Veteran of 1950s border campaign passes away.
(From the workersparty website)
The death occured on 19th April 2009 of comrade John Madden of Turner's Cross, Cork.
John had been ill for some time but his death still comes as a great loss to his friends and comrades in Cork and around Ireland.
John Madden was born into a large family to parents Joseph and Mary Madden on the southside of Cork in the early 1930s. The family was strongly republican but also strongly class conscious and it was no surprise that John joined the republican movement as a youth. In 1956 he was one of a group of Cork IRA volunteers who participated in the Border Campaign but was ultimately captured (*at Dunmore, Tyrone- ed.) and spent several years interned at Belfast's notorious Crumlin Road prison.
After his release from internment John returned home and immediately became active again in the republican movement. He soon became an organiser for the movement and strongly supported the move towards a socialist position being promoted by people like Cathal Goulding and Tomás MacGiolla. John had been interned with Sean Garland, Des O'Hagan and others who were promoting a left position and he remained loyal to the Goulding during the 1969 / 70 split.
John was a candidate for Sinn Féin (Official) in 1974 and almost succeeded in being elected onto Cork Corporation for the South Central Ward. He remained a solid supporter of the Workers Party right throughout his life.
John was not the only member of his family active in the republican movement. Several of his brothers were also involved, including his brother Barty who died last August.
The following oration was given at John Madden's funeral by his longtime friend and comrade Sean Garland, member of the Ard Comhairle of the Workers Party and former Party President:-
A Chairde
Nuair a chuala mé go raibh John Madden básaithe bhí an bhrón orm. Comrádaí agus cara dhilis domsa le caoga blain anuas b’é John. Cuireann bás John isteach go mór ar a chlann agus ar a chairde. Fear ciúin croga macánta atá imithe. Már a deirtear, ní bheidh a leithéid aris againn.
It is a privilege and an honour for me to say a few words to the memory of John Madden. To his brothers and sisters – Sheila, Eddie, Gerry and Barry and to his large extended family – on behalf of the Ard Comhairle, members and supporters of the Workers’ Party - we convey our most sincere sympathy on their, and indeed our, great loss.
It is with deep sadness that we are gathered here to say farewell to a loyal comrade and friend, a man much loved by his family and all those who met with him over his lifetime.
My own experience of meeting with, and getting to know, John Madden began in Crumlin Road Jail, Belfast in the late 1950s and over the course of the following years, I came to know a comrade who was serious and always concerned as to how the Irish people and the working class in particular could achieve freedom and justice in this world.
John was a man who did not give his mind to many; he was quiet and was a great listener. Never hasty in his judgements he was very well respected by all his fellow prisoners. His contribution to debates was always considered and to the point.
In the years following his release from prison he was always available to help in the rebuilding of the movement into its development of The Workers’ Party.
All of what John did in life, in work and in politics, was based on an inherent integrity which he inherited from his parents, Joseph and Mary. As part of a large family he learned the hard way that the working class had to be united and most importantly conscious of their class and of who the enemy is. The Madden family have a proud tradition through many years of their involvement in the struggle for a united Socialist Irish Republic. Barthy and John who left us within a very short space of time demonstrated over their lives the very best examples of working class heroes and we, in the Workers’ Party, are the poorer for their passing.
As a nation we are living in very difficult times. Attack after attack is being made on workers and their families while the banks, developers, speculators and politicians who caused the crisis are being allowed to escape any consequences.
In this week the 93rd Anniversary of the Easter Rising it is to men like John Madden, whom we look to, who over the many decades along with other fine comrades – Malachy McGurran, Martin O’Leary, Desmond Swanton, Cathal Goulding – refused to accept the status quo to which the working class had been consigned. John Madden had no hesitation on taking up the policies and strategies which Cathal Goulding, especially, called for and brought about their adoption by the Party. To me and to many other comrades in the Party, John Madden was a Republican in the tradition of Wolfe Tone - the unity of Catholic, Protestant and Dissenter, a Socialist in the tradition of James Connolly – the working class are the incorruptible inheritors of the fight for Irish freedom. It is a matter of great sadness that John’s last years were blighted by the dreadful illness of Alzheimer’s which deprived him of the ability to play a full and meaningful role in life.
