I’ve resisted temptation to comment on the comical over-reaction to another below-par league performance by Celtic. Most of us realise where we are as a club (champions, champions-elect, post-Christmas in Europe, perhaps Champions League knockout, improving young squad, improving young manager), so the troughs between the peaks are to be anticipated, even if you can’t enjoy them.
Not that I’ve any hostility towards those who cannot find joy in our current situation; football can be beautiful but it will always involve sweat and snotters. Stand up for the Snotters, but definitely not on the 12th minute, there is no 12th-man redeeming feature involved here!
Even if you cannot enjoy football if you’re not turning over Barcelona, you’ll enjoy this:
WeeOscar4Life Campaign Raises £27K at Race Night and Auction
On the evening of Saturday 17th November 2012, around 400 people descended on the Kerrydale Suite at Celtic Park to raise funds for the WeeOscar4Life campaign at an entertaining Race Night & Auction. The event was also attended by Wee Oscar’s dad Stephen Knox, and an astonishing £27,350.00 was raised to directly support Wee Oscar and his family during his continued treatment and fight against neuroblastoma.
This campaign was launched by supporters of Celtic Football Club (the Celtic Family) to raise money for Oscar Knox, a four year old boy who was diagnosed in November 2011 with high risk neuroblastoma – a rare form of cancer which mainly affects children.
On the race night, the campaign team were delighted to be joined by supporters of many other Clubs and Oscar’s dad Stephen flew over from Northern Ireland. Also in attendance we’re former Celtic Players Tom Boyd, Bobby Petta and Frank McAvennie as well as current Players partners and great supporters of the campaign Lisa Hague (Partner of Kris Commons and Patron of the WeeOscar4Life campaign), Ruby May Ridgeway (Partner of Joe Ledley) and Lucy Parmenter (Partner of Gary Hooper).
The evening’s entertainment included moving, yet truly inspiring videos of Wee Oscar and his incredibly brave family’s journey, which generated an energy and fun loving atmosphere comparable only to Wee Oscars outgoing and fun loving nature. There was a ‘buzz about the place’ and cheers went up as winning horses went over the finishing line.
The auction and raffle, strewn with kindly donated items, including a Celtic 125th Anniversary top signed by the entire first team kindly donated by Celtic FC, sparked a flood of generosity and excitement as friendly rivalry saw items being auctioned for literally thousands of pounds.
Wee Oscar’s dad Stephen commented: “What an amazing night! I am delighted that I was able to be here to support the event; there are just so many people to thank that I could be here all night! Oscars fight goes on and we will continue to take advice from Oscars Doctors regarding future treatment paths; we are delighted that Oscar came home from Hospital on Thursday and maybe we can get a little bit of normality into our lives at least for a while. Thank you all.”
Stephen was pleased to meet so many of the campaign team on the night: “It was fantastic to have the opportunity to come over to meet and personally thank the people who have been helping out so much with the WeeOscar4Life campaign. We will be eternally grateful to everyone involved for all their efforts!”
Oscars mum Leona was unable to travel and stayed at home to look after Oscar and Oscar’s little sister Izzie however, through Twitter Leona said “I’m short of words, for once! What you have done for my family can never be repaid, saying thanks just isn’t enough.”
Wee Oscar and his family flew to Philadelphia on the 6th October 2012 to start Wee Oscar’s potentially lifesaving Immunotherapy treatment, but unfortunately due to health complications, Wee Oscar was rushed into Intensive Care. It appears that these complications have shattered the prospect of him receiving this immunotherapy treatment in Philadelphia.
Thankfully, Wee Oscar is a fighter and he gained enough strength to return home on Saturday 27th October 2012. However, the events of the last couple of months – and the news that it could cost an enormous £400,000 for the treatment Oscar had while he was in hospital in Philadelphia – have strengthened the WeeOscar4Life Campaign’s resolve to ensure maximum support for Wee Oscar and his family throughout Oscar’s on-going treatment.
Lisa Hague who works so hard to promote the cause (despite being heavily pregnant) commented on the race night: “What an amazing selection of people, brought together for one reason: to continue the support for Wee Oscar. This is just another event that confirms what the Celtic family is all about; kindness, support and generosity. I thought the night was so well organised and a credit to the whole WeeOscar4Life team! My personal reward was speaking on the phone to Wee Oscar on the night. It is a pleasure to be Patron and a pleasure to be part of the Celtic family.”
Tom Boyd was asked “How proud do you feel being regarded as a legend amongst the Celtic fans?” he replied “Myself and other Celtic greats won trophies and medals, but it’s on a night like tonight that you realise what a real legend is….. Wee Oscar is a true legend.”
Future planned events include: Glasgow to Belfast Cycle Ride
WeeOscar4Life organisers are planning a cycle from Glasgow to Belfast for St Patrick’s weekend in March 2013 and will be looking for cyclists to take part in this event. Interested parties should email weeoscar4life@gmail.com quoting ‘Cycle’ in the subject field and the organisers will get back to you with more details.
For more information please contact the WeeOscar4Life campaign team by emailing WeeOscar4Life@gmail.com. Alternatively contact the WeeOscar4Life team on: 07595015203.
The first ever CQN Annual is now shipping direct from the UK. Order yours here.
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evening champions, just ordered the cqn annual,going to catch up on todays blog, how do you change password? took me ages to get on here, dont want to log off and not get back on..
specialbrew
Click on your moniker – top left of page – choose profile
Saltires
Reminds one time on Sky Sports news, tried to interview Tommy Boyd and got the Tommy Boyd fae Magpie, was very funny asking how he felt stopping ten in a row!
