The Pearsons - Indymedia Ireland

PAGE SIXTEEN TRIBUNE, 14th November, 2007Exclusive Tribune FeatureThe following exclusive Tribune feature on the Pearsons is partly based on two illustrated lectures PHILIP MCCONWAY gave this year. The first lecture on 15 January at the Offaly Historical andArchaeological Society (OHAS) in Tullamore was entitled ‘Spies, Informers, and Militant Loyalists: The Intelligence War in Offaly 1920-21.’ The article, the second part of which is published thisweek, also contains material taken from a lecture he delivered to Birr Historical Society ‘The South Offaly No. 2 Brigade Irish Republican Army, 1920-21’ on 15 October. The recent RTÉ HiddenHistory documentary The Killings at Coolacrease referred to him as the author of the ‘The IRA in Offaly, 1920-21.’ This is inaccurate. This was the subject of an M.Phil thesis which will be publishedat a later date. In his contribution, which was heavily edited, he was also quoted as saying the Pearson women were present at the execution. This is not his position having reassessed all theavailable evidence some months ago. On 25 September he notified this position in writing to the director stating it was dubious the Pearson women witnessed the execution.The Pearsons Of CoolacreasePART 2The Pearsons' Counter-InsurgencyBy Philip McConwayWilliam Stanley: TheLugacurran Militant LoyalistMilitant loyalism was unusualin southern Ireland and practicallynon-existent in Co.Offaly. By July 1920 theUlster Volunteer Force (UVF)was again reorganising in thenorthern province and waslater absorbed into the specialconstabulary. In Co.Monaghan, where sectariantensions existed with theformative UVF in earlier days,militant loyalists fought theIRA. In correspondence withGHQ Thomas Burke singledout the Pearsons as the ringleadersin organising an UlsterVolunteer type movement intheir area. This claim shouldnot be dismissed as there isdocumentary and circumstantialevidence to support it.The family harboured a militantloyalist fugitive, WilliamStanley, a distant cousin. Hewas ordered out ofLuggacurran in Co. Laois bythe IRA after becomingembroiled in a plot with theAuxiliaries to arrest an IRAVolunteer. Armed with a pistolStanley was a member of aninformal militant loyalistgroup. The Auxiliaries wereEnglish recruited ex-BritishArmy officers who fought inWW1. Many struggled to findemployment on their returnhome. They were elite mercenariessent to Ireland to theboost the morale shatteredRIC weakened through resignationsand IRA assassination.Paid £1 a day they struck fearinto the civilian population bytheir indiscriminate terrorcampaign. They burned, looted,shot at civilians and gainedsuch an unsavoury record theircommander F.P. Crozierresigned in disgust at theirconduct.By harbouring a militant loyalistwith ties to theAuxiliaries the Pearsons presumablyapproved ofStanley’s counter insurgencyrole. Under the alias JimmyBradley, Stanley passed himselfoff as a workman for thePearson brothers. From localmemories he was a familiarface because of his regularattendance at local social gatheringsand dances. He attractedsuspicion from locals overhis constant probing andqueries into the activities ofRepublicans. Stanley camefrom a virulent loyalist backgroundand his father was amember of the Orange Order.According to the historianLeigh-Ann Coffey, Stanley’sfather, Henry, was a reputedspy for the Black and Tans.The Stanleys had a malevolentreputation as planters or ‘landgrabbers’ in Luggacurran.Michael Sheehy of the LaoisIRA recalled the planters as‘members of the OrangeBranch.’ Sheehy told ErneO’Malley how the plantershad loyalist regalia in theirhouses. The IRA raided theirhouses which netted a smallarms supply of a few rifles,some revolvers and shot guns.The Stanley family saw themselvesas unabashed neocolonists,upholders of theempire, hardened by a defiantplanter psyche which soughtno truck with the treacherousnatives. Stanley was steepedin the same narrow-mindedsectarian animosity which thePearsons displayed towardstheir neighbours. On the dayof the execution atCoolacrease Stanley jumped aditch and fled the scene. Hewas fired on by the IRA andlater captured at Mountbolus.As he was never under sentenceof death the IRAreleased him.William Pearson: A Self-Confessed CollaboratorBy a stroke of luck SidneyPearson avoided execution.William Pearson, 56, andSidney, attended a weddingfestival near Roscrea. LeadingIRA Commander ErnieO'Malley revealed the existenceof militant loyalist activityin North Tipperary:Now some owners of thehomes [Cloughjordan andModreeny area] were knownas Orangemen, who kept theceremonies of that Order,including the Orange Walk.They also became members ofthe Ulster Volunteer Force,though they had not been asactive as their friends in theneighbouring Roscrea battalionarea, who had an