As we face an uncertain future with constant attacks on public sector workers -teachers, nurses, Gardaí, fire fighters, county and city council workers who are daily being called upon to make more and more sacrifices whilst the greedy are allowed to escape any punishment it is time for workers and their families to realise where their true interests lie. It is with each other, to work together against a common enemy and in the coming June elections to kick out those who have brought such hardship and suffering on the most deprived section of society.
Let me leave you with this thought – the John Madden I knew and admired as a comrade and friend knew that it is not the task of the working class or of any Left Party to save capitalism. Rather it is their duty to abolish capitalism and to replace it with a system which puts the needs and concerns of people first and foremost in a new society.
Thank you comrades and friends
Tuesday, January 20, 2015
Vol. John Joe Ruane
John Joe Ruane
(Obit from Saoirse, May 14, 1998. Ruane was a membeer of Teeling Column and took part in the attack on Derrylin Barracks.)
Republicans in Galway and throughout Connacht were saddened to learn of the death on Saturday, April 11 of John Joe Ruane from Athenry.
Ruairí Ó Brádaigh, President of Republican Sinn Féin, delivered the oration on Easter Tuesday, April 14 at the graveside following a Republican funeral at which John Joe was given last honours by his comrades in Republican Sinn Féin in Galway.
“John Joe Ruane’s part in the Republican Movement over his lifetime came in direct succession to that of Liam Mellows, the Loughnane Brothers, the IRA Volunteers executed in Athlone and Tuam and Tony D’Arcy who died on hunger-strike in Arbour Hill, Dublin , in 1940,” Ruairí Ó Brádaigh said.
“He followed fearlessly in the path of his comrades, Seán Sabhat, Fearghal Ó hAnluain and Pat McManus, who gave their lives in the late 1950s. Ten days before his death on Easter Saturday, John Joe insisted on attending a Comhairle Ceanntair meeting of Republican Sinn Féin in Athenry. He was faithful to the very end.
Described by a South Armagh Republican as a ‘a most civil man’, he was a political activist and an agitator for social and economic rights for the Irish people.
He put his life on the line with his comrades in 1956-62, worked in elections for Paddy Ruane, Frank Glynn, Murt Qualter and most recently for Tomás Ó Curraoin in Co. Council and Údarás na Gaeltachta elections.
“He was prominent in the fish-ins at the Salmon-Weir Bridge in Galway and at the bridge in Spiddal in the late 1960s. John Joe sought to break the power of the river-lords, just as landlordism was brought down by a previous generation.”
“As a hurler and later an administrator of the GAA, as a consistent Republican, he won peoples’ affections. Known throughout Ireland at demonstrations and comemorations, he was always to the fore with zeal and without fear, physically and morally. We salute your life’s work for Ireland and her people, John Joe.”
“Ar dheis Dé go raibh d’anam uasal”
Photo: Vol Noel Hughes
Noel Hughes of the Dublin Brigade (joined in 52, interned in 58) marches against the water charges last year.
Saturday, November 22, 2014
Border Campaign Reading List
This is, so far as I have been able to ascertain, a reading list of all the best published sources on Operation Harvest.
(Note: There are several books on the Cumann na mBan, if anyone could recommend the one with the best info on this period I'd be grateful)
----General History----
The IRA by Tim Pat Coogan
The Secret Army by J Bowyer Bell
(These two have very extensive sections on Operation Harvest and are in many ways the primary sources of information on it.)
Resistance by Sean Cronin
(A manifesto and history written during the campaign by the man who started it.)
Irish nationalism: a history of its roots and ideology by Sean Cronin
(Section covering the campaign.)
The Lost Revolution by Brian Hanley and Scott Millar
(The first chapters chronicle the 50's in detail, mostly through the eyes of future Official Republicans, and the reorganization afterwards.)
Soldiers of Folly by Barry Flynn
(The only stand-alone general history of Operation Harvest.)
Milestones in Murder by Hugh Jordan
(Contains two chapters on the campaign focused mostly on incidents that ended in death- Rosslea, Brookeborough, etc. Some valuable original research not covered in the standard texts.)
