The leader of the Irish, who fought against the fascist General Franco in the Spanish Civil War was Frank Ryan,
Documents just released by the Moscow based organisation, Comintern, give a summary of the 230 Irish who fought with the Republicans during the Spanish Civil War, almost a third of whom died.
Researcher Emmet O’Connor, from the University of Ulster, says Frank Ryan played a vital role within the International Brigades, after travelling to Spain in 1936, despite his crippling deafness.
“He had two important tasks: first, to help rebuild the battalions decimated after the Battle of Brunete in July 1937, and second, on his own initiative, to get as many Irishmen as possible repatriated if he felt that they had done enough.”
The Comintern library contains about 60 million pages of documents, the global scope of which creates a unique opportunity to study previously undiscovered details of the war.
They were very brave men and not a few women who served in nursing roles in the I/Bs. I remember hitching a lift one day in the late 60s’ from an ex I/B man... amazing tales told by a front line soldier. These I/B men knew how important it was to defeat the fascists, especially as it was not well known at the time that the elites in France and Britain were doing everything they could to ensure the Republic was destroyed and when this happened WW11 was the outcome....anon
One of the best books I’ve read on the subject is “Unlikely Warriors” by Richard Baxell. The Republic lacked arms because of the actions of the governments of France and the UK....anon
C(o)ill Cais This is one of my favourite Irish songs and I feel it gives a good insight into the sense of loss, that many Irish people feel in their hearts, for the land that they love. The British knocked down all of the woods in ireland, to build ships for their piracy around the world. Ireland is beautiful but is barren in many respects and I often try to visualize it, covered in its native woodlands, rather than the coniferous plantings imported. The sense of loss is accentuated by the loss of its population in it's holocaust and endemic emigration, thereafter. It will take time to recover but I believe with patience, we will do it eventually. brionOcleirigh
British Police in Occupied Ireland, were filmed dumping a vulnerable, unconscious Catholic woman on a busy bus lane, who was celebrating Saint Patrick's Day. Fortunately she was not run over and Irish people, are demanding the British Police are charged with attempted murder. The video clearly shows the heartless PSNI paramiltary police, dumping the incapacitated woman on a roadside in Derry and are being referred to the Police Ombudsperson, for all the good that will do.
The video shows the unconscious woman, being dragged from the middle of the road and dumped onto a busy bus lane on John Street in Derry by two of the paramiltary British police, who then drive off in an unmarked car, leaving the woman to be run over. The PSNI who were caught on film on St Patricks Day last year, raping an innocent young Catholic man in KIlkeel, have a long history of sectarian abuse and discrimination, while their ranks have recently been filled by ex-paramiltary police of the disgraced RUC, who were involved in the regular sectarian murder and torture of innocent Irish Catholics.
It is not clear what they did to this poor woman, prior to their murderous intent being filmed, while this defenceless woman, who is suffering from a severe illness.The free born woman is a member of the travelling people's community and was celebrating St Patricks Day along with her husband,minding their own business, in her own country, which they are fully entitled to do, before they were set upon by these foreign mercenaries of British rule. Martin McGuinness said “Viewed video showing 2 police officers failing to ensure the safety of an incapacitated woman on a public roadway is totally unacceptable.” Foyle SDLP MLA Mark Durkan said he was “horrified” after watching the video, saying, "Not only are these actions dangerous and irresponsible they are completely inhumane. I feel for the family of this girl. How can we believe that our young people are safe in our local community, when those who are charged with protecting them fall so far short of basic expectations?”
Republican Sinn Fein have pointed out, that in the unlikely event of members of the public being filmed engaged in such behaviour, they would be charged with attempted murder or if republicans got their hands on them, they would at a minimum be kneecapped or perhaps worse.The British paramilitary police the PSNI could not be reached for comment by this journalist and refused to answer questions, when interrogated by telephone. While these criminals were engaged in this activity their colleagues, had the audacity to march in the Christian St Patrick's Day parade in New York, while members of other minority groups in Ireland were banned from marching along with Kenny and McGuinness. Obviously the PSNI do not uphold the most basic form of Christian ethics or values and are definitely not a civilized force, with Irish values of human rights.