Auldheid
Spot on as ever, but as you well know it’s scotland we are talking about.
Now, if the Nimmo enquiry comes back with a similar result that the FTT did, will you switch off the lights or will I ?
You know that a result like that will kill the game in scotland, stone feckin dead, stone feckin dead mi amigo.
So what will they do, they will fudge the issue, they will pick and choose what results are to be cherry picked from the FTT, the five players, no way will they go the whole hog, not a hope.
Uefa will not help us here either, you know that as well, if they had been serious, they would have stepped in by now.
So, we wait, we see what they try and scam us with.
Away to howl at the moon, it’s feckin cold ouside btw, about -8 presently, will get a tad colder in an few hours, but will be short sleves later in te day.
Lovely and warm inside the cave tho, + 26 where I am typing from, very pleasant if I may say so.
The dugs are settled, the cats are doing cat things, and I need to go and have a howl :>)
bsr recipe,thanks, got there eventually. left becomes right under pressure ….
test f5
ok its quiet,any ex st ninians kirkie guys on?
The best phrase I’ve read today : “contrived insolvency”
Makes ye think….
Just can’t get enough:
http://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=m-ch-fea&v=kSFGwyKy5VM
TET/St Stivs/Ntassoolla,
Harvard professor was Willie Ruff – a southern bluesman by trade who had a long-established academic bent.
Never saw that C4 doc but was reading around that subject a lot at the time.
He indeed noted the eerie similarities between Gaelic psalm singing and Afro-American Baptist ‘singing the line’.
SocialAnthropologyCSC
And now for the M4…
Oh, and I love that Iain Anderson show – been a real education for me…
Fantastic radio.
HH bhoys
TOOTING TIM 0358
Gimme a wave as you pass Swindon-just off oot around darkest Wiltshire myself.
Enjoy Flanns,enjoy the match tonight.
Hope you meet up with Neilybhoy
HH
Good morning Celts,
Always a tough game this but I’m expecting the right attitude and a win, 2-1 methinks.
C’mon you Bhoys in Green.
V
MICHAEL COLLINS’ OWN STORY ~
CHAPTER XIII
THE TRUTH ABOUT THE TRUCE
” SEVEN months before England granted the truce of July, 1921, she wanted very much to withdraw the Black and Tans from Ireland and end the murderous war which she had begun to realise could never be won. A truce would have been obtained after the burning of Cork by the forces of the Crown in December, 1920 had our leaders acted with discretion. There is every reason to believe that the British Government were minded to respond favourably to the endeavours of His Grace, Archbishop Clune, who attempted to mediate ; but the English attitude hardened through the too precipitate action of certain of our public men and public bodies.”
Collins thus began an exposition of the events leading up to the ending of hostilities. So far as I am aware, England’s desire for this earlier truce is not generally known.
” Unhappily,” he continued, ” several of our most important men gave evidence of an over keen desire for peace while tentative proposals were being made and considered. So it was that, although terms of truce had been virtually agreed upon, the English statesmen abruptly terminated the negotiations when they discovered what they took to be signs of weakness in our councils. They conditioned the truce, then, on surrender of our arms; and the struggle went on.
” British aggression continued ; our defence continued. It was now war to the death in very truth !
” Of course, in these seven months preceding the truce, there were many instances of unofficial ‘ feelers ‘ put out by men on both sides much visiting back and forth by well meaning but unauthorised persons. Friends of Ireland from America frequently tried to intervene on our behalf, but those of us actually in the fight played no part in these conversations. We had no time for talk !
” The attitude of those of us who eventually took part in the Treaty negotiations was the same in 1920 in Ireland as it was in 1921 in London. It is no good to have confusion of thought about this. We were fighting as Irishmen had always fought for freedom ! We were fighting for freedom from English occupation, English interference, English domination ! But there was no thought in our minds as to what especial label might be attached to the freedom if only we could win it. In other days we had struggled to win Repeal of the Union, Home Rule, or some other form of devolution. But it was not these labels that mattered ; our fight was essentially a struggle to win for ourselves as large a measure of freedom as possible. And so we were fighting not for a republic but freedom ! We felt and those of us who believe in the Treaty still feel that freedom for Ireland is of vastly greater consequence than the form of government under which we shall enjoy our freedom.
” When charges of treason are directed at us now it is as well that our aspirations of 1920 be kept in mind. I said at a meeting of Dail Eireann that the Treaty gives us freedom not the ultimate freedom which all nations hope for and struggle for but freedom to achieve it. AND I WAS AND I AM NOW FULLY ALIVE TO THE IMPLICATIONS OF THAT STATEMENT !
” Returning to the fight as it was being waged at the beginning of 1921 the most important phase of it was our gradual realisation of England’s desire to call a truce. This was the more important because it had never been possible for us to be militarily strong, nor to do more by force alone than to make England uncomfortable. Now, at last, we discovered that we had grown strong enough to make England too uncomfortable. More than this we discovered that while England expatiates on the futility of force (by others) it is the only argument she listens to. Above all, the valiant efforts of Irishmen under the Terror their deaths these finally awoke the sleeping spirit of Ireland.