The Orange State by Michael Farrell
(Classic political history of the period.)
Na Fianna Eireann: A Case Study of a Political Youth Organisation by John Watts
( Contains a detailed description of their activities during 50-62 period)
The IRA, 1956 - 69: Rethinking the Republic By Matt Treacy
(Analysis focusing on the political and socio-economic forces at work within the Republican movement and the "new direction" of the 60's. "Official Irish Republicanism" by Sean Swan likewise, while not focused on the campaign, has analysis of it by former participants and other interesting bits.)
The IRA: A Documentary History by Brian Hanley
The above stand out for their original research. There are several more that could be listed under "general history" but they usually use other books- Coogan, Bell and Farrell in particular -as their sources or else have little by way of information not contained in the above list.
----Prison Narratives----
Prisoner 1082 by Donal Donnelly
(First hand account of the only successful escape from "the Crum.")
Having it Away by Seamus Murphy
(Vibrant account of Seamus Murphy's time in English prisons, the characters he met inside, and his escape in 1959.)
The Insider: Belfast Prison Diaries of Eamonn Boyce
(Day by day diary written in secret, with comprehensive notes by Anna Bryson.)
The Omagh Prisoner: Writings of Philip Clarke
(Published by Joe Christle on the Omagh raider and SF candidate for 1955.)
A Rebel Spirit: the Life and Times of Seamus O'Lionochainn by Seamus O'Lionochainn
(Autobiography of a Cork volunteer; covers the IRA in Cork and his years in "the Crum." published online.)
IRA Internments and the Irish Government: by John Maguire
(Contains detailed history of the 56-62 period focused on the 26 counties, with many photos.)
Internment by John McGuffin
(Chapters on internment in the north and south.)
Cypriot and Irish Political Prisoners held in British prisons 1956-1959 by Grigoras Limavadas
(Little known story of Cypriot-Irish solidarity and cooperation. Includes details of the 1959 escape from Wakefield.)
Lawless vs Ireland: the First Case Before the European Court of Human Rights by Brian Dolan
(Overview of Gerry Lawless's legal conflict with the Free State.)
The Insider: Belfast Prison Diaries of Eamonn Boyce
(Day by day diary written in secret, with comprehensive notes by Anna Bryson.)
The Omagh Prisoner: Writings of Philip Clarke
(Published by Joe Christle on the Omagh raider and SF candidate for 1955.)
A Rebel Spirit: the Life and Times of Seamus O'Lionochainn by Seamus O'Lionochainn
(Autobiography of a Cork volunteer; covers the IRA in Cork and his years in "the Crum." published online.)
IRA Internments and the Irish Government: by John Maguire
(Contains detailed history of the 56-62 period focused on the 26 counties, with many photos.)
Internment by John McGuffin
(Chapters on internment in the north and south.)
Cypriot and Irish Political Prisoners held in British prisons 1956-1959 by Grigoras Limavadas
(Little known story of Cypriot-Irish solidarity and cooperation. Includes details of the 1959 escape from Wakefield.)
Lawless vs Ireland: the First Case Before the European Court of Human Rights by Brian Dolan
(Overview of Gerry Lawless's legal conflict with the Free State.)
Irish Political Prisoners 1920-1962: Pilgrimage of Desolation by Sean Mcconville
(Mcconville's narrative stands out for having research from the Prison Records of Northern Ireland)
----Volunteers----
From Vinegar Hill to Edentubber: The Story of the Wexford IRA and the Border Campaign by Ruan O'Donnell
Maraóidh Seán Sabhat Aréir by Mainchín Seoighe
(Irish language book on Sean South)
"They Kept Faith" by Sean Cronin
(On South and O'Hanlon)
Sean South of Garryowen by Des Fogerty
Miscellaneous Notes on Republicanism and Socialism in Cork by Jim Lane
(History of the Cork brigade, independent activities by Cork volunteers, and the breakaway IRF.)
The Blood Dark Track by Joseph O'Neill
(Several pages on Jim and Brendan O'Neill's activities with Jim Lane's group.)
Ruairi O'Bradaigh: Life and Politics of an Irish Revolutionary by Robert White
(His detailed recollections of the campaign- joining, Arborfield raid, Derrylin Barracks attack, the Curragh, goings on inside the IRA etc.)
