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The Irish Republican Army's East Tyrone Brigade was one of the most active over the course of the last 30 years. They are believed to have drawn their membership from right across the eastern side of County Tyrone as well as north County Monaghan and south Derry The east of the county has a long history of militant Republicanism from Tom Clarke, Joseph McGarrity, Liam Kelly, Gerry McGeough, Tommy McKearney, Bernadette Devlin and Martin Hurson. One of the most widely publicised failures in the Brigade's campaign was at Loughgall where a group of eight men were ambushed and killed by the British SAS, during an attack on the RUC station on 8 May 1987.
In the 1980s, the IRA in East Tyrone and other areas close to the border, such as South Armagh, were following a Maoist military theory devised for Ireland by Jim Lynagh, the leader of the IRA in East Tyrone (but a native of County Monaghan). The theory involved creating "zones of liberation" that the Security forces of Northern Ireland did not control and gradually expanding them to make the country ungovernable. Lynagh's strategy was to start off with one area which the British military did not control, preferably a Republican stronghold such as East Tyrone. The South Armagh area was considered to be a liberated zone already, since British troops and the RUC could not use the roads there for fear of roadside bombs. Thus it was from there that the IRA East Tyrone Brigade attacks were launched, with most of them occurring in East Tyrone in areas close to South Armagh, which offered good escape routes. The first phase of Lynagh's plan to drive out the British Security Forces from East Tyrone involved destroying isolated rural police stations and then killing any building contractors who were employed to rebuild them.

The East Tyrone Brigade carried out two successful attacks on RUC bases in East Tyrone. Both attacks were begun by driving a JCB digger with a 200 lb (91 kg) bomb in its bucket through the reinforced fences the RUC had in place around their bases, and then exploding the bomb and raking the police station with gunfire. On these two occasions the stations were destroyed, and most or all of the occupants killed. It was therefore with some confidence that the IRA tried the same tactics on the Loughall RUC station on 8 May 1987

The SAS, however, had set a trap to destroy the unit. They had placed an SAS soldier inside the station, and deployed a squad of 24 soldiers split into six groups around the station building. It has been alleged, but never proved, that the RUC had an informer in the IRA group, and that he was killed by the SAS in the ambush. However, in his book Big Boys' Rules Mark Urban points to the fact that a Loughgall woman Colette O'Neill was abducted by the IRA several weeks later, and he hypothesises that she may have been the informer.
Just after 7pm, Declan Arthurs drove the JCB carrying the bomb through the perimeter fence of the RUC station. The van carrying the rest of the PIRA unit pulled up and they jumped out and opened fire on the station. The IRA just managed to detonate its 200lb bomb before the SAS opened fire, heavily damaging the police station.
The SAS riddled the JCB and the van with bullets. In addition, the car of passer-by Anthony Hughes was fired on by the SAS. Hughes, 36, was killed and his brother badly wounded. Subsequent security forces statements said with regret that they had been innocent passers-by caught in crossfire. All eight IRA men were killed, all from head wounds. The soldiers fired more than 600 rounds; the IRA men fired 70 rounds but did not hit any of the soldiers. It was later alleged that one of the dead men was in fact an informant for the RUC, although this was denied by security sources, who claimed that the information on the PIRA unit was gained from electronic surveillance.
The British recovered eight IRA weapons from the scene - three Heckler & Koch rifles, one FN rifle, two FNC rifles, a Ruger revolver and a Spas-12 shotgun. The Royal Ulster Constabulary linked the guns to 7 murders and 12 attempted murders in the mid Ulster area. One of the guns had been taken from a reserve RUC constable murdered in an attack on police two years earlier.
The innocent civilian, Anthony Hughes, who was shot dead by the SAS had been travelling in a car with his brother, Oliver, unaware of the ambush. Unfortunately, both brothers were wearing blue overalls similar to those sometimes worn by IRA members on operations and so were mistaken for IRA men engaged in the attack. As they attempted to reverse out of the gunfire, SAS troopers positioned nearby mistook them as part of the IRA unit and opened fire. Forty shots were aimed at the car, killing Anthony and wounding his brother. Hughes' widow later received compensation from the British Government for the death of her husband.
SAS operations against the IRA continued well into the 1990s. The IRA conducted a long investigation in search of the informer believed to have been in their ranks, although some would say it was a waste of time since that informer had allegedly been killed in the ambush.
The PIRA group became known as the "Loughgall Martyrs" among Republicans, who alleged that their deaths were part of a deliberate shoot-to-kill policy by the security forces.
Thousands of people attended the funerals of the dead IRA men, the biggest republican funerals in Northern Ireland since those of the IRA hunger strikers of 1981. In 2001 the European Court of Human Rights ruled that the eight IRA men (among others) had had their human rights violated by the failure of the British government to conduct a proper investigation into the circumstances of their deaths.
The East Tyrone Brigade members killed at Loughgall in 1987 consisted of:

