Mandatesaid it was advising a No vote to itsmembers.

-- Harry McGee, Irish Times, April23, 2012

The decision by the union’sexecutive comes in the wake of adetailed Siptu document lastThursday which portrayed the treatyas a one-sided austerity proposal. The

union said it would only be preparedto overcome its deep misgivings andcountenance a Yes vote if theGovernment announced a majorstimulus programme that would offsetthe ongoing austerity contained infiscal policy.

-- Harry McGee, Irish Times.Mr Douglas, speaking at his

union’s conference in Wexford,asserted that Mandate made noapology in campaigning for a No votein the referendum on May 31st.

“The fiscal treaty, if passed, willnot create one job: on the contrary, itwill legally lock down Irish economicactivity at its current levels. It mayeven shrink domestic demand further,leading to mass unemployment,decades of emigration and sow theseeds for future social conflict,” hesaid.

-- Harry McGee.“We did not take this decision

lightly. It is becoming increasinglyobvious that austerity is not working.The right-wing agenda of Chancellor[Angela] Merkel might make sense inGermany, but it is a death sentence forour economy and people.

“The backlash against austerity isno longer limited to small peripheraleconomies such as Greece andIreland. The first round of the Frenchelections shows that citizens in major,core economies of Europe areincreasingly opposed to this policy.”

-- Irish Times, Tuesday, April 24,2012, general secretary of the TechnicalEngineering and Electrical Union(TEEU) Éamon Devoy, on the union(with 40,000 members) calling for a NOvote in the upcoming referendum on thefiscal compact treaty.

Mr Devoy said under nocircumstances “can we embed thedraconian fiscal compact treaty in ourConstitution”.

“This would condemn Irishworking families to decades offinancial servitude to the banks.

“It would effectively transform asocial Europe into a financiers’Europe permanently. There is noteven any trade-off on offer in terms ofa financial stimulus package, eitherfrom our own Government or thetroika.

“It is ironic that even the IMF cansee current EU policies are suicidal forIreland.

“The failure of the Government toadopt the Irish Congress of TradeUnions proposal on using a proportionof pension funds to generate growthand jobs in inexplicable.”

--Irish Times quoting EamonDevoy.

The country’s largest union,Siptu, said last week it would onlyrecommend the fiscal compact treatyif the Government agreed to a neweconomic stimulus plan, including theprovision of incentives to privatepension funds to invest in the domesticecono my.

-- Irish Times, But I took a stroll past where the

pub once stood during the week and itstruck me that I might be the firstperson ever to have noticed a certainJoycean wit in the location of thenearby Republican Sinn Féinheadquarters.

These are positioned at the veryend of what used to be Great BritainStreet, just before it becomes LittleBritain Street. And the wit of theaddress is only slightly undermined bythe tautology of a banner celebratingthe party’s centenary. “100 years ofUnbroken Continuity” this reads:which, unless it’s conscious homage toJoyce’s gigantism, is surely one wordtoo many.

-- Frank McNally, An Irishman’sDiary, Irish Times, April 25, 2012.

“There are decades when nothinghappens and there are weeks whendecades happen” — BI Lenin (1870-1924) – and decades into whichcenturies are compressed.

— Century – The Years thatshaped Northern Ireland 1912-22,Irish Times special supplement, April25, 2012, edited by Patrick Smyth.

Saoirse-Irish Freedom — Bealtaine/May 2012 15

WHATTHEYSAID

• The plaque on No 16 MooreStreet, Dublin where the 1916leaders made their last standand from which theysurrendered to British forces.Four of the houses on the streethave been declared a nationalmoument but there are plans todevelop the area into a majorshopping centre. Relatives ofthe 1916 leaders have beencampaigning for the entirestreet to be made into a nationalmonuemtn (see quote on left).

16 Saoirse-Irish Freedom — Bealtaine/May 2012

THE May issue of An tÉireannachAontaithe/The United Irishmancarried a banner headline: Ex-Prisoners Victimised – Abolish theOffences Against the State Act.

With the release unconditionally ofall Republican prisoners in the 26Counties, the political campaign hadmoved on. The issues now were thereleased of the remaining 43 prisonersin Belfast Jail and of three in Englandand the victimisation in employmentof ex-prisoners south of the Border.

The campaign against full immersion in the“Common Market”: or the EEC was pushed withthe publication of three leaflets: (1) Sinn FéinOpposes EEC Ties; 2) The Border and theCommon Market and (3) The Alternatives to theCommon Market.

The veteran Parish Priest of Newtownbutler,Co Fermanagh, Thomas Canon Maguire spokeout early on the question of the remainingprisoners. He wrote a letter to the Irish Press,parts of which were published on March 2, callingfor the release of the prisoners.

“As an old chaplain to the Monaghan FlyingColumn I make this appeal,” he wrote. “We areall brothers, then let all prison gates be thrownwide open.”

The Republican organ asked in May 1962:“How many people realised that the 26-Countygovernment’s persecution of the releasedprisoners had not ended?”

It invoked Section 34 of the Offences Againstthe State Act 1939 to punish them further. Section34 stated that anyone sentenced by the infamousMilitary Tribunal would be subject to theadditional penalty of seven years unemployment.That was as far as the 26-County administrationcould ensure.

In addition, pensioned employees were to bedenied the fruits of a lifetime of service; anysuperannuation allowance, pension or gratuity –to which a prisoner might have contributed out ofhis earnings over the years – would be denied tohim or her.

A circular letter was sent out by the 26-County government to all Civil Servicedepartments, local councils and their subsidiarybodies, and to all semi-state bodies such as Bordna Móna, CIE, the ESB, Aer Lingus, ComhluchtSiúcre Éireann, Irish Shipping Ltd, and so on.

A full list of the names and addresses of the31 Irishmen sentenced by the Military Tribunal inrecent months accompanied the circular.Instructions issues were: do not employ any ofthese men for seven years; if they are already inyour employment, confiscate their pension fundor any other gratuity due and dismiss themsummarily!

At least four of the prisoners recently releasedwere affected. Of these two were married – onewith a large family. They were: Tomás MacGiolla (35), Dublin: ESB employee – married anda native of Nenagh, Co Tipperary;

Liam Boylan (21), Dublin: Aer Lingusemployee;

Séamus Ó Dóráin (24), Dublin: CIEemployee; and

Thomas O’Neill (36), Dublin: DublinCorporation employee – married with fivechildren.