Joe Cahill, A Life in the IRA by Brendan Anderson and Joe Cahill
(Insightful chapter detailing the era in Belfast; the arms raids there, searching for the informer, and other things not covered elsewhere.)
Memiors of a Revolutionary by Sean MacStoifain- Also published as "Revolutionary in Ireland"
(Chapter on the Felstead Raid and his subsequent years in English prisons.)
Tyrone's Struggle for Irish Freedom by Gerard Magee
In Pursuit of Peace in Ireland by Liam O'Comain
(A short section on his joining the Derry IRA in the 50's and political activities like canvassing for Manus Canning)
God and the Gun by Martin Dillon
(Des O'Hagan talks about being in the Belfast IRA in the late 40's and 50's.)
The Irregulars by "The Hungry Brigade Collective."
(Online book about several Dublin volunteers who got started during Operation Harvest and later went into Saor Eire. Written in a novelized form but the facts behind the events are solid.)
Provisional Irish Republicans: An Oral and Interpretive History
(Has interviews with several members - mostly anonymous- who discuss becoming involved in the 50's.)
The IRA in the Twilight Years
(Focused on the 30's-40's period, but in its profiles/bios of volunteers it tells of those who went on to fight in the 50's)
The American Connection by Jack Holland
(Coverage of George Harrison's and Paddy McLogan's smuggling of weapons in the latter half of the 50's and early 60's)
----Pamphlets----
A pamphlet on James Crossan was published by Sinn Fein in 1958.
A booklet was put out for the 45th anniversary of the death of Alo Hand.
The Pearse Column & the Brookeborough Raid
Awakening the Spirit of Freedom - Edited by Des Long
(Both published for the 50th anniversary of the death of Sean South and Fergal O'Hanlon)
Patrick McManus, James Crossan and the Border Campaign - Edited by Ruan O'Donnell.
(Published for their 50th anniversaries.)
"Songs of the North"
(Booklet put out by Saor Uladh/Fianna Uladh, contains a life of Connie Green and songs in his honor.)
----For further reading----
The ongoing section of RSF's monthly "Saoirse" entitled "50 Years Ago Today" has some excellent information, particularly issues from 1999-2012.
An Phoblacht ran several series and interviews with veterans from 2006-2009 or so. They also have obituaries of veterans who died in the past couple of decades.
There's also some nutter with a blog called laochrauladh.....
Prison Memories of Dan Moore
Dan Moore, a young volunteer from Newry, was imprisoned during the latter half of the 50's for carrying the tricolor during a republican parade. He was imprisoned again for the same reason in the 60's. He afterwards became a local leader in the Wolfe Tone Clubs, NICRA, and Official Republicanism.
Prison Memories of Dan Moore
(Compiled from a series in the Newry Journal, March 2009.)
(Dan Moore- center with tricolor. Photo from NewreyMemiors.com)
"Newry Journal was delighted recently to have been offered a few reminiscences of veteran Republican Dan Moore from his early days of resistance to British Rule.
In the late 50s and early 60s I was in awe of this man and the Republican family to which he belonged – and my father with me. Any Republican personage or organ such as The United Irishman was considered highly suspicious by the authorities and kept under close watch. The Republican paper was actually banned and my father purchased his copy hidden within the folds of the Belfast Telegraph. That was dad’s little act of defiance. We would worry lest the house be raided and this subversive literature would lead to dad’s arrest! The open sale of this (commendable) newspaper was among the most minor of the ‘transgressions’ of the Moore family.
In addition every Easter Sunday Dan Moore chose to head the Republican Parade to the Republican Cemetery plot, carrying the banned tricolour. It is hard to believe now that just the display of the national flag was considered a crime worthy of the incarceration of the bearer. In punishment for this open defiance Dan was hauled off immediately afterwards and imprisoned for a period of months. I could not believe that a man could have such firm convictions that he would fritter away his freedom like this.
But I should allow Dan – who now is a social worker in Dublin combating the evils of drug and substance addiction – to speak for himself:
----
"Prison Notes"
"There were lighter moments too back in my time in the ‘Juveniles’ in 1957.