Statement by Des Dalton President of Republican Sinn Féin
It is with great sadness that Sinn Féin notes the passing of Tony Benn. He was truly a man of the highest integrity and principle who was fearless in speaking truth to power and privilege. His famous five questions to be put to those in power are a template for real democratic engagement by people with the political process and a challenge to unaccountable power elites everywhere:
“1. What power do you have? 2. Where did you get it? 3. In whose interests do you exercise it? 4. To whom are you accountable? 5. And, how can we get rid of you? Anyone who cannot answer the last of those questions does not live in a democratic system.” When the leadership of the British Labour Party betrayed the miners of Scotland, Wales and England during the Miner’s Strike of 1984/85 Tony Benn was resolute in his support for them.
He was an internationalist in the truest sense of that word and was consistent in his opposition to imperialism and colonialism. Unlike many who can safely espouse causes that are far removed from them by distance etc Tony Benn was consistent in opposing imperialism and exploitation wherever it was to be found. In this regard he was a true friend of Ireland and spoke out against the British occupation of Ireland, recognising that it was only the Irish people themselves who could resolve any conflict in Ireland.
He recognised the British presence in Ireland as a fundamental cause of the ongoing war in Ireland. Oppressed peoples everywhere have lost a true champion of their cause. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam dílis
IRELAND SUFFERS SHARPEST DROP ON CORRUPTION PERCEPTIONS INDEX IN ITS HISTORY
INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS PERCEIVEs government of IRELAND MORE CORRUPT THAN third world
A global index measuring perceptions of corruption in 176 countries gives Ireland its worst ever ranking and suggests that corruption is a bigger problem here than in some developing nations including Uruguay and the Bahamas. Ireland is now ranked in 25th place in the Corruption Perceptions Index conducted annually by Transparency International (TI). The worst performing countries are Afghanistan, North Korea and Somalia. Denmark, Finland and New Zealand are perceived to be the least corrupt countries of those surveyed.
The index is one of the most commonly used measures of political risk and is used by credit risk agency Standard and Poor’s to assess the likelihood of sovereign debt default. According to John Devitt, Chief Executive of TI Ireland, ‘If investors believe government decisions are being swayed by political or private gain, it could have a harmful effect for our economic recovery. Small, open economies are much more exposed to reputational risk than their more powerful counterparts. Risk-averse and politically aware investors will also look elsewhere when deciding where to locate or do business if they suspect that favoured businesses and government are in bed with one another’.
The poor results come after a succession of political controversies. The Moriarty and Mahon Tribunals published negative findings against politicians and business people after 15 year-long investigations into corruption and payments to government ministers. There was further controversy a year after the publication of the final Moriarty Tribunal report when the Taoiseach shared a platform at Wall Street with Denis O’Brien, a leading businessman linked to clandestine payments to the former minister for communications, Michael Lowry. Mr Lowry was found to have influenced the award of the second mobile phone licence to Mr O’Brien’s consortium in 1995.
‘Ireland’s ranking shows how little faith investors have in our ability to prevent the abuse of power. Our failure to hold people to account for wrongdoing is also having a negative impact on international perceptions of Ireland. There appears to have been very little action taken on foot of the publication of the final Moriarty Tribunal report, while The Taoiseach’s decision to make public appearances with Denis O’Brien after the publication of the report will have done our international reputation no favours’, said Mr Devitt.
TI Ireland recently published a European Commission-sponsored report which acknowledged the progress the Irish Government had made in reforming corruption law and ambitious plans to protect whistleblowers. However, the anti-corruption group has warned against delaying further commitments to clean up public life. It has also highlighted the Government’s failure to implement reforms aimed at promoting transparency in the public sector and sharing more power with the Oireachtas.
‘We will still attract companies looking to avail of our low tax rate, but our reputation for cronyism and other forms of corruption will drive many honest businesses towards more open and well regulated economies’, Mr Devitt added.
Background
This year Transparency International has updated the methodology for the Corruption Perceptions Index 2012. To reflect this, the Corruption Perceptions Index is presented on a scale from 0 (highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean). The change in methodology is not believed to have significantly impacted on Ireland’s ranking or score.
This year’s index ranks 176 countries/territories by their perceived levels of public sector corruption. The index draws on 13 surveys covering expert assessments and surveys of businesspeople. The Corruption Perceptions Index is the leading indicator of public sector corruption, offering a yearly snapshot of the relative degree of the corruption problem by ranking countries from all over the globe.
A 2008 Pricewaterhouse Coopers survey found that 45 per cent of businesses have been deterred from investing in a country because of its reputation for corruption.
TI Ireland estimated in 2009 that Ireland could be losing €1 billion a year in foreign direct investment because of its relatively low position in the Corruption Perceptions Index. Ireland has slipped 11 places in the index since then.