The first three were arrested in a swoop ontheir homes by Special Branch the previousNovember. Section 30 of the Offences Against theState Act gave power to arrest them withoutwarrant or charge. Under Section 52 they werejailed for refusing to answer questions.

Thus by a series of technicalities underOASA Irishmen were arrested, jailed anddeprived of their employment for seven years.

The United Irishman of May 1962 called onthe Irish people to waken up to what washappening in their midst — and in their name.The unconditional release of the prisoners was notenough – the silent, sinister move to deprive all 31released men of employment in their own countryfor seven years had to be defeated.

It called for the abolition of the OASA for alltime. It was “a bulwark of British rule in the SixCounties and a complete denial of thefundamental democratic rights of the Irish people.

It was the 26-County counterpart of theSpecial Powers Acts in the Six Counties, designedand used for the same purpose – maintainingBritish rule in Ireland.

When the circular letter was read at a meetingof the Tralee Vocational Education Committee onMarch 26 by Dr Joseph G Hill, CEO, MichaelO’Regan made a protest.

“On principle I could not agree with thatcircular,” he said; “It is most unreasonable. If aman has certain beliefs, I don’t think he should bevictimised to that extent.”

Thomas Ryle, chairperson of the UDC, said itwas possible that the circular letter was draftedbefore the recent change in circumstances and itmight not hold much longer.

Rev P Scott, chair of the VEC, stated that ifthe position arose they could discuss it fully. Atthat time it was only theoretical.

In its Comment, the Republican organ said:“Mr O’Regan deserved credit for speaking out.Mr Ryle apparently hoped that the matter wouldbe quietly dropped by the 26-County authoritiesand that that would relieve him of taking a standon the question.”

And the matter was not just theoretical. Evenon March 26 men had already been dismissedfrom employment. All Irish people should beconcerned about such victimisation.

Teachers were also involved. Ruairí ÓBrádaigh had been suspended by the 26-CountyDepartment of Education since 1957 from hispost under Co Roscommon VEC.

Domhnall Ó Lúbhlaí was likewise treatedsince 1957 also. Both had been sentenced to termsof imprisonment by the District Court. Ó Lúbhlaíhad been employed by South Tipperary VEC butagain the Department of Education intervened todeprive him of employment.

On March 16, the Irish Times carried a letterfrom Dr Owen Sheehy-Skeffington in which hedrew attention to the circular sent to all vocationaleducation committees in the 26 Counties by theDepartment of Education.

Referring to the black-list of persons to bevictimised, Sheehy-Skeffington said: “In daysgone by this would have been termed ‘felon-setting’. Today the term has gone out of fashion,but not apparently the thing.

“Whatever he thought of this ministerialendeavour to have people punished twice, it isdifficult to accept it as coming from a Minister(DR PJ Hillery) who is interested in protectingteachers.”

Next day [March 17] the Irish Timesresponded with an editorial headed “The Qualityof Mercy”. In general it supported the 26-CountyAdministration against Sheehy-Skeffington butasked: “Is the complaint, therefore, that theMinister for Educationis now seeking to prevent

persons with convictions [by the courts inpolitical cases] from gaining certainemployment?”

It continued: “In the first case [above], he isgoing outside the scope of the Act and is, indeed,acting unjustly.

“Assuming that Dr Skeffington has over-stated the case, it may still be timely to drawattention to the fact that the Government haspower to pardon and reinstate. Magnanimity isnot incompatible with justice;…

“It is not the place of this or any newspaper totell the Department of Education whom it shouldor should not employ; but it is essential, if DrSkeffington is correct that the public should know;

“And if Dr Skeffington’s zeal has outrun hisresearch, it might be worthwhile to ask theCabinet to look into its heart and see how muchhas had to be forgotten and forgiven to bringabout the amenable conditions under whichIrishmen of all classes, creeds and parties have inrecent years tended to draw together…”

The editorial was lengthy. In single column itwent down the entire 21 inches of a page of thenewspaper. A news item of 14 single columninches was carried in the same Irish Times on StPatrick’s Day.

On the previous Sunday, the SundayIndependent had a report of six-and-a-half inches(single column) on the same topic entitled“Penalty for State offenders”. Clearly, this issuewas not going to go away.

The Irish Independent of May 4 reported thatSeán Treacy, Labour TD, had raised the matter inLeinster House. Charlie Haughey, Minister forJustice told Brendan Corish, head of the LabourParty, that local authorities or semi-state bodieshad no discretion in the matter.

He had a similarly hard-line attitude to SeánTreacy. He told Dr Noel Browne that the circularsent out by his Department [of Justice] was notassociated with the recent amnesty [allRepublican prisoners in the 26 Counties werereleased on April 20]. “It had been sent out afterthe Special Criminal Court was set up which waslong before the amnesty had occurred.”

Dr Hillery told Dr Browne and JackMacQuillan (both National ProgressiveDemocrats) that no circular concerning the re-employment of former internees had been issuedby his Department.

But the question of victimisation of ex-prisoners did not end there as will be seen nextmonth.

The May 1962 issue of An tÉireannachAontaithe/The United Irishman carried the text ofthe Easter Statement from the ResistanceMovement in British-occupied Ireland asdistributed by the Irish Republican PublicityBureau.

Its wording was as follows:EASTER Statement“On the occasion of the Easter Week Rising

the Irish Resistance Movement sends greetings toour people throughout the world who areassembled in commemoration of our heroic dead.

“It is customary in this annual EasterStatement to review the progress of theResistance Movement towards its objectiveduring the previous year.

“The Irish Republican Publicity Bureaustatement of February 26 last which announcedthe decision to end the Resistance Campaign inBritish-occupied Ireland contained such a reviewof the entire five-year period, December 1956-February 1962.

“It also indicated clearly the nature of theResistance Movement’s future intentions towardsthe complete overthrown of British rule inIreland.

“Notwithstanding the ending of thatCampaign seventy-four Irish Republicansprisoners are still held. Forty-three are servinglong and savage sentences in Belfast Prison andtwo life-sentence men and one woman are inEnglish jails.

“The unconditional release of all of them isone immediate objective which calls for theunstinted support of Irish people everywhere.

“Recent weeks have seen a further attempt inthe form of new 26-County legislation to breakthe Prisoners’ Dependants Fund. By continuallystriking at the dependant relatives of prisoners thecollaborationist politicians hope even now tobring the men in jail to their knees.