* Commander Patrick Kelly (aged 30)
* Jim Lynagh (aged 31)
* Pádraig McKearney (aged 32)
* Declan Arthurs (aged 21)
* Seamus Donnelly (aged 19)
* Eugene Kelly (aged 25)
* Gerry O'Callaghan (aged 29)
* Tony Gormley (aged 25)



Eugene Kelly
Eugene Kelly (Irish Eugene Ó Ceallaigh; born 5 July 1962), was from Cappagh, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. Kelly was from a family of two brothers and four sisters and grew in the rural village of Cappagh, County Tyrone. He became a highly active member of the IRA after first joining in 1982.
Kelly became regularly active within the East Tyrone Brigade of the IRA and was ultilised for his detailed geographical knowledge of rural areas of County Tyrone and County Armagh.
At the request of his family he was buried in a private ceremony at Altmore Cemetery, Cappagh in order to avoid much of the press attention which had followed the family after his death.
Declan Arthurs
Declan Arthurs (Irish: Deaglan Mac Airt; born 28 October 1965) was from Galbally near Cappagh, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland.
Declan Arthurs was the fourth of six children born to Patrick and Amelia Arthurs in Galbally, a rural village in County Tyrone.
Arthurs was mechanically minded and once he left school he joined his father and worked as an agricultural contractor. Arthurs became radicalised in the early 1980s after attending torchlight vigils for the 1981 hunger strikers and after attending the funeral of Martin Hurson, who died during the hunger strike and was also from the Galbally area. During Christmas of 1986, Arthurs was interned in Gough Barracks for seven days without charge and once released was again detained two days later for a further seven days. In January 1987, Arthurs spent all but seven days in Gough Barracks again without any charges for an offence being brought. In May 1987, both Arthurs and fellow volunteer, Séamus Donnelly, were buried at St.John's, Galbally.
Gerry O'Callaghan
Gerard O'Callaghan (born 8 January 1959), was from Benburb, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland
O'Callaghan joined the IRA in the 1970s and was arrested along with fellow IRA volunteer Padraig McKearney in 1980.
O'Callaghan was sentenced for possession of weapons and IRA membership in 1981. During his time in prison he was part of the blanket protest. Upon his release O'Callaghan returned to active service with the Provisional Irish Republican Army
Séamus Donnelly
Séamus Donnelly (Irish: Séamas Ó Donnghaile, born 11 January 1968), was from County Tyrone, Northern Ireland
Donnelly was the fourth eldest child in a family of eight and was born and raised in the small village of Aughnaskea, Gallbally, a rural area of east County Tyrone. Here he grew up with fellow members of the East Tyrone Brigade Declan Arthurs and Tony Gormley.
At 19 years old he was the youngest of eight IRA members and a civilian to be killed at Loughgall. Arthurs, Donnelly, Gormley and Kelly were all from the village of Cappagh, and had joined the IRA after the death of Martin Hurson, another Cappagh man, on hunger strike in Long Kesh in 1981.
Tony Gormley
Anthony "Tony" Gormley (Irish Antoine Ó Goirmleadhaigh), born 17 September 1962, was from Galbally, County Tyrone, and joined the PIRA in 1981.
Gormley was the second oldest in a family of six children and grew up with Declan Arthurs and Seamus Donnelly Gormley owned a successful engineering sub-contracting company and had twelve employees and was a strategist within the East Tyrone Brigade.
Song
An Irish rebel song was written as a tribute to the IRA members, entitled "Loughall Martyrs". It's lyrics state that the Provisionals were "brave volunteers", and that Lynagh was a "gallant soldier". The SAS are described as "butchers", and are accused of using disproportionate force, as well as not offering the opportunity to surrender. The final verse pays tribute to the eight men by name.
Subsequent Brigade activity
The SAS ambush had no noticeable effect on the level of terrorist activity in East Tyrone. In the two years prior to the Loughgall ambush the IRA killed 7 people in East Tyrone and North Armagh, and 11 in the two years following the ambush. Ed Moloney, Irish journalist and author of the Secret History of the IRA, states that the Provisional IRA East Tyrone Brigade lost 53 members killed in the Troubles - the highest of any Brigade area. Of these, 28 were killed between 1987 and 1992