intelligenceservice of their own andwho lay out to surprise wantedVolunteers until their zeal hadbeen suitably discouraged.In the Dunmanway-Ballineen-Murragh area in Co.Cork an underground espionageorganisation known as‘The Loyalist Action Group’resisted the IRA. Attached tothe ‘County Anti-Sinn FéinSociety’, ‘Unionist Anti-Partition League’ and to ‘TheGrand Orange Lodge ofIreland’ this group was suspectedof killing twoRepublican brothers in theirbeds near Enniskeane inFebruary 1921.The Pearsons may have beeninvolved in a much wider conspiracywith contacts amonglike minded loyalists in NorthTipperary. Some of the detailsrelated by O’Malley resemblethe Pearsons activities. Localsinsisted the Pearsons ran acounter insurgency campaignwith British Army personnelworking undercover as labourerson their farm from wherethey raided local houses atnight disguised with blackedfaces. In a similar case, aBritish Army intelligence officeroperated from the house ofCaptain Sawyer Waller, a largeland owner in Moystown.William Pearson was proud ofhis reputation as a staunchloyalist and ‘upholder of theCrown.’ He later admittedhow he ‘assisted the Crownforces on every occasion, andI helped those who were prosecutedaround me at all times.’There is no evidence hisneighbours were ‘prosecuted.’This was one of several liesPearson told to obtain financialcompensation. Robert E.Weir, a close friend of thePearsons, recorded: ‘…it wassolely due to his loyalty thathe lost his house and children.’Michael Cordialrecalled how ‘Heavy explosionswere heard while thehouse [Coolacrease] wasburning which indicated that alarge amount of ammunitionwas stored there.’ The RICmentioned a rumour that twoguns fell out of the roof.The Pearsons as InformersThe Pearson’s were enmeshedin a Crown force intelligencenetwork where they passed oninformation concerning theidentities and residences oflocal Republicans. In severalMembers of Tullamore Methodist Church were vocal in theircondemnation of the anti-Catholic pogroms in Belfast whileadding ‘the South of Ireland has been notably free fromsectarian violence…’pension applications of formerVolunteers the name Pearsonwas synonymous with spies.John Guilfoyle (KinnittyCompany), John Quegan(Drumcullen Company),Frank Doyle (KinnittyCompany), as well twounnamed Volunteers listed thePearson as spies. InCadamstown Joseph Carroll,John McRedmond and TomDonnelly were arrested soonafter the execution and imprisonedin Tullamore Jail. Theywere later transferred to theRath internment Camp in theCurragh, Co. Kildare. SusanMatiltda Pearson and her sisterclaimed to have recognisedsome of the Volunteers whoparticipated in the executionhaving seen them before inKinnittyCharlie Chidley, a BritishArmy serviceman who drovestaff officers to Coolacrease,deserted and joined the IRAproviding damning detailsabout the Pearson’s counterinsurgency campaign. Chidleycontinued his IRA activitiesduring the Civil War. Whenarrested and wounded, theFree State Army exploited thepropaganda coup of ‘AnEnglishman named Chidley,who served with England’sArmy against the IRA, andagain served against it in theranks of the Irregulars.’Peter Lyons, the chiefIntelligence Officer forDrumcullen, ‘D’ company, 3rdBattalion observed how thePearsons were ‘very friendlywith the soldiers who used topull up and ramble there.’From August 1920 onwardsCoolacrease House in its former days.the British Army began takingtheir intelligence operationsfar more seriously. Unit andBrigade Intelligence Officerswere ordered to go out into thecountry in mufti (civilian disguise)‘as much as possible.’They were struck off otherduties so that they could‘devote their whole energies totheir intelligence work.’Although dangerous, thefavoured method of obtaininginformation was by personalinterview, preferably at nightunder the cover of darkness.While Intelligence Officersworked in close co-operationwith the RIC they also hadindependent sources of informationthroughout their districts.Blacklists were drawnup on local Sinn Féin, IRB,and IRA leaders, with anemphasis on ‘the really dangerousmen.’ It was impressedon all ranks, especially officers,on reporting importantincidents as well as ‘scraps ofinformation’ to their nearestregimental IntelligenceOfficer. It is inconceivableBritish Army soldiers wouldnot have utilised their regularvisits to Coolacrease to gatherintelligence.The Pearsons As LargeFarmersAccording to the RIC, largefarmers were one of the mosthostile groups to theRepublican movement inOffaly. The British Army’sThe Record of the Rebellionin Ireland in 1920-21 disclosedhow ‘Farmers wereoften willing to make friendseven with officers and voluntaryor involuntary told themmuch that was of interest.’British Army accounts of theloyalist allegiance of largeland owners were echoed byRepublicans. Tom Barry, theWest Cork IRA Commander,pointed out how ‘The unpaidinformers came from thewealthier landowning classwho hated the Republicanmovement and all it stood for.’A member of the Farmers’County Executive in Offalywas unmasked as an informer.He was sentenced to death forpassing on information to theCrown forces in May 1921. Incollusion with another manwho later fled the country, thefarmer was blamed for thearrests of Republicans whowere ‘barbarously ill-used bythe military and dragged intolorries and taken away.’ Thefarmer was spared executionpossibly because of his socialconnections and previousfriendship with Republicans.Some historians argue theprosperous farming countiesof Kildare, Carlow andWicklow contributed to thelow intensity of violence inthese counties. After lucrativeprofiteering during WW1many conservative mindedlarge farmers were convincedthere were still economic benefitsto retain the political statusquo. William Pearson wasdetermined to capitalize onany financial gains he couldaccrue during WWI by tillingas much land as possible. Thiswas somewhat contradictoryto the Cooneyite faith whichapparently despised materialism.Members of the sect wereencouraged to sell all theyowned to go preaching.The Pearsons fitted into thelarge farming class who had arecord of opposition towardsRepublicans. There was anotable difference. ThePearsons sought to enforcethis hostility through militantaction.Offaly IRA’s Distaste forBloodshedTheir status as large farmers,religious bigotry, and anunflinching militant loyalismwere the primary factors whythe Pearsons violently resistedthe IRA. One would expectharbouring a militant loyalistfugitive using a false namewould be reason enough forthe family to keep a low profile.Their calculated attemptsto incite conflict and disharmonyin their community spiralledout of control culminatingin the attempted killing oflocal Volunteers. The localIRA displayed leniency overthe Pearson’s role as blatantcollaborators and informerswhich led to the arrests oflocal Volunteers. GHQ stipulatedthere could be no quartergiven to informers and spieswho put Republican lives atrisk.The Pearson’s role as informerswas enough to warrant adeath sentence. They were notexecuted for this reason.Indecisiveness was not justconfined to Offaly but pervadedin many areas includingCo. Cork. Tom Barry stressed‘…we had hesitated too longto strike at them [spies andinformers].’ Furthermore,Barry felt Brigade Officers‘must always bear a certainresponsibility for the needlessdeaths of many of our ownVolunteers’ because of thehesitancy of the IRA leadership.Ernie O’Malley echoedthese sentiments: ‘At timesthere was reluctance to shootspies...’ Restraint in the caseof the Pearsons almost led tothe deaths of two Volunteerswhile a similar approach leftseveral Volunteers dead inWest Cork.In their efforts to avoidbloodshed the local IRA grantedevery opportunity to thePearsons to desist. There waslittle appetite for killing withinthe Offaly IRA. Confirmedfatalities which the OffalyIRA was responsible duringthe War of Independenceincluded eight suspected spiesand informers and six RIC. Ofthese figures the No. 2Brigade killed one spy, twoinformers and three RIC.Overwhelming evidence survivesthat these men, allCatholic, shot as spies andinformers by the No. 2Brigade were guilty. CathalBrugha, the Minister forDefence, later supported theexecution of the Mountbolusspy with the comment: ‘Icould not disapprove of theaction taken in this case.’Brugha was conscientious inhis fair prosecution of spiesand convincing proof wasdemanded in each case. Inrelation to the informers shotat Cloghan and Belmont it wasadmitted in the House ofCommons how both men wereon ‘very friendly terms withthe troops stationed in thevicinity of their homes.’Burke had an impeccablerecord in the targeting of spiesand informers. In contrast, theNorth Offaly No. 1 Brigadeshot a suspected informer nearKilleigh who was generallybelieved to be innocent. Someyears afterwards the realinformer was killed in athreshing accident. This individualwas thought to be inleague with a high rankingVolunteer, the O/C of ‘F’Company (Killeigh), 1stBattalion (Tullamore). Theyused the victim’s address topass letters to the Crownforces.GHQ: The OutsideInfluenceThere is evidence of uneasewithin the Offaly IRA whenordered out on ambush operationswhere there was aprospect of killing. ThomasDunne, O/C 2nd Battalion(Daingean), No. 1 Brigade,revealed his distaste at‘…having to obey, to beforced to lie in wait for men –The Irish Independent, 2 July 1921, coverage of the execution of Richard and Abraham Pearson.it is a thing never went downwith [me]… not even when itmeant a policemen or Blackand Tans.’ If this was the mentalityof senior leaders such asDunne it can be expected thatthe concerns of rank and fileVolunteers were more pronounced.In other words GHQdemands for fatalities did notrest well with leaderships figuresin Offaly. In many waysthe Offaly IRA was far too softwhen waging war.GHQ retained a tight gripover the Offaly IRA. By thetime of the Truce both OffalyBrigades were commanded byGHQ appointed men fromoutside the county. It was theoutsider Thomas Burke whodecided on the execution ofthe Pearson brothers and theburning of their house. He wasthe calibre of person Fr PhilipCallery, P.P. Tullamore con-The ages are incorrect as is the time it took Richard to die.demned as the ‘outside fanatics’sent by GHQ to escalatethe war in Offaly. The actionagainst the Pearsons was moreof reflection on the GHQ hardlinementality, enforced bytheir representative Burke,than the timid local IRA. TheRIC blamed an outside influencefor the increase in IRAbrother Sidney arrived back toCoolacrease from Englandtwelve months after the executionand started ploughing.It was alleged that the nextmorning a note was attachedto the plough warning him tostop or he would be shot.David concluded: ‘…it is evidenttheir main objective wasactivities in the counties of to take over our land.’Cavan, Laois, Leitrim, Curiously in Sidney’s applicationKildare, Carlow and Wicklow.The Subterfuge of WilliamStanleyWilliam Stanley and DavidPearson, the youngest brother,engaged in a spirit of denial byfostering the myth the familywas innocent. It was a psychologicaldefence mechanismwhere guilt was suppressed.They were adamant Richardand Abraham were ‘killed forno reason.’ In what was a fabrication,Stanley stated thePearson family received awarning from a Volunteerpresent at the No. 2 Brigade’s3rd Battalion meeting inKilcormac where ThomasBurke gave his order. Howreliable was Stanley? Heinvented a fictitious story ofto the Irish GrantsCommittee (IGC), Pearson’sallegation of the death threatby a note left on a plough wasa concoction. If land was themotive the local IRA wouldhave executed the Pearsons onany pretext and on the slightestprovocation, especiallyafter it was established theywere passing information andwere openly collaboratingwith the Crown forces.If the extent of the allegedpersecution of the Pearsonsexisted it would surely havecome to the attention of theRIC. Yet neither the RICCounty Inspector reports northe RIC Breaches of the Trucedocumentation referred toland agitation at Coolacrease.dum dum bullets used in the Agrarian disturbances inexecution. He also misled hisson over the attempting killingby the Pearson brothers ofVolunteers engaged in a roadblockOffaly peaked in May 1920with the RIC reporting twelvecases for that month. Therewas soon a dramatic fall off inoperation. Two similar incidents. By 1921Volunteers were wounded, oneseriously. William Stanley’sunconvincing spin was thatRichard Pearson fired a shot‘over the heads of intruders.’Stanley later told his son howagrarian disturbances werenegligible in RIC reports forCo. Offaly. In June 1921,when the Pearson brotherswere executed, there wereonly twelve agrarian disturbancesa Volunteer supposedlyrecorded for thatwarned the Pearson family.The Volunteer apparently toldmonth in the entire country asopposed to the huge figure ofthe family how Richard and 2,244 political cases.Abraham Pearson as well asWilliam Stanley were to beexecuted. But if this phantomVolunteer was genuinely presentat the meeting he wouldhave related the exact detailsof Burke’s order:Republican arbitration courtsand tighter IRA discipline successfullysubdued land hunger.In land disputes most of thecourts sided with the legalowner. While Sinn Féin supporteda policy of land redistributionExecute the three eldestthe violent seizure ofPearson brothers and burndown their house. WilliamStanley was never under sentenceof death which was whyhe was later released whencaptured by the IRA.Land Grab Theory NotVerified by RICThe flimsy claim of DavidPearson that the motive for theexecution was a land grab wasunfounded. David said hisland was anathema to its leaders.GHQ was opposed to IRAinvolvement in land disputes.That Burke, GHQ’s representativein south Offaly, woulddiscredit and risk the ire of theIRA Chief of Staff by gettingsidetracked on an impulsivewhim over land is highlyimplausible. Well educated,disciplined, and clinical it wasthese qualities that set himapart from the local IRA.The Pearson’s DistortionsWith the prospect of a moneyspinningcompensation payoutit was to the Pearson’s advantageto exploit the helplessvictim tag. In 1929 WilliamPearson was awarded £7,440in compensation by the IGC.The ample distortions and liesput forward by WilliamPearson while seeking compensationfrom thisCommittee left his creditabilitystrained. His son, Sidney,had a claim of £20,000 rejected.Sidney did not seek a referencefrom anyone in Co.Offaly when it came to hisunsuccessful application forcompensation to the