RAY COLLINS UPCOMING SHOWS

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www.raycollinsmusic.com

Dreams of Freedom

DREAMS OF FREEDOM

They stood amidst the carnage
Their dreams of freedom
Realized by the brutal staccato
Of an orchestra of vengeance,
A dance of rebellion
Against the prevailing tyranny
The spring winds whispered :
Rise !
Rise from your knees,
People of the Bogside
People of the ghetto
Of the Bandit Country
Farmers of the West,
Punters of Antrim, Omagh, Derry, Belfast, Donegal, Cork, Roscommon, Kerry, Sligo, Mayo, Galway and Dublin
Rise ! Cast aside your shackles
And get off your knees
And look toward a new Celtic Dawn
Amidst rubble strewn streets
And burning buildings
And the ghosts of Wolfe Tone, Emmet and Henry Joy
As silent witnesses
To a beautiful resurrection
From these deaths
Shall come a glorious rebirth !
O’Connell street lays in ruins
And the GPO engulfed in flames that reach the midnight sky
But the spirit of Revolution
Has awakened a Nation
From a death-like slumber
And now our
Dreams of Freedom
Will shine like emerald diamonds
In the dark battle scarred streets of Dublin
And the world will watch in awe
As our battlecry resounds
Like the rumbling of mighty thunder
And the echoes of the Past
The voices of the Fallen
And our children’s laughter
And the worker’s smile
And the mourning mother’s tears
And the soldier’s spilled blood
Reignite a fiery passion
Love of Homeland, Brotherhood, Solidarity, Liberty, Equality,

And the Republic.

- R. Dubhdara

Radio Rebel Gael

The Subversive Sound of Celtic Rebellion & Musical Mutiny !

The Irish History of the Lily and the IRA women

Besides the Irish Volunteer Force (IVF) and the Irish Citizen Army (ICA) a third organisation, the Cumann na mBan, meaning League of Women, secured a substantial influence and considerable support in the build-up to the Easter Rising. In contrast with the other organisations the Cumann na mBan preserved its position after the Rebellion of 1916 and it is probably because of the existence of the League of Women that the struggle for independence continued after the disastrous revolt.


It is incorrect to assume that Irish women were not involved in the republican movement prior to the founding of the Cumann na mBan in 1914 by Countess Constance Markievicz, Agnes O'Farrelly and Mary MacSwiney. In the contrary, women provided shelter to rebels on the run, nursed the wounded and proved to be very suitable couriers of weapons and manifests. In the course of the years these tasks passed from mother to daughter. Irish women literally learned these tasks at their mother's knee. Despite their important role the activities of women took place in the background, far off the front stage where men occupied the traditional male areas such as politics and physical combat. The Cumann na mBan claimed a more prominent role for women in the republican movement.

Initially the Cumann na mBan was subservient to the Irish Volunteer Force (IVF), but soon the organisation gained more independence. Nevertheless at top level the Irish Volunteer Force (IVF), and at a later stage the Irish Republican Army (IRA), remained superior over the top of the Cumann na mBan.

At the same time James Connolly, who is described as a thorough feminist in every respect, attracted women and members of Cumann na mBan also joined the Irish Citizen Army (ICA) or were involved in the trade unions.


Easter Rising
The Easter Lily

In 1926 the Cumann Na mBan introduced the Easter Lily as symbol of remembrance for those who died during or were executed after the Easter Rising. The Easter Lily, used as seasonal decoration in churches, is said to sprung up where drops of Christ's sweat fell to the ground in his final hours of sorrow and deep distress.


After the schism in the Irish Republican Army (IRA), which led to the founding of the Provisional Irish Republican Army (pIRA), at the end of the 1960's the Easter Lily was used by both organisations, but with a slightly different denotation.

The Official Irish Republican Army (oIRA) preserved the original meaning and attached the Easter Lily with a self-adhesive backing. Hence their nickname: Stickies.

The Provo's on the other hand used the traditional pin and expanded the meaning of the flower. These Pinheads used the Easter Lily to commemorate all those who died in the struggle for an independent Ireland.

In time the Easter Lily became more and more associated with the Provisional Irish Republican Army (pIRA) and the practise to wear a lily fell into disuse in the 1970's.


While doing some research on this subject we noticed something weird. Images with the Easter Lily as symbol actually showed the Arum Lily. Maybe the Arum Lily, which is a quite common garden plant in Ireland, simple replaced the exotic, and therewith more expensive, Easter Lily. Please contact us if you can provide us with information in this matter.

