1955 - 1956 AD

1955 Thomas Mitchell who was from Mid - Ulster and Philip Clarke who was from Co. Fermanagh & South Tyrone, who were 2 Irish Republican candidates were elected to the British Westminster Parliament for the 6 Counties artificially partitioned from the 9 in the Ulster Province, which were still under the control of the "Official" Unionist Stormont Government, although they were both still in Crumlin Road Prison in Belfast for raiding a barracks at Omagh in Mid - Ulster. 50 % of the vote there from the Catholic Irish went to the political Sinn Fein Party and the IRA was to then lose several of their best men trying to free them from the prison, and both were then disqualified for being convicted felons. There was also a crackdown on the IRA activities by the Irish Republic Government, but later on Bernadette Devlin would be successful in the elections for a seat there.

     The Saor Uladh the military wing of of the political Fianna Uladh Party (Warriors of Ulster) was limited to the territory of it's founder, Liam Kelly of Pomeroy in Co. Tyrone in Mid - Ulster in the 6 Counties artificially partitioned from the 9 in the Ulster Province, who was also a Senator in the Irish Republic and the Stormont Parliament there, and the Saor Uladh was responsible at this time for carrying out a protest action by mining the RUC police barracks at Rosslea in Co. Fermanagh in the south - west of the Ulster Province.

July 4th: The IRA also tried to create another protest action by carrying out an explosion at the Stormont Parliament itself in one of the 6 Counties near Belfast in Co. Antrim in the north - east of the Ulster Province, but the bomb went off prematurely and killed their own driver.

November 30th: John A. Costello the Taoiseach (Prime Minister) of the Irish Republic let the British Imperial Government still know that he considered the 6 Counties artificially partitioned from the 9 in the Ulster Province were still part of the Irish National Territory and that it was their fault for artificially dividing Ireland in the first place for the Ascendancy that was continuing to be the cause of the present "Troubles." He also informed them that the Irish Government would do it's part to endeavour to stop the unlawful activities of the IRA, but there would be no question of handing over any person accused of armed political activities.

    Sir Anthony Eden became the new British Conservative Primer Minister of Britain until 1957.  

1956 The population of the Irish Republic was now at 2,898,264.  

February 12th: The Catholic hierarchy in Ireland outlawed all illegal organizations, and it was now costing the Irish Republic Government 350,000 pounds a year to maintain their Security Forces against the IRA, and John A. Costello the Taoiseach (Prime Minister) was against the IRA campaign and this caused a division between the various Coalition members of the Fine Gael Party, and Clann na Poblachta under the leadership of Sean Mac Bride who pulled out of the Coalition with his members bringing on another election. Eamonn de Valera as the leader of the Opposition met with members of the IRA who wanted to do something constructive about removing the artificial border and the partition of Ireland and he told them that it would never happen by force of arms.

    Alfred Byrne the Lord Mayor of Dublin in the Irish Republic, died, and Robert Briscoe who was a Jew was elected to the position and would be again in 1969.

June: Joseph Christle was outed from the IRA and his supporters left with him.

August: Joseph Christle made an agreement with Liam Kelly and the Clann na Gael in America to support their continued action against the artificial border dividing Ireland and they were to then conduct their activities there basically on their own in the north of Ireland until 1962.

    John A. Costello the Taoiseach (Prime Minister) of Ireland reaffirmed the Irish Republic's position that the 6 Counties artificially partitioned from the 9 in the Ulster Province would always be a part of Ireland and would never be a part of England. 

November: The IRA took a vote to begin a campaign in the 6 Counties artificially partitioned from the 9 in the Ulster Province for the reunification of Ireland and on Armistice Day they burnt the Customs Huts for 150 miles along the artificial border while carrying out 12 attacks.

December 12th: The IRA Army Council now reached a decisive stage against the British Imperial Government's Ascendancy rule in the 6 Counties artificially partitioned from the 9 in the Ulster Province by calling on the British Imperial Army and the RUC "B" Specials to cease being tools of British Imperialism, and Operation Harvest occurred with 4 mobile columns of 25 men sent out to carry out raids there on their bases in Co. Armagh, Co. Fermanagh and Co. Tyrone with the fifth column in reserve. There had been 6 raids on the artificial border prior to this date, and the IRA were now finally ready to begin their raids in earnest in a campaign in the north there to harass the R.U.C. police and their "B" Special police hoping to draw in the British Imperial Army, during which time 3 splits were to occur in the IRA organization and 11 IRA and 6 R.U.C were killed and 32 were injured. Some of the IRA were also captured, and over the next 2 weeks there were further raids on their Customs huts, and B.B.C. Relay Stations were to be blown up. A B.B.C relay station at Rosemount near Derry was  destroyed, a "B" Special hut at Newry was burnt, the Courthouse at Magherafelt was also burnt, and the Army Drill Hall was mined at Enniskillen. An RUC Barracks was besieged and a bridge blown up while the Belfast to Dublin railway line was cut, and a number of the IRA were captured and interned in Belfast. The IRA's 12 Flying Columns raids on the Customs and R.U.C. posts with 150 - 200 members along the the artificial  border was to last until 1962, but they were in unfamiliar territory. John A. Costello the (Prime Minister) Taoiseach of the Irish Republic reinforced the number of Garda / Irish police on the border and they made many IRA arrests. The Catholic Irish there were apathetic to it all but the non - Catholics were naturally hostile and also the R.U.C. police forces there had better communication equipment.     

     At this time the Official Unionist Stormont Government in the 6 Counties artificially partitioned from the 9 in the Ulster Province had at their disposal 2,800 of the R.U.C. plus 1,000 full time "B" Special police and 11,600 part time to take on the IRA there.     

      Meanwhile in America, the Clann na Gael who were made up of what was left of the Sean Russell pro - monument group were now also split up.

December 15th: The British Imperial Conservative Government introduced the Special Powers Act for the Ascendancy "Official" Unionist Stormont Government to arrest and intern without trial in the 6 Counties artificially partitioned from the 9 in the Ulster Province.

December: 19^th: Anthony Eden the Conservative British Prime Minister reaffirmed the N.I. 1949 Act  over the 6 Counties artificially partitioned from the 9 in the Ulster Province, and they increased the child payments for each child after the second, which the "Official" Unionist Ascendancy Government in the Stormont Parliament changed to the second and third child, not the rest, to ensure that the benefit did not go to the Irish Catholics there who had much larger families. The Presbyterian General Assembly came out and supported the Irish Catholic complaint of blatant sectarian discrimination against the larger families, and the "Official" Stormont Government then had to give way and allow the benefit to all.

December 22nd: The R.U.C police and the British Imperial Government Army now blew up the bridges and the roads along the artificial partition border in the Ulster Province, and from this year 335 Irishmen were to be interned there with 204 charged and 113 imprisoned up to 1962, and also it was now costing the British Conservative Government 500,000 pounds a year to maintain all of their Military Security forces in the dissected 6 Counties in Ulster. The IRA were now to go into recess and go quiet over the Christmas period.

                    Home Page                           Return to Celtic Heritage                          On to 1957 - 1960 AD