“And having served their prison sentencesthose jailed by the recently-revived MilitaryTribunal are to be further victimised. In so far asthe influence of the 26-County governmentextends they are to be denied employment forseven years.

“Such mean and vicious victimisation of IrishRepublicans must be exposed for what it is andended forthwith.

“The sacrifices of ten young Irish lives in themost recent phase of the fight for freedom and thecontinuing sacrifices of the prisoners will serveto inspire our people to a renewed effort for theenthronement of the Republican of all Ireland.The spirit of our volunteer soldiers is not broken;rather have they gained in experience from thedearly-bought lessons of five years of incessantguerrilla warfare. The Resistance Movement isintact and has already embarked on the work tobe done in the new era.

“It remains then for the Movement to putbefore the youth of Ireland the ideal of service tothe Cause of freedom and to call on the membersof the Irish race at home and abroad for whole-hearted support.

“The objective of the generations of ourpatriot dead will not be realised by the presentmove to link the 26 Counties with a grouping ofEuropean states and all the political, economicand military commitments that involves. Suchattempts to compromise the national demand forfull freedom will not only lead to furtherdisappointment and disillusionment but actuallythreaten to smother for all time the idea of Irelandas a distinct and unfettered national entity.

“Only when the Irish people – using everyhonourable means in their power – assert theirright to control their own destinies in every part ofIreland will the Proclamation of the sovereign,democratic Irish Republic issued 46 years ago bemade effective; then and only then will the idealsof our Republican dead become a living realityamong our people.”

The Republican newspaper carried alsoreports on Easter commemorations, the mostimportant being the address of Tom Mitchell atthe grave of Fearghal Ó hAnluain in LathlurcanCemetery, Monaghan.

“They [the Leinster House politicians] hadhoped to see the end of Republicanism in Ireland,that the Irish Republican Movement would findits grave in the prisons and concentration campsand churchyards of Ireland.

“But they were wrong. The Irish RepublicanMovement was not dead but lived on and wouldremain intact while the task of freeing Irelandremained to be accomplished.

“The Resistance Movement was in a positionto go on indefinitely but it was decided to halt theCampaign in order to conserve existing resourcesand to build up the Movement in readiness forwhat we all hope will be the final and successfulassault on British occupation in Ireland.

“Active resistance may have ceased for awhile but only in order to strengthen theMovement. This is a time for preparation andnot a time for rest. The work to be done now isas important as what has been done in the pastfive years.

“This is perhaps a difficult time, especiallyfor those who have played their part over therecent past. But we must adjust ourselves to thework that lies before us.

“We must build our hopes anew and plannow for the future. We shall fight England inour own time and in our own way. We will notbe lured into any false positions.

“In standing at this grave today we aregathered in a spirit of hope and confidence –hopeful of the future of Ireland and confident inour own ability to enthrone the free Republic forwhich Fearghal Ó hAnluain died atBrookeborough.”

The full text may be read from theRepublican organ, An tÉireannach Aontaithe/TheUnited Irishman, May 1962. It was indeed aprophetic oration as hindsight from 1969 onwardsshows.

On the ground training camps were alreadybeing held both in the Occupied Six Counties andin the 26 Counties. Also, the Special Branch inthe post-Easter period of 1962 resumed theirsurveillance of Tom Mitchell.

For him it was back to the days of the early1950s, before the historic Omagh Raid whenBritish Occupation troops were engaged in a fire-fight by Irish Republican soldiers for the first timein 30 years.

The “powers that be” in the 26 Countiesrealised the importance of what Tom Mitchell hadto say on Easter Sunday 1962 in Monaghan.Hence the Branch activity…

In Newry on Easter Sunday the Irish NationalTricolour was carried at the head of the paradefrom the Mall to St Mary’s Cemetery. Two dayslater a young Newry man, Francis GerardMacAleavey, was arrested in his house andsentenced to two months in a British court fordisplaying the Irish Tricolour in public.

In 1961 Daniel Moore was sent to prison forthree months for the same “crime”. He was aformer Republican internee in Belfast jail.

EX-PRISONERS VICTIMISED UNDER OASA50 Years Ago

Cont. on page 17.

• With the halting of the ResistanceCampaign in Occupied Ireland onFebruary 26, the Anti-PartitionAssociation re-emerged with a march on StPatrick’s Day. Note: They rejected the ideaof the EEC being a solution as“ridiculous”. In fact they saw it as anobstacle to unification.

At the gates of Milltown Cemetery, Belfast,eight hundred people joined a Republican paradewhich had marched through the Falls Road area.Seán Keenan of Derry city spoke.

A commemoration ceremony was held atMeenan Park, Derry where Seán Ó Gormaile ofTuam, Co Galway gave the oration. At Lurgan inNorth Armagh the 1916 commemoration was held atthe Republican Plot in St Colman’s Cemetery.

Other ceremonies were held at Mullaghbawn,Killeen and Crossmaglen in South Armagh and atDrumboe in Cop Donegal where large contingentsfrom Tyrone and Derry were in attendance.

Not alone was the last paragraph of the IRPBstatement of February 26 halting the ResistanceCampaign read into the record in Westminster,Stormont and Leinster House, but the unionistnewspapers in the Six Counties gave the fullestcoverage to it.

The daily Belfast Newsletter of February 27editorial quoted the vital points: “The IRA statementis, however, qualified in a marked way. It declaresthat the movement remains intact ‘and is in aposition to continue its campaign in the occupiedarea indefinitely’,

“The time has come, it states, to conserve its

resources, to augment them, and to prepare for amore favourable situation. On the fact of it,therefore, this is not an abandonment of thecampaign, with the intention of fighting anotherday.”

This is a misquote. There was no “for” in theactual statement.

The evening Belfast Telegraph of February 27in its editorial said: “If, as the IRA statement says,the future plans of the rebel organisation is to retireand consolidate…” in its news report, the Telegraphplaced he vital last paragraph of the statement inposition as the third paragraph.

When all was said and done, the publication ofthe IRPB statement of February 26 was indeed acoup. Nobody, unionist or nationalist, British orIrish, could be unaware of the real situation of theIrish Republican Army.

The time would come, it was said. It came in1969. A heroic and successful campaign followed.But it was betrayed by a leadership which seizedcontrol.

And what of the “resources” which were“augmented” and stored carefully for that other day.