The authorities were convinced that a bit of military discipline was enough to correct the misguided views and attitudes of the miscreant youths in their care. Joe Leslie, Moody and the other screws in charge of us were ex-marines. In good old-fashioned British war-film tradition they interpreted this as the need for regular ‘square-bashing’. It was supposed to frighten us and turn us into ‘good citizens’.
I really enjoyed this square-bashing and threw myself enthusiastically into these exercises. I felt I was learning something every morning. As a young volunteer of just eighteen years who hadn’t yet had any drill training on the outside I was convinced I was doing something useful!
Arms training we had had, but not drill. Priorities, I suppose!
After about two months Joe Leslie approached me and asked why I was so patently enjoying the drill exercises. I was young and lacking in subtlety. I answered immediately and with transparent honesty that if we were to do this on the outside, it would be sufficient reason – if one were needed – to imprison us.
Sadly, that was the end of my square-bashing!
In punishment I suppose, for enjoying the drill and owning to it and being dismissed from ‘square-bashing’, I was given the job of sharpening the saws in the wood yard where the prisoners were tasked, for example, with cutting up timber for firewood.
This was another mistake on their part. I just loved the job and though I say it myself I was expert at it.
One day these two prisoners from the other side – out-and-out Loyalists – were sent to me. I saw them approaching and guessed at their mission. Covertly and calmly I drew a file along the recently-sharpened edge of the saw I had been working on. This had the effect of blunting its edge.
They needed a particularly-sharp saw to fell a fairly large tree for timber. In effect they received a blunter saw than the one they returned in exchange!
In response to their vociferous complaints they were both put on ‘report’ for insubordination.
I recovered the blunted saw and replaced it among the ‘to-be-sharpened’ pile!
"Screw in My Pocket"
I was a sentenced prisoner – for the ‘crime’ of carrying the national flag – but there were also internees over in D Wing. I knew and was known to many of them and had illicit communications with them. As a result I was able to obtain supplies that other Juveniles could not.
I had sweets, butter and jam and especially cigarettes, the staple exchange-commodity of prison.
I was generous with these supplies and I treated all Juveniles as equal.
This link meant that I could escape the prison’s tobacco barons. These were people who would approach new prisoners with the offer of free cigarettes. The only problem was that they were not free: the debt would have to be paid back double on Sundays, when supplies would come in hopefully via family visits. One could end up forever in the grip of these tobacco barons. Not me.
The screw in charge of our tier was called Dickie Dawe and with my supplies, I formed an exchange relationship with him too. Dickie knew what I was doing of course and participated. Any time I was due for a cell search – and they were frequent – Dickie would come in before it with an empty cardboard box. I placed all my supplies in it and he secreted it in his prison warden’s locker. Then nothing would be found in my cell search. Later my property was returned.
My generosity was paid back in time. A few years later when I was back in prison I was met in the exercise yard by a number of prisoners who had been Juveniles with me. At once a whip-around was organised for my benefit.
Again I had no need to worry about shortage of cigarettes.
"Strange hiding place"
Some years later still I was interned along with my brothers Jack and Eugene (RIP).
One time I had a visit from our mother and father. They got to visit Jack and ‘Gene first. Then I was called. When the visit was over, Dad said to me,
‘By the way Dan, I have here a packet of fags that Mrs McGuigan gave me for you. I forgot to leave them at Reception.I will leave them there for you on the way out.’
I sensed that Dad was up to something. I requested from the screw that he give them to me straight away. He took the pack and examined it carefully. But the cellophane was unbroken. It had all the appearance of never being opened. He handed it to me.
I couldn’t wait to get back to the wing, to get to the toilets and examine the packet for myself.
Inside the cigarette packed, all tightly and neatly folded was a copy of the United Irishman.
How they got it fitted in there so well, I will never know.
How they got the cellophane back in position is still a mystery!
That must have become the most-read copy ever of the newspaper The United Irishman. Having devoured it myself I sent it all around our wing and then to all the internees and finally to all the long-term prisoners in A Wing!
"Loyalist Leader on My Side"
Of course being in prison was anything but a bed of roses!
There were very occasional ‘picture-shows’ but one’s absence from the cells would be taken advantage of by the screws.
