A sir robin list of targets
Did he get a promotion?
Nah, a pension
I may be a few mins late…
216 years ago today saw the establishment of ‘The Wexford Republic’ - May 31, 1798.
Its creation followed a tumultuous week which had seen Republican forces seize control of almost all of County Wexford, culminating in the evacuation of British forces from Wexford Town on May 30.
The Wexford Republic set about the immediate deconstruction of the ancient regime and the creation of the infrastructure of a new Irish Republican state including the establishment of a ‘Senate’, a ‘Council of Elders’, a Wexford Army and Navy, a ‘Committee of Public Safety’ and a ‘Commissariat’. Special effort was made to ensure that both protestants and catholics were represented on each of these new bodies.
As British forces massed on the borders of County Wexford and British gunships moved to position off-shore, The Wexford Republic gave a tantalising glimpse of what an 18th Century Irish Republic might have looked like. From the limited accounts that are available it appears that the Wexford Republic sought to enshrine democracy and anti-sectarianism at the heart of its governance.
The Wexford Republic lasted just three weeks before it was crushed by the force of the British state, which extracted a terrible retribution against Rebel and civilian alike.
It would be 118 years before another Irish insurrection would take control of a major urban centre and declare an Irish Republic, on Easter Monday 1916 in Dublin City.
Another great operation from the British Army
1991: IRA men shot dead by British army
Three IRA gunmen have been shot dead by the army in Northern Ireland.
Soldiers opened fire on their car as it drove through the village of Coagh in County Tyrone.
It was hit by a hail of about 200 bullets, before crashing and bursting into flames.
The attack is believed to have been carried out by a specialist covert team acting on intelligence.
Police said the men were on their way to mount an ambush on Protestant workmen.
The men shot were Peter Ryan - who had been on the run for 10 years after escaping from prison in Belfast - Lawrence McNally and Anthony Dorris.
The IRA has admitted that the men belonged to its organisation and were in “active service”.
After the shooting, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Peter Brooke insisted that talks to find a political settlement in Ulster would not be thrown off course.
The MP for the area welcomed the army’s “effective operation”.
Democratic Unionist Rev William McCrea said: "Innocent life has been spared and I think we have got to be thankful for that.
“No-one gloats over the fact of death but I would rather have dead terrorists than dead innocent people in this community.”
But the leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party, Seamus Mallon MP, expressed the concerns of some in the nationalist community.
He said: “We should always be vigilant that those who are charged with enforcing the law do it within the law and…in a way which will allow people to answer for their crimes, if there are crimes, in a proper court of law”.
1989: Massacre in Tiananmen Square
Several hundred civilians have been shot dead by the Chinese army during a bloody military operation to crush a democratic protest in Peking’s (Beijing) Tiananmen Square.
Tanks rumbled through the capital’s streets late on 3 June as the army moved into the square from several directions, randomly firing on unarmed protesters.
The injured were rushed to hospital on bicycle rickshaws by frantic residents shocked by the army’s sudden and extreme response to the peaceful mass protest.
Demonstrators, mainly students, had occupied the square for seven weeks, refusing to move until their demands for democratic reform were met.
The protests began with a march by students in memory of former party leader Hu Yaobang, who had died a week before.
But as the days passed, millions of people from all walks of life joined in, angered by widespread corruption and calling for democracy.
Tonight’s military offensive came after several failed attempts to persuade the protesters to leave.
Throughout the day the government warned it would do whatever it saw necessary to clamp down on what it described as “social chaos”.
But even though violence was expected, the ferocity of the attack took many by surprise, bringing condemnation from around the world.
US President George Bush said he deeply deplored the use of force, and UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher said she was “shocked and appalled by the shootings”.
Amid the panic and confusion students could be heard shouting “fascists stop killing,” and “down with the government”.
At a nearby children’s hospital operating theatres were filled with casualties with gunshot wounds, many of them local residents who were not taking part in the protests.
Early this morning at least 30 more were killed in two volleys of gunfire, which came without warning. Terrified crowds fled, leaving bodies in the road.
Meanwhile reports have emerged of troops searching the main Peking university campus for ringleaders, beating and killing those they suspect of co-ordinating the protests.
20 years ago today, members of the UVF entered The Heights bar in Loughinisland, Co Down and shot 6 people dead as they watched Ireland defeat Italy in the World Cup.
RIP - remember them, especially today.
Rocko legally chose a woman over his computer. 6 years ago today I believe.
77 years ago, Hunter S Thompson was born.
Marathon became Snickers. Galway liberated from the Indians. Ice Age ends.
I changed the title of this thread at Fitzys behest. Fitzy left the forum. Title changed back to the original…
RIP Ditzy.
He had to leave. Australia’s best firer is going to be very busy when the bubble bursts.
100 years ago today Francie Ferdinand was shot dead in an up town foray. The day is generally referred to by the lazy man as the start of WW1 and by the ignorant as the cause of WW1.
Or by the learned as the catalyst which led to everything finally kicking off.
You’re a month late, pal. Very lazy.
An apt tale for these times. A secretive group of hardliners was backed by an external intelligence agency with unexpected consequences.