Listen to Brian Faulkner, Home AffairsMinister, speaking in Stormont just after theannouncement of the “halt”.

“The [Stormont] Government will await withkeen interest the practical outcome of the offer bythe Government of the Republic (sic) to membersof the IRA to surrender their arms, as this is atouchstone at the very heart of the problem.

“The abandonment of the means to wage warwill be an earnest of good faith: the retention of suchwill be an indication of the interest to resume thecampaign.”(Irish Independent, February 29, 1962.)

The outcome: Sunday Independent, April 1:“The amnesty granted by the Minister for Justice[CJ Haughey] for the handing up of illegally-heldarms ended yesterday. A good response wasreported.”

Irish Independent, April 6: “Mr Haughey toldMr Pattison (Labour) that it would not be in thepublic interest to give the quantity of arms andammunition handed in to the authorities during theFebruary-March arms amnesty period.”

There was nothing to show, no photographstriumphally exhibited. Haughey’s “amnesty” failedmiserably.

There would be another campaign, this time asuccess, Republicans hoped.

But in the early 2000s lorry-loads of SeánQuinn’s cement – at the command of the Britishgovernment – buried the “resources” gathered fromaround the world. General Army Order No 11 wasnot enforced in 1962 because there was no need.

But in 2000 and 2002 the future of the IRA andthe All-Ireland Republic was buried in cement, thetraitors hoped, while they themselves got positionsof power and money under British rule.

However, the end is not yet. The historicRepublican Movement survives and with it thefuture…

(More next month. An tÉireannachAontaithe/The United Irishman, April and May1962; Irish Press, March 2; Irish Times, March 16and 17; Sunday Independent, March 11, March 1;Irish Independent, February 28, April 6 and May 4;Belfast Newsletter, February 27; Belfast Telegraph,February 27.)

CULL, Deepest sympathy is extended to Tommy Cull,Arigna and Dublin on the death of his sister recently inDublin. From the Ard Chomhairle, Sinn FéinPoblachtach; Comhairle Chonnacht and the Cull/TymonCumann, Arigna, Co Roscommon.HAIRE, Deepest sympathy is extended to Adrian Haireon the death of his cousin recently. From the ArdChomhairle, Sinn Féin Poblachtach ComhairleChonnacht and the McNeela/Gaughan Stagg Cumann,Mayo.LYONS, Deepest sympathy is extended to our friendColm Lyons on the sudden death of his father Brian.From Paddy White and family Newry Oliver andGeorgina, Oxo, Eddie and Nicola, Newry.LYONS, Deepest sympathy is extended to Colm Lyonson the sudden death of his father Brian. From the ArdChomhairle, Sinn Féin Poblachtach; the RepublicanMovement Newry/South Down; Comhairle Átha Cliath,Republican Sinn Féin and Comhairle Laighean.PASTEUR, Deepest sympathy iis extended to Ann andthe O’Neill and Pasteur families, Ballyshannon andBundoran on the death of her husband Pieter. From theArd Chomhairle Comhairle Uladh and Donegal SinnFéin Poblachtach.

PHILLIPS – 1st Anniversary. In proud and lovingmemory of Billy Phillips, Wexford, whose firstanniversary occurred on April 28. From CumannPádraig Ó Pearaill, Loch Garman and the WexfordRepublican Graves Association.

Saoirse-Irish Freedom — Bealtaine/May 2012 17

IT was thought that President Obamawould relax the intense scrutiny ofthe prior Bush administration that

was using us Federal governmentresources to gather information onAmericans. In the case of Bush anydissenters to his policies were suspectand monitored.

Obama has become paranoid andturned into another Bush. He stated hisadministration would be transparent;instead, he has instigated more secrecyand is severely punishing those whoexposed what he is doing. We canexpect worse in a second Obamaadministration.

Three people who are called“whistleblowers” warned the Americanpeople a year ago that the NationalSecurity Agency (NSA) was collectingand storing massive amounts of privateinformation on innocent Americanswith no connection to terrorism or anycrime.

Now the Attorney-General of theUnited States is making, what has beensuspected for a long time, into officialpolicy with new guidelines that permitthe deferral government investigators tocollect, search and store data aboutAmericans who are merely politicaland involved in legitimate politicalissues. George Orwell’s Big Brotherhas arrived.

This is very disturbing. Now, thegovernment is admittedly storinginformation on Americans who are notinvolved in criminal activity and are noteven thinking about criminal activity.The government is resorting to fear-mongering to justify it. This is whatBush did to justify the |Patriot Act after9/11.

Obama is going to make it easierfor counterterrorism analysts to retrievestore and search information aboutAmericans gathered by governmentagencies for purposes other thannational security purposes.

US PARTNERmerica’s partner in this new scheme isthe “United Kingdom” who receives

data access on any American whomight be involved in activity involvingthe “UK”. You know who that is aimedat. It is part of the cooperation betweenthe two countries that was agreed whenthe “peace process” went into effect.The US and the “UK” do not trust anyof the players in the “peace process”and those who are out to destroy it.Partition in Ireland relieves one area ofconcern of the two countries so theycan concentrate in other areas. But theymonitor everyone still.All law enforcement and nationalsecurity agencies can copy entiredatabases and sift through the data forsuspicious patterns to stop potentialterrorist threats. There is an obviousfallacy here that investigating innocentpeople tells you nothing about theguilty. It does tell you their politics.Where do you store the data and howlong do you keep it? There is underconstruction in Utah a massive NSAfacility designed to store a yottabyte ofdata, which would be equal to 500quintillion(500,000,000,000,000,000,000) pagesof text. This is extra-legal activity bythe government which translates tomean it is surely illegal. Thegovernment’s answer is to make itlegal. This is a war against innocentpeople to be controlled by fear.It was considered fair game for NSA tocollect foreign intelligence fromoverseas on possible enemies ofAmerica, but that capability is beingused to collect against US citizens andeverybody else in the United States ofAmerica.Privacy in America is eroding astechnology offers governmentincreasing ways to monitor and spy oncitizens. The focus is now on citizens.We are the potential enemy if we haveideas that are different from our leaders.There are presently 3,984 federal stateand local organisation working ondomestic counterterrorism. Forexample the NSA collects hundreds ofmillions of emails, texts and phonecalls every day and has the ability to

collect and sift through billions more.All this to be stored in the Utah facility.The Federal Bureau of Investigation(FBI) has more than 1.5 billiongovernment and private sector recordsabout US citizens collected fromcommercial databases, governmentinformation and criminal probes.