In 2011, Ernst & Young reported that a ‘significant number’ of Irish professionals believed it was acceptable to win business by using inducements. The Ernst & Young European Fraud survey found that ‘over a quarter of all senior managers and over a third of employees confirmed that activity including offering personal gifts, offering free entertainment and even offering cash payments was acceptable in order to win or retain new business’.
According to the Eurobarometer survey for 2012, 86 per cent of Irish people said corruption is part of Ireland’s business culture, compared to the much lower EU average of 67 per cent.
The International Monetary Fund has identified a link between unfettered influence brought to bear on the regulation of financial services and the current international financial crisis. It found a statistical correlation between lenders who engaged with policy-makers most intensively on issues of mortgage lending, and those who were most negatively affected during the current crisis. These lenders had looser lending standards measured by loan-to-income ratio, greater tendency to securitise, and faster-growing mortgage loan portfolios. The authors of the IMF report concluded that preventing a future crisis might require weakening the political influence of the financial industry or greater transparency in how public policy is influenced.
Having commissioned an investigation on the Mayor of London Boris Johnson as a result of his insulting anti-Irish remarks and his cancellation of the traditional Saint Patrick's Day dinner in London, the following facts have been unearthed while Boris strongly denies being a child of Thatcher, although a long running paternity investigation called the Savile Inquiry denies having anything to do with a possible cover-up of Jimmy Saville being his real father. The background to the controversy is below.
Fenian Feminists
Having commissioned an investigation on the Mayor of London Boris Johnson as a result of his insulting anti-Irish remarks and his cancellation of the traditional Saint Patrick's Day dinner in London, the following facts have been unearthed while Boris strongly denies being a child of Thatcher, although a long running paternity investigation called the Savile Inquiry denies having anything to do with a possible cover-up of Jimmy Saville being his real father. The background to the controversy is below.
"Meanwhile in London last night Boris was pacing up and down in open-fly readiness for his wet run for Saint Patrick's Day and spurted the vast contents of his outsize bladder high into the air, describing a golden arc from Aldwych in the South to the Caledonian Road in the North visible for miles around, as screaming Irish victims in Kilburn and Cricklewood tumbled from the upper deck of their buses above their head and floated downstream on the rising tide of Borismania pouring from the waterlogged pants of thousands of startled racist bigoted, Tory spectators, their urinary tracts blissfully relaxed by discharging pint after pint of pent-up pints down their sodden legs and into the swirling open urinal that was formerly called the Thames as they practiced their ancestry lineage for Paddy's Day.
To call the annual, self-financing, St Patrick's Day dinner "lefty crap" is both profoundly ill-informed and also an attack on Irish Londoners and their contribution to this city. Irish Londoners came together to celebrate the part they play in the life of London - and Boris Johnson has slapped them in the face. He is out of touch and ignorant of the facts.
"Boris Johnson’s Irish racism is no more acceptable than any other racism Ireland From the Guardian this morning: Over the years a range of individuals and organisations have worked positively in London to tackle myths, ignorance and prejudice about the Irish community. Yet in this week’s New Statesman, Boris Johnsonattacks a major, mainstream, Irish community event, the annual St Patrick’s Day dinner, as “lefty crap”, falsely claiming it was “£20,000 on a dinner at the Dorchester for Sinn Féin”.
The fact is that the annual St Patrick’s Day event was a self-financing community event attended by a wide range of Irish actors, politicians from many parties, community figures and celebrities, including Bob Geldof, the Irish ambassador, TV and radio presenter Dermot O’Leary and actress Pauline McLynn.
When Boris Johnson cancelled the annual St Patrick’s Day dinner in 2009 there was widespread disbelief about his decision. His remarks this week reveal what lay behind that decision. Many Londoners will be disturbed by the mayor of London’s contemptuous remarks about a community which has given, and continues to give, so much to our capital city."
The investigation however revealed that the former 'Jim Will Fix It' star 'used to stay with Mrs Thatcher' at Chequers along with speculation 'that one or both of them went nutz and that Boris birth on Saint Patrick's Day was hushed up'. Obviously Boris did not choose Thatcher as his Mama but why anyone on Planet Earth even Jimmy Saville chose Mrs Thatcher for a dirty weekend, is what political pundits are discussing about the situation.
