Limerick – seachranaidhe1

DAY 50 INTERNED WITHOUT TRIAL

Today is the 50th day that Brian McCarthy has spent in Limerick Prison having committed no crime. Despite this Brian was in fantastic form earlier today when we visited him and he is 100% happy with the direction things are going in the efforts to give him back his freedom. These efforts being made on a daily basis to achieve this goal are not being publicised but are with Brian’s blessing so we just ask that people understand this and support Brian as a lot of people are very worried that not enough is being done, this could not be further from the truth. Even though he is being denied his freedom and being able to spend time with his friends and family, and especially his darling wife Lorraine, Brian is not backing down as the importance of the sacrifice he is making would not even be understood by most people so he is steadfast in his thinking and frame of mind thankfully. Once again can we ask that you keep sending those letters of support as they are keeping the fire lit in his soul and he appreciates each and every one of them.

Brian McCarthy (Killarney)
Limerick Prison
Mulgrave Street
Limerick

#freebrianmccarthy

With many thanks to the: Anti-Eviction Taskforce Limerick for the original posting

In tribute of a gallant life long Irish Republican and patron of Republican Sinn Féin Óglach Dan Keating, Born on the 2nd January 1902

Dan Keating was born on a small farm near Castlemaine, in Kerry. Dan joined Na Fianna Éireann in 1918 and in 1920, during the era of the Irish War of Independence, he joined the 3rd Battalion, 1st Kerry Brigade of the Irish Republican Army. Like a majority of the Kerry IRA, he rejected the sellout Anglo-Irish treaty that enacted the partition of Ireland in 1921 and went on to fight on the Republican side in the Irish Civil War. He was involved in operations in Kerry, Limerick, and Tipperary, before his column was arrested by Free State Forces. He spent seven months in Portlaoise Prison and the Curragh internment camp before being released in March 1923. Dan remained an active IRA volunteer for a long time after the Civil War. He was arrested several times during the 1930s on various charges. He was active in London during the 1939/1940 IRA bombing campaign.

He was under constant surveillance by the Irish Free State special branch and involved in virtually every twist and turn of republican politics, over time he acquired iconic status. But he always remained an active, rather than a mere honorary presence. In 1933, he was involved in an attempt to assassinate the leader of the Irish free state fascists Blueshirts, Eoin O’Duffy, during a visit to County Kerry. The attack was to happen at Ballyseedy, where Free State forces had carried out the Ballyseedy Massacre during the Irish Civil War. However, the plot failed when the person travelling with O’Duffy refused to divulge what car the latter would be travelling in. He retired and returned to his native Kerry in 1978, living out the rest of his life with relatives in Knockbrack. He remained loyal to the Irish Republic and refused to accept a state pension because he considered the 26-county free state an illegitimate state which usurped the 1916 Irish Republic.

“All the talk you hear these days is of peace. But there will never be peace in Ireland until the people of the 32 counties elect one parliament without British interference.” Dan Keating.

At the time of his death he was Ireland’s oldest man and the last surviving veteran of the Irish War of Independence. He was buried in Kiltallagh Cemetery, Castlemaine.

In memory of Dónal Céitinn 1902 – 2007

With many thanks to: McKelvey Steele Cumann for the original posting.

CIRA DEAL LETS BRITISH SOLDIER RETURN FOR FUNERAL

A SECRET deal between the Continuity IRA and a family in Limerick has enabled a serving British soldier to come home for the funeral of his grandfather.

The Sunday World understands members of the family negotiated the deal using an intermediary after the soldier indicated he wanted to pay his respects. There were concerns he would have been targeted had he come home following warnings from the dissident outfit that anyone serving with the British Army would be regarded a legitimate target. A deal was agreed that the CIRA would allow safe passage for the soldier to attend the funeral. The deal only became public in the wake of the funeral which was held last week in Co Clare.