MORE than 62 million peoplein the US have theirfingerprints on file with the

FBI. This is shared. Over 126 millionpeople have their fingerprints,photographs and biographicalinformation accessible on theHomeland Security System.

More than 110 million people havetheir visas and more than 90 millionhave their photographs entered into theUS Department of State ConsularConsolidated Database. This systemadds 35,000 people a day. DNA profileson more than 10,000,000 people areavailable from the FBI.

The NSA has become the largest,most covert, and potentially mostintrusive intelligence agency ever. Asnoted, they have under construction theblandly-named Utah Data Centre. Thisis a project of immense secrecy and it isthe final piece in a complex puzzleassembled over the past decade.

Its purpose is to intercept, decipher,analyse and store vast swaths of theworld’s communications as they zapdown from satellites and zip throughthe underground and undersea cables ofinternational, foreign and domesticnetworks. The $2 billion centre shouldbe up and running in September 2013.

America’s partner in this project,Britain, has a notation in England – alistening post that monitorstransmissions. They have coded wordsthat spill out certain designatedinformation. They have all the Irishslang that the IRA may use tocommunicate. They do the same for

others.The Utah base will have

information stored in near bottomlessdatabases in all forms ofcommunication, including the completecontents of private emails, cell phones,Google searches, as well as all sorts ofpersonal data trains – parking receipts,travel itineraries, bookstore purchasesand other digital pocket litter.

It is, in some measure, therealization of the Total InformationAwareness programme created by theBush Administration – an effort killedby the Congress after an outcry in 203over its potential for invadingAmericans’ privacy. What Bush couldnot do, Obama has done, plus more.Obama was one of Bush’s biggestcritics on that project.

The enormous Bluffdale UtahCentre will have another important andfar more secret role that until now hasgone unrevealed. It is critical forbreaking codes. And code-breaking iscrucial because much of the data thatthe centre will handle – financialinformation, stock transactions,business deals, foreign military anddiplomatic secrets, legal documents,confidential personal information – willbe heavily encrypted.

According to another top officialalso involved with the programme, theNSA made an enormous breakthroughseveral years ago in its ability tocrypyanalyse, or break, unfathomablycomplex systems employed by not onlygovernments around the world by alsomany average computer users in theUSD. This means that everybody is atarget; everybody with communicationis a target.

EAVESDROPThe NSA also has the ability to

eavesdrop on phone calls directly andin real time. According to an employeeof NSA, basically all rules were thrownout the window and they would use anyexcuse to justify a waiver to spy onAmericans.

Even journalists calling home werenot excluded. So much for Freedom ofthe Press and Free Speech. Many of thecalls were intimate personal calls. NSAworkers found this distressing.

There is reason for distress becauseonce the door is open for thegovernment to spy on US citizens, therewill be the temptation to abuse the

power or political purposes. RonaldReagan did it and so did George Bush.Truthfully, all the Presidents haveabused the power.

Ronald Reagan spied on IrishAmericans for Maggie Thatcher andused spy cameras from space to helpthe British in the north of Ireland and inthe Malvinas War.

Obama was supposed to reform theprogramme, but he has endorsed it andexpanded it. One former NSAemployee said we are very close to apolice state of totalitarian proportions.

People wonder why so much isbeing stored at the Utah facility. Whatcan’t be broken in code today can bebroken tomorrow then you can seewhat they were saying in the past.Information on innocent people issupposed to be destroyed, but it nowcan be held for five years and ten ormore is being considered.

What is the goal of NSA? It is tohave every person in the world on itsdatabase from birth. This projectdwarfs any other spying on anyone inthe past, making I so miniscule andinsignificant.

THOSE who have tried to stop itand those that have exposed ithave suffered career ends and

Obama’s administration is going toprosecute any who are deemed guilty oftelling the truth. He did not want theAmerican people, let alone the world,to know.

A new history of the world is beingconstructed by the NSA and it will beabout people’s private lives that are nolonger private. It is a history not meantto be by the right-thinking.

Obama comes across as likeable,but he is sneaky and has no mercy tothose who seriously oppose him. Hisopponent is worse so where does thatleave us? As I have said before, in thispresidential election we need toABSTAIN and not give a vote to eithermajor candidate.

As a protest write in the name ofsomeone you respect. What aboutMario Biaggi, a great friend of IrishRepublicanism and not afraid topublicly endorse its aims. Or if youreally want to make a statement writein the name Ruairí Ó Brádaigh forPresident and Des Dalton for Vice-President. That is what I am going todo.

— Peadar Mac Fhínín

Fenian NotesFrom our Washington Correspondent

Comhbhrón

I gCuimhne

Cont. from page 16..

50 YearsAgo

18 Saoirse-Irish Freedom — Bealtaine/May 2012

Khader Adnan released GERALDINE McNamara, National PRO,Republican Sinn Féin said on April 24 that “it waswith great joy that we greet the news that Palestinianpolitical prisoner and hunger striker Khader Adnanhas been released.

“Kadar had been interned without trial in an Israeli jail and wenton hunger strike until his release was guaranteed. Kadar was one ofnearly three hundred Palestinian people who are being internedwithout trial in Israeli jails in what the Israeli’s call ‘administrativedetention’.

In a statement following his release Kadar thanked his Irishsupporters: “I ask God to move the consciences of the free peoplearound the world. I thank them all, especially Ireland, for they havestood by my hunger strike. I ask them to stand in solidarity with allthe Palestinian prisoners on hunger strike in the past, present andfuture, with our tortured and oppressed people who live under theinjustice of occupation day and night.” — Khader Adnan.

Geraldine concluded by sending solidarity greetings to KadarAdnan and his family on behalf of Republican Sinn Fein and hopedthat one day he will see the freedom of his homeland.

Philippines: massacre andviolent demolition IN the early hours of April 24, resident weremassacred and their homes violently demolished inthe Silverio Compound in Paranaque City.

It was reported that the incident occurred as the 23.000population of the area defended their legitimate right to housingagainst the so-called development plans of the local government andSM mogul Henry Sy (chairman of SM Prime Holdings, the largestretailer and shopping mall operator in the Philippines.)