IGC.Instead he turned to twoProtestants in Co. Laois. Localsympathy for the Pearson familywas thin on the ground.People in Cadamstown andKinnitty were aware the activitiesof the family brought sufferingto their community.Protestants did not speak outor express solidarity with thefamily: ‘They brought it onthemselves.’William changed his storyabout his whereabouts on theday of the execution. InOctober 1921 at Birr QuarterSessions before JudgeFleming he declared he was inMountmellick. In 1927 in astatement to the IGC he relatedhow he was away seekinghelp from the Crown forces,presumably at CrinkleBarracks near Birr, fromwhere he returned to find hishouse burned and two sons‘lying dead [sic].’He asserted he could not sellhis farm as no auction waspermitted. This was a falsehood.There was an auctionbut the reserve price was notreached and the sale was withdrawnas reported in the localpress, the nationalist MidlandTribune and the unionistKing’s County Chronicle.Some of the dishonest claimswere tantamount to fraud.William Pearson claimed £100for 100 acres of pasture landhe alleged Republicans wilfullyflooded. The claim was disallowedas the Committeedetected the lie maintainingthe fields in question floodedevery year since about 1885.Continued................................The burnt out remains of Kinnity RIC barracks. This was one of two ambush positions occupied by the IRA ASU, numbering fiveVolunteers, who fatally wounded two RIC men on 17 May 1921.

TRIBUNE, 14th November, 2007In an exaggerated claim for£1,850 he stated he couldgraze and fatten 150 cattle on150 acres of pasture land. Thiswas apparently ‘ruined bypublic trespass.’ It was recommendedby the valuer that hebe awarded £240 as the maximumnumber of cattle on thatacreage of land was eighty, notthe inflated figure of 150 putforward by Pearson.A glaring untruth by WilliamPearson to the IGC was thecharge that 500 men wereinvolved in the execution. Thehyperbole was repeated to areporter of The MelbourneArgus on their arrival inAustralia. Aided by skilledlegal advice William Pearsonwas determined to maximisehis perceived victim status. Hespun a web of deceit evenmaintaining one of his daughterswas shot by the IRA:‘One of their sisters tried tosave them [Richard andAbraham Pearson] and a volleywas fired at her and thehair was cut away from herscalp by bullets.’From August 1921 to July1923 William Pearson claimedhe ‘endeavoured’ to carrywork on his farm where helived in the outhouses. Healleged he could not work ashe was ‘prosecuted.’ It is questionableif he was physicallyfit to do farm work. Prior tothe execution he did minimalwork on his farm owing to illhealth.Indeed his health wasso poor he was advised onmedical grounds to leaveEngland for a more suitableclimate to alleviate his bronchitis.The London-basedSouthern Irish Loyalists ReliefAssociation highlighted hispoor physical health and wentso far as to question his mentalstate: ‘…mentally he is notable to think quickly, and Iwould ask that due considerationbe made by your committeeif he is called upon toanswer questions.’During the Civil War heasserted his land was ‘used byanyone who cared to drivetheir cattle upon it.’ This maybe true as anarchy reined whenlaw and order collapsed.Extreme measures were takenby the Free State in Offaly. On26 January 1923 three boysPatrick Cunningham, WilliamConroy and Colum Kelly wereofficially executed in Birr in adesperate if ultimately futilethe people receiving grantswere far wealthier than theBritish taxpayer contributingto them. The IGC report wasnot published nor was therecipients and how much theywere awarded. Far from strugglingfinancially WilliamPearson had £6,000 in a bankaccount which brought in£240 per year before heapplied for compensation tothe IGC. Fears that the IGCwere akin to a gravy train werejustified in the case of thePearsons.Offaly IRA’s War Unsulliedby SectarianismIn an act of further dishonestyDavid Pearson hinted at a sectarianmotive for the execution.As with the allegation ofa land grab this was a smokescreen.Religious bigotry derivedfrom the Pearsons notRepublicans. There is no evidenceto suggest the OffalyIRA deliberately stoked upreligious tension or thatProtestants and minoritygroups were systematicallytargeted. An examination ofRIC County Inspector reports,local and national newspapershave not uncovered evidenceof sectarian animosity inOffaly attributable to the IRA.Walter Mitchell, a Protestant, was a formidable Republicanstalwart.attempt to stamp out the level In January 1921 a potentialof freelance criminality. ominous developmentOf the twenty-six different occurred when the Reverendclaims of William Pearson to R.S. Craig, Rector, Tullamore,the IGC only twelve were found the words ‘IRA Bewareupheld as ‘fair’. John Craige [sic] you are doomedWheatley, a Labour MP, by the High St. boys...’ Anyexpressed concern about the suggestion that this was motivatedby sectarianism wasoverly generous payments ofthe IGC to Irish people who quickly dispelled by the RICsought to get ‘their hands into who stressed the incident wasthe pockets of the British political in its origins. Craig,Exchequer.’ He contended that as a member of the CountyExclusive Tribune Feature/NewsThe aftermath of the burning of Coolacrease House. L-R: Emily, Matilda, William Pearson, David and Ethel.Infirmary Committee,Tullamore, was against theproposed take over of theinfirmary by the CountyCouncil and removal of thepatients elsewhere.In Clara, where there was amodest Protestant population,the historian D.B. Quinnargues ‘...there was no dangerto Protestants on the street atnight…’ F.R. MountgomeryHitchcock, the Rector ofKinnitty and distinguishedhistorian, categorically deniedthe presence of anyRepublican inspired sectarianismwhere he lived. The southof Ireland, where he lived andworked as a clergyman in theChurch of Ireland for twentyfive years, was ‘absolutelyfree from sectarian feeling, notto say bitterness. BothChurches are on the friendliestterms.’ He had ‘never knownone case of religious intolerance.We can only live and letlive down here.’At Belfast on 7 June 1920there was a similar announcementfrom the PresbyterianChurch in Ireland:‘…nowhere had a hand beenraised against one of the isolatedbuildings nor against asingle individual Presbyterian,as such, in the south andwest…’In April 1922Reverend Neil of Limerick,repeated these sentiments at aPresbyterian meeting inDublin proclaiming how hiscoreligionists remainedunharmed during the War ofIndependence: ‘We havepractically suffered nothing inthe South of Ireland…Therehave been abnormal cases, butthe great body of our peoplehave not suffered, and I statehere, without fear of contradiction,that no one has sufferedas a Presbyterian. Thereis no religious animus…’ Themost vigorous denials of sectarianismcame from leadingProtestants not Republicans.Offaly Protestants expressedrevulsion over sectarianism,emanating from the North notthe South. TullamoreMethodists, headed byReverend William R. Martinissued an appeal published inthe Offaly Independent (22April, 1922) expressing‘…their abhorrence of the sectionalbitterness manifestingitself in acts of violence in theNorth of Ireland’ whileexpressing horror at the‘recent horrible reprisals culminatingin the killing of children’in Belfast. TheTullamore Methodist appealconcluded: ‘We further desireas members of 6 religiousminorities in Southern Ireland,to put on record that the Southof Ireland has been notablyfree from sectarian violence…’Walter Mitchell, a Rahannative and IRA Volunteer ofthe No. 2 Brigade, was aProtestant and a formidableRepublican stalwart. For theremainder of his life he wasone of the most prominentRepublicans in Offaly.Mitchell ran as a Sinn Féincandidate in the 1957 generalelection in the five seat Laois-Offaly constituency. He polledan impressive 2,939 first preferencescoming sixth out of afield of ten candidates.AftermathAfter the execution, thePearson family resided atCrinkle Barracks, Birr. TheBritish Army arrived atCoolacrease to protect thelivestock. Some unscrupulouslocals exploited the Pearsons’troubles to steal property fromtheir farm. An exaggeratedreport from Dublin Castlealleged that on the night of 12July 1921 ‘ten horses, tencows, one bull, eighty-eightyoung cattle, fifty-one sheepand lambs, three rams, threefat pigs, one dray and creel,and a set of common harnessstolen off Pearson’s lands.’The inaccuracy of this reportis indicated in the misspellingof Coolacrease and gave thelocation in the Tullamore areainstead of Birr. The RICCounty Inspector’s report isFr Philip Callary, PP Tullamore, condemned the fatal shootingof RIC Sergeant Henry Cronin at Tullamore on 31 October1920 on ‘outside fanatics.’more reliable recording thestolen items as three pigs, acart and a set of harness. Onewonders how diligent theBritish Army were in protectingthe property when thistheft occurred on their watch.Two men who stole propertywere later brought before aRepublican Court and orderedto compensate the family.In October 1921 at the BirrQuarter Sessions WilliamPearson was awarded £7,800compensation. Judge Flemingintimated if Pearson agreed torebuild his house a largeraward would have been granted.The family eventually emigratedto Australia. In 1923their farm was sold to the IrishLand Commission who laterdivided up the land amonglocal people. Initial preferencewas granted to British Armyex-soldiers.Copyright ©PhilipMcConway.By Derek FanningI had not heard of the novel'Bridge to Terabithia' (byKatherine Paterson) until Isaw the 2007 film of the samename. 