While Johnson, 47, has not revealed the secrets of his blonde tresses the Irish investigation has revealed that his hatred of Saint Patrick's Day, the Irish, lefty Crap Sinn Fein and his banned Irish dinners at City Hall, is as result of his genes and his real birthday, which remind him of his Irish connection. Having earned the nickname BoJo its believed he inherited this from his real daddy, who jumped at the opportunity for eggnog under the mistletoe with the UK's former Iron Lady.
Johnson while being a bit of a tit, besides insulting the Irish also headbutts Germans in their bollocks while playing charity football also sets fire to his farts, after an unsuccessful colon operation to make it smell like daisies, failed. He also hates the people of Liverpool because he believes they are all chavs like the ethnics! He tried to snort cocaine but sneezed and played the harmonica with his balls instead.
He was suspected of being the biological father of Prince Harry but DNA test proved it to be Irish DNA, hence another motivation to insult the Irish. Boris's primary achievement as Lord Mayor is that London hasn't blown up yet, which has prompted some before the forthcoming May election to shout Go Boris! to which he has replied “The man's a fool. Wait a minute, isn't that me?” a quote from Boris Johnson on the absolute stupidity of Boris Johnson, along with “Oh Boris, you're such a massive twat.” as in everyone in London has to put up with his shit besides the Irish.
However the Eton Rifles say BoJo, former MP for Cloud Cuckoo Land, mayor of Toytown is a jolly good chap. A tit, but a jolly good chap old Boy!. Being the second most powerful politician in Britain, he will probably be the next Prime Minister, where he can intern all the Irish wearing green on Saint Patrick's Day without trial along with the already interned without trial Marian Price. Upper class twat Boris Johnson has expressed his delight privately with the internment of the Irish.
A spokesperson for Boris said "Boris is Boris, bloody good at tennis, can you smell daisies?" while Boris himself said young Brits, "should get off of their lazy butts, accept any job that is offered to them and stop blood-sucking the London County Council dry!" to which everybody replies "Get on your fucking bike you fat, snobby twat!" This Saint Patrick's Day, London will promptly sink into the sea. No-one is quite sure how this will happen but most people believe the theory that somehow Boris either will loose 'lost' the Thames Barrier or just 'break' London. Otherd believe that the Irish will use the Thames as a urinal with their urinary tracts blissfully relaxed by discharging pint after pint of pent-up pints down the bogs in the London Irish bars as a riposte to Borismania and earlier racist attacks flowing into the swirling open urinal that was formerly called the Thames as they practiced their own ancestry lineage for Paddy's Day. Many Irish people that "London under Boris could do with a good wash".
A former resident of Dale Farm has forecast that when Boris is lying on his death bed with congenital syphilis.....the devil will come for his soul as he is, after all, a Tory. The devil will say "I've come to take you to Hell!" - Boris, will reply terrified..."Crikey!, what are you saying?" .... "TO HELL!", shouts the Devil.....with Boris replying "Oh, what a relief for a terrible moment I thought you said HULL!"They even tried to lure me down there into a trap with chants of: "Would you like to take our sisters out for drinks?" and "Boris, please consider coming to visit Humberside, it's such a lovely place and we'd love to see you, you can all stay round ours."
Boris Johnson has secretly also won the role of "The Doctor" for the the latest incarnation of Doctor Who, after he loses the next election in May but he unfortunately has become pre-occupied by a squirrel having sex with a large swan. It is unclear if he has confirmed the role, but an emergency meeting of the UN to discuss the matter has given him the firm support of the US and several key European players, though France remains opposed, believing that Cameron is far more capable in this role.
Boris also plans to run for Mayor of Liverpool when he loses London in May saying "I....I...I..Believe, that, er..the thieving scumbags of Liverpool could use a man like me to...er....to bring Britain back from this torrent of Labour....and my drug....what's my policy on drugs again?" Despite his speech being well-received Boris still lacks the 10% in a recent opinion poll against dead comic Tommy Cooper.
It is believed that Boris will languish this Paddy's Day in a Bacchanalian orgy with his toga as usual strategically parted to enable kneeling football hobbit Joe Cole to administer his usual enthusiastic and skilful fellatio as a relief and escape from the constitutional peasants of London. The investigation is ongoing, we will keep you updated.
Documents just released by the Moscow based organisation, Comintern, give a summary of the 230 Irish who fought with the Republicans during the Spanish Civil War, almost a third of whom died.
Saturday March 17, 2012 06:40
by BrianClarkeNUJ - AllVoices
Bangtao
3885997