” That spirit was once more flaming and with cause. For the people saw in England’s desire to end the reign of terror the true worth of the young men who had gone to their deaths that peace might come to their country. There had been on rare occasions regrettable acts on the part of individual Irish soldiers, but such acts had been so few as to be negligible, and when they did occur they were the outcome of terrible and incessant provocation, and were foreign to the whole nature of the Irish resistance. The normal conduct of our soldiers proved them to be chivalrous, courageous, and enduring and with an unsurpassable devotion to the ideal of freedom. Let me cite an instance.
” In June, 1921, a party of four Volunteers of the East Clare Brigade, engaged in cutting wires on the railway at Meelick, were surprised by a party of 30 English soldiers with two machine guns. Fire was opened by the enemy at close range. The commander of our little force was atop a telegraph pole and had time to shout a warning an instant before the firing began. His men jumped to cover while he dropped off the pole behind a low bank beside the railway. Two of the four managed to make good their escape, but the other two Lieut. M. Gleeson and Commandant C. McCarthy were killed.
” As they ran across a field McCarthy fell wounded, and Gleeson went on without noticing it. But on reaching a place of safety and finding his comrade missing, he immediately started to retrace his steps. Presently he saw him lying in the open field across which an English machine-gun and about a dozen rifles were pouring a hail of lead at about 100 yards range. At the same time Gleeson saw a party of five English soldiers scurrying around the field to cut off their retreat. It must have been as evident to Gleeson as it was to my informants, who were looking on, that no power on earth could save McCarthy, but it was equally evident that Gleeson preferred going back and dying with his comrade to leaving him. Racing down the field, straight into the fusillade of bullets, he knelt beside McCarthy and lifted him on to his back with his right hand busily firing his revolver at the pursuing soldiers, as he carried his comrade up the field. Another moment and Gleeson fell, badly wounded while McCarthy collapsed a few yards further on.
” When the British troops came upon Gleeson they found him still unconquered. With his last breath he fired his last cartridge at them. That was the performance of an Irish boy of 20 years of age WHO HAD NEVER BEFORE BEEN IN ACTION ! According to the British officer in charge a Lieut. Gordon of the Royal Scots who had been through the world war Gleeson was the bravest man he had ever seen ! His men, however, apparently did not share his opinion. They frightfully mutilated the body as also that of McCarthy.
” In the same brigade area, at about the same time, ten of our soldiers, exhausted after a forced march, were attacked by a strong patrol of Constabulary. Eight of our ten lads had never before been in action, and were unnerved by fatigue and the suddenness of the attack. How they were saved by the bravery and resourcefulness of their officers is worth telling.
” They had started to cross an open field when the Constabulary, numbering twenty -two, suddenly swept up behind them in lorries and opened fire. It was a roasting hot day and our men were completely played out. The Constabulary were, of course, quite fresh. Our men dashed to shelter under orders of their commander, who himself stood his ground to cover their retreat. Almost immediately one of the others came running back to his commander, and insisted on remaining with him. He was Brigade Police Officer Thomas Healy. As these two men slowly retreated firing at their pursuers, and delaying them Healy at last sank to the ground in a state of collapse. He had not been wounded. His death was due to heart failure. He was a native of Tralee and had been a member of the R.I.C., from which he had resigned a year earlier.
” Meantime the others were becoming so exhausted they could hardly stand, their commander, having now to cover the retreat alone, being obliged to order, coax, threaten, and appeal to them to keep moving. Here then, was one man righting twenty-two men, with eight of his own command useless as combatants. He was a good shot, however, and managed to bring down more than one of the enemy at 500 yards range. The pursuit lasted half an hour all of it up hill but in the end the Constabulary withdrew. After almost superhuman efforts, the commander had succeeded in saving all of his men except Healy.
” These were typical deeds. And as they became known among the people there was no stemming the tide of rising national spirit victory was at hand ! But there was another unifying cause and one I choose to state merely in general terms. During the reign of terror 274 Irishmen were assassinated in their homes or while in custody.
” Torture of Irish prisoners in a vain attempt to force them into a betrayal of their comrades had occurred in thousands of cases. Brutal assaults upon suspected men had been almost the invariable rule in raids by Black and Tans on Irish homes. There is proof in plenty to substantiate these statements, but I prefer you obtain it elsewhere.”
Accordingly I sought this proof in other quarters and quickly found there was indeed plentiful sworn evidence of the truth of what Collins had said. Of many that I have seen and read the following sworn statements are typical :
THE SWORN STATEMENT OF MARY MAGEE, OF CORROGS, NEWRY, co. DOWN.
” I, Mary Ellen Magee, of Corrogs, Newry, co. Down, do hereby solemnly declare that the statements made herein are the truth, so help me God.
” On Wednesday, June 8, at or about the hour of 8 o’clock in the evening, I heard voices (which I afterwards found to be those of Special Constabulary)
speaking to my brother, Stephen Magill, at the door of our house. They were asking him was his brother in the house. Before he could reply, my brother, Owen Magill, walked out to the side of Stephen. They were only a few feet from the door when I heard the order, ‘ Hands up ‘ and the next thing I heard was a volley of shots. I ran to the door and saw my brother Stephen falling, and my brother Owen ran to me and said to me ‘ I’m done.’ I took my brother Owen round to the back of the house and helped to
bandage his wound, which was in his right side. He was quite conscious and did not appear to be seriously wounded. My brother Stephen was shot through the heart and died in a few minutes. His wound appeared to be caused by an explosive bullet as the gash in his breast was almost two inches in diameter.