'Terabithia' is a reallyimportant film as it deals withthe themes of alienation andimagination in children, butthese themes are crucial foradults too. Adults can be justas unthinking, conformist andunimaginative. 'Terabithia'reveals to us that which wealready knew but which wehave to constantly remind ourselvesof as it is absolutelyvital, which is that we mustfree our minds, release ourimaginations and therebycome into communion withbeauty and therefore withGod. Freeing our minds in thismanner is actually an incrediblypractical thing to do butsadly many human beings arenot as practical as they like tothink they are.One of my favourite poets isLord Byron, a man whosename is synonymous withflamboyance and romanticism,and Byron often wroteof the cruciality of devotingourselves to beautiful things,of devoting ourselves to therealm of imagination. He contrastedthis imaginary and aestheticrealm with the realm ofreality; he saw reality in a negativelight. In one poem hewrote of,'The devotion to somethingafarFrom the sphere of our sorrow.'Another writer that I admireand who had many valuablethings to say on this themewas Howard Lovecraft wholived from August 1890 toMarch 1937. Lovecraft was achild prodigy, reciting poetryat the age of two and writingcomplete poems by six. Hisgrandfather encouraged hisreading, providing him withclassics such as The ArabianNights, Bulfinch's Age ofFable and children's versionsof The Iliad and The Odyssey.When he became an adult andstarted writing fiction, he wasfrequently critical of people,pointing out that they lackedaesthetic and imaginative sensibility.For example, he oncecommented powerfully that,'Whilst they strove to stripfrom life its embroideredrobes of myth and to show innaked ugliness the foul thingthat is reality ... I sought forbeauty alone.'The plot of 'Bridge toTerabithia' centres on 12-yearoldJess Aarons and 12-yearoldLeslie Burke. Jess is a shy,withdrawn elementary schoolboy living in a financiallystruggling,rural family inVirginia, USA. Leslie is thenew girl at Jess' school, andshe arrives on the school's athleticsday. She enters a runningevent which she winswith ease, despite her classmatescalling it a "boys only"race. Jess is, at first, quite sourabout this and wants nothingto do with Leslie, but Leslie'spersistence in meeting himsoon pays off, and soon thetwo become good friends.Their friendship starts whenLeslie offers Jess a piece ofgum on the bus, and heaccepts.Jess shares his secret love ofdrawing with Leslie andtogether they venture into thewoods located beside theirhomes in the countryside,where they swing across astream (or 'creek' in Americanparlance) on a rope and findan abandoned tree house onthe other side. Here, Leslieinvites Jess to open his mindand release the imaginary andfrequently beautiful worldswithin him. He agrees to thisand the two friends invent anew world they callAn ColúnTerabithia, which comes tolife through their imaginationsas they explore together. Jessand Leslie base the menacingcreatures of Terabithia on thepeople (i.e. the bullies) thatgive them a hard time atschool.The last portion of the film isemotionally overpoweringand one movie critic said itwould move even the mostcynical of people to tears. Inits last portion the film bringsus through profound sufferingbefore we emerge into abrighter and happier place.What it seems to be saying isthat suffering is inevitable andunavoidable in this life, butwe do have a choice as to howwe respond to that suffering.We can respond to it in anoptimistic and stoic frame ofmind, or else in a negative,pessimistic way. Jess goesthrough terrible suffering andhe grieves awfully for a longtime but eventually he transcendsthat and the way hetranscends it is by embracingeven more fervently the beautieswithin his imaginaryworlds. The English 19thCentury Poetess ElizabethBarrett Browning will providemore illumination on what Iam talking about. In her poem'Greek Slave' Browningshows that she is on the sameside as the Jesses of this worldfor she urges people to,'Pierce to the centreArts' fiery finger, and break upere longThe serfdom of this world.Appeal, fair stone,From God's pure height ofbeauty against man's wrong!'Browning claimed that atheistsare dullards because they'cannot guess God's presenceout of sight.' Like Jess, shewas an enemy of excessiveworldliness and materialismas she knew the wrong that itcould lead to. The 19thCentury was a period ofdeveloping industrialisation,of the confident and pragmaticbourgeois; its atmospherewas often antipathetic todreamers, artists and aesthetes.Jess finds himself in aworld which is capitalistic andmaterialistic. Such atmospheresinevitably lead to theproduction of outsider-artists,men and women who are dissatisfiedwith life and yearnfor something spiritual, forsomething beyond. In onestriking statement, Jess says'What's so great about realityanyway?'Precisely.As I said already, people