Comhra is kind of set up like a
jovial talk show, this episode I saw the other night had a special guest ,
Donal Donnelly, Tyrone native , Mayor of Dundrum, author of autobiographical
novel, “Prisoner 1082: Escape From Crumlin Road, Europe’s Alcatraz” and former IRA volunteer, who played a part
in the Border Campaign of 1956-1962, also dubbed “Operation Harvest”.
Dónal Donnelly made the National
News when he escaped from Crumlin Road Jail (often known as “British Alcatraz”)
on December 26th, 1960, St. Stephen’s
Day. He had been arrested at the age of 18,
for allegedly bombing B-Specials drill halls and IRA membership. The
authorities were unable to convict him for the alleged explosions due to lack
of evidence (what else is new, these bastards never have any evidence, all of
their so-called “trials” are based on gossip, hearsay, and the testimony of
informants and/or that of the RUC/PSNI), so that charge was dropped in 1958, so
he was convicted for IRA membership and given a 10 year sentence.
The national news
reported that over 12,000 R.U.C and B-Specials collaborated in the hunt for IRA
wanted man, Donal Donnelly, in the biggest recorded manhunt in Irish history.
In his autobiography, he details his escape and what led him to join the IRA
and the deplorable conditions of “Europe’s Alcatraz”. It also gets into his
involvement as a teenager in the election campaign of 1955, in which two IRA
POWs were elected while behind the wire. They were Phillip Clarke, MP for
Fermanagh and South Tyrone, and Tom Mitchell, Dubliner and Bricklayer, who ran
as an Independent Republican and whom would later support Bernadette Devlin’s
1969 Mid Ulster by-election campaign.
F***k the BBC,
F***k RTE ! TG4 continues to be my
favorite TV station ! What other TV channel would have all this Fenian
history!?!
-- Rory Dubhdara, Radio Rebel Gael