Republican Sinn Féin International spokesperson DieterBlumenfeld said: “I want to send our condolences to the familiesand their relatives of all those killed on April 24. All this massacrehas achieved is that the will of the people to overthrow thecounterrevolutionary regime and imperialism will only bestrengthened. We commend all revolutionary fighters of thePhilippines for the brave defence of their people against imperialistaggression.”

Four residents were killed in the violent demolition on April 24.One of them is resident Arnel Tolentino, 36 years old, three othersare still unidentified. Meanwhile, two minors identified as BodgingIsaias, 16, and Rodman Ortega, 16, reportedly sustained gunshotwounds. Some 36 were wounded and 30 arrested.

The massacre happened on the day of the thirty-ninthanniversary of the founding of the National Democratic Front of thePhilippines. The issued NDF 12-point programme since then hasserved as the framework for building the Filipino people’s unityunder the banner of the national democratic revolution.

In a statement the NDFP said: “The Filipino people are todayconfronted with the reactionary ruling Aquino puppet regime. Asthe current caretaker of the rotten semi-colonial and semi-feudalsystem, the Aquino regime is implementing the worst of theneoliberal economic policies imposed by US imperialism and itsfinancial and economic agencies, exhibiting the most detestableforms of subservience to its imperialist masters and employs themost brutal tactics of suppression combined with outrightdeception.” Amidst their worsening socio-economic conditions, theFilipino people demand to intensify their mass struggles and armedresistance. They demand to unite the broadest number on the basisof their demands for social justice and their patriotic aspirations fornational,” the statement continued.

Cuba urges states toremain united against USCUBA has claimed that the US has not changed itspolicy towards Latin America and the Caribbeannations, and called on the regional countries tomaintain unity against Washington’s attempts to“divide and derail” the states.

“In the face of attempts to divide us and derail us that will comeagain, [Latin America] needs to stay united,” said the strongly-worded statement published in the government-owned newspaper,Granma on April 18.

The statement condemned US President Barak Obama’s call fordemocratic reforms by Havana during the recent Summit of theAmericas in Colombia’s Caribbean resort city of Cartagena, sayingObama is in no position to talk about democracy. “President Obama should realise that the Cartagena summit was notpropitious for advising democracy in Cuba,” it added. “We Cubanswill take care of Cuba.”

The two-day-long summit of the Organisation of AmericanStates (OAS), had gathered leaders and representatives of membercountries of the Western Hemisphere except Cuba as the US insiststhat Havana implement democratic reforms before returning to thehemispheric set. The Cuban daily also said that Americans “shouldtake care of their own wars, crises, and dirty politics; what pertainsto Cuba will be dealt with by us Cubans.” The statement referred tothe OAS as an “unburied corpse” and endorsed Argentina’s“inalienable right of sovereignty over the Malvinas Islands...”

The US and Canada refused to support Argentina’s claim to theterritory. Argentinean President Cristina Fernandez left the summitbefore its official closing ceremony. The summit was concludedwithout a joint declaration due to a lack of consensus over issuessuch as the participation of Cuba and Malvinas.

Britain destroyed records of colonial crimesTHOUSANDS of documents detailing some of the

most shameful acts and crimes committed duringthe final years of the British empire weresystematically destroyed to prevent them falling intothe hands of post-independence governments, anofficial review has concluded.

Those papers that survived the purge were flown discreetly toBritain where they were hidden for 50 years in a secret ForeignOffice archive, beyond the reach of historians and members of thepublic, and in breach of legal obligations for them to be transferredinto the public domain.

The archive came to light last year when a group of Kenyansdetained and allegedly tortured during the Mau Mau rebellion wonthe right to sue the British government. The Foreign Office promisedto release the 8,800 files from 37 former colonies held at the highly-secure government communications centre at Hanslope Park inBuckinghamshire (the files came from 37 different former colonies).The first of them were made available to the public on April 18 atthe National Archive at Kew, Surrey.

The papers at Hanslope Park include monthly intelligencereports on the “elimination” of the colonial authority’s enemies in1950s Malaya; records showing ministers in London were aware ofthe torture and murder of Mau Mau insurgents in Kenya, includinga case of a man said to have been “roasted alive”; and papersdetailing the lengths to which the British went to forcibly removeislanders from Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean.

However, among the documents are a handful which shows thatmany of the most sensitive papers from Britain’s late colonial erawere not hidden away, but simply destroyed.

Among the documents that appear to have been destroyed were:records of the abuse of Mau Mau insurgents detained by Britishcolonial authorities, who were tortured and sometimes murdered;reports that may have detailed the alleged massacre of 24 unarmedvillagers in Malaya by soldiers of the Scots Guards in 1948; most ofthe sensitive documents kept by colonial authorities in Aden, wherethe army’s Intelligence Corps operated a secret torture centre forseveral years in the 1960s; and every sensitive document kept bythe authorities in British Guiana.

The documents that were not destroyed appear to have been keptsecret not only to protect the UK’s reputation, but to shield thegovernment from litigation. If the small group of Mau Maudetainees are successful in their legal action, thousands moreveterans are expected to follow.

It is a case that is being closely watched by former EOKAguerillas who were detained by the British in 1950s Cyprus, andpossibly by many others who were imprisoned and interrogatedbetween 1946 and 1967, as Britain fought a series of rearguardactions across its rapidly diminishing empire.

Painstaking measures were taken to prevent post-independencegovernments from learning that the ‘watch’ files had ever existed.One instruction states: “The legacy files must leave no reference to‘watch’ material. Indeed, the very existence of the ‘watch’ series,though it may be guessed at, should never be revealed.”

Some idea of the scale of the operation and the amount ofdocuments that were erased from history can be gleaned from ahandful of instruction documents that survived the purge.

Only one sixth of the secret archive has so far been transferred.The remainder are expected to be at Kew by the end of 2013.

Full report in the Guardian, Tuesday, April 17, 2012.

Argentinean protestersclash with policeCLASHES erupted between Argentinean policeofficers and angry protesters rallying outside theBritish embassy in the capital Buenos Aires on April2, the 30th anniversary of the Malvinas War.

The protesters marked the anniversary of the war with Britain,which killed 650 Argentineans (323 of them on the GeneralBelgrano) by burning the British flag and images of Britain’s PrinceWilliams while marching outside the UK embassy building.

They also attacked and painted graffiti on a nearby branch of

the British bank HSBC.Argentina’s President Cristina Kirchner said: “It is injustice that

in the 21st century, a total of 16 colonial enclaves still exists,including 10 ruled by Britain. We ask for justice so that they don’tcontinue depleting our environment, our natural resources, fishingand oil resources, justice so that our territorial integrity is respected.”