One time on my return to my cell I sensed something was up – that perhaps they were lying in wait fore me. And so it proved to be.
I swiftly – as if in one movement – switched off the lights and for protection, grabbed my poe which was by the door.
I can tell you I got in a brave few wallops with it before the screws, whose only intent was to beat me up, could overpower me!
On ‘report’ the next morning I was charged with assaulting two prison warders and two prisoners.
Fortunately for me the Deputy Prison Governor was on duty that morning. Under interrogation I enquired as to where the alleged assault took place. The two screws said that it was ‘on the tier’. When I challenged this I was told to be quiet.
At that point Dickie Dawe spoke out and confirmed that it was in my cell. They were waiting there for me. The discrepancy of evidence was noted and taken into account. Taylor, the Deputy Governor sent me back to the wood yard. The two prisoners who gave false evidence lost their remission and all privileges and the two screws were either sacked or sent elsewhere.
On reflection the Deputy Governor was probably worried that there would be a riot in the prison. But as a side-effect I earned respect from an unusual quarter.
Silver McKee, a noted Loyalist hard-man was on the landing above. On that morning he leaned over the top banister and shouted down a warning that anyone who dared to touch the ‘Newry boy’ would answer to him!
I never actually got the chance to meet him but it was good to know that he was there in the background for me! This was the first across-the-divide cooperation I had known.
Perhaps it’s just that I got into trouble, no matter what job or assignment I was given!
Yet it is strange how the smallest incident takes on greater significance as time goes by.
"Remembering Tom Williams"
You will all have heard of Tom Williams (friend and colleague of Joe Cahill) who was executed and buried within the walls of Crumlin Jail.
We did not know the exact location so all of the area was like hallowed ground to us.
One time I was given the task of mowing the grass around the prison hospital. We believed that Tom’s mortal remains were buried near the wall behind the hospital.
Carefully I used the mower to mark out in cemetery fashion a spot in the near vicinity. In conclusion I marked the grave by placing some daffodils upon it.
Needless to say that was the end of my grass-cutting days there.
A week later I was taken off this duty!
Prison Memories of Dan Moore
(Compiled from a series in the Newry Journal, March 2009.)
(Dan Moore- center with tricolor. Photo from NewreyMemiors.com)
"Newry Journal was delighted recently to have been offered a few reminiscences of veteran Republican Dan Moore from his early days of resistance to British Rule.
In the late 50s and early 60s I was in awe of this man and the Republican family to which he belonged – and my father with me. Any Republican personage or organ such as The United Irishman was considered highly suspicious by the authorities and kept under close watch. The Republican paper was actually banned and my father purchased his copy hidden within the folds of the Belfast Telegraph. That was dad’s little act of defiance. We would worry lest the house be raided and this subversive literature would lead to dad’s arrest! The open sale of this (commendable) newspaper was among the most minor of the ‘transgressions’ of the Moore family.
In addition every Easter Sunday Dan Moore chose to head the Republican Parade to the Republican Cemetery plot, carrying the banned tricolour. It is hard to believe now that just the display of the national flag was considered a crime worthy of the incarceration of the bearer. In punishment for this open defiance Dan was hauled off immediately afterwards and imprisoned for a period of months. I could not believe that a man could have such firm convictions that he would fritter away his freedom like this.
But I should allow Dan – who now is a social worker in Dublin combating the evils of drug and substance addiction – to speak for himself:
----
"Prison Notes"
"There were lighter moments too back in my time in the ‘Juveniles’ in 1957.
The authorities were convinced that a bit of military discipline was enough to correct the misguided views and attitudes of the miscreant youths in their care. Joe Leslie, Moody and the other screws in charge of us were ex-marines. In good old-fashioned British war-film tradition they interpreted this as the need for regular ‘square-bashing’. It was supposed to frighten us and turn us into ‘good citizens’.
I really enjoyed this square-bashing and threw myself enthusiastically into these exercises. I felt I was learning something every morning. As a young volunteer of just eighteen years who hadn’t yet had any drill training on the outside I was convinced I was doing something useful!
Arms training we had had, but not drill. Priorities, I suppose!