The Cumann na mBan made its first public statement in September 1914 when an overwhelming majority voted against John Redmond's appeal to enlist in the British army. This clear statement triggered the attention of the Military Council of the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB).

Like James Connelly most other future members of the Military Council were advocates of equal rights and opportunities to all citizens, male or female. These ideas were not always welcomed or supported. While Connolly for example worked hard for participation of women into employment he met resistance from male labourers who were afraid to lose their jobs and Saint Ita's, the girls' school founded by Pádraic Pearse, almost dragged his family in bankruptcy while his boys' school, Saint Enda's, was successful.

Others took the relation between Cumann na mBan and the Military Council to a personal level. Joseph Plunkett got engaged to Grace Gifford who was Thomas MacDonagh's sister-in-law. Thomas Clarke was married with Kathleen Clarke, née Daly, one of the founders of the League of Women and Edward Daly's sister.

The profound relations between the Military Council and the Cumann na mBan are illustrated by the exceptional position of Kathleen Clarke. She was the only outsider with access to all the meeting reports and plans of the Easter Rising. If all members of the Military Council were arrested before the rising she was appointed to mobilise everyone and virtually to led the rising.


Including the Cumann na mBan in the Easter Rising was most obvious. The women were deployed at every hotspot in Dublin with the exception of the Boland's Flour Mill and the South Dublin Union, two strongholds were fierce fighting was expected.





Sometimes under severe fire the women of the Cumann na mBan performed their mainly non-combatant duties. Besides taking care of the wounded and preparing meals they also gathered intelligence, transferred arms and ammunition throughout the city and organised the evacuation of buildings.

In the completion of the surrender process the women acted as go-betweens. Under guidance of British soldiers they spread the order to surrender over Dublin.



Women of the IRA

About 70 women were arrested for their share in the Easter Rising, but most of them were released in the first week of May. Once released the women reorganised and under the impassioned leadership of Countess Constance Markievicz the Cumann na mBan became the principal vehicle of republican spirit. In the years following the Cumann na mBan made overtures to Sinn Féin and in the General Elections of 1918 Countess Markievicz was elected as member of the Dáil.

During the War of Independence the women resumed their active role and edited the Irish Bulletin, a republican newspaper. The women were seemingly determined to prove their qualities and accepted virtually every task no matter how dangerous.




In 1922 the Cumann na mBan fiercely opposed the Anglo-Irish Treaty and followed the Irregulars. Besides rejecting the division of Ireland, they also feared to lose their hard-won liberated position.

The organisation, by then also known as Women IRA, continued to exist until its members were integrated in the "normal" Irish Republican Army (IRA) in the early 1980's.


The commitment of the Daughters of Ireland is commemorated in the song Soldiers of Cumann na mBan.

Beyond the Pale with the Bronx Gael, Rhyme (Just in Time)

You have reached the furthest outskirts
Of Celtic Rebellion & Musical Mutiny
To enjoy the sounds of fine Irish diddly dee
Where the Fenian and the Bushranger congregate
Let’s get together lassie, it’s gonna be a hot date

Where nobody, Peeler or security guard,
Can try to silence
With malice, deception or violence
The mighty Celtic bard,
No way, Jose
Those begrudgers can’t pull our card
They know our Fenian fire
Will leave them charred.

Join us, fellow Fenians,
In the Insurgent Outback,
We’ll have a grand hooley
And the finest of craic
Beyond the Pale with the Bronx Gael
Together, brother and sister
We will never fail

Beyond the humdrum of a poxy pub without good rum
Or a jealous girlfriend who refuses to dance,
Think positive, so don’t look askance
It’s our last chance,
To take a stance, we’ll celebrate together
With Fenian romance
On that ceilidh dance floor
Shaking it to that Paddy Prole Beat,

Manouvering just beneath the radar
To avoid the Federal heat
No surrender is our musical war cry
We shall never accept defeat –

No peelers, no scabs, no West Brit or lackey
Can impede this Rebel rhythm
Not even Obama or Fat Cat Putaki
No Coppers or Federales
Can silence this music
Or Turn it into a swan song
Or a Fenian finale !