The Malvinas Islands, located about 300 miles off Argentina’scoast and home to about 3,000 inhabitants, have been declared aspart of the British Overseas Territories since Britain established itscolonial rule in the islands in 1833.

In 1982 Britain and Argentina went to war for 74 days over thesovereignty of the islands which ended with the British side claimingvictory. A year after the war, Britain enforced the British NationalityAct of 1983, which offers citizenship to the island’s residents.

Meanwhile, the head of the Union of South America(UNASUR), Secretary General Maria Emma Mejia, met with UNchief Ban Ki-moon on Monday to reinforce the support of its 12-nation-member organisation for Argentina in its row with Britainover the Malvinas Islands.

The Malvinas Islands, located about 300 miles off Argentina’scoast and home to about 3,000 inhabitants, have been declared aspart of the British Overseas Territories since Britain established itscolonial rule in the islands in 1833. However, Argentina hasrepeatedly dismissed the British claim, saying that London shouldconcede the sovereignty of the islands.

Tensions between the two countries have escalated since 2010,when Britain authorised the exploration of oil around the Malvinaswaters.

Workers at Brazil’s BeloMonte dam go on strikeNEARLY 7,000 workers building the massive BeloMonte dam in Brazil’s Amazon rainforest went onstrike to protest their working conditions, accordingto the consortium in charge of the project.

The Belo Monte Construction Consortium said the workerslaunched the walkout on April 24 as many labour unions blockedthe road to the dam near the town of Altamira on the Xingu River inthe northern Brazilian state of Para.

Their demands include free air fare, permissions to visithometowns every three months instead of the current six-monthperiod and a higher-value monthly meal vouchers.

In June 2011, the Brazilian environmental agency approved theconstruction of Belo Monte hydroelectric dam in the Amazon junglestate of Rondonia, despite the strong opposition of indigenouspeople to the project.

The indigenous groups, environmentalists and activists havewaged protest efforts against the project, saying a six-fold increasein the deforestation of the Amazon was detected in March and April2011. The enormous deforestation in the country has made Brazilone of the world’s top greenhouse gas emitters. While theconstruction of the dam will create some 18,000 new jobs, it willalso displace some 16,000 people, according to government figures.

The project has been halted on several instances due to protestsby environmentalists and the indigenous people of the region.However, the government refuses to back down from the project,saying that the Belo Monte plant is essential, given the country‘sdesperate need for energy.

Three-month sentence for anti-nuclear court graffiti protestTWO Scottish peace activists, Barbara Dowling andJanet Fenton, were sentenced on March 19 inDumbarton Sheriff Court for painting “politicalgraffiti” on the walls of the court following a 2010trial in which they were accused of a breach of thepeace during a blockade of Faslane naval base, hometo Britain’s Trident nuclear weapon submarines.

Justice Ross refused to hear their defence. She would not allowthem to put their argument that they had a right to disrupt the illegalwork at Faslane under international humanitarian law.

Immediately following the trial they painted on internal wallsof the court slogans indicating the failure of the court to upholdinternational law. At the trial last month Barbara and Janet acceptedthat they had painted the court’s walls but maintained their not guiltyplea as they felt that the public needed to know that the court didnot uphold international law.

Barbara Dowling, a retired Occuptational Therapist, ofKnightswood was given three months in prison and Janet Fenton,Secretary of Scottish CND was given 120 hours CommunityService. Barbara Dowling also has an ongoing court case in relationto the 2011 Census. Her trial in the census case is scheduled for May15 in Glasgow Sheriff Court.

Canadian police arrest 90protesters in MontrealCANADIAN police arrested at least 90demonstrators protesting in the city of Montrealagainst a planned mine construction in the provinceof Quebec.

The protest, organised by students and environmentalists onApril 21, turned violent after police clashed with the protesters whowere trying to disrupt a conference on Quebec Premier JeanCharest’s plan for the construction

. The protest came a day after the Montreal police clashed withstudents at a protest rally against tuition fee hikes. Riot police used tear gas, projectiles and rubber bullets on hundredsof students protesting outside a convention center in downtownMontreal where Charest was scheduled to give a speech.

At least six protesters were wounded and 20 others arrested inthe clashes.

WORLDNEWS

• Argentinian protesters burning the Union Jack outsidethe British Embassy in Buenos Aires on April 2,remembering the 30th anniversary of the Malvinas War.

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Just after the speeches aformer Blanket man/HungerStriker from Belfast, Hodgie,approached me and asked did Isee the banner.

The banner he referred towas a drawing of Marian withthe question above it ... ‘Whereare The Spartan’s?‘ (sic0

The Spartans are howRichard O’Rawe referred toBlanket Men in his first book ofthat name.

Speaking for myself I mustsay I was angry that someonehad gone to the bother of notonly making such a banner butthat it was held up beside the

platform. And this while formerBlanket men from Derry andBelfast stood among the crowdin support of Marian.

Indeed if the question wasasked, ‘Where are the Spartans?’I’ll attempt to answer.

In the years since theBlanket protest many of thosewhom Richard called TheSpartans have died; quite a fewkilled by British forces orloyalist killer gangs, others havedied of natural causes. In factI’ve heard that at least 50 havedied, maybe even more.

A few are now running theNorth on behalf of the British;

pushing through Tory cuts andcriminalising Republicanism. Inthe words of Bobby Sands theyare now: “Systemised,institutionalised, decent law-abiding robots.” They have donewell for themselves; they arelandlords, business owners andhave holiday homes in Portugalor Gweedore. The lesser amongthem are in jobs funded byBritain and they dare not speakof Marian or injustice, nevermind protesting, for fear ofbeing seen as dissenting andthus losing favour and thosejobs.

Then there are the formerSpartans who are stillimprisoned by the past andwasted years.

Last night in a bar with mywife we sat beside two young

girls and got talking to them.Their surname brought backmemories of a young boy whowas just 16 when he went on theBlanket protest. I hadn’t heard ofthe lad in many years eventhough he lived only a few milesaway across the river. The girlstold us that indeed he is theiruncle, the brother of their father.He had got married many yearsago in the US and the marriagelasted only 3 weeks. Today, theytold us, he is still in jail. That jailis a small flat he only leaves toget a few messages. He cannotescape from the memories of 30years ago.