” When the Specials left, we took my brother Owen into the house and he undressed himself and went to bed. At about 10 p.m. the Specials returned and enquired for my brother Owen, who was wounded. They told him they were going to take him to hospital and they told me the same. My father was in the room with my brother at the time ; the Specials kicked him out of the room and abused him badly. My father is aged 78. Then my brother walked out of the house with the Specials, and as far as I know, walked over two hundred yards to the military lorry which was in waiting. They did not allow my brother to put on his coat, but took him away in his shirt and
trousers. As far as can be ascertained, my brother was dead when he arrived at the hospital.
” The Specials returned on June 10, and raided our house. They knocked down a stack of hay, and threw clothes and other things on the yard. On Sunday, June 12, they again returned. Neither my father nor myself were in the house at the time. They broke open the door and tossed everything over the house, pitching beds, clothes, and everything here, there, and everywhere They again returned on June 18.
” On the occasion of their visit on June 8 they followed me through the fields, and threatened to shoot me if I did not tell them where my wounded brother was, he having hid himself under the bed when he heard they were coming the second time. This is a true statement of all the main facts of the case.
(Signed) ” MARY ELLEN MAGEE.
” June 20th, ’21.”
THE SWORN STATEMENT OF LAWRENCE McGiVERN,
OF DRUMREIGH, CO. DOWN.
” I, Laurence McGivern, of Drumreigh, Rostrevor, co. Down, was employed as a servant with Patrick J. MacAnuff, of Shinn, Ardaragh, Newry. On the morning of June 5, the house was raided by military between the hours of 3 and 4 a.m. They ordered me out of bed and asked me questions I knew nothing about. They then asked, Did I know who I was speaking to. I said no. They then said they were Royal Irish Constabulary, and made me repeat these words after them. One of them hit me and knocked me down. I got up and two of them ordered me out. I refused, as I said I was barefooted, but they made me go, and took me across the lawn and ordered me not to look behind at the crowd of military behind me. They then gathered around me, made me put my hands by my sides, and hit me with their fists.
They knocked me down and kicked me in the back and sides, and used the ends of their rifles on my head and face. An officer came out of the house, and asked (by the way) what had happened. The reply was that I fell on my face. He lifted me, knowing well what had happened ; but he took me into the house and helped my master to put me to bed. I was then unconscious for some time and am now at home unfit for work and under the doctor’s care. I am twenty years of age.
(Signed) ” LAURENCE McGiVERN.”
(This raid had a tragic sequel a few days later when a party of British forces again raided the house in search of Patrick MacAnuff. His sister, Theresa MacAnuff, who was on a visit from Broadford, England, rushed to a window when she heard the soldiers breaking their way through the house, and called for help. She was ordered by the raiders to desist. She continued to call, and was thereupon shot dead.)
LETTER WRITTEN BY PATRICK TRAYNOR,
106, BOTANIC ROAD, GLASNEVIN, DUBLIN.
” Rath Internment Camp, Curragh,
” Co. Kildare.
” 10th June, ’21.
” DEAR
” The following account of my treatment with a view to extracting information by British Intelligence Officers whilst I was a prisoner in Dublin Castle, should be published.
” From March 30 to April 20 I was a prisoner in the Castle, and in all was interrogated by British Intelligence Officers on 33 occasions.
” During each interrogation with a view to extracting information, I was treated by these Intelligence Officers with the utmost cruelty. My fingers were bent back until they nearly tipped the back of my hands. My arms were twisted, a red-hot poker was held to my eyes, and threats to destroy my sight were made. I was kicked and threatened with shooting. On several occasions I was taken to a dark passage, under the canteen, which leads to the cells, and badly beaten. The doctors here can testify to my condition on arrival.
” On one occasion an officer asked me if I would care to see a priest, and upon my saying ‘ Yes,’ a ‘ priest ‘ was sent to see me. This ‘ priest, I afterwards discovered, was a member of the Intelligence Staff in Dublin Castle and an ordinary civilian.
” Love to all,
” Yours affectionately,
” PADDY.”
SWORN STATEMENT OF EDWARD DORAN, BALLYMACGEOUGH, KlLKEEL, CO. DOWN.
“I am a farmer and live at Ballymacgeough, co. Down. I was arrested on May 10 and taken, with Thomas Fearon, James McDermott, Thomas Cunningham, and Edward Cunningham to Newry Military Barracks. We were all placed in the same cell there. About an hour after our arrival a police officer came in. I saw him strike Thomas Fearon. He took me to a guardroom where there were forty constables and placed me with my back to the wall. He took up two or three empty cartridges off the floor and said : ‘ See where your friends have gone.’ He then put his head out of the door of the guardroom and said, as if speaking to somebody in the yard : ‘ Don’t close that grave. We’ll put them all in one.’ He then turned to me and said : ‘ What are you in the I.R.A ? ‘ I said : ‘ I don’t recognise your right to ask me any question.’ He hit me with his open hand on the face. He repeated his question. I refused to answer. He then struck me with his clenched fist on the cheek, loaded his revolver and said he would give me three minutes to answer.