In August 1988, an SAS ambush killed IRA members Gerard Harte, Martin Harte and Brian Mullin as they tried to kill an off-duty UDR man.[26] On 11 February 1990 the Brigade managed to shot down a Lynx helicopter near Clogher by machine gun fire.[27] In October 1990, two more IRA men, Dessie Grew and Martin McCaughey were shot dead near Loughgall by undercover soldiers. In June 1991, three IRA men, Lawrence McNally, Peter Ryan and Tony Dorris died in another SAS ambush at Coagh, where their car was raked with gunfire The police stated the men were on their way to mount an ambush on Protestant workmen. In January 1992, IRA East Tyrone Brigade members killed eight building workers and severely injured another six, with a landmine at Teebane near Omagh. One of the workers killed, Robert Dunseath, was also a member of the Royal Irish Rangers. The men were working to re-build British Army bases damaged by IRA bombs. The men were all Protestants and this was widely perceived as a sectarian attack
Another four IRA members were killed in February 1992. The four, Peter Clancy, Kevin Barry O'Donnell, Sean O'Farrell and Patrick Vincent, were killed at Clonoe after an attack on the RUC station in Coalisland. Whereas the previous ambushes of IRA men had been well planned by British special forces, the Clonoe killings owed much to the inexperience of the IRA men in question. They had mounted a heavy DShK machine gun on the back of a stolen lorry, driven to the RUC/British Army station and opened fire with tracer ammunition at the fortified base. They then drove past the house of Tony Dorris, the IRA man killed the previous year, where they fired more shots in the air and were heard to shout, "Up the 'RA, that's for Tony Dorris". This gave ample time for the British Army to respond. The IRA men were intercepted by the British Army as they were trying to dump the lorry and escape in cars in the car park of Clonoe church. Two IRA men got away from the scene, but the four named above were killed. One witness has said that some of the men were wounded and tried to surrender but were then killed by British soldiers
In addition, the IRA in Tyrone was the victim of an assassination campaign carried out by the loyalist paramilitaries of the Ulster Volunteer Force. The UVF killed 40 people in east Tyrone between 1988 and 1994. Of these, most were Catholic civilians with no paramilitary connections but six of their victims were IRA members. Three of them were killed in a pub in Cappagh in March 1991. The IRA responded by killing senior UVF man Leslie Dallas.
An IRA bomb attack against British Paratroopers, also near Cappagh, during which a soldier lost both legs, triggered a series of clashes between troops and local residents in mid-May 1992. The riots lasted for several days, ending up with the paratroopers assault on three bars, where they injured seven civilians. Another street fracas between a King's Own Scottish Borderers platoon and Republican sympathizers in Coalisland resulted in the theft of an army machine gun, later recovered nearby.[34] Six Paratroopers were charged with criminal damage in the aftermath, but were later acquitted.
The Brigade was the first to use the Mark 15 Barrack-Buster mortar in an attack on 5 December 1992 against a police station in Ballygawley.[35]
From mid-1992 up to the present day the Brigade is still able to keep pressure on British forces in the region, despite its heavy losses. Indeed, the East Tyrone unit executed a total of eight mortar attacks against British security facilities and was also responsible for at least sixteen bombings and shootings. They also killed four members of the security forces in the same period.
The McKearney McCaughey Cumann remembers those members of the East Tyrone Brigade who gave their lives for Irish Freedom and we continue to uphold and fight for the ideals these brave Volunteers died for while these men were giving their lives for Irish Freedom Gerry Adams was undermining them by negotiating a Surrender the slaughter in Tyrone especaily from 1986 onward can only be seen as the British leaving the path clear for Adams to implement his control and strategy with out any problems from the "Hard men of Tyrone" we remember the Men who fell at Loughgall with Pride and can only say their struggle continues