Nobody gonna tell us to pack it in and move on
No !
The only movin’ and groovin’
Gonna be on the Radio Rebel Gael dance floor
So join the Hibernian Hooley, my peoples
Don’t be another Corporate Whore
Because this soiree is gonna be of a musical nature,
A Fenian feature, an insurgent Celtic creature

So get down, get up
Rise to that Rebel rhythm
We stand for a United Ireland
Not Brit sponsored schism
So get off that sofa, don’t be a lofa
My paddy proletarian chums
Instead of marching in line
Let’s boogie woogie to that Ceilidh drum

Don’t be a corporate flunkie
Think for yourself
Don’t let the System corrupt you,
With their empty promises and ill-gained wealth,
Instead, give a big time holla
To the men and women
Who wear the blue colla
And remember the fallen
And those who sacrificed their freedom
For National Liberation

They shine like emerald gems
In the darkness of evening
No matter the place or situation
So let’s celebrate their victories
And mourn of their losses
And load the armalite and AK47
Against the Rule of Gold,
Petty Tyrants and Fraudulent Bosses

Let’s toast to the miner
To the single mother
Let’s drink to the Liberator
To the revolutionary brother
Let’s dance to a rock n’ reel revolt
And a new dawn for working peoples

To a Socialist Republic, A Nation of Equals
Where the poor aren’t thrown on the streets,
When they can’t pay their bills
(Not run by a capitalist tyrant who’s stuffed to the gills)
A just society of compassion and freedom and love
Not another Banana Republic
Governed by the Iron Fist in Velvet Glove

Let’s herald a New Glorious Fenian Dawn
Where the people aren’t automatons, glued to their TV and obsessed with their lawns
Where working class celebration is a daily routine
And discussions on revolutionary politics is never obscene
Where the songs of the street keep us all humming
And there’s always the echo of Kaitlin Houlihan’s Ceilidh croon
(beneath a full moon)
And banjo strumming

Here at the Rebel Tavern we’re imbibing intoxicating sounds
We keep our chin up
Nobody gonna get us down
We got musical featured creatures
Not many Preachers, but a few Teachers and Beseechers
So shake your money maker, Colleen
You damn heartbreaker
Let this Celtic boogie
Rouse you from those bleechers !

Radio Rebel Gael

The Subversive Sound of Celtic Rebellion & Musical Mutiny !

Radio Rebel Gael

RADIO REBEL GAEL Beyond the Pale with the Bronx Gael

RADIO REBEL GAEL PaddyCast # 32– Beyond The Pale with the Bronx Gael !

Radio Rebel Gael

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Radio Rebel Gael

Featuring new music by The Bare Knuckle Boxers, The Ballymun Bootboys, The Wild Colonial Bhoys, Ciaran Murphy, Collie, Tanya D., Brendan Loughrey, Dancin’ Knuckles, McAlpine’s Fusliers, Beltaine’s Fire, and The Dirty Filthy Mugs

And Old Classics by The Killigans, Larkin, Jerry Mc Cusker, Kevin Conlon, Blood or Whiskey, Catgut Mary, Mutiny, The Mahones, The Wild Rovers and tons more !

Radio Rebel Gael

The Subversive Sound of Celtic Rebellion & Musical Mutiny !

Radio Rebel Gael

CIARAN MURPHY New Release ! ONCE UPON A TIME IN IRELAND

New album here. 'Once upon a time in Ireland'



About time too, anyway here it is ready to buy, im happier with this than anything ive done before, thanks to everyone who bought V,H and virtually funded this, its all yours, enjoy.

Available At http://www.shamrocksuperstore.net/

Or on ebay at http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/CIARAN-MURPHY-ONCE-UPON-A-TIME-IN-IRELAND-NEWCD_W0QQitemZ140310578733QQihZ004QQcategoryZ307QQtcZphotoQQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp1742.m153.l1262?_trksid=p1742.m153.l1262

Tracklisting:

They'll Always Be The RUC To Me
A Word To The New Irish Racist
Rebel Song
Che Guevara T-Shirts (The Promised Land)
You Cried For Ten Men Dead
State Of The Nation
Michael McIlveen
Nine Hours
Catholic Guilt
I Feel The Eyes Of British Spies
Once Upon A Time In Ireland

http://www.myspace.com/ciaranabc

RADIO REBEL GAEL Spring Break Fenian Brew

RADIO REBEL GAEL PaddyCast # 31– The SpringBreak Fenian Brew ! Lets have a pint and toast to that Fenian Spirit !