” At the end of about three minutes, he said, ‘ I’ll let you off if you will answer me one question. Who is your commandant ? ‘ I said nothing. He said, ‘ Are you going to answer that question ? ‘ I said ‘ No.’ He then rushed at me and commenced to beat me with his clenched fists about the face. He knocked me down once. He cut my face and gave me two black eyes. Whilst he was beating me, a Black and Tan officer came in, got beside me and struck me, knocking me down. The officer then took up his revolver and watch, and, looking at his watch, said, ‘ My lunch has got cold with you and I am going to finish you now if you don’t answer my question.’ As I still remained silent he asked me, ‘ Are you going to answer ? ‘ I said, ‘ No.’ He gave me a kick on the thigh. Then he stood back from me and fired a shot. The bullet passed close , to my head. The plaster fell off the wall behind me. He showed me a mark on the wall and said, ‘ Do you see how it missed you ? ‘ A sergeant then took me out to the yard, and as I was passing the officer on the way out he (the officer) gave me a kick on the thigh again.
(Signed) ” EDWARD DORAN.”
“Dated this 28th day of June, ’21.”
In the course of the interview Eoin MacNeill granted me he described his experiences with the Black and Tans. He said :
“It was at an early hour that the Black and Tans smashed into my house and arrested my eldest son then about 12 years of age and me. They took us in a lorry down into the village of Blackrock, where there were several other lorries standing. Apparently their occupants were raiding houses in the vicinity. Our captor stopped his car and ordered us down into the road. Then he pointed to a blank wall on which had been scrawled, ‘ Up the Republic,’ and, producing a bucket of whitewash and a brush, held them out to my son and ordered him to whitewash the wall.
” My boy looked up at me to see if I would allow him to do this, and I told him not to touch the brush or the bucket. ‘ Oh, you won’t let him do it, eh ? ‘ said the Black and Tan. I replied that I certainly would not. ‘ Very well, then,’ said he, ‘ you do it yourself.’ I refused. Setting down the bucket and brush, he produced a revolver and pointed it at me. He told me if I did not do as he ordered within one minute he would fire. But when I did not move, he finally put his revolver back in his holster, and gruffly ordered us into another lorry.
” This was the only bad treatment accorded me at any time while I was a prisoner in the hands of the British. In the English jail where Griffith and I were fellow prisoners, every possible consideration was shown us.”
When I reported back to Collins that I had found ample testimony to support his general statement that the Black and Tans had been guilty of acts of extreme cruelty he made no comment. All he had to say in that connection, he explained, he had already said.
” Even after the truce had been declared,” Collins continued, ” I was not in favour of bringing these matters forward. A truce presupposes the possibility of a return to the conditions which existed before it was declared. I could see no good purpose served by doing anything to make worse the conditions that had been so barbarous. I am still inclined to doubt the wisdom of reopening a subject that cannot be done justice to unless one goes into details of indescribable infamy. However, the fact remains that exaggeration in this connection is impossible.”
MICHAEL COLLINS’ OWN STORY ~
CHAPTER XIV
THE INVITATION TO NEGOTIATE
” THE excuse offered by the British Government for the brutish insensibility of the Black and Tans was that they were meting out to murderers just retribution. Mr. Lloyd George was ‘ firmly convinced that the men who are suffering in Ireland are the men who are engaged in a murderous conspiracy.’ At the London Guildhall he announced that the police were ‘ getting the right men.’ A demand for the truth about English repression in Ireland was beginning to make itself heard in all parts of the world. It was becoming ever more difficult to convince the world that the premeditated murder of Irishmen constituted legitimate acts of self-defence.”
Collins thus began the story of events leading up to the Treaty negotiations.
” At length, when the Terror, growing ever more violent and, consequently, ever more futile, failed to break the spirit of the Irish people failed as it was bound to fail concealment was no longer possible,” Collins continued. ” The true explanation was blurted out when Mr. Lloyd George and Mr. Bonar Law declared that their acts were necessary to destroy the authority of the Irish national government which ‘ has all the symbols and all the realities of government.’
” But this announcement had an unexpected consequence. In the opinion of responsible men in the other States of the British Empire, such destruction had no justification. They expressed their opinion in emphatic fashion. They convinced British statesmen that it was essential for England to put herself right with the world the Irish slate had to be cleaned. So declared the Premiers of the Free Nations of the British Commonwealth then assembled at the Imperial Conference in London. There was only one course for the British Prime Minister to take to invite us, whom he had called ‘ murderers ‘ and ‘ heads of the murder gang to discuss with him terms of peace. The invitation was :” To discuss terms of peace to ascertain how the association of Ireland with the community of nations known as the British Empire may best be reconciled with Irish national aspirations.”
The world knows that we accepted that invitation.
” What is not known except only by those few of us who had to take the responsibility of accepting or refusing the invitation is the searching of our hearts and minds, the weighing of every consideration, the honest effort some of us made to put aside scepticism in order that the decision might be the fruit of our combined best judgement. There was much in our immediate path that undeniably prejudiced us as to the possibility of obtaining a generous peace from England. Beyond that were more than seven centuries of English misrule of Ireland. In our councils were men who believed and who still believe that to try to make a bargain with England could result only in Ireland’s getting the worst of it.
” I have always believed that Mr. Lloyd George foresaw the inevitable at least a year before his colleagues even considered the possibility of granting Ireland freedom. I base my belief on the fact that while the Terror was at its height the British Cabinet passed the Government of Ireland Act, 1920 better known as the Partition Act. In my opinion, Mr. Lloyd George intended the Act to allay world criticism. As propaganda it might do to draw attention away from British violence for a month or two longer. At the end of that period most of the English Ministers mistakenly believed Ireland would have been terrorised into submission. That desired end gained, a chastened nation would accept the crumb of freedom offered by the Act. Britain her idea of the principles of self-determination satisfied would be able to present a bold front again before the world.
