da_hambo wrote: » Londoner John Stephenson later known as Sean MacStiofan was born in England to an English father and Protestant Irish mother. Was he origionally protestant? He was leader of the PIRA after the split around 1969.
Little_Korean wrote: » I think his mother was a Protestant and his dad was Catholic. Most people attribute his 'more-Irish-than-the-Irish' tendency on his mother, who drummed into him the importance of remembering his Irish heritage, but as he also grew up to be an uber-Catholic while his mother wasn't, such Freudian theories perhaps have their limitations.
da_hambo wrote: » Amazing, so he very well could have gone the other way and become John Stephenson UDA / UVF leader?
da_hambo wrote: » Did this guy ever release a memoir? Would be interesting to read how his ideals were formes.
Little_Korean wrote: » He did, thoug it's hard to get hold off unless you stumble upon it. I got a copy from Dublin City Libraries and had to wait - literally - months before I got it. It was in the reserves section somewhere, despite being in good nick, so evidently I was the first in a while to request it and it took them that long finding it! It's fairly well-written, and quite interesting in the first half where, you say, his ideals were formed - he dedicated the book to revolutionaries everywhere in the world (and their wives, perhaps him thinking of his own, who features quite bit in the memoir), and met with a range of other revolutionaries while in jail for his first offence, including EOKA, who seemed to have made a big impression on him. The latter half is when he's Chief of Staff of the PIRA and is less interesting, mostly less-than-convincing justifications for various acts his group did, and it ends just when he gets off his hungerstrike so we never do know the reasons why he was demoted/dethroned for his point of view.
Little_Korean wrote: » Read in Timothy Bowman's Carson's Army on the old UVF - slightly off-topic, perhaps, that at least one of the UVF branches made an effort to recruit Catholics into their ranks (alas, have forgotten which one and I don't have the book at hand to check). A bit optimistic on their part, perhaps, but it's interesting that they thought it was worth the shot.
da_hambo wrote: » Cool going to Gorey library later so will do a search. Thanks.
da_hambo wrote: » On this note, was there some talk that Michael Stone may have been baptised Catholic?
Also Shankill Butcher Lenny Murphy has to have some shady Catholic background? With a name like Murphy cant have been protestant very long. Maybe his father or grandfather?
tdv123 wrote: » David Russell was a PIRA man (not sure if it was the stickies or provos) & Noel Lyttle was a INLA member. And there was a few other as well who I can't remember the names of it. Does anyone else know the names of any others? Also was there any known Catholics in the UVF or UDA? Or were they even allowed in?
Jesus. wrote: » George Plant
Del.Monte wrote: » George Plant was executed in 1942 so I doubt he had much input into the Provos or INLA.
stanley1980 wrote: » Just stumbled on this thread now and have found it very interesting. Some of it I knew but some interesting new info too. I've always been interested in seeming 'outsiders' who became involved in the conflict. Please note I don't mean any offence by that. Would it be fair to say that for example Irish-Italians for several reasons e.g. religious background would've been more likely to have aligned with republicanism? I can think of one prominent example. I can also remember one of the UVF's Belfast leaders had Egyptian roots. On an similar but unrelated note, I wonder how the influx of other nationalities into the north e.g. Polish could affect the political landscape there- if at all.
Little_Korean wrote: » Then when he was stripped from power in the PIRA - under somewhat mysterious circumstances - his former buddies there went back to calling him John Stephenson. No gratitude from some people.
Spirit of 67 wrote: » The UDA , the 2 Shoukri`s . And there is a number of Italian-Irish families who were involved with Republican Groups .[/QUOTE UDA not UVF. Right you are- thanks for the correction.
laoch na mona wrote: » Ian paisley once called on a mob to run Italian (i think) Catholics out of the shankill road so I can see why they didn't join the loyalists. Not sure on this but a friend told me that the polish in the north tend to vote Sinn féin
stanley1980 wrote: » I know this is off-topic but I was listening to Newstalk the other day and one of the contributors suggested there are now more Polish passport holders in the 6 counties than Irish! Could that be true?
claypigeon777 wrote: » Rose Dugdale (born 1941) was the daughter of a wealthy English family, became a left wing radical in Oxford in the late 1960s before joining the civil rights movement and then the Provisional IRA. She took part in a helicopter attack on RUC barrack in which a milk churn bomb was dropped. She and an IRA gang also robbed paintings from the home of Sir Alfred Beit (there was an almost identical robbery by Martin Cahill and his gang years later). She also had a baby by Eddie Gallagher who was responsible for the kidnap of businessman Tiede Herrema and they were married in prison. She is apparently still involved with Sinn Féin.
LordSutch wrote: » Wouldn't surprise me, seeing as there are now more polish speakers than Irish speakers in Ireland. So yes, it could be true... And her religion (not that it should matter)?