Radio Rebel Gael

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Radio Rebel Gael

Featuring new music by The Bare Knuckle Boxers, Damien Dempsey, Collie, Ciaran Murphy, Derek Warfield & The Young Wolfe Tones, Bible Code Sundays, The Mighty Regis, Rob Kelly, The Tosssers, Shaymin & The Bawston Strangla, Birmingham Six, Mc Alpine’s Fusiliers, The Vandon Arms, The Gobshites, Meisce, Catgut Mary, Mutiny, and tons more !

Also lots of Old Classics and favoried Fenian hits and Paddy Punk by Wolf Hound, Barley Juice, Shebeen, Unwanted Men In Black & A Lady, Ray Collins, and The Wakes !

Radio Rebel Gael

The Subversive Sound of Celtic Rebellion & Musical Mutiny !

Radio Rebel Gael

RADIO REBEL GAEL The Spring Sing Song !

RADIO REBEL GAEL PaddyCast # 29– The Spring Sing Song !

Radio Rebel Gael

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Radio Rebel Gael

With the finest Irish Rebel Rhythm, Celtic Rock & Reel, Paddy Punk and CELTIC HIP HOP !

Radio Rebel Gael

The Subversive Sound of Celtic Rebellion & Musical Mutiny !

Radio Rebel Gael

RADIO REBEL GAEL Saint Paddy Show !

RADIO REBEL GAEL PaddyCast # 28 – Saint Paddy Was A Brawlin’ Laddy !

Radio Rebel Gael

Featuring all of the Old Fenian Classics and new hot Hibernian hits by Ann Brolly, Margo, Birmingham Six, Tanya D, Shaymin, Ray Collins, Restless Ambition, Damien Dempsey, The Tossers, Dirty Filthy Mugs, The Popes, The Mahones, JD & The Longfellows, No Good Nix, The Gentlemen, Neck, Collie, The Mighty Regis, Beltaines Fire, Whiskey Galore, McAlpine Fusiliers, Freedom Sons, Catgut Mary, Larkin, Street Dogs, Bible Code Sundays, The Sharky Doyles, Flatfoot 56 and more than you can shake a Shillelagh at !




IF THE * SOUND ICON* UP TOP DOESN’T WORK, Just Click on the Links Below to Listen Directly

Radio Rebel Gael

With over Three Hours of the finest Irish Rebel Rhythm, Celtic Rock & Reel, Paddy Punk and CELTIC HIP HOP !

Radio Rebel Gael

The Subversive Sound of Celtic Rebellion & Musical Mutiny !

Radio Rebel Gael

March Madness Gladness - Paddycast #27

RADIO REBEL GAEL PaddyCast # 27 – MARCH MADNESS GLADNESS

Featuring new music by Ray Collins, Ciaran Murphy, Damien Dempsey, Derek Warfield, Jerry Mc Cusker, Connie Foley, The Ballymun Bootboys, The Indulgers, The Tossers, Claymore, Adelante, Wolf Hound, Cu Chulainn, The Young Wolfe Tones and tons more !



IF THE * SOUND ICON* UP TOP DOESN’T WORK, Just Click on the Links Below to Listen Directly

Radio Rebel Gael

With over Two Hours of the finest Irish Rebel Rhythm, Celtic Rock & Reel and Paddy Punk !

Radio Rebel Gael

The Subversive Sound of Celtic Rebellion & Musical Mutiny !

Radio Rebel Gael

RADIO REBEL GAEL PaddyCast 26 - Get Your Paddy Punk Fix !

RADIO REBEL GAEL PaddyCast # 26 – Get Your Paddy Punk Fix !





Featuring new music by The Mahones, The Dirty Filthy Mugs, Pipes & Pints, The Gobshites, The Mighty Regis, The Gentlemen, Black 47, Seanchai & The Unity Squad, Larkin, The Tossers , The Anti-Heroes, Street Dogs, Dancin’ Knuckles, The Larkin Brigade, JD & the Longfellows, and the Stiff Little Fingers !



IF THE * SOUND ICON* UP TOP DOESN’T WORK, Just Click on the Links Below to Listen Directly

Radio Rebel Gael

With over Three Hours of Paddy Punk (to put some musical junk in your proverbial trunk) and more Shanty Town Boom Boom than you can throw a Molotov cocktail at !

Radio Rebel Gael

The Subversive Sound of Celtic Rebellion & Musical Mutiny !