” It seems to me this must have been what was in the mind of the British Cabinet in passing this measure. Certainly it was not asked for by Ireland. Nobody representing any Irish constituency in the British Parliament voted for it. We of the South took advantage of its election machinery only to repudiate the Act and to secure a fresh mandate from the people. Otherwise the Act was completely ignored by us. In the Six Counties almost one-fourth of the candidates were returned in non-recognition of the Act, while Sir James Craig himself said, referring to himself and his friends, ‘ we accept the Parliament conferred upon us by the Act only as a great sacrifice’
” I believe there was an understanding between Mr. Lloyd George and the Orange leaders. The Act entrenched them or appeared to within the Six Counties. No doubt, both the British Prime Minister and Sir James Craig had it in mind that if a bigger settlement had ultimately to be made with Ireland, at least the Act put them in a position from which they could bargain. In any ‘ settlement ‘ the North-East was to be let down gently by England. Pampered for so long, they had come to be able to dictate to and to bully the nation to which they professed loyalty. They were to be treated with tact in regard to any change of British policy towards Ireland.
” This much I was convinced of from the moment the Lloyd George proposal of peace reached us. In our councils I urged this view. I held that England now realised that both the Partition Act and the Terror had alike failed to achieve what had been expected of them. Ulster’s usefulness to England had ceased to be potent enough to prevent Irish freedom, but I urged that we should not be unmindful that Ulster could be useful in another way. She could buttress England in England’s determination that, while agreeing to our freedom, Ireland must remain associated with the British group of nations. England’s insistence upon this association as a minimum was based on her conviction that her own national safety can be assured by nothing less. In this view I HAD THE COMPLETE SUPPORT OF DE VALERA NOT ONLY DURING THESE PRELIMINARY CONFERENCES, BUT AT ALL TIMES DURING THE PROGRESS OF THE NEGOTIATIONS !
” What seemed to me to be our chief concern was so to make our moves that Britain would be obliged to give us the maximum limit of freedom. And from the outset I was convinced that that maximum limit would be bounded by association with the British Empire. I anticipated what subsequently turned out to be the fact. Britain must represent to us that the North-East would never acquiesce in more, while representing to them that in such a settlement they would be preserving that which they professed to have at heart, the sentimental tie with the nation to which they were supposed to be attached.
” In those preliminary conferences, a few of us held that any settlement which did not include the possibility of a united Ireland which was not predicated on the living truth, THAT EVERY IRISHMAN IS FIRST AN IRISHMAN WITH RIGHTS THE SAME AS THOSE OF EVERY OTHER IRISHMAN would be unacceptable to us. It was not so much the Partition Act itself that mattered it was an even more formidable legacy that England would leave us, PARTITION OF VIEW. That is there, and it has to be dealt with. It is for us, to whom union is an article of our national faith, to deal with it.
” For the most part De Valera at first seemed to be in accord with the views voiced by Griffiths and me. As, little by little, Childers wormed his way into our councils, however, De Valera’s attitude gradually changed. From beginning to end Stack and Brugha were unqualifiedly hostile to the whole idea of entering into negotiations with England. Yet for a long time we had all been agreed on the fundamental wisdom of no coercion for Ulster. Likewise we were one in our conviction that a divided Ireland could never be a free Ireland,
” It was and, more’s the pity, it still is this serious internal problem which led some of us to argue for the attainment of the final steps of freedom by evolution rather than by force. If we could obtain substantial freedom by consenting to association with the British Empire, it would at least give us time to teach the North-East to revolve in the Irish orbit and to get out of the orbit of Great Britain. We held that in acquiescing in a peace which would admittedly involve some postponement of the fulfilment of our national sentiment by agreeing to some association of our Irish nation with the British nations we would be going a long way towards meeting the sentiment of the North-East in its supposed attachment to England.
” Against these councils the uncompromising Republicans raised up the objection that by consenting to bargain with England before she recognised the Republic we should be letting the Republic down. But De Valera, himself, pointed to the fact that this was not an issue to be argued then. Mr. Lloyd George had already made it clear that no such recognition would be granted. Furthermore, it was pointed out that were the Irish Republic a recognised fact, we should have to use our resources to coerce North-East Ulster into submission. None of the conferees was prepared to sponsor such a course of action. We had long since concluded that coercion even if it succeeded could never have the lasting effects which conversation on our side, and acquiescence on theirs, would produce.
” Our position at this time, as it appeared to me, was one of greater strength than ever before in the history of Ireland under English rule. From the English viewpoint, peace with Ireland had become a necessity to the British Cabinet. Already Mr. Lloyd George in 1921 had made a peace offer to De Valera. That offer had not been acceptable to the Irish people. Referring to it, Mr. Churchill, at Dundee in September of the same year, had said :
” ‘ … this offer is put forward, not as the offer of a Party Government confronted by a formidable opposition and anxious to bargain for the Irish vote, but with the united sanction of both the historic parties in the State, and indeed all parties. It is a national offer.’
” Undoubtedly it was a national offer, representing English necessity to put herself right with world opinion. It had, at last, become essential that England find a way of peace with Ireland or a good case for further, and what unquestionably would have been more intensive, war.