After about two months Joe Leslie approached me and asked why I was so patently enjoying the drill exercises. I was young and lacking in subtlety. I answered immediately and with transparent honesty that if we were to do this on the outside, it would be sufficient reason – if one were needed – to imprison us.
Sadly, that was the end of my square-bashing!
In punishment I suppose, for enjoying the drill and owning to it and being dismissed from ‘square-bashing’, I was given the job of sharpening the saws in the wood yard where the prisoners were tasked, for example, with cutting up timber for firewood.
This was another mistake on their part. I just loved the job and though I say it myself I was expert at it.
One day these two prisoners from the other side – out-and-out Loyalists – were sent to me. I saw them approaching and guessed at their mission. Covertly and calmly I drew a file along the recently-sharpened edge of the saw I had been working on. This had the effect of blunting its edge.
They needed a particularly-sharp saw to fell a fairly large tree for timber. In effect they received a blunter saw than the one they returned in exchange!
In response to their vociferous complaints they were both put on ‘report’ for insubordination.
I recovered the blunted saw and replaced it among the ‘to-be-sharpened’ pile!
"Screw in My Pocket"
I was a sentenced prisoner – for the ‘crime’ of carrying the national flag – but there were also internees over in D Wing. I knew and was known to many of them and had illicit communications with them. As a result I was able to obtain supplies that other Juveniles could not.
I had sweets, butter and jam and especially cigarettes, the staple exchange-commodity of prison.
I was generous with these supplies and I treated all Juveniles as equal.
This link meant that I could escape the prison’s tobacco barons. These were people who would approach new prisoners with the offer of free cigarettes. The only problem was that they were not free: the debt would have to be paid back double on Sundays, when supplies would come in hopefully via family visits. One could end up forever in the grip of these tobacco barons. Not me.
The screw in charge of our tier was called Dickie Dawe and with my supplies, I formed an exchange relationship with him too. Dickie knew what I was doing of course and participated. Any time I was due for a cell search – and they were frequent – Dickie would come in before it with an empty cardboard box. I placed all my supplies in it and he secreted it in his prison warden’s locker. Then nothing would be found in my cell search. Later my property was returned.
My generosity was paid back in time. A few years later when I was back in prison I was met in the exercise yard by a number of prisoners who had been Juveniles with me. At once a whip-around was organised for my benefit.
Again I had no need to worry about shortage of cigarettes.
"Strange hiding place"
Some years later still I was interned along with my brothers Jack and Eugene (RIP).
One time I had a visit from our mother and father. They got to visit Jack and ‘Gene first. Then I was called. When the visit was over, Dad said to me,
‘By the way Dan, I have here a packet of fags that Mrs McGuigan gave me for you. I forgot to leave them at Reception.I will leave them there for you on the way out.’
I sensed that Dad was up to something. I requested from the screw that he give them to me straight away. He took the pack and examined it carefully. But the cellophane was unbroken. It had all the appearance of never being opened. He handed it to me.
I couldn’t wait to get back to the wing, to get to the toilets and examine the packet for myself.
Inside the cigarette packed, all tightly and neatly folded was a copy of the United Irishman.
How they got it fitted in there so well, I will never know.
How they got the cellophane back in position is still a mystery!
That must have become the most-read copy ever of the newspaper The United Irishman. Having devoured it myself I sent it all around our wing and then to all the internees and finally to all the long-term prisoners in A Wing!
"Loyalist Leader on My Side"
Of course being in prison was anything but a bed of roses!
There were very occasional ‘picture-shows’ but one’s absence from the cells would be taken advantage of by the screws.
One time on my return to my cell I sensed something was up – that perhaps they were lying in wait fore me. And so it proved to be.
I swiftly – as if in one movement – switched off the lights and for protection, grabbed my poe which was by the door.
I can tell you I got in a brave few wallops with it before the screws, whose only intent was to beat me up, could overpower me!
On ‘report’ the next morning I was charged with assaulting two prison warders and two prisoners.
Fortunately for me the Deputy Prison Governor was on duty that morning. Under interrogation I enquired as to where the alleged assault took place. The two screws said that it was ‘on the tier’. When I challenged this I was told to be quiet.