sad to hear
mary queen of gael pray for him

good to see some posters have faith in what rule 21 stood for
others here say that its time to move on
we say its time for the brits to move out

i have a good feeling about this game
back in 2002 we had a quiet exit in the nfl when tymoan won it for the first time
we beat them in the 1st round in ulster and went on to win sam
in 2007 our nfl was low key and donegal have won the nfl for the first time
time to go to ballybofey and show them who is boss

ill say it again
shamrock rovers followers see this idea of the stadium in tallaght as an extension to their dole money
if a gaa club had some of their support as an extreme right wing group called ultras everyone would be saying to shut them down not give them anything they want

April 23, 2007
It is appropriate that the Provos have today nominated their "Director of Unionist Engagement", Martina Anderson, to take a seat on the RUC Policing Board alongside Alex Maskey and Dáithí McKay. This latest announcement demonstrates the depths they are prepared to engage with Unionism – to the point of mimicking their political position. The proposed Provo Ard-Chomhairle meeting on May 12th is certainly viewed merely as a rubber-stamp.

The claim by Ms. Anderson that she is "going in there [to the Policing Board] to hold them [the RUC] to account" is an insult to the intelligence of the general public, and in particular the Nationalist community who have suffered so much at the hands of the British Colonial Police. The role of Ms. Anderson and her colleagues will simply be to strengthen English rule in Ireland, acting in full and open collaboration with the British Crown Forces.

Rank and file Provisionals must now reject the boundless arrogance of their leaders and seek a return to their former allegiance. They should also be under no illusion that collaborating with the British forces of Occupation can in any way be considered a Revolutionary act.

April 22, 2007
In the Belfast News Letter of Saturday, 21st April, the Provos commented that "the vast, vast majority of Republicans (sic) attended legally arranged [Provo] parades over Easter." Clearly the "laws" the Provos are referring to are the diktats of the English government.

Republican Sinn Féin rejects the Provo description of Republican Commemorations as criminal acts. Furthermore, the actions of those who not only applied to the British Crown Forces for permission to march, but also used these platforms to pressurise Nationalists into embracing their total collaboration with English rule in Ireland, amounts to nothing less than the desecration of the graves of Ireland's Patriot Dead.

Do the Provos agree with Fermanagh DUP councillor Bert Johnston that those involved in Republican parades such as that in Roslea should feel the full rigour of alien laws? And where does Michelle Gildernew – who was so vociferous on Radio Ulster's Talk Back programme during the election campaign – stand on this issue and the arrests and charging of three people accused of Republican activity in Lurgan last week?

True Republicans will never apply to enemy forces for the right to honour our Patriot Dead, and will continue to commemorate all those who gave their lives in the Cause of Irish Freedom with dignity and respect. The Provos, on the other hand, should have the honesty and decency to stay away from the graves of those who died serving the All-Ireland Republic and fighting British Occupation.

California Requirements - Rule 21

California is one of the first states to have adopted a standard practice for the interconnection of DER devices to the electric grid. In October 1999, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) issued an order instituting a new DER rulemaking (99-10-025) to address interconnection standards. This rulemaking progressed into the rewriting of Rule 21, part of each investor-owned utility's tariff, by a working committee including representatives from the California Energy Commission and the state's electric utilities. The new version of Rule 21 specifies standard interconnection, operating, and metering requirements for DER generators.
In November 1999 after a series of public workshops and meetings, the Energy Commission issued an Order Instituting Investigation (OII) to encourage more development in DER. By identifying barriers and offering solutions to remove those barriers, the Energy Commission was able to present its findings to the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) for eventual adoption. The Energy Commission used a technical support contract known as FOCUS (Forging a Consensus on Utility System) Interconnection to formulate fair and uniform interconnection standards.
The rulemaking initiated by the Energy Commission and the CPUC progressed into the rewriting of Rule 21 by a working committee, including representatives from both parties and from the state's electric utilities. The new version of Rule 21 specifies standard interconnection, operating, and metering requirements for DER generators.
On December 21, 2000, a CPUC decision (00-12-037) approved in its entirety the Rule 21 language adopted by the California Energy Commission. Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E), San Diego Gas & Electric Company (SDG&E), and Southern California Edison Company (SCE) have now replaced their former Rule 21 with the approved Model Tariff, Interconnection Application Form, and Interconnection Agreement. Specific information regarding the interconnection of DER technologies is available from each of the utilities.

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What?? California got rid of rule 21! They crazy fiends!!! Now there is no standard practice for the interconnection of DER devices to the electric grid. Anarchy will surely reign and consume us all......millions won't be able to make a cuppa..... Bring it back now, i'm right being ya TUGGER my tree hugging-open toe sandal wearing-tofu eating-eco warrior-friend of the earth.