” The important factors in the situation were known to all of us. We knew the Dominion Premiers were in England fresh from their people. They were able to express the views of their people. The Washington Conference was looming ahead. Lloyd George’s Cabinet had its economic difficulties. England’s relationships with foreign countries were growing increasingly unhappy. Recovery of the good opinion of the world had become indispensable. BUT I FOUGHT THE STUPID NOTION THAT WE WERE STRONG ENOUGH TO RELY ON FORCE ALONE.
” England wanted peace with Ireland, true ; but if Ireland made impossible demands we could be shown to be irreconcilables and then England would again have a free hand for whatever further measures of force might be necessary ‘ to restore law and order ‘ in a country that would not accept the responsibility of doing so for itself. I was under no delusion that the offer indicated any real change of heart on the part of England towards Ireland. In this respect I was entirely at one with the uncompromising Republicans. But I held that then, as always, England’s difficulty was Ireland’s opportunity, and we should be fools to fail to seize it merely because behind the offer was no sincerity of good will. It seemed to me to make no difference that an awakening conscience had nothing to do with the English offer. It is true that there were stirrings of conscience felt by a minority of Englishmen the minority that had opposed England’s intervention in the European war. They were the peaceful group averse to bloodshed on principle. They were opposed to the killing we had to do in self-defence quite as much as they were opposed to the aggressive killing of our people by the British agents sent to Ireland for that purpose.
” I urged that we waste no time in considering this phase of the situation. Pacifists the world over are almost with- out any political power and have very little popular support. The point was that peace had become necessary to England. It was not because she had repented in the very middle of her Black and Tan terror. IT WAS NOT BECAUSE SHE COULD NOT SUBJUGATE us ! It was because she had not succeeded in subjugating us before the world’s conscience awakened and made itself felt.
” We had ample evidence of this. There was, for in- stance, the frank admission of Lord Birkenhead in the British House of Lords early in August :
” ‘ The progress of the coercive attempts made by the Government have proved in a high degree disappointing.’
” From every side came proofs that world sympathy was with us passive sympathy for the most part. If we had done no more and we had done much more this winning of world sympathy was itself a great asset in the proposed negotiations with England.
” What it was never possible to make the more extreme of our conferees appreciate was that we had not beaten AND NEVER COULD HOPE TO BEAT THE BRITISH MILITARY FORCES. We had thus far prevented them from conquering us, but that was the sum of our achievement. And in July, 1921, we had reached the high-water mark of what we could do in the way of economic and military resistance. I suppose there are Irishmen who will go to their graves still cherishing the notion that continuation of the struggle would have ended in an overwhelming victory for Irish arms. It is a pity, but it is a fact. To such men figures mean nothing, They will not see,
” But even some of these uncompromising Republicans had their moments of sanity. Some of them, at least, are on record as recognising our inability to beat the British out of Ireland. See what Mr. Barton had to say in The Republic of Ireland in its issue of February 21, 1922 :
‘ … it had become plain that it was physically impossible to secure Ireland’s ideal of a completely isolated Republic otherwise than by driving the overwhelmingly superior British forces out of the country.’ And yet Mr. Barton after he had put his signature to the Treaty talked at a session of Dail Eireann about having signed ‘ under duress ‘ ! Before we went to London to negotiate, Mr. Barton knew, as did we all, that the element of duress existed and would continue to exist so long as British power lasts.
” I have explained how we considered every phase of the situation before finally deciding to accept the offer.
I WANT TO MAKE IT ABSOLUTELY PLAIN THAT AT THE CONCLUSION OF OUR DELIBERATIONS WE HAD ABANDONED, FOR THE TIME BEING, THE HOPE OF ACHIEVING THE IDEAL OF AN ISOLATED REPUBLIC. FOR ANY OF THE MEN WHO PARTICIPATED IN THOSE CONFERENCES TO PRETEND OTHERWISE IS ABOMINABLE ! WE ALL CLEARLY RECOGNISED THAT OUR NATIONAL VIEW WAS NOT SHARED BY THE MAJORITY IN THE FOUR NORTH-EASTERN COUNTIES. WE KNEW THAT THAT MAJORITY HAD REFUSED TO GIVE ALLEGIANCE TO AN IRISH REPUBLIC. WE KNEW THAT THEY WOULD NOT YET ACQUIESCE IN ANY KIND OF ISOLATION FROM BRITAIN. BEFORE WE UNDERTOOK THE TREATY NEGOTIATIONS WE REALISED THESE FACTS AMONG OURSELVES. HAD WE NOT REALISED THEM HAD WE NOT ACCEPTED THEM AS FACTS THERE WOULD HAVE BEEN NO NEGOTIATIONS. LET THERE BE NO DOUBT ABOUT THAT.
“It is true that before we accepted the invitation sent by Mr. Lloyd George we endeavoured to get an unfettered basis for the conference. And after negotiations had been begun as I shall presently point out we continued to try. Document No 2 was an instance of this endeavour. But we did not succeed. Again and again we asserted our claim that the plenipotentiaries could enter such a conference only as the spokesmen of an independent sovereign State. It was a claim Britain tacitly admitted in inviting us to negotiate at all, but the fact remains that we finally went to London without recognition of our nation as an independent sovereign State. We went and in going WE ADMITTED THAT THERE WAS A POSSIBILITY OF THE IRISH PEOPLE RECONCILING’ IRISH NATIONAL ASPIRATIONS ‘ WITH ‘ ASSOCIATION OF IRELAND WITH THE GROUP OF NATIONS KNOWN AS THE BRITISH COMMONWEALTH.’ Let us not fool ourselves about that.