frequentlypride themselves ontheir great pragmatism but it isoften impractical to be toopractical (if you follow!)because excessive pragmatismcan lead to all sorts of badthings, including what we callnowadays 'dysfunctional' families;it can lead to sufferingand anguish.Browning knew what was theopposite of this suffering andshe knew what was reallyimportant:'They say Ideal Beauty cannotenterThe house of anguish.'I am also presently readinganother great book which tiesin neatly with all of the preceding.This is 'AgainstNature' which was written bya Frenchman calledHuysmans in 1884. It wasconsidered a scandalous bookand one can see why as itspoke about homosexuality,and as there are still many sexuallyprudish people in societytoday its content would stillscandalise. However tobecome all scandalised andmoralistic would miss thepoint of the book which isdaydreaming. 'Against Nature'is driven by the phenomenonwe call daydreaming and asthis experience is common toevery human being upon thePAGE SEVENTEENWhat's So Great About Reality Anyway?planet then we can all relate tothis book.'Against Nature' centres onjust one character called DesEsseintes, who is an ailing,languid, and sometimes notvery-nicearistocrat. DesEsseintes pushes his daydreamingto such an extremethat he becomes eccentricwhich briefly entertains hisbourgeois visitors. There is afamous description of afuneral feast to mark a minorpersonal misfortune: 'The dining-room,draped in black,opened out on to a gardenmetamorphosed for the occasion,the paths being strewnwith charcoal, the ornamentalpond edged with black basaltand filled with ink, and theshrubberies replanted withcypresses and pines. The dinneritself was served on ablack cloth adorned with basketsof violets and scabious;candelabra shed an eerie greenlight over the table and tapersflickered in the chandeliers.While a hidden orchestraplayed funeral marches, theguests were waited on bynaked negresses wearing onlyslippers and stockings in clothof silver embroidered withtears.'This is 'Decadence' whichwas a literary movement inthe late 19th Century. One ofits famous advocates was ourown Oscar Wilde who refersto 'Against Nature' in 'ThePicture of Dorian Gray'. In theawful and hypocritical trialagainst Wilde, Huysmans'book was produced as evidenceagainst the defendant.Homophobia, sexual pruderyand hypocrisy are still commonin 2007 and we have along way to go before wearrive at an openminded andcompassionate attitude to sexualityinstead of a judgemental,harsh and moralistic one.Des Esseintes has a roomwhich is illuminated by a soft,warm pink hue created bylamps shining through IndianSatin. Here he brings hislovers (all women in thisinstance) and as he makeslove to these women in thispink room he appreciates 'thebeneficial effect which thistinted atmosphere had inbringing a ruddy flush' to theircomplexions.The women themselves likethis room: 'They loved steepingtheir nakedness in thiswarm bath of rosy light andbreathing in the aromaticodours given off by the camphor-wood.'Des Esseintes turns away indistaste from the ugliness,superficiality and stupidity ofsociety and confines himselfto an isolated Parisian villawhere he expresses his desirefor luxury and excess. Hefeeds his aesthetic appetiteswith classical literature andart, exotic jewels, rich perfumesand a kaleidoscope ofsensual experiences. DesEsseintes, like Baudelairebefore him, was a dandy andthere is a marvellous andeccentric scene in the firstchapter, 'His final caprice hadbeen to fit up a lofty hall inwhich to receive his tradesmen.They used to troop inand take their place side byside in a row of church stalls;then he would ascend animposing pulpit and preachthem a sermon on dandyism,adjuring his bootmakers andtailors to conform strictly tohis encyclicals on matters ofcut, and threatening them withpecuniary excommunication ifthey did not follow to the letterthe instructions containedin his monitories and bulls.'Eventually, like Oscar Wildein real life, Des Esseintesturns to Roman Catholicism,because a dissatisfaction withlife is essentially a spiritualproblem and its solution liesin mysticism.In a major blunder the IRA failed to capture any arms after the ambush at Kinnitty.Chathaoirleach of Offaly County Council Cllr Eamon Dooley, Citizen’s Information BoardRepresentatives and Mr. Jim Stone Chairperson of Co. Offaly Citizen’s Information Service picturedat last weeks Launch of the Disability Advocacy Service in the Tullamore Court Hotel werestanding at back L_R Tom Kelly Area Manager CIB, John Long Regional Manager CIB and JimStone Chairperson Offaly Citizen’s Information Service with seated in front L-RHelen Lahert Citizen’s Information Board Advocacy and Acessibility Manager, Cllr EamonDooley, Chairman Offaly Co. Council and Eileen Fitzgerald Senior Manager Regional ServicesCIB.