We have just misunderstood this poor gomeless retch and which rules is on about.

are you drunk?

micky hart mickey harte does it matter?
he is a hypocrite

The link below is a video of a Masked and uniformed Volunteer of the Irish Republican Armys Armagh Brigade reading a statement from the Armagh Command to the people in the Armagh City Graveyard what the video does not show are the R.U.C/P.S.N.I landrovers full of Crown forces watchin on helplessly the statement was allso read by a masked Volunteer in Lurgan during the Easter Comemoration in the Lurgan graveyard a large Crown forces presence was in the area following the discovery of a Morter Bomb the Crown forces could not prevent the Armagh Brigade from delivering their message
Beir Bua I.R.A Abu

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E3c1lkFWGvg

Here's the text of the statement:

The Armagh Brigade of the Irish Republican Armagh sends Revolutionary and Seasonal greetings to its Comrades and supporters in Armagh, Ireland the U.S and Europe. This year the Armagh Brigade has upped the ante in its War on the British Forces of occupation, we have sought at every turn to bring the fight to the Crown Forces. Our Volunteers have engaged the enemy on numerous occasions, in Armagh City, Keady and Lurgan areas, we salute the brave Active Services Units who risk their lives and freedom to continue the cause of Irish Freedom. We condemn those in the media who have tired to hide and deny these attacks took place, these people are on the payroll of the British and their actions are designed to enhance the image of British rule in Ireland. To the world we tell the British Army and its local milita the R.U.C/ P.S.N.I that we will continue to engage them on our terms. In the past they have been lucky but we only need to be lucky once once they need to be lucky all the time !.

We send solidarity greetings to our Comrades in Portloise Jail and to the Republican prisoners on protest in Maghaberry P.O.W camp, we commend them for their principled stance and condem our former comrades in the Provisional Movement who sold political status away when they signed the Stormont agreement. A status won in blood by Bobby Sands and his Comrades in 1981. We also commend and thank the Republican Prisoners Action Group for its workthis year in supporting and hightlighting the prison protest, there white line protest have brought the prison protert out of the media black out and onto the national stage, they are are the voice of our protesting prisoners !.

This year has seen not only the return of British rule through Storment, by the Provo acceptance of the R.U.C/P.S.N.I British milita as a acceptable Police force. This forces aim is to enforce British rule in Ireland and we call on all Irish men and women to refuse to accept it as anything less than the enemy and warn all prospective recruits that they will be seen as legitimate targets and will be delt with as such !.

We commend and praise the men and women of Republican Sinn Fein who on short notice stood up to the Provo/ British machine and held throught to the Republican Principles when they stood against them in the March elections. Despite a complete media black out on R.S.F , those candidates and their has shown has shown us there is a small nucleus in the Republican heartlandson which to build. We call on all those disgruntled Republicans to return to the fold and help us rebuild and strengthen the Republican movement, it is throught unity that we will gain continuity.

The Armagh Brigade Óglaigh na hÉireann, Irish Republican Army pledges its allegiance to the Continuity Army Council and the 2nd all Ireland Dail whose powers it protects, we swear to uphold the Republic by Continuing the war against its enemies. We call on the youth of Armagh to join us and help us continue the fight for Irish Freeom, may our guns never be silent while the Brits occupy our land.!!

Beir Bua

Forward To Freedom !

Officer Commanding Armagh Brigade


http://www.freewebs.com/rsfarmaghkeady/

is that the laugh of a stoop trying to cover up the truth?

what happened in virginia was tragic
but at least the yanks have the right idea of having arms to defend with and keep occupiers out
no decommissioning there

Let the crowd forces in and boot out TUG

is that now provo policy?
didnt hear it from the stoop murphy

Ah now, that was tongue-in-cheek.

However TUG, don't you think that the best way to achieving a United Ireland is engaging with the Unionist population and showing them the benefits of a UI far outweight that remaining within the UK?

Not going to comment TUG?

the people of ireland who call themselves british are a small minority
most of them are in the north east
the only way to unite ireland is to remove the british military presence  in the occupied six counties and to topple leinster house

i like this story
look at the last two sentences
micky remember the mc kenna cup?

http://www.hoganstand.com/ArticleForm.aspx?ID=75930

Harte angered over club pressure on players
18 April 2007

Mickey Harte fears a club versus county conflict could disrupt Tyrone's preparations for their Ulster SFC first round clash with Fermanagh on May 20.

The Tyrone boss was far from pleased when county stars Owen Mulligan, Raymond Mulgrew and Dermot Carlin were introduced during a club league match between Cookstown and Killyclogher a fortnight ago – just hours after the trio played in a tough NFL match against Kerry.

"A number of games had been agreed prior to the start of the league and it was agreed that county players would not be in action after the Kerry game," Harte said.

"Unfortunately, pressure was put on a number of them to play for their clubs. This was in breach of the policy which had been agreed."

I spent a few years in London and played football with a lad from Derry who decided to join the Police.
He had to give up playing because of this. I suppose you think this was a good thing.

yes i do
he sold out his nationhood