In a chilling statement, which was delivered at the Republican Sinn Fein Sean South Commemoration in Limerick in January, Continuity IRA prisoners at Portlaoise Prison declared that it considers Irish people who join the British Army as a ” legitimate target “. The statement, was read out at the Republican Plot at Mount Saint Lawrence cemetery during the commemoration for Limerick IRA man Sean South who was killed in a raid on the RUC Brookeborough Barracks in 1957. At the commemoration, a man speaking on behalf of CIRA prisoners, told around 60 supporters ” weve seen from recent years that in this city of Limerick, that Irishmen are considering a career in the British Army – the same British Army that holds six of our counties. ” Whether they are motivated by financial reasons or a sense of adventurism, we take this opportunity to say that the moment you don a British uniform, you become a legitimate target for the IRA.” The Ministry of Defence confirmed that every Irish person serving was informed of the threat. ” We condemn any threat of mindless violence against members of the British Armed Forces,” said a spokesman.

With many thanks to : Richard Sullivan, Sunday World.

Woman pens extraordinary letter to father of British soldier David Howes who was slain in Belfast 25 years ago (dailyrecord.co.uk)
British women raped by Libyan soldiers (telegraph.co.uk)
British Soldier Dies After Afghanistan Attack (news.sky.com)
Re: Sikh man argues gun control infringes on his religion (forum.prisonplanet.com)
Shame of the deserters (express.co.uk)

[Limerick, IAW] Iyad Burnat: Non-violent resistance to Israeli Apartheid

Tuesday, 21 February 2012

20:00 until 22:00

[Limerick, Israeli Apartheid Week 2012] Bil’in Organiser Iyad Burnat on non-violent resistance to IsraeliApartheidAs part of Israeli Apartheid Week 2012, the Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign is honoured to host a talk and film screening by Iyad Burnat, a leader of… the Bil’in Popular Committee Against the Wall. Iyad will talk about the ongoing civil resistance campaign, both in Bil’in and in other areas like Nabi Saleh, Nil’in, Budrus and Sheikh Jarrah. Born in 1973, Iyad Burnat is the head of the Bil’in popular committee and Friends of Freedom and Justice and will be a familiar figure to the many Irish who have travelled to Bil’in over the past number of years.The event will take place at 8pm on Tuesday 21st February 2012, in the Absolute Hotel, Sir Harry’s Mall, Limerick City (map here).About Bil’inBil’in has been at the forefront of the non-violent resistance to Israel’s illegal Apartheid Wall and policies in the occupied Palestinian territories, and has held weekly Friday demonstrations of locals, Israelis and international activists since 2005. During the course of the struggle its residents have faced severe repression at the hands of the Israeli, including frequent night raids and detentions (including of children). At least two people have been killed, and scores injured, during the Friday demos.

In June 2011 Bil’in’s activists scored a major victory when it was announced that the wall in Bil’in, which was stealing some 480 acres of village land to accomodate the illegal Israeli colonial settlement of Modi’in Illit, would be partially rerouted (four years after the Israeli Supreme Court ordered it to be).

While continuing to fight for the remaining 1350 dunams (330 acres) that are effectively annexed to the settlement of Modi’in Illit, the Bil’in Popular Committee announced a new strategy of building community and public buildings on lands that were given back as a way to assert their possession of them.

The regained land is designated as Area C, over which Israel retains complete control of both security and administrative matters. Due to this fact, it is nearly impossible for Palestinians to receive building permits in area C. Palestinian structures built without permit in Area C are often demolished by Israeli authorities and are almost never retroactively whitewashed. In contrast, illegal and unpermitted settlement construction is often retroactively issued the required construction permits, as was the case in the Matityahu East neighborhood of the Modi’in Illit Settlement, which was built on Bil’in’s lands.

This event is organised by the Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign (IPSC) as one of a series of events taking place around Ireland during international Israeli Apartheid Week 2012 (20 – 27 February).
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