In Derry I know there aremany other former Blanketmenlike that, worse even. Some findescape in alcohol, others haveserious mental problems; like

the lad who talks to the HungerStrikers and phones a friend,another former Blanketman, toask him does he remember thetime the screws came into hiscell at four in the morning tobeat him and his cellmatesenseless.

I saw a former Blanketmanstanding close to the platform, abig man who had just beenoperated on to cut cancer fromhis body. He leant on a walkingstick and when I asked him howhe was after the rally, the painetched on his face as he spoke,said more than what he told me.

I’m told that there are manyformer Blanketmen goingthough what I described abovein other parts of the North. Icannot speak for them but I hopeI’ve answered the question

asked by those holding up thebanner as to the whereabouts of’The Spartans’.

Indeed the question shouldhave been: ‘Where are all thosewho passed through the prisonssince the Cages andInternment?’

Then again, maybe theanswer is similar to that of ‘TheSpartans’?

— Thomas DixieElliot

This article wascarried on April 23 inAnthony McIntyre’s blogThe Pensive Quill.http://thepensivequill.am/

Thomas Dixie Elliot isa former Blanketman.

Saoirse-Irish Freedom — Bealtaine/May 2012 19

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ITS referendum time again.While the German Eaglecruises overhead waiting to

pounce, the politicians inLeinster House fearfully averttheir eyes and pretend there is aneasy way to tell people to f***off.

The Irish people, as is theirwont, now and again seem

sickened by the whole debacleand just want their leaders togrow a set of you know whats.However, generations of kow-towing to colonial masters hasleft the bunch up in the BigHouse incapable of doinganything.

They just “go with theflow” like addicts on a road tonowhere who believe they havefound meaning in the study ofexistential life.

Well, there really is an Eaglecruising overhead and if theFree State Government gets itsconstitutional change and

legalises foreign interventionthe Big Bird in the sky will dropdown on all of us and the FreeState and international courtswill back them as happened inLibya…

Sometimes hard decisionsneed to be taken. We are used tothose who make hard decisionsbased on the Judas Iscariotmethod. That is where for one’sown aggrandisement andsurvival it is deemed necessaryto betray even those they love.Undoubtedly, that is a hard thingto do (but not as hard asenduring for one’s beliefs).

So now, finally, we get tocompare the courage of thosewho claim to govern a Republicof 26 Counties and those whocontinue to follow theProclamation of Independence.

Those who claim a de jureRepublic exists now mustdefend it. Will they? One

suspects that those who claimleadership of that republic hopethat as in 1916 the ordinarypeople of Ireland will reject thatwhich they lack the courage tostand against themselves.

On the other hand maybewe should look at the positive

aspects. This may indeed be the26 Counties’ Titanic. Just thinkof it. They can invite Peter andMartin down from Stormont.Open a memorial to theunemployed and émigrés. TheGerman and French languageteachers could do very well.

I mean after all as PeterRobinson indicated when heopened the Titanic Centre, 1,500dead, mostly poor Irish andwomen and children, can bringa lot of wealth to the rich if thething is handled well.

So the selling of a country.Now somewhere, someone must

be getting a brown envelope. Onthis occasion they need one lastvote from the people of the 26Counties to legalise their futureactivities.

At the grave of O’DonovanRossa Patrick Pearse remindedthe Quislings of his time (and aBritish Empire that makes thisbunch of Irish and Europeanopportunists look like raggle-taggle gypsios) that some lawsare immutable.

— Mac Cool

The Fools, The Fools, The Fools…

Where are the Spartans?

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I ATTENDED yesterday’s rally, April 22, insupport of Marian Price, where I met up andwalked with several former Blanketmen, amongthem Willie G, my friend Sa and Davy Glennon.

His coffin was draped in theNational Flag and accompaniedby a Republican Sinn Féin guardof honour flanking both sides ofthe funeral hearse. It proceededa short distance away where itstopped and the guard of honourwas dismissed.

The cortege thenjourneyed to Dick’s homevillage of Lauragh, Co Kerry

which lies on the BearaPeninsula. The guard of honourformed up again andaccompanied the cortege to thechurch.

Following Funeral Mass onApril 24 members ofRepublican Sinn Féin in fulluniform placed the NationalFlag on top of the coffin alongwith Republican trappings of

a beret and gloves.The colour party flanked

both sides of the hearse as dida Republican Sinn Féin Guardof Honour and was led by a lonepiper for a short distance. Theguard of honour was dismissedand the cortege then journeyedthe five miles distance toKilmaculogue Cemetery nearthe village of Lauragh.

Near the cemetery thecolour party and guard ofhonour formed up again and ledby the piper accompaniedDick’s remains to the graveside.

Following gravesideprayers, Stephen Brosnan,

Publicity Officer, RepublicanSinn Féin, Kerry read theProclamation of the IrishRepublic, ironically Dick’sburial was on 24 April the actualdate of the 1916 Rising.

Brian Smullen, RepublicanSinn Féin, Tralee, steppedforward to deliver the funeraloration.

Brian began with offeringsincere sympathy to Dick’sfamily, his comrades in theRepublican Movement and hismany friends. Brian outlinedDick’s lifelong commitment tothe Republican Cause and hiswork over many decades to

restore the All-Ireland Republicand remove foreign rule fromhis native land. He went on tosay that Dick Smith carried outhis work quietly and withoutfuss or bother, and his love forhis family and his country knewno bounds.

In the 1970s whenour people in the Occupied SixCounties were under siege, itwas then that Dick’s nationalistand Republican flame shonebrightest, and his dedicationand the work he did most ofwhich may never be knownor documented, such was theman.

Brian concluded with averse from a poem writtenby Republican Martyr,Michael ‘The’ O’Rahilly, killedin action in the 1916 Rising.

Thou are not conquered yetdear land The sprit still is free

Though long the Saxon’sruthless hand Has triumphedover thee Thou oft obscured byclouds of woe Thy sun hasnever set Twill blaze again ingolden glow Thou are notconquered yet.

The funeral ceremonyended with the piper playingAmhrán na bhFiann.

Dick SmithON April 23 the remains of life-long RepublicanDick Smith were removed from O’Connor’sFuneral Home in Kenmare.

(They have left us ourFenian dead and whileIreland holds thesegraves Ireland unfreeshall never be at peace.)

20 Saoirse-Irish Freedom — Bealtaine/May 2012

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