At that point Dickie Dawe spoke out and confirmed that it was in my cell. They were waiting there for me. The discrepancy of evidence was noted and taken into account. Taylor, the Deputy Governor sent me back to the wood yard. The two prisoners who gave false evidence lost their remission and all privileges and the two screws were either sacked or sent elsewhere.
On reflection the Deputy Governor was probably worried that there would be a riot in the prison. But as a side-effect I earned respect from an unusual quarter.
Silver McKee, a noted Loyalist hard-man was on the landing above. On that morning he leaned over the top banister and shouted down a warning that anyone who dared to touch the ‘Newry boy’ would answer to him!
I never actually got the chance to meet him but it was good to know that he was there in the background for me! This was the first across-the-divide cooperation I had known.
Perhaps it’s just that I got into trouble, no matter what job or assignment I was given!
Yet it is strange how the smallest incident takes on greater significance as time goes by.
"Remembering Tom Williams"
You will all have heard of Tom Williams (friend and colleague of Joe Cahill) who was executed and buried within the walls of Crumlin Jail.
We did not know the exact location so all of the area was like hallowed ground to us.
One time I was given the task of mowing the grass around the prison hospital. We believed that Tom’s mortal remains were buried near the wall behind the hospital.
Carefully I used the mower to mark out in cemetery fashion a spot in the near vicinity. In conclusion I marked the grave by placing some daffodils upon it.
Needless to say that was the end of my grass-cutting days there.
A week later I was taken off this duty!
Tuesday, October 28, 2014
Noel Kavanagh Oration for Fergal O'Hanlon- 1957
Oration at the Graveside of Fergal O'Hanlon by Noel Kavanagh - 1957 (Printed in the United Irishman)
"A chairde,
It is a great privilege to pay tribute to Fergal O'Hanlon today on behalf of his fellow volunteeers. Any person here today who does not understand why Fergal fought and died is standing here offering an insult to him.
Having educated himself in the history of his country and the present situation, he decided to join his fellow countrymen in remedying the wrongs which have been inflicted upon our country.
Fergal, whom we all know, died fighting for the freedom of his country. It is easy to die when one is at peace with God, and Fergal you may be sure was at peace with God. He left home with his mother's blessing and that surely is the greatest of all blessings. As Pearse said of Mothers, "They suffer in our coming and in our going." So on behalf of his fellow-volunteers, I wish to express sympathy to his father, mother, brothers, sisters, and to all those dear to him.
If you wish to erect a monument to this volunteer I ask that you erect a monument that can be seen all over the world. I have in mine a monument which Fergal would like and that monument is the Irish Republic. I ask you to erect that monument. Fergal would like it."
Vol. Paddy Doyle- O/c Belfast
Under Paddy's direction a more vigorous investigation to uncover an informer- whose presence was obvious but whose identity was not- was carried out by Joe Cahill and another volunteer. They conducted a thorough investigation and narrowed it down to one man. They informed Paddy Doyle; "He didn't want to know the name of the suspect at that stage," Cahill said, "but he said he wanted us to begin our investigation all over again and see if we came to the same conclusion." In such cases, Cahill afterwards noted, one had to be 110% sure of the conclusion.
A general convention was held that October to which the O/c's and organizers were supposed to report. Doyle was unable to attend so he sent Joe Cahill and the other volunteer in his place. They informed Tony Magan of the situation with the informer. Magan gave the same reply but told Cahill to transfer all the arms dumps under his control out of the city.
In November Doyle was arrested with a copy of An-tOglach on him and received 3 months in Crumlin Road, which was commuted to internment until the campaign was almost over. His arrest so close to the commencement of the campaign, and the presence of the informer, sealed the lid on Belfast's non-involvement. The informer continued to inflict damage after his arrest and was never uncovered.
Paddy Doyle was among the first 15 prisoners released in 1961. Like many others of his generation, he retired from active politics and what became of him in later years has not been recorded by the usual Republican historians.
Sources: "Joe Cahill: A life in the IRA" by Brendan Anderson; "The Insider" by Eamonn Boyce and Anna Bryson. If anyone can, for posterity's sake, fill in some details on his life please get in touch.
GRMA in advance.
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