1918: In Ireland, Nationalist demands for independence from Britain had already resulted in an armed rebellion in 1916, and the bloody fallout from radicalised public opinion. While Nationalists wanted to break from centuries of British rule, in the industrial north-east of the island, many Unionists feared the loss of their cultural and economic ties to Britain and the empire. The Road to Partition II
This was a royal visit like no other. The King and Queen had come to a land where a bloody war to win independence from Britain still raged, and a city ravaged by sectarian violence. ibid.
The Irish delegation succumbed to pressure and signed the Treaty. But deeply conflicted by its terms, Collins said that he had in fact signed his own death warrant. ibid.
Just two months later in August 1922 the civil war was to take a dramatic turn and claim its most high profile victim: Michael Collins. ibid.
Throughout history tales of the dreaded Vikings evoke images of slaughter and terror, wanton pillage and savage bloodletting. But beneath the infamy of sordid violence lies a fascinating true story. The Vikings were fierce warriors, but they were also seasoned navigators, intrepid explorers, craftspeople, merchants, politicians and poets. Between the years 700 and 1100 these Norse warriors conquered Britain, Ireland, laid siege to Paris, built complex trade networks as far east as Constantinople and Baghdad. They were the first Europeans to set foot on the wild plains of America before fading into obscurity. Vikings: The Rise & Fall s1e1: The Road to Lindisfarne, National Geographic 2022
February 5th 2016: Daniel Kinahan is promoting a boxing match ‘Clash of the Clans’. The weigh-in is at the Regency Hotel, Dublin. An attempt is made on Daniel’s life which leaves two people seriously injured and one dead. It has since been dismissed as a gangland killing. However, many believe that the truth is far more complicated and disturbing. The Regency: Discover the Truth, captions, Youtube short 14.44, 2020
The first thing he noticed was that there were no Garda to police the event … [and] Just three months after an assassination attempt on his life … ibid.
A team of assassins arrived left than 50 metres from the entrance to the Regency Hotel. ibid.
The team took their time to search for Daniel. ibid.
There was no emergency response for 23 minutes. ibid.
The attack was a conspiracy of at least thirteen people on the ground although there may have been more. ibid.
If there is a connection between the Regency Hotel murder and Irish politics then all of the questions raised by the attack must be answered. ibid.
May 1916: As the Great War shook Europe a knot of dishevelled prisoners were led from their cells in Dublin’s Kilmainham jail into a prison yard. A firing squad readied itself … De Valera had his death sentence commuted to imprisonment. Reputations: Eamon de Valera: Ireland’s Hated Hero, BBC 1999
At every turn he was has admired and hated with equal intensity. ibid.
He took over leadership of the nationalist party, Sinn Fein. ibid.
What followed was infighting, and a squalid war of Irishmen against Irishmen that wrecked the economy and blew apart his own political career. ibid.
In the flush of victory Churchill vented his pent-up disdain. ibid.
It was the biggest mass murder in Britain or Ireland. 33 people died: why has nobody ever been charged? First Tuesday: Hidden Hand: The Forgotten Massacre, RTE/Yorkshire TV 1993
Ask about the Dublin and Monaghan bombs of May 1974 and the response will be hazy. It was the worst atrocity of the troubles yet it’s almost been forgotten. ibid.
A terrorist atrocity forgotten by most yet unique among the history of the Anglo-Irish conflict. ibid.
26 were killed in Dublin, 253 injured. ibid.
All eight [suspects] were members of the Ulster Volunteer Force, a loyalist terrorist force. ibid.
‘I didn’t think at the time and I don’t think now that any loyalist group could have done this on their own in 1974.’ ibid. investigating rozzer
In December 1972 two car bombs exploded in Dublin killing two people. ibid.
The Wicklow Mountains, Ireland: ‘The Wicklow Hills are quite remote. Even though you’re not that far from Dublin. You very could get easy lost here.’ Six Silent Killings: Ireland’s Vanishing Triangle, Sky Documentaries 2023
On this land three decades ago several women disappeared without trace. ibid. caption
‘Somewhere in this part of Ireland there must be some clue as to how and why these young women disappear. A single piece of clothing, a strand of hair.’ ibid.
Annie McCarrick was an American living in Ireland … She seemed to be quite happy … Her apartment was just down the way … before she went missing … She just vanished into thin air. ibid.
I was a crime correspondent for the Independent Sunday newspaper for many years. And I’ve taken a deep interest in the missing. A lot of my work is involved in six women who vanished never to be seen again in an area I called the Vanishing Triangle. ‘These are my women … Give them a voice.’ ibid. Geraldine Niland
In 1996 Fiona Pender, a young woman seven months pregnant with her first child, was last seen by her partner. ibid.
‘It was like she disappeared into thin air.’ ibid.
‘What happened to them when they died?’ ibid.
There was absolutely something going on … Where are there?’ Six Silent Killings: Ireland’s Vanishing Triangle II, reporter
‘We’re talking about a cluster.’ ibid.
‘He took her out and brutally brutally raped her … His was Larry Murphy.’ ibid.
‘Remanded in custody – Larry Murphy, a married man with two children, was charged with the false imprisonment of a woman last weekend.’ ibid. news
18 months earlier, specialist taskforce Operation Trace was set up to look into links between the cases of six missing women. ibid. captions
‘He is a hunter of women.’ ibid. investigator
‘The way that Larry Murphy had put the plastic bag over her head. And that reminded me of a previous case many years before. The body of a young woman was found in the Dublin mountains. And she had a plastic bag placed over her head. Her name was Antionette Smith.’ ibid.
After serving 10 years of a 15 year prison sentence, Larry Murphy is released. ibid. caption
JoJo Dullard’s disappearance is now a murder investigation. Gardai are not currently investigating Larry Murphy in connection with the murder of Antoinette Smith. But he remains one of a number of persons of interest in the murders of Annie McCarrick and JoJoDullard. ibid. captions
What’s been killing my livestock? … High emissions readings cause concern as Leixlip expands further. The Lonely Battle of Thomas Reid *****, Thomas’ collection of newspaper headlines, 2017/2019
I’ll tell you why we’re here, Thomas. Because these lands, this area, they have been identified … ibid. Thomas gets the visit
It’s not for sale … No way I’ll sit down with any of yas. ibid. Repost
Radio interviewer: How much did he turn down?
Big knob: Ten million. ibid.
All the grounds raised in Mr Reid’s challenge fail. ibid. judgment
Exercising powers they have never exercised before … The overturning of the decision by the IDA. ibid. Thomas wins on appeal