Posted by admin on October 14, 2015
Meetings to be held in the Baile na nGael on 2750 Gerritsen Ave. Brooklyn, NY 11229 on the last Monday of the month at 7:30pm unless otherwise indicated.
All County Board members and all Division Presidents and Vice Presidents are required by County By-Laws to attend County Board meetings. All Division Officers should attend and all members are invited to attend. Current Travel cards are required for entry to meetings, those, that can’t attend a meeting, should notify the County President or Vice President at least 24 hrs in advance.
President: Steve Kiernan Div. 35
We hope that all members of the A.O.H. in Brooklyn work as tireously for this Board as they have for the past Boards.
Posted by Jim on
Residents of a quiet Antrim seaside village have used the 83rd anniversary of the sectarian murder of three local men to call on the British government to apologise for its role in the slaughter.
On June 23, 1922, a British army and Special Police battalion entered Cushendall, singled out three young nationalists and dragged them up an alley, where they were shot dead.
The murders of John Gore, John Hill and James McAllister were in reprisal for the IRA murder the previous day of Field Marshal Henry Wilson — the man who ordered the pogroms against Northern Catholics throughout the early 1920s.
Wilson was shot dead in London by the republicans Reggie Dunne and Joseph O’Sullivan, who had served in the British army during World War I. Both men were later hanged.
A subsequent British government inquiry into the Cushendall killings dismissed claims from soldiers and police that they had been fired upon first.
The English official FT Barrington-Ward, who headed the investigation, concluded: “No one except the police and military ever fired at all.”
Medical reports revealed powder burns on the dead bodies, indicating the victims had been shot from close range.
However, the then Northern unionist government, led by Ulster Unionist James Craig, rejected the findings and held its own inquiry into the shootings.
The Northern government dismissed all the evidence given by residents of Cushendall implicating the British army and police and accepted the soldiers’ claims that they had been fired upon first.
After the killings, Britain’s Liberal government — at the behest of TP O’Connor, the Westmeath-born MP for Liverpool — threatened to publish the findings of Barrington-Ward’s inquiry.
However, the Liberals were replaced at the next election by the Conservative Party, which was more sympathetic to the Ulster Unionist administration.
One of the first acts carried out by the new Tory government was to place the details of the Barrington-Ward inquiry under the Official Secrets Act, barring it from view for 50 years.
Historian Michael Farrell best explains the cover-up in his book Arming the Protestants.
He writes: “O’Connor was told that the British government had commissioned the report only because British troops had been involved.
“The Northern government showed no concern to discipline its forces and stamp out reprisals and seemed oblivious to the effect this must have on the Catholic population. The British coalition government made only a very feeble effort to get Craig’s government to take action. Their Conservative successors did nothing at all.”
Barrington-Ward’s report was again due to be made public in 1972 but publication was delayed for a further 25 years because of the Troubles.
It was not until 1997 that the people of Cushendall became fully aware of the horror that had occurred in the village on June 23, 1922.
Sinn Féin councillor Oliver McMullan has led the calls for the British government to apologise for its role in the three murders.
He said: “These were innocent men killed by British troops in cold blood.
“The British government’s own inquiry ruled that the only people to open fire in Cushendall that night had been the military.
“If the then Northern government was satisfied that the soldiers had been fired upon first, why were the circumstances surrounding the shootings covered up for 75 years?
“The people of this village are owed an apology.”
Relatives of John Gore, John Hill and James McAllister still live in the north Antrim area, as do the families of two other men wounded on the night, Danny O’Loan and John McCollum.
Two Cushendall men whom the Special Police falsely accused of opening fire on the military and prompting the murders were forced to flee to the United States, fearing for their lives.
Several other nationalists in the village, including Oliver McMullan’s grandfather, were threatened by the Special Police with death.
Mr McMullan said a British government apology would go some way to lifting the shadow of the murders that has hung over his village for close to a century.
He said: “A few years ago, locals clubbed together and put up a plaque commemorating the lives of John Hill, John Gore and James McAllister.
“Their needless deaths are something we always have in the back of our minds.
“It was certainly the biggest sectarian murder ever to occur in Cushendall and one of the worst in the Glens area.
“An apology won’t bring them back but it at least will give some comfort to the families of those murdered.
“The British government should recognise the role its forces played in what were nothing more than sectarian state killings.”
Posted by Jim on
That Emblem of the Order
I think is simply grand,
Has ancient Irish symbols,
To remind us of our land.
In the lapel of my tweed jacket,
There’s a pin of brightest gold,
No bigger than my thumbnail,
But its worth cannot be told.
‘Tis the Emblem of an Order
Of Irish folk proud of their land,
And their glorious religion,
Under the Lord’s command.
In friendship we are gathered,
We strive for Unity,
To serve our Church and brethren
In Christian Charity.
We maintain Christ’s own teachings,
We guard the Irish race,
We help the sick and fallen
With the aid of God’s own grace.
Proud to be called Hibernians,
From Erin’s ancient Latin name,
By defending Catholic priests and nuns,
We earned undying fame.
This Ancient Order of whom I speak
I proudly wear their pin,
As did my loving father,
And his father before him.
It bears the letters “A.O.H.,”
Its shape is like a shield.
It bears our famous Irish harp,
Upon a shamrock field.
The two hands clasped in friendship
In the centre of this crest,
Reminds each A.O.H. man
That brotherhood is blessed.
Rising o’er the hills of Ireland,
In the crest is the sunrise,
‘Tis the dawn of Irish freedom,
‘Tis the cause that never dies.
The four largest green shamrocks,
Symbols of the Trinity,
Remind us of the provinces
Of Erin’s antiquity.
Four mighty Irish kingdoms,
Proud and most beauteous lands,
One breaks the heart of Ireland,
Remains in sasanach hands.
Yes, shining bright in my lapel
Of which I’ll proudly tell,
‘Tis the Emblem of the A.O.H.
Worn in my heart as well.
Posted by Jim on October 13, 2015
Sinn Féin MLA Martin McGuinness has said the US have a key role to play in helping to achieve a resolution to the ongoing difficulties facing the political process.
Speaking after meeting former United States Senator Gary Hart today, Mr McGuinness said;
“I held a positive discussion with Senator Hart today as part of the ongoing engagement of the US administration with the political process.
“Throughout the peace process, successive US administrations have played key roles in helping bring our society forward.
“They have done so without fear or favour, they have been supportive of all parties and you only have to think of the huge contribution made by people like George Mitchell to realise what a friend the US has been to our peace process.
“I’m delighted that Gary Hart is involved once again and I think all parties should support him being afforded a significant role in the current talks as a recognition of the important influence and support which the US can bring to the table.”