Radio Rebel Gael

IRELAND : Over 100,000 March Against Free State Corruption

Ireland: over 100,000 march against government in Dublin
By Chris Marsden
23 February 2009



A section of the demonstration in Dublin

Up to 120,000 marched through Dublin on Saturday, in a massive protest against government attacks on working people.


The entire route of the march between Parnell Square and O’Connell Street was filled with demonstrators from all sections of Irish workers. The central issue in dispute was the “pension levy” on public sector workers, but private sector workers such as builders and engineers were also out in force alongside massive delegations of teachers, local government and service workers. The march was headed by a pipe band and a large number of firemen in uniform. Pride of place was given to workers involved in the occupation of Waterford Crystal and representatives of 1,100 SR Technic aircraft maintenance workers, facing unemployment due to the proposed closure of the Swiss-owned facility at Dublin Airport.




Waterford workers invvolved in occupation at end of demonstration

The demonstration set off early to accommodate the swelling numbers—the Irish Republic only has a population of four million. An equivalent demonstration in the United States would have amassed several millions.






The source of workers anger is rooted in the massive economic crisis now gripping Ireland and the efforts of the coalition government of Taoiseach Brian Cowen of Fianna Fail, the Green Party and the Progressive Democrats. Ireland has lost its previous reputation as the “Celtic Tiger” economy spectacularly. It is now regarded as the economy most likely to follow Iceland into bankruptcy, after the collapse of a housing and speculative finance boom and the recent decision of the government to bail out the banks amidst ongoing accusations of nepotism and fraud on a massive scale.


Cowen has said that Ireland’s economy may shrink by 10 percent by 2010, with a budget deficit of 11 percent of gross domestic product this year. This has led to apocalyptic warnings by financial commentators, with Simon Johnson writing in the Times on February 15, “My point today is simple: a key warning sign just moved from orange to red.
”


Writing in the Irish Times economist Morgan Kelly wrote that the government had nationalised Anglo Irish, recapitalised AIB and Bank of Ireland without even being fully aware of the extent of their possible liabilities.



He warned, “The ability of the State to continue funding itself ultimately depends on the size of these bad debts. If they are of the order of €10–€20 billion, we will survive. If they are of the order of €50-€60 billion, we are sunk.
”


As to the impact on working people, he continued, “We could expect cuts of one-quarter to one-third in public sector wages and social welfare benefits, and draconian tax rises to bring the deficit back to around 5 percent of national income in two years.
”


The situation is already grim. In 2008 unemployment doubled to 8.3 percent, mainly due to the collapse in construction. With the rest of the economy now being hit, it could spiral beyond 500,000. This has prompted the government to make cuts of €5 billion, as well as savings measures such as the pension levy that is equivalent to a €1.4 billion pay cut. Pension deductions are to increase by three percent for those earning just €15,000, rising to 6.4 percent for someone on €35,000 and topping at 9.6 percent for the few earning €300,000. The Teachers Union of Ireland (TUI) said that the levy would bring total contributions to between 22 percent and 27 percent of the income of public service workers.



There is also a pay freeze next year and various other cuts. Much more will be needed. Ireland’s total structural deficit this year according to the European Commission is about €14 billion, which leaves a deficit of €9 billion to be clawed out of the working class. That is why the government responded to the protest by insisting that, though painful, its measures were “both necessary and fair” in the face of what it said was the most "profound global economic crisis in seventy years".



Saturday’s protest was described by the Times newspaper as “a swollen river of anger”. That it certainly was, on the part of the tens of thousands taking part. But the protest was called by the Irish Congress of Trade Unions and its motives and concerns are directly opposed to those of the working people the unions purport to represent.


The primary concern of the trade unions is to be seen to stand in opposition to the government. Without doing so, then there is a very real danger of the widespread opposition amongst workers getting out of control. The Waterford occupation is one manifestation of this danger. Already the unions have been forced to call a one day protest strike affecting 13,000 low-paid members of the Civil and Public Sector Workers Union on Thursday. Votes are being held for industrial action by 10,000 members of the Public Service Executive Union, 4,00 craft workers, as well as health and education workers.


The scale and breadth of opposition to the government was indicated by the presence on the demonstration of organisations representing both the army and, in the shape of the Garda Representative Association, the police.


Members of the national executive of the soldiers’ representative body, PDforra, were on the protest. PDforra General Secretary, Gerry Rooney told the Irish Times that “ordinary members” of the Defence Forces were angry that they were being “singled out to pay a pension levy when others, some of whom are very highly paid, are making no contribution to help resolve the poor budgetary situation”.


