This blog is a literary extension of Radio Rebel Gael :
I chose the title FENIAN EXILE as a tribute to those who were Exiled from their native soil by the British due to their loyalty to the Fenian Faith. These Fenian Exiles ended up in the U.S.A., Canada, Australia, France, Spain, South America, and in many other countries around the world, far from home, and to these valiant souls, I dedicate this Blog.
Featuring over Two Hours of the finest Irish Rebel Rhythm, Paddy Punk, and Celtic Rock & Reel !!!
With new music by Ciaran Murphy, Terry Mostyn, Ray Collins, Pol Mac Adaim, Kevin Conlon, Derek Warfield & the Young Wolfe Tones, Brendan Loughrey, The Wakes, The Brazen Heads, Meisce, Mischeif Brew, and much more !
Featuring over Two Hours of the finest Fenian Rock & Reel , Paddy Punk, Celtic Hip Hop and Irish Rebel Rhythm !
New music by Kevin Conlon, Rob Kelly, Collie, Ciaran Murphy, Ray Collins, Beltaines Fire, The Ballymun Bootboys, Larkin, The Mighty Regis, The Brazen Heads, McAlpine’s Fusiliers, The Wild Colonial Bhoys, Seanchai and the Unity Squad, The Bare Knuckle Boxers,
And Old Crackin’ Classics by Belfast Andi, Neck, The Stiff Little Fingers, The Wakes, Eire Og, and tons more !
The sounds of rain, hail and thunder
While a mighty surface to air musical missile,
Splits the sky asunder,
Ancient Celtic war drums echo
In the twilight,
Rousing you from your slumber
To wander towards musical delight
To the Ceilidh crossroads of your shanty heart,
To meet with Napper Tandy and dance with Caitlin Ni Houlihan
Before you must depart,
April showers, soak you to the bone,
But this cleansing rain
Brings May Day proletarian whiskey sours
So imbibe my friend, quaff this rebel beverage,
Thirst no more for musical intoxication
Throughout this Plastic Paddy Nation,
Because this Fenian brew ha ha –
Will surely be your Celtic crooner’s salvation,
The Emerald light, shining like a beacon
At the end of that dark top 40 tunnel
No matter the situation!
Just Released - The Brand New Debut Album From Belfast Singer Songwriter Ciaran Murphy
The Brilliant Follow Up To His Debut EP, The Verbal Hand Grenade.
Ciaran Murphy is a singer-songwriter, originally from Forkhill, South Armagh but now based in Belfast. His songs touch on a wide variety of issues and topics related to both Ireland and beyond. They range from songs about modern day racism in Ireland to the war in Iraq. Ciaran has played a wide and varied array of gigs, from Palestine solidarity fundraisers, to playing for the protesters at the Hill of Tara in Meath to playing at the West Belfast Feile. His honest and unflinching lyrics have won him many fans not only in Ireland, but around the world. With the long awaited release of his debut album the future certainly looks bright for Ciaran Murphy!
‘Ciaran Murphy is a singer/songwriter/one man acoustic hand grenade from West Belfast. A protest singer in the finest tradition and politically sharp as a syringe needle hanging on razor wire. Akin to Damien Dempsey with pin pulled out.’ ShitenOnions E-Zine Review
I write out in verse –
Mac Donagh and MacBride
And Connolly and Pearse
Now and in time to be,
Wherever green is worn,
Are changed utterly:
A terrible beauty is born.
As of 8 am this morning the POWs on E3 wing Portlaoise are on a Blanket Protest. 2 of the POWs started this morning and others are to follow at intervals.
They are protesting against the abuse of the TR and CL system by the govener. They are being consistenly denied TR and CL for funerals and Holy celebrations, family illnesses etc.
The POWs believe that the govenor is dening TR's due to recent upsurge in Republicanism in the 6 and this is seen to be a backlash victimising the weakest link in Republicanism so for to put pressure on external Republicans.
The two POWs who went on the protest this morning are in great spirits and they told me they are in for the long haul, as all POWs on E3 are. They are not going to be broken and if segregated will continue the protest.
These men need our support and need us to back them up fully on this. If anyone is interested in helping to organise a mass campaign please contact me ASAP via email
irishfreedomnews@gmail.com
These men have fought for their country and now they are being treated worse than prisioners in third world dictatorships. We must not let them try to break our men and as the song goes, we must stand behind the men behind the wire!
Connolly’s Pub & Restaurant, 121 W. 45th Street, NYC
Buffet Dinner and Open Bar
Music by Mary Courtney (Morning Star) and Friends
The 2009 honorees are:
Liam Murphy - The Michael Flannery Spirit of Freedom Award Mary Costello - The Pearl Flannery Humanities Award Sandy Boyer - The Sr. Sarah Clarke Human Rights Award
A tribute to John Costelloe
The theme for the Testimonial Awards Dinner will be: The First Dáil Éireann
Souvenir Journal. A Souvenir Ad Journal is being produced to mark the event. This is an ideal opportunity to place a memorial ad for the many activists and friends who have passed away having done their part here in the U.S. in the long and ongoing struggle for Irish freedom. By placing an ad in their memory in the Souvenir Journal, their memories live on and ensure that future revisionists will not mar their work. Among those who come to mind are Frank Durkan, Al Lewis, John Costelloe, Mike Skeahan, Bart Dougherty, Peter Farley, Kathy Butler Diaz, George Harrison and countless others whom you could chose to honor in this way. Proceeds from the dinner and the journal ads provide support to the growing number of Irish political prisoners and their families.
Tickets for the 2009 Testimonial are $80.00 per person. For ticket information please email at: flanneryjournal@gmail.com.
Journal ads are $100.00 for a full page and $60.00 for a half page. For more information, please email enrightnyc@hotmail.com.
Payment for tickets and/or ads can be placed by sending your check or money order to NIFC, P.O. Box 771084, Woodside, New York 11377. Please make checks payable to Cumman na Saoirse
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,
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.
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 !
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 !
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.
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
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 !
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 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
