rsfcork
11-24-2007, 06:38 PM
Death in Tyrone
24 Samhain/November 2007
During the I.R.A Campaign from 69 -93 the East Tyrone Brigade was one of the I.R.As most effective Fighting units it was the Brigade that suffered more Casualties than any other with the exception of Belfast but it was also the Brigade that carried out more attacks than any other esspecially in the latter years.
East Tyrone has always been a Rebel Strong hold and has seen active resistance to British Rule since the "Flight of the Earls", During the 1916 Easter Rising men mobilised in the area to travel to Dublin under Arms to help with the rising some got through but the Majorty had to stand down due to security measures preventing them from traveling. East Tyrone has been active in the 20s and the 50s on its home turf carrying out gurrilla attacks on the Crown Forces
But it has been the war waged for Irish Freedom over this past 30 years that earned it a reputaion as a dangerous posting for British soldiers, it was the East Tyrone Brigades abillity to wage a sustained Campaign in the largely rural country side against the might of the British Army and its localy recruited millita the R.U.C and the U.D.R that showed the deterimination ability and down right tenacity of the brigade and its Volunteers. In the recent stage in the fight for freedom, over 170 British soldiers have been killed fighting the East Tyrone Brigade and almost 50 R.U.C have been killed in the same role, large parts of the East Tyrone Country side were basicaly under its control with Crown Forces restricted largely to helicopter travel or convoy with air support
The East Tyrone Brigades' opperational peak was in the early 80s, pumped full of recruits and support after the hunger strikes it was in perfect shape to do the job it was built to do, but it was the mid 80s that seen a change in fortunes for the brigade
By 85, Adams and McGuinness were in control of the Movement and were leading it in their direction away from absentionisim and slowly down the constitutional path away from armed struggle, indeed in the early 80s Adams was talking peace with Fr.Alec Reid all this was known by the British.
While the leadership was taking a new direction people in the Movement were against it. The grouping that was to become R.S.F was opposed to the dropping of Republican principles but a number of the more militant men in the I.R.A were also opposed to that direction, the problem was that when the split did came there were men still in the I.R.A who did not agree with the PSF direction but stayed in the I.R.A because their was no other Military alternative and Adams and co. had all the chips with the Libya weapons in the post, they could say to the hardliners they were committed to maintaining the armed struggle when the opposite was true. The British also new this and started at this time to target areas were Adams would have trouble with support in the future, of course the main area that needed clensed in thier eyes was East Tyrone. From the split until the I.R.A ceasefire the British Army carried out extensive shoot to kill opperations and backed Loyalist Death squads in Tyrone. The result of this Campaign was over 30 Active Volunteers of the East Tyrone Brigade were slaughtered and at least 20 innocent civilians murdered in British sponsored "ethnic clensing" on the Nationalist people.
Of course this type of Success for the British could not have been carried out with out inside information, all the set backs suffered by the Brigade can not be pointed at one super tout in at least two of the attacks. People were removed by the British in the aftermath pointing them out as touts but this could have served to hide a man at the top their were a lot of things wrong in East Tyrone in the mid 80s until the ceasefire and most likely the answers will never come to light. Loughgall ,Clonoe ,Coagh and many more, the familiys want answers an rightly so, but they should start by asking Adams why he undermined the men in the field by negotiating surrender behind their backs and theirefore setting them up for the British Death squads.
East Tyrone's rebelious nature is not likely to lie down and go away, indeed Tommy McKearney's former East Tyrone Comander and hungerstriker who lost 3 brothers during the Campaign has said the people of East Tyrone feel a deep injustice towards the British because of their Shoot to kill Opperations in the late 80s, and that feeling will not disappear or go away indeed the attack last week on a Member of the Crown Forces can only be a reminder of that ill feeling and be an omen to the British that the People of East Trone have unfinished buissness with the British State.
24 Samhain/November 2007
During the I.R.A Campaign from 69 -93 the East Tyrone Brigade was one of the I.R.As most effective Fighting units it was the Brigade that suffered more Casualties than any other with the exception of Belfast but it was also the Brigade that carried out more attacks than any other esspecially in the latter years.
East Tyrone has always been a Rebel Strong hold and has seen active resistance to British Rule since the "Flight of the Earls", During the 1916 Easter Rising men mobilised in the area to travel to Dublin under Arms to help with the rising some got through but the Majorty had to stand down due to security measures preventing them from traveling. East Tyrone has been active in the 20s and the 50s on its home turf carrying out gurrilla attacks on the Crown Forces
But it has been the war waged for Irish Freedom over this past 30 years that earned it a reputaion as a dangerous posting for British soldiers, it was the East Tyrone Brigades abillity to wage a sustained Campaign in the largely rural country side against the might of the British Army and its localy recruited millita the R.U.C and the U.D.R that showed the deterimination ability and down right tenacity of the brigade and its Volunteers. In the recent stage in the fight for freedom, over 170 British soldiers have been killed fighting the East Tyrone Brigade and almost 50 R.U.C have been killed in the same role, large parts of the East Tyrone Country side were basicaly under its control with Crown Forces restricted largely to helicopter travel or convoy with air support
The East Tyrone Brigades' opperational peak was in the early 80s, pumped full of recruits and support after the hunger strikes it was in perfect shape to do the job it was built to do, but it was the mid 80s that seen a change in fortunes for the brigade
By 85, Adams and McGuinness were in control of the Movement and were leading it in their direction away from absentionisim and slowly down the constitutional path away from armed struggle, indeed in the early 80s Adams was talking peace with Fr.Alec Reid all this was known by the British.
While the leadership was taking a new direction people in the Movement were against it. The grouping that was to become R.S.F was opposed to the dropping of Republican principles but a number of the more militant men in the I.R.A were also opposed to that direction, the problem was that when the split did came there were men still in the I.R.A who did not agree with the PSF direction but stayed in the I.R.A because their was no other Military alternative and Adams and co. had all the chips with the Libya weapons in the post, they could say to the hardliners they were committed to maintaining the armed struggle when the opposite was true. The British also new this and started at this time to target areas were Adams would have trouble with support in the future, of course the main area that needed clensed in thier eyes was East Tyrone. From the split until the I.R.A ceasefire the British Army carried out extensive shoot to kill opperations and backed Loyalist Death squads in Tyrone. The result of this Campaign was over 30 Active Volunteers of the East Tyrone Brigade were slaughtered and at least 20 innocent civilians murdered in British sponsored "ethnic clensing" on the Nationalist people.
Of course this type of Success for the British could not have been carried out with out inside information, all the set backs suffered by the Brigade can not be pointed at one super tout in at least two of the attacks. People were removed by the British in the aftermath pointing them out as touts but this could have served to hide a man at the top their were a lot of things wrong in East Tyrone in the mid 80s until the ceasefire and most likely the answers will never come to light. Loughgall ,Clonoe ,Coagh and many more, the familiys want answers an rightly so, but they should start by asking Adams why he undermined the men in the field by negotiating surrender behind their backs and theirefore setting them up for the British Death squads.
East Tyrone's rebelious nature is not likely to lie down and go away, indeed Tommy McKearney's former East Tyrone Comander and hungerstriker who lost 3 brothers during the Campaign has said the people of East Tyrone feel a deep injustice towards the British because of their Shoot to kill Opperations in the late 80s, and that feeling will not disappear or go away indeed the attack last week on a Member of the Crown Forces can only be a reminder of that ill feeling and be an omen to the British that the People of East Trone have unfinished buissness with the British State.