The Irish Times goes on to describe events that pose nothing less than a crisis of rule for the government. It states, “The decision of PDforra earlier this month to demand assurances that it would not be used to break public servants’ strikes has caused considerable disquiet among senior officers. The Army Chief of Staff, Dermot Earley, has already made it clear to PDforra representatives that the Defence Forces will ‘do its duty’ if asked by the Government. However, it is now understood that senior officers below Lieut Gen Earley have equally spoken to the men and women under their command about their responsibilities under the law.
”

The response of the ICTU is to offer to continue to police social discontent and to impose the attacks made necessary by the economic tsunami engulfing Ireland. The ICTU has collaborated with successive governments and the employers in various tripartite arrangements. It now complains that its offer to remain as one of the “social partners” has been sabotaged by Fianna Fail’s intransigence. It would be more correct to state that the onset of the economic crisis meant that the union leadership balked over the scale of the attacks they were being asked to impose.


According to the ICTU’s own account, on January 28, “Congress, Government and the employers settled on an outline Framework Agreement, which was to provide a basis for more detailed discussions on a National Recovery Plan.” But “Government failed to follow through on this commitment” because of “a narrow focus on the public finances--without seeking a contribution from the wealthy.
”

In one online report of the breakdown, Civil and Public Services Union executive member Terry Kelleher is said to have admitted that the CPSU General Secretary (Blair Horan) “who was at the talks… claimed that when the proposed 10% pay cut was put on the table part of the ICTU delegation proposed the 'pensions levy' as being more sellable. It was only as the specific figures became clear that Jack O'Connor of SIPTU and others pulled the rug on the deal.
”

The ICTU has published a 10 point plan for national recovery, “There is a better, Fairer way”, outlining initiatives that make a show of the rich “sharing the pain” such as a 48 percent rate of tax on the highest earners and a levy on second homes. They have also declared that Saturday’s protest would be the “first step in a rolling campaign of action.
”

Such militant statements count for very little when measured against the actual record of the ICTU and its affiliated unions in suppressing strikes and colluding with the government and the employers.


Addressing the rally at the end of O’Connell Street, ICTU President Patricia McKeown and General Secretary David Begg were clear in their understanding of the gravity of the crisis facing Ireland. The world as we have known it for the past 30 years, of economic plenty, passed away with the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers, said Begg. An entire system had failed, he went on. But he and McKeown also made clear that this was supposed to refer only to “Casino Capitalism” and all that was needed was a more long-term view and a degree of social planning.


It was, said McKeown, necessary for workers to demonstrate the power they hold: on the streets, through industrial action, but above all at the ballot box by denying a vote to Fianna Fail. The ICTU makes this threat in order to secure its place in any resumed negotiations with Cowen government. But if this proves impossible and the movement against the government continues to escalate, then a fallback position is a working arrangement with the main opposition parties. This obviously includes the nominal left such as Labour and Sinn Fein, who both had substantial delegations on Saturday’s demonstration, but also the other main party of big business Fine Gail, which was in a ruling coalition with Labour until 2007. Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny has called for an early general election, stating that “I am prepared to lead the country out of this vacuum with a new mandate in a new direction," and the call has been echoed by Sinn Fein.


It is a measure of the discontent amongst workers towards the trade unions that the end of the demonstration, even while loudspeakers were braying out songs such as “You don’t get me, I’m part of the union”, “Power to the people” and “For the times, they are a changin’”, as if it were still the 1970s, saw the majority drift away as soon as they arrived. The union bureaucrats were left talking to themselves and the various “left” groups that are demanding nothing from them other than a one day national protest strike.

http://www.wsws.org/articles/2009/feb2009/dubl-f23.shtml

http://irelandsown.net

http://www.32csm.info

RADIO REBEL GAEL PaddyCast 25 - Keep Fenian Faith Alive !

RADIO REBEL GAEL PaddyCast # 25 – Keep Fenian Faith Alive !






Featuring new music by Ray Collins, Jerry Mc Cusker, Pol Mac Adaim, Margo, Marks Men, The Wakes, Claymore, Birmingham Six, The Wakes, The Tossers and the Stiff Little Fingers !



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Radio Rebel Gael

The Subversive Sound of Celtic Rebellion & Musical Mutiny !

Radio Rebel Gael

RADIO REBEL GAEL PaddyCast 24: The Celtibilly Moonshiner

RADIO REBEL GAEL PaddyCast # 24 – The Celtibilly Moonshiner






Dedicated to Celtic musicians influenced by Bluegrass or that Appalachian Hillbilly sound !