” Those who cannot, or who will not, look these facts in the face blame us now, and more than blame us. They find fault with us because in agreeing to some kind of association of our nation with the British nations we were not able, by the touch of a magic wand, to get rid of all language of Empire. That is not a fair attitude. We like that language no more, perhaps less, than do those who wish to make us responsible for its preservation. It is Britain’s affair not ours, that she cares to preserve the prevarication’s of obsolete feudalism. The British Empire is what it is. It is what it is with all its trappings, its symbols of monarchy, its feudal phraseology, its obsolete oaths of allegiance its king a figurehead having no individual power as a king maintaining the unhealthy atmosphere of mediaeval subservience translated into modern snobbery. But these are things that are not to be dissipated by the waving of a magic wand !
” MOREOVER, THE RESULT OF OUR DELIBERATIONS SPEAKS FOR ITSELF WE ENTERED INTO NEGOTIATIONS WITH THAT EMPIRE AND ITS LANGUAGE IS THE LANGUAGE WE HAD TO SPEAK.
“It is not any verbiage about sovereignty which can assure our power to shape our destinies. The important thing is to grasp everything which is of benefit to us to manage things for ourselves to make such a constitution as suits ourselves to make our Government and restore our national life along the lines which suit our national character and our national requirements best. It is now only fratricidal strife which can prevent us from making the Gaelic Ireland which is our goal.”
Kitalba, thanks for posting these mate, it’s a right good read, which I’m away back to do.
HH to ye!
Vmhan
Did you get my text last night?
Was thinking … Big FF having a great season. Efe and kelvin looking like a real central pairing…. Big lustig solid at rb.
We are now lauded as a team who can defend and hit on the break in europe
Yet our goals against is almost one a game and very few clean sheets recorded when last 2 seasons FF was breaking records
Special brew,I am an ex pupil of St Ninians kirkie,left in 1974.
Tallybhoy at 2224… Garbugliaga?
Good morning friends from a lovele dry clear skied East Kilbride. Frosty windscreen time mind you.
Morning all CQNers , day off today.
Sticking by yesterday’s prediction 3 nil to the hoops tonight , the brothers Sevconian will not know what has hit them!
Hail Hail to all
Tis the season to be jolly!
Oh gallant Michael Collins , cut off in his prime.
We are all Neil Lennon
Morning Jinks, I got Your no from BT and it looks like the same number I have (last 4 digits the same), for some reason the text came up as an error and never sent, I’ll check it out and get back to ye.
Is yir mail still ” b name yahoo”?
Italiabhoy
Close!
Montedivalli – comune of Podenzana.
HH!!
Morning all!
3-0 for the hoops tonight!
Out of the blocks running – not jogging!
HH!!
Auldheid,
If they are not found guilty of electronic brown envelopes does it not open the floodgates for any club to make unregistered payments to players ( albeit taxable ) in the future, without the knowledge of the governing body?
I cannot see how they can find in their favour ( I know, I know ) as to do so means the governing body would lose control of what renumerations are being paid to the players in their member clubs, particularly with FFP looming on the horizon.
Hail! Hail!
sipsini 23:13 – based on the information in the FTTT, it is rumoured that the 5 are Novo, Prso, Bernard, Rodriguez plus 1 out of Wattereus/Hemdani/Namouchi.
Covers the period 2004-10 (2003-10 if it’s Namouchi) and 3 league titles. Remember though it is entirely possible that there may be many other players who were improperly and equally that these 5 players were properly registered with the football authorities, regardless of tax position.
A cursory glance at the SPL table sees lowly Hearts having conceded but one goal more than us (14:13)which is second best in the league, They don’t score many, barely averaging a goal a game. If we score twice we should win. Importantly we must not get involved in a war – in the last three years we have accrued four red cards at Tynecastle.
WestofGorgie,ML2
WG
take it you won’t have your work cut out for Saturday and our fixtures against Arbroath?
Hearts being at home will have a go at us tonight, and that will play into our hands.
Assuming Ledley & Forrest are still injured
Forster
Lustig Ambrose Wilson Mulgrew
Brown Kayal Wanyama Commons
Lassad
Hooper
Subs Zaluska Matthews Samaras Miku Watt McGeouch Rogne
3-1 Celtic
BT – in hand as soon as they qualified !!
Predictableastheycome,ML2
PS Saw your dad at St Michael’s Sat HH
*08:26 correction
entirely possible that there may be many other players who were improperly registered
So Michael Mols finally found out the truth.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/belgium/9703166/Belgian-discovers-his-wife-used-to-be-a-man-after-19-years.html
Morning all
I see Stokes is in the Daily Record today ( I have just read it online ) for the wrong reasons. Time for Celtic to get rid of this clown. He is an embarrassment to the club. Him and his family are Neds.
Re tonight, I am very confident of victory. I’ll go 2-0 Celtic.
Hail Hail
Roccobhoy
Whither the cash strapped scrofulous hillbillies, and their scrofulous cash strapped cuzz, the day?
ROCCOBHOY
To even up the score wi the other lot,the record also has the following
http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/ibrox-chiefs-roll-out-red-1460777
It’s a wee story about them courting a tax fraudster with a view to investment.
Nothing new there then…..
Tallybhoy excellent. Beautiful country!
hope there is no paparazzi at ipox tomorrow when I enter the building.. o))
I know the meeting is about social fund but I think I may try and get a wee question in regarding tax credits… o))