With some non-Celtic Hillbilly musicians as well ! Musical moonshine intoxication across that Celtibilly Nation !



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Radio Rebel Gael

Tastier than fried possum ! It’s musically delicious !

Radio Rebel Gael

RADIO REBEL GAEL PaddyCast 23 - Disarm With Irish Charm

RADIO REBEL GAEL PaddyCast # 23 – Disarm With Irish Charm






With lots of new music by The Mighty Regis, The Mahones, The Indulgers, Beltaine’s Fire, The Dirty Filthy Mugs, The Freemen, Pipes & Pints, Annie & Francie Brolly and tons more !




IF THE * SOUND ICON* UP TOP DOESN’T WORK, Just Click on the Links Below to Listen Directly

Radio Rebel Gael

The Sound of Celtic Rebellion & Musical Mutiny !

Radio Rebel Gael

REMEMBER PAT FINUCANE

Pat was a human rights soliciter from Belfast who was gunned down 12 February 1989 in front of his wife and children by the pro-British UDA. He was perceived as enemy by loyalists because he had successfully challenged the British Government over several important human rights cases. It has since come to light that one of those involved in his murder was the notorious double agent Brian Nelson.

Headline: RUC Held Back Finucane Murder Confession to Protect Informants
Source: Sunday Times



Issue Date: Sunday October 15, 2000 The RUC got a detailed verbal confession to the murder of Pat Finucane, a Belfast solicitor, two years after his death but the force's special branch prevented detectives from launching a prosecution in order to protect key informants, The Sunday Times has learned.



The confession was given in 1991 to two detectives, who are now co-operating with Sir John Stevens' inquiry into collusion between loyalists and the security forces.



One of the CID officers who is co-operating with Stevens is Sergeant Johnston Brown, a hate figure among loyalist terrorists whose home was damaged in a bomb attack by the Ulster Freedom Fighters (UFF) last week.



Brown was responsible for the original imprisonment of Johnny "Mad Dog" Adair.



The confession to the February 1989 murder of Finucane is alleged to have been made by a terrorist to three police officers whose support he wanted to enlist. A Special Branch constable decided that the confession could not be acted on.



This decision was appealed by Brown and considered at the highest level of Special Branch. A murder investigation at that time would have exposed the role of Brian Nelson, the army's highest-ranking mole within the UFF, who had given Finucane's killer details of the Catholic solicitor's movements and his photograph. An investigation would also have endangered other police agents.



Stevens' inquiry has already uncovered a web of deceit involving the Force Research Unit (FRU), an undercover army unit which ran agents within loyalist and republican paramilitaries. Nelson, an FRU agent later jailed for conspiracy to commit murder, was acting as the head of intelligence for the Ulster Defence Association (UDA) in Belfast.



He gave the organisation' s entire intelligence files, in effect its death lists, to the FRU, who helped him collate the material on computer discs, made copies, and then returned it to the UDA.



The idea was to prevent UDA murders, but a number went ahead, including that of Finucane.



There have also been claims that Nelson was used to stop the UDA killing a top FRU agent within the IRA, known by the code name Steak Knife. One of Nelson's handlers, who now works in the army's secret intelligence wing headquarters at Chicksands, is said to have substituted the name of Francisco Notarantonio for Steak Knife's in order to save the agent.



Notarantonio, a pensioner with no IRA involvement since the 1940s, was murdered in his home in October 1987. His family have said that the killers dropped a British Army map showing the route to his home.



Commander Hugh Orde of the Metropolitan police, who heads the Stevens inquiry on a day-to-day basis, said last night that he had not recovered material to substantiate a link between Steak Knife and Notarantonio' s murder but was continuing to investigate "all elements of the killing which relate to collusion".



Orde wants to reinterview a former FRU soldier about the Steak Knife affair. The soldier has been accused by the Ministry of Defence of being Martin Ingram, the source of a number of articles in The Sunday Times about FRU dirty tricks.



Brown's allegations to the Stevens inquiry will add weight to the suspicion that murders were allowed to go ahead, or went uninvestigated, when they might have jeopardised the role of important agents, such as Nelson and Steak Knife.



Last night Brown said: "I can confirm that my journals have been seized by the Stevens inquiry and that I am co-operating with them. I cannot comment further on